Renee interviews author Stacey Horan

Tags

author, books, entertainment, Life, literature, publishers, writing

Stacey and I met when we participated in an author panel discussion in Jacksonville. Her Young Adult books involve contemporary settings, with a twist. She believes, “Real life is scary and interesting enough on its own. I don’t think you need to embellish it.”

 
Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
I grew up in southwest Florida (on the Gulf Coast), but I’ve moved around a lot as an adult. My husband and I have a tendency to pack up and move every 3-6 years. We’ve lived in several cities in Florida, moved overseas to live in the UK and then moved back stateside to live just outside of NYC. Our most recent move took us to Jacksonville, Florida, where we now live with our two dogs – and we are hoping to stay put for a while.
I have degrees from UCF and Duke Law School, and I practiced law for almost twenty years. Now, I write full-time.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
I was working full-time as in-house counsel for an international corporation. It was a very fast paced, high-pressure job, but it wasn’t artistically creative. Needing a creative outlet, I began writing stories at night, on weekends and, occasionally, on my lunch break. The first book I started writing took about 12 years to complete, but it wasn’t my first published book. It was actually the third book I published. I’ve been writing for almost 15 years, and I have four books published with another one on the way. I write Young Adult fiction, and I love the genre. My books are, in publication order: Sycamore Lane, Inland, Ortus and Juvenis (the last two are the first two installments in a five-part series called The Elixir Vitae Adventures).

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
The biggest challenge for me is marketing my books. When I first started out as an author, I was surprised by how much time it took to market my books and promote myself as an author. I’m not a natural salesperson, so it’s a skill I’m still developing.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
I consider it my biggest success when people (especially kids!) come up to me and tell me they’ve read and enjoyed my stories. There’s no bigger thrill, or honor, as a writer.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you?
I gravitate to thrillers, mysteries and suspense. When I was a kid, my mom (who taught elementary school for many years) introduced me to my very first Nancy Drew book. I read that first one (The Secret in the Old Clock), and I was hooked! I couldn’t get enough. In one summer, I ready every Nancy Drew book my library carried.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
I’d like to be able to say “yes,” but that’s not true. I don’t write every day. I find it’s an impossible goal for me to set for myself. Nevertheless, I aspire one day to be able to write everyday. That being said, I do work at my writing job everyday. There is always something that needs to be done. Either I’m writing my stories, editing my stories, researching and planning my stories, trying to market my books and/or handling other administrative tasks that need my attention. Writing is only part of the job – it’s the best part, but it’s still only one part.

What are your interests outside of writing?
I have just recently started a podcast entitled, The Bookshop at the End of the Internet. (I’ve recorded half a dozen interviews so far, and the first episode will go live in early December). The podcast is dedicated to helping book lovers find new authors. I interview authors from all walks of life, who write across all genres and who are published in a variety of ways (indie, small press, large publishing houses). It’s been a lot of fun speaking with the authors about their writing journeys, and I’ve learned something new about the art of writing from each interview.
I also do classroom visits with schools via Skype in the Classroom. It’s been a lot of fun to speak with students about writing and to answer their questions. So far, I’ve spoken with classes in half a dozen different states in the US, as well as classes in Canada, Panama and Australia. It’s been quite an adventure.

Share some tips: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
If I had to do it over again, I would have started writing much earlier. It would have been great to discover the joy of writing in school (by which I mean writing my own stories in my own way) and to have practiced that craft for much longer than I have been doing to date. Nevertheless, I came to writing at a time when I desperately needed a creative outlet, and I’m just pleased to have found it at all.
When I was ready, I took a leap of faith and made writing my full-time job. It was a bumpy start, but now I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s the best job in the world.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an interview, email her at rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com.

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Dignity versus Safety

Tags

aging, Family, Health, Life, Parents, relationships

We’ve watched Mom lose her memory, hearing, financial prowess and driving skills. But we’ve also tried not to become overly controlling in her life.

Yet there are few options when a 93-year-old parent doesn’t use good judgment, suffers from loneliness, confusion and becomes an easy target for predators. She insists that she “wants to die in my own home,” yet refuses to allow us to hire any assistance.

