A Word Please: Conversations With 24 Authors

by Darcia Helle

  Now into a fourth book, I’ve got to the point where I have trouble keeping track of all my characters. So, I bought a little composition book and each character gets his or her own page. They are all numbered, and each character’s page includes key relationships, traits, and whatever.

  Mixture of quiet and noise. When I need energy, I crank it up.

  Do you work from an outline? Or an idea sparks and you run with it?

  I start with a character, a scene, and a general story idea. Every writer has their own approach, but I believe story flows from character. And character is revealed by story. So I develop characters and turn them loose on the story.

  You have a fascinating career history, including a job with CNN that, I understand, included a lot of travel. What was your favorite place to visit? Least favorite?

  I’m not a favorites kind of person, other than to say my favorite place is probably where I am at the moment. When I was in Berlin it was Berlin. Moscow it was Moscow. New Delhi, Cairo, Johannesburg, …or a salt lick two hours outside Niamey. Pasadena, today, that’s pretty nice. I loved all the travel, everywhere I worked, and I’m especially proud of my time at CNN. I had the best job in the world.

  You have a new book in the works. Please tell us a bit about it.

  Two books coming out later this year hot on the heels of one another. First one is Pasadena Payback, a story that unfolds on the seamier side of Pasadena following an old debt repaid with dirty money through the hands of some unlikely characters. Pasadena Put Down, a trainee private investigator stumbles on a criminal enterprise in the heart of this storied town and quickly realizes he’s in over his head.

  Some recurring characters, but the main carry over is the town of Pasadena. Such a great place with such an interesting history. But also with a great PR department. There’s more to this town than meets the television eye on New Year’s Day.

  Aside from writing and reading, what might we find you doing in your spare time?

  Family. Friends. Fitness. I swim in the Rose Bowl pool every morning at six a.m.

  Favorite ice cream flavor?

  Knowing Matt’s story, there is only one possible answer to this one: Rocky Road.

  About the Author:

  M L Rudolph has worked for CNN, HBO, and Playboy among other American and British television companies around the world. He has written for general interest and trade publications. He has a bachelors degree in English Literature and an International MBA. Rudolph is a dual US/UK national and lives in Pasadena, CA. Currently: Teacher, trainer, tutor, spy.

 

  You can learn more about Mark and his writing on his website: https://markrudolph.wordpress.com

  Connect with Mark on Twitter at: https://www.Twitter.com/MLRudolph or @MLRudolph

  M L Rudolph on Amazon

  Changes by Charles Colyott

  When a young woman is found murdered in a seedy massage parlor near his neighborhood, the police recruit Randall Lee – an American acupuncturist and Tai Chi master — as a translator and expert in Chinese culture, to assist in the investigation. Lee discovers that the murderer is an expert in a forbidden Chinese martial art – the dark mirror to his own healing practices – and joins in the hunt for the killer to escape his own inner demons and save the woman he loves.

  Our conversation:

  Randall Lee is such a vivid character. What inspired his creation?

  Thanks! It’s strange… I had never written a mystery before, and I didn’t really know how to even begin. At the time, I had injured my back and, because of that, lost my job, so I was not in high spirits or anything… and I was more or less bedridden. And one morning I just got this image in my head of a young Chinese woman who was blue. That image was so strong, and I had no idea what it was all about, but I knew that she was the mystery — who was she, why was her skin blue, etc. As soon as I figured that out, Randall just appeared, pretty much fully formed, in my head (and believe me, I know how weird all of this sounds, but I think some of the writers out there will agree that it happens that way sometimes). From there, I made myself get to the computer and start writing. And painful as it was, the first draft of Changes only took 3 months, which is a record for me.

  While this book is set in the U.S., Chinese culture is a big part of the story. You handle it so well, I can’t help but assume the culture is or was part of your life. Did you ever live in or have you visited China? What is it about the culture that draws you in?

  I am an enormous nerd for pretty much anything involving Chinese culture, and I pretty much always have been. I don’t really know how or why it started. I used to watch the cheesy movies that they played on Kung Fu Theater on Saturday afternoons, but I really became obsessed when I saw John Woo’s The Killer when I was in high school. From there, I found every Hong Kong action movie I could – which, coincidentally, were only available in Randall’s neighborhood, in the kinds of grocery stores that I describe – and made many laughable attempts to learn Chinese. It wasn’t until I went back to college after my injury that I was able to take a formal Chinese class and actually start learning. I was an Asian studies minor, and that let me take a travel study trip to China about two years ago. I can’t wait to go back.

  Randall is adept at the Chinese martial art called Tai Chi Chuan. Again, you handled this from a writing perspective with incredible ease. Have you studied this or any martial art?

