I met Nathan Everett via National Novel Writing Month and then again through Longtale Press. It took me a little while to put together the connection, but when I did I realized the potential store of information he held after years of working in the publishing industry. This was one of the most informative and interesting interviews I’ve conducted, and I have to thank Nathan again for taking the time out to participate. I can’t wait to see him, and his business partner Novel Doctor, Blogger, Editor Jason Black, speak at the PNWA Writer’s Conference in July.

[Renda Dodge] Thank you for taking time out to do this interview Nathan, let’s start with a little information about you. How long have you been writing?

[Nathan Everett] I remember writing my first space opera story in fifth grade. I tried to write a fantasy novel the year before, but got bogged down trying to distinguish the spelling between princes and princesses.

[RD] What genre do you usually write in?

[NE] I try to stretch myself with a pretty wide variety. My first endeavors at full length novel (30 years ago) were all what I called occult fantasy. But when I seriously started to develop my craft about ten years ago, I noticed a strong tendency toward both literary and mystery/thriller. Currently I’m working on an intellectual thriller and on a literary piece.

[RD] Where do you get your creative inspiration?

[NE] Somehow, inspiration never seems to be lacking. I always have three or four ideas for stories that I’d like to develop brewing in the back of my head. A lot of times I will write a chapter of a story and then put it aside so that I’ll remember the concept when I’m ready to actually write it. I’ve got a lot of first chapters lying around. Inspiration comes from a lot of sources, but the best ideas seem to just pop into my head when I actually sit down to write. “Hey, what if a guy was sent out to slay a dragon, but didn’t know what it was, where it was, or how to kill it. He finds his way by exchanging stories with everyone he meets and discovering a little more each time.” (Steven George & The Dragon) All of a sudden I’ve got twenty interconnected fairy tales that lead the hero to a surprise when he discovers his dragon.

[RD] Do you have a support system?

[NE] I’m an active member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, which provides monthly and annual inspiration in the way of speakers and conferences. I’m also active in the NaNoWriMo community and have a lot of support and encouragement through that, especially the Microsoft NaNoWriMo group (even though I’m not at Microsoft anymore). Of course my best support are through those who are closest to me, my business partners and my family. Jason and I read most of what each other writes. My wife and daughter are both writers and we exchange and comment on our stories a lot.

[RD] Tell me about Longtale Press, what inspired you to start it and what is its mission?

[NE] My partners at Long Tale Press are Jason Black and Gary Syck. We worked together at Microsoft for about four years. I have to give a lot of the credit for the creation of Long Tale Press to Jason. I got him re-involved in following his writing path with NaNoWriMo in 2005 (the first year we worked together). He immediately pressed me to say that he’d participate if we could do something good with our work—have a charitable cause that we could donate toward. The result was that after a couple of rewrites, he and Nina Tang and I produced an anthology of our NaNoWriMo novels that we called “After Hours,” and then we offered them as incentives to collect $25 donations for the Office of Letters and Light, part of which went to Room to Read. We raised over $5,000 that year. I think the idea of being publishers started to set in at that time.

The mission is simple. To find and publish great stories that are well-told (regardless of commercial potential).

Jason put it best when he looked at all the work being turned out during NaNoWriMo and said that there were a lot of good stories being told that would never be published, simply because of the way the industry is structured. It’s expensive to produce paper books. But we could use eBook technology which was definitely going to be making a big hit soon. So we set about creating a way for people to streamline the publishing process as an alternative to the traditional agent/editor/publisher routine that was still qualified and “traditional” in its publishing process, if perhaps more author/reader centric.

[RD] What is the selection process like?

[NE] It’s really very simple. Any writer can submit up to the first 5,000 words of her finished novel. They upload it to http://longtalepress.com and complete a profile and summary info. Then readers take a look at the work, read it, review it, rate it, and even discuss it. We have an internal computation engine that tracks the ratings for the excerpt and when they pass our threshold we make an offer to the writer to review the complete manuscript. The full manuscript is reviewed by an editorial pool of not less than three nor more than six writer/reader/editors. The highest criteria on our list is to ascertain that the rest of the book maintains the quality of those first 5,000 words. But the writer receives a full written review critique and inline edits from each of the reviewers. There are three options at this point. We say “everything is fine, here’s a contract.” We say, “we’d like to publish this, but it needs a manageable amount of rewriting.” We say, “This just doesn’t live up to the standard set by the first 5,000 words and we can’t publish it.” The most likely is the second option.

