notes-from-an-alien

This Blog Has A New Home :-)

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 02:37:10 +0100

We've moved this blog over to a Wordpress platform.

It's still called Notes from An Alien and we hope you will
go visit it :-)

One thing that will stay here is our Blogroll--hope you check out all those fine sites...

There are links on the new blog to bring you back to this site so you can continue to explore all its
Special Features...

Author Interview ~ Maria Savva

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:12:22 +0100

Today is the last day of our Triple-Header with the three Resident Authors of the incredible BestsellerBound Forums.
Just scan the forum topics and you’ll want to dive in!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday and Tuesday were interviews with Darcia Helle and Stacy Juba
Today’s interview is with Maria Savva
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Maria, when did you begin writing and can you remember how it felt inside, back then?

I started writing my first novel, Coincidences, in 1997. I used to write poems and short stories before then, but nothing serious. When I started writing Coincidences I think it felt more like a challenge really. I didn’t actually know whether I’d be able to write a whole novel, but it was something I’d always wanted to do. Once I started writing it, though, the story really flowed and I’d finished it within 6 months. Of course, there was a lot of editing to be done after that before I was happy with the finished draft. Writing is a learning process. I am continually learning and growing as a writer. Funnily enough, I am currently re-editing Coincidences. What I was happy with 10 years ago, I’m not so overjoyed with now. I still love the story, but I’m revising the book because I want to get it onto kindle and other ebook formats, and as it will be a new edition I thought it would be fitting to completely revise it so that it reflects where I am as a writer now, rather than how I started. In its current format it is a typical debut novel, good but could be better. Sentence structure, background detail, things like that, are getting a bit of an overhaul.

Was there any certain date or time you remember when you began to either think of yourself as or call yourself a “writer”?

I remember a comment my brother made when he’d read Coincidences. He said that when I asked him to read it he thought he’d be reading it and wouldn’t be able to take it seriously because it would “sound” like me but he said the narration actually “sounded” to him like an author. That was a nice compliment and the first time I actually thought, “Oh, okay, maybe I can do this”.

What are your current hopes, dreams, or goals for your writing?

To have a bestseller, and be discovered by a Hollywood director who really wants to make a film out of my novel, and wants to cast me in the film too. No, really that is it. I aim high. That has always been my dream, but I would settle for being taken seriously as a writer and selling enough books to make a living from my writing.

Well, that’s certainly something worth settling for :-)

Have you had any “formal” training in the art of writing?

Other than O’Level and A’Level English, no. I read a lot about writing, and read a lot of books in general, which I think is a good way to learn.

What do you feel has taught you the most about “how to write”?

A couple of years ago I was helping another author edit his trilogy of books (Jerry Travis — author of the Safety Factor Books), and he helped me out with editing/proofreading mine. I think we learnt a lot from each other at that time. It’s amazing how much you can learn by doing something like that. Just by noticing things that another author is doing wrong, or could do better, really helps you to see that in your own writing. Sometimes it’s harder to see things that need to be changed in our own work. Another funny thing was that he is American so has a different way of spelling a lot of words, and different ways of phrasing things, so we each learnt a lot about the difference between English and American-English.
I’ve also learnt a lot just by writing and re-writing my own work over the years. It’s a continual learning curve.

I just learned a lot about you with your consistent use of “learnt” :-)

To let our readers in on a bit of your English history, I’m going to insert just a bit of your Bio from your site:

Maria Savva was born in London on 19th March 1970. She studied for a Law Degree at Middlesex University and went on to gain a professional solicitor qualification at The College of Law in London. She qualified as a solicitor in 1996. Maria continues to practice as a solicitor in London whilst writing her novels and stories in her spare time.

She was able to read before starting school, and on her first day at infants school, she remembers reading a story to another child in the class. Maria was immediately moved into the second year class, being too advanced for the first year.

Who are your favorite writers and why are they favorites?

These days, a lot of my favourite writers are also my friends. They become favourite writers when I read and fall in love with their books. Darcia Helle, for example, the creator of BestsellerBound.com where I’m a resident author. I met her online and got to know her on various networking sites. Recently I have been reading her books and absolutely love her style. Julie Elizabeth Powell, an author who writes in many different genres, I always enjoy her books. Quentin R. Bufogle, author of Horse Latitudes. That book is one of only a few that has made me laugh out loud when reading it. He is a very funny writer who also writes short humourous pieces on his blog. Jason C McIntyre, my co-author for Cutting the Fat. After writing that novella with him and being exposed to his raw talent I am a great fan of his writing. Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick, author of Breathing into Stone, that is an amazing book which should be a bestseller. Stacy Juba, Paul Mansfield Keefe, there are so many talented indie writers out there who I am privileged to meet in my role as moderator on BestsellerBound and on other networking sites like Goodreads, it would take me all night to list all my favourites. As for well known writers, I am a diehard fan of Paulo Coelho. His book The Alchemist was probably the biggest influence on my writing when I first started as a novelist. I always find profound words in any book he writes and thought provoking prose. I intend to read all his books when I get the time.

