Author David Michael Rice – April 2019
This interview will be the first time we meet David, and I can’t wait. His bio sounds very interesting. I’m so happy he took the time to answer some questions for us.
Please allow me to introduce, David Michael Rice.
Author Bio:
I am currently a cowboy who lives and works on a remote cattle ranch in the canyon land wilderness of Northern New Mexico— a job I have had for about 17 years. Before being a cowboy I was a seaman rated Able Body for about four years (any vessel, any ocean), and lived on my cutter-rigged 30-foot sloop Myste at Dana Harbor, California. Before my work on the sea, I was an Information Technology professional for twelve years. I am autistic and also a Zen Buddhist.
You can find out more about David and his stories by stalking him on Desert Soliloquy, Twitter, his blog, Facebook, and Mastodon.
Interview Conducted by Very Sherry Terry.
Let’s get the ball rolling and discover more about David.
TNR: What was the hardest thing about writing your latest True Adventure memoir?
David: The hardest part about writing a True Adventure memoir is to live the adventure first. Several people who have read my book have told me they would like to have a similar adventure, but few follow through. My book is an encouragement for would-be adventurers.
TNR: I think adventurous things sound cool, but I end up on the couch. I admire those who take the leap. What drew you to write a True Adventure memoir?
David: I like to read historical diaries, journals, and accounts about hardships people have gone through, and their solutions to those hardships here in the real world via creative nonfiction. Several “first world countries” are currently in civil and social decline, such as the United States of America, and we need to relearn how to survive harsher environments with less social support— preparing for our near future. How we coped in the past, and how we cope now, is knowledge we need to propagate into the future, and writing helps do this.
TNR: Very interesting take on what is going on around us. How much research do you do?
David: Everything I write has been researched and studied extensively, both for nonfiction as well as fiction, with the best peer-reviewed material I can find. I owe my readers a view of reality that is as close to the real world as my nonfiction stories require, but I also work hard to make my fiction match the real world as closely as possible where doing so does not distract from the tale.
TNR: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever researched?
David: In the 1980s I studied the “Satanic Panic” that swept through parts of the United States and the United Kingdom. I met with scores of Satanists, Pagans, Neopagans, FBI agents, Occultists, Fundamentalist Christians, and assorted characters during this study. I have concluded that the Satanists were by far the saner of the bunch, and the best behaved. Huh.
TNR: I remember that. It swept through where I live with a daycare. Where do you see publishing going in the future?
David: I am glad you asked, as I think this question is vital for writers to contemplate. Modern writers seeking publishing success need to know the current state of the market, and the probable future based upon current trends. My most common advice is to note that writing is not necessarily a business, but being an author is: writers need to follow good business practices. Publishing has changed and is changing, chiefly due to businesses that have grabbed the lion’s share of the business (such as Amazon.com and The Big Five), and also due to inexpensive on-demand printing. Self-publishing will continue to expand and be seen as one of the legitimate ways for writers to be authors.
TNR: Do you proofread and/or edit your own books?
David: One of the reasons why I took the time to learn how to perform two common types of editing (proof, line edits) was to save the expense of hiring these tasks out to an editor; the other major reason is that learning how to perform these two types of editing has improved my writing organically, “up front” as I write. For the other kinds of edits, such as for content and style (“voice”), consistency has never been a problem in my writing so I do not need an editor for those tasks.
TNR: Marketing is a tough one all writers have to deal with. Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?
David: Where ever and whenever possible, be a whore. Writing is extremely hard work, for little pay; you owe it to yourself and your intellectual products to promote your work even to the point of being obnoxious. That means a YouTube channel, Twitter account, Facebook author’s page, and your own web site (called “platform” in the writing business). It means finding local bookstores that will sell your books out-right or via consignment. It means shoving your product into people’s faces— for example, I had United States postage stamps made with images of my memoir’s cover on them to mail personal letters (never for business letters: that’s just tacky). Authors must self-promote: that’s just part of the job.
TNR: Do you have any advice on how to deal with bad reviews?
