Interview With How I Exiled My Inner Bitch Author, Miv Evans

Short and sweet. That's how Yahoo contributor and author, Miv Evans, likes to keep her interviews. Short and sweet. I had the pleasure of talking with her about her debut book, How I Exiled My Inner Bitch and other things. Here's how it all went down.

Please tell us about How I Exiled My Inner Bitch-The Book.

I was inspired to write it after listening to a lot of my friends complaining about their partners' kids, and the complaints of the kids!

Yeah. It can get a bit annoying at times. Outside of writing books, you also write film reviews. Can you tell us about that?

The majority of the negative reviews I've had published are for studio releases, as my policy is to write nothing at all if I think an indie is unworthy of praise. There are, however, exceptions, the most current of these being Layla Versus. This film was so tedious I nearly nodded off but, when I went to the press day, the writer/director compared his film to Bridesmaids, claiming his was more authentic. Apart from being a huge hit, I think Bridesmaids is one of the funniest comedies ever made, and I couldn't wait to get back to the office to start work on Layla's epitaph.

Ha! Nice. You actually have a twitter account of "inner bitchisms". Can you tell us about that?

Inner Bitchisms will be posted regularly as soon as the book is published. Nothing is from the book, so you'll miss out if you don't follow #innerbitchisms

Done and done. Now, your book starts off with a ten year old girl watching an R rated movie. What was your first R rated movie and how old were you when you watched it? Did it seriously impact your life?

I honestly can't remember my first R rated film. I can remember Last Tango in Paris, which was the abridged version, but before that is a blank.

Fair enough. My first R-Rated film was The Exorcist. I couldn't sleep for weeks! Now, you also sold a comedy drama to BBC TV. What was it about?

It was titled The Metal Movers. John Howard Davies, the director of Fawlty Towers, was attached, together with Ruth Caleb, the producer of Shirley Valentine. It was based on my experiences as a female car dealer. As the only woman in a male environment, I was the butt of much humor, and decided it was all too good to waste!

Awesome. I have to check that out. I love Fawlty Towers. Coming from Wales, do you ever put your Welsh sensibilities in your writing?

The only Welsh trait I'm aware of is that we pry on our neighbors. When I meet people, I always ask loads of questions, but I'm not sure if being nosy is a sensibility!

That's actually a universal trait. And finally, How I Exiled My Inner Bitch is your debut novel. What other novels can we expect from you?

How I Exiled My Inner Gigolo and How I Found My Inner Sociopath. A trilogy!

Sounds great! Thanks.

Interview With Drop Out Author, Neil Ostroff

(Image taken from: sftech.blog.tiscali.it)

Today, we have a really special treat. Neil Ostroff has been getting more and more exposure with his book, Drop Out, and he was kind enough to swing by for an interview. Hello, Mr. Ostroff.

Hello.

Please tell us about Drop Out and how it's different from your previous work, which has typically been sci-fi based.

I’ve been a thriller sci-fi writer for more than twenty years now and over that span of time my books have gotten the attention of numerous literary agents and publishers. In 2005, I signed with a major literary agent from a major NY literary agency. This agency had sold hundreds of books and film rights, some for as much as seven figures. I was very excited.

Wow. Pretty cool.

My agent loved all six (at the time) of my books and like all good agents edited them and provided insight to help make the stories more saleable, all without asking for a dime in advance. We had several exciting close-call deals and a few heart-racing moments while waiting to see what kind of money was going to be offered. My agent encouraged me to keep writing more books and truly believed that one day I’d hit it big.

Then something happened that turned my world around; a close friend was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. But here’s the kicker… he was given just two weeks to live. He went from his nine-to-five life, to knowing he had a very limited amount of time left. Having no close family and no money for a good hospital, he was left with little option except to die alone. It is then that my wife and I decided to hospice him.

I'm sorry to hear that. My family put my aunt into a hospice a couple years back. It was an unreal experience.

Yes. It was an incredibly powerful experience watching as his life slipped away and how he dealt with it psychologically. When the day finally came that he passed on, I was there to shut off the ventilator and pull the sheet over his head. I’ve never been the same since.

As a writer, I wanted to capture something of the moment and relay what I learned from watching someone’s life end. Having never written a literary fiction novel before, I suddenly found myself in the throes of a powerful statement about the meaning of life. DROP OUT was written in a fanatic ten day period.

