by admin | Mar 8, 2014 | Blog Tour, DCL Coming Soon..., DCL Interview, DCL Interviewer, Kate Hofman, Promo
1.) What’s your inspiration or who is?
No one in particular. I just write and write.
2.) Do you use real-life facts based on true stories?
Not things I’ve seen on tv news. But things that happened to real
people, yes.
3.) Do you use your OWN experiences?
Some bits of it, sometimes.
4.) Did you ever think you’d ever become an author?
I never thought consciously about it, one way or the other. One day I was SO fed up with the aggressive bitches in the books I bought that I decided to write my own story, and the story became stories.
5) What is your favorite cover of all the novels you have out?
Julian Christian on Amadeo’s Love Affair.
6) Where can your readers best reach you?
katehofman@rogers.com I find emails a lot easier than wasting time on the social networks. And my screen freezes every time I try to answer someone on fb!
by admin | Mar 8, 2014 | Blog Tour, DCL Interview, DCL Interviewer, DCL Publications, models
How long have you been directing?
I directed traffic once, when I was a kid. There was a ‘pile up’ ….not saying it was intentional on my end. But man, it was fun. After that, Night of the Templar was my ‘film’ Directorial Debut. And no, there were no car crashes in that one.
Have you ever played a role in a movie you directed?
Only Night of the Templar, I played two (2) roles, an intense medieval knight, Lord Gregoire, and a laid back modern day ‘dude’, Jake McCallister.
What are some bad habits that you’ve seen actors develop that you’ve had a hard time dealing with?
Anticipation. When an actor rehearses a scene or after a couple of takes they start to ‘anticipate’ the next line of the moment in front of them, it is no longer organic. It’s like they act, or rather ‘react’ to the moment before it happens. And of course it’s always horrid when an Actor is unprepared or doesn’t get his/her mind fully into the character.
Have you ever encountered someone who had absolutely no talent? And did you have to break it to them?
Yes, and No. Of course I encountered people who had no talent. I’ve been doing this forever. But no, it’s not my position to judge or hurt someone. Plenty of times I’ve worked through ‘stuff’ with people and try to help as much as I could. I guess in the sense of ‘constructive’ criticism, yes, I want to help those I want to do better. But just telling someone they suck is just mean and has no benefit. I like to see people try and improve….on all levels.
What is your philosophy on the profession of acting?
Become the ball hahahhhhaahhaahaha….
What, in your opinion, is the difference between a star and an actor? Can they be interchangeable?
I don’t know, you can make a ‘star’ out of an actor. That’s just marketing, coaching, exposure, the right project, et cetera…And I guess you can make an ‘actor’ out of a star, if they’re not one already, as long as their ego permits learning and growing.
Where can fans see your movie, Night of the Templar?
If they want to see Night of the Templar it’s available to stream on iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/night-of-the-templar/id583827775 or they can buy the dvd on line through Walmart http://www.walmart.com/ip/23454604
by admin | Mar 8, 2014 | annoucement, Authors, DCL Interview, DCL Interviewer, Promo, romacne novels
How do you conceive your plot ideas? Most of my ideas come from places I’ve visited. Something about exciting locales like Washington, D.C., or Gettysburg, PA, will incite me to conjure characters and situations around them.
Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published? I wrote a novel for middle-grade boys several years ago that I sent out to several agents and after getting feedback, decided to shelve. I may go back and self-publish it.
How long did it take you to publish your first book, after you started trying? I spent about two years learning the ropes of the romance genre in the late 1990s, but I didn’t get farther than writing 50 pages of three different books before I was offered a fabulous full-time job. I abandoned my fiction writing for eight years while I was working full time as communications director for the city of Orlando, and then when I retired, I started writing, again. This time, it just took one year to finish a polished manuscript and find a publisher.
Where can readers best contact you? My website is http://www.susanblexrud.com/, or I welcome contacts via Facebook and Pinterest.
by admin | Mar 6, 2014 | annoucement, Blog Tour, DCL Interview, DCL Interviewer, eBooks, models, romacne novels
You are a legend in the romance industry as a cover model and probably have been asked every interview question but, here it goes…
1) How do you communicate with people? Are you patient? Are you friendly? How open are you to clients’ requirements?