David: The most entertaining reviews for my writing tend to be the negative reviews, which I cherish. It is my hope that writers understand that negative reviews may or may not be legitimate reviews and/or should not to be taken personally by the writer (even if the reviewer is correct that the writer’s little darlings are ugly). A legitimate negative review merely means someone did not like the book: =YAWN!= Get over it. Of course if you only get negative reviews, you might wish to find a different profession.
TNR: Now for a couple of personal questions. Which famous person (or author), living or dead would you like to meet and why?
David: I would love to meet Rex Stout and spend a few weeks listening to him talk about his life, his writing, and his orchid collection. Mr. Stout was a brilliant writer, and I would like to compare the writer with his most famous creation, Nero Wolfe. Both Stout and Wolfe had behaviors that I recognize as autistic behavior, and the subject of autism augmenting intelligence interests me.
TNR: What is your favorite movie and why?
David: DEADPOOL #1 is my favorite movie at the moment, and I suppose it will be for the rest of eternity. The writing of DEADPOOL was beyond excellent, and I love the fourth-wall breaching as well as the sarcasm. Perhaps the lack of caring about the mass slaughter and butchery of imaginary human beings can help us understand the same lack of caring in the real world— a theme common in Quintin Tarantino’s films.
TNR: Awesome interview! I had a blast getting to know you. Thanks for stopping by.
Every image of a cover is a link that leads to third-party retailers and are affiliate links. If you purchase the product in question by clicking on the cover, we earn a small portion of the profits.
Author Laurel A. Rockefeller – March 2019
Laurel arrived on our radar for an interview when she sent us the first book from her catalog. We are so glad to be interviewing her as we love her books. We have done several reviews already and have more of her writing coming in the future.
The books of Laurel’s we’ve reviewed are Hypatia of Alexandria and Cleopatra VII.
Born, raised, and educated in Lincoln, Nebraska USA Laurel A. Rockefeller (Gaelic: Labhrais Eun Caraid) is the author of over twenty books published and self-published since August 2012 and in languages ranging from Welsh to Spanish to Chinese and everything in between. A dedicated scholar and biographical historian, Ms. Rockefeller is passionate about education and improving history literacy worldwide.
With her lyrical writing style, Laurel’s books are as beautiful to read as they are informative.
In her spare time, Laurel enjoys spending time with her cockatiels, travelling to historic places in both the United States and United Kingdom, and watching classic motion pictures and classic television series. Favourites: Star Trek, Doctor Who, original Battlestar Galactica, and Babylon 5.
You can find all the news and updates on Laurel’s books on her website, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and her Amazon author page.
Please allow us to introduce you to Laurel A. Rockefeller.
Interview Conducted by Very Sherry Terry.
TNR: Is being a biographical historian a gift or a curse?
Laurel: I think it is a little bit of both, actually. History is very political, especially when you explore the accomplishments of women or people of colour or some other group that has traditionally lacked wealth and influence. If “history is written by the winners” then my job as a biographical historian becomes sifting through the lies and distortions created by “winners” wanting to justify their actions to find the real story that is between the lines and amongst the lies.
That means I often come to conclusions that conflict with what other people believe or want to believe about people, places, and events. I’m often treading very controversial ideas and subjects. While that can be a lot of fun at times, I often receive push back on social media and in reviews of my biographies, some of it quite aggressive, when I challenge peoples’ assumptions about history and/or their cherished beliefs.
TNR: What do you think makes a good biography?
Laurel: A good biography should not re-hash the same tired ideas that a hundred other historians have put out there. In fact, I rarely read other people’s biographies if the said work is more than twenty pages long. I don’t want to repeat what other people have to say; I want to conduct my own research and come to my own conclusions. A good biography should do exactly that. It should make you think about a person, a place, a series of events in a new and different way.
TNR: I think you’ve got a good idea there. I trust your research and ideas. What are you currently working on and what is it about?
Laurel: I have two biographies I am currently working on. The tenth Legendary Women of World History biography is going to be “Margaret of Wessex: Mother, Saint, and Queen of Scots.” Born in exile in Hungary in 1046 to King Edward (the Exile) Ǣtheling and his wife Agatha, Margaret survived Duke William of Normandy’s October 1066 invasion of England to wed King Malcolm III (Máel Coluim Ceann Mhor) in 1069 in Edinburgh.