When I sent the completed manuscript off to my agent, he was extremely disappointed that I had gone this literary route and had no intentions of ever trying to sell the book. I had no intentions of letting the book sit in a drawer, so after a few emails and telephone calls we decided to end our partnership. I was devastated to be back among the ranks of agent-less authors.

And then, an amazing thing happened.

I indie published DROP OUT a little over a year and a half ago, and since then sales have grown steadily each month. At this point, nearly ten thousand copies of the book have been downloaded and I’ve gotten to as low as 1,500 on Amazon’s paid sales ranking. But what is most heart-warming and gives me the most satisfaction is the emails and reviews that I’ve gotten telling me how the book has changed people’s lives. Almost every review is a five star and what the reader’s are saying… well, check it out yourself.

(Image taken from amazon.com)

Oh, don't worry. I will. What do you attribute the success of Drop Out to?

I think Drop Out is getting a lot of attention because it has a deep message that people can relate to: Life is precious. The character’s touch readers deeply, simply because each has lost so much and then finds strength through the other.

I see. You write on your blog about how you're happy that you were dropped by your agent because it granted you freedom as a writer. Do you plan to release all of your books independently from now on?

Absolutely! I wasted a lot of time waiting, waiting, waiting, for responses from publishers after my agent would submit a manuscript. What’s amazing is how much junk is published because the stories are stripped of anything controversial or scenes are deleted simply because they don’t appeal to the mainstream even if they are vital to the story being told. My books are way too non-mainstream for a politically correct, big-business publisher.

(image taken from: amazon.com)

I hear ya. You have also said on your blog that Drop Out has affected readers. Can you give an example?

I can give two very recent examples and the reviews are posted on Amazon to see. In fact, all my Amazon reviews basically say how the book has affected readers. The first is a review by an 82 year old woman who said the book has lifted her depression and literally was a spiritual experience to read. The second was an email I received from a reader who is dying of pancreatic cancer, like the character in Drop Out. He told me the book has helped ease his fears of death and that it has helped him deal with his situation. That’s heavy duty stuff.

Wow. That's amazing. Your book is really making a difference. That said, it's different from your other books. So, do you plan on going back to sci-fi, or is literary fiction your thing now, given how much people have reacted to it?

I tend to write what I want and what comes to me, which is the best benefit of indie publishing. Right now I’m just about finished with my thirteenth novel, a dystopian sci-fi, and I’m outlining a new novel which is going to be a literary life-changer, like Drop Out.

Nice, I look forward to those. Now, some personal questions. Who are your favorite authors, and how have they impacted you?

Stephen King is my God. I’ve read just about everything by him. I try to write my books the way he does, with every sentence having an impact on the reader. When I’m not reading Stephen King, I’ll page through just about anything. One of my favorite pastimes is going to the used bookstore 25 cent rack and picking up a dozen random novels. I’ll page through each, and if the story hooks me by the second page, I’ll read the entire thing.

Stephen King's a good choice. What's next for you?

As I mentioned, I’m finishing up a novel now, and have another outlined and will start that at the end of summer. I have two more completed novels sitting in a drawer, but they are literary and personal, and I think may not be ready for a general audience. Maybe if I hit it big and readers want to devour everything I’ve done, I may publish them.

Sounds good. And finally, some fun questions about you outside of your writing. You can answer them in one word responses if you like.

Pizza Hut or Dominoes?

Neither. I only eat pizza from family owned pizzerias.

What's usually better, the book or the movie?

Always the book. I love getting inside the mind of a character which is hard to do in movies.

Who had better hits, The Beatles or Michael Jackson?

The Beatles.

Finally, if you could meet one person, living or dead, who would it be?

I would love to spend an afternoon drinking coffee with Stephen King and discussing the strangest plots woe could come up with.

Good stuff. Anything else you want to plug?

My books are available for all electronic readers and devices. Please follow my blog to learn more about me and my journey to indie fame. Here is a brief list of sites I belong too. Thanks and good reading.