[RD] Have you had to reject anyone’s work?

[NE] We have, sadly. It is not just an automatic process. If a manuscript simply starts well and then progressively gets worse to the point that we think or the author thinks it would be too much effort to rewrite, we wish them luck in the future and go our separate ways. Our overall acceptance rate for manuscripts to turn into books is about the same as any large-scale publisher. The people who read are not easily impressed and rate only about one out of fifty highly enough to get to the second stage.

[RD] What feedback do you have for writers currently trying to submit manuscripts?

[NE] First and foremost, finish the book. Like most publishers, we expect that when you submit a manuscript to Long Tale Press, you are submitting what you believe is your best work, complete and polished and ready to publish. So use available resources to make sure the book is publication ready. While paying a professional editor is not a requirement, many people find that kind of service or that quality of review from a writing group that is committed to making the writer’s work the best possible, to be a vital part of the process. You will get helpful comments, even be able to engage in critical discussion of your work with readers, at Long Tale Press. But the readers are primarily concerned with finding publishable work, not developing a writer. Put your best foot forward, and then let all your friends and your “platform” know that the excerpt is up and they should go review it.

[RD] What are common trouble areas that new writers face, and what advice would you give to writers who are struggling with some of the common issues?

[NE] Each of the partners have different expertise, so would answer this question differently. From my perspective, voice is probably the top issue most new writers face. Developing a strong and consistent voice is really critical to involving readers in your story. That’s a subject for an entire college class, so I’m not going deeper into it at the moment. The second area is character development. I see two extremes on this. First, I never know enough about the character to care about him. The second is that the writer tells me everything she knows about the character to the extent that I’m bored with him. These are kind of opposite extremes. I believe the writer should know the character intimately so that every decision and action that the character takes is consistent and believable with who that character is. But as a reader I don’t need to know everything the writer knows. I just need to see that the rendition is honest. Interestingly, plot is less an issue for most writers. They understand the story they want to tell. They get bogged down in the voice and character development.

[RD] What are the newest releases from Longtale, can you tell me a little bit about them and their authors?

[NE] We are currently working on a new release, but until we’ve finalized things we can’t really talk about them. So, last year we published “This Side of Normal,” a young adult literary fiction about a boy who develops type 1 diabetes. Author Eric Devine drew from his own experience as a teenaged diabetic for story. But the story is not about Eric, nor is it about diabetes. It is about a 15-year-old who faces all the challenges of any high school sophomore (“I’m in  tenth grade, so it suffices to say I hate school.”)  What Ed Devlin has to face, however, is the complication dealing with a dysfunctional family, friends who betray him, and a new disease that makes him an outcast and could kill him.

[RD] What struggles do you see Independent Authors facing in the coming years, and subsequently with the rise of the internet and social technology how do you think they will prosper?

[NE] Garrison Keillor made a well-publicized statement recently that “that is the future of publishing: 18 million authors in America, each with an average of 14 readers, eight of whom are blood relatives. Average annual earnings: $1.75.”  I think he’s pretty optimistic. When they discover how hard it is to get a book out (even an eBook), there won’t be nearly that many authors.

But the truth of the matter is that when independent authors take one of the many alternative routes into publication, the biggest challenge they will have is adjusting their dreams accordingly. We came of age believing that we can be a J.K. Rowling or Dan Brown and will never have to “work” again. It just isn’t true. Unfortunately we see the success stories of people who sell their self-published books on the Internet for $2 each and make $100,000 a year. But those stories are just as rare as the Rowlings and Browns.