Interestingly, the actions for which Margaret is most praised as queen of Scots were the very ones that most undermined Scottish language (Gàidhlig) and culture. Her sons Edgar, Edmund, and David Canmore (Ceann Mhor Anglicizes to “Canmore”) and daughter Edith Matilda all possessed English, not gàidhlig, names. Margaret banished gàidhlig from the Church in favour of Latin which in turn dramatically influenced the use of gàidhlig across Scotland. Finally, she reformed the Scottish court to more continental European norms, an accomplishment shared with the much more famous Queen Mary Stuart.
My other work in progress steps outside of my comfort zone and branding as a biographer of inspiring women. “His Red Eminence, Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu” explores the life of Cardinal Richelieu, one of history’s most important diplomats and public servants whose service to King Louis XIII created the idea of a “national interest” and revolutionized how countries perceive themselves and interact with each other. Demonized by the very Republican (and therefore anti-monarchist) Alexandre Dumas in his novel “The Three Musketeers,” the real cardinal was a genuinely good man. My biography seeks to humanize Richelieu and show him for the kind, workaholic civil servant that he was.
TNR: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever researched?
Laurel: One of the fun things about writing narrative history is the amount of fascinating and often very strange things I learn along the way. Each biography reveals something completely unexpected. For example, I always assumed that Pharaoh Cleopatra VII was in love with Marc Antony (she wasn’t). I thought that there was a single Great Library of Alexandria that burned down all at once (in fact, the library spanned several buildings across Alexandria with different buildings catching fire at different moments in time). But I think one of the weirdest, least expected things I learned recently about ancient Egypt is really how recent the “big names” of “ancient” Egypt lived. We associate those big names like Thutmose III and Nefertiti and Ramses and so forth with the pyramids of the Old Kingdom, but in truth these are all New Kingdom pharaohs who lived from about 1550 to 1075 BCE, more than a full millennium after the completion of the pyramids of Giza.
Another very strange, unexpected fact I learned working on “Cleopatra VII: Egypt’s Last Pharaoh:” the long-awaited “Battle of Armageddon” that many people assume is a future event has already been fought. It was fought in 1458 BCE when New Kingdom Pharaoh Thutmose III successfully invaded and conquered Canaan. This victory at Megiddo expanded Egyptian influence, culture, and dominion well beyond its original borders and established Thutmose III as an independent monarch from his step-mother, Queen Hatshepsut, who previously ruled in his name.
TNR: I happen to love history, and every time I read something you write, I learn new and interesting facts. Let me ask. Do you write with a specific reader in mind?
Laurel: I write the Legendary Women of World History Series to be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible, regardless of wealth, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, sex, and so forth. No matter who you are, these books are meant to make history come alive for you. On a practical level, I try to keep my content and language suitable to readers age eight and up. I vigorously avoid explicit content as much as history allows me to without sugar coating or distorting history through omission. These are books you really can share with your entire family with something new each time you read and re-read them. I’m very concise in my narratives which means no one can learn everything there is to learn from a given title reading it just once.
TNR: Great idea! Where do you see yourself in 10 years regarding published works?
Laurel: History really is limitless in its size and scope. I plan for the Legendary Women of World History Series to include no less than forty biographies though I do expect an eventual end to the series after the fortieth title. Given I’m looking to publish book ten somewhere between September, 2019 and March, 2020 which means that in ten years time the series will probably be complete or nearly complete with new adventures waiting for me either in another book series or perhaps a new career will find me in Scotland. I do have a television series I would like to work on and develop at some point. Perhaps in ten years, you will see my work being aired on iTV or the BBC!
TNR: I hope you are aired on TV. That would be awesome! What marketing strategies do you find most helpful? Any resources you would recommend to other authors or aspiring authors?
Laurel: I know a lot of writers hate Twitter, but I find Twitter to be my best resources for reaching out and finding readers. It helps that I’ve built a following of over 10,000 followers (done incrementally over the years), but you don’t need nearly as many followers to be successful using Twitter.
TNR: Ten thousand followers! I hope to one day have half of that, but it does take time, so I’ll keep plugging along. What you do think is an effective Twitter scheduling application.
