Monday, January 27, 2014

Monday guest Interview with author Gloria Ferris.



Today it’s our pleasure at Jamie Tremain’s blog to introduce fellow writer Gloria Ferris.
















We take these skulls seriously.

Winner of the 2012 Bony Blithe Award for"Cheat the Hangman"


                        Winner of the 2010 Unhanged Arthur for "Corpse Flower

Thanks Gloria for agreeing to be our first victim of 2014. You have been given lots of press time  and featured in a few blogs these past few weeks leading up to the launch of you latest novel “Corpse Flower” published by Dundurn Press. 

Liz reports from yesterdays launch of Corpse Flower in the Shakespeare Arms, Guelph.



Despite ongoing nasty Ontario winter weather, the launch of Corpse Flower went ahead and was well attended.  Pam was wise to not to chance the drive from Oakville to Guelph, but I was fortunate to be only 10  minutes away so could safely get there.   Nice to see Melodie Campbell and her husband, along with Alison Bruce.  Gloria was appropriately tricked out with her trademark skull and bones jewellery and an appropriate hat to complement.   Lots of munchies, and of course – CAKE!


Pam:
What are the steps you took, getting from finished book to the launch of Corpse Flower?

Gloria:
In the months and weeks leading up to the release date of Corpse Flower, my publisher,     Dundurn Press, was busy posting ARC files to review sites, arranging press coverage and reviews, filling bookstores with print copies, delivering electronic files to online vendors — and dozens of other tasks.  While all that was happening, I did my best to raise my profile on social media - Facebook and Twitter – and arranged a blog tour for the weeks leading up to, and following, the release date. At author readings and other events, I read excerpts from Corpse Flower before it was even available for sale! In short, I did anything and everything I could think of to promote my book. I’m not a professional marketer, so my strategy is: try everything and hope some of it is effective!  Needless to say, the sequel to Corpse Flower had to be put aside for the time being, but I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get back at it soon. Like, any day now …

Pam:





I recently read “Cheat the Hangman”. Your attention to detail I attribute to your many years as a document writer for the Bruce Nuclear Station but it’s your sense of humour I loved and the story gave us a great feeling for small town Ontario. Have you always had a humorous side? Is this something you will bring out in all your books?


Gloria:
Well, Pam, I started out writing snarky essays in high school that, strangely, my teachers didn’t call me on. I progressed to sarcasm when I worked in Records Management and was forced to write long reports on the documents entombed in abandoned buildings. I found that, if you put a satirical spin on Hanta virus-carrying mice nesting in the paper, people paid attention. I snicker every time I think of those reports, which I designated as “Permanent” records, still filed in another crumbling warehouse somewhere.

I loved my stint as a technical writer at a nuclear power plant, but there was no opportunity for creativity or voice! The experience did strip away extraneous words from my fiction writing, and I am grateful for that. Now, I have to consciously write in an occasional adjective or adverb, or small paragraph of description.
I tried to suppress my natural voice when I wrote my first book (I think I called it Family Secrets or something equally boring) because I wanted it to be serious writing. When I finished it, I knew there was something really wrong. The words were stilted, and my protagonist just wouldn’t stay in the mold I set for her. That manuscript reads like a battle between “bossy writer” and “recalcitrant character”. The character won, and I started another book based on the same characters, beginning where the first manuscript ended. “Cheat the Hangman” is the result. Serious situations written with humour and (I hope) compassion.  Lyris is a rather classy young woman, so she worked with me and didn’t often stray outside her boundaries. We understand each other

With “Corpse Flower”, I just set my natural voice free. I wrote it for fun, allowing no phantom reader to look over my shoulder. I let Bliss Moonbeam Cornwall lead me into choppy waters with only one provision. Stay real. Bliss has a lot of hurdles to clear, but she never gives up. Ever. She smart-talks her way through it all and comes out a winner. She’s a little more stubborn than Lyris, but we’ve formed an alliance which I hope will continue for many more adventures to come. She’s the woman I wish I had been at her age.

I do see the pain, the sadness, the grief, the hurt – all the dark aspects of life. My protagonists come out swinging and, if they find themselves in amusing situations during  the journey, well nobody says you have to cry your way to success. Laughing will get you there just the same, and you might not need a therapist.
I guess I just could have said, “Yes, Pam, I have always written with humour and, to some extent, always will!” 

Pam:
You have many irons in the fire. How do you keep a balance between family obligations and writing?

Gloria:
With great difficulty, plain and simple!  Before I was published, I was raising children and holding down a full time job. Time for writing was a luxury, minutes stolen on weekends and vacation days. Now, those children are adults with families of their own, and my full time job is writing. Everything should have fallen into place.
I have two published books, another almost ready for submission, a sequel to “Corpse Flower” to finish, and an abandoned sequel to “Cheat the Hangman” which I would dearly love to complete. Then, there’s the marketing – social media, bookstore and library appearances, conferences - the obligations never seem to end. I can truthfully say I have never been so busy before.
Where does this leave family? Priority One, that’s where. If a family member calls to talk, I listen. If a grandchild needs a few hours of my time, I’m there. I host holiday dinners, go shopping with my daughters; show up for dinner when I’m invited. I have to say, I love texting. I can carry on conversations with two or three people at the same time on my iPhone.
I think most authors are faced with this same quandary. Some block out periods of time when they are inaccessible except for emergencies, i.e. when a deadline looms. I tried that, but it doesn’t seem to work for me.
I juggle madly, but my priority will always be my family. 

