Showing posts with label author. Show all posts
Showing posts with label author. Show all posts

Friday, April 3, 2020

Friday Author Spotlight Interview with Diana Waters




Friday Author Spotlight Interview 

with Diana Waters 






  1. If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
Despite having lived in Japan for several years in the past, I’ve never written a book with that setting (probably mostly because so far, I’ve written only fantasy, and mostly of the alternative-world variety at that). If I was going to write a contemporary present-day romance though – and I’m not counting out the possibility – it would probably be set in rural Japan, and I know I’d go back there to live in a heartbeat. On the other hand, if I had to choose someplace I’ve never lived previously, I think it would be somewhere in Greece or Italy, and I’d write a historical fiction piece based around one of those settings.

  1. How do you come up with names for your characters?
Usually I sit myself down for a couple of hours and write down a whole list of possibilities, just based on certain sounds or meanings that I like and think will suit the characters’ personalities. Using these as a starting point, I do a whole lot of baby name/meaning searches, because I really like my names to also have some kind of historical or symbolic significance to the characters if possible, even if they’re fictional variations of the real-life names.

  1. Describe your writing space.
I currently live in a studio apartment under 250 square feet in size, so propped up on my bed with my laptop in front of me is usually my only comfortable option. I don’t like to write creatively in public, and when writing at home, my only requirement is relative privacy, relative quiet, and a soft place to park my butt with a decent amount of back support.



  1. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
Five so far (although the fourth isn’t due to be released for another month or so, and the fifth is still currently in the final drafting stages). I’m not sure I have a favourite though. Even though some of my books are no doubt better than others as I’ve continued to grow in experience, I’ve loved them all in their turn. If I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have been comfortable having them published in the first place.

  1. Does one of your main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
Probably Daymon from my very first book, A Trust to Follow. He was the first character I envisioned for the story, and although I never base any of my characters on people I actually know (myself included), in many ways, Daymon is probably the most similar to how I usually see myself – bookish, on the shyer side, not especially confident in his abilities, but willing to put his trust in those who prove themselves faithful and don’t think of him as weak, even in those moments where he doesn’t view himself as a strong person.

  1. Are you working on anything at the present you would like to share with your readers about?
Right now I’m working on that final draft of the book I mentioned earlier – it’s about a rather snarky incubus and a too-curious-for-his-own-good magician’s apprentice. I don’t want to give too much away (especially since it’s still technically in draft form and some things are subject to change), but let’s just say this particular WIP involves a newly instated apprentice, a secret book, and several spells that don’t work quite in the way they’re intended.

  1. What are you reading now?
It’s long overdue since I read the first and second books some time ago, but I’m currently reading the third book in Enlightenment, the M/M historical fiction series by Joanna Chambers. If there’s any genre of M/M I like just as much as fantasy or paranormal, its historical fiction.

  1. What famous author do you wish would be your mentor?
Nobody. Not because I don’t have any favourite authors or don’t think I could learn from them – far from it! – but because I’d probably be way too intimidated and be paralyzed into inactivity – the old “better to write nothing than write something horribly disappointing” mentality, which as I’m sure we all know, does not serve any writer well.

  1. What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to swim. I’m an ex-competitive swimmer from way back, so while I no longer compete now (at least, not to a very high level), I adore being in and around the water and keeping fit that way. Typically, I like to lap swim about 3 times a week.

  1. Would you rather be in a room full of snakes or a room full of spiders?
I’ll wrangle them snakes any day – spiders scare the bejesus out of me, even when I know perfectly well they’re of the harmless variety. Then again, I’ve never had to really deal with snakes before. We don’t have any at all in New Zealand, and in Japan, I never had any invade my house (though I did occasionally see one in school, since I taught English in a very rural area. The kids usually chased them back outside).




  1. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Travel. I’m not saying that any particular place or country inspires the actual stories I write, but for whatever reason, living overseas did inspire me to finally write at all. Maybe it was about being tossed way out of my comfort zone, or maybe it was just about being in a brand new space. Whatever it was, it definitely lit a creative fire under my ass.


  1. What is your favorite curse word?

I don’t have any single favourite curse word, but I do like it when people combine a curse word with something else to create a new insult. Whoever invented “fuck-knuckle” (which is apparently mostly a New Zealand and Australia thing) also deserves a round of applause, I feel. 


  1. What sound or noise do you love?

I love the sound of waves crashing on the shore, either from close up or far away, and of rain drumming on the roof at night, and windchimes ringing in the breeze, especially on a hot summer’s day or evening. To work or write to, I like either complete silence or soft, non-lyrical music playing in the background – think calm, casual and slow-paced, like lo-fi hip-hop or jazz-hop. In fact, that’s what I’m listening to as I write down these answers.


  1. What sound or noise do you hate?

This goes for writing or otherwise – I just don’t like very loud, sudden noises, especially shouting, doorbells buzzing, phones ringing or cars revving/backfiring.


  1. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Not that I’d ever actually want to run my own business (I think the stress of that would probably do me in), but aside from the actual day-to-day financial operations part, running my own used bookstore sounds pretty cool to me. Naturally, said bookstore would come with plenty of spirally staircases, artfully carved gargoyle statues and secret little reading nooks. I’d stock only the weird and indie stuff, of course.