Like many adult children, we have begun to walk a tightrope between overstepping boundaries and ensuring that she makes it through the day by giving her medications, paying bills and preparing meals. For more than a year there were telltale signs suggesting that we must take more assertive action: When we noticed that Mom could no longer differentiate between advertisements and legitimate bills, we took over her finances.

Occasionally, she has lucid moments and we enjoy them, too. For a brief time, we have our mother back.

Most days, when debating whether we should intervene in her life, we try to give her the benefit of the doubt. All living involves some risk. We can’t rob Mom of her dignity in the name of safety.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.

Renee interviews author Pat Stanford

Tags

author, Brain, Family, Health, inspiration, Life, writing

Pat wrote about her sister in Fixing Boo Boo: A Story of Traumatic Brain Injury, which won a gold medal in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards. It’s an inspiring story of one family and the struggles they face when a sibling with a brain injury comes to live with them. Sadly, Pat’s experience resonates with nearly 9,000 families in Florida, who devote their lives to caring for brain-injured loved ones every year.

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
I was born in Philadelphia, simply because that was the nearest hospital to my father’s farm in New Jersey. When I was a year old, my father and grandfather bought land in south Florida, wanting to farm year-round, so I grew up in the town of Delray Beach, which is now quite the artist’s colony. After two years at Palm Beach Community College, I transferred to Florida State University, where I received my B.S. in Secondary Education, a degree I never used, since I ran off and joined the Air Force.
Most people don’t realize that I cut my teeth, so to speak, on writing poetry which I have been doing pretty much since I could hold a pencil. This came naturally enough since my mother wrote little ditties and sometimes serious poems in a little “write in book” that had blank pages. I will have a collection of mine published by year’s end.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
After my sister passed away in 2012, I was left with notes that every caregiver most likely keeps. These are lists of medications, who you spoke to and when, emails back and forth between my husband and me, and between doctors’ offices and both of us. Then there was the saved information for just about anything that could and probably would eventually have to be dealt with. In cleaning out my computer files, I was going to delete them, but then really started looking through them and thought maybe someone else could benefit from them. I started organizing them into a timeline of sorts and thought I’d write a memoir about my experience with brain injury. My critique group wanted dialogue “to move the story along” and after arguing with them that that would make it fiction, my creative non-fiction book was born.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
The biggest challenge was thinking “Why am I doing this? Boy, this is stupid – no one is going to read this thing.” Well, apparently, there are people who were helped because I get comments at festivals and signings, thanking me for writing something they cannot do and that is to let others know they aren’t alone in their struggle. So basically, my biggest challenge was…me!

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
That would have to be when I received the gold medal at the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Book Awards. I thought I would get the bronze, but someone else’s name was announced. I was in shock when the silver medal was announced and it wasn’t me. I looked at a friend at the dinner table with a sort of silent scream because I knew I had the gold. Talk about taking doubts away about writing ability!

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I love all books and – both fiction and nonfiction. I try to read at least 60 books a year and track it on Goodreads. Nonfiction include “technique books” for improving writing skills and then I also read biographies. I am currently reading the biographies of all the presidents in order. Being a Civil War nut, I also like almost anything written on that subject.
Fiction I like to read is more of the Action-Adventure type – think Clive Cussler – and that is what I will want to write when I am finished with the follow-up to Fixing Boo Boo.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
Ummmm…I write most days. I tend to binge read and then binge write. I don’t have any rituals aside from always having a little notebook with me, just in case a thought strikes me.

What are your interests outside of writing?
I have a rose garden I tend to when it isn’t so blazing hot. My husband and I have a boat that we take out in Apalachee Bay for fishing and sometimes snorkeling for scallops, reading (duh), art museums, which sometimes inspires me to draw and paint, something I used to do a lot more of. I used to be OCD about cleaning, but this writing thing has pretty much cured that.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
What I’d do differently – Not waste as much time thinking that what I write isn’t good enough and just write better, using some sort of guideline. While I’m not an outline kind of girl, if I had something more than the timeline in place, it would have helped. Also, I would have studied what to do before the book was published – what marketing works and what doesn’t. Do some advance work like social media marketing, creating a buzz about it and then, what to do after the book was published. I had no idea that I’d be putting myself out there one on one and talking to people. But, I can tell you, having been an insurance agent, I would have to say this is easier and a LOT more fun!
What I’d do the same – I was writing for a specific audience and they are getting the message, but others are also finding out what it was like living with a brain-injured person.
I would also still have a critique group – these people were the reason my manuscript ever got finished. Not only were they expecting me to write, they gave me (mostly) positive criticism about what did and didn’t work.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her: rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com

