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Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category

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Welcome to the February 25, 2008 edition of writers from across the blogosphere. It’s a bit late and there are some repeats from the last carnival (due to an error with the carnival posting–I’ve kept them in so newer submissions weren’t accidently deleted), but it’s also full of new good reads as well. Enjoy!

writing

Terry Dean presents 21 Ideas for Hot Press Releases – Part 1 posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Richard Lee presents How Controversy Works posted at Richard Lee.

Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents How To Research 5 Times Faster posted at Rebecca Dean.

Sagar presents Take it Back! 100 Tips to Defeat Content Thieves posted at Virtual Hosting.

Stephen Dean presents The Mathematics Of Testing Your Sales Copy. posted at Stephen Dean’s Copywriting And Internet Advertising Blog – Copywriter.

claire presents Writing Contest | Bebo Author posted at Bebo Author, saying, “Writing Contest – free to enter, lots of great prizes. Anyone who enters, sponsors a prize or promotes this contest on their blog receives a link back.”

Bumbeak presents Tips for a new Notebook posted at Quills are Swords.

Carol Bentley presents Getting your thoughts on paper posted at Carol Bentley.

Tiffany Colter presents Lesson Learned and How I got here posted at Writing Career Coach, saying, “This blog discusses how to have success beginning from the first day of this New Year!”

Freddie L. Sirmans, Sr. presents Can The US Prevent A Starvation Crisis? posted at Can The US Prevent A Starvation Crisis.

James Lee presents The Secret Copywriting Technique That Keeps Prospects Riveted to Your Website posted at Online Business Freedom.

Carol Bentley presents How appealing are you posted at Carol Bentley.

The Countess presents Erotic Excerpt – The Party Crasher posted at The Countess.

Allen Crosse presents Three Hours Between the 34th and 35th posted at Cup o’ Poe, saying, “I wrote this when I was standing in a place that I very much didn’t want to be. Please, enjoy my pain.”

Eric Koshinsky presents ESL Writing Activities – Computer Based Editing and Correction Lessons posted at Teachers Call.

Carol Bentley presents Yesterday?s blog-post was completely off-track posted at Carol Bentley.

CG Walters presents Spirit Story…an Old Genre Reawakening posted at Into the Mist, saying, “A path of communication with the subconscious—as opposed to a communication with the conscious mind—is alive, more a communion between the personal subconscious and the Collective Consciousness, possibly awakening or speaking to the personal consciousness a little along the way.”

Tiffany Colter presents Writing Career Coach: A Pleasant surprise and How I got here Part 2 posted at Writing Career Coach, saying, “A pleasant surprise on how to have success beginning from the first day of this New Year!”

Neelakantha presents 50+ Open Courseware Writing Classes from the World’s Leading Universities – College Degree.com posted at college degree.

Steve Osborne presents “Are You Done Yet?” posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

Ward Tipton presents Writing in Earnest | The Write Page posted at The Online Writing Resource Center, saying, “While freelance writing is great in many ways, wouldn’t it be nice to have your name on your writing and put the money it earned in your own pocket? I was finally able to get started doing this.”

Carol Bentley presents 4 easy steps to authorship. . . posted at Carol Bentley.

Steve Osborne presents The Well/Good Conundrum posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years experience. His blog teaches writing rules, strategies and techniques in a memorable, easy-to-understand way, spiced with a bit of humor.”

Alfa King presents Degree or experience? posted at Alfa King Memories.

Steve Osborne presents E-Mail Etiquette posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

Sagar presents Rookie Mistakes: 15 Blunders New Freelancers Make and How to Avoid Them posted at Bootstrapper.

Alfa King presents Clarity and Brevity Make Good Blogging posted at Alfa King Memories.

Orna Ross presents Planning Your Writing posted at WRITING ADVICE & PUBLISHING ADVICE from Font, saying, “Article on the importance of planning for writers”

Jessse Hines presents The Best Writing Advice I Ever Received posted at Vigorous Writing.

Jessse Hines presents Got Writer’s Block? Just Eat that Frog. posted at Vigorous Writing.

blue skelton presents The First Junkie Ninja Monologue posted at This Wasted Monologue, saying, “Scene: Present Day, Hospital Waiting Room – Blue Skelton is reflecting on the imminent birth of his first child.”

ScottG presents Notebook on a Passion: The Writer Begins with the Begiining posted at Notebook on a Passion, saying, “Writers write to influence their readers, their preachers, their auditors, but always, at bottom, to be more themselves.
–Aldous Huxley”

Steve Osborne presents First Things First posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

Thursday Bram presents What If? Emergency Planning for Your Writing posted at thursdaybram.com.

GrrlScientist presents Bridge To Opportunity (Reprise) posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “This is just a story about the Brooklyn Bridge, as written by a non-native NYCer; me! Includes history of the bridge and Emily Roebling’s remarkable contribution to its completion.”

Vaibhav Gadodia presents Habitually Good » Blog Archive » Writer’s block – what is that? posted at Habitually Good.

GrrlScientist presents Today’s Adventure in The Land of Medicine posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “After a day like this, I would be crazy, if I wasn’t crazy already.”

Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents How To Kick Writers? Block posted at Rebecca Dean.

Richard Lee presents How To Write Magnetic Headlines posted at Richard Lee.

Brent Diggs presents Writing Prompts for the Not-So-Prompt posted at The Ominous Comma, saying, “Humor for writers”

publishing

Marcus Hochstadt presents Why Drafting Messages Saves You Time posted at Marcus Hochstadt, saying, “Drafting messages in order to publish them at a later time is a great way to save a bunch of time. You sit down one time, focus on writing, writing, writing, and then you’re done for a couple of days or even weeks.”

Amy Munnell presents Writing Nationally… posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

reading

Sol Smith presents 20 Great books to get you Reading posted at How to be a Badass Dad.

ivanisko presents A Report from Budapest posted at Bookstore Guide, saying, “Our blog aims to provide a database of all the European independent bookstores selling books in English. We also publish reports from our travels and personal visits of the bookstores included in our guide.”

uncategorized

Michael@TSM presents Travel Writing Contest! Win $150 Cash Prize | Traveling Stories Magazine posted at Traveling Stories Magazine.

old-wizard presents Old-Wizard.com Top 100 Video Games of All Time List / Introduction posted at Old-Wizard.com.

Deborah Dera presents Have you found a niche? posted at The Rhythm of Write, saying, “Not having found a niche is not necessarily a bad thing. There’s no need to limit yourself and your writing.”

Charles H. Green presents Aristotle, Maister, and the Fat Smoker posted at Trust Matters, saying, “The old writers advice is to draw from your own experience. That’s what author David Maister did, starting with the fact that he’d been a fat smoker for almost all his life.”

Carol Bentley presents Death of the long letter posted at Carol Bentley.