You mentioned Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick and I’m happy to say that we’ll be having him over for an interview on Monday :-)

So, Maria, where and/or how do you get your ideas for your writing?

From life. Maybe from hearing someone say something, or a news article, or a line in a song that makes me think of something. Anything really, I always have ideas floating around in my head.

What is your normal revision or editing routine?

My normal routine used to be that I would write my first draft in longhand and then sit and type it up editing as I went. Then I would print out and read the edited version checking for inconsistencies in the plot. This would usually result in me adding more scenes and filling in background and basically adding more detail to the story. Then I’d read it again, and again, and again, each time finding less and less to edit. Eventually I would come to the stage where I’m happy with it. That’s when I give it to someone else to read and ask them to let me know if they find any mistakes.

For my new novel, which I’m currently editing, I have changed things. For this one I wrote about half of it in longhand, but then decided to try to just write it straight onto the computer and I found that I could do that. Another thing I changed is that I edited it as I went along, so each chapter I wrote I would go back over and edit, in the hope that there will be less editing to do when I read over it. I am currently waiting for some free time when I can read it again. I’m hopeful that there won’t be much editing needed this time.

Would you tell us a bit about your published work?

I have published three novels, Coincidences, A Time to Tell, and Second Chances, and three short story collections, Pieces of a Rainbow, Love and Loyalty (and Other Tales), and Fusion. I’ve also published one novella, Cutting the Fat, with co-author Jason C McIntyre.

I’m hoping to publish my next novel by the end of the year.

Tell us about your blog: its purpose, how you go about deciding what to post, and what you want to do with it in the future?

I mainly blog on Goodreads.com. I use the blog to let my followers know about any new releases I have, any interviews I have done, any giveaways or discounts, or just generally any news I have, or just something I need to say.
In the coming weeks I am going to be interviewing some of my favourite authors on my blog. I got the idea for this because I recently posted a blog about my favourite books and it was very popular. I had a lot of positive feedback on that. Most of my favourite authors are indie authors who most people have never even heard of, so by interviewing them and hopefully getting the word out to a few more people about them I will be helping out in some way. It can feel very lonely being an indie author, and my attitude is that whenever we can help each other, we should do that.

I wholeheartedly agree, Maria !

Thank you for sharing this time with us and letting us into your writing world :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maria’s WebSite
Maria’s Blog on GoodReads
Her Amazon Author’s Page
And, her Lulu Storefront
And now, you can ask Maria a question or two :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the “co-author” of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
On Facebook
On Twitter
AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book

Author Interview ~ Darcia Helle

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:20:42 +0100

We have a wonderful triple-header going on–Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!
The three Resident Authors and Founders of the incredible BestsellerBound Forums.
Just scan the forum topics and you’ll want to dive in!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today’s interview is with Darcia Helle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darcia, where are you from and how old are you?

I was born, raised, and spent most of my life in Southeastern Massachusetts. In 2002, I escaped the snow, ice and cold and moved to Florida. I’m 48, generally behave like I’m 28 and sometimes feel like I’m 88.

When did you begin writing and can you remember how it felt inside, back then?

I don’t remember ever not writing. When I was very young, I wrote children’s picture book stories. (And I am a horrible artist!) In my teen years, I progressed to the typical teen angst poetry. I do still remember how it felt to complete my first full length novel. The best description I can give is euphoric. Or, now that I think about it, shocked is probably the first emotion I felt.

:-)

Was there any certain date or time you remember when you began to either think of yourself as or call yourself a “writer”?

That’s been a very recent development for me. Even after I’d written and published a few books, I didn’t refer to myself as a writer. For some reason, it felt presumptuous to pin that label on myself. I had this preconception that, to be called a writer, a person had to be receiving a regular paycheck for his/her work and be recognized by the mainstream world. I was self-published and unknown, therefore who was I to claim to be a writer? Now I realize how silly and illogical that was. I’m still self-published and only slightly more known than I was a year ago–but I now regularly call myself a writer.

What are your hopes, or dreams, or goals for your writing?

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that one of my dreams was to see my titles regularly appear on the bestseller lists. That’s the ultimate form of recognition for any author. Beyond that, my hopes and dreams are that my books are able to touch those who read them. I’d love for my words to leave a lasting impression. Fiction has the ability to impact readers in profound ways. To accomplish that would be the ultimate high point for me.

As for my goals, I want to keep writing until the characters in my head stop speaking to me. And I hope that never happens.

I hope so too :-)

Have you had any “formal” training in the art of writing?

Aside from one college English composition class, no, I’ve had no formal training.

What do you feel has taught you the most about “how to write”?

