KIDS NEED TO READ ANTHOLOGY AUTHOR...KEITH DOMINGUE!

Next up in our troupe of fourteen Hollywood writers who banded together to write an anthology of short stories they’re calling LOVE AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS, and whose proceeds KIDS NEED TO READ is Keith Domingue!

R:  Hello, Keith, and welcome!  Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in writing.

K: I think it began with being a voracious reader before becoming a writer.

When I was a kid, I had the big comic book collection-- mostly Marvel and DC stuff, along with several Sci-Fi and fantasy books.  Terry Brooks Sword of Shannara series, along with Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game comes to mind.  And a bit later on, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series was a favorite.

The call to write didn’t come for me until I was in my twenties.  I had spent time as a product engineer for IBM, a financial consultant for Bear Stearns, and a martial arts instructor.  Like most in their twenties, I was searching.

I had a close friend who was a screenwriter, and I bought his laptop.  It had Final Draft on it, the screenwriter’s software, and I started tinkering with it.  Once I did, I just knew. I had no idea what I was in for, and how much work it would be, however.  But the discipline that martial arts had instilled in me was a transferable skill set. For two years, I basically apprenticed under my friend before I felt both my craftsmanship and story ideas were mature enough to introduce to the professional environment.

It came full circle when I had the opportunity to work with comic book icon Stan Lee, several years ago.

R:  How did you hear about Kids Need to Read? Tell us about your short in the anthology – what inspired that?

K: I heard about Kids Need to Read from author and dear friend Christiana Miller.   A successful author in her own right, Christiana really paved the way for many like myself, writers who were considering their first novel, and wanted to go the indie route. 

For those of you who haven’t read her work, I encourage you to check it out.  When she asked if was interested in participating, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.

R: You recently published a novel, LUTHECKER.  How different was writing a novel from screenplays? What made you decide to take the plunge?

K: If I could only use one word to describe the difference, it would be freedom. 

Screenwriting follows a market driven format that you deviate from at your own peril.  And your audience is not the end user, it is the brokers in between—Agents, managers, producers, studio execs. 

This is neither good nor bad, it’s just the business.  But your work rarely if ever gets in front of anyone unfiltered, in front of someone who is simply looking to enjoy a good story.

When I decided to write LUTHECKER, and then publish it independently, it was because I wanted to engage an audience directly, with no one in between my story and their experience with it.  And I would let the readers tell me if my story was worthy.

To be honest I was a little nervous on how it would be received, but I was stunned by the strong response, particularly among women.  It was such a great feeling to read reviews from people who had no connection with you other than your book, about how much they enjoyed the story. 

And ironically enough, it’s come full circle—I’m working with television producers now to create a television series based on the characters in the novel.  

R: You are also a fitness coach and an avid martial artist – how did you become interested in these?

K: I began studying martial arts at the age of nine.  I credit my father for that.  Martial arts instilled a discipline and philosophy in me that has had a direct influence on my writing work ethic. 

My work as a fitness coach was a natural progression from that.  I’m a big believer in the mind, body, soul trilogy that defines life.  To me that means creativity, health, and a sense of spirituality.  In my mind, all must be fostered and cared for.  

And let’s face it writing is not the most stable of incomes.   Having another passion / profession that engages others and helps them, provides a balance for me.

R: What writers would you say have made the greatest influence on your writing?

K: I’ll limit it to the top four:

1 – Neil Gaiman.

2 – Dan Simmons.

3 – James Elroy.

4 – Stan Lee.

R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids the creative process?

K: Musts:  Coffee and quiet.  

Process:  Reading of course, but also watching movies, multiple times.  They are like game tapes for me.

R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done? 

K: Becoming a writer.  Without question, a crazy idea…

R: What are you working on at the moment / next?

K: The television pilot and series treatment based on Luthecker.

Television is a team sport, and a new one for me.  It’s been both a fun and fascinating process.  I’m very excited about the possibilities.

And of course, I’m working on the sequel to Luthecker.

R: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

K: I’m embarrassed to say that I’m a bit delinquent in the self-promotion category. 

You can find me on facebook, “Luthecker by Keith Domingue,” and the novel is available in Amazon.com

R: Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

K: Keep writing.  Find another source of income that makes you happy, so you can be free of market demands. 

Writing is a catharsis.  Self-exploration.  All stories are love stories—Love of God, country, family, or another.  Even love of self, if that journey is a struggle for the character.