Rob Moshe presents Live Your Best Life By Serving Others posted at Rob Schaumer, saying, “This is not necessarily a fitting post for your carnival. Once the project starts, each day I will recognize a fellow blogger that “Helped””

Amy Munnell presents Short Stuff…Say A Lot With A Little posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

Amy Munnell presents 5 Steps to a Better Interview… posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

Brandon Rike presents What To Do About BEING FUNNY, OR NOT BEING FUNNY posted at What To Do About.com.

Orna Ross presents Why F-R-E-E-Write? by Orna Ross posted at WRITING ADVICE & PUBLISHING ADVICE from Font, saying, “Scarlett Thomas tells people not to attend writing workshops or do FREE-Writing? Here’s why to ignore her”

Orna Ross presents How to Write Good Fiction: Advice from Kurt Vonnegut posted at WRITING ADVICE & PUBLISHING ADVICE from Font.

Tracy Coenen presents Sequence Inc. Fraud Files by Tracy Coenen » Blog Archive » My incredible book writing journey posted at FRAUDfiles.

Tracy Coenen presents Got the blogging blues? posted at FRAUDfiles.

articles

JRickG presents You Are No Different than Successful People posted at $5000 and Up.

Phil B. presents Bloggers Love Giving Advice « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, “The Internet, specifically bloggers, has started replacing self help books and television shows, just how the Internet is replacing traditional news media.”

Kenton Newby presents 10 Ways Article Writing Can Stack the Deck in Your Favor posted at KentonNewby.com.

FitBuff presents Power of the Mind – Much Stronger Than Your Biceps! posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, “If you’re a longtime FitBuff reader, you may remember I’ve personally experienced the power of mind over muscle in one of my workouts when I lifted 50 pounds with my mind!”

DotLobby presents Breaking Bad Habits – 4 Tips to Drop ‘Em All! posted at DotNLP, saying, “Luckily, there isn’t any addiction on Earth that hasn’t been beaten by someone, somewhere. You might just need a little help, so here are 4 tips to stop bad habits, and start some great ones!”

Jay Deragon presents What Do We Expect? posted at A Relationship Economy….. With WHom & What, saying, “The small could actually bury the BIG with the reach of influential conversations, one to one to a million. The power is shifting and the stakes are high. Be careful with what you expect or don’t expect from the social web.

What say you?”

Alex Hansen presents Ayreon – 01011001 posted at RockRoast, saying, “If nobody tells you what music is good and what music is bad, how will you know what you like?”

authors

Raymond Le Blanc presents What You Should Know about Autism Spectrum Disorders posted at Raymond Le Blanc.

blogs

Ask Matt presents Using Stumbleupon To Bring Visitors to Your Blog posted at BlogTactics.com, saying, “Using Stumbleupon to bring visitors to your blog.”

Ask Matt presents Free Traffic Tactic Videos and Understanding that SEO Malarky… | iamUncovered.com posted at BlogTactics.com, saying, “Free Traffic Tactic Videos and Understanding that SEO Malarky…”

Carol Bentley presents Reasons to unsubscribe. . . posted at Carol Bentley, saying, “Reasons to unsubscribe. . .
Sometimes stopping a subscription is the right thing to do.”

HL Grove presents 4 Steps To Creating Quality Content For Your Blog posted at MoneyWeb24.

Brent Diggs presents The Blog Of State Address posted at The Ominous Comma.

Doug Green presents Running Shoe Design Sucks posted at My-Caboodle, saying, “I’m a full time Internet writer living on an island – actually two islands – one North and the other Southern – and this is my own blog-for-the-heck-of-it.”

Alexander Kohl presents Freelance Writers Wanted | Freelance Writing Career posted at Freelance Writing Career.

James Brausch presents Costa Rican Food posted at Costa Rica HQ.

book reviews

GrrlScientist presents Sixty Days And Counting posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “by Kim Stanley Robinson, is the third installment of his Eco-political thriller trilogy series about global warming.”

Thomas Sweeney presents There Will Be Blood. posted at Think Soul Matter, saying, “Film Review – There Will Be Blood.”

Brian Terry presents Why Bill Gates is unreasonable posted at Big Selling Website Design.

Shamelle presents Your Inner CEO: Unleash The Executive Within posted at Enhance Life.

GrrlScientist presents The Invisible Cure: Africa, the West, and the Fight Against AIDS posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “the book by Helen Epstein, is a clear-eyed look at the African AIDS epidemic and the West’s often misguided attempts to assist in this battle.”

Tali presents The Rise of the Author – More than a Free Marketing Report posted at The Marketer Review, saying, “I’d love to call Mark Joyner the most revolutionary man in our industry, but he’s not just an internet marketer and hasn’t just been one for a long time.
I’d love to call Mark Joyner the most revolutionary man in our industry, but he’s not just an internet marketer and hasn’t just been one for a long time.”

Christina M. Rau presents Turning Poetry Pages posted at Livin’ The Dream (One Loser At A Time), saying, “Three books of poetry. Lots of poems to steal from.”

Raymond presents Rich Dad Poor Dad posted at Money Blue Book.

books

James DeLelys presents New Book/Video posted at Author James DeLelys, saying, “Video of new book!”

Amy Munnell presents Things that make you go “Hmmmm”….. posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “HarperCollins is offering readers the opportunity to “try before you buy” with their “Browse Inside” feature on their website. The company has a number of titles available for readers to read for free on the website, not just sample chapters, but the ENTIRE BOOK.”

Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips – Building A Personal Library posted at Tip Diva, saying, “Tip Diva loves reading and one day dreams of a house lined with shelves and shelves of books. She’s started to acquire quite a collection of her favorite books, and here’s how you, too, can build your own personal library.”

GrrlScientist presents The Birdbooker Report: Notes on Bird (and Natural History) Books posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “Update about natural history books that are either new to the market or will be published soon. [new book news]”

David Cassell presents The Why Behind Select Courses Blog posted at selectcoursesblog.com.

interviews

Cheryl Snell presents Shiva’s Arms: Chariots of Flame posted at FeedBulletin for: financialbullet.

Anne-Marie presents Five questions for Sara Zarr, author of the YA novel Sweethearts posted at My Readable Feast, saying, “Check out Sara’s latest novel, Sweethearts – fantastic!”

Amy Munnell presents An Interview…with screenwriter Michael Lucker posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “screenwriter Michael Lucker”

Amy Munnell presents An Interview…with humorist Cappy Hall Rearick posted at 3 Questions…and Answers, saying, “Humor columnist Cappy Hall Rearick”

Amy Munnell presents An Interview…with Novelist Julie L. Cannon posted at 3 Questions…and Answers.