That’s a tough question. Different things, to varying degrees, have helped me along the way. If I had to name the one thing that taught me the most, I’d have to say reading. As a writer, I read differently. I pay attention to pacing and style, take note of what I like and what I don’t. This isn’t something I set out to do with pen and paper and note-taking. Instead, it’s often a subconscious thing that occasionally jumps out at me.

After I’d written my first novel, I realized I had a lot to learn about the process. At that point, I read a lot of “how-to” books that I obtained through Writer’s Digest. I learned quite a bit that way. The other two big teachers for me are the process of writing in and of itself and talking to other writers, sharing thoughts and helpful tidbits.

Who are your favorite writers and why are they favorites?

Oh, so many and for so many reasons! I can’t name a few authors because I know I would inevitably leave out a few other equally important favorites. I have eclectic taste and read a wide variety of both fiction and nonfiction. I am inspired by authors with unique voices, who are able to bring characters to life and suck me into their world. I love fiction that entertains while tackling a social issue, whether that is poverty, greed, homelessness, etc. These types of books make me think long after I’ve turned the last page. But I also enjoy fiction that is light, with the sole ability to make me forget the evils of the world for awhile. For me, there is no one formula, genre, or writing style. My favorite authors are those with the ability to step out of the way of the story they’re telling.

Yes, step out of the way of the story they’re telling…

Where and/or how do you get the ideas for your writing?

I wish I could tell you! In all honestly, I don’t know. Most often, a character will pop into my head out of nowhere. I have competing voices in my head almost all the time. Sometimes it will be a 15-second scene that plays in my head. Occasionally, a plot idea is the initial spark and a character fitting the scenario will emerge as I mull the idea over. I’ve always been fascinated by human nature and the drive behind certain behaviors, so this is likely the root of all my ideas. I’m always character-driven first. Plot is secondary in my approach.

What is your normal revision or editing routine?

I typically write the entire novel first in a rough draft. I don’t like to spend a lot of time dissecting my work at this stage. For me, that ruins the creative flow. I do my entire first draft on my laptop. When the rough draft is complete, I print it out. I have to do the initial revisions using printed pages. I need to hold them and feel the pages as I work. I read through, make corrections, expand on characterization, add scenes, remove scenes, etc. Then I take my jumbled mess of corrected pages and retype it all onto a Word file. This forces me to work slowly and, as I do this, I make further changes. These are typically the minor edits, such as word choices and sentence structure.

Once I’ve finished, I like to let it sit for at least a few days. I’ll work on cover design, write the blurb, and do assorted tasks unrelated to editing. This gives me a fresher perspective when I go back to the manuscript for the final micro edit.

Please tell us a bit about your blog and your published books.

My blog is a hodgepodge of book and writing related information. I try to make it both fun and informative. Each Thursday, I host a guest author. Typically, this includes an interview about a book I’ve read. Occasionally, the author will instead write a guest post on a topic related to his/her book. Mondays were my day for random posts from my own perspective, on anything from the history of book burning to background on one of my novels. I’ve recently begun a new Monday feature called Quirky Question Monday, in which I ask an indie author one quirky question. On Sundays, I toss out a sample of my writing. I also host giveaways and keep my readers posted on new developments.

As for my books, all six are some aspect of suspense. Enemies and Playmates (my first) is romantic suspense. The Cutting Edge (my last) is dark comedy/suspense and also the only book I’ve written in first person. My other four are a combination of mystery and suspense. Number seven, the book I’m working on now, is my first paranormal suspense.

I’d love it if you’d give us a little behind the scenes on a couple of your books. How about No Justice?

Some time ago, I served on a jury for the murder trial of a man accused of raping and murdering his
girlfriend. While I had known that our justice system had flaws, this was a close-up view of those
injustices behind our justice system. We, the jury, were not allowed to hear anything about the plaintiff’s
past. His life was a locked box. The victim, however, had no such privacy. The defense attorney gleefully
flaunted the victim’s past, including her sexual history from as far back as her teen years. I will never
forget the look of anguish on her parents’ faces.

The defense did a great job of spinning the tale and making the victim out to be less than virtuous. After a
week of this, when we were sent to deliberate, only two of the 12 jurors initially voted for murder one. I
was one of them. The other 10 wanted involuntary manslaughter, citing her behavior and his cocaine use
as “excuses”. I should mention here that the man had left his dead girlfriend in his bed, while he went out
and partied with friends all night. Also, according to witnesses, he was quite sober at the time of the
murder.

The other juror and I fought for, and eventually won, a murder one conviction. Before we left the
courthouse, the judge spoke to us privately. She congratulated and thanked us for the conviction. At that
time, she was able to tell us what had been carefully kept from us throughout the trial; the man we’d just
convicted had a long history of abusing women. He’d already been convicted of several assaults and one
rape. An involuntary manslaughter charge would have been little more than a slap on the wrist. He’d have
been out in no time, free to rape and murder yet another woman.

