A Bloody Good Writer

I am happy to welcome Arshad Ahsanuddin to As the Crowe Flies.  Please read about his books, his background, and his affinity for blood.

Link to his book Sunset----------------->

When did you start writing?

October 2009 was the first time I started to write as a serious project.  Out of that came the manuscript that I later adapted into my first two novels, Sunset and Sunrise.

How has your background affected your writing?

I like both fantasy and science fiction, so I have introduced elements of both in my work, creating a futuristic society of new age vampires.

What are you working on now?

I’m trying to get the fourth novel in the series edited for a March release date, but in the meantime, I’ve been working on another novella that is set within story continuity.

Where do you get your ideas?

They explode out of my fevered brain, and I am just trying to write them down before they fade.

You write about vampires and you are a doctor—of blood?

I honestly didn’t make the connection when I first started writing.  One of my readers pointed it out, and the irony appealed to me.

Has anyone influenced you?

I like Neil Gaiman’s work most of all in the mystical fiction genre, and Guy Gavriel Kay’s in high fantasy.  For inspirational fantasy, I turn to Paulo Coelho.

What are some books you recommend and why.

Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, a sardonic and erudite romp through the Apocalypse, blending Pratchett’s deft satire with Gaiman’s world-building and grasp of mythology.

The Fionavar Tapestry, by Guy Gavriel Kay, the finest high fantasy trilogy I have ever read, and my favorite in the genre.  Everything had meaning and contributed to the plot and characters, it was so well-crafted.

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, and inspirational fable about following your dreams, even when they seem insane in the light of day.

What do you like to read, and what would you never read?

I like science fiction and fantasy when I’m in the mood for a serious read, and romance novels for light entertainment.  I don’t often read mysteries or non-fiction, because they just don’t excite me.

Do you feel an affinity to any of the characters in your books?

Nick, the main character of the first book, is my favorite character, and the one I most identify with, for his hero’s journey and character development over the course of the series.  He starts out as a rather shallow person, with great power but avoiding commitment and responsibility, and learns to face his challenges head-on as he gains experience.

Can you talk about vampires?

They’re an old archetype, which has evolved into many different interpretations, from evil villain to tortured hero, from sexual predator seeking the destruction of innocence and virtue to reluctant lover searching for redemption.  I wrote a little bit on this subject in a guest blog post earlier in the year.  The full text can be found here:

 http://redtash.com/post/10725470418/vampire-friend-or-foe

Thanks for hosting me.  I appreciate the opportunity.

Arshad Ahsanuddin

Author bio below:

Author Bio:

Arshad Ahsanuddin is a practicing hematopathologist, a physician who specializes in using biopsies and laboratory data to diagnose diseases of blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes, such as leukemia and lymphoma. Yes, a blood doctor writing about vampires. The irony is not lost on him.  It certainly amuses his colleagues.

For more information about Arshad, or for more information about the series, check out his website at www.pactarcanum.com and leave him some feedback.

Social Media:

Website:  http://pactarcanum.com/

Blog:  http://pactarcanum.com/blog/

Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pactarcanum

Goodreads Profile:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4759071.Arshad_Ahsanuddin

Twitter Handle:  @pactarcanum

Book links:    

Kindle version:  http://www.amazon.com/Sunset-Pact-Arcanum-ebook/dp/B005SIXXB2

Nook edition:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sunset-arshad-ahsanuddin/1030617301?ean=2940012314819

Smashwords edition (multiple formats):  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61128

Print edition:   http://www.amazon.com/Sunset-Pact-Arcanum-Book-One/dp/145635485X

Video Trailer:  http://youtu.be/zdvchNFqSu4

Book Blurb:

Los Angeles, 2040. The terrorist Medusa and her followers threaten to destroy the metropolis with a nuclear bomb. One individual, the vampire Nicholas Jameson, comes forward to oppose them. As Nick takes on the terrorists, the fragile peace between the races hangs perilously in the balance as the supernatural peoples are exposed.  Can Nick lead the four races into peaceful coexistence, or will the final war destroy them all?
With millennia-old magic, emerging romance, and ever-shifting allegiances, this inventive new series unveils a scintillating, homoerotic world of Nightwalkers, Daywalkers, Sentinels, and Humans, who battle for world dominance in the not-too-distant future.