Laurel: Hootsuite.com is a popular application and in fact was one I used for a long time, but personally I prefer Social Jukebox. With Social Jukebox you create topically-organized tweet banks called “jukeboxes.” The application then randomly sends out your tweets according to a schedule you set up in the system. It’s not a free tool like Hootsuite, but it is extremely effective because it randomizes your tweets for you (Hootsuite schedules manually) so that you never send the same tweet more often than once every three days. Completely eliminates the guesswork regarding when to send a specific tweet. I also love how easily I’m able to keep my tweets organized and how easily I’m able to maintain a proper balance between “buy my book” and informational and/or entertainment content. Remember that no one wants to be sold to, so it’s vital that less than 40% of your tweets be “buy my book.” Social jukebox gives me the control I need to market effectively on Twitter.
TNR: What do you think of “trailers” for books, and will you create one for your work?
Laurel: I have trailers for most of my books actually. What I find is little correlation between book sales and the trailers. The reason: people generally do not seek out advertisements on YouTube. If anything, it’s human nature to avoid them, regardless of where you present them. No one likes to be sold to. Book trailers are the ultimate hard sell, no matter what steps you take to soften the appearance of that.
TNR: I want to do book trailers too. Even though they get next to no exposure, I like the idea anyway. Now for a couple of personal questions. Which famous person (or author), living or dead would you like to meet and why?
Laurel: Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi! Specifically, I want to work with him on a number of creative projects, starting with the audio version of “Mary Queen of the Scots: The Forgotten Reign.” He absolutely has the perfect voice for telling Queen Mary’s story and by all accounts is a wonderful and well-liked professional. I also would very much like to collaborate with him as an illustrator on an educational children’s book series about cockatiels and their many adventures.
TNR: What is your favorite way to avoid writing?
Laurel: I love to play Facebook games (Star Trek Timelines), hang out on Twitter (the best way to reach me), watch DVDs (always up for Doctor Who, Star Trek, or Babylon 5), and of course, play with my beautiful cockatiels.
TNR: Birds are so funny and each has a distinct personality. Thank you so much for spending some time with us! I loved your answers and this was so much fun!
Every image of a cover is a link that leads to third-party retailers and are affiliate links. If you purchase the product in question by clicking on the cover, we earn a small portion of the profits.
A sample of Laurel’s catalog:
Author Captain Lee Rosbach – February 2019
Let’ meet Captain Lee, shall we?
Author Bio:
Born and raised in Saginaw Michigan, Harold Lee Rosbach is the second of seven children. While Capt Lee has been in the industry for over 20 years, he started yachting a little later in life than your average “yachtie.” While living in the Turks and Caicos Islands managing a restaurant, Lee was attracted to the industry after serving as a mate on a sailboat delivery to earn some extra money. At the age of 35, Lee took the time to get his Captain’s license and left the restaurant management business to pursue his newfound passion for the seas.
Having worked both private and charter, Captain Lee prefers charter as he feels the joy he gets in seeing his guest’s reaction’s as they view the beautiful scenery. The gin clear water with its multiple shades of blue is priceless and not something he can get in an office setting. He loves his job and everyday looks forward to new people and new adventures. Capt Lee is always ready to answer the call of the Caribbean, the Med or anywhere there are islands to explore. There is always a new adventure just beyond the sunset. Some of the superyachts that have been under his command are 164’ Cuor di Leone, 162’Mustang Sally, 155′ Ohana, 140′ Just Enough, 135’Atlantica, 120′ Sovereign, Pauly D, Insatiable, Morganstar, Mostro and 135’ Feadship, Sea Ghost.
You can find out all the latest and greatest about Captain Lee on his blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Hang onto your hats, here we go.
Interview Conducted by Very Sherry Terry.
TNR: What drew you to write your story?
Captain Lee: The motivation for me writing the book was Frances Berwick, the President of NBC Universal. We met at the launch of Below Deck Med and had a very enlightening conversation and she wondered why I hadn’t written a book about my Capt Leeism’s and while this current book did incorporate some of them in it, it wasn’t the total focus. But she was my inspiration for doing the book. And for that, I am very grateful to her.
TNR: How long did it take you to write your book?