I am pretty good with dealing with people. I managed a grocery store for 15 years so I’ve dealt with the public for quite a while. That also helped me develop a thick skin. You really can’t let what people say bother you. A lot of the cover models can take a good picture but can’t deal with people. That’s why you’ll see some guys at a convention once and never again. They can’t handle it. I remember years ago when I was working a trade show with Heather Graham and a woman commented to her that she’s never heard of the author. Heather just smiled and said to her “Well….a lot of people have!” I had to go off on this ignorant woman in Heather’s defense. Heather said “Don’t worry about it….No big deal…” I’ve never forgotten that. People can be so rude. I’ve had “fans” ask me if I’m wearing a wig or say “I thought you’d be taller…” I just smile and kill them with kindness…
2) What is your nutrition? How often do you go to the gym? Do you practice constantly?
I go to the gym 6 days a week. I try to break up my workouts into different body parts on different days. My diet is generally pretty healthy. I think everyone knows what to eat and what not to. They just don’t want to deprive themselves. I know if I eat more of something I shouldn’t that just means more cardio. There is literally NO FREE LUNCH. I follow a more strict diet if I have a shoot coming up. I have never been one of those guys who carries food around with them so they can eat 6 to 8 times a day. I just find that odd.
3) What is your availability? Traveling? Full-time, part time? hours?
It all depends on the situation. I can be pretty flexible if the price is right!
4) Where can we learn what you have in this industry?
For starters you can buy my new book, “Confessions Of A Romance Cover Model.” It just came out in paperback. It took me 20 years in the business to write it. Any more questions? Buy me a drink and we’ll talk!
http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Romance-Cover-Model-Hollenbach-ebook/dp/B00GGMWAEA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386556853&sr=1-1&keywords=confessions%2Bof%2Ba%2Bromance%2Bcover%2Bmodel
5) Where can your fans best reach you and keep up to date on your projects?
They can go to my website: www.cjcovermodel.com or follow me on Facebook: CJ Hollenbach. I’m not on Twitter…yet!
by admin | Mar 4, 2014 | annoucement, Book Giveaway, DCL Interview, eBooks, Giveaway, romance eBooks
1. If you could work with any author who would it be?
Probably Diana Gabaldon. I would love to know her research techniques and also where she learned the Gaelic in her books
2. Who is your favourite author and is you writing style similar to theirs?
Fantasy author T.H. White was always my favorite, but I don’t think my style is similar to his. I hear the voices of poets I have loved in my work. W. B. Yeats and Edna St. Vincent Millay were always my favorites.
3. What’s your favorite part of a book?
Oh, the beginning. It’s like opening a box of chocolates.
4. When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?
Actually, I do. I created a language for my fantasy novel The King’s Daughter and the name of the female protagonist, Tarabenthia, meant “Heart of the Earth.” In my fantasy historical Spirit Awakened, the heroine had forgotten her name and the man she eventually came to love named her Delfi, which was “yellow flower,” for her blonde hair. Names are very important.
5) Where can readers best contact you?
At my Facebook page, MiriamNewmanAuthor, or the contact page at my web site www.miriamnewman.com.
To win an e-book copy of Miriam’s novel, THE EAGLE’S WOMAN, leave comment on the DCL and her page at:
www.thecelticroseblog.blogspot.com
Let us know what you think of the cover!
by Pam | Aug 7, 2008 | DCL Interview, Miriam Newman, The King's Daughter
Miriam Newman was born in Bryn Mawr, PA, right in the heart of the Philadelphia main line, and lived there for 36 years. Currently, she lives quite a bit further Northwest of the city in the still-rural area of Elverson, PA, where she lives on a small horse farm. Preceding her work as an author, Miriam worked for 18 years in various areas of psychiatric social work.
She has received an Honorable Mention in a Pennsylvania Poetry Society competition which was opened nationwide. There’s only one winner and one Honorable Mention out of many thousands of entries, making this a rather big deal.
Miriam has successfully published 2 books thus far: Confessions of the Cleaning Lady and Book 1 of her Chronicles of Alcinia, The Kings Daughter for The Dark Castle Lords.
Lillith: What kind of horses do you have?
Miriam: A Thoroughbred and Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse cross. Both are rescue horses living out their retirement with me. One was a racehorse and one was a fox hunter.
Lillith: Are any of your characters added to this detail you know?
Miriam: Many of my characters do have an involvement with horses.
Lillith: Any strong handsome and romantic cowboys from the past or in the future in one of your books?
Miriam: Funny you should ask. I have been trying for a long time now to write a Western. If other things stop popping into my head, I hope to do one.
Lillith: Do you have any news, anything at all?
Miriam: Sure! My contemporary fantasy romance, Confessions of the Cleaning Lady, releases 8/14. My “big” book, The King’s Daughter, will probably come out in late September.