My husband and I were discussing this one day; that case specifically and the justice system in general.
That’s when the character Michael Sykora was born. In many ways, Sykora is my husband’s alter ego.
(But, to be clear, my husband does not moonlight as a hit man!)

As for the specific plot, that developed from a combination of the characters’ voices and the conversation
with my husband. I don’t write from an outline. I start with a character and a vague idea. Then I listen and
follow where that leads me. About midway through writing No Justice, I realized that I had way too many
plots and subplots going on. At that point, I knew that Michael Sykora needed to be a series. He wasn’t
happy with one book. I stripped down that initial manuscript and told the story of where I thought the
series needed to begin.

And, Beyond Salvation, the sequel to No Justice?

Homelessness is a huge problem in the U.S. Every age range, from children to the very old, exist in a
separate and hidden world on our streets.

In No Justice, two homeless teens made a brief appearance when they helped Nicki out of a difficult jam.

I wanted to bring them back and let them tell their story. That’s when Sara popped into my head and led the way.

Sara is a teenage runaway, friends with the two boys, and missing. The problem with runaways is,
when they disappear from the streets, no one but their few friends on those same streets notices. Often
there is nowhere to turn for help. Michael Sykora works within that lost world and sets out to find Sara.

To be honest, when I began writing this book, I had no idea what had happened to Sara. I don’t
outline and only began with that vague premise. As I explored the reasons behind Sara and her friends
winding up on the streets, I was led to the few options they might have to reach out for help. Sadly, there
will always be people who prey on those who are desperate. Cults are one of the biggest offenders, often
masking themselves as Churches and various sanctuaries of hope. Sara stumbled upon one of these.

As I was writing this book, I wasn’t looking to give a lesson in morality or write a societal thesis. I
simply wanted to give these lost people, the characters in my head, a voice. I hope that I achieved that and
managed to entertain at the same time.

Darcia, thank you, ever so much, for taking the time to tell us your background as an author and give us your insights about writing; and, those two Stories Behind The Stories :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darcia’s blog is A Word Please
You can buy her books on Smashwords and Amazon
Now, it’s time to ask Darcia a question :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the “co-author” of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
On Facebook
On Twitter
AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book

Author Interview ~ Stacy Juba

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:01:44 +0100

We have a wonderful triple-header for you today, tomorrow, and Thursday! The three Resident Authors and Founders of the incredible BestsellerBound Forums.
Just scan their topics and you’ll want to dive in!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today’s interview is with Stacy Juba
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stacy, when did you begin writing and can you remember how it felt inside, back then?

I wrote my first story, a paranormal thriller, The Curse of the White Witch, in third grade. I remember the excitement of asking my parents to bind it into a folder. I started a mystery series in fifth grade about an amateur sleuth named Cathy Summers. I remember sitting in my bedroom, filling up lined notebook paper. Every sentence had to be perfect. If I made a mistake on the page and it looked messy when erased, I recopied the page.

Such devotion at such a young age…

Was there any certain date or time you remember when you began to either think of yourself as or call yourself a “writer”?

My teachers and classmates started labeling me as a writer in fifth grade, and by high school, there were even rumors going around school that I had published a book. I actually hadn’t–my first book was accepted for publication shortly after graduating from high school. Back then, I resented the label as it made me seem different from the other kids. It’s ironic, as now, I work hard at branding myself as an author. That’s a big part of who I am. It’s interesting how we get more comfortable with ourselves as we get older.

Well, some of us do :-)

What are your hopes, or dreams, or goals for your writing?

My main hopes are to entertain people, and to make a steady income each year from my books.

Have you had any “formal” training in the art of writing?

A little bit, but not at first. I majored in exercise science in college as I didn’t know what kind of job I could get with a creative writing degree. I took one creative writing class in college and enrolled in an adult education class in creative writing. I participated in an intensive online mystery writers class through UCLA Extension and have taken about a half-dozen online classes offered through various professional organizations that I belong to, classes in the criminal mind, romantic suspense, pacing, character development, and synopsis-writing. I’ve also taken workshops at conferences over the years and have read multiple books about the craft of writing. Working as a reporter for a daily newspaper also honed my writing skills.

I would think it certainly would!

What do you feel has taught you the most about “how to write”?

I think just being in the business for so long and having received so many rejection letters. Many editors saw potential in my work and gave me ideas on how to rewrite to make various books stronger. I also had an agent for a couple of years who gave me similar feedback. For me, it wasn’t about learning how to write. It was about learning how to edit and fill in the gaps.

I hope a reader or two asks you more about your last two ideas in the comments :-)

Who are your favorite writers and why are they favorites?

My favorite author growing up was S.E. Hinton, the author of The Outsiders. I was inspired by her as she published her first book when she was a teenager and her books had a unique voice. As an adult, I admire J.K. Rowling because of the depth of her imagination and how she was able to carry on this huge series under a lot of pressure.

Where and/or how do you get your ideas for your writing?