When I started my first publishing business in 1985 and specialized in trade journals and company “voices”, I quickly adopted computer technology to make it possible to meet monthly deadlines. Suddenly, all my clients began to believe that if they had a Macintosh and PageMaker, they could do all their own publishing. I saw prolific writers among my colleagues who couldn’t finish anything because they became so tied up in the technology, design, layout of their works. We are facing the same thing today. No matter how many reading platforms there are, no matter how easy and inexpensive it is to get 100 copies of your book printed, no matter how much time you spend on Twitter and Facebook—when you decide to become a publisher your job changes from being a writer. As with any self-employment opportunity, you not only get to be the captain of your own destiny, but also the crew, the shipbuilder, the dockhand, and the first one to come upon the wreckage on the beach.

I believe that Long Tale Press is just one of an increasing number of alternatives that will help authors to use alternative methods, but that will provide the badly needed support they need to handle being a publisher as well as a writer.

[RD] How do you face down the stigma often associated with self-publishing/Independent publishing? (IE, “He only self-published because he wasn’t good enough to be picked up by a major house.”)

[NE] I think the so-called stigma of self-publishing is largely disappearing. Part of that is because the glamour of being published by a big house is pretty-well tarnished. That has to do with everything from the tightened belt in the publishing industry to the various rights battles being waged over eBooks (Amazon vs. Apple Agency pricing structure, who owns the rights of books published before the electronic era, Google books take over the world, etc.)

It is also part of a well-recognized movement toward niche publishing, or publishing for a specific limited audience. At Long Tale Press, we are always interested in whether the reviews reflect a real audience for the book. If all the reviews are from people who are friends of the author (and since we read every review, it is pretty obvious to tell) we are less inclined to make a big investment in publishing than if the reviews come from a population segment that is topical or genre-based. Getting published, by whatever means, no longer equates with being “good enough.” Certainly by the time the market was flooded with young wizard books and vampire books people realized that it was less about quality and more about the reader-market.

[RD] What is in the future for you and Longtale?

[NE] We have a couple of fun things we are doing at Long Tale Press. First, we have more books in print as well as eBook and are making a stronger commitment to having at least some print presence for most books. New print books that we had in eBook previously include “For Blood or Money” an “Bread for the Pharaoh.”

Second, we’ve recognized that one of the stigmas facing eBooks is the concept that you don’t own the book, but—like software—you get a license to use it on a particular device. A well-publicized case of Amazon removing books from people’s Kindles after they were purchased opened the eyes of the consuming public. The fact that I can’t use an Apple iBook on my Nook or a Kindle eBook on my Sony Reader points to people believing that their license to view content that they bought only extends to one device. At Long Tale Press, we sell books, not licenses. To emphasize that fact, we have begun releasing all our eBooks on CD-ROM in both PDF and industry-standard ePUB format, with no DRM so people can load the book on whatever device they want to, put the CD on their bookshelf (case is large enough to look like a book, with a spine), and even put it in their garage sale if they want to. It’s all about having molecules instead of just electrons.

Third, we’ve begun looking at books that have been independently published or published by small presses that have shown some sales potential and acquiring the eBook rights for them. We believe that our multi-format eBook publication will become very popular in the future.

[RD] What are you currently reading?

[NE] I’m a multi-book reader, so it takes me quite a while to finish a book at times. Currently I’m reading “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman and “Positive Discipline for Teenagers” by Jane Nelson. I’m also reading a new manuscript that we are considering for publication at Long Tale Press.

[RD] Thanks for your time Nathan, I really appreciate it!

I was introduced to Caleb Krause through our mutual publication in Leaves and Flowers. I read his poems included in the first issue and was blown away by his use of words and the flow of his poetry. I’m excited to share the interview I recently had with him. Poetry is an art form I respect a lot, because it’s one of the hardest written mediums for me, personally. Caleb has a lot of good insights into the world of writing and shares them below.

You’ll also notice I’ve created an “Interviews” link at the top of the page as a place to gather all of the past interview articles. Remember, if you’re interested in participating in an interview for the blog please contact me directly at RendaDodge@gmail.com.

In personal news, I’ve finally finished the revision and cover for the 2nd edition of my novel “Inked” and sent it off to the printer today. I should see a proof in about a week, and I’ll finally be able to push the final product out to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. I’ll be sure to update the site as it becomes available. I appreciate everyone’s support so far. Now I have to prepare for the PNWA Writer’s Conference in July and get cracking on my new novel (I recently started drafting, and I’m so excited about this new project).

[Renda Dodge] First, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?