ALWAYS WRITING A blog about the writing life, making it as an indie author, and showcasing the books I write. Please check it out. http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com

Amazon author central page: https://www.amazon.com/author/ndostroff

Authors den http://www.authorsden.com/neilostroff

Facebook author page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Facebook-Page-of-Author-Neil-D-Ostroff/124794694205967

twitter https://twitter.com/NeilOstroff

Book Marketing network http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/profile/show?screenName=0lov6cl48lxkn&from=fb

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4893283.Neil_Ostroff

Linked in http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?trk=tab_pro&locale=en_US&id=107041734

Interview With The Check Out Author, Richard A. Lester

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing the author, Richard A. Lester, whose book, The Check Out, is on sale today. Pleasure to talk to you. Please tell us about The Check Out.

The Check Out is a satirical thriller about a group of degenerate grocery store employees who decided, independently of each other, to heist $10,000 worth of prize money. They are each mired in their own circumstances, and see the money as the only way out. There is plenty of action, humor, and even some emotional weight.

That sounds great. But it also appears that this isn't the first tale you've ever told. You have also written the short stories Dinner For One and Father McKenzie. Can you tell us the difference between putting together a novel and a short story?

I have written a few short stories, as well as the novel. The stories that I write are usually confined to a single main character, and generally take place in few locations. I can finish a first draft of a story in a matter of hours. I don’t normally outline a short story, as the plot isn’t that complex. For The Check Out, I spent months gathering ideas, outlining events, and writing it. At this point, I am steering away from the short stories, in favor of novels. I like spending more time with the characters, and delving deeper into the plot.

A novel does have a certain quality to it that a short story can't match, and vice versa. But you have other talents outside of writing. Can you tell us about the trailer you made for The Check Out? It's really cool.

The trailer was a lot of fun to do. I have worked in independent films for a while now, and have lots of friends who are active in the local scene. My very talented friends at Azbest Films did the shooting for me. We spent a few hours driving around town, getting a few shots. We filmed everything else in a backyard. It’s amazing how you can do a few simple things to make a wall look like a jail cell. As for the style, I wanted it to look like a 1970’s exploitation film. That was a huge influence on the actual book, and I wanted the trailer to convey that idea.

Sounds like fun. Outside of telling stories, you've also done some very noble things, such as taking donations for the terrible tornadoes that struck Oklahoma. What led you to decide to get into such a cause?

As a human being, I believe it is my duty to do as much as I can to help those in need. Taking donations and sending the profits from my short stories was a very easy way to do something positive. I have plans to do more for my own community in the future. I believe that anyone who is lucky enough to earn money by entertaining should use it to benefit others who need it.

Again, that's very noble of you.

Thank you.

Back to your creative side. According to your Amazon page, you are also an independent director. Can you tell us about that?

I have worked in independent film, off and on, for the past ten years. I wrote and directed a movie called “Night of the Snakehead Fish,” which is actually celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Since then, I’ve worked on a number of shorts for other people. I shoot and edit; sometimes I write. After writing script after script that I couldn’t afford to film, I decided to turn my attention to novels. I don’t have to get a crew together, or hire actors. There are tons of scenes in The Check Out that I’d never have the budget to film.

One interesting anecdote about film making: After I directed Snakehead Fish, I was working at the record store I was employed at. I heard someone say "Aren't you the guy that directed that independent film?" I looked up at the person, but didn't recognize him. I looked around, trying to see if he was talking to someone behind me, and realized he wasn't. So, I said that I was that guy. He asked me how I got it released on DVD (this was before everyone was making digital films left and right), and we chatted for a while. He told me that he was working on a new film with Ludacris and Terrance Howard. Turns out, that guy was director Craig Brewer. At the height of his fame, I used to tell people "Brewer? Oh yeah, that's the man who asked if I was the director of a film!"

Whoa. That's pretty cool. I love Black Snake Moan. What do you want readers to get out of The Check Out?

I want readers to have a damn good time with my book. It’s meant to be a quick, entertaining romp. There’s not really a message or deeper meaning here. It’s just supposed to be fun.

Yeah, I agree. Books should be fun. Is there anything else that you would like to plug or talk about?

For readers that are curious about my interest in film, I also run a movie review blog entitled A Reel Indication. I tend to focus on more obscure fair, but there’s new stuff up there, as well. I’m always looking for contributors!

Cool. I'll make sure I stop by. Thanks for your time.

Thank you.