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Showing posts from September, 2007

[Interview] Sandra Lester

Sandra Lester ’s first poetry collection, Candy Cotton Kid and the Faustian Wolf (Q.Q. Press, 2001) was nominated for the Callum MacDonald Memorial Award for poetry in 2002. Four more poetry collections followed: Tlazolteotl Poems and Illustrations (Q.Q. Press; 2004); Helkappe Poems (Q.Q. Press, 2005) and The Panjandrum of Quondam: The Epic Grenade (Samzidat Press, 2005). In addition to this, she recorded some of her poems and released them as Selected Poems CD (Samzidat Recordings, 2006). She has also written and published, The Ripper Unmasked: Confessions from Sutcliffe to a Hypnotist (Samzidat Press, 2006), which presents an account of her relationship with Peter Sutcliffe , the Yorkshire Ripper. In a recent interview, Sandra Lester spoke about her writing and the direction it is taking. Your most recent book, The Ripper Unmasked: Confessions from Sutcliffe to a Hypnotist has been described as a true-crime, historical document. How did the book come about? I became

[Interview] Carol Windley

Award-winning author Carol Windley has worked as a radio station copy writer, a librarian and as a creative writing instructor at Malaspina University College in Nanaimo, where she now lives. Her fiction has appeared in literary journals, in The Journey Prize Anthology and, on several occasions, in Best Canadian Stories . Her books include the award-winning collection of short stories, Visible Light , the acclaimed novel Breathing Underwater , and Home Schooling, which has been shortlisted in this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize . Carol Windley spoke about her latest collection of short stories and the challenges short story writers face. The short stories in your most recent collection, Home Schooling , are set against the rural landscape of Vancouver Island and the cities of the Pacific Northwest. Why is this so? Is there a particular reason for this? I've always felt incredibly lucky to have grown up on Vancouver Island. The landscape is in one way quite gentle and

[Interview] Melissa Wathington

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Melissa Wathington lives in Tampa, Florida where she works as a writer and runs a children's charity. She has self published a number of books. Writing under the name, Elissa Kyle, she has also published In My Dreams (Lavender Isis Press, 2007); Surrender Your Heart (Lavender Isis Press, 2007) and Love Of A Lifetime (Lavender Isis Press, (Lavender Isis Press, 2007). Her latest story, Double The Blessings (Lavender Isis Press), was published in April of this year. In a recent interview, she spoke about her writing. *What would you say are the biggest challenges that you face? Time management, control of my creativity, and dialogue most definitely! Like most writers, I have a daytime job (two in fact) and they both eat up much of my day. Then I also work for Lavender Isis Publishing , run a children’s organization ( Homebound Hugs ) and an inspirational writer’s community ( PRAIZES! Inspirational Voices ). Juggling all of them has been a task, let me tell you! Learni

[Interview] Rory Kilalea

Rory Kilalea has worked in the Middle East and throughout Africa, directing documentaries as well as in various production, script-writing and management positions. Films he has been involved with include Jit (1990); A Dry White Season (1987) and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986). He has also taught broadcasting, writing and performance at the University of Zimbabwe as well as improvisational drama at the British Council in Athens, London, Johannesburg, and in the Middle East. Writing under the pen-name, Murungu, his poetry and short stories have been published in magazines and anthologies in countries that range from Ireland; Malaysia; South Africa; the United Kingdom; the United States and Zimbabwe. His writing includes the collection of short stories, The Arabian Princess & Other Stories (Zodiac Publishing, 2002); “Whine of a Dog” which was shortlisted for the Caine Prize 2000; “Zimbabwe Boy” which appears in Asylum 1928 and Other Stories (Fish Publish

