My Book Place

Tell us about yourself.:
I am a 29-year-old writer from Bakersfield, California. I grew up in a military family. I was born in Virginia and lived in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Hawaii, California, and New York. I graduated high school in 2010 in El Centro, California and graduated from California State University Bakersfield in 2014 with a degree in English Language and Literature. I was a substitute teacher from 2015 to 2018 and I currently work as a security guard, primarily for the extension campus of University of California, San Diego.

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?:
I grew up in the mainly in the states of Virginia, New York, and California. I was in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Hawaii but I was under the age of ten when I was there and have vague memories of those places. I would say that how those places influenced me was through the very dramatic situations that I would go through like the racism that I dealt with living in a small town in upstate New York where they rarely see people of color outside of military families. There were always dangerous situations and life experiences that I had in those places like seeing old friends deep in drug addictions and money issues.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am not sure if this is unusual but for me, what I like to do after I write a chapter or write something special, I take a break and play a video game for an hour or two. What it does for me is help me rejuvenate my brain so that I can think more clearly and concentrate on writing when I get back to it.

What authors have influenced you?
I grew up in the mainly in the states of Virginia, New York, and California. I was in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Hawaii but I was under the age of ten when I was there and have vague memories of those places. I would say that how those places influenced me was through the very dramatic situations that I would go through like the racism that I dealt with living in a small town in upstate New York where they rarely see people of color outside of military families. There were always dangerous situations and life experiences that I had in those places like seeing old friends deep in drug addictions and money issues.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
The same thing that they told me which was to take my time and do things right. There shouldn't be any rush to get your book done quickly. You should make sure that everything is done correctly more than quickly.

[Read more…] about Featured Author Interview: Nicolas Smith

Tell us about yourself.:
I am a communications professional who has worked for daily newspapers, associations, and corporations. I retired early to try my hand at creative writing. It was sort of a bucket list thing. Back in college I dropped out of a creative writing course because the professor was so critical of my work. Instead, I had a successful career in journalism. After retirement, I wanted to go back and prove I could be successful at creative writing, too. I’ve written four novels, three of which have already been published.

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?:
I’m originally from upstate South Carolina, but I don’t think that location influenced my writing as much as other places I’ve lived, including South Florida, the setting for my newest book, Grayer than Grey. San Francisco, where I lived for 12 years, is the location for first novel, SEX is nothing more than a game of tennis. I currently live in Atlanta where my second novel, Our Last Shot, family business at Peckerwood, takes place.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m most productive when I’m exercising. (I have to develop an idea in my mind before sitting down at the computer.) Perhaps exercise gets the blood flowing to my brain, but exercising is where I get my best ideas and where I’m able to work out any problems I’m having with scenes or characters. Sometimes taking a shower also works.

What authors have influenced you?
I’m originally from upstate South Carolina, but I don’t think that location influenced my writing as much as other places I’ve lived, including South Florida, the setting for my newest book, Grayer than Grey. San Francisco, where I lived for 12 years, is the location for first novel, SEX is nothing more than a game of tennis. I currently live in Atlanta where my second novel, Our Last Shot, family business at Peckerwood, takes place.

Do you have any advice for new authors?
READ! READ! READ! See how other authors handle situations, especially in novels like what you want to write. How they handle conflict, build suspense, develop characters. If you aren’t reading, you’ll never be a good writer.

[Read more…] about Featured Author Interview: Bob Keaton