So whatever story you are trying to tell, find the love in it. 

And keep writing.

Just for Fun:

Night or Day? 

9am.  First cup of coffee.  L.A. sunshine and a day full of possibility.

Dog or Cat? (answer carefully)

A cat that acts like a dog. (Note from ROCCO: we LOVE this answer!)

 

Beach or Pool?  

Beach.

Steak or salad? 

Pizza.

Favorite Drink? 

Cabernet.

Favorite Book? 

That one is a rotating answer.  Right now, I think that “I, Lucifer” by Glen Duncan is genius. 

Favorite TV Series? 

I’m going to limit this to what is currently on air:  Breaking Bad.

Favorite Movie? 

Oof.  Another toughie, another rotation.  I’m going to say Syriana for today.

Favorite Actor:

Daniel Day Lewis.

Favorite Actress:

Marion Cotillard.  (If you haven’t seen it, watch “La Vie en Rose.”)

Dirty Martini or Pina Colada?

Shaken, not stirred…

Hawaii or Alaska?

Hawaii.

Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be  The Buddha.

If I had just one wish, it would be more happiness, less fear in the world.

If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be Tom Brady.  That cat seems to have a pretty good life…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  Keith Domingue is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles, and has written scripts for MGM Studios, Dimension Films, and Village Roadshow Pictures. His first original screenplay ONE THIRD, is being produced by Safady Entertainment and Lions Gate Films, and is scheduled to begin production in 2014.  LUTHECKER is his first novel.

Next up:  Love and Other Distractions author Anne O'Toole!

Shelly Goldstein of Love and Other Distractions....an Anthology to benefit Kids Need to Read!

MEOW!

Recently, fourteen Hollywood writers banded together to write an anthology of short stories they’re calling LOVE AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS!  The proceeds from said tome benefit my purr-sonal favorite charity, you guessed it – KIDS NEED TO READ!

We’ll be talking with these writers over the next few weeks – and first up…SHELLY GOLDSTEIN!

Shelly Goldstein is a writer/performer/rock-’n-roll historian, who has written for every genre of TV, film and stage. Her one-woman shows have played to sell-out crowds throughout the U.S. and U.K. She and Brendan Foley recently completed the pilot Dr. Feelgood for Denmark’s Monday Productions and TV 3. They also co-created the children’s animated series Shelldon that ran on NBC from 2009-2012 and still airs in 40 countries around the world. Their pop-music animated series Flying With Byrd currently airs in Asia.

She has written sitcoms, dramas, lyrics, documentaries, animation, award shows, jokes and special material for such performers as Steve Martin, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Jane Fonda, Jimmy Fallon, Garry Marshall, Sean Penn, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the cast of Glee and Yoko Ono.

Shelly is a proud, self-proclaimed Beatles nerd who has hosted radio shows about the Fab Four in the U.S. and England and has been invited to lecture about their influence on music and culture throughout the U.S.

And now…I interview Shelly!

R:  Meow, welcome Shelly! Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in writing.

S:  Rocco, I began writing as soon as I learned how to write. I wrote my first play at 7. I started writing song lyrics around the same time. I’m a performer-singer as well as a writer. Writing and performing have always walked hand-in-hand with me. Part of the fun of writing a screenplay or a story is in your head you get to play all the parts.

R:  How did you hear about Kids Need to Read? Tell us a bit about your short in this anthology.

S: I was very fortunate in that I was raised by parents who encouraged reading, learning and curiosity. I also had teachers who encouraged reading and storytelling. It wasn’t something I ever really thought about growing up. Books, newspapers, stories, libraries, imagination were a part of life.

We don’t live in that sort of world anymore.

And while I can appreciate that ways of obtaining information evolve over decades, I think children are at a serious disadvantage when they grow up getting their vocabulary and frames of reference only from the internet, gaming and TV.

It’s been said a million times, but books literally give you the world. Too many people – young and old – live lives carefully orchestrated to keep them in a bubble.

Books teach children about people around the world – and across town – whose lives are very different from the lives they lead. Books also teach you how much in common you have with someone who lives a continent away.

Books fuel your imagination, teach you to think, to communicate and to dream.

It was a joy to go into this project, knowing that every single cent the book earns would go to a charity designed to encourage kids to read and help put books in their hands.