Renee interviews author Jenny Nazak

Tags

author, environment, Green, inspiration, Life, lifestyle, writing

I met Jenny at an alumnae gathering of our shared women’s fraternity. Her passion for the natural environment impressed me almost as much as artistic flair! Her e-book, “DEEP GREEN, Minimize Your Footprint; Maximize Your Time Wealth and Happiness”  is a how-to manual on green living that was recently published in paperback,too.

 
Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
Being in a military family (Navy), I grew up moving every couple of years, and pretty much loved every place in its own way. The place that made the deepest impression on me (even though I was only four years old when we were stationed there,) was Japan. We traveled a lot too, driving cross-country several times and camping along the way. I now live in a historic neighborhood near the ocean in Daytona Beach, my adopted hometown.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, and visiting national and state parks with my family, I experienced breathtaking natural scenery while at the same time getting the message that the environment was in danger from human excesses. As an adult, I traveled in Europe and lived in Japan, where I observed people living at a much lower footprint than the typical United States resident. It seemed to me not just eco-friendlier, but also an altogether richer, more satisfying, and, not incidentally, more BEAUTIFUL way of life than the harried, car-centric, money-focused lifestyle of my native culture.
I’ve intended to write books since I was a small child. At age 55, I’m just getting started a bit late! My favorite subjects as a kid were art, languages, and English literature. My college major was English with a minor in sociology. Later, I got an associate’s degree in graphic design. And I went on to study a field called permaculture design, which is a nature-based approach to the design of human living environments. Basically, permaculture is nature-based efficiency principles. It’s very powerful stuff, with great potential to not only mitigate environmental damage, but actually IMPROVE the health of ecosystems.
My career path has been a winding one, from magazine editorial staffer when I first got out of college; to English conversation instructor in Japan; to Japanese translator; to permaculture designer/educator; to artist and writer. I also teach a course on consciousness. And I’ve certainly done my share of odd jobs along the way to pay the bills! For simplicity’s sake, the umbrella title I use on my 1040 forms is “Sustainability Educator, Self-Employed.”
It’s taken me a while to figure out that I’m primarily a writer who also happens to make art, rather than an artist who also happens to write. Given my love of the natural environment, and my belief that it’s everyday people, in our many millions, who have the power to make the biggest difference in the world, it was inevitable that my first book would be a practical “how-to” manual on green living. Actually, I wrote a children’s story a couple of years ago, but I never illustrated it (or found an illustrator) and haven’t published it, so I don’t count it (yet). In addition to having other books on sustainable living in the works, I’m also planning to write short stories and a novel.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
Continuing to believe in myself over the years, when my heart and intuition guided me away from a more accepted mainstream path. Also, once I wrote my book, MARKETING was a far bigger challenge than the writing itself had been.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
Realizing that the book is good! Realizing that even longtime environmentalists dedicated to living a low footprint are getting new information and new ideas from my book. And realizing that the book has a very large secondary audience, of people who aren’t necessarily “green” but really want to save themselves money and take back their time, and add more beauty and joy to their lives. A low-footprint lifestyle gives all of these benefits.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I am a devourer of books, fiction and nonfiction alike. My favorite fiction writers I can think of off the top of my head right now are Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, Virginia Woolf, and D.H. Lawrence. In nonfiction, A Pattern Language (an incredibly rich, dense book about what makes urban spaces comfortable and functional) rocked my world, as did The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins, and Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands by Brad Lancaster. It’s hard to pick — so many books and writers have influenced me!

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
I write most days. I let days go by too often without writing. I’m trying to get more consistent. What’s helping me is just having a “current notebook” in which I give myself permission to write ANYTHING that comes to mind, be it fiction fragments, reactions to news items, or whatever emotion is going on in my head.