An Interview with David Rowinski

I am thrilled to present an interview with author David Rowinski, a talented writer I have known since high school.  I am happy to say I am currently working on the illustrations for a children's book he penned many years ago called The Open Pillow.  (two of the pictures from the book----->

Please read about David.

When did you start writing?

 I think it was 3^rd grade. I had a relative who was a few years older who wrote

 science-fiction stories. I began by ripping off Planet of the Apes and wrote Planet of the Dog-men. Thank god that has been lost.

Has your background affected your writing at all?

My wife mentioned that I should write about the things I have done, places I have been, but I am not particularly interested in memoir. I did compose an essay about growing up in Clark, N.J. and the events that brought me to East Africa but I did so to explore issues of race and identity. Elements of experiences have, of course, found their way into the fiction I write but interpreted and reinvented to advance a story.

What are you working on now?

 I was working on a novel that collapsed under the weight of over-writing so I removed what was to have been the third chapter and am turning it into a short story. It is about an individual receiving a call to become a shaman. 

Where do you get your ideas?

 There is no one place. I recall someone comparing American to British comedy. The former begins with the notion “Isn’t it funny that?” The latter starts “Wouldn’t it be funny if?” If combined, however, the latter idea creates a premise but the former allows it to be told in an acceptable manner. It took weeks of failed story attempts before I realized this. This insight meant scrapping something I was well into but allowed for the writing of Music Box. Yet the elements of the failure may find their way into something completely different. Even Music Box began with the notion of how one gets their things back from an ex’s home after you have been thrown out. The original idea was to come upon an ex’s radio that received broadcasts  normal radios do not which would cause the protagonist to re-examine the person with whom he was involved. Fortunately, that idea failed. When the radio became a music box, it was the relationship that became the story’s core.

I know you have an artistic past also, what happened to drawing?

 I always preferred writing.  

Has anyone influenced you?

 The most important influence has been my wife Sali. I watched and listened as she took a guitar riff and turned it into a song. She gave me the most important piece of advice-Finish Something. For years I would work on an idea then, second guessing its merit, I would begin something new with the same results meaning off to a third or fourth piece. Then, having distanced myself from the first and thinking better of it, I would take it up again, only to abandon it once more in favor of one of the other storylines. Nothing was ever brought to fruition. Seeing Sali complete one work by focusing upon it allowed me to do the same.

What are some books you recommend and why. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garcia Marquez is so essential that I do not mind stating the obvious. I just finished a bio of Che Guevara because I realized I knew the icon and not the history. The one thing that stayed with me from the book was a friend of Che’s describing the difference between them. Che looked down the scope of a rifle and saw 30.000 children with better lives if a soldier were killed where he saw the soldier with a wife and children of his own.  The 14^th century historical novel

 Romance of Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzong was a tome but told like the serial films of the 1930’s. Chapters ended with questions to be answered followed by the simple phrase “Read on” that caused a number of sleepless nights. Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners introduced me to what has been labeled speculative fiction. She and her husband began Small Beer Press whose office is located a few towns away from where I live. I wrote my story Music Box for their magazine Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet and dropped it off personally. It was my first professional sale.

What do you like to read, and what would you never read?

 To answer the second part of your question, I was working from midnight until 8 AM at the desk of an Athens youth hostel twenty years ago. To pass the time I read anything I could find. One night, the only thing available was a Jackie Collins novel. I think I made it to the second page before deciding that staring at the walls was preferable. That said, it was Jackie Collin’s works that one of my college professors railed against but pointed out that those novels were not necessarily easy to write.  As for preference, I move back and forth between fiction and non-fiction. My friend Gabrielle owns an independent bookstore and he has given me stacks of galleys. For a time I decided to read every one. Though there were some unexpected gems most of the books were awful. But having gotten through them I realized that the experience of reading them was invaluable. If you read good fiction you run the risk of emulating it. After reading junk you can write against it. It also allows me to realize when something is not working in my own writing.