  1. What profession would you not like to do?

Accounting. Ew. The thought of anything involving too many numbers frankly terrifies me. 


  1. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?


I’d want God to be the type of guy (or gal) who’s deliberately casual and prefers to avoid fuss. You know, not much one for fanfare? Possibly also a chill surfer. So I’d imagine him just saying something like, “Hey, brah. You made it. Nice one,” before waving me on in like it ain’t no thang.


Author Bio:


Diana is an M/M romance author from New Zealand, although she currently resides in New York and has previously also lived in Japan and Thailand. She has no idea where in the world she’ll be this time next year and is pretty okay with that. Other than reading and writing, her main passions include travel, amateur photography and competitive swimming.   Author Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/author/dianawaters Author Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/diana.c.waters Author BookBub link: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/diana-waters Author Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/diana_waters


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Wednesday, February 13, 2019

OMG Plot Hoarder Revealed!


One of my favorite ways to fight the nagging of procrastination and get my blood flowing is to go back and read over past manuscripts. Although I am not sure you could really call them that-- more like attempts at manuscripts. 

In reading them it is easy to see at times how far I have come, it is also easy to see how far I have yet to journey. One of the funniest things I've found in past tales is my inability to not put something into the folds of the tale. I had to have everything and the kitchen sink in there. Every piece, scrap and tiny bit of any tale I had ever found in the past was wrapped into this monster of a project.

Then it hits me, like two-ton A&E commercial, I am a hoarder! I am a plot hoarder. Yes me, I have a writing disease that causes me to writing without focus! I take everything I have piled up, the millions of ideas, I gathered as a yearling artist, and crammed them all into one little slip of a story. 

There are several reasons for this as I now realize, one being the lack of an overall theme. Theme was always the word that makes me wince, it is the one aspect within the confines of writing dogma that I had more or less rejected. It wasn’t until recently, via a Kristen Lamb blog, specifically about ‘getting primal with your plot’, that I smoothed my ruffled feathers about what it means to have a theme. Kristen made me realize, that I was making it more complex than it actually was. I was simply getting in my own way because I didn’t get it and my writing showed it. 

When people would ask me what my book was about I would in effect get tongue tied and not be able to say anything in response. I was of the thinking that I was too close to the plot, the characters, the way they all co-existed in my little brain there was no way for me to sum up the theme of the book in just a few words. BUZZ!  Wrong Answer!

The truth is that I couldn’t sum it up because it was a jumbled fracking mess, with no structure. I, in my infinite ignorance, was making it too difficult trying to throw every plot twist, and ah moment into a story that in fact closely resembled the blob. Why was I making it so difficult? Why couldn’t I just see that I needed a theme, cut everything else away and be done with it?

First off, I was a know it all, young, writer, who thought there was nothing anyone could teach her that she didn’t already know. I am a natural after all. NOT!  

Solution? Boil it down. Go primal, rip away all of the extra crap and what is left? Usually a single word or two. To illustrate my point, I will use my own books as the examples.

Trust Me – Serenity Lost                      Family Loyalty/Love / Don’t get killed
Trust Me – Veiled Deception                 Don’t Die / Love / Protect loved ones
Trust Me – Jaded Promises                   Revenge / Love /Protect Loved Ones
Tarot Series – Shockwave                    Love / Vengeance      
Tarot Series – Backlash                        Love / Protect Loved Ones/ Survive
Tarot Series – Fallout                           Love / Survive
You Never Could Be                             Love / Sex / Trust
Little Angels                                        Love/ Trust / Don’t Die


That’s it, too easy right? Well no it really isn’t.  If you take these words and use them as your compass you will be able to in turn focus your manuscript and rip away all of the useless crap. Now, don’t so nutz and start deleting everything! Please don’t! Yes this is an aspect of my hoarding I will not release. If it made it to the page it is worth the ink. Maybe not now, but it will fit in somewhere, someday. Alright back to our little experiment. The ultimate self test is to translate the categories to the story plot, right? Okay we will try one. Little Angels – FBI Agent falls in love with her partner / FBI Agent cannot trust anyone while undercover / FBI Agent has to bring down the bad guys and not die. Hot Damn it worked!

See, it works! I dare you to prove me wrong! And or to test your own manuscripts, how focused are your plots? Can you complete the challenge?



 
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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Loretta Moore - The Color of Murder

 

A sensational murder trial brings a young African American attorney, Kevin Johnson to Briarton, Connecticut to represent a black drug dealer accused of murdering a Caucasian socialite, Charlotte Knowles. Kevin does his best to defend his client, even though he knows the real reason his two white law partners have given him this high-profile case is that he's black and so is the client. Even though he's the "token-minority" partner, Kevin is still determined to do the best job he can. But is his client telling him the truth? And if he didn't kill Charlotte Knowles, who did?




About the Author

Loretta Moore is an African American female writer residing in Dover, Delaware. She is married, the mother of three, and grandmother of eight. She is a multi-published author with several novels and plays to her credit. Other published works include poems, essays, and short stories in several magazines and journals.
Presently, two of her plays are in the hands of theaters in Philadelphia, PA and Roanoke, VA. She has a college degree in English and has received literary and theatrical recognition and awards. Loretta belongs to an honor society and other laudable organizations, and volunteers in her community and church.
 
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