  Yes. When I was a kid, I really wanted to learn kung fu… but Southern Illinois in the 80′s pretty much only had Taekwondo schools. When I was in high school, I learned some Kempo and Aikijiujitsu from a friend. I went on to study Aikido, Lohan Kung fu, and a bit of Capoeira. All that time, I had read the crazy Tai Chi stories about the legendary skills of the Yang family, but the only Tai Chi instruction I could find was – let me put this delicately – not concerned with the martial history of the art. It wasn’t until after my back injury that I found out that there was a teacher in my area who was a student of the current Yang family lineage holder. I started studying with him in 2005, and I really credit that with healing my back and getting me mobile again. Tai Chi is truly an amazing art.

  Your characters talk about something called Dim Mak – the ‘Death Touch’. Is this a legitimate aspect of martial arts?

  Well, it’s one of those things that has been rumored for a long time in various Chinese martial arts… Some say it’s what killed Bruce Lee. Some say it’s complete nonsense. If you do an internet search, you’ll see that there are people who claim to be able to knock out opponents with a touch and people who claim those people are charlatans… and it all just goes back and forth. So who knows?

  What I will say about it is this: Changes is a work of fiction, so just keep that in mind.

  The second book in this series will be out this summer. (I’m looking forward to it!) Can you give us a little tease? What will Randall be tackling in this one?

  Sure! The next one is called Pressure Point. In it, someone close to Randall is seriously injured in a bizarre attack, so he takes it upon himself to try to find out what’s going on. Along the way, he gets tangled up in a twisted plot involving drugs, underground fighting tournaments, and a figure from his own shadowy past…

  Is that enough of a tease? 

  What inspires you?

  Gosh. Pretty much everything. Life is pretty wonderful and terrible and astounding if you don’t let yourself get wrapped up in all the bullshit.

  Aside from reading and writing, what are some of your favorite pastimes?

  Tai Chi, of course. I love spending time with my wife and two kids. I’m still always trying to improve my Mandarin whenever possible.

  What scares you the most and why?

  Being a parent, I think, is pretty much the most terrifying thing ever (and that shows up in a lot of my writing, including Changes). My oldest daughter was in the newborn I.C.U. for about a week when she was born, and I was a wreck. I had read all the books when my wife was pregnant and of course I had sort of
considered the worst case scenarios, but the whole game changes when you hold this tiny person for the first time, and you love them more than you could ever imagine loving anything… and then to realize that they could be taken away from you… That’s scary.

  About the Author:

  Charles Colyott is the author of Changes — A Randall Lee Mystery, Black — Canto I of the Nephilim Codex, and the collection Unknown Pleasures. He lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere (Illinois) with his wife, 2 daughters, cats, and a herd of llamas and alpacas. He is surrounded by so much cuteness it’s very difficult for him to develop any street cred as a dark and gritty writer. Nevertheless, his stories have appeared in Read by Dawn II, Dark Recesses Press, Withersin magazine, Horror Library Volumes III & IV, Terrible Beauty, Fearful Symmetry, and Zippered Flesh, among other places. He also teaches a beginner level Tai Chi Ch’uan class in which no one has died (yet) of the death touch. You can get in touch with him on Facebook, Twitter, or email him at charlescolyott@gmail.com. Unlike his llamas, he does not spit.

  Charles Colyott on Amazon

  Blog: https://charlescolyott.wordpress.com

  Playing With The Bad Boys by Sylvia Massara

  As Mia sets out to unravel the mysterious death and prove the cops wrong, especially her archenemy, Detective Sergeant Phil Smythe; she comes up against an unsavoury cast of characters who will do anything to shut her up. But with a little help from her friends, Mia will not stop until she unearths the truth.

 

  Mia Ferrari is a wiseass, older chick with determination and an attitude, and she never takes “no” for an answer.

  Our conversation:

  Playing With The Bad Boys is the first book in your new Mia Ferrari mystery series. What made you want to start writing a series?

  I get very close to my characters, and oftentimes I become like an alter-ego for them. If you’ve seen some of my blogs at Sylvia Says, I sometimes speak as Cat Ryan, who was my character in the online-dating romantic comedy “Like Casablanca”.

  The romance genre is difficult to use for a series because once the protagonist falls in love with the hero of the story, what happens next? She can’t just move onto the next guy. Besides, there is only so much one can write in romance. So I decided that the best genre in which to have an ongoing series would be mystery/suspense. In this kind of series, I could have the same protagonist living through some interesting experiences/adventures, and at the same time I could give her a chance to develop more and more as a strong character.

  I also believe a series will have readers who identify with the characters in the stories, and these readers will want to go along for a ride with those characters and onto the next adventure, and the next, and the next. It’s like the characters become their friends.

  This is how I felt when I read writers such as Patricia Cornwell and her protagonist Kay Scarpetta; and also Kathy Reichs and her “Temperance Brennan”. I always identified with these women protagonists. I felt they were my friends, and so I wanted to do something like this myself.

  A reader who knows you will notice the similarities between you and Mia Ferrari. Did you intentionally set out to create a character that shared aspects of your personality and background?

  Yes, I did. First and foremost after having been through a nasty marriage breakup at an age when it’s so difficult to start all over again, I wanted to reach out to those older women who’ve gone through something similar, or simply those in their 40s and 50s, and beyond, who can relate to the challenges that a mature woman faces.