Jade Blackwater presents Feature Artist Interview – Lisa D. Kastner posted at Brainripples, saying, “Brainripples shares a Feature Artist Interview with writer Lisa D. Kastner of the Rittenhouse area of Philadelphia, PA. Lisa Kastner writes fiction, and is currently shopping her psychological thriller novel “Jersey Diner”.”

life

DandelionBlog presents A Small Treatise on Happiness posted at Author Suzanne McMinn.

Alex Blackwell presents How Much is Too Much? posted at The Next 45 Years.

Lorace presents Looking to the Future, With a Smile posted at What Not Thought: How To’s and A Lot of Randomness.

Nick at BnG presents The Beernut Gallery – Gridlocked posted at The Beernut Gallery, saying, “An article detailing the joys of a traffic jam.”

cait presents Whats the crisis compadre? posted at cait, saying, “I couldn’t find humor up there…maybe its not so funny anyway…”

Alex Blackwell presents In the Blink of an Eye posted at The Next 45 Years.

philosophy

Thomas Sweeney presents To come into the present… posted at Think Soul Matter.

Pearl presents How the movie Groundhog Day can lead to a happier and more productive life posted at :: Interesting Observations ::.

Untruths presents Science + Religion = Conflict? posted at Untruths, saying, “Are Science and Religion Compatible?”

politics/current events

Kathie Goldsmith presents You know it?s getting ugly in some markets when? posted at Team Reba Real Estate, saying, “Team Reba is a real estate firm with a blog that covers many subject. This post is about the turn in the market and how one agent is being sued as a result of the housing bust.”

santousha presents *Seeking*Serenity*: Waiting on the strike to end and my concerns for Ms. Spears posted at Seeking Serenity.

articles

Bela presents How to Catch a Mouse | House Chronicles posted at House Chronicles.

blogs

Michael Bass presents Hints for writing great blog posts. posted at Debt Prison, saying, “Don’t write junk, anything worth writing is worth writing correctly. Bad articles will leave readers with a negative impression of your site.”

Nick Cobb presents Felonious Ramblings: My First Day In The Joint posted at Felonious Ramblings.

Warren Wong presents The Different Types Of Website Visitors And Their Value posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “An article describing the different types of websites visitors such as search engine, direct, referring, and social bookmarking and the value they bring to your website.”

Bob Younce presents Setting posted at Writing My First Novel.

articles

Michel Fortin presents Give Your Joint-Venture Offer An Extra Punch | The Michel Fortin Blog posted at The Michel Fortin Blog.

book reviews

GrrlScientist presents Speciation in Birds posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “by Trevor Price, is a wonderful review of the literature that reveals the process and nature of speciation in birds.”

GrrlScientist presents Attenborough in Paradise posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “A remarkable set of adventures to the South Pacific islands and beyond on DVD as David Attenborough pursues his most deeply burning passions. [educational DVD review]”

Peter Jones presents The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: New Mystery Keeps You Reading posted at Great New Books that Are a Must Read.

books

James DeLelys presents Am I the Only One? posted at Author James DeLelys, saying, “Prelude to a new book.”

Sarah presents Eugenides and Saunders read from My Mistress’s Sparrow Is Dead posted at SARAHSPY.

interviews

Marilyn Terrell presents The Inn at Little Washington Celebrates 30 Years posted at Intelligent Travel, saying, “Susan O’Keefe interviews the celebrated chef-innkeeper at the Inn at Little Washington, Patrick O’Connell, as his inn and restaurant turn 30.”

life

Madeleine Begun Kane presents One Car Guaranty I?d Gladly Forgo posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Alex Blackwell presents And a Side Order of Positive Attitude, Too Please posted at The Next 45 Years.

Justin Duval presents www.DarkGrin.com – mind TRIP posted at The Dark Grin, saying, “Philosophical creative writing piece.”

Joshua Wagner presents Getting Your Ducks in a Row posted at Total Possibility.

Joshua Wagner presents Love and Fear posted at Total Possibility.

Alex Blackwell presents Feel the Music in You posted at The Next 45 Years, saying, “While allowing my heart to hear the words to the song, it occurred to me that I did indeed own my life. Regret and shame were just pieces of garbage I had been carrying around long enough. But there was still plenty of time and there was still plenty of hope and fight left in me.”

philosophy

Akemi presents Belief can Change the Course of Life posted at Gratitude Magic.

Samuel Bryson presents The Philosophy of Happiness – Accepting Yourself posted at Total Wellbeing.

Scholars & Rogues presents A human thinking trap (and how to avoid it) posted at Scholars and Rogues, saying, “Thank you for your consideration.”

politics/current events

Meggie Pace presents Craft Research: Craft 2.0 posted at Earthly Paradise, saying, “The arts and crafts movement is experiencing an incredible revival on the web. This article discusses the movement’s origins and future.”

Heidi Whitaker presents Viral Blogging: What is the Price of Profiting from the Politics of Bigotry and Hate? posted at Work from Home Choices, saying, “This article discusses how political blogs are stirring up hatred and bigotry.”

Cheryl presents Cop a plea: to criminal stupidity posted at Glob-a-log, saying, “Dimwitted cops and criminals”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
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Jeremy C. Shipp is an imaginative writer with a diverse fan base. He’s been praised by readers and fellow writers, stalked by mad gnomes, hunted by giddy mimes, and interviewed by the devil itself. Vacation, his first book published by the independent Raw Dog Screaming Press, is a surreal, fantastic trip into a futuristic underground world in which nothing is quite what it seems–including one’s own actions, or lack thereof. This unique and unforgettable work has amassed plenty of favorable reviews, and some of Shipp’s other stories have been published in popular lit magazines such as ChiZine and Cemetery Dance.

In this interview, Shipp entertains with his sharp wit as he answers questions about Vacation, his other endeavors, and the creative process.

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INTERVIEW WITH JEREMY C. SHIPP

NG: You started writing at the age of 13. What–or who–got you started?

JS: I think my thought process at the age of 13 was something like this: “I like books. Why don’t I write one? That would be fun.” And I’ve been writing almost every day ever since. But even before that, I had an assignment in 4th grade to write a short story. My story ended up not-so-short, and I really enjoyed the experience. And before I could write, I would play pretend with my brothers, with complex plots and characters. And before that, when I was a wee babe, my favorite toy was a pen. And before that, when I was just a twinkle in my father’s eye, I would flash stories about my past lives, in Morse code.

NG: What sparked the idea for Vacation?

JS: Vacation was a conglomeration of various ideas and passions about the world, that all sort of smashed together in my head at once. One of my major ideas, however, was the notion that a person could travel the globe, jump from resource bubble to resource bubble, and never really get a clear picture of what’s going on.

NG: You employ a non-linear style in the telling of the story. Was this a natural part of your writing process, was it something you intended, or both?

JS: Every aspect of writing Vacation felt very natural to me, and at the same time, my stylistic choices were made consciously.