What are your interests outside of writing?
I love the beach, walking, reading, exploring on foot and by bicycle the forgotten corners of whatever city I’m living in. I’m fascinated with traditional urban design; what makes urban environments functional and beautiful. And when I see something and think it’s “ugly,” I always stop and analyze why. One seemingly unexpected passion I have is decluttering and organizing. I’m kind of obsessed with cleaning fridges; making sure there aren’t two bottles of ketchup that could be consolidated into one.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
What would I do differently? Not waste so much time listening to negative voices in my head! We all have a message to share, and we have to trust that there are people who need to hear it. It’s impossible to please everyone, but at least I can stop giving so much weight to my own negative self-talk.
Also, one piece of advice I’ve heard from many sources, and tend to agree with, is, “Only write a book if you can’t NOT write it!” Writing isn’t easy, at least not for most people I know, and sometimes the only thing that keeps you going is your own inner conviction that you CAN’T NOT write this book. Deep Green was a book I literally HAD to write. I couldn’t NOT write it. So, all those negative voices in my head, telling me every day to give up? They lost!
And one final thing I would do differently, and will do differently next time? Override my aversion to self-marketing, and jump in! A big thing I had to learn as a writer was, If I don’t love my book enough to market it, why should anyone else? On that subject, I’ve started a low-footprint lifestyle blog at http://www.jennynazak.com

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her: rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com

Renee interviews author Lee Ann Mancini

Tags

author, books, children, Family, inspiration, Life, Religion, writing

Award-winning Christian children’s author Lee Ann Mancini writes whimsical stories, with characters who pray to Jesus, giving thanks or asking Him for guidance. She hopes that her books, including A Servant Like Jesus: Adventures of the Sea Kids , I’m Not Afraid!: Adventures of the Sea Kids, What a Bragger!, and Fast Freddy: Adventures of the Sea Kids will help children learn to be loving, kind, and Christ-like.

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.

I grew up in Aurora, Ohio, a small suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. I now live in Boca Raton, Florida with my husband of 30-years and I have two grown children. I met my husband when I was a rental manager at Kelly Tractor. I rented my husband earth-moving equipment! I started out as a receptionist, and after seven years I was the rental manager. After we were married, I sold real estate for a while until the birth of my son. After that, I was a full-time mom and volunteer for their schools and a few outside organizations. I have an AS degree-paralegal, a BA in Religious Studies, and three Masters in Biblical Studies. I received my BA and Masters in my late 40’s and early 50’s! It’s never too late. I started my publishing company and writing my books in my 50’s as well. A few of my children’s stories I wrote when my children were little, but always had a desire to have them published.

What inspired you to write these books? What is the story behind the story?
I wanted books that helped children see how to be loving and kind to others, and to pray to Jesus asking guidance or giving thanks during a difficult situation. I could not find any of this type of book when my children were little. It is my mission to create products for children under seven that help them to build a strong foundation in Jesus and to learn how to be loving, compassionate and kind to others.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
Learning how to become a successful writer and publisher. I knew nothing about the industry. The biggest obstacle is finding the time to do it all. I am an Adjunct Professor at South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary, and I volunteer on a few other boards.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
Receiving my first award from IBPA and since then receiving over 25 awards for the series. Also, I sent out a questionnaire to the local Christian elementary school teachers with a galley of my book to get their opinion if they thought this was a book that should be published and/or any suggestions that they may have. It was an excellent conformation that what I was doing was the will of God. They were so kind to make some great suggestions and told me they, and the children loved the book and hoped I would publish it and write more like it!

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I love Max Lucado and anything that deals with Christian Theology. I have a vast amount of children’s books in my collection, some from when my children were young and also many from recent authors.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
I write every day for many different reasons (blogs, magazine articles, my new book). My ritual is to pray often and always before I write!

What are your interests outside of writing?

Jogging, teaching, going to my lake house and reading. I am currently working on a book for parents that will help them raise little ones to love Jesus like they love Mommy and Daddy.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
I think the biggest thing is to know your audience and your competition, but most importantly, write from the heart because you love it. Don’t expect to become wealthy or have your book turned into the next movie. Understand the industry and connect with other organizations like the Florida Authors and Publishers Asso. If you decide to self-publish, educate yourself! Double check everything! Learn the business! And pray often!