[Interview] Kay Green

Kay Green's stories have been appearing in literary magazines and journals and for nearly two decades. Fifteen of the short stories appear in Jung's People (2004), her first collection of short stories, while others have been featured in anthologies that include The Elastic Book of Numbers (2005). Her poetry has been published in literary journals such as acumen , Iota , Envoi and Orbis . In addition to writing, Green has edited anthologies that include Digitally Organic: An Earlyworks Press Poetry Anthology (2007); Porkies: Pigtales of the Unexpected (2006); Survival Guides: An Earlyworks Press Fiction Anthology (2006); Routemasters and Mushrooms: An Earlyworks Press Poetry Anthology (2006); and The Sleepless Sands: Earlyworks Press High Fantasy Challenge (2006). In a recent interview, Kay Green spoke about her writing. Your first collection of short stories, Jung’s People , was published by Elastic Press in 2004. How did this happen? Fantasy and mythology ar

[Interview] Jalena Burke

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Jalena Burke writes short erotic romance fiction. Her stories are all available as e-books. They include Me, My Next Door Neighbor and Bob (Forbidden Publications, 2006); One Sinful Night (The Wild Rose Press, 2006); S’mores (Phaze, 2006); The Red Apron (Forbidden Publications, 2007); Going Up (Forbidden Publications, 2007) and Make Him Beg (Phaze, 2007). In a recent interview, Jalena Burke spoke about her writing. How would you describe the genre in which you do most of your writing? I write short erotica stories, what I call quickies, similar to the stories you might find in Naughtier Bed Time Stories by Joan Elizabeth Lloyd . They are perfect to read in one sitting. It's a hot genre, but also a challenge and I enjoy short stories. Actually, I didn’t think I’d ever write in this genre, but when I read about how popular it was and signed up for some online groups, I thought I’d give it a try. I initially envisaged writing contemporary romance with little sex in

[Interview] Michael T. Dolan

Freelance writer Michael T. Dolan lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He attended Villanova University where he majored in English and Sociology. One of his stories, “The Angel That Couldn't Fly” was featured in The Simple Touch of Fate (iUniverse, 2003), a collection of over fifty compelling and captivating stories which raise questions about fate, coincidence and divine intervention. His first novel, Walden has been described as a "satirical, tragic and poignant ... coming-of-age story". The novel was published in 2006 by Conversari House . In a recent interview Michael T. Dolan spoke about his writing. What is your latest book about? Walden is a novel about individualism, revolution and freedom. It's Catcher in the Rye with a 21st century university setting. Young Walden is struggling to find his identity, and the resulting day detailed in the novel depicts this struggle. How long did it take you to write it? The novel was written off and on over

Interview [1] _ John Eppel

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In addition to writing short stories, John Eppel is also an award-winning poet and novelist . His list of achievements is impressive. His first novel, D.G.G. Berry’s The Great North Road (1992), won the M-Net Prize in South Africa. His second novel, Hatchings (1993), was short-listed for the M-Net Prize and his third novel, The Giraffe Man (1994), has been translated into French. His first poetry collection, Spoils of War (1989), won the Ingrid Jonker Prize. Other poems have been featured in anthologies that include The Heart in Exile South African Poetry in English 1990-1995 (1996) while his short stories have appeared in anthologies that include Writing Now: More Stories from Zimbabwe (2005). In a recent email interview, John Eppel spoke about his writing. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? About age 12. Around that time I stopped believing in God, I became consciously aware of my mortality, I began to feel uneasy about my privileged status as a white b

[Interview] Cheryl Kaye Tardif

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Canadian author Cheryl Kaye Tardif was born in Vancouver, Britsh Columbia and has worked as a journalist, a motivational speaker and a consultant in telemarketing, sales and promotion. Her books include Divine Intervention (Trafford Publishing, 2004) and The River (Trafford Publishing, 2005). Her latest novel, Whale Song (Kunati Books, 2007), has been described as a compelling story of love, tragedy and transformation. In a recent interview, Cheryl Kaye Tardif spoke about her writing. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? I wanted to be a writer at a very young age. I used to “write” under every line of my Dr. Seuss books and would tell my mother that I was writing the story. At 14, I became a published journalist, but fiction was always my passion. How would you describe the writing that you are doing? I write mainly novels with suspense, mystery or horror elements. I don’t stay within a specific genre; often my novels have a mix, including some romance o