That one is the first of a two-book work, a fantasy epic with romantic elements. The second half, Heart of the Earth, will release after that and another fantasy, Spirit Awakened, is going to editing.Lillith: What drove you to begin writing?
Miriam: For years, I published poetry because of an insatiable need to do it. Then, after my husband died, my writing started coming out in 100,000-word installments and I couldn’t stop it. I’m sure it was a release of some sort.
Lillith: I’m so sorry about your husband. I can’t imagine the pain you and fellow author Kate Hofman have gone through.
Miriam: It’s tough and both of our husbands died relatively young, which I suspect makes it even worse. But you know that old saying, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
Lillith: Do you have a particular poem you can share with us?
Miriam: I would but I’ve actually received a request to put all of my poems into book form (another project!) and that will be copyrighted, so I probably should not put one out elsewhere at this time.Lillith: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Miriam: I think it was when I used to snitch the paper my mother used for her shopping lists so that I could print my “books,” complete with illustrations. As I recall, the pictures were invariably of horses! I seem to remember a Hollywood “stunt” horse that saved his rider from a brush fire.
Lillith: I bet you were a handful. How did your mother deal with all of this?
Miriam: To be honest, she laughed. And every time my teachers complained that I was writing manuscripts during their classes, she said they should be happy, at least I was taking advantage of my education.Lillith: What was the inspiration for your first book?
Miriam: I started writing the first one a week after my husband died. I am sure people thought it was very strange, but I really believe it got me through that horrible period of “coming to terms” with things. That one ended up in my secretary desk, from where I have only recently unearthed it.
In the interim, I spent a lot of time in Ireland and that kicked off a spate of books, especially The King’s Daughter.
Lillith: You said you recently unearthed the book you wrote after your husband’s death. Are you planning on publishing it?
Miriam: Definitely!
Lillith: I am very jealous!!! How was Ireland?
Miriam: Fantastic! Art of any kind is respected there. I once asked a sheep farmer if I could just sit in his pasture (which had a GREAT view) to make some notes and you would have thought I’d offered him a million dollars.
The pace of life permits you to practice your art and the weather definitely gives you time indoors—perfect for a writer! But I loved it—every fog, every raindrop, every force 10 gale. It’s too expensive to live there—at least for me—but I would love to be able to spend half of every year in Ireland. That’s my dream.Lillith: Who or what hs influenced your writing?
Miriam: My mother and William Butler Yeats, with a push from Edna St. Vincent Millay. Poetry was my first love, but I have also submerged myself in fantasy and science fiction, romance and everything in between.
A strong interest in history has also contributed to nearly everything I have ever written. And lately I have been surprised by a spiritual aspect in my writing. I didn’t expect that one.
Lillith: It sounds like your books are full of great detail. You don’t sound like you disappoint.
Miriam: I hope not. They might disappoint someone looking for a category or formula romance, but if a reader wants something a little more involved than that…well, I can and do deliver.
Lillith: Do any of your hero’s win over hearts with romantic poetry?
Miriam: No, but I will give you a hint that one specific poem by Yeats is intimately involved with the plot of my baby boomer romance, Heart of the Wind. That’s my work in progress.Lillith: Has your life or environment influenced your writing in anyway?
Miriam: Very much so. The locales I have visited are featured in much of my writing. I have had a lifelong addiction to horses and, believe me, it shows! I have had a number of tragedies in my life and they are in there, to an extent. But one side of my family is Irish and noted for its wacky sense of humor and that’s there, too, as a balance.
Lillith: I can already sense that.
Miriam: I know, I’m something of a lunatic at times.Lillith: Do you have a specific writing style?
Miriam: I vary between the first and third person and of course it’s no accident that my writing tends towards the poetic. It’s hard for me to be objective about it, so I’ll just quote another author who calls it ‘sculptured.’ Sort of spare with periodic outbursts of what I modestly hope is brilliance!
Lillith: I just recently became addicted to first person.
I have to say, as a skeptic of still some first person, how do you get passed that whole part of trying to describe everything as much as possible in first person as if you were writing in third person?
Miriam: I found that two methods work for me. First, there is the action (or reaction) of the secondary character, which often reveals a great deal.
Secondly, there is my narrator’s thought about the action of the secondary character. That sometimes reveals even more. And, of course, dialogue is crucial.
I know many writers (and readers) feel first person can be limiting. I have not found it to be so. However, there are also some books that present to me in the third person right from the get-go. Those are the ones which I know intuitively will not work in first person. It’s a subconscious process, not something I decide, but it’s always on the money.Lillith: What genre are you most comfortable writing?
