Showing posts with label child abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child abuse. Show all posts

Straight from the Mouth of 'Dark of the Heart' Anne K. Edwards

Anne K. Edwards lives with her husband and a batch of bossy cats.  Anne enjoys writing, but her schedule is erratic. She is an avid reader, writes in several genres, and has self-published through Amazon Dark of the Heart, a book in the dystopian genre.  She also reviews some genres, and enjoys meeting all sorts of people in the writing field. She says so many of them are really interesting with great tales to tell.
  
Questionnaire:

Q.  Thanks for letting us interrogate you!  Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?

A.  My wanting to be a writer started as soon as I learned to put words into sentences. It fascinated me to be able to create worlds in which people lived and build lives. It still does. I also was able to visit worlds of the past and future like the old West and the coming space age by imitating authors like Zane Grey and Isaac Asimov.  In spite of all the early rejections of teenage tales I wrote, the love kept me going.  And lastly, I found writing to be an exciting change of scene or a form of escapism in which I controlled everything that happened which served me well in a crowded, noisy childhood home.

Q.  Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?  I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?

A.  The perks are great in that an author can communicate with others through writing and meet some wonderful and highly intelligent people at conferences or through groups and reviewing great books. A huge perc is meeting people who enjoy books and being able to spend time talking ‘books’ with them. They bring new perspectives to ways of looking at things. It’s amazing what I’ve learned from all of these people. It is the people who make writing and having written so rewarding. 

     The demands are trying to find time to write when life is getting in the way. Another is being forced to endure wasted time while busy publishers and agents tell the writer a book is rejected without them looking at it. Dealing with writer’s block and trying to find a way out or running into a wall when writing and the story goes flat or I lose interest in it as I absolutely detest having to rewrite something I thought was finished. Dealing with interruptions when the story is going so right. Learning how to accept having paid an
editor or reviewer to read your work and have them return a nonconstructive document that often proves they didn’t read the work.  Spending long hours in lonely silence to be able to create is also a demand and perhaps the biggest of all.  One needs the patience of a saint to be a writer.  

Q  Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?

A.  I took the traditional route to publication, however, I’m finding out about self publishing that actually takes as much or more effort to achieve that goal. There are just some books we want published that a publisher says don’t fit the markets or genres. The traditional publishing route gives an author a sense of security in some respects when they can submit their work to certain publishers who are interested in seeing whatever that author writes. On the other hand, a writer looking to self-publish must face finding out how to publish, where to publish and how to avoid scams, where to find an editor, and how to sell and promote that book. They must also struggle to find reviewers willing to read the book and that may be the most difficult task of all.  The self-publishing author, whether their work is good or poorly done, carries the entire burden and will find it is actually a more time-consuming job with the most disappointments, but on succeeding, will find a great deal of satisfaction for a job well done.

Q.  Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?

A.  I don’t come from a close family. Mom encouraged me in my writing but others scoffed or were indifferent, saying it was a waste of time.  Mom’s encouragement was enough to soothe hurt feelings and give me the will to keep going when I was a youngster. As time passed and I turned into a senior citizen, the encouragement comes from friends who are closer than family and dearer in many respects, especially those who nag me to continue writing. 

Q. Do your pets actually get their food on time or do they have to wait until you type just one more word? 

A.  My pets do not wait.  They will stomp on the keyboard, erase pages, add spaces or weird combinations of letters to my work, often not found until a final edit. They will jump on me, start fights with females who will scream like a panther to get my attention and believe me, it works. They are cats, and I am their slave, to do with what they want, when they want. Their view of writing is that it serves them no purpose.

Q.  Are your plants actually still alive? 

A. I don’t dare keep plants. The cats would find other uses for them that aren’t meant, so unless I get a monster Venus flytrap that eats cats in spite of hairball danger to itself, I must forego the pleasure of plants.