The main character in your upcoming story has a ‘gift’—do you know anyone like this?

No. I began this as a reaction against some things I read. I am hesitant to use the word gift. He is receiving a calling but lives in a culture where it is not understood and cannot be answered.

Can you talk about your upcoming children’s book, The Open Pillow?

 The Open Pillow was made up on the spur of the moment to put a child to sleep. It was after that I sat down and put the work on paper. There were elements that fell into place without my consciously planning them like the size of the pillow actually corresponding to the animals rejecting it. I realized that because I was playing around with a piece of graph paper. The original draft had the animals speaking.  In rewriting, I realized that I could set Adam apart by having only him speak. It was also important for me make the point that growth alone is not sufficient. One needs to be in the right place at the right time which allows for a person to see your inherent value. The story sat in a drawer for years because several people expressed interest in doing the illustrations but none did the work. Though I was pleased that you also offered, it meant little until you began producing completed illustrations that corresponded beautifully to the text.

I am over the moon about being part of this book, I love it. 

Thanks again David!

Is Nano a Useless Process? Maybe Not...The Psychology of Writing

Nano can be a grueling, exhausting, and exhiliarating experience--and I hate it.  Sometimes.

I signed up last minute and regretted it almost immediately.  I do not like to NOT finish something.  But, I don't think I will finish Nano.

I had a million internal reasons to not finish:  it is a terrible month to start Nano--why not summer?  Who chose November?  It is a waste of time--the writing is forced.  To busy, too tired, too whatever.

So I looked up authors who write everyday.  Seems Roald Dahl did it, Stephen King does it, and many others feel it is the thing to do. 

Why does it suddenly feel very hard to write for two hours?

I see people who have already written 30, 35, 40,000 words--and I am happy for them, but uninspired.  And aggravated. 

But I am still in it and my competative nature is rearing its ugly head so I had better get writing.  Wish me luck...

Read an article on the psychology of writing from Psychology Today below.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/untangling-lifes-complexities/201003/so-you-want-be-writer

Day 93 from 100 Unfortunate Days for Sample Sunday

Day 93

I was born in Venice on the 4^th of July—which means nothing to anyone in Venice.  I was born with jet-black hair and very light blue eyes.  Then all my hair fell out and grew in very light blonde.  My eyes have remained light blue.  I was left on a ferry boat when I was 3 months old—I don’t know if it was on purpose or not—but I was raised covertly by the Queen of England until I was 5, then she could not keep me under wraps anymore because I moved around too much and she felt I should be going to school.  I was sent to stay with the Queen’s illegitimate sister who lived in France.  She taught me how to play the guitar and wear makeup.  I stayed there until I was 8 and then I worked in a coffee shop and slept there at night next to the picture window that had a toile cushion beneath it because no one minded.  I ate small sugary biscuits with tea or coffee every day for breakfast and wrote sad love songs until I kissed a boy.   I got a tattoo of his initial on the underside of my middle finger and never told him.  I left the lyrics to a song on a table outside the coffee shop one afternoon and could not find them later that afternoon.  I heard a song on the radio a year later that used my lyrics.  I never told anyone.  I took a train to Germany and died my hair jet-black again.  I had 5 children in 5 years and gave them all away to charity.  I worked in a guitar shop and met Jimmy Page and we spent the night together.  I got a tattoo of his initials on the underside of my middle finger of my other hand and swore my love to him eternally.  He said he would love me forever too.  I stayed awake once for 3 days because I was sad.  I moved to Spain because I needed to be warm and painted my front door a different color every day.  My skin loved the sun and the black faded from my hair.   I wore jewelry with diamonds and flowers in my hair.  When I looked at the sky at night I could see the face of my true love who I knew I would never meet.  Sometimes I see children with light blue eyes and jet-black or light blonde hair and I know they are mine.  I never say anything.

100 Unfortunate Days-------------> 

Are We What We Write?