Miriam: Fantasy. All of it has a romantic element, but I have only one book which is a straight romance and, even then, the heroine has a tendency toward prophetic dreams and (as a child) a disconcerting ability to see departed relatives nobody else sees!
Lillith: Sounds like some of my history on vampire books…people in Europe, I believe post Elizabethan Era, believed the dead would visit them in their dreams, but only certain family members could see them. These ‘spirits’ were believed to be some kind of energy vampire or succubus.
Miriam: Well, my family all believed in second sight and being fey, which my Irish grandmother said I was practically from the moment I was born. So there were certain expectations to live up to!Lillith: How did you come up with the title for your novels?
Miriam: Usually, I have this conversation with myself that goes something like, “Well, come on, stupid. You know you have to call it something, so think, already.” I get impatient with myself and then a title usually zips into my head.
Lillith: I can’t stop laughing at this image!!! I can only imagine that perhaps some if not most authors go through the same process.
Miriam: Yes, I have conversations with myself quite frequently. I suspect a lot of people do; they just won’t admit it.
Lillith: ***raising hand***
Lillith: Is there a message in your novels that you want readers to grasp?
Miriam: Oh, I get messages across: about the futility of war, the idiocy of religious and racial prejudice, the importance of kindness to others and also to ourselves. My characters discover unsuspected strength in themselves in the face of adversity. And, ultimately, they discover that love is the strongest force in the universe.
Lillith: As it should be.
Lillith: Do any of your books have any realism to them?
Miriam: They can be quite realistic, especially in the case of The King’s Daughter, which is recognizably Medieval. That was not a gentle era. The heroine’s entire life is shaped by war. She is a King’s daughter and responsible for the lives and deaths of countless people. A lot of reading of history went into that book.
Lillith: Did you get any help from your local SCA for accounts of the history or did you just hit the books?
Miriam: I hit the books, I hit the CD’s, I hit the old movies, I unearthed old college papers, Googled like crazy, talked to other history buffs and just generally immersed myself in whatever time period I was ‘into.’
I have a friend from college who has an online book service and she got me anything my little heart desired.
Art museums are surprisingly good resources, too. The Philadelphia Art Museum has a wonderful collection of Medieval weapons, chain mail, armor, etc. Taking a look at a mace close up and personal is a really sobering experience.
Lillith: Can you explain to our readers how important it is to research?
Miriam: It’s crucial. People who love historicals are fanatical about getting it right. They know their stuff and you’d better not blow it or you will hear about it.
The one really nice thing about writing fantasy is that you can mix it up a bit. Straight historicals are much more difficult and I respect the authors who write those, believe me.
Lillith: Are the characters experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Miriam: Some of my characters are very loosely based on people I know. It’s just a matter of taking one facet and spinning it. If events in my life have given me something interesting to tell, I tell it. But nothing is autobiographical. None of these characters are me.
Lillith: Do any of your friends look at your stories/books and say, “hey, I know who that is?”
Miriam: Not yet, but they’re going to!Lillith: What books have mostly influenced your life?
Miriam: The classic poets, absolutely. Other books that spring readily to mind are: The Once and Future King, Lord of the Rings, Stranger in a Strange Land.
I am fascinated by practically every ancient civilization and will read books portraying almost any of them.
Lillith: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Miriam: Piers Anthony, because I consider him a modern Renaissance Man. He has such a breadth of knowledge in so many areas. He awes me.Lillith: What book are you reading now?
Miriam: The one open on my couch right now is “Possessed by the Highlander”—a good old Scottish romance by Terri Brisbin. Love those!
Lillith: Oh, a Scottish Romance! I’ll have to look into that.Lillith: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Miriam: C. L. Wilson, who wrote Lord of the Fading Lands and Lady of Light and Shadows. She’s a great new fantasy writer with a very strong romantic element. There’s an absolutely riveting love story entwined with her fantasy.Lillith: Do you have any current projects?
Miriam: As I mentioned, I have resurrected my baby boomer romance, Heart of the Wind, and am doing a rewrite. That’s about ten chapters along. Unless another book pops into my head—and, honestly, I never know!—that should be my next one.
Lillith: We are all looking forward to that!Lillith: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Miriam: Most definitely the members of my local writers’ group/chapter of Romance Writers of America.
Lillith: Aren’t they a great bunch! I love it when we go to ours. Of course, everyone is trying to talk more to the published authors than anybody else, but they are all a great bunch of people.