Q.  In writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?

A.  The telephone doesn’t ring when I’m writing as I unplug it. My family is a husband and bunch of cats who will eat when they want providing the food is there. It’s a matter of each being hungry at differing times.  I have no boss as I have been retired for years, unless cats qualify as bosses and to them, I’m always late.  Their idea of on time is being able to read their minds ahead of time and know exactly when they’ll want a lap to sit on, something new to eat, or perhaps the right to chew on something or someone to get a good game of chase going.

Q.  What was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process? 

A.  I don’t think anything I’ve experienced can be called crazy or insane unless having people ask if the backdrop I created out of my head was real. Lots of good things have happened with excitement that made me want to dance in place.  And I can’t dance…

Q.  How about the social networks?  Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?

A.  I’m only just learning about the networking sites.  The few I’ve signed onto turned out to be for people with no interest in books or those who want to sell me something, older folks to post family photos and keep in touch.  I’d love to find one with where only writers, readers, groups and anyone in the writing or publishing fields could get in touch. That seems to be a void that will never be filled.  I don’t understand how one can find new writers on line unless you know their names and sites ahead of time. What if you don’t know their names or the titles of their books or what genres they write in? Maybe I need to become a mind reader.

Q.  Book sales.  Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)?  How are you making the sales happen for you? 

A.  This is another area I’m just beginning to get reacquainted with.  The markets change so rapidly and I have fallen behind. It is hard to find what to look for first and where to look. One must take time to learn. And I’m learning slowly.

Q.  What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?

A.  I think that is time wasted, a thing caused by people who think writers exist to wait on their whims. Some agents build a stable of writers they never communicate with, but use them to impress agencies they want to join. Often those agents change agencies and never let the writers know. We find out the hard way the old or new agency doesn’t want our work. The agent’s focus is only on getting the next, better job using a hapless bunch of hopefuls, often collecting new writers as stepping stones.  I know it’s part of a writer’s education, but it also sours trust in these people. The Internet gives writers an option that doesn’t need an agent and the same could-care-less agents do not like that one bit. They maintain the fiction one needs an agent to get published.  Hello, out there, not true if an author will try Internet publishers or decides to self-publish. I know millions of books are being published and most do not have agents. It may mean I’ll never get published by a large house, but I am very satisfied with the Internet publishers. They waste much less of a writer’s time and are aware that their livelihood depends on the writer, not the other way around. Without writers, millions of people in agencies and large publishing houses would have to find other work.

Q.  Okay, too much sugar for you today!  Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in.  Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

A.  There are many reasons I love being a writer. I find satisfaction in creating, having created, and seeing that creation on the market, hoping it will reach out to others to provide information or pleasure, depending on the genre. I love the many helpful and friendly people I’ve met. They are like gold in one’s pocket. Most problems become small and serve as learning tools as one is published.  They taught me so much, that I feel my entire success could rest on having had to face those problems. It would be wonderful if one could skip the problems and just go on to success as an author, but it doesn’t work that way. We need to struggle, to fight to win the battle of getting published and when we reach that goal, we find we are equipped for the next battle.  So while I dislike all the disappointments and wasted time, I learned how the craft of writing and publishing works and, yes, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Look at the void in my education I’d have without those troubles.


Thank you for letting me visit you.  I’ve really enoyed it and hope to see you all again soon.  Anne K. Edwards

Straight from the Mouth of 'Kill Daddy' Gerald Freeman

Gerald Freeman’s debut novel, Kill Daddy, was inspired by a real life adventure in Africa. After spending ten years travelling to many parts of the world, he decided to settle down in Portugal and write about what he had seen and learnt. His stories are based on true experiences, and he hopes readers will be able to identify with some of the struggles and battles his characters go through. Gerald Freeman also expresses himself through sculpture, which again focuses on the human condition and the enigma of Life.

Purchase Kill Daddy on Amazon.


Questionnaire:

Thanks for letting us interrogate you!  Can you give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author? 