I have written several books in the last year, a few of them very dark.  One of the books, 100 Unfortunate Days, was called by a dear friend "a sure sign that you are a lunatic". 

I laughed this off at first because the book is certainly not about me, but the voice kept returning, and I wondered if my writing did indeed prove that I was at least partly nuts. 

After looking up articles from authors including J.K.Rowling, I not only felt better about my mental health, but about my writing in general.  It made me think we all have a story to tell, and we writers choose to tell ours in words.  There are endless ways to be ourselves, and if we have a dark side that needs to be talked about, incorporating it in a story can be a wonderful thing. 

I suddenly have more respect for people who have different passions:  mountain climbing, sky-diving, singing, cooking, or any one of the millions of ways we experience our own lives.  We're going through our #%@ in our own ways.  Good for us.  Find your thing and do it...as soon as you can.  :)

Article on J.K.Rowling and how she began writing.

http://theinnerwriter.com/39/jk-rowling-on-writing-and-depression/

100 Unfortunate Days  -------------->

Absorbed and Anne Boleyn

My short story Absorbed is a dark tale featuring an overbearing and abusive boyfriend and his girlfriend Violet, who finds a beautiful but mysterious gift on her doorstep.

After reading Absorbed, my friend sent an email with a link to this painting by Tansy Myer.  It was recently featured at the Compound Gallery in Portland, Oregon, and was inspired by Vercor's novel, Anne Boleyn.

Myer painted Boleyn because "she was a strong woman, a rebel with convictions--and history, (written and manipulated by men) rarely looks kindly on that combination."

The painted stunned me because of remarkable congruences with my story Absorbed.

Lovely and terrible--hopefully just like my story.

Click pic and see Tansy's site------------->

Link to Absorbed below pic of Anne Boleyn---------->

Name the Evil

I am the happy winner of Kim Koning's Coffin Blog quest to name her psychopathic killer in her upcoming story.  I will receive several books, and the thrill of having the name I chose for her character used in her book.  The name for this maniac will be Michael Dali, after the Archangel Michael and the twisted and surreal mind of Salvatore Dali.   Please take a look at her blog below, and get a great intro to her new story.

http://kimkoning.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/coffinhop-the-winner-is/

My cousin Michelle says 'to name it is to tame it', but I don't know if that bit of wisdom is true in this evil and twisted tale...

A bit of self-promotion...my short story ABSORBED is nearing the 10,000 mark on Amazon!  I'm thrilled--please take a look--dark and bloody--a serial killer is born.-------------->

Everyone I Write About is at Least Partially Me

I published my first book, 100 Unfortunate Days, one month ago. 

The book was written from a dark place, the darkest corner we all find ourselves in sometimes and feel we can't get out of.  It is about a bad marriage, the sometimes awful experience of having children, and other areas that women sometimes don't discuss or admit.   It was written at a feverish pace, and though not about me exactly, much of the book contains my own experiences and feelings. Stephen King said that all of the characters he writes about are at least partially him.  We can't help it--everything we do and think and feel is from our personal perspective. 

Although the narrator of my book is unstable and more than a little crazy, I found writing in her voice to be better than years of therapy.  It made me think of the advice we so often hear in magazines or from friends when something or someone bothers us--write a letter you never plan to send.

Maybe we should write letters we DO plan on sending--not only to the person who has upset us--but to everyone else, too.  Write in your blog, or in a magazine.  We can get validation, or support, or maybe even a scolding if we deserve it--but at least the problem will no longer be only our own.  Write anonymously, or under a pen name.

Maybe if we stop trying to change ourselves we will be able to write more of the truth.

  

 

Coffin Hop NOOK Winner!

Congratulations to Robert T. Smales of Salem, MA, who won the NOOK Simple Touch in today's Coffin Hop Nook and Book Giveaway!  How fitting that someone from Salem won a contest in the Coffin Hop for Halloween!

Hope you enjoy the NOOK Robert!  Thanks for hopping by!  Thanks to everyone for visiting As the Crowe Flies.  It was so nice to read all of your comments and meet you, hope you enjoy the books.  And a big, warm WELCOME to all my new blog followers.  :)

Last Day of The Coffin Hop!!

