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Showing posts from June, 2007

[Interview] Bhaswati Ghosh

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Bhaswati Ghosh has worked as a television news producer and as an editor in two publishing houses. She has also been on the editorial board of a children's newspaper. Her work has been published in major Indian daily newspapers, in the United States and on websites that include Chowk and the bimonthly online magazine, Seven Seas as well as on the food and writing blogs that she maintains. Making Out in America is her first book-length work. In a recent interview, Bhaswati Gosh spoke about her writing. What would you say are your main concerns as a writer? In fiction writing, my major concerns are gaining a grip on the craft of writing, such as more show and less tell, writing convincing dialogue, creating real and enduring characters. The themes that concern me are those pertaining to the social fabric around me -- a dynamic pattern that’s changing and throwing up new questions every day. Ordinary lives like my own interest me the most, and I write stories on how t

[Interview] Anne Douglas

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Erotic romance author, Anne Douglas was born in New Zealand where she worked as a dispensing optician. In September 2001, she moved to Florida with her family. So far, she has written three books, Tea for Three which is due for release in June 2007, Position Vacant (2006) and The McCabes: Persuading Jo (2006). All three books are published by Loose Id . In a recent interview, Anne Douglas spoke about her writing. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? Well, it was more a case of when did everyone else decide I was going to become a writer. I'm an avid reader. No that's not quite right…I'm a voracious reader. I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't read. Some girlfriends joked that having read so much I should be able to write romance novels in my sleep. So I took it as a dare and in January of 2006 I sat down and started typing. I've always had, like many people, this little idea in the back of my head that one day I might like

[Interview] E. A. Saraby

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First-time novelist, E.A. Saraby is a teacher and a mother of three. Her debut novel, The Light of Pensieri (Lulu, 2006) centres around Elie whose quest leads her into the Pensieri Mountains, where malignant spirits drive people to madness and despair. In a recent interview, E.A. Saraby spoke about her writing. What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face? My biggest challenge is finding the time to write and being able to clear my mind enough to do so. I am a full-time teacher and mother to three small children. I have maybe one or two hours to myself during the day, and often that time is taken with preparing for the next day's class lessons. Often I'll get ideas as I stand in the shower or drive to work -- I try to outline them as soon as I can, but often I'm interrupted before that's possible. Luckily, my husband is a saint. When I get in "the zone" and actually have some time, he will do what he can to take care of the kids and

[Interview] Bettye Griffin

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Bettye Griffin has written over 13 romances and contemporary women's fiction that feature strong African American characters. Her books include At Long Last Love (1998); A Love of Her Own (1999); Prelude to a Kiss (2001); Straight to the Heart (2004); The People Next Door (2005) as well as A Love for All Seasons and If These Walls Could Talk which will be appearing in May and June of this year, respectively. Since fall 2006, she has been writing Chewing the Fat with Bettye , a blog where she posts regular commentaries on current issues and events. In a recent interview, Bettye Griffin spoke about her writing. What are the biggest challenges that you face? And, how do you deal with them? Trying to come up with fresh ideas is a challenge, because I’d prefer not to write anything that’s been done a hundred times before! I keep on plugging at it until I come up with what I want. Just like Thomas Edison with the electric light and Alexander Graham Bell with the t

[Interview_1] Christopher Mlalazi

Christopher Mlalazi has written plays for Zimbawean performing arts groups that include Amakhosi Theatre ; Umkhathi Theatre; Sadalala Amajekete Theatre and the Khayalethu Performing Arts Project. His poems and short stories have been published in newspapers, magazine and websites that include Crossing Borders Magazine ; Poetry International Web ; the Sunday News and The Zimbabwean newspaper. Others have been featured in anthologies that include Short Writings From Bulawayo : Volumes I , II and III ('amaBooks Publishers, 2003, 2004 and 2005); Writing Now (Weaver Press, 2005); and The Obituary Tango : Selection of Writing from the Caine Prize for African Writing 2005 (New Internationalist Publications, 2006; Jacana Media ,2006). Christopher Mlalazi spoke about his writing: One of your most recent short stories, "Election Day", was published in the Edinburgh Review . What is the story about? How long did it take you to write it? The story is about election r