[Caleb Krause] Sure, I’m a psychology graduate at the University of Texas at Tyler, and I am currently working on my masters for school psychology. I love writing, mostly poetry which I post on my blog and I also love art. Besides writing, I like to play music, draw, paint, and read.

[RD] How old were you when you first decided to start writing, and do you remember the first thing you wrote? Did you share it with anyone?

[CK] I started writing when I learned I could put a pencil to paper. I honestly can’t tell you what the first thing I wrote was, but my family keeps a small story I made when I was very young about some kind of biting fish, haha!

[RD] I read your poems Old Hearts and Passenger in Leaves and Flowers, and I found both very emotional in the short span of words you used. I felt like I was reading a snapshot of the moment through the feelings of the people in the poems. Where do you get your inspiration?

[CK] It depends. I would say that the style of poetry I enjoy is largely influenced by famous art forms such as Dada and surrealism. I once won a 3rd place prize in a poetry competition for a poem that I fashioned from the warranty of a Sony alarm clock. I love experimentation and challenging the popular culture poetry. As for subject matter, I tend to write about events in my life that stand out from others.

[RD] Since you have a background in both, do you often find it difficult to write poetry as opposed to prose?

[CK] It’s actually opposite of that. I find it difficult to write prose compared to poetry. I like writing with description and condensed meanings. When I do that with prose it makes for difficult, not so pleasurable reading. I do have a thing for writing dialog though. I love quick back and forth exchanges between characters.

[RD] How long does writing a single poem, from beginning to final product, usually take you?

[CK] Anywhere from 3 to 5 hours, to a few days just depending on length, subject, and energy.

[RD] How do you deal with writer’s block?

[CK] Use to I would just write about anything. I would try to think of a gross or disturbing subject and try to make it beautiful through poetry. Lately though due to time I just hold off on writing until a good block of inspiration comes.

[RD] What are your personal writing goals?

[CK] I think, if anything, I’d like to promote the more abstract forms of poetry. Despite the contributions of many great poets, the popular culture of poetry today is very one sided in style. There are a few journals that publish avant-garde, but by their nature journals tend to publish what everyone else publishes. Poetry already has such a small following when compared to other art forms. There needs to be a push for even more creativity and challenge than what we’re use to in this medium.

[RD] It sounds like you’re pretty busy with school and writing, how do you balance it all out and keep yourself on track?

[CK] Time management skills! I sometimes don’t get to write when I want to, but I try to set time out for myself away from school and work.

[RD] Why are you a writer/poet? What draws you into the craft?

[CK] I have no idea. It’s really just something I do. I love it when people take away something after reading my work, but to be honest I’d still write even if I knew no one was reading it. It’s like something in side me has to get out, and I feel anxious and awkward if it gets held in.

[RD] What kinds of books do you like to read? What are you reading currently?

[CK] I love comedies and fiction. My favorite book is Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I also like non fictional, scientific things. For instance, right now the only thing I’m recreational reading is a small stack of Discover magazines I’m trying to catch up on!

[RD] What authors/poets/artists/musicians inspire you?

[CK] The list is too long to write them all but off my head there’s artists like Warhol, Duchamp, Kahlo, Dali, Magritte. And authors like Adams, Pullman, Dante, Cummings, Hemingway, Frost to musicians like Maynard Keenan, Trent Reznor, Bono, Chino Moreno, and Kevin Graham Ogilvie.

[RD] If you ever feel stuck and frustrated, what do you do to keep going? Have you ever been tempted to just trash an entire poem or project, what stopped you?

[CK] Haha, I’ve trashed entire phases of poetry I’ve written! Especially my earlier work just because I was having such a problem with finding a style I enjoyed writing with. I don’t trash my poetry anymore though even if I know it’ll never see publication. I figure it may be nice for family or future family to read one day. I do get frustrated a lot, but I always know that frustration will eventually fade, and I’ll pick myself up and go at it again!

[RD] What are you working on currently?

[CK] Currently I’m slowly working on a poetic story that draws inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. The idea is to introduce elements of different forms of psychology through a fantasy, child like illustrated poem/story. It’s something I’ve been slowly working on between everything else.