The wonderfully creepy Coffin Hop is upon us!!  Come one, come all!!  Authors and artists for scares...OH MY!

Short Fiction, Big Thrills

Novels are wonderful.  They absorb us completely and take us to places we have never been, and sometimes never want to leave.  When we watch full feature movies we are allowed to watch someone else's life for two hours and be free from our own worries and cares.

Sometimes we don't have time for this love affair, but we still want it. 

The short story is the quickie of the literary world.  It gives us that same backseat thrill without the time investment or need for full-out love commitment.  Short and sweet, and we are left smiling.

Sometimes short is more.

#ShortIsMore: Short Fiction Week http://t.co/8hjsk9Rv

Psychologically dark and thrilling short story, Absorbed. --------------------> 

Just in Time for Halloween

Ghosts, witches and a few nasty goblins are just what we expect during this chilly and creepy time of year.  The kid's can have some fun too when they read The Moon is No Place for a Ghost, released on Amazon today!

The ghosts need a place to live after their home gets infested with PEOPLE!  And Officer Splot and Goblin Grime want to put them Otherworld Jail for unofficial scaring.  Can their friend Penelope the Witch save the day, or will they end up in Otherworld Jail forever!!

Recipe for Love

I don't believe there is a tried-and-true path to true love, I do not believe all loves last, but I do believe we can have more than one true love in our lives.  Although I am not a magician or witch, I wish there were some type of magic we could do to make that special someone love us forever.  And there have been times when I wished a love would just end. 
Here is a Recipe for Love taken from 100 Unfortunate Days, and don't forget...be careful what you wish for...

Recipe for Love.

3 ounce of rum (can be spiced, coconut—anything—) that has been left in the moonlight for 3 nights.  If you leave it in the waxing moon, the person will notice you, if you leave it in the waning moon, the person will leave, if you leave it in a full moon the connection will last forever—whether you like it or not.

3 leaves of fresh mint

3 grains of salt

3 grains of sugar

3 ounces of club soda or seltzer

3 ice cubes

3 tiny pieces of a fresh basil leaf

Put all ingredients in a metal or glass shaker (no plastic because it will steal the energy) and shake very quickly to a slow count of 3 with your eyes closed.  Serve immediately.  Do not serve this drink to more than one person—you would pay for that mistake for the rest of your life.

I think we all believe in some form of magic...

A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way. Caroline Gordon

Something to Crow About

I am lucky to be hosting illustrator Dan Nokes next week!  Take a look at a sample of his work.  :)

Just in Time for Halloween

I made a new indie friend this weekend, Sandy Wolters.  After she helped me with several tech-related snafus, we talked about her new book, Justice for Emily, a steamy romance/suspense/thriller with a paranormal twist.

Here's a blurb about the book:

Rachael Merchant, a Phoenix Homicide Detective, is running from the images of her last case that are embedded
deep in her soul.  Before her journey is over, she will find herself embroiled in a twisted murder
investigation that involves the Chief of Police of Brownwood, Texas, as the main suspect.  Officer Patrick Sheehan will do whatever it takes to keep Rachael near him to get Justice For Emily.
Find Justice for Emily here:

I Want It Yesterday

I have pondered being a published author since I was 7 years old, when I wrote my first book, The Littlest Grape.  It was written on the paper from a 3 x 5 pad, and the cover was the cardboard from the back of the pad.  The illustration were done in colored pencil, and after I stapled the cover to the pages, I brought it everywhere and showed it to everyone I knew.  I thought it was the best book in existence, and could not even begin to fathom the leap from cardboard and staples to the seemingly magical and unattainable place on the bookstore shelves. 

The Littlest Grape was followed by endless writing. I loved the hit-and-run quality of poems, and one very popular (in my mind) poem I wrote was Waterbed, warning of a baby/waterbed combination.  I also wrote songs. Young Dr. Kildare, a soon-to-be chart topper, was as good as any Partridge Family tune.  I thought the flip side of that particular 45 would be another big hit, Veins in My Thumbs.  And I continued writing books. The Haunted House came with a warning on every page cautioning the reader of the terror he would soon experience.