About my story:

My story in LOVE & OTHER DISTRACTIONS is called, ‘The Vagina Dialogues” and it was originally written as a performance piece for myself and one of the most talented people I know, Victoria Zielinski. In 2012 we did an evening of sketch comedy & songs in Chicago (well, Wilmette) along with her wildly talented husband, Paul Barrosse and the brilliantly funny Dana Olsen.

My story began as a conversation between two women who were remarkably similar to Victoria and I. But as I began writing, it evolved into an intimate look at a demographic our culture rarely hears from – long-time female friends, over 40.

They’re still beautiful, they’re still feisty& funny, they’re still horny and they’ve got tons of stories to tell about the men they’ve loved and lost.

It was a blast to write and I have had amazing response from people who loved these women – ironically, a lot of my biggest fans are guys in their early 30s, who I think have a thing for MILFs.

The story is deliberately dialogue-heavy. Not because I don’t like writing prose - but because I really wanted these women’s personalities and POV to fuel the action.

R: You are listed on “Movie Smackdown” as a ‘rock n roll historian’.  What does that entail?

S: It involves listening to an awful lot of Beatles music. (g) I think because I was just a little too young, I idealize the 60s.  It remains my favorite decade.

When I was a teenager, my friend’s Dad was a program director at an “oldies” radio station in Chicago that had a playlist that pretty much spanned 1957-75. My friends and I hung around there all the time, sort of unofficial interns who were paid in t-shirts and albums. Once I got paid with a 10-pound box of frozen hamburger patties.

But we spent all day listening to the great British Invasions groups – the Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Animals, Zeppelin, etc. And the glory of Motown & Stax/Volt soul. The brilliant “girl singers” of the era – Dusty Spingfield, Carole King, Laura Nyro, Mama Cass, Carly Simon, Janis Joplin, Lulu, Cilla, Nancy Sinatra etc. And the American groups – Rascals, Beach Boys, Doors, Buckinghams, Lovin’ Spoonful, Mamas & Papas, CSNY, the Byrds, the Monkees, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Dead…the list goes on and on.

I couldn’t get enough of it.  Still can’t.

I’ve written about the era, I’ve been a disc jockey in LA and Chicago, I was the lead singer of the notorious SHELLY & THE SEA SHELLS and in the past few years I’ve toured the US and UK with my one-woman show, ONE FINE DAY: THE GROOVY GIRLS OF THE 60s.

No disrespect to the music that came before or after. There are dozens of artists I love from other eras. But there’s something about that generation from 63-73 that has energy and optimism that speaks to me like no other music.

I also wrote and produced about 6 episodes of BEHIND THE MUSIC which required a knowledge of Rock & Roll history from the 60s thru the 90s and I wrote and produced a documentary for Lifetime TV on the life of Yoko Ono which was pretty damned fascinating.

R: You are a self proclaimed “Beatles nerd”.  Which of their songs are your favorite?  Do you have a favorite Beatle?  Do you prefer the 60’s or the 70’s Beatles and why?

S: Picking a favorite Beatles song – or even a favorite Beatle -- is like trying to pick a favorite finger or toe. I go through phases where I only listen to really early stuff – up to about HELP. Then I immerse myself into the era of Rubber Soul and Revolver – and I’m always amazed when I hear PEPPER or THE WHITE ALBUM or ABBEY ROAD – how fresh they sound. 

Favorite Beatle? In his brilliant novel STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER, Tom Robbins said if you ask someone who their favorite Beatle is, the answer will tell you everything you need to know about that person. That’s still fairly accurate. It’s impossible not to worship John Lennon. He was simply one of the most fascinating men of the 20^th century, a natural revolutionary & amazingly gifted artist. I am so sad that I never got to meet George Harrison. I read George’s favorite move was THE PRODUCERS. I always dreamed of watching it with him! I’ve had the good fortune to meet Paul and Ringo and both were absolutely everything you’d want them to be.

Paul had read something I’d written about the early days of Wings and was very complimentary about it – he’d obviously read it very carefully. As we discussed it, I was literally dizzy with delight.

There were no Beatles in the 70s (they broke up in 1970) but all of them did amazing solo work in the 70s. For Lennon, the apex was probably IMAGINE in 1971. For Paul, either RAM or BAND ON THE RUN, for George, ALL THINGS MUST PASS and Ringo managed the only true Beatles reunion in 1973 when all 4 played on various tracks on his wonderful RINGO CD.

Their contribution to the world is unmatched. They didn’t just save Rock & Roll from the first wave of corporate pop (which took over around the time Elvis got drafted). They changed style, politics, culture, art, music, film. We’re still feeling their influence after half a century.