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her: rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com

Renee interviews author Rosemary Gard

Tags

author, books, Family, inspiration, Life, lifestyle, writing

Rosemary Gard never intended to write a series of books about Croatian immigrants. She simply wanted to write a history of her family for her adult children. At 80-years-young, she continues to delight readers with “Danica’s Destiny,” published last year, and frequent speaking engagements. (How many women can say that their portrait – with three friends in evening gowns – hung in the entry of the Chicago Playboy Club?)

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
I was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, when it was known as the melting pot. Croatian was my first language and I grew up in that ethnic community. I was the Croatian Queen during the Gary Golden Jubilee in 1956. Tom Harmon, father of NCIS actor, Mark Harmon, was Grand Marshall of the parade! I finished high school, but my Croatian parents felt an education was wasted on girls. I was sent to Communist Yugoslavia for three months to my father’s village outside of Zagreb, where I lived the life of a peasant girl. Later, I lived in Vicenza, Italy, (near Venice) for a year with my G.I. husband.
One summer I worked for a local newspaper, interviewing interesting people. The editor of the paper helped me greatly with my writing and word usage. Even while my husband and I owned a Coffee House and an Art Gallery, I continued to write – most of which I threw away.
My husband and I are antique appraisers for attorneys and individuals. I’m also a jewelry designer and sold my pieces in stores from Martha’s Vineyard to Davenport, Iowa.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
I decided to fictionalize the facts and the book, “Destiny’s Dowry,” won my first award. That first book started what is now a series of seven, including “Destiny Denied,” “Destiny’s Dance,” “Destiny Delivered,” and “Destiny’s Design.” Each follows the lives of the characters in the previous books. These are stories of people from the “Old Country” and how they lived going back to 1892 in, what is now, Croatia. The last book, “Stefan’s Destiny,” is currently being edited.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
When I start to write, the characters take over and tell me their story. I do not work from an outline. The first paragraph of each book, sets the tone for the story. When I start to write a book, I have no idea how it will end. The journey is interesting to me.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
My biggest “Aha” moment was when I won the first of my three awards. Then I knew that I was a writer and any rejection slip I had received in the past no longer had any effect on me.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
In the past I have read, Ayn Rand, Faulkner, Studs Turkel, (who stopped in the coffee house we owned in the 1970’s) Louis Adamic and many writers you may not be familiar with. I never read books while I am working on a novel, I feel it interferes with my writing flow and even my writing style.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
I do not write every day. However, once I start a book, I continue every day with it. I sometimes delete entire chapters because my characters are going in a different direction. You see, my book characters are based on real people, people who were part of my past, so I know what they would think and feel in a given situation.

What are your interests outside of writing?
Travel and collecting all forms of art, from Primitive African to Modern Mid Century and current. My husband buys out estates to resell. Recently I was interviewed for the Chicago Tribune, and the journalist said (as do many others) that our house looks like an Art Gallery or a museum.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
I feel that wanting to be a writer is not something you decide to do. You either are a writer or not. It is in you to write stories, anecdotes or articles. Almost every writer I’ve met has written or told stories going back to their childhood. The best advice I was ever given was from a New York literary agent. He said to study people. Watch someone from across the room, a stranger. By the way they sit, behave, etc. you can get an idea who they might be and even of their personality. For me, this has been great advice.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her: rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com

One year later

Tags

author, books, Humor, Life, publishers, relationships, Sanford Naval Academy, writing

Last August, I won a Gold Medal for my debut Young Adult novel, The Anchor Clankers. Since then, I’ve been writing a sequel, spending most days alone at my computer.

However, this year I understand that when the manuscript is finished, the hardest part begins: telling people about it.

My isolation disappears as I ask folks to read and edit my words, ask literary agents if they might represent me, ask readers for blurbs, post on Facebook (again and again), and eventually ask people to show up at some bookstore on a Wednesday night to listen to me read an excerpt from my work.

This author life is not for the timid.

I’m grateful to the people who read my book. And sometimes a friend from high school will surprise me by showing up to a reading or posting a review online. Sometimes a stranger will email me out of the blue and say they loved it, and in those moments, it feels like I’ve accomplished something impossible. Maybe not the Nobel Prize for Literature, but it feels better than I ever thought it could.