[RD] That sounds really neat, I love Alice. It was one of my favorites while I was growing up. Can’t wait to read more. Thank you again Caleb.

[CK] Thank you!

I met Bailey Shoemaker Richards in the wonderful world of Twitter. She was looking for writers to contribute to her new literary magazine and I jumped on board. It’s been a great experience for me. I love the publication, and I’m printed alongside many wonderful and talented writers. Below Bailey talks about publishing, editing, the journal and the hurdles she deals with in the world of self-publishing. She also shares hints for writers who are just trying to break into the short story market.

The 2nd Issue of Leaves and Flowers just came out (and includes a short story by yours truly!). It’s a great up-and-coming publication, and I always suggest that writers have several published works when approaching publishing houses and agents, it really helps your credibility.

I’ll post the next issue’s prompt right here on this blog when Bailey has it ready.

Also, don’t forget that Casz’s Martius Catalyst started today! If you missed her interview two weeks ago, here’s a link!

[Renda Dodge] So, what is “Leaves and Flowers”?

[Bailey Shoemaker Richards] Leaves & Flowers is a small literary journal. I like to think it’s unique in that it’s prompt based rather than theme based or open to any submission. What that means is that for each issue, anyone who is interested in writing something has to get in touch with me or read the Leaves & Flowers blog to find out what the prompt is before they can send something in.

[BSR] I initially started Leaves & Flowers for a class project on literary editing at Ohio University -each student had to create, find submissions for, edit and publish a literary journal by the end of the quarter. I had no idea how to go about finding people to write for me, so I just started throwing out questions and requests on Twitter, Facebook and to anyone I could get in touch with who wrote. Once I really got into working on the first issue, there was always this little voice in the back of my head going, “You’re not going to be able to let this go -it won’t be just this issue.” And it wasn’t.

[BSR] I was in Power of the Pen on both 7th and 8th grade -it’s a writing competition in Ohio. Each grade gets 3 prompts in 3 rounds to write off of, and each round is 40 minutes long. I loved writing that way. I thought it was fascinating to see how many different stories people can write even when you give them the same ideas to start with. I am still involved with Power of the Pen as an assistant to the Regional Coordinator, and I really love the idea behind the program. I needed a hook for Leaves & Flowers to really set it apart from simply being another literary journal, and I wondered if the prompted writing would work as well with adult and professional writers as it does with middle school writers -and it definitely does.

I come up with all of the prompts on my own, and I go through about 2 dozen ideas for each issue before I find one that I like.

[BSR] Writing the prompts -that’s one of the trickiest things. I want to find a prompt that is general enough that any writer can find something to say, but I don’t want to make it so specific that it prevents people from bringing their own ideas to the table. Additionally, getting the word out to find writers and artists in time for the publication is also a little tricky. I’m a busy person, and I know writers are busy too, so it can be hard to find that opening to really get a lot of people interested.

[BSR] I find them primarily through word of mouth on Twitter. People will send the prompt out once they hear about it, they’ll give it to their writers’ groups. I try to get in touch with people I know at OU who write as well, but Twitter has definitely been the best avenue for finding people who are interested in Leaves & Flowers and are willing to put in the time it takes to write something.

[BSR] I am -I’ve written several unpublished (and unpolished) novels, I had a personal essay published in The North Central Review, I blog and I write for Demand Studios and Suite101 to pay the bills. I’m a creative writing major at Ohio University, so I am definitely involved in the writing here as well.

[BSR] It’s a lot of me pulling my hair out and hurling awful words around my dorm room (sorry, neighbors!). I rarely get any pieces that require substantial work, but formatting a document to publish on CreateSpace is an immense source of frustration for me.  I try to be really meticulous about my editing process. I separate the submissions into two main categories: those that need read and those that are being published. Once they get into the “Publishing” folder, I break them down into broader categories (prose, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, etc.) and edit them individually. If I see any changes that I think I need the author’s feedback on, I send an edited copy to the author and ask if the changes I made are okay with them. Once I have all of my pieces edited and approved by the writers, I start playing around with the format and the order. That’s the longest part of the process -I like to put pieces in an order that showcases each individual author while providing a good segue through the entire journal. I go through probably 15 different layouts for the journal before I start seeing something I like.