I don’t think I’ve ever revealed this publicly before, but I used to be afraid of writing first person narratives of any kind. For most of my writing career, I avoided first person like the gnome plague. But then, deep down, I knew first person was the right choice for Vacation, so I gave it a try. And I’m so glad I did. I’d never felt so connected with my voice.

NG: What was your experience like in trying to get the book published?

JS: Getting Vacation published wasn’t too difficult, but the road leading up to Vacation was a crooked one, filled with potholes and swarming with killer mimes. As you know, I started writing books when I was 13, so I wrote over 10 novels before this one. I’ve received many, many rejection letters over the years. Which is actually a good thing. I’m very happy that Vacation is my debut novel, because I feel so passionate about the story.

Even though getting the book published didn’t take me years and numerous rejection letters, the events wouldn’t have unfolded the way they did if publishers like Raw Dog Screaming Press didn’t exist. I think it’s awesome that there are publishers out there who actually seek out outside-of-the-box/bizarro/weird stories.

NG: What authors have inspired you as a writer?

JS: When I was kid, I was very much inspired by HG Wells. Later on, I felt a deep connection with the works of Kurt Vonnegut, Arundhati Roy, George Orwell, Anthony Burgess. Right now, I’m really digging Haruki Murakami.

NG: You also make short films and compose music. What other projects in those fields are you working on? What other writing projects?

JS: The short film I wrote entitled EGG is currently in production (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=25076212). It’s very strange, very atmospheric. I don’t want to say too much about it, but I will say that a mime dies. I’m working on a few other short film screenplays.

My short story collection Sheep and Wolves is being published later this year, via Raw Dog. There’s a good possibility that the DVD of EGG is going to come with the collection.

I’m also writing a new novel called Cursed. If all goes well, it should be published in 2009.

NG: Do you currently have an agent, and if so, what is your advice to writers seeking representation?

JS: I don’t have an agent at this point. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with writers having agents, and I may have one some day.

I’ve heard it told that this is a great site for finding recommended agents:
http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm.

NG: What other lit works of yours are available?

JS: Here are some works of mine that can be read online for free:

CAMP (http://chizine.com/camp.htm)
NIGHTMARE MAN (http://www.hub-mag.co.uk/images/Hub_29.pdf)
THE HOLE (http://www.angelfire.com/punk/theswallowstail/ISSUE_4.pdf)
LOSING (http://www.deepoutside.com/Fiction/story200208.shtml)
WASTEWORLD (http://www.theharrow.com/journal/index.php/journal/article/viewArticle/1994/571)
THE WANT (http://www.bloodrosemag.com/archives/sep_2003/want.html)
PARSNIP THE ARTIST (http://www.hauntedhousedressing.com/parsnip.htm)
METAL THE REBEL (http://www.hauntedhousedressing.com/metal.htm)

I also have stories in various print magazines and anthologies. All that info lives at my website: (www.hauntedhousedressing.com).

Also, I’d like to mention (because I’m excited as heck) that my short story “Inside” is set to appear in an upcoming issue of Cemetery Dance.

NG: How much of your own world view is present in Vacation and how much of it is the characters’? Are the two intertwined?

JS: Vacation is a book written from my heart, my soul, my gut, my spleen. Much of the passion that fueled this book came from my love for the life on this planet, and my disgust toward those systems that cause suffering. So, many ideas that are important to me found their way into novel. These ideas were, of course, interpreted by different characters in different ways. None of the characters believe what I believe, 100%. I don’t think I could ever write a character like that, unless it was an autobiography.

NG: What does it mean to you to be a writer, an artist?

JS: First of all, I want to say that I don’t believe there’s one right way to be an artist. Everyone has different experiences and different personal boundaries–which is all peachy keen to the extreme. But for me, being a writer means that writing is an important part of my life. I know that if I was stuck on a desert island (or a dessert island), I would still create stories, because it’s part of who I am. I am, however, very happy that I’m not stuck on a dessert island. For one, I’d lose all teeth within a few years. But more importantly, sharing my stories with others is a wonderful experience.

NG: What do you hope readers will take from reading Vacation?

JS: It’s always nice when a reader writes to me and tells me that the book affected them in some meaningful way. Maybe they see the world a little different. Maybe they see that adverbs aren’t always a necessity, after all. In any case, I hope the experience of reading Vacation is both weird and positive.

NG: Any advice for young, aspiring writers?

JS: Well, let’s see. You should know–first and foremost–that you don’t need anybody’s approval into order to become a writer. You don’t need a degree, and you don’t need your work published, and you don’t need validation. If you feel like a writer, then you’re a writer. Things were a lot easier for me, once I realized that. I actually accomplished a lot more once I lifted that co-dependent pressure off my shoulders. This may not be advice that anyone needs.

I suppose I just wish that someone had told me all that, when I was first starting out. Another bit of advice—don’t worry about rejection letters. They’re actually good for writers. They’ve got a high omega-3 content, and they’re delicious. But seriously, even if one editor doesn’t want your story, it doesn’t mean that another one won’t love it. The game is about finding those people who connect with your work. So, in conclusion, just keep writing and have a good time with it, and everything’ll be peachy.

You can visit Jeremy’s website at http://www.hauntedhousedressing.com and his Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/jeremywriter. You can purchase Vacation at http://www.rawdogscreaming.com/vacation.
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Nancy O. Greene
http://www.portraits.bravehost.com

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Welcome to the January 29, 2008 edition of writers from across the blogosphere. Click, read, Enjoy!

writing

Vaibhav Gadodia presents Habitually Good » Blog Archive » Writer’s block – what is that? posted at Habitually Good.

GrrlScientist presents Today’s Adventure in The Land of Medicine posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “After a day like this, I would be crazy, if I wasn’t crazy already.”

Rebecca Suzanne Dean presents How To Kick Writers? Block posted at Rebecca Dean.

Richard Lee presents How To Write Magnetic Headlines posted at Richard Lee.

Brent Diggs presents Writing Prompts for the Not-So-Prompt posted at The Ominous Comma, saying, “Humor for writers”

Jessse Hines presents The Best Writing Advice I Ever Received posted at Vigorous Writing.

Jessse Hines presents Got Writer’s Block? Just Eat that Frog. posted at Vigorous Writing.

blue skelton presents The First Junkie Ninja Monologue posted at This Wasted Monologue, saying, “Scene: Present Day, Hospital Waiting Room – Blue Skelton is reflecting on the imminent birth of his first child.”

ScottG presents Notebook on a Passion: The Writer Begins with the Begiining posted at Notebook on a Passion, saying, “Writers write to influence their readers, their preachers, their auditors, but always, at bottom, to be more themselves.
–Aldous Huxley”

Steve Osborne presents First Things First posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

Thursday Bram presents What If? Emergency Planning for Your Writing posted at thursdaybram.com.

GrrlScientist presents Bridge To Opportunity (Reprise) posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “This is just a story about the Brooklyn Bridge, as written by a non-native NYCer; me! Includes history of the bridge and Emily Roebling’s remarkable contribution to its completion.”