I got the idea for Twenty-Five Years Ago Today because of my newspaper background. When I first started out in journalism, I was an obit writer/editorial assistant and one of my tasks was compiling the 25 years ago today column from the microfilm. I got the idea, what if an editorial assistant stumbled across an unsolved murder on the microfilm? For Sink or Swim, I didn’t really understand why reality shows were so popular. I wanted to explore why a regular person might go on a reality show and then weave a mystery story around what might happen after this normal person is thrust into the limelight. Ideas just pop into my head–some ideas keep persisting until I start writing, while other ideas just sit on the backburner as they don’t feel ready yet. I learned from my former agent to follow up on the ideas that have the most marketing potential.

Aha…

So, what is your normal revision or editing routine?

I outline each book and refer to the outline as I write each chapter. I tend to write a handful of chapters, then go back and edit. Once I finish the manuscript, I use different colored highlighters to highlight description, dialogue, internal thought, action, etc. That way I can focus on tightening up or embellishing one aspect of the story at a time.

Please tell us about your published work.

My first book, the young adult novel, Face-Off, was published by Avon when I was 18 under Stacy Drumtra. It is long out of print as it was published in 1992, but I will be bringing it back in the next year or two and will also publish its never-before seen sequel Offsides. More recently, my mystery novel, Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, was published by Mainly Murder Press in late 2009 and Sink or Swim was published by Mainly Murder Press in January 2011. My children’s picture book, The Flag Keeper, was independently published last fall. My paranormal young adult thriller, Dark Before Dawn, is scheduled for release by Mainly Murder Press in January 2012.

Very impressive line-up of books, Stacy!

Tell us about your blog: its purpose, how you go about deciding what to post, and what you want to do with it in the future?

My blog ties in to my books. As a tie-in to Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, I invite guest authors to answer the question: What were you (or your character) doing 25 Years Ago? I also started a new feature called the Sink or Swim 6, where authors fill out a six-question “contestant application” interview from the perspective of one of their characters. The authors are encouraged to solicit comments from their friends and readers. At the end of the year, the three posts that drew in the highest number of unique commenters will be declared the winners of the fictional reality show, Sink or Swim. The features have been so popular that I’ve had to close submissions until mid-May. My blog can be found at http://stacyjuba.com/blog/blog/.

Wonderfully inventive idea, Stacy!!

Please tell us about the availability of your titles.

The mysteries are available in paperback and multiple $2.99 e-book formats. The picture book is available in paperback and will be released in multiple e-book formats in the near future.

And, synopses?

Sink or Swim: After starring on a hit game show set aboard a Tall Ship, personal trainer Cassidy Novak discovers that she has attracted a stalker. Soon, she will need to call SOS for real…

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today: For twenty-five years, Diana Ferguson’s killer has gotten away with murder. When rookie obit writer and newsroom editorial assistant Kris Langley investigates the cold case of the artistic young cocktail waitress who was obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, she must fight to stay off the obituary page herself.

The Flag Keeper: This illustrated picture book teaches children about U.S. flag etiquette through a fiction story, flag facts, activity idea, and discussion questions.

Excerpts, books trailers and reviews of my books can be found at http://stacyjuba.com/blog/.

And, where can we get the books?

Buy links to different retailers are available in my store: http://stacyjuba.com/blog/store/

Stacy, thanks, so much, for taking the time to stop by and share all this information about your writing career!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Folks, be sure to visit Stacy’s links up there and don’t forget the forums she helped create and maintains at BestsellerBound!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the “co-author” of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
On Facebook
On Twitter
AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book

Rediscovering The Power of The Word, “No!”, with Irina Avtsin

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 02:36:33 +0100

I want to give a respectful welcome to Irina and thank her for choosing this blog as a stop on her BlogTour. On to our interview…

Irina, I think a good first question is where are you from and what are some of the highlights of what brought you to write your book, Rediscovering The Power of No?

I was born and raised in Moscow, Russia and, being an admittedly brave teenager (or just a teenager :-) immigrated to Israel on my own, arriving there on the second day of the first Gulf War. I got my gas mask and an Israeli passport at the airport. That was my welcome to the country.
I worked my way through getting a BSc in Computer science from Technion, the Israeli analog of MIT. I came to the US in 1999 and soon started working on Wall Street – first at Merrill Lynch and then at Citigroup. I graduated from Columbia Business School in 2007. I worked at Credit Suisse Private banking before starting my own Personal Confidantency, which I then expanded into “Let’s do a reality check!” and “MBA Confidante”.

I think my experience in all of that is what brought me to write the book.

Would you share a few personal interests and abilities with us?

I like Yoga, Pilates and I hope to learn to play golf some day.
I appreciate good food, nice wine and well written books.
And, I’m fluent in Russian, Hebrew, and English and speak some French.

Thanks for that personal touch :-)

So, your book says that saying “Yes” can be harmful. Would you explain that?