[BSR] I have only had to reject a few pieces, and it was really hard for me to do. I actually called my boyfriend because I was so upset -he is very good at getting me to calm down. It’s hard to tell an author that their piece just doesn’t fit! I’ve been on both sides of that coin now, and it sucks for everyone. I always try to give concrete reasons for a rejection (i.e. the writing didn’t fit the prompt), as well as pointing out what I did like about the piece. I’ve never actually read a piece and said, “Oh, I really don’t like that writing” -I’ve been very lucky that way. Usually when I have to reject something, it’s because the writing didn’t match the prompt well enough to be included.

[BSR] Submit, submit submit. Find a place that’s open for submissions, make sure your piece fits the type of writing they’re looking for, and send it in. Send your writing out to anyone you might think would be willing to read it, because otherwise, no one will. No one is going to come looking for your writing -you have to send it out to them. Also, read constantly. Reading is the best way to improve your own writing, because it gives you a chance to read something that has been polished, revised and published by professionals or people with plenty of experience in the field. Always read your rejection letters -form rejections might not be helpful, but sometimes there will be very insightful information in them. Look at smaller, rather than larger, publishing houses. I’m hardly a publishing “house,” but I’m a really small publisher, and I can tell you that it’s much easier to give lots of feedback to people because I work with such a small number of writers.

Right now I’m reading “The Greatest Show on Earth” by Richard Dawkins -it’s a great read. He’s a very good writer, which is not always the case with scientists. I grew up devouring sci-fi and fantasy every chance I could get. I still do, but I’ve definitely broadened my horizons. I love biology books and philosophy in particular, but I am also a huge fan of anything that doesn’t suck (my motto is if it doesn’t suck, I’ll read it -doesn’t matter what it is). I am incapable of entering a bookstore without making a purchase.

[RD] I really enjoyed this interview, Bailey has a unique insight to the world of publishing and writing. She’s all over the web, and you can find her in the various places below.

Twitter – @the_author

Leaves & Flowers Issue 1
https://www.createspace.com/3408437

Leaves & Flowers Issue 2
https://www.createspace.com/3446308

Leaves & Flowers Blog
http://leavesandflowersjournal.blogspot.com/

Suite101
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/baileyshoe

Demand Studios
http://www.demandstudios.com/Profile.mvc/Member_b5ee61bb_baileys

Cleveland Literature Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-13594-Cleveland-Literature-Examiner

Bailey’s personal blog:
http://baileythebookworm-readingcorner.blogspot.com/

Helium.com
http://www.helium.com/users/387709

A few months ago I decided that I wanted to take my blog a different direction. Every time I sat down to write about my own experiences and struggles, I began to wonder what other writers feel when it’s time to sit down at the keyboard, when they decided writing was their passion and how they deal with the distractions of the real world. I have several diverse candidates lined up for questioning and plan on releasing a new interview every two weeks. I hope readers find them as interesting as I did when I was conducting them, also if you would like to participate in future interviews, please let contact me at RendaDodge@gmail.com.

The first interview is with the talented and ambitious Casz Brewster. I met Casz at the PNWA’s writer’s conference in 2009, and we’ve been internet friends ever since. She is the founder of SnoValley Writes, a writer’s group in Washington State, and is currently working on several projects, but the most exciting is Martius Catalyst: Where the Unknown becomes Truth, a serial webnovel launching May 4, 2010. Below Casz talks about her writing history, struggles, support and the benefits of working with a collaborator.

[Renda Dodge] Hi Casz, I’d like to start by having you tell us a bit about yourself.

[Casz Brewster] Been writing for as long as I could put subject and verb together and in an attempt to not sound completely cliche’, a day without writing is a day the madness creeps in just a little bit more. So writing keeps me sane. In the interim, I’m a corporate communicator by day as I have three children still living at home with me, and two others that fly back to the nest now and again. My husband is my best supporter, cheerleader and harshest critic — next to myself. And I like it that way. What I mean by that is he’s not afraid to tell me if something I have written misses the mark and encourages me to push myself, my craft and my art. I live in a town known for its Twin Peaks fame, but find myself in the Emerald City quite frequently for work and school. So between Twin Peaks and the Emerald City, I’m always in a fictional space.

