Sep 26, 2022 | Thriller |
Denise Kalm is the published author; of the novel, Lifestorm. Her non-fiction books include Career Savvy – Keeping & Transforming Your Job, Tech Grief – Survive and Thrive Through Career Losses (with Linda Donovan), First Job Savvy – Find a Job, Start Your Career, and Retirement Savvy – Designing Your Next Great Adventure. Her books are available on all major sites as paperbacks and e-books.
The new definition of retirement is simply “doing what you want to do.” And this begins with
figuring that out and putting it into action. Retirement Savvy is designed to help you design and act on your dreams so that you can take full advantage of these well-earned years.
I’ve been writing since I knew how to write, actually delighting in writing assignments in school. That’s just a part of what made me different throughout my life (okay, weird). I also love to do public speaking, which sets me apart from many writers. I’m an extrovert and highly gregarious, which inspires some of my better ideas as well as giving me great input on dialogue. But that means some aspects of writing are frustrating, as being alone is not my core strength. The writing itself is one thing—once I get going, I have to remind myself to get up for a break. But editing is more challenging, as you rarely can achieve “flow” in editing.
I started out dreaming of being the next Stephen King or Robert Ludlum, liking to write horror as well as suspense. If you check out my writing, you’ll wonder at that, but I have an unpublished book (my first) that is a legitimate techno-thriller about biological warfare. I have an MS in biochemical genetics. And I have a boxful of great horror stories, two of which were published.
What made me switch genres and write four non-fiction, how-to books? I began writing career advice articles for IT magazines when I realized how many techies didn’t know how best to present themselves. As e-books and self-publishing got going (and the economy flat-lined), I was encouraged to publish my tips so more people could learn how to get a job more easily, keep it through layoffs and then transform it into something they loved. Once I had a process and design in mind, the books flowed easily so I could get them out to my friends and colleagues more quickly. I felt like this was a way I could make a difference.
As I got older, retirement started becoming real to me, though I wrote most of Retirement Savvy before I retired. And my plan came out of my book and loads of interviews, research, and thinking on the subject. I still work, though most of it isn’t for profit. I’m crazy-busy and enjoying it. But I do allow my travels to extend out, as I no longer have to cram them into too-short vacation windows.
I started a murder mystery set in a retirement community, and then Covid hit. I needed to interview people to give my story more reality—and I couldn’t. Then, I began to consider what else I could write. Realizing that no one could fire me anymore, I felt empowered to start a blog. The twice-weekly writing “assignment” keeps me busy, researching, talking to people, and responding to comments, and it’s writing I enjoy. Still, years remain to get back to fiction if I want to.
My favorite tip to writers is to go for a walk outside whenever you get stuck. It has to be outside; that’s where inspiration can be found. Don’t think about solving your problem; your brain is hard at work without your effort. Most times, to my endless surprise, the solution is there when I get back to work. I also find I can write whole short stories and articles in my head when I walk. It’s the most powerful inspiration I’ve found.
Writing-wise, I’m a member of CWC-Mt. Diablo.
Web site: www.denisekalm.com.
Twitter @denisekalm.
Blog: Right on the Left Coast | Denise Kalm | Substack
May 12, 2022 | Fantasy, Historical, Mystery, Thriller |
Alma Katsu. Photo by Evan Michio
Alma Katsu is the award-winning author of seven novels. Her latest is The Fervor, a reimagining of the Japanese internment that Booklist called “a stunning triumph” (starred) and Library Journal called “a must-read for all, not just genre fans” (starred). Red Widow, her first espionage novel, is a nominee for the Thriller Writers Award for best novel, was a NYT Editors Choice, and is in development for a TV series.
Something strange is taking place in the waning days of
WWII. Meiko, the Japanese wife of a U.S. fighter pilot, follows a mysterious and deadly disease spreading through the Japanese internment camps. Archie Mitchell, a preacher whose wife is killed during the explosion of a fu-go, or fire balloon, is seized with confusing thoughts of revenge. Fran Gurstwold, a reporter intent on escaping from her newspaper’s “pink collar ghetto,” is determined to write up the fire balloon incidents despite the Army’s embargo. And Aiko, Meiko’s daughter, escapes from camp and makes a dangerous solo journey back to Seattle when she’s told her mother has died. It’s all tied together by a forgotten episode in Meiko’s past: a trip taken with her researcher father to a remote island reportedly linked to the Japanese underworld.
Do you write in more than one genre? I’ve been writing historical combined with supernatural or horror or fantasy for six books, but in 2021 my first spy novel, Red Widow, was published. I got the opportunity to write Red Widow because I’d had a long career in intelligence and wanted to try to write a spy thriller that was a little unlike the usual fare—and had a publisher who was willing to take the chance! Overall I’d say writing in more than one genre is a big challenge: readers who like, say, mysteries aren’t necessarily going to pick up your romance novel. Then you have the challenge of trying to market to two separate audiences—it’s tougher than it sounds.