Pam:




Corpse Flower is a different series from your last book. Do you find it hard to switch roles and characters when you start a new book?

Gloria:
It wasn’t hard to switch from “Cheat the Hangman” to “Corpse Flower”. I see Lyris and Bliss in my mind as I write about them, and they are very different people. Even though both books take place in Bruce County on Lake Huron, their home towns are different, as are their circumstances.
At one point I was working on sequels to both books simultaneously. I would switch back and forth at whim. I think this caused some brain damage. So, I’ve set the CTH sequel aside for now to finish the second Bliss Moonbeam adventure. I know authors who can work on several manuscripts at the same time. Clearly, I can’t!

 Liz: 
Is there a question you’re itching to have asked in an interview?  Now’s your chance to answer it for our readers.

Gloria:
Well, most authors say they are continually asked where they get their ideas. Nobody has ever asked me this! I’ve had my answer ready for years, so here it is.

I have no idea. My head is full of so many things that the trick is to pull two or three out and try to make a story out of them. Sometimes I have to discard a couple, and reach back in again. It’s quite a scary place, actually, my head I mean.
Once in a while I’ll read an interesting item on the internet or in a magazine or newspaper. I print it or cut it out and file it in my reference folder. The exotic, erotic, jungle plant in “Corpse Flower” began as a tiny snippet from that folder. Ditto the “surprise” Lyris found in the tower room in “Cheat the Hangman”.

Pam:
We've discussed writing a number of times. I know what Liz and I hate doing more than anything, and I suspect you and other writers feel the same. Synopsis writing. Why do we find it so difficult?

Gloria:
Ah, the dreaded synopsis, bane of writers everywhere. Writing a synopsis is an art form, a craft that must be learned and honed, through trial and error. The result must read like a short story – an exciting, can’t-put-it-down story, with a beginning, middle and end.  However, LOTS of information must be left out. Most sub-plots and secondary characters can’t appear in the synopsis. If you try to work everything in, you’ll usually end up with a mess. I know; I’ve created many synopsis messes.
It gets worse. A writer will generally need to write two or three synopses for every book, especially if she is submitting a manuscript to more than one publisher. Because every publisher wants a synopsis with a specific word count – anything from 100 words to a chapter-by-chapter.
I’d rather write a short story from scratch than a synopsis. And, I’m not fond of writing short stories.

Pam:
What do you love about the writer’s life the most?

Gloria:
I love the moments when I’m in the zone. When my fingers are flying, and the words are flowing. That’s the best.
I also love the social aspect of writing – becoming part of the community of writers, meeting them on FB and Twitter for the first time, maybe. Then, in person at readings and at conferences. I think writers – and readers – are the most interesting folk in the world!

Pam:
In today’s publishing world, promotion and marketing are essential. Maintaining a website and blog and attending book signings and readings must cut into your writing time. Do you like this part of the process and the building of a ‘platform’ – or is it a requirement that goes with the territory?


Gloria:
I guess if you’re famous enough, you can bypass social media and personal appearances. I can’t hang around for that to happen, so I have a blog and a website. I maintain the blog myself, and my sister-in-law, Donna Warner, keeps my website updated. Left to myself, I would have to drop the website. I just couldn’t keep up with both.

I hated Twitter and Facebook when I first started with them a couple of years ago. Twitter still makes me a little apprehensive because it just seems to fly by at a dizzying pace. But, I’m getting used to it and rather enjoy kibitzing with people from all over the world. I kind of like Facebook now, as well. I’ve “met” many other writers, and readers. I may never meet some of them in person, but I’ve learned a lot from them. It’s like a community hall. Of course, I have to behave myself since many family members are also lurking on the site.

Personally, I find public appearances such as readings and book signings difficult. I’m not an outgoing person and don’t like people watching me or, horrors, listening to me. However, in this business, it’s “Suck it up, Buttercup”. It goes with the territory. 

Pam:
Your work in process is collaborative. Can you tell us how you deal with the letting go to your writing partner’s wishes? What do you enjoy about this way of writing?

Gloria:
My sister-in-law, Donna Warner, has been my front-line editor from the beginning. Donna wrote a short story I really liked, and we kicked around the idea of expanding it into a novella. We came up with extra characters, and changed the plot to include a few more bumps in the road. Donna wrote the first draft, and then handed it over to me. I edited it, added some additional scenes, and gave it back. I can’t remember how many times we went back and forth before we were both satisfied with the bones of the story.
If I saw something I didn’t like, I just deleted it before re-writing it and handing it back. I suspect Donna did the same, although we never spoke of it! We did have to compromise many times but, luckily, we never came to blows. This week, we sat down with a paper copy and did the final edits together. Next step - asking the third member of our writing group to read it.
Oh, one last thing. Donna is writing the synopsis for this one!