“Yesomania” is a term I use to describe the chronic and widespread desire to please other people and always say “Yes”, often times compromising one’s own health, money or relationships.
My book helps you take the first step towards having more control over your life. Beginning to take a closer look at how saying yes to everything affects you and what the price you pay for it is. This will help you see where you need to change then take the steps towards making your life easier and less anxiety prone.

O.K., let’s get just a bit of your advice from the book right here. How about in career matters?

It’s hard to say ‘No’ to your boss. However few people realize that if you are the one who always says “Yes” you will be given all those tasks that others said “No” to – and for a good reason. Your raises and promotions will likely get postponed, since there is no reason to make sure that you are happy with your job. You will say “yes” anyway.

What about personal relationships?

When you always say “Yes” to others’ requests and suggestions you are not allowing other people to really get to know you. All they know is that you are someone with no preferences, who always says “Yes”. While it might feel that you are always surrounded by people who could help, you could find yourself alone in a moment of need. You could also suddenly realize you won’t be able to accommodate everybody. It often happens to those affected by Yesomania that accommodation might be the only thing people came to them for. Once “Yes” is not on the menu they will disappear and you will see the friends who stay with you and can help in times of need.

Money?

Your finances are bound to suffer if you can’t say “No” to a small loan, going out to a restaurant that’s too expensive, or buying something you don’t need because you can’t refuse a salesperson. Do a quick calculation – how much did it cost you over the last month?

How about health and stress?

If you can not say ‘No’ to your boss’ request to stay for a few hours longer and skip the gym as a result, you might start piling up those pounds that are so hard to lose later on. When you are on a diet and say “Yes” to a friend’s dessert, your waist line is likely to suffer.
Also, When you are spread too thin you’re stressed. Period. You do not have the time to evaluate your priorities and that in itself leads to additional stress.

Irina, thanks, so much, for that peek into the kind of help you offer in your book!

I should add that, even if a particular reader of your blog doesn’t have the problems that come with Yesomania, the book would make a great gift (for under $5) for any push-overs in their life!

Absolutely, Irina!! Thanks, again, for stopping off on your BlogTour and I’m sure your book could help many of our readers :-)
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Feel free to ask Irina a question in our Comments
Listen to Irina’s audio interview at TheGCafe

Buy her book on Amazon

BTW, there are free Kindle applications available for PC, iPhone, etc.
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Follow the “co-author” of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Alert: A Very Special Visit To “Notes from An Alien” !

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:40:21 +0100

Monday, the 28th of February

Columbia Business School graduate, Irina Avtsin

Telling us about “Rediscovering the power of ‘No’”

For all Readers, Writers, and Publishers

Make your life easier by learning to say, “No”!

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Follow the “co-author” of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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When Is The Word “No” Better Than The Word “Yes”?

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:51:08 +0100

I normally post to this blog Monday through Saturday, every week.

Yes, that’s quite a schedule but it helps with search engine visibility and I have a lot to say.

Yes, I’ve had a number of author interviews lately and there are some really cool ones to come next week.

Yes, it does still take me just about as long to post an interview as my own words, what with all the emailing and editing.

Yes, I do work about 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week on pre-publication activities for my forthcoming book.

No, I won’t be posting tomorrow. And, No, I won’t even be looking at new posts from my Blogroll buddies or making comments on your blogs…

Yes, it feels Great to say “No” today ’cause I’m going to do the final revisions on Notes from An Alien today, tomorrow, and Sunday.

Monday is a Special Day!! Irina Avtsin will be here to tell us about the Power of the word “No!” :-)
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Follow the “co-author” of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Invitation To The Madhouse ~ Report On Self-Publishing

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:46:24 +0100

Alert: Stay turned to this channel for a special broadcast, Monday, 28 Feb.
Irina Avtsin will tell us all about the power of the word, “No!”.
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{This post is almost a rant and purposefully written in a voice I rarely use…}

A madhouse is where insane persons are confined or a place exhibiting stereotypical characteristics of such a place.

This, to me, right now, is what self-publishing is.

Let me define my terms a bit more precisely:

“Sanity” has roots indicating “healthy condition” or “soundness of mind”. If I temporarily constrict my argument to the term “publishing”, most people who are trying to keep up with the frenetic pace of change in this arena of human experience would, I feel, tend to agree that publishing is not in a healthy condition or showing soundness of mind.

Many of those same people would go further and claim that self-publishing is the medicine needed for the sick field of publishing.

Well…

I’ve been involved in self-publishing for about six years now and the last year has seen me working overtime to come to terms with how to best take advantage of the opportunities that self-publishing seems to offer.

I don’t have space in this post to detail the ills of the traditional publishing route but anyone interested can easily find much to ponder.

So, try to accept one point on a conditional basis: self-publishing can bring a book to market faster and supply the author with higher royalties than traditional publishing, as long as the author is not already on the bestseller lists or in the stable of a publishing house being preened to take the book-world by storm when the right marketing moment arrives.

If the above statement is true, one would think that an author would find it easier to self-publish…

My experience has been that the word “easy” needs to be carefully defined with ample attention being paid to whether said author has what it takes to build their own following and work intensely at experimenting till they find the particular combination of tasks that can assure them a sufficient platform of eager individuals waiting to render them aid on publishing day.

If you are comfortable with building relationships, if you can be honestly altruistic in those relationships, if you can multiply the number of those relationships, if you have the time to attend to them with care and diligence, if you have the money to pay for or can trade for the expertise of editors, artists, and publicity specialists, then, maybe you would say self-publishing is easier than going the traditional route.

The reason I’ve been willing to persevere in the madhouse of self-publishing isn’t because I can easily fulfill all the ifs in the last paragraph.

I will continue to do all I can to successfully self-publish my work-in-progress because I lack the patience to search for an agent who would accept the unusual book I had to write and must publish, because I don’t have a few years to wait while such an agent finds a publisher who thinks my book can sell and negotiates a contract, because I refuse to be paid a royalty that can have itself disappear in paybacks to the publisher if the book doesn’t sell, and because finding an editor I don’t have to pay and supplying cover artwork are something I was able to personally handle.

So, from my perspective, the crumbling house of traditional publishing and the raucous adolescent scene of self-publishing are both “madhouses” but I’m a writer and I have a book I’ve written and I want people to read it and I had to make a choice…

I chose self-publishing.

I’ve written about this topic before in this blog and using the handy Top Tags Cloud in the side panel will lead you to those other musings…

What are your thoughts, theories, experiences, and rants or raves about traditional publishing and self-publishing?
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Author Interview ~ Daryl Sedore

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:55:02 +0100

Alert: Stay turned to this channel for a special broadcast, Monday, 28 Feb.
Irina Avtsin will tell us all about the power of the word, “No!”.
~~~~~~~~~

Today’s interview is with an author whose blog posts I eagerly anticipate.
Must soon read his books :-)
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Daryl, when did you begin writing and can you remember how it felt inside, back then?

I began writing at the early age of 10 years old. How did it feel? It was and is, euphoric, liberating, and exciting all wrapped up in each stroke of my pencil. To create characters and have them do horrible things to each other was better to me than playing Monopoly or Risk in those days.

Was there any certain date or time you remember when you began to either think of yourself as or call yourself a “writer”?

I wrote on and off throughout my early years and then in the year 2000 I began writing my first full length novel and felt I was a writer at that moment. When that novel was completed, I sent it out to literary agents and started writing another one. I’ve been writing since and have numerous titles out.

What are your hopes, or dreams, or goals for your writing?

Mostly, to be able to do it for a living and to live comfortably enough to be able to do it. I write every day and produce new, publishable material four to five times a year. In five to ten years I will have dozens of novels available which increases the odds of getting noticed on a wider scale.

What do you feel has taught you the most about “how to write”?

1. Reading fiction (It’s what I write). 2. Stephen King. 3. Reading books on the craft of writing. I’d like to add conferences, since I’ve been to numerous ones around North America, but I won’t, because I didn’t learn much in their seminars and I only recommend conferences for the one on one’s with literary agents.

Who are your favorite writers and why are they favorites?

Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, Jack Ketchum, Harlan Coben, Charlie Huston, Dan Simmons, to name a few.

They’re my favorites because they all write thrilling, non-stop serious fiction. Unexplained events, unexpected twists and turns and downright darn good fiction.

Where and/or how do you get your ideas for your writing?

My ideas come from numerous places. Sometimes one will just be there, and other times one will show up while reading the newspaper. The idea formulates based on external stimuli and then the creative side takes over and forms a coherent story. I then take the characters and make their lives hell.

:-)

What is your normal revision or editing routine?

Once the novel is complete, I put it away for a month and start writing something else. Then, when I pull it out I do a read through from beginning to end. After that I give it to my wife to read, who incidentally is a published author. Once she is through with it, I make her edits and read it through again, only this time, I read it through character by character to manage their growth and character arc throughout the story. I will purposely go to each P.O.V. chapter of each character until they have all been studied thoroughly.

Finally, I will read the novel backwards. I start with the last page and then read the second last page and so on until I reach the first page at the end. This ensures I see any minor mistakes I’ve failed to see before because an author can get too close to their work and sometimes get lost in their story as they edit forward.

Marvelously unexpected editing tip, Daryl :-)

Are you published?

I am published at Amazon.com and throughout the e-reader world via Smashwords. My books are being bought at the Sony reader store, the Apple iBookstore, and on the Nook at Barnes & Noble. I will be publishing more in the next few months.

Tell us about your blog: its purpose, how you go about deciding what to post, and what you want to do with it in the future?

My blog has a theme that I try to adhere to on a weekly basis and that theme is inspirational writing. I post about the craft of writing and how to stay motivated and just keep on doing it. I have written guest posts for Write to Done and the Urban Muse Writer.

Thank you for the opportunity to do this wonderful interview with you. I really appreciate it.

Thank you, Daryl, for an extremely interesting interview :-)
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Daryl’s blog is located here
His Amazon Author page is here

Time to ask Daryl some questions in the Comments :-)
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Can You Trust An Alien; You Know, The Kind From Outer Space?

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:14:44 +0100

Alert: Stay turned to this channel for a special broadcast, Monday, 28 Feb.
Irina Avtsin will tell us all about the power of the word, “No!”.
~~~~~~~~~