[Interview] Neil Williamson

Fantasy and science fiction author, Neil Williamson ’s first story was published in Territories Magazine in 1993. His other stories have been published in magazines such as The Third Alternative ; Interzone and Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet . Still more of his stories have been featured in anthologies that include The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide To Eccentric And Discredited Diseases ; Nova Scotia: An Anthology of Scottish Speculative Fiction ; and The Elastic Book Of Numbers . In a recent interview, Neil Williamson spoke about his first collection of short stories, The Ephemera (2006). What is The Ephemera about? The Ephemera is a collection of varied short stories about the length of time things last for. The stories are all fantastical in some way -- science fiction, fantasy, supernatural or magic realism. The collection is made up of stories written over the last ten years or so. It was published by Elastic Press in May. The Ephemera is pretty much a s

[Interview:] Tavis J. Hampton

Tavis J. Hampton lives in Indianapolis where he works as a Library Media Specialist. Most of the time, he writes under the pen name Tavis Adibudeen and over the past few decades, he has written hundreds of poems, short stories and newspaper and magazine articles. His first novel, The Golden Scrolls , was published in September 2006. In a recent interview, Tavis J. Hampton spoke about his writing. How long have you been writing? From the time I was a child, I've always been writing. My first book was "published" when I was in first grade. My mother still has the only copy of that book. It was a story about our dog, Aristotle, running away. All of the students in our class made their own books using construction paper and paste. The teacher laminated the pages and bound them together. I started writing articles for the school newspaper in high school and also wrote for a local newspaper as an intern. In 1999 I started a non-profit Islamic web site that is

[Interview] Rod Duncan

In 2003, Rod Duncan ’s crime thriller, Backlash was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for the best debut crime novel of the year. Backlash was followed by Breakbeat (2004) and Burnout (2005). The novels trace three very different stories which happen on the same day in Leicester , the most ethnically diverse city in the United Kingdom. Duncan has a degree in Mining Geology and has worked as a scientific researcher in Aberystwyth and Leicester. He has been writing full-time since 1993. In a recent interview, Rod Duncan spoke about his writing and his concerns as a writer. Your most recent novel, Burnout is the third in a trilogy, that includes Backlash and Breakbeat . What unifies the three novels? The three novels take place at the same place and at the same time -- in and around a fictional riot in Leicester. They are interlinked stories, following the paths of different people through a traumatic event. I was interested in exploring the nature of narrative and

[Interview] Adele Geras: poet, novelist and children's author

Award-winning poet and novelist, Adele Geras is one of the most versatile and prolific writers currently living in the United Kingdom. Over the past 30 years, she has written more than 90 books for children, nine novels for young adults and three novels for adults. Her novel Troy was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children’s Book Award in 2000 and was highly commended for the Library Association Carnegie Medal in 2001. The novel was also a Boston Globe Honor Book . Geras has published one poetry collection, Voices from the Dolls’ House (Rockingham Press) and has won several awards for her poetry. Facing the Light , her first adult novel, was published by Orion in March 2003 and sold rights in 22 countries. Her second adult novel, Hester’s Story , came out in 2005 and her third, Made in Heaven in 2006. Adele Geras spoke about her writing. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? I came to writing by accident. I went in for a story competition in 1973 and enjoyed w

Interview _ Katherine Roberts

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Katherine Roberts graduated with a First in Mathematics from Bath University and has worked with computers, racehorses, and in a pet shop. Her short stories have appeared in magazines such as Take A Break and in anthologies of horror fiction. Several of them have won awards and prizes. Two of her earliest fantasy stories, "A Gift from the Merlee" and "Death Singer," eventually grew into her prize-winning first novel, Song Quest , which was published in 1999 and won the Branford Boase Award for an outstanding first novel for children. Katherine Roberts' novels include Spellfall (2000), Crystal Mask (2001), Dark Quetzal (2003), The Great Pyramid Robbery (2001), The Babylon Game (2002), The Amazon Temple Quest (2002), The Mausoleum Murder (2003), The Olympic Conspiracy (2004), and The Colossus Crisis (2005). The Cleopatra Curse (2006) and I am the Great Horse (2006) are her most recent novels. She spoke about her concerns as a writer. When