(Fortunately, the average age of Literature Laureates is 65 – I’ve still got time.)

Precious metal

Tags

children, Family, Home, inspiration, Life, relationships, wedding

There’s something startling about seeing a wedding ring on your child’s hand – a hand that never wore a high school or college ring, or jewelry of any kind.

It is a larger version of the pudgy little hand that so often reached for mine. The same toddler’s hand that dragged a chair across my kitchen floor to reach the counter and put pieces of bread in the toaster. (C’mon, we let him use a toaster, not fire up a barbeque grill.)

Today, his fingers are longer and carry more responsibility. They nurture a career, a home and a wife.

And now, they wear a ring.

 

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of “The Anchor Clankers.“

 

 

Renee interviews author Angelina Assanti

Tags

Family, Health, Humor, inspiration, Life

Angelina and I laughed over a cappuccino together during the Florida Library Association’s Annual Conference near Walt Disney World last month. Her quirky sense of humor (full disclosure: my family is from Boston) should serve her well as President-Elect of The Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.

I’m from a small town in Massachusetts that no one has ever heard of. I just tell people I’m from Springfield because everyone from New England knows where that is. I moved to Florida to attend college in Orlando, where I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business. I live in Fort Myers now. I went back for my high school reunion and was reminded how funny everyone is up there. Sometimes when I give a speech in Florida, people don’t know I have a background in radio and stand-up comedy and I deliver a funny line straight and they don’t know if it’s a joke or not. (Massachussians always get it.) I write the copy for the shows and always loved writing. I just never thought it was an actual career option. I’ve had several regular jobs in my life, but I would get bored and quit. I’m a quitter. My parents can’t believe I finished a few books. I guess I quit being a quitter.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
I got cancer a few years ago and went I went to the bookstore at the cancer center and asked for a funny book. The woman I asked looked at me like I was an alien and snapped, “No one wants a funny cancer book!” I’ll never forget her saying that to me. I proved her wrong. What a sucker! Not only did Thank God I Got Cancer…I’m Not a Hypochondriac Anymore! go on to win several awards and become a #1 bestseller in three categories on Amazon, but that very same cancer center carries the book and a few months ago, they gave me a beautiful, large crystal award for it. The pages in this book are literally ripped from the journal I kept while I was in treatment. I was never close to anyone who had cancer, so I wrote it like a playbook for cancer.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
I hate to sound like a jerk but looking back, I didn’t really have many obstacles. I joined a writing group in 2012 when I realized I wanted to write a book and got lots of sage advice from people who had been both traditionally and independently published and asked people questions. I wasn’t afraid to admit I had no idea what I was doing. The writing community is very strange in that they want to help other writers succeed. You don’t find that in many professions. So, I’ve heard. I never stayed in one long enough to find out.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
I’ve had a few but my favorite was in 2014. I was writing a book about recovery and Betty Ford allowed me to tour rehab and talk to the counselors and residents. They made me promise in return that I would write an upbeat, funny story about recovery. No pressure, there! I did win a national award in humor for Mark Taylor’s Checkered Past: Recovery Road (The Lottery Heiress) (Volume 2) the next year. Many people have contacted me and asked me when and where I went to rehab because they wanted to know I was in with them. I reply that I only did the research there and am not in recovery. I know that seems strange but people thinking I was in rehab is the compliment of my life!

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I love anything by Dave Barry or Nora Ephron. I miss her. She was a great storyteller.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
I don’t write in my manuscript every day. I do however carry a journal with me at all times and write in that every day. I used to keep digital notes in my smart phone until it crashed on me one day and I lost everything. I don’t chance it with technology anymore. I have heard several authors tell me their writing rituals but I’ve never heard any author have the same ones. We are all unique in our processes.

What are your interests outside of writing?
I used to be heavily involved with a rehab for homeless people but the cancer book has become the focus for my life right now. It’s hard to go through what I went though and come out the same person. When you’re in cancer treatment with the same people every day, some who are terminal, you wonder why it wasn’t you. It’s important for me to take the message out that early diagnosis saved my life and I had no symptoms of cancer. It was found on a routine exam. In Florida, someone is diagnosed with cancer every five minutes, so it’s important for people to know there are more survivors now than ever!