I kept a diary/account of everything that happened in school and what I thought of everyone in my class in my desk in a maroon pad with a smiley face on the cover. It was discovered and passed around one day when I was absent, and some of the kids were not too pleased about what I had written. Though some of the attention was negative, I loved that people noticed and talked about the diary.

Life takes us many places.  We experience many things.  Some fall away, and some things stick with us.  Writing stuck.

I finally decided I would write as a vocation, and the process suddenly could not happen fast enough.  It was thrilling to publish my first book--but I compared myself to others I knew.  They had several books, and many reviews, and more titles in the works. They had 75 million Twitter followers and just as many reading their blog. I felt I was behind!  I had to catch up!  I had to write more and friend more people and Tweet everyone about everything and...

...then I realized something.  I can't catch up to everyone who has been doing this for a while.  It will take a long time to get followers and friends in this business and I will have to earn them. But the urgency came from a good place...I am finally doing the thing I should have been doing all along.  So--I took a deep breath, calmed down a bit, and let myself feel happy about everything that was going on.  I'll listen to the words of a great writer, Stephen King: 

"You have to read a lot, and you have to write a lot.  There are no shortcuts."

I'm still thrilled about my books and writing, but I'm not going to rush or compare myself to anyone.  I will take my competitive nature and use it to improve my writing.  I still can't wait to finish my next book...


Also want to mention two books I am reading and enjoying.  Cloud Nice is by Melissa Smith.  It is about a self-sufficient teen-aged girl who gets a very special guardian angel, and Underneath, by Heather Adkins, which is about an empathic woman whose new job takes her to deep, dark, terrible places.  I will be reviewing these books as soon as I am done reading them.  So far so great.

http://www.amazon.com/Underneath-ebook/dp/B0055COI9M

http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Nine-Paranormal-Guardians-ebook/dp/B004D9FF54         

Review

Five-star customer review on Amazon for Absorbed.

"Absorbed" is a Poe-esque tale that will get under your skin... Short in length, but not in content, this tale will make your skin crawl, as well as have you rooting for a character you're not so sure you should support. Crowe has crafted another fantastic piece of psychological thrill.

Absorbed

Today is the release of my short story, Absorbed.  Although it is not a Halloween story, it is creepy, dark and shivery.  You can find it on Amazon and Nook.  Have fun!

http://www.amazon.com/Absorbed-ebook/dp/B005SUBYYI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1317926781&sr=8-3

Welcome David Cleinman!

It is my pleasure to introduce David Cleinman, author of Toys in the Attic.
 

Q.  When did you start writing?

I began writing as a young teenager, but didn’t really get serious until a few years ago.  It was one of those things… get a job, work a job, put dreams on hold.  I decided enough is enough and got into a groove. 

Q.  I read the description of Toys in the Attic, and was struck by the fact that the lead character is a woman.  How did you find a voice for her?

As with all my characters, kind of like any artist, they speak to me.  Their voice follows who they are.  I’m not sure I can do the process justice by trying to explain it.  A character must be who they are.  In TITA our character is a severely abused teenager who wants to live a normal life, and makes every possible effort to do so, in spite of the horrible odds against her.  I will also add here that some of her trials and triumphs are largely based on girls I have known and worked with as a counselor and teacher. 

Q.  What inspired you to write this book?

A need to get lingering and horrible emotions out and make some peace with myself and my world.  Knowing teenagers who were raped, and watching them struggle, is tragic and deeply troubling.  I wanted to bring hope and inspiration into a dark and painful topic, while also showing that personal redemption is possible, no matter what the odds to the contrary might be.

Q.  Did the book evolve from your original story idea, and if so, how?

Yes and no.  The idea of the setting and the community were mine.  The events, however, were ALL based on true events, pieced together from different girls and young women I have known.  Some I observed personally.  Some came from reference, some via police reports and personal witnesses.