  Mia Ferrari is 48 and has recently been dumped by her husband of 18 years because he ran off with a younger woman. While this isn’t what happened in my own marriage, I was dumped by my ex because I was ill and couldn’t work. He did leave me for another woman, however, though she was not that much younger than me.

  What happened to me made me think a lot about men and how little “staying power” they have in a relationship. Of course, I realize not all men are like that, but I’d say close to 90%? In any case, I became very guarded and intolerant of men (and people in general) who say one thing but mean something totally different. And I learned that actions will always speak louder than words, and not the other way around. I also learned that when a woman reaches a mature age her chances of starting all over again are diminished greatly–and that’s if she can bring herself to trust a man again.

  The other thing that really bugs me is that women tend to be relegated to some “unwanted and used-up” image by society, while men in their 40s, 50s and beyond are still considered sex symbols, and they often parade a young bimbo on their arm. This has happened right throughout history and it’s not about to change. But heaven forbid that an older woman should take up with a much younger man–this is still considered taboo. So here we are, still living in a man’s world.

  Mia is a modern woman, who doesn’t suffer fools gladly; she doesn’t trust men (except an old flame of hers), but even here she asks questions about what would have been. After the kind of experience she’s been through she emerges as a plucky, independent, sexy, and intelligent woman–the kind of woman we’d all like to be if we’ve been through a horrid breakup with the person we trusted with our lives.

  So to answer your question, yes, I share many aspects with Mia. I’ve always been a fairly assertive person in the past, but after what I’ve been through I am now totally liberated. It’s amazing the feeling I have sometimes when I can be totally honest with someone and not really care what they think of me, one way or another. That is not to say that I’m arrogant or rude. I am simply being me: the woman I was born to be; the independent, strong, and assertive woman that could never be with a weak man like my ex (or any of my other exes). I truly believe in “sisters are doing it for themselves”, as the song goes; and so does Mia.

  In general, I don’t think women should look for self-validation through a man. If they are, they will soon be disappointed. But if they have the courage to navigate through the fear, the anger, the guilt, the depression, the disappointment, and whatever else; they will come out at the other end being their own true selves. And let’s face it; you can’t get better OR sexier than that. This is what Mia epitomizes, and what I follow. You might say that Mia is my hero.

  What is the biggest difference between you and Mia?

  Well, for one, I can’t afford to buy a Ferrari! The biggest difference between us is that she can eat all the pizza, pasta and cannoli she likes, and she never seems to put on weight. LOL

  This book made me hungry! Mia is quite the cook. Have you considered including her recipes at the back of the book? Or maybe creating a separate Mia Ferrari cookbook?

  Funny, you should mention this. I did consider the recipe idea, but this is something that can wait until Mia becomes better known. I think you’ll find that all my novels will make you hungry. My heroines love their food, and still manage to look good, but they don’t adopt society’s view that a woman has to be skinny to the point of anorexia to attract a man. Sure, we have to take care of our weight (especially for health reasons), but the way the media portrays female protagonists, especially in Hollywood, is shocking and totally unrealistic. More guilt for us to have to contend with if we’re not as thin as Angelina Jolie, right? But of course, it’s totally permissible for someone like Harrison Ford to parade with a partner who is 22 years younger than him and rather anorexic. Didn’t he trade in his older wife for Calista Flockhart? Hmm.

  Any hints about what Mia will be up to in book two?

  Think “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” in a murder/mystery. For those of you who didn’t see the movie, it’s about drag queens, daaaaaaarling!

  We know about your love of writing and reading. Tell us one or two other things you enjoy doing in your spare time.

  That’s easy, appreciating Renaissance art and travel at any opportunity I get. Tuscany is still high on the cards!

  Are you spontaneous or do you prefer planning and routines?

&
nbsp; Very spontaneous. The only thing that keeps me anchored at the moment is my 20-year-old cat, Mitzy. She’s getting on and is not too well in health, so I cannot leave her alone just now. But once she goes to cat heaven: watch out, world! Sylvia will be on the loose. I could just as easily be on a plane to Hawaii, Hollywood or on my way to have a meeting with George Clooney at his villa in Lake Como, Italy, to discuss a film option for one of my novels.

  Describe your current mood in one word or phrase.

  Wicked and loving it! 

  About the Author:

  Sylvia Massara has been writing since her early teens and has written a number of plays, screenplays and, most recently, novels. Massara lives in Sydney, Australia.

 

  Although a multi-genre writer, one of Massara’s favourite genre is romance/chick lit, and she has a soft spot for chicks who are on the cusp of 40 and beyond. Yes, chicks still date after 40! To prove this, she wrote The Other Boyfriend (loosely based on her own life experience while she briefly lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong). Just recently, Massara released a third book, a romance/chick lit novel entitled Like Casablanca; this is a cross between internet dating and Rick’s Cafe (also loosely based on her life).