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
The first thing you need to do is join a writing group. I recommend you go to an actual group and not an online one. You need to network and meet people. That’s a huge missed opportunity in the writing business. The second thing to do is hire a professional editor. I can’t tell you how many people tell me, “Oh, I don’t need an editor, my spouse said it was good.” An editor will tell you the truth but they will also know how to analyze things such as continuity problems, character development, point-of-view issues, etc. Your spouse will lie to you and say your manuscript is perfect to avoid being smothered. Then, hire a copy editor. They will make sure there are no glaring mistakes in the actual book format. You don’t want the same person doing those two jobs and most people don’t know that.
I wouldn’t say I’d do much differently than I did. One thing I do (that most people I know won’t do) is I travel two hours every month to go to one of my writing groups. It is filled with NY Times and USA Today Bestsellers. If you want to be successful as an author, you have to be with people who are more successful than you. They don’t mind sharing their knowledge. You can’t expect everything to come to you. You have to be willing to go after what you want. Lastly, I know an author who was in her 70’s when she wrote her first book and she has had several made into movies. It’s never too late to go after your dream!

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her at rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com

Renee interviews author Sam Staley

Tags

author, books, college, Life, safety, Support, writing

I spent time with Sam at the Decatur Book Festival, where he was promoting “Unsafe On Any Campus?” The book about sexual assault won first-place awards in both the 2017 Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards in the Adult Non-Fiction category and the Royal Palm Literary Awards. (I encourage parents of college-bound students to read it.) Sam is a professor at Florida State University and I’d like to be the first to wish him a Happy Father’s Day!

Tell me about your background. Where you grew up, where you live now, education, work experience? Share some interesting things about yourself that we should know about.
I currently live in Tallahassee, Florida, but grew up in Ohio. In fact, until moving to Florida, I had a virtually uninterrupted legal residency in Ohio for 50 years. I raised my kids in a house one street away from the house I grew up in my hometown of Bellbrook. I had a job that required me to travel nationally and globally, but all my job needed was access to the internet and an airport. So, I did not have to move my family for my job. My work has taken me to China more than 30 times, nearly 100 cities in the U.S., and 43 U.S. states. This global perspective informs my writing which draws on multicultural themes and issues of identity. At the same time, virtual work allowed me to reap the benefits of a raising my children in a stable environment within five miles of two sets of grandparents, numerous cousins, and with friends they have known from elementary school through college.

What inspired you to write this book? What is the story behind the story?
I am the author of six novels and seven nonfiction books, so this question is a bit tricky! Each book has its own inspiration. This summer, SYP Publishing will release “Calusa Spirits,” the third book in the Pirate of Panther Bay series. This series was inspired by my desire to stretch my brain by stepping outside of nonfiction–I am an economist by profession—into a more creative space through writing fiction. At the time the series was conceived, I had a literary agent who challenged me to come up with a young-adult romance. I thought a series about pirates would be pretty cool, and I became really excited about it when the principle protagonist became a female pirate captain who was also an escaped slave. St. Nic, Inc., my second published novel, is a re-imagination of the Santa Claus myth prompted by the “big” question all kids ask when they become certain age: Is Santa Claus real? Santa Claus, in this case, is the great, great, great granddaughter of the original Santa Claus and a Millennial. The story is based in reality and takes place at the North Pole. Essentially, I found a real-world analogue for the elements of the mythology, and then threw international intrigue in to make it a real adventure.
My most recently published book, Unsafe On Any Campus? College Sexual Assault and What We Can Do About It, was prompted by the trauma of campus rape survivors that I got to know at Florida State University after I joined the faculty in 2011. Sexual assault is much larger and broader problem on college campuses than most people realize, but the solutions are not as straightforward as many assume (or hope). I felt the voices of rape survivors needed to be heard and coupled with practical solutions. The book is really a primer on campus sexual assault targeted toward parents of college-bound students in the hopes it would provide important information to a broad audience in a non-judgmental way, promote a wider discussion of the issue, and point toward practical ways we can address the problem. Unsafe On Any Campus? received a significant boost in visibility when it achieved first place finishes in the Royal Palm Literary Awards as well as at the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Awards in 2017.