Pam:
Book clubs and conferences are great vehicles to meet your readers. Do you find this a beneficial way to spend your time?

Gloria:
Absolutely!  Last spring, a book club in Oakville read “Cheat the Hangman” and invited me to one of their meetings to discuss it. I was terrified since the book club has at least 12 members, many of them retired teachers. I ended up having the nicest time with these people and came away feeling a lot more confident about my writing. This was time well spent for me.
Conferences are great places to meet up with other writers, and attend workshops on every subject imaginable – and writers can imagine some very weird and wonderful topics for discussion. I’ve attended every Blood Words Conference since I joined the Crime Writers of Canada in 2008. So far, I haven’t attended a crime/mystery conference outside of Canada. That can get pretty expensive but, some day, I’d love to attend one in the UK.

Liz:
If you could interview, or pick the brains of, any writer, living, dead (or even perhaps in between), who would you like to spend time with?

Gloria:
I heard Kelley Armstrong (Bitten, Omens, and at least two dozen other titles) speak a short time ago. She generously shared some of her writing tips, but I’d love a one-on-one talk with her. She’s a prolific writer and mentioned she usually writes about 3,000 new words in three hours. She’s disciplined, certainly, but how does she get “in the zone” and stay there for three hours at a time, every day? I could SO benefit from knowing how to do that!


I'm sorry to have missed the launch of Corpse flower yesterday, but I'll make sure to make the launch of the sequel. Looking forward to sitting down to read all about Bliss Moonbean Cornwall. Thanks for a peek into the writing life of Gloria Ferris.

You can contact Gloria @
Follow me on Twitter @GloriaFerrisp

Gloria Ferris
Her paranormal suspense novel, Cheat the Hangman, was shortlisted for the 2009 CWC Unhanged Arthur Ellis contest and was published in 2011 by Imajin Books. It won the inaugural Bony Blithe Award in 2012, and Gloria is working on a Lyris Pembrooke sequel, Beneath the Asphalt.
Her second mystery, Corpse Flower (Dundurn Press), went the distance and won the 2010 Unhanged Arthur Ellis Award. The second in the Cornwall & Redfern Mystery series, Shroud of Roses, is in the works.
"Last Roll of the Dice", Gloria's first short story, took second place in the 2011 Bony Pete contest. Although she doesn’t consider herself a short story writer, Gloria just can’t pass up a contest.
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Tune in  Feb 24th for an in-depth interview with Linwood Barclay.

Slainte,

Pam and Liz










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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Winter of our Discontent





"It is so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone”
John Steinbeck, The Winter of our Discontent
                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now is the winter of our discontent                                                            
Made glorious summer by this son of York
And all the clouds that low’r’d upon our house
In the bosom of the ocean buried                       
 Shakespeare’s Richard 111
                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think John Steinbeck’s quote is more appropriate to our winter of discontent.

Winter is not my favourite time of year and especially so this past few weeks with heavy snow and freezing rain. Ice pellets rained down, and southern Ontario where I live and was blanketed with an ice storm most of us has never experienced. It caused untold misery to thousands of people who were caught in the blackout and cold for days on end. The damage to the trees is heartbreaking.

My writing group met at a tapas bar going into the New Year with some trepidation as it was -15 and freezing, but the seven of us enjoyed each other’s company with good food and drinks and swapped war stories of how we survived the ice storm of 2013. We stayed until midnight so we did talk writing as well.

Personally I was spared the power failure and was not affected when all around me was in the dark. Both sons and families and many friends were not so fortunate. I heard stories of courage and acts of kindness from many. The service workers were wonderful and what often happens in a crisis; the community pulls together.

We are still in the deep freeze along with the rest of the country. Roads are treacherous with ice and the cold is unrelenting. Lives have been disrupted from flights being cancelled and travelling to work Nye impossible for some.  The economy has to have suffered greatly and resources to cities and towns at an all time high. The cost will have to be passed on somewhere, most likely the taxpayers.

As I write this the news reports of good Samaritans who are waking up the homeless who sleep on grates over the subway are trying to coax them inside as they hand out toques and cups of coffee.

I was going to write about Jamie Tremain’s plans for the New Year, but I need to get my head around the changes that have taken place around me. I’ve always believed that change is good, change is inevitable. And as soon as we all get back to normal... what’s that?..I’ll start nagging at Liz again to send me some more of our manuscript to edit or revise, and I’ll do the same for her.

Interview Mondays, 2014 line up


               January 27th.Award winning author Gloria Ferris.
Winner of the 2012 Bony Blithe Award for
"Cheat the Hangman"
                             Winner of the 2010 Unhanged Arthur for "Corpse Flower"



                        February 24th #1 International bestselling author Linwood Barclay




Linwood Barclay is a Canadian humorist, author and former columnist. He has published books of autobiography and both humorous and dramatic detective fiction. 

NominationsBarry Award for Best Thriller, Shamus Award for Best Original P.I. Paperback


Please be safe when your driving and keep warm. This is going to be a Jamie Tremain year, if I can just get started.

Slainte,
Pam




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