Steve Osborne presents “Are You Done Yet?” posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

Ward Tipton presents Writing in Earnest | The Write Page posted at The Online Writing Resource Center, saying, “While freelance writing is great in many ways, wouldn’t it be nice to have your name on your writing and put the money it earned in your own pocket? I was finally able to get started doing this.”

Carol Bentley presents 4 easy steps to authorship. . . posted at Carol Bentley.

Steve Osborne presents The Well/Good Conundrum posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years experience. His blog teaches writing rules, strategies and techniques in a memorable, easy-to-understand way, spiced with a bit of humor.”

Alfa King presents Degree or experience? posted at Alfa King Memories.

Steve Osborne presents E-Mail Etiquette posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Steve Osborne, author of “Writing Tips for the Real World,” is a professional freelance writer and writing instructor with over 20 years of experience.”

Sagar presents Rookie Mistakes: 15 Blunders New Freelancers Make and How to Avoid Them posted at Bootstrapper.

Alfa King presents Clarity and Brevity Make Good Blogging posted at Alfa King Memories.

articles

Orna Ross presents Planning Your Writing posted at WRITING ADVICE & PUBLISHING ADVICE from Font, saying, “Article on the importance of planning for writers”

Bela presents How to Catch a Mouse | House Chronicles posted at House Chronicles.

blogs

Michael Bass presents Hints for writing great blog posts. posted at Debt Prison, saying, “Don’t write junk, anything worth writing is worth writing correctly. Bad articles will leave readers with a negative impression of your site.”

Nick Cobb presents Felonious Ramblings: My First Day In The Joint posted at Felonious Ramblings.

Warren Wong presents The Different Types Of Website Visitors And Their Value posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “An article describing the different types of websites visitors such as search engine, direct, referring, and social bookmarking and the value they bring to your website.”

Bob Younce presents Setting posted at Writing My First Novel.

book reviews

GrrlScientist presents Speciation in Birds posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “by Trevor Price, is a wonderful review of the literature that reveals the process and nature of speciation in birds.”

GrrlScientist presents Attenborough in Paradise posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “A remarkable set of adventures to the South Pacific islands and beyond on DVD as David Attenborough pursues his most deeply burning passions. [educational DVD review]”

Peter Jones presents The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: New Mystery Keeps You Reading posted at Great New Books that Are a Must Read.

books

James DeLelys presents Am I the Only One? posted at Author James DeLelys, saying, “Prelude to a new book.”

Sarah presents Eugenides and Saunders read from My Mistress’s Sparrow Is Dead posted at SARAHSPY.

interviews

Marilyn Terrell presents The Inn at Little Washington Celebrates 30 Years posted at Intelligent Travel, saying, “Susan O’Keefe interviews the celebrated chef-innkeeper at the Inn at Little Washington, Patrick O’Connell, as his inn and restaurant turn 30.”

life

Madeleine Begun Kane presents One Car Guaranty I?d Gladly Forgo posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Alex Blackwell presents And a Side Order of Positive Attitude, Too Please posted at The Next 45 Years.

Justin Duval presents www.DarkGrin.com – mind TRIP posted at The Dark Grin, saying, “Philosophical creative writing piece.”

Joshua Wagner presents Getting Your Ducks in a Row posted at Total Possibility.

Joshua Wagner presents Love and Fear posted at Total Possibility.

Alex Blackwell presents Feel the Music in You posted at The Next 45 Years, saying, “While allowing my heart to hear the words to the song, it occurred to me that I did indeed own my life. Regret and shame were just pieces of garbage I had been carrying around long enough. But there was still plenty of time and there was still plenty of hope and fight left in me.”

philosophy

Akemi presents Belief can Change the Course of Life posted at Gratitude Magic.

Samuel Bryson presents The Philosophy of Happiness – Accepting Yourself posted at Total Wellbeing.

Scholars & Rogues presents A human thinking trap (and how to avoid it) posted at Scholars and Rogues, saying, “Thank you for your consideration.”

politics/current events

Meggie Pace presents Craft Research: Craft 2.0 posted at Earthly Paradise, saying, “The arts and crafts movement is experiencing an incredible revival on the web. This article discusses the movement’s origins and future.”

Heidi Whitaker presents Viral Blogging: What is the Price of Profiting from the Politics of Bigotry and Hate? posted at Work from Home Choices, saying, “This article discusses how political blogs are stirring up hatred and bigotry.”

Cheryl presents Cop a plea: to criminal stupidity posted at Glob-a-log, saying, “Dimwitted cops and criminals”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
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Welcome to the January 5, 2008 edition of writers from across the blogosphere. Enjoy!

writing

M. Cruz presents Developing Unique Characters – Its The Little Things That Count! posted at NOIRLECROI.COM.

Steve Osborne presents Proofreading Tips posted at TheWritersBag.com, saying, “Writing tips for the real world, from a professional writer.”

Missy presents It may not be a traditional dance, but it’s a dance just the same posted at Incurable Disease of Writing, saying, “A musical revelation freed me from my self-doubt and writing is back on track.”

Sean-Paul Kelley presents Recreating Long Lost Drama: The Xiongnu and the Han, 200BC posted at The Agonist, saying, “The question I’m facing right now is how to bring out the inherent drama of an event that took place more than two thousand years ago and is little known in the West.”

Carol Bentley presents The power of words. . . posted at Carol Bentley.

Ward Tipton presents Coming Write Up | The Write Page posted at The Online Writing Resource Center, saying, “Many people would like to get into writing but either have no knowledge about where to get started or worse, they become consumed by “analysis paralysis” or feelings of insecurity because they doubt themselves. Doubt no more!”

Jason Mueller presents Poem of Pain posted at Over Ten Years Serving the Reading Public.

Rebecca Wallace-Segall presents Yay, Motivation! posted at a community of young writers in new york city.

Nicola Marsh presents Romance, rumours and rogues posted at Romance, rumours and rogues.

Carol Bentley presents Do your headlines grab your reader?s undivided attention posted at Carol Bentley.

Jason Mueller presents Plausible Denial posted at Over Ten Years Serving the Reading Public.

Tali presents THE NIGHT-CELL posted at Helium – Where Knowledge Rules, saying, “I’m trying to build up this character, while writing a few shorts, involving her. This is the first.”

authors

Jason presents ExecutedToday.com » 1849: Not Fyodor Dostoyevsky posted at Executed Today, saying, “We catch up with Fyodor Dostoyevsky — including some original translation of his “holy crap, I’m alive” message — on the anniversary of his mock-execution.”