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle?
My biggest challenge has been managing my various writing interests—just ask my publisher! I have been fortunate in that I have not suffered from writer’s block. So, my biggest challenges are carving out time to do the marketing necessary to make my books as successful as they should be, balancing my writing with my teaching course load at FSU, and getting enough sleep.

What has been your biggest “aha” moment or success?
My biggest “aha” moment, and the one that keeps me focused and sane, was when I realized I can only control what I can control, and I stopped trying to control the events I could not. I can control when I write, and what I write about. I can’t control how people will react to my writing, or whether they will be inspired to write a review. I can control how I relate to friends and colleagues, but I cannot control their behavior or how they react or interact with me. This has allowed me to stay much more focused on the things that matter most—being authentic, respecting and supporting the people I interact with, honoring people for what they bring into a relationship with me (not what I might want them to bring), and following through on the commitments I make. This perspective also provides opportunities for self-reflection and grounding myself in my core values. This mindfulness allows me to really focus on what’s important in my life without getting too distracted. I try to see all challenges as opportunities I have to discover.

What authors do you like to read? What books have had a strong influence on you or your writing?
I’ve given a lot of thought to this over the years. I don’t have a favorite author. I like good, authentic stories. I tend to gravitate toward those authors being vulnerable in their writing, whether fiction or nonfiction. I also tend to evaluate authors on a book-by-book basis. I love Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice but don’t feel beholden to liking all her books. I also think Veronica Roth’s Allegiant, the third book in young adult Divergent series is underappreciated for its depth and nuance. Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is a fantastic story, both in depth and the way he tells it through the point of view of a uniquely gifted six-year-old, but I don’t particularly like science fiction as a genre. I also really enjoy reading memoirs written by ordinary, everyday people experiencing extraordinary events.

Do you write every single day? Any writing rituals?
My only ritual is meeting my deadlines! I have so many writing projects going at any one time that I have to write every day, whether for my job at Florida State University (writing commentary, policy studies, or marketing materials) or on my “own” time writing about pirates, Santa Claus, movie reviews, or contemporary film. I currently have regular contributions to several blogs with international platforms.

What are your interests outside of writing?
My main hobby outside of writing is snow skiing. I come from a long line of skiers–I have a picture of my mother on skis in 1948, and my father was one of the early presidents of the Dayton (Ohio) ski club. My family owned a small ski area in Ohio for 25 years, where I worked full-time before going to graduate school. I was also a volunteer member of the National Ski Patrol, becoming one of Ohio’s youngest patrollers to achieve the rank of Senior Patroller before heading to college in Maine. Florida has made this hobby difficult to sustain, but I can’t get it out of my blood. Outside of skiing, I have a black belt in the martial art of To-Shin Do, a self-defense-oriented form of ninjutsu that is the foundation for my self-defense workshops and seminars I lead at Florida State University. I have really enjoyed developing widely accessible martial arts curricula for student organizations ranging from one-hour introductions to a 12-week semester-long curriculum.

Share some tips for other Authors or Aspiring Authors: What would you do differently? What would you do the same? Please share anything you think would be beneficial to those reading this.
The single most important decision I made to improve my writing was joining a critique group. Care should be taken in joining a group–you have to be vulnerable and be in a group respecting that vulnerability while setting the right bar for quality–but the objective feedback and “tough love” pushed me in directions that ramped up my writing quality immeasurably. I have won more than 10 literary awards over the past six years, and I have no doubt the discipline and insight provided by my critique group is a reason why. In fact, I cite them in my book acknowledgements.
A second recommendation is to join a local writing group that holds regular programming on the art, craft, and business of writing. I did most of my fiction writing isolated and alone. This definitely held me back as a writer and understanding the business and marketing necessary to develop the following I need to be commercially successful. In Florida, I am an active member of the Tallahassee Writers Association, Florida Writers Association, and Florida Authors and Publishers Association. These groups have fantastic programming for writers, particularly those starting out or early in their career.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers. To suggest an author interview, email her at rgarrison@bestversionmedia.com