Q.  Can you tell us a bit about the book?

The book chronicles the life a teenage girl whose mother dies when she is just fourteen, leaving her alone with an alcoholic and severely emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive father.  Shortly after her seventeenth birthday her beats and rapes her, and she is forced to kill him in self-defense.  She ends up giving birth to his child, an immediate and ever present reminder of intense evil.  Her life, from that point on, is a daily exercise in duality.  The desire to be a top-notch business woman, and the inability to be a parent to a completely innocent child.  As the novel progresses, her personal growth requires her to confront her demons, of which there are so many. 

Q.  How long did the book take to write?

About a year to write, and quite a bit longer to frame in my mind.  Wrapping my head around the emotions and getting out of my own way slowed some of the process, and the end product is better for it.

Q.  Were you inspired by any authors?  Who?

For this novel, no.  Although there are some Stephen King-like concepts, that is fairly situational.  In some ways the must-bes of a given situation.

Q.  Are any of the characters based on real people?

Indeed.  But not so much the characters themselves, moreso the things they have endured and overcome.  The son, Conner, is largely based on a schoolmate of mine in grade school, who also demonstrated uncanny athletic prowess at a young age.

Q.  Was this book easy to write, or a struggle?

Difficult.  Both from an emotional standpoint, and also because I needed to get very delicate and disturbing situations just right.  Because the novel is filled with horrors and triumphs, melding the two together became an ongoing exercise in balance and control.

Q.  Tell me how you picked the title.

The title is a dual reference.  In one way it deals with actual lives built in real attics.  It also refers to the mental struggles we all face, big and small.

Q.  What is your favorite genre of book to read?

I’m pretty open in that regard.  At one time I loved fantasy above all else, followed by science fiction.  As I have matured, while I still enjoy fantasy and sci fi, I am enjoying historical fiction more, and religious irony (I would call it satire if satire did not imply funny). 

Q.  Are you working on any projects right now?

Always.  I am rebuilding my published novel, Principle Destiny.  Pulling it from print and going Indie with it with a new cover and title.  I am rewriting my original fantasy series, begun when I was thirteen, and rewriting another that I began in the early 1990s.  I have recently published an article marketing guide called. Wait for it, The Article Marketer’s Guide, and I am doing a vampire short series that changes the concept from blood to something more scary and less directly edible.

Q.  Do you have any writing goals for the future?

My main goal is to explore myself and create something unique and cutting edge.  I know myself well enough to state that it will be based on emotions and interpersonal struggle, regardless of the final form.

Q.  There are many steps in publishing an ebook, do you like any parts more than others?  What are they?

Really all I would say is that an ebook is just a print book formatted for an eReader.  The writing process is identical.  As always I prefer the story development and the characterization the most.  The formatting part is easier, but a lot less fun.

Q.  From your website it looks like you are very busy, you run a company and a foundation, what made you decide to write and how do you have the time?

I find that I am most productive when I am busy.  If I have too little to do I get bored and lackadaisical.  I need a full plate to keep me going.  In addition, having multiple projects going is more fun than being underworked!

website:  http://www.davidcleinman.com/writings

Toys in the Attic:    http://davidcleinman.com/writings/my-books/about-toys-in-the-attic/

  

Haunted

September is a funny month.  We are mourning summer and fearing winter.  Then October comes.  Something clicks and we embrace a new season.  We are now allowed to be evil and tricky. We can reveal a side of ourselves out that we hide all year.

The moon seems different, bigger somehow, and more willing to highlight the things that go bump in the night. 

There is something haunting in the light of the moon; it has all the dispassionateness of a disembodied soul, and something of its inconceivable mystery.  ~Joseph Conrad

We come to love the shivery nip in the air and relish in any haunted tales we happen to hear.  We decorate our houses with glowing pumpkins, bats and skeletons, and look for ways to frighten each other.  Transforming into tricky hobgoblins, we jump out from behind doors in the dark with flashlights under our chins.  As the last harvest withers, we quicken before the final leaf drops.

October is delightful and scary, our final spooky hurrah before winter crashes in.

 http://hauntedhappenings.org/

The above link is the official Haunted Happenings site for Salem Massachusetts.