And at the end of the day – their songs were FANTASTIC. They rocked!

R: You’ve also written jokes and special material for a host of performers. Who was your favorite to write for? Least favorite? Do you have a funny story you can share?

S: I’ve had the great pleasure of writing for so many people I admire. It’s always fun to work for a specific performer because the discipline requires more than just coming up with a funny line or a good lyric – it has to work in their individual voice.

I love working with Sharon Stone, who is one of the brightest people on the planet. Whenever we’re together we end up laughing until we’re in pain.

I think the most fascinating writing job I ever had was helping Steve Martin punch up one of his films. In addition to being utterly brilliant, he’s an absolute gentleman. As we worked (in a group of about half a dozen writers), someone would throw out an idea and instantly he’d be on his feet spinning comedy gold and within seconds he’d have turned it from an amorphous concept to a real, human moment – that was always wildly funny. It was like watching a great magician.

And when I’d say something or show him some writing that made him laugh – actually laugh out loud – I thought I’d gone to comedy heaven.

R: What writers would you say have made the greatest influence on your writing?

S: Larry Gelbart, Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Brendan Foley, Junior Burke, Dorothy Parker, Wendy Wasserstein, Rita Mae Brown

R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids the creative process?

S: All I need is inspiration and a deadline. When push comes to shove, the latter often helps give birth to the former.

R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done? 

S: Legend tells in the 80s I had a mullet – but I refuse to believe it.

R: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

S: Not writing for me is as probable as not breathing – but in the past few years I’ve added a lot more writer-performing to my resume and I like that a lot.

R: What’s your next project?

S: Currently writing the book and lyrics for a new musical. My husband and I recently created our third animated series for a production company in Asia, so I’m writing season 3 of one of the earlier shows. I hope to write a new one-woman cabaret, a follow-up to ONE FINE DAY, to bring to the stage in 2014.

Just for Fun:

Night or Day?  . DAY

Dog or Cat? (answer carefully)  - There’s a reason I’m called “Kitten with a Quip” (But I also love dogs.)

Beach or Pool?   - Beach

Steak or salad?   - Steak

Favorite Drink?  Water.

Favorite Book?  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Favorite TV Series?  THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, MAD MEN, THE SOPRANOS

Favorite Movie?   THE PRODUCERS (1968) A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1964)

Favorite Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

Favorite Actress: Kate Hepburn & Roz Russell

Dirty Martini or Pina Colada? – Really good Champagne

Hawaii or Alaska? - Hawaii

Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be  JOHN LENNON, JOHN KENNEDY, JON STEWART, JOHN OLVIER – Do you detect a pattern?

If I had just one wish, it would be_ TO SPEND A LAUGH-FILLED DAY WITH MY HUSBAND AND MY (ONCE-MORE ALIVE & HEALTHY) PARENTS.

If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be  NOBODY. THEN YOU GET THEIR PROBLEMS

Thank you for a wonderful interview, Shelly!

Folks, pick up a copy of LOVE & OTHER DISTRACTIONS! Every cent goes to help our “pet” charity – KIDS NEED TO READ!

This anthology is all about that crazy little thing called love...and all the odd, impulsive, bizarre and sometimes illegal things people do in its name! With 20 stories, written by 14 Hollywood writers, spanning 7 different genres, it's a literary treasure trove that has something for everyone!

You Can get it here: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Other-Distractions-Anthology-Hollywood/dp/1491060263/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375789439&sr=8-1&keywords=love+%26+other+distractions

Or here: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-and-other-distractions-christiana-miller/1116229742?ean=9781491060261

Guest Blogger...author Ann Purser!

Meow!

Today our guest blogger is author Ann Purser. Ann is the author of the Lois Meade and Ivy Beasley mysteries!  Welcome, Ann!

Thank you, Rocco!

I started writing after my small daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.   We thought that though she had been dramatically premature, she seemed to be okay.   But then, finding out, we concentrated on doing the best we could for her.   At eight years  old she went away to school, and I missed her so much I had a period of gloom.   Fed up with me, my husband suggested I write down what I felt, and it appeared in SHE magazine and I had much comforting feedback.

My next daughter and later a bouncing boy, completed our family.   They are still more important to me than anything else.