[RD] How old were you when first knew you wanted to be a writer, and what sparked your interest in writing?

[CB] I’m a bit of a dork when it comes to social situations. Books let me leave that world. I respected the unknown names who wrote these precious stories and began to create my own in a diary that my parents gave me when I was about 8 years old.

[RD] Do you remember the first thing you ever wrote? Did you share it with anyone?

[CB] I don’t remember the first thing I ever wrote; not sure I even have it. I do remember the first thing I wrote that was shared with other people. I was in the seventh grade. it was a descriptive narrative about a walk home in the rain with a boy I was crushing on at the time. My teacher entered it into a contest. I did well. But I remember the feeling of being worried of being harassed for my words or mocked or …you know, all the stuff writers go through, because we share our art and make ourselves vulnerable. That was so many years ago. The feeling of vulnerability doesn’t go away with each new piece of work shared, but the memory of that walk home from school with a cute boy in the seventh grade stays in my memory like it was yesterday because I wrote that narrative. Like me, he’s married with five children. I’m sure he has no idea about that little ode to him.

[RD] What books/authors have influenced your writing?

[CB] I’m not sure I can point to just one. Growing up I adored reading everything from Judy Blume, Robert B. Parker, Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe and anything else I could get my hands on. Once I reached adulthood I discovered hard-core science fiction and fantasy, Ursula K. LeGuin, Phillip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke and William Gibson. I’m also an avid fan of Caitlin R. Kiernan, Elizabeth Bear, Poppy Z. Brite, Christina Faust and Carl Hiassen. So, you see my interests run the entire spectrum.

[RD] What are you reading right now?

[CB] For school, research or enjoyment? For enjoyment I’m reading ‘Boneshaker’ by Cheri M. Priest. I also am reading ‘The Red Tree’ by Caitlin R. Kiernan. I have two Stephen King novels I haven’t even cracked yet. My pleasure reading right now is slowed by things for school and research. I won’t bore you with those titles.

[RD] How would you classify your writing style, what genre do you fit into?

[CB] I’m a speculative fiction writer. That’s easiest. Stories I’ve written oscillate between urban fantasy, science fiction and dark fantasy with both adult and young adult themes. I do have one ‘women’s commercial manuscript’ I may try to sell one day. Many in my writing group loved that particular work, but, it’s not what I want to be known for doing. But, the character was in my head; I had to get her story out.

[RD] Where do you get the inspiration for your writing?

[CB] It’s more like: where don’t I get inspiration? Everything from dreams to standing in the line at the grocery store gives me ideas. Sometimes like in my manuscript ‘Interface’ or ‘Wilderness Rim,’ my family members are the inspiration — or rather I want to write a story for them.

[RD] What are your personal writing goals?

[CB] I would love for Martius Catalyst to be a hit — even with like a cult following. But, my goal is to be published by 45 — whether that’s me self-publishing or going the more traditional route. I used to oppose self publishing, but the world has changed. I’ve seen other authors be successful at it — from Kiernan’s Siriena Digest to the others doing Episodic Web fiction like my new endeavor, Martius Catalyst.

[RD] Tell me a little more about Martius Catalyst and your other current projects.

[CB] Martius Catalyst, is an episodic Web fiction series that I’m doing with co-author, Samantha Tiner. She’s been doing the self-publishing thing longer than I have and it’s been helpful having her as a partner. Sam and I share a passion for writing, fantasy, paranormal and men who make us laugh. Martius Catalyst is about two women in the city of Detroit in the year 1885 who also share passions — for science, inventive tinkering, not doing what they are told, and sticking their nose where people would rather they not. All of which leads to many adventures. Readers who love the steampunk genre should find this to their liking, as well as those who are suckers for the underdog and rebels. The odd thing about Sam and I’s collaboration is we’re depending on modern technology to connect us. We met via the internet in a writer’s forum some three years ago and have developed a friendship over the years, based upon our love of literature and writing. We’ve never met in person. But, it feels like we’ve been friends a very long time. It’s been great collaborating with her. It does help that she’s a Sagittarius, since I’m a Scorpio. Some days I swear we read each other’s minds.

