Writers At Work
To give other writers a realistic idea of what writers really do, Ravenshead has been interviewing selected writers.
The interviews provide other writers with help and inspiration and an insight into how real writers work. Each interview has in common a set of open questions.
The surprising thing about the interviews is how different each writer's replies are. The one thing all have in common is a passion for writing.February 2008 An Interview with Michael LaRocca
This is the twelfth in Ravenshead's series of interviews with writers.Michael LaRocca is someone who doesn't stand still for long. In his varied career he has lived in North Carolina, Hong Kong, China and Thailand. His jobs range from pig farmer to military electronics specialist. In recent years he's settled down a bit, as a teacher, editor, proof-reader and writer. His early writing talent was obvious and in 1982 (at 16) he was featured in Who's Who in American Writing.
Ravenshead (RH) interviewed Michael LaRocca (MLR) in January 2008 and the interview is reproduced here
November 2007 An Interview with David Brewerton
David Brewerton was born in
London and still lives there working as a freelance author and journalist.While writing for the Independent he was the driving force behind the investigation of the Guinness Affair which led to the jailing of several prominent businessmen.
His first full length novel, Impeccable Sources, has just been published and is based on his long experience of investigative stories.
Read the full interview here.
August 2007 An Interview with JoAnn Ross
In the September 2007 interview we talk to JoAnn Ross Most writers dream of having one book published. Author JoAnn Ross is about to have her 100th published! JoAnn has regularly been in the New York Times best-seller lists and two of her novels have been excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine.
Her web-site is a "must visit" site for writers and has interesting background about her books and career plus some great research links and detailed articles full of hints and writing advice.
JoAnn was Born in Santa Monica and grew up in Oregon's ranching country and is now blissfully settled in the foothills of Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains.
Her next book will be out on February 5th, 2008 and is the first of the new "High Risk" series featuring former Special Ops heroes.
Read the full interview here.
August 2007 An Interview with Juan Gomez Jurado
In the August 2007 interview we talk to Juan Gomez Jurado With his first book Juan Gomez-Jurado has deservedly jumped to the top of the best-seller charts. God's Spy is a gripping, imaginative page-turner which combines the best of 'The Da Vinci Code', 'The Name of The Rose' and 'Silence of the Lambs'. This really is a book everyone should read. It has been translated into 27 languages and would make a superb film. Juan Gomez-Jurado also has the modern accolade of a detailed entry on Wikipedia
Juan worked as a journalist and corporate boss, but with the success of God's Spy he has taken up writing full-time. He is currently working on a new novel which is set in the Middle East.
Read the interview here.
June 2007 An Interview with Stewart Ferris
In the June 2007 interview we talk to Stewart Ferris Stewart Ferris is the author of over 40 books, including the 5-star rated The Key to The da Vinci Code and How to be a Writer. There are free samples of each on Stewart's web-site. He's also written for television, film, radio and stage, and runs his own publishing company with an annual output of 70 new books, dozens of DVDs, eBooks and audiobooks.
When not writing or publishing, he can be found pounding the streets in preparation for this year's New York marathon, which will be his first attempt at running for anything longer than a bus.
Stewart's web site is well worth visiting and has some great free downloads including a movie formula and a character questionnaire.
He is currently working on a DVD adaptation of How to be a Writer.
For some very practical and useful advice on getting published read the interview here.
April 2007 An Interview with Cheryl Wright
In the April 2007 interview we talk to Cheryl Wright Cheryl is a hard-working and enthusiastic Australian writer who was born in Victoria but now lives and works in Melbourne. She runs the Writer2Writer web site and is romance editor for QPN Press and has her own site.
She is currently working on 'Winter Sabbatical' which will be released in November (2007) by Black Velvet Seductions, a novel called 'Arms of a Stranger' and a fantasy romance anthology.
Cheryl has written numerous books and has received many awards.
Many authors describe writing as 'a life-saver'. Read the interview here to find out how this really is true for Cheryl.
December 2006 An Interview with Pauline Edward
In the December interview we talk to Pauline Edward Pauline Edward is a Canadian writer who was born in Alma, a small town in Quebec, and now lives in Montreal in Quebec. She is an astrologer, numerologist, author and speaker.
She has published Astrological Crosses in Relationships and "The Power of Time - Understanding the Cycles of Your Life's Path" has just been released.
Details of Pauline's award winning consulting business can be found on her bi-lingual web-site A Time For Success.
Read the interview here.
October 2006 An Interview with Juliet E McKenna
In the October interview we talk to Juliet E McKenna Juliet is a fantasy author. She has a web site, is one of The Write Fantastic authors and writes a regular blog.
She has already published nine novels with Orbit. Fans will be pleased to hear that 'Eastern Tide' is published by Orbit on 5th October. This is the final volume of The Aldabreshin Compass sequence that began with Southern Fire.
Read the interview here.
September 2006 An Interview with Gary Entsminger
Read the fourth in Ravenshead's series of interviews with writers.
Gary Entsminger is an eclectic writer with an enthusiasm for both arts and science.
He's written book reviews, poetry, technical papers, technical books, and novels. He's also an accomplished guitarist and mandolinist and can be seen and heard at The Musician's Corner and his web-site. If you've ever thought about working for yourself and make a living from writing, then read this.
August 2006 An Interview with David O'Sullivan
This is the third in Ravenshead's series of interviews with writers. David O'Sullivan is native Irish and has been in the Twin Cities for 20 years. He has appeared at Lakeshore Players and Na Fianna Irish Theatre and has had plays produced in Chicago, Rockford, and the Twin Cities. Details of his work can be found on his web-site. This includes the short play "Mr Smottle Acquires a Smaller Hat" and the cyclical play "The Bridge Party". The latter has yet to be produced and anyone interested should contact David via his web-site.If you want to know David's Golden Rule of writing and get an insight into the craft of writing for the stage then read this.
Budding playwrights will find David's "Re-write Checklist" very useful.
Read the interview here.
July 2006 An Interview with Strephon Kaplan-Williams
This is the second in Ravenshead's series of interviews with writers. We asked very similar questions to those we put to John Rymell in May and got very different answers. Strephon Kaplan-Williams is a long established writer and examples of his work can be seen in the Jungian-Senoi Dreamwork Manual and in his innovative and very successful Dream Cards.He currently produces a regular podcast and runs a fascinating dreamwork web-site.
Read the interview here.
May 2006 An Interview with John Rymell
This is the first interview and a very interesting start to our series. John is both editor and contributing writer for the Muncy Station Review, a bi-monthly anthology magazine. He has been a winner in the National Novel Writing Month contest in 2004 and 2005. He has just published the first novel of a trilogy Adjudicator which has received a 5-star review on Amazon.com and he's busy working on the second and third volumes.Read the interview here.