SHE was a well respected mag in those days, and the editor was an ex-girlfriend of my husband!   I continued in this fashion by taking on television reviewing for the Stage and Television Today.   They wanted Philip, but he said his old woman would do it for the fee they were offering.   So I did, and greatly enjoyed it.

Next I was offered a whole page interview with a tv or radio performer of my choice, one a month on SHE (same editor).

A wonderful experience, and I was threatened with a law suit only once.  

Six years later, I decided to broaden my horizons and did a wonderful degree with the Open University.  By now, I reckoned I could try my hand at a novel, so wrote the six Round Ringford village stories, following these up with my two detective series, starring Lois Meade, detective in one, and Ivy Beasley, head of an enquiry agency in the other.  Lois runs a cleaning business, and recognises the ideal environment for detecting:  a position of trust in her clients` houses.   Lois is married and has a hands off relationship with Inspector Cowgill; and Ivy is engaged to be married to Roy, both resident in an old folks home in Suffolk.

I love writing both series, and find that writing them alternately is as refreshing as a break from my workroom!

My agent (also my husband`s) was wonderful Jacqueline Korn at David Higham Associates, and she was always helpful, and forthright in her judgement on my early efforts.

My latest release is:   The Sleeping Salesman, an Ivy Beasley enquiry.   Roy`s only relative, Steven, is to be best man at the wedding, but there are many hitches, not least the possible postponement of the wedding, and murder, abduction and deceit are there in plenty. 

I always have music - classical mostly - while I`m writing.   I love music, and find that it acts as a barrier to extraneous sounds such as playtime in the village school next door, aiding my concentration.

What would my readers be surprised to know about me?   Not much, I suspect.   Perhaps the fact that I keep chickens and pick dandelions for them every day from the hedgerows?   Boring, boring!  The craziest thing I’ve ever done was as a fourteen year old, I rode a large Irish mare at the gallop through local town on market day, unable to stop her and aware that my mother and friends were shopping and watched me go by.   Nothing since.

Am I a Plotter or pantser?   Maybe because I am English, I have no idea!

If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be my grandson George, on loan from the hereafter.

I hope my readers take away only amusement and enjoyment from reading my books.   I love it when they write to me, and feel I have made friends.   My website (which needs major updating, I fear) is www.annpurser.com

My email address is: annpurser@btinternet.com.

  

 It’s been delightful and thank you for having me on your blog, ROCCO!

Thank you, Anne!

Coming in September:  Gemma Halliday!

I will be offline whilst THE HUMAN takes a vacation (imagine that – I do not take one and I sorely need one, Meow!)

But join us for  more fun and interviews in October!

ROCCO

Incredible Blogging Cat

Cat-ching up with...author Erika Chase!

Meow! Today my guest is author Erika Chase!

The first in the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries by Erika Chase, A Killer Read, hit the bookshelves last year and was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Read and Buried followed in Dec., and Cover Story this month. Erika also writes short stories and is part of those dangerous dames, The Ladies’ Killing Circle. She has been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. She was the owner of a specialty mystery bookstore in a previous life. And then, as now, has been ably distracted by her two Siamese cats.

And now…Erika!

R: Hello, Erika, and welcome,meow!

E: Thanks, ROCCO.

R:  How did you become interested in writing?

E: I got hooked on writing in the eighth grade when my teacher, Mr. Ross gave me top marks on an essay. His encouragement led to my first attempt at writing a novel. The plot was about a young girl on a horse ranch, as horses were my passion.  Weren’t they for every 14 year old? The book did not go far – into my bottom desk drawer as a matter of fact but the urge to write remained. Fast forward to my Journalism degree and doing everything from reporting to writing radio ads, to editing a community newspaper. Eventually, I ended up writing novels once again.

R:  Tell us about your latest release.

E:  The lastest in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries is Cover Story, released Aug. 6^th. It revolves around an old childhood friend of one of the main characters, Molly Mathews, who returns to Ashton Corners, now a widow and a writer. The book club hosts a book launch, and murder and mayhem ensue. First the books are stolen and Molly is attacked; the publisher is found dead; another body is found; and the main suspect is a book club member….so of course, Lizzie Turner and gang go sleuthing again.

R:  How did you decide to write in the “cozy mystery” genre?

E: I have to give full credit to my editor at Berkley Prime Crime. She suggested it; I leapt on it.

R: Tell us about your beautiful Siamese cats, meow! How did they come into your life?