Kilroy_60 presents Kilroy Fear & Loathing, A Hunter S. Thompson tribute – A business management consultant, spiritualist & writer looks at life – Sex Drugs Rock & Roll posted at Fear And Loathing – The Gonzo Papers.

blogs

Jeanie Marshall presents Blogging for Coaches, Consultants, and Other Professionals posted at JMviews Meditation and Empowerment, saying, “Over the years while coaching and consulting, I have encouraged many of my clients to write. Sometimes I suggest they write to sort out ideas, with no intention for publishing or even sharing the writing with anyone. Other times, I suggest they write so that they eventually publish something. More and more, I am suggesting that my clients write a blog. The blog is one of those very powerful mechanisms, readily available.”

Alfa King presents Blogging year, against all odds posted at Alfa King Memories.

Susan presents Monetarizing Your Travel Blog posted at The Innovative Traveler, saying, “Montearize Your Travel Blog”

Warren Wong presents How To Start A Successful Blog posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “Tips on how to start a successful blog and what it takes to succeed.”

articles

Joshua Seth presents Getting Lost in Istanbul posted at Joshua Seth Blog, saying, “A Voyage to feel the taste of Old Europe through Hippodrome, the site of chariot races in old Constantinople and the Egyptian obelisk.”

Jim Sansi presents PR What? posted at The Kaizen Business.

book reviews

John presents Review: Of a Feather posted at A DC Birding Blog.

Sean-Paul Kelley presents So, You Want To Travel The Silk Road? posted at The Agonist, saying, “In his new book, Shadow of the Silk Road, Colin Thubron makes clear the magnitude of the task for writers who want to tackle the Silk Road. (I’m one of those writers.)”

Tiffany Washko presents Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal! posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

GrrlScientist presents The Snoring Bird posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “This book by Bernd Heinrich, a noted biologist, is a memoir that documents his father’s life and their relationship, and how his father influenced the scientist and the man that the author became. [book review]”

Torrie presents Book Review: Father’s Aren’t Supposed to Die posted at A Time of Grief.

interviews

Jeanie Marshall presents Jeanie Marshall Interviews Peter Shepherd posted at JMviews Meditation and Empowerment, saying, “Jeanie Marshall interviews Peter Shepherd, who is the Owner of Tools for Transformation, a personal development site which he started in 1997. He offers a considerable amount of valuable information at his web site, in his products, and through his mailings.”

Jason presents 1962: Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin posted at Executed Today, saying, “This is an interview I conducted recently with Canadian journalist Robert Hoshowsky on his recent book “The Last To Die” — about the last men hanged in Canada.”

life

Joshua C. Karlin presents Why You Need to Ask posted at Marketing & Fundraising Ideas.

Edith presents How to Stay Focused posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act., saying, “Are you distracted? Are you thinking about 3 things at the same time? Do you have more than 3 screens opened on your computer right now? If you said yes to any of the questions above, please stay focused here and read on.”

Rebecca Wallace-Segall presents Poetry Slam–Now That’s a Competition posted at a community of young writers in new york city.

John Crenshaw presents “He Tells Me To Burn Things” posted at Dominate Your Life, saying, “How do you distinguish good advice from bad, how do you know when someone is just telling you to “burn things?””

Warren Wong presents Conversation Skills / Tips: How To Have A Good Conversation posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, “Tips to improve your conversation skills and help you have a good conversation!”

Chickens in the Road presents The Slanted Little House posted at Suzanne McMinn, saying, “A writer at a turning point in her life picks up her laptop and moves to the country with her three children to find the real meaning of home–and life.”

Alex Blackwell presents Ask for What You Want posted at The Next 45 Years.

Justin Duval presents www.darkgrin.com – Why You Choose to Get Angry posted at The Dark Grin, saying, “Check out why you choose to get angry!”

Terry Dean presents Overcome Fear posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Carol Bentley presents Invitation to birthday celebration posted at Carol Bentley.

philosophy

Meggie Pace presents A Beautiful House and Books–The Most Important Things in Life? posted at Earthly Paradise, saying, “William Morris’ philosophy integrated art, philosophy and “everyday life” in a way that almost seems impossible to today’s reader. He once argued that having a beautiful home and books were two of the most important things in life. Was he right? On reflection, I think he was!”

CG Walters presents Truth is But a Resting Place posted at Into the Mist, saying, “Many people are willing to accept that experiences and memories of the past become guides for our choices in the present, thereby dictating the future. Most people see these memories or experiences as defined once and never changing. I, on the other hand, am forced to view them as a more fluid commodity.”

Justin Duval presents www.darkgrin.com – The Spectrum of Extremes posted at The Dark Grin.

Pearl presents Spreading the Love via Compassion posted at :: Interesting Observations ::, saying, “Whats your definition of compassion?”

Matthew Spears presents Trusting Perceptions and Higher Communication posted at Loving Awareness, saying, “One of the most fundamental aspect of any growth or is the trust in one’s own perception. There is no question it is an incomplete perception; as a human, you will not see even a minuscule fraction of the totality of what’s out there, or that of your self. But it is still your perception. It is your link to your power. It is the basis for all growth, for if you rely on someone else’s eyes and intuition, you are not living your own life, discovering your own power, but are being a guinea pig for other’s experiments”

politics/current events

Jason Hughey presents The Assasination of Benazir Bhutto posted at Logical Consistency, saying, “Pakistan is emerging as a crisis. Read how the assassination of opposition leader, Bhutto, represents more serious and deadly problems, not only for Pakistan, but for the world.”

Sholom Anarchy presents Stumping for Ron Paul again posted at Anarcho-Judaism.

James K. Bashkin presents Kicked out of Cuba! “When crime fiction is a crime” by K Henkel: Fact and Fiction collide, with serious consequences. posted at Nearly nothing but novels, saying, “The fragility of free speech is indicated by this report of a Cuban writer’s exile in Germany.”

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Dear Editor: Enough With The Polls, Already! posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.

humor

Jason Mueller presents Beer, Bear, Body Bag: The Inspirational Story of What Not to Feed Yogi posted at Over Ten Years Serving the Reading Public.

contests

Susan presents New Podcast Documentary Contest posted at The Innovative Traveler.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
writers from across the blogosphere
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page
.

Technorati tags:

, .

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Mare Cromwell is the author of the award-winning book If I Gave You God’s Phone Number . . . Searching for Spirituality in America. It was a finalist in the ForeWord Magazine 2003 Book of the Year Awards and received honorable mention in the 2003 DIY Book Competition. We met at a small coffee shop a little while ago to discuss her book, the interviews featured in the work, why she decided to write it and self-publish, and her upcoming projects.

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If I Gave You God’s Phone Number . . . explores spirituality from many different perspectives—from an 8 year old child raised Episcopalian, to an atheist, a prison inmate, a Sufi spiritual master and others. The book was self-published through her company, Pamoon Press (http://www.pamoonpress.com). As many know, self-publishing in this way is far from easy and often very costly. It requires–among other things–purchasing one’s own block of ISBNs, finding a printer, hiring an editor, and finding a cover designer. For those that are interested in knowing more about it, this interview may also help to shed some light on the process.