Tell us about your writing process: Generally, I write all morning, from about 7 am until noon, when I make lunch for the family, then write again in the afternoon until I sneak in a little exercise before making dinner. I take care of business during those hours, too: promotion, talking to agents and editors. Evenings are interviews or taping panels and reading ARCs for blurbs. I’m very lucky to do this full-time, but it is a lot of work.
For the historical horror novels, it starts with a quick sprint of research that helps me find the quirky characters and odd little-known facts that will give the book its magic. Then there’s a fairly detailed outline, and I start drafting. I generally draft from beginning to end these days, no jumping around to do favorite scenes first. First drafts are terse. I’ll do a couple more drafts, smoothing prose, filling in plot gaps, finding new twists, understanding the characters better, deepening and enriching. Then it goes to the agent for a first read, and that’s when the real work begins.
How long did it take you to write your first book? My first book, The Taker, took 10 years to get to a publishable state. I’d come back to writing fiction after a long break, and it took a long time to get my sea legs back. It was like I’d been lying on the couch eating potato chips for a decade, and I decided I wanted to run a marathon.
How long to get it published? Once it got to the point where I felt fairly confident it was publishable, it went fast. But those 10 years were filled with querying, and it wasn’t ready, so a lot of rejection and trying to fix the problems without having the chops to do it, which is why it took so long.
Do your protagonists ever disappoint you? I find protagonists much harder to write than antagonists. Villains are interesting, and my villains often end up taking over the book. Anti-heroes aren’t quite the thing these days and often come off as cliché.
Do you have subplots? If so, how do you weave them into the novel’s arc? My books are ALL sub-plots. Except for Red Widow, my books are usually multiple POV, and all those sub-plots have to come together in a satisfying way by the end. It is a ton of work. I use spreadsheets to keep track of everything.
What obstacles do you face when writing about historical figures? Three of my books are historical fiction based on real-life events. The first, The Hunger, is a reimagining of the story of the Donner Party. Most of the characters are based on real people, and I learned after that, people you have to be circumspect about doing that. It can be ghoulish to some readers. If you need to drastically change a real person’s life to make it fit your story, you’re better off creating a completely fictional character. My most recent book, The Fervor, is mostly fictional characters but it’s based on two real-life incidents: the explosion that caused the only deaths on the US mainland during WWII, and the internment of people of Japanese descent.
How do our readers contact you?
Alma’s website https://www.almakatsubooks.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/alm
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/almakatsu/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AlmaKatsuBooks/
Penguin Random House page https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667268/the-fervor-by-alma-katsu/
Jun 28, 2021 | Thriller, Uncategorized |
Thank you so much for having me on your blog!
The pandemic has been a tumultuous time for so many of us writery folks. Still, I’ve been super busy and full of ideas. My most recent release is a gothic romance story called “The House Must Fall,” which is a queer homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher. It’s part of the Haunts and Hellions Gothic Romance Anthology, and you can order a special edition with extra goodies from HorrorAddicts.net.
I also re-released my Rock ‘N’ Romance series in May. The Rock Season, Road Trip, and You Fell First are all music-inspired stories full of hope, love, and rock ‘n’ roll featuring folks from the San Francisco Bay Area on their journeys toward a happily ever after. Here’s a quick excerpt from You Fell First. The scene is told from Deputy Calvin Graham’s perspective as he’s directing traffic during a storm where trees are threatening to block the road. Those of you from the Bay Area will recognize this as Crow Canyon Road.
Cars flew by, ignoring signs to slow down, and my field training officer, Sergeant Diaz, warned me this could be a seriously hazardous situation. Diaz and I had thrown down some flares to hopefully grab the attention of drivers multitasking in their SUVs.
I couldn’t help but be distracted myself. Way up high on the hillside, a lone tree trimmer was strung up in the tree, trying to cut back some limbs that had fractured but hadn’t dropped. The guy’d been up there for at least two hours and the crew kept a close eye on his progress. He’d come down a few minutes prior and was on his way up the second tree, and for the life of me, I couldn’t help but watch the graceful way he managed to climb the ropes like some sort of acrobat in Cirque du Soleil. He was obviously experienced. I turned back to watch the traffic but I kept glancing back, captivated by his movements.
The wind picked up and howled through the canyon, causing his ropes to sway. Someone in his crew shouted at him in Spanish and he flipped them off. I chuckled to myself at their camaraderie before I turned back around. In time to see my life flash before my eyes.