Captain Lee: It took about a year to write the book, a lot of back and forth with my collaborator Michael Scholl, who without him we may have not gotten it done. My hat goes off to him.
TNR: A year isn’t that long at all to take a book from an idea to the final product. It took me three years for my first book. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Captain Lee: As far as advice for aspiring writers, I really don’t have the experience to be giving advice at this stage, but if I had one for first-time writers, it would be just DO IT. How many people have said I should write a book, I know all about this, but never happens, life gets in the way. Well, get it done. Just do it. You will regret not doing it and trust me you will have enough things in your life to regret, don’t let this be one of them.
TNR: I agree! Did you need to do any research?
Captain Lee: I didn’t have to research, all I had to do was remember. I lived it.
TNR: You’ve lived a very fascinating life, and I loved your book. Where did you like to write?
Captain Lee: I liked to do my writing out by the pool in the hot sun, cool drink, and conversing or not with my collaborator Michael. It was the best. I looked forward to it.
TNR: That sounds like a great place to write. What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?
Captain Lee: My view on bad reviews, I don’t know yet, I haven’t had any yet. Some with some suggestions on what else they would like to see, but no negative reviews. Not that they won’t come, but, I’m not a writer by trade, I do it to convey what I have experienced to people the way I saw it. Nothing more, nothing less.
TNR: I hope you don’t get any bad reviews, and that’s the truth. How was your experience working with traditional publishing?
Captain Lee: I never had a bad experience with the publishing process. My publisher was Gallery Books, which is the pop culture division of Simon & Schuster. So my best experience was seeing the completed project come to life. Had to pinch myself the first time I walked into a bookstore and there I was. Surreal.
TNR: What do your fans mean to you?
Captain Lee: My fans, what do they mean to me? They mean the world to me. Without them, there is no there. I’m not where I am today without them. So when I’m out and about and someone comes up and wants a pic or just to be acknowledged, I say why not. If I can put a smile on someone’s face for 10-15 seconds of my time, why would I not do that?
TNR: That’s so nice to take the time to make a fan’s day. Do you read your reviews?
Captain Lee: Do I read my reviews? Of course, there is no better gauge of how you are perceived.
TNR: What do you want your tombstone to say?
Captain Lee: What do I want my tombstone to say? Tough one. I guess if I have one, I would like it to say that “The going up was worth the coming down”.
TNR: That is an incredible thing to have on your tombstone. I’m a little jealous I didn’t think of it first. Which famous person living or dead would you like to meet and why?
Captain Lee: Who would I like to meet or have met? John Wayne, he was a giant of a man, for his morals, his work ethic and integrity.
TNR: And I think you have a little John Wayne in you with your work ethic and integrity. Another question along that line. If you could have dinner with three people (living or dead), who would they be and why?
Captain Lee: Who are the three people I would love to have dinner with, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, and my wife Mary Anne. Why would I want to deprive her of meeting these two giants among men? Both had everything that I admired then and still do now. That won’t ever change. At least not for me.
TNR: Aww. You and Mary Anne have the best relationship! So, at this dinner with John and President Reagan, what would be your favorite meal and beverage?
Captain Lee: My favorite meal is Kolbe Ribeye, which I don’t get very often, in fact only twice, mid-rare, baked potato with sour cream and chives, a side of broccoli al dente and a great glass of wine, maybe Caymus or something of that caliber. As long as I’m wishing.
TNR: Thank you so much for stopping by and doing an interview with us. This has been one of my personal bucket list items that I can now cross off my list. Now, if I could just be a guest on your yacht, that would pretty much round everything out for me. This was awesome! We had a wonderful time interviewing Captain Lee and found him to be extremely nice and accommodating.
Every image of a cover is a link that leads to third-party retailers and are affiliate links. If you purchase the product in question by clicking on the cover, we earn a small portion of the profits.
Author Roseanne Beck – January 2019
We first met Roseanne when she sent us her book, Talk to Me for review. We fell in love with her style and voice. Then she sent us Turn the Paige, and we were hooked. Roseanne writes love stories with witty humor and beautiful writing. She did our annual book event and made it a fabulous time with grace and great content.
We have done book reviews on Talk To Me and Turn The Paige.