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About the Author (from the author website): Mare Cromwell is the Director of Sacred Dog Productions. She is a sustainability specialist and author. With a Masters in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan, she has worked in the environmental field for 26 years both internationally and locally in the Baltimore-Washington region. Most recently Mare was the Executive Director of the Prettyboy Watershed Alliance. She trained in The Natural Step framework under Karl-Henrik Robért and Paul Hawken and has led dozens of sustainability workshops in the Mid-Atlantic region. In addition to her sustainability consulting efforts, Mare occasionally speaks on Deep Ecology, simplicity and “Right Relationship”.

Interview with Mare Cromwell
NG: What inspired you to seek out different perspectives for this book?

MC: I was raised Catholic but since my early twenties I was sort of spirituality shopping, or whatever you want to call it, and I wrote the book in my thirties. The Catholic church didn’t fill me up; while there are many good points about the religion, it just wasn’t for me. It took me seven years from the start of the book to complete it.

NG: What does the question mean to you?

MC: Well, spirituality is really an ongoing thing. It’s not like you can just come to a point where you’ve stopped growing spiritually. It’s an ongoing dialog, so I guess that would really be it. The ongoing activity of asking questions and finding your personal spiritual answers that resonate and feel like spiritual truths.

NG: What interview did you find yourself connecting with the most when you edited the book?

MC: There are so many. As you know, there is the Sufi mystic, and that interview took place just after 9/11, so that was very powerful. But I didn’t connect with the religion itself, you know what I mean? Now I’m studying with a Native American spiritual healer, and that’s what works for me.

NG: You encountered some interesting people while you were doing your book tour for this book. Some people loved it, some thought it was sacrilegious. Can you tell us a little about that?

MC: It was an adventure. There were a lot of people that wanted to debate and get into arguments about what is spiritually right and what is not right, and that’s not what I’m about. I wanted to present this for people to make up their own minds, to ask their own questions about who they are and what a spiritual life means for them, and for people to see religion and spirituality from other points of view. And there were times when I got rather upset, when people said some pretty hateful things.

NG: Why did you decide to form your own publishing company for If I Gave You God’s Phone Number . . . ?

MC: There were a number of reasons for that. I had sent it out to a few agents but did not find one that understood what I was trying to do. They wanted to change the title or other things about it because they weren’t sure how to promote it to publishers. It had God in the title, but it didn’t fit strictly into the Christian category. Also, time was a factor. I just wanted to put it out there. The book took years to write, and I didn’t want to wait any longer to have it published the way I wanted it published.

NG: What was the process like?

MC: I hired a consultant and printed about 10,000 hardcover copies. The paper used for the book was 100% recycled so there were no trees cut, and that was an expensive process. The company had to be formed, ISBN purchased. And there was a book designer, a copy editor. There are a lot of people you need to hire to put out a book, you have to hire everyone yourself and make sure they understand your vision. This was before Print on Demand (POD) was really an alternative, when most of the POD companies you see now were in their infancy and didn’t provide many options, like editing or custom cover designs, or the option to ship books to stores on a ‘return’ policy–a big factor in getting your book accepted by book stores. Getting a book distributed successfully to a broad set of bookstores is another huge challenge for small mom and pop publishers. I liked the process of putting everything together, but it was difficult.

NG: What about promotion?

MC: That’s a huge amount of work also. I worked with several promotional companies which were not inexpensive. I spoke at churches, went on book tours all over the country, did radio shows, and arranged other speaking engagements. There’s so much to go through, and it really is amazing if you break even. I still have copies of the book at my house, if anyone would like to purchase one!

NG: What are you working on now?

MC: I’m working on a spiritual journey memoir. It incorporates much of what I’ve studied—yoga, Catholicism, and it covers my work with the Cherokee spiritual teacher.

NG: How has working on If I Gave You God’s Phone Number . . . prepared you for your next project?

MC: I’m just writing and not concentrating on anything but that. Obviously you want your book to be interesting. I think it’s a rare person that doesn’t care about the reader. And that is a part of the promotional aspect. But right now I’m just writing, just trying to get it all out; I’m not worrying about that aspect.

NG: What was the hardest thing about working on your last book?

MC: Promotion, definitely. Major reviewers aren’t often interested in self-published books. And I had a hard time, I think mostly because God was so prominent in the title. One promotional company stated, after the fact, that they believe that they were not able to get good publicity on the book because of that. Barnes and Noble initially shelved the book in the Christian Inspiration section, but the book is far more than that. However, there are no general spirituality sections in their stores. I eventually convinced them to put it in the New Age section. It seemed the only okay fit for the book. Libraries are a huge chunk of the market, but they base their selection primarily on certain types of reviews, like the Library Journal. And publications like that are wary of self-published books no matter what.

NG: What advice would you give to writers?

MC: Just get it written. Don’t criticize yourself while you’re writing, because there are going to be plenty of people/editors out there to do that when you’re finished with the book. Don’t give up, just allow the creative process. For anyone interested in publishing their writing, I highly recommend going to Elizabeth Gilbert’s website [http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/writing.htm. Author of Eat, Pray, Love]. She has posted a letter that she wrote for writers, and it gives the best advice to encourage us writers to not get held up by our internal critical voice.

If I Gave You God’s Phone Number . . . can be purchased at the book website at http://www.tocallgod.net/html/tcg_orde.html, or at any online book vendor site. You can also visit Mare Cromwell’s website at http://www.sacreddogllc.com.

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Looks like another great author is lined up for the MWA 20th Anniversary Conference!

MARYLAND WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Eric D. Goodman, MWA Public Relations Director

DATE: November 2, 2007

EMAIL: edgewriter @ gmail.com


MONTELEONE KEYNOTES MARYLAND WRITERS’ CONFERENCE

Maryland author Thomas F. Monteleone is confirmed as the keynote speaker for the Maryland Writers’ Association 20th Anniversary Conference.

The Conference, which draws writers from across the state of Maryland and beyond, takes place on Saturday, May 3, 2008 from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Maritime Institute of Technology conference center. The address is 692 Maritime Boulevard, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090.

Thomas F. Monteleone has been a professional writer since 1972, and is four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He has published more than 100 short stories in numerous magazines and anthologies. His stories have been nominated for many awards, and have appeared in a number of best-of-the-year compilations.

He has written thirty-six books, including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel.

Monteleone is one of many successful authors presenting an array of literary topics at the day-long conference.

Join local experts and established writers for an opportunity to hone your craft in sessions led by established authors, instructors, and experts. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, there’s plenty for you at the conference. Come explore the many worlds of writing.

Register now to take advantage of our EARLY BIRD SPECIAL — now through December 31!