E: Keesha is a lively 15 years old and came into my life after another cat, Sheba passed at age 21. Mojo, now nine, joined the family as a companion to Keesha. I just felt so guilty about leaving her alone so much. Now I can’t imagine life without two Siamese!

R:  What is your favorite genre to read? Who’s your favorite author?

E: Cozies are the closest thing I have to a favorite genre, although I also love British police procedurals. As for favorite author, there are so many and so many are good friends, that I daren’t name just one!  Sorry.

R:  Do you have a “How I got my agent” story to share? How did you feel when you got “the call”?

E: I had the right friend at the right time. My close friend Mary Jane Maffini (now writing at Victoria Abbott, along with her daughter) got a call from her agent asking if she knew anyone who might want to try writing a cozy for Berkley Prime Crime. I bit and she liked what I sent her. The rest, as they say, is history. When I heard it had sold, I was in a state of shock, until I phone Mary Jane and her screaming brought me back to reality.

R: What’s a must have for you when you’re writing and what aids your creative process?

E: I always have music in my life, especially classical. I find the baroque instrumentals help my creative process, although to get into the southern spirit when writing A Killer Read, I was known to play some Leonard Skynard, the soundtrack from The Big Easy, and other mood setters.

R: If you had access to a time machine, where would you travel and why?

E: I’d love to go back to the Jazz Age. The music, the fashions, the joy of life…it seems so glamorous from this stage in time.

R:  If a movie were to be made of one of your books, which one would you want it to be and who would you pick for the lead?

E: I’d like to see Cover Story on the big screen. It was a very visual book as I was writing it and I think it has the elements to keep viewers glued to the screen. Lizzie would have to be played by a young Sandra Bullock and Mark Dreyfus, the police chief and Lizzie’s love interest, would be a younger (and bald) Paul Gross. Ellen Burstyn (think Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood) would be a very elegant Molly Mathews.

R:  What is the one thing your readers would be surprised to learn about you?

E: I’m an introvert with a capital ‘I’. The life of solitude side of writing suits me to a ‘t’; it’s the ‘get out there and promote yourself’ part that’s challenging.

R: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

E:  My business partner (Mary Jane Maffini) and I had just purchased Prime Crime Books, a specialty mystery bookstore in Ottawa, Ont. That would be about 20 years ago. Next thing we do is attend MWA in New York, and knowing that we wanted a skeleton for our window, we checked the yellow pages and hit the ‘bone’ shops. We found our guy at a shop on Broadway, had ‘him’ packaged and left. Declaring him at the border was another matter. The customs guys had no idea how to classify our purchase. Believe it or not, they’d never had anyone traveling with a skeleton before – go figure. Best they could come up with was ‘novelty’. Our skeleton, Sam, was deeply offended.

R:  What do you hope your readers take away from your writing?

E: I hope they will take away a sense of pleasure. I want my books to be enjoyed, the characters to become friends, and the plots to be a satisfying read.

Just for FUN:

Night or Day?  Day

Dog or Cat?    Cat (EXCELLENT answer, meow)

Mountains or Beach?   Beach

Steak or Salad?   Salad

Dirty Martini or Pina Colada?   Dirty Martini

Hawaii or Alaska?  Alaska  (I think you are the first person who answered that, meow!)

Your Favorite:

Drink: Espresso

Book: The Age of Doubt by Andrea Camilleri  (because I just finished it and love the series)

TV Series:   Castle (Meow – we just did a fundraiser for Nathan’s charity!)

Movie: Chocolat

Actor:   Sean Connery

Actress:  Judy Dench

Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world it would be….

Carole King. Love her song writing and want to know how she gets there.

If I had just one wish it would be…..that I could travel more

If I could trade places with anyone it would be…. Sally Armstrong. I greatly admire her reporting, her causes, and her courage. She’s someone who’s making a difference.

Where can readers find out more about you?

People can find me at:   www.erikachase.com

I’m also on Facebook at Erika Chase, author

and tweet me at @erika_chase

I also blog on the 7th of each month at http://www.killercharacters.com

Meow, thank you for a great interview, Erika!

Folks, Erika will be giving away a copy of COVER STORY to one lucky commenter!

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post with your name and email address (entries without email will be disqualified). For extra entries, you can do any or all of the below:

* Follow my blog (+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/RoccoBlogger)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/ToniLotempio)#!/

* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)

Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in your comment. Good luck!

Coming in September:

Gemma Halliday!


ROCCO
Incredible Blogging Cat