Tag Archives: 3×5

February 1, 2015 · 12:26 am

Introducing Kristen Falso-Capaldi for February’s Three by Five Interivew

“ You always stop writing eventually,” my inner voice said. “Wouldn’t you rather make cheese…I’m going to make some coffee now. It’s very early, and I’ve got lots to say before I leave for work.”

Kristen Falso-Capaldi is a writer, musician and public high school