I want to properly introduced you to Roseanne, so we will start here:
Author Bio:
Roseanne Beck is a lover of laughter. A writer of romance. And an injurer of her male main characters.
It is her greatest hope that the people in her head entertain you as much as they do her.
She’s a physician who enjoys unleashing her creativity in her off-hours.
She loves college basketball and hates Christian Laettner. She has way too many song lyrics rattling around in her brain. It’s a wonder there’s room for anything else. She would love to hear from you if you’ve enjoyed her stories.
You can find Roseanne on Facebook and Twitter.
Interview conducted by Very Sherry Terry.
Come. Read her interview with us for a peek into her writing and her life.
TNR: Tell us about your writing process, and the way you brainstorm romance story ideas.
Roseanne: So far I’ve been lucky—characters and situations pop into my head. They usually roll around in there, percolating, while I’m working on another book (and doing my day job). I’ll get an idea for the main characters and their overall situation, then as I write, the story kind of fills in around them. The first few chapters are always rough and time-consuming while I get to know them, then the story tends to flow better/go faster as I get a sense of their personalities and how they react.
TNR: Why did you choose to write romantic comedies?
Roseanne: Because I love romance, I love to laugh, and I love awkward situations. This is what I enjoy reading, and this is what I enjoy writing.
TNR: I love the humor in your books. What are you currently working on and what is it about?
Roseanne: I’m working on the third book of the Love Hurts series – Ellie and Clay’s book. Ellie’s done with the bad boys. Clay’s the epitome of what she’s trying so hard to avoid. The more she gets to know him, however, the more she gets the feeling that he’s not exactly what she thought. And that makes him all the more dangerous.
TNR: That sounds so interesting! How often do you write, and do you have a special time during the day to write?
Roseanne: My ideal writing time falls between 9 AM and 3 PM. It seems that my brain has an off switch in the late afternoon. Unfortunately, I also have a full-time job, so writing for me is usually a weekend endeavor (with occasional bursts of creativity scattered here and there).
TNR: Do you write with a specific reader in mind?
Roseanne: I write stuff I like/what I’m looking for. The entertaining, awkward, and funny, because that’s what I enjoy.
TNR: Me too! There are some great dark romance authors, but I like fun and humor and a lighter hand with the storytelling. Let me ask you, for your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hardback books?
Roseanne: I love paperbacks and hadn’t tried reading ebooks until I started publishing them earlier this year. Now I’ve made the leap, and I love them too!
TNR: I love the smell of a library book, but alas I also had to make the leap into ebooks too. What marketing strategies do you find most helpful? Any resources you would recommend to other authors or aspiring authors?
Roseanne: Listen, learn, research, and practice. I actually like the business side of writing, and to me, the marketing aspect is enjoyable and challenging. I’ve joined several FB groups which have been invaluable, and I’ve read and reread a stack of books which I can’t recommend enough. The books that have helped me the most are Brian D. Meeks’ MASTERING AMAZON ADS, Michael Cooper’s HELP! MY FACEBOOK ADS SUCK, and Chris Fox’s books (SIX FIGURE AUTHOR, WRITE TO MARKET, and LAUNCH TO MARKET were most helpful to me).
Read them, study them, read them again. Writing is a business.
TNR: I agree. Writing is a business. What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing?
Roseanne: Since my brain isn’t good for writing in the late afternoons and evenings, this is when I tend to do more of the business-y stuff like marketing.
TNR: Do you prefer to write alone or in the company of other people?
Roseanne: Alone. I get distracted otherwise.
TNR: And now for a more personal question. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
Roseanne: Ireland and New Zealand are on my bucket list. I’ve taken Australia off the list because there are too many snakes. (Hint to those of you who have read my books—there’s usually at least one aspect of the FMC that’s based on me.) I have no idea why they’re on the list, other than I’ve just always wanted to go there.
TNR: Those sound like awesome places to visit. I myself want to stay in a castle in Scotland. What a great research trip that would be. Thank you so much for taking the time to grace us with an interview. I had a blast!
Please go take a look at Roseanne’s catalog of books.
Every image of a cover is a link that leads to third-party retailers and are affiliate links. If you purchase the product in question by clicking on the cover, we earn a small portion of the profits.