To register, or for more information, visit the conference website.

http://www.marylandwriters.org/conferences.html

Note to Editors: Thomas F. Monteleone is available for interview. If you would like to write a story about the conference and set up an interview with Mr. Monteleone, please contact the Conference Coordinator, Denise Camacho, at dbcamacho@hotmail.com.

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Welcome to the November 5, 2007 edition of writers from across the blogosphere. Enjoy some new book reviews, interviews, politics and much more!

Phil B. presents Recycle Christmas Trees « Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, “It is almost that time of year again when we buy a new Christmas tree. Are you going to just throw it away when done with it?”

fabulousana presents Eclectic Closet : Pride And Prejudice posted at eclectic-closet.

articles

Roger presents Racism, Beyonce, political convenience, and shitty pre-war coverage of Iran posted at mask of anarchy, saying, “This world is increasingly run and reported on by people eager to put square pegs into round bones.”

GrrlScientist presents To The Creationists: Even WORDS Evolve! posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “[This link is about some new linguistics data — which may or may not be appropriate for your carnival]
Or; How ‘stode’ became ‘studied’. This piece explores the rate of evolutionary change in languages and finds that these rates of change are similar to the evolutionary rate of genes.”

Tiffany Colter presents Is Fear Blocking you? posted at Writing Career Coach.

Sagar presents The Digg Toolbox: 70+ Digg-related Scripts, Tools, and Tutorials posted at Virtual Hosting.

blogs

GrrlScientist presents Schemochromes: The Physics of Structural Plumage Colors posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “The physics of why blue feathers are .. well, blue in color.”

book reviews

Mike Bergin presents Soaring with Fidel posted at 10,000 Birds, saying, “Here’s my review of Soaring with Fidel with a response from the author! Thanks.”

James K. Bashkin presents A day without murder; reviews of Chekhov and David Lodge’s Author, Author posted at Nearly nothing but novels, saying, “My impressions of fiction, including crime fiction. To quote from my own writing on crimespace.com, “Crime fiction is such a pleasure, the psychology of this sometimes troubles me (but I know I can quit whenever I want to).” So today I prove that I really can quit whenever I want to. Today is a day for other types of fiction.”

SJ Yee presents The FAQ Book on Public Speaking posted at Personal Development for the Book Smart.

GrrlScientist presents Father Knows Less posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “The new book by Wendell Jamieson, is a father’s delightful and interesting quest to find the answers to his young son’s questions. [book review]”

GrrlScientist presents Cloning: A Beginner’s Guide posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “by Aaron Levine, is one of the best-written books I’ve ever read about the history, process and ethics of cloning technology and stem cell research. Highly recommended. [book review]”

James DeLelys presents WORDS A Prophecy Fulfilled | New Scriptures: Spiritual Growth, Healing, Help and Comfort posted at New Books, saying, “Had to share this book with you entitled WORDS A Prophecy Fulfilled. A great book that envokes very deep thought. Yet, it is simply written with a portion of its’ contents written in story form. This book may be read over and over again… always something new is found within its’ pages; Magical!”

Stirling Newberry presents The Continuing Tales of Captain Carnage posted at The Agonist, saying, “Michio Kakutani’s New York Times review of Norman Podhoretz’s book, “World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism,” is the nicest review of mindless bellicosity you are ever going to read in English.”

GrrlScientist presents Bait and Switch posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “Inspired by the book by Barbara Ehrenreich, which describes the tribulations faced by job seeking white-collar workers who are “in transition”, I expound upon these challenges while also reviewing this book.”

interviews

Jeanie Marshall presents Jeanie Marshall Interviews Priscilla Palmer, Creator of the Personal Development List posted at JMviews Meditation and Empowerment, saying, “Priscilla Palmer began the Personal Development List of Blogs, which has been circulating the Internet. To thank her, I interviewed her for my blog.”

Linda Jo Martin presents Writing Festival Friday #5 – Featuring Mel Trent posted at Linda Jo Martin.

life

Priya Darshini Shivakumar presents Memoirs of Bygone New Year Eves posted at A screenful of thoughts, saying, “Nostalgia of bygone happy times”

John Crenshaw presents Are You Proactive or Reactive? posted at Dominate Your Life, saying, “You can learn a lot about how to be successful in life and business by studying what works for people in really intense situations. Am I ever going to be so bombarded with information that I’m incapable of processing it all?”

politics/current events

Roger presents Chilling: mass slaughter, live cremations & Burma?s last blogger posted at typing is not activism…., saying, “This is very much a summary of some of the leading edge coverage of Burma, but what I have found on these sources has not yet been widely reported, and I find both this information and the relative silence from world media chilling and sickening.”

phil F. presents SUNDAY FEATURE: Is Elizabeth Edwards Throwing a Wrench in the Campaign? posted at e-news daily.

writing

Susan Johnston presents 5 Hints for Writing Headlines posted at The Urban Muse.

InterfaceLeader presents Dealing with Writer’s Block posted at Words Words Words, saying, “Some tips on dealing with writer’s block.”

Rebecca Wallace-Segall presents When one boy plays video games… he finds inspiration posted at a community of young writers in new york city.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
writers from across the blogosphere
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

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Not only is the book reading like a Who’s Who, read below for the HUGE NEWS!

“The Mango Tree Cafe, Loi Kroh Road” is….

* Being shown at the Beijing, China International Book Fair at the end of this month

* Competing for Best Fiction Novel according to USABookNews.com

* Accumulating Interview Requests from

– Linda Della Donna (http://www.griefcase.blogspot.com/)
– Revvell (http://www.revvellations.com/)
– Virtual Book Review (http://www.virtualbookreview.com/)

* Selected as Book of the Month to read by an Australian book club

* Advertised heavily in “Ideas, Goals and Dreams” Magazine to premier in Sept 2007

* Scheduled to be translated into Chinese and Mandarin languages

AND THE HUGE NEWS

“The Mango Tree Cafe, Loi Kroh Road” will compete for

Best Fiction Novel for the Pulitzer Prize!!!!

GET YOUR COPY NOW: ON AMAZON

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I would just like to announce that for a limited time (one month) you can purchase Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King and Portraits in the Dark together on Amazon.com. By purchasing together, you will save an additional 5%.

And while you’re at it, go see the movie “1408” if you haven’t already. I’ll be seeing the movie soon and will let you know what I think of how it compares to the short story!

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Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King and Portraits in the Dark by Nancy O. Greene on Amazon.

AUTHORS OF MYSPACE INTERVIEW.

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I was recently interviewed by author R.M. Hamilton on Authors of Myspace. For those that are interested in learning a little bit more about me and my first book, Portraits in the Dark: A Collection of Short Stories, you can read the interview here:

AUTHORS OF MYSPACE.

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Portraits in the Dark on Barnes and Noble.com.

Portraits in the Dark on Amazon.

Portraits in the Dark through BookSense.

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