Diaz shouted as the SUV heading right for us skidded at a forty-five-degree angle. The driver overcorrected and clipped our patrol car, causing the front end to slam into me and knock me backward. The SUV crashed into the trees, one of which the trimmer was suspended from.
Everyone froze as that tree groaned and lurched sideways, falling into the tree next to it. The trimmer dangled between the two, frantically trying to grab on to one or the other. He swung to the other tree and wrapped his arms and legs around the trunk.
I was still trying to catch my breath from where the fall had knocked the wind out of me. Diaz ran to my side. “Sonofabitch, Graham! You alright dude? You went down hella hard.”
I nodded as I coughed and gestured for him to help me up.”Paramedics are on their way. You need to get checked out.”
A cracking noise came from the other tree the car had smashed against and it shifted, jolting the car. I heard another crack and then shouts from the public works crew.
I reached into the SUV and came out with both kids. I managed to get several steps away as the tree groaned once more and fell forward onto the car.
The tree trimmer screamed as the rope, which was caught in the second tree, pulled his legs away from the tree he was holding on to.
That was a female scream. That’s a woman up there!
I watched in horror as the woman was pulled towards the fallen tree. She held on to the other tree desperately but she was losing the battle.
One of the other workers was getting harnessed up so he could climb the other tree and grab ahold of the hanging woman. The crew was trying to get around the giant tree but I spotted a more direct route. I pulled out my Leatherman and climbed up the back of the SUV so I could get to where the rope was attached.
Time stopped for a moment as I looked up into the trees. She stared down at me and then she nodded.
“Sí officer, corta la cuerda!” An older man on her crew who’d been trying to get to the rope gestured for me to cut it, but I worried the sudden change in tension would cause her to let go. My heart was in freefall as I prayed she wouldn’t be.
Do you write in more than one genre? I do! I love challenging myself. I started with paranormal and contemporary romance, and now I’ve branched out into horror and supernatural suspense.
Where do you write? What, if any, distractions do you allow? Wherever I can, whenever I can. I have all the distractions, especially over this past year. My current workspace is a standing desk in the living room. Between my two cats and psycho black lab, my two teens, and my husband, who is also working from home, it’s quite chaotic in our 1000sqft house.
What are you currently working on? I’m currently working on a co-author project—remember what I said about challenging myself? It’s a gay romance set in the custom car world featuring a Puerto Rican family shop in Florida. It’s been so fun to have someone be just as excited about the story you’re working on as you are. We’re using Google Docs to go back and forth and writing a chapter at a time. I love it. My partner Sera Taíno and I are a good match.
Do you base any of your characters on real people? Well yeah. Anyone I know is fair game. Kidding. Maybe.
Looking to the future, what’s in store for you? A sabbatical from teaching after 27 years. I’ll be full-time writing as I work on my health and my home. As far as writing is concerned, I have a queer anthology coming out June 8th called Love Is All Vol 4 with some fantastic authors, which will raise funds for charity. Later this year, I have two full-lengths—a contemporary romance set in Spain and a supernatural suspense follow-up to last year’s Healer. I’ve got lots to do to get those ready for launch!
Do you have any advice for new writers? Find your people! Whether it’s a formal group or a site like NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that supports folks at all levels of their journey. Find a place where you feel accepted, where there are folks at different places in their journey, and where you feel supported. If all else fails, hit me up. I love to chat with folks, and brainstorming might be one of my superpowers… Maybe. If they actually exist.
How do our readers contact you?
Folks can find me at www.rlmerrillauthor.com, and I’m usually lurking @rlmerrillauthor on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I love connecting with readers and other writers, so don’t hesitate to reach out! I also write horror-inspired music reviews for HorrorAddicts.net, and I hope to start attending shows again soon now that I’m vaccinated. Maybe I’ll see you at the rock show! Thanks to George for having me on the blog today, and Stay Tuned for more Rock ‘n’ Romance…
I think it is wonderful that you can write in so many forms, fiction and nonfiction. I agree that walking is a good way to change your mindset and restore the “flow”.
I like walking outside as the antidote to being stuck, too. I actually love to walk. It loosens up my thoughts and puts me in a different mindset after being at my desk for prolongued periods. I think it’s wonderful that you can write in so many forms – fiction, career advice, mystery, horror.
I agree! Outside is where the inspiration lives. I walk, dig in my garden, haul downed eucalyptus for the dumbstruck, pull weeds, anything that allows my mind to “compost.” It’s what I call subconsciously mulling over. a sticky spot or new idea in my writing.
Great advice about walking outside when you get stuck. I do the same thing. I hope you get back to that murder mystery set in a retirement home. Maybe the heinous crimes could be committed by a monster so you could bring in the horror aspect. The worst monsters are always human anyway. Good luck.
Actually, I think it’s more interesting when it’s not a monster, but some pushed to the edge. But thank you.