Additionally, I’m trying to find an agent for Wilderness Rim and Interface.

[RD] What is it like to work with a collaborator, and how does it differ from writing on your own?

[CB] I like the fact that working with Sam helps keep the energy level high. When someone else is depending upon you to produce, it can be a real kick in the pants to stay disciplined. We catch each other when we’re being lazy and just seem to build upon each others ideas to make it all the better. I do have to be patient, as she does as well. All writers know that sometimes life gets in the way — a sick kid, a demanding day job, anything — can get in the way on a day when you’re really pumped to churn things out, but your partner is dealing with a bit of an overload or even a crisis. But, I’ve just developed a bit of a Tao attitude for it that, when the time is right to write together again, it will be all the better for the waiting or the worry that was keeping it from being created in the first place. Lastly, schedule. You have to have a plan and a schedule — just like you do when you’re writing by yourself. Allow for flexibility in the schedule and you should be off to a brilliant start.

[RD] How do you balance your family, home, work and writing life? What do you do to make time so that you can achieve your goals?

[CB] I’m really fortunate that I have such a supportive family. Although my husband and father-in-law are engineers, they are also mathematicians, which to me is an art in itself. So they understand the artist’s desires. Good thing, too, as all the women in the house and at least one of my sons are artists. The jury is out on which way the other two sons may lean — more engineer/scientist or artist. Additionally, I surround myself with other writers. In 2007 I created the group, SnoValley Writes! to bring out all the closeted writers from our creative community and work towards bringing the group’s collective and individual writing to new literary heights.  I also don’t sleep a lot, which the more I learn about the authors whose work I admire, they seem to do with not a lot of sleep, either voluntarily, or in my case via lots of insomnia. But, I squeeze it in. I have found that I’m more productive when I’m busy and have to literally schedule in writing times. Other times, I’ll get up in the middle of the night or early in the morning and just let the family know that I NEED to write. They leave me be. I’m a much nicer person to live with when I get to create.

[RD] Do you ever feel like giving up, and what do you do to motivate yourself to keep going?

[CB] I feel like throwing in the towel about once every couple of months. I get a rejection letter, I feel stuck with a particular story line, whatever is the trigger, it happens. But as I age, I get back into it as soon as the funk is over — they used to last for long periods of time. Now, we’re talking like hours. I’ll be ticked about something in my writing life in the morning and by afternoon, I’m writing again with new focus. Like I’ve said already, it’s what I want, need, MUST do. If the funk is particularly bad I turn to music, film or books. Those other artistic ventures get my creative juices flowing again. I have some favorites that I’ll listen to, watch or read. They always bring me right back to my writing cave and off to work I go.

[RD] Tell me a little about SnoValley Writes, and what prompted you to start the group?

[CB] My family and I escaped from Detroit to Seattle in June 2006 and landed in this little Twin Peaks town — it was the only place near Seattle, where my new day job was, that could house our family of seven. The first few months here, I kept seeing people scribbling in notebooks in the parks, along the trails, in the coffee houses, etc. For National Novel Writing Month in 2006, I tried hard to create a group of folks in this community (what we call Extreme East Side in the NaNo forums); but I had no biters. I was determined in 2007 not to face that same fate. Writing is a solitary endeavor often, yes, but it doesn’t always have to be. Having support around you only enhances your art. I knew that. Also, I needed a bit of accountability. If I had others who were cheering me on, and who I was cheering on, I would never again let my writing take a back seat in my life. I work best on deadline, so if I know my critique group/partner is waiting for the next chapter/story, I get it done. That’s what years of journalism will do to your work habits. At any rate, since I formed the group in August 2007, it’s created a real positive energy for the Snoqualmie Valley. The group was able to create its own region in 2009 for NaNoWriMo and was very successful. Our members are now actually getting requests for partials, having articles published in national magazines, as well as the local paper. We hope by 2012 to host our own writing conference.

I hope you enjoyed hearing from Casz, and make sure you continue to check up on Martius Catalyst as it begins on May 4, 2010! In two weeks I’ll be posting an interview with Bailey Shoemaker Richards, the editor of the start-up, independent literary journal: Leaves and Flowers.