If you’re new to this blog, you may think its title, Notes from An Alien, refers to either me, Alexander M Zoltai, or writers in general being aliens…

Let’s see: The roots of the word “alien” come from “strange” or “foreign”…

O.K., I’m strange and most folks find writers, as a group, strange. We writers also have strange and often foreign places as the spaces we create within–our minds, our settings, our being alone so much…

But, when I asked if you could trust an alien, I meant one from a strange and very foreign planet.

Being the writer I am and writing the book I’ll publish in May made me have to trust such an alien. I’m her co-author. I’ll let her explain:

My name is Sena Quaren and this book is a story of my People—a story told in notes; and, even though some readers may think it is a novel or a history, its form is difficult to classify in what are called genres.

This is a tale that spans a large tract of time: from the horrific 500-year war to the immaculate peace—a peace we feel will never falter since we so often stumbled, fell, and rose again on the road we had to create to find that peace.

What I say next may or may not be believed but, either way, this story is true—true as fact or true in the way fiction can rise to heights unattainable by mere facts.

I am a woman from a star system about twelve light-years from Earth. If you choose to believe me, my story might be considered a history lesson—how to achieve unity and peace—a lesson that Earth desperately needs. If you choose to not believe I’m real, my tale might be considered a science fiction story about how to achieve unity and peace—a lesson that Earth desperately needs…

I’ll proceed on the premise that I am real…. My star system’s plasma distribution caused a natural and powerful enhancement of mental/emotional connection between two of our Worlds—Anga-Param, the corporate World, and Anla-Purum, the religious World. Luckily, this only happened during a short period every five years when the two planets were closest to each other.

It should be noted that this mental/emotional planetary connection was used extensively as a weapon in our 500-year InterWorld War. There are even some who claim plasma is the primary conduit for spiritual experiences.

Before we learned to use this power productively many people were doomed to a miserable life in mental institutions. A small percentage of us not only escaped the confusion of the interpenetration of other minds and hearts but could train ourselves to use the plasma even when the planets were not close. An even smaller percentage could reach out beyond our planets and explore alien minds. This is how I found Alexander, the co-author of this book.

Alexander is my transducer—my way of communicating with Earth’s people. We have an intimate mental/spiritual bond—not “conversation” but something much deeper and higher—a conceptual bonding. A simplistic example would be to say that we share things like the idea of dog and cat but not the knowledge of beagles and tabbies. A more accurate example would be that we easily share an idea like four-footed, domesticated animal but not ideas like dog or cat or lizard. Those differences take much more conceptual exploration and sharing.

The sharing we do is rich and meaningful and Meaning is what is most important. Even though trees and flowers and bodies in the Angi system are significantly different than on Earth and even though the way Angians think and feel and act has its peculiarities, there are sufficient similarities that make all the Angian jargon unnecessary. The only times I worked hard to give Alexander specific words to use was when reference was made to names of people and places.

I’ve come to completely trust Alexander to take the meanings I give him and share them with you in meaningful ways. I’ve had significant culture-shock learning about your World and you would feel the same thing if you truly experienced our Worlds. Yet, understanding is the goal—unity of thought and feeling. Even though the specific history of our Worlds is different than yours, I’m sure you’ll find valuable information in this story—information that can help Earth.

Alexander and I have worked together to interact with hundreds of humans before we ever sat down to write this book—worked to help me understand humanity so I could make my story of real help in the efforts to stem the tide of the multiple, global crises Earth is suffering. I’ve communicated, with Alexander’s help, through forums on the Web as well as through the avatar he created for me in the virtual world, Second Life. As this book was being written, we interacted with many reviewers on our publisher’s web site, FastPencil. At the end of this book you’ll find a listing of the people who helped me prepare for and accomplish the incredibly complex task of writing a book.

Does Sena sound like a person you can trust?

Do you think she’s real or just a literary device?

Is it believable, with what most folks think when you mention aliens, that Sena is so reasonable and seems to truly want to help Earth?

Would you like a free copy of the pre-publication edition of the book?

Would you be the kind of person to give a bit of feedback and get your name (or, alias) in the back of the book?

Why do humans, so often, cast aliens as sneaky, manipulative, or downright evil?
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