Miriam: Oh, sure, there are people at every level in the group, from the multi-pubbed to those just starting out. But my group has a lot of very generous individuals.Lillith: Has writing become a main career or just something to do?
Miriam: I would LOVE it to be my main career, but unfortunately I’m still doing the day job thing.
Lillith: I think we can all understand that.Lillith: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Miriam: I wouldn’t change one thing. I am so in love with my hero that I couldn’t possibly! I would feel unfaithful.
Lillith: I have never heard it put that way.
Miriam: I know. I told you: I’m a lunatic!Lillith: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Miriam: Vividly. I was four years old and terribly sick with what was thought to be appendicitis (it wasn’t). My mother decided to comfort me by reading me poetry and chose (thanks, Mom!) The Skeleton in Armor—a grisly poem about the skeletal ghost of a knight still clanking around. Right then and there I decided to write about knights.
Lillith: So we owe your mom a huge thanks for your great stories! Thanks Miriam’s mom!!!
Miriam: She would be absolutely thrilled that I finally did this.Lillith: What do you see as the influences on your writing?
Miriam: A family which valued reading above all else. The thousands of books I have read and loved.
Supportive friends: poets, authors, and people who just love books.
Slightly or more than slightly crazy relatives who did interesting things.
Travel, trouble, time and acquired wisdom.
Lillith: And I bet you must have some really crazy relatives!
Miriam: Trust me. You don’t even want to go there. And if you’re sane when you marry into the family, they infect you.
Lillith: I think I understand…Lillith: Can you share a little of your current work with us?
Miriam: The King’s Daughter is in the first-person narrative memoir of an aging Queen who changed the entire history of her world. She is shrewd, manipulative, self centered and willful…and tender and passionate, devoted to her land and people and the Goddess she worships. A heroine and a harlot. A paradox.
Lillith: Don’t laugh at me, but I just learned this year what that word meant. Now everyone goes crazy when I use it because now I use it as often as I can. I never grew up reading the dictionary…Lillith: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Miriam: Not so far. My challenge will come if it ever stops flowing as easily as it is doing now.Lillith: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Miriam: T. H. White. His use of the English language, his absolute mastery of fantasy, his incredible whimsy and the way he weaves history and mythology into his worlds. He’s just stunning!
Lillith: You keep naming off these great books and I feel like I am missing out. Can I raid your library?
Miriam: Any time. It has basically taken over my house and I could use some help sorting it out.
Lillith: Oi! Careful what you say. I have OCD. I have to organize everything alphabetically, and if I’m not happy with the way it looks, than it’s by size than alphabet.Lillith: Do you have to travel much concerning your books?
Miriam: The more the better! I really did a considerable amount of research in Ireland and would love to do more.
Lillith: Oh, take me with you next time you go!!! You can put me in a huge duffel for check in.
Miriam: Ok, let’s go…
Lillith: Who designed your covers?
Miriam: Annie Marshall at DCL. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Lillith: Yes, Annie has been doing a really great job since she started.
Miriam: I would swear the girl has mental telepathy. She created EXACTLY what I wanted and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way.
Lillith: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Miriam: Stopping! Once I get on a roll, I’m pretty well over the top. I hate to come up for air. I tend to cry when I end it. The King’s Daughter nearly had me on the floor! It took me a while to recover. Fortunately, there was a sequel.
Lillith: The ones that do that to you are really great ones!
Miriam: The editor cried, too, so I think maybe this book really has possibilities!Lillith: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Miriam: Yes, I think it made me more introspective as I tried to insert myself into the mind of the female protagonist. She was so much at war with herself so many times, so conflicted about blatantly using the people she loved to achieve political and military ends. She suffered shattering losses but had to rise above them. There’s a lesson there for me!
Lillith: It sounds like there is a lesson for everyone.Lillith: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Miriam: If they’re really writers, they don’t need my advice, because they’re going to write regardless of anything anyone tells them. They can’t help it.Lillith: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Miriam: Enjoy! I hope these books will entertain you, amuse you, and perhaps make a memory or two. Yes, I do believe we will have a memory or two after reading your books. I hope everyone has found this interview to be as exciting, informative and as comedic as I have. Please feel free to make any comments to this interview, and if there are any questions for me, I will reply to them as quickly as I can. And if there are any questions for Miriam, I’m sure she will get to them when she can, as she is busy with her next book.
Mark your calendars for September 18th for Miriam Newman’s The King’s Daughter!
Cheerß,Lillith