I write for the same reason I do sculpture: to share experiences and thoughts with people all over the planet about this thing we call Life. The work I leave behind when I am gone will be evidence of my journey, an example of one human being’s experience on this planet. Hopefully, people will find my work interesting and it will inspire them to follow their dreams and live the lives they truly desire.

Tell us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be?  

I mean what are the perks and what are the demands? I think, the belief I have in myself and the decision I have already made to lead the life of a writer and an artist, means that I am able to take the rough with the smooth. I get mostly worn out by always being excited about what the next day is going to bring. Every day is full of new opportunities in this business, and the support system out there is fantastic for those days when you feel a little defeated. I am three months new to the business, but so far, I am enjoying the whole process.

Which route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the nitty gritty low down on what’s that like? 

After contacting many Lit agents in London and receiving some very favorable negative replies, I decided to go it alone. I got the impression my work was appreciated, but that it wasn’t mainstream enough for the big publishing houses. I signed up with Amazon, and since then, I have been given a great deal of help and advice from authors and bloggers all over the world:it is a very supportive community. I am now learning how to format my book to go on all the other platforms through Smashwords, and visiting places like this, in order for my readers to get to know a little about me.


Tell us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you? 

My wife, Eva is the most supportive partner a person could ever dream of. She would like me to spend a little more time with her, but understands and is excited about my projects, which of course include her in the big picture. Late nights, I think are the most annoying thing for her.

Do your pets actually get their food on time or do they have to wait until you type just one more word? 

My wife usually has that covered, but should we forget, the dogs start scratching on the floor at five to four.

Are your plants actually still alive? 

When my eyes are sore and my fingers ache, I take a little walk around the house and check for neglected plants and flowers. However, the Portuguese sun can wither the most well looked after plant.

In writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late? 

I am never late, but I have been known to pull a sickie, if I have been awake thinking about my book, publishing issues, etc… the whole night.

What was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing process? 

To be honest, it is all the great reviews I have had. I am not sure if I truly believed my stories would be of such interest to people until the reactions to my story started coming in. The fact that complete strangers in different corners of the world are sitting there reading my mind, inside my thoughts and actually relating to the events, makes me feel unbelievably humble in one way. I have only recently realized the seriousness of what I do and the real effect it can have on others.

How about the social networks?  Which ones do you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid? 

I am accumulating more passwords and joining more sites than I can keep up with. FB has been great for meeting and talking with both readers and authors and bloggers. Sometimes, it seems there are many more writers than readers on FB, so I think it is better for networking than reaching potential readers.

Book sales.  Don’t you just love them (or lack of?)?  How are you making the sales happen for you? 

I am in the process of listing my book in all the major distribution houses, for the last three months I have only been on Amazon. These three months have been spent building a platform, and hopefully my book will start to reach a wider audience in the near future. A few thousand downloads and a couple of hundred sales, so far.

What is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about? 

How can we educate the world so that all life is valued? How can we spread love and compassion amongst  people who feed off hate and prejudice? Why can’t God do more to help the weak? I know that is three, but they are all related.

Okay, too much sugar for you today!  Here’s a nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch the waves roll in.  Now…can you tell us what you love about being a published author and how all those things above doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you wouldn’t have it any other way?

What I love about being an author is: The end product being in someone’s reader, sat on someone’s coffee table or on their bedside table waiting to be read. The image of that person eagerly commencing the story and the feeling of sharing something intimate with a complete stranger, who by reading your book will get to know you better than some of your friends and family. Also, receiving beautiful letters from people who have read my story and want to tell me a little of theirs and meeting and talking to people like you. All in all, I adore the lifestyle, at the end of the day I feel satisfied, which hopefully means the same satisfaction will come at the end of my life, too.

Connect with the author on the web:

                 http://geraldfreeman.blogspot.pt/
                  http://gerryaldridgedesign.dinstudio.se/
                  https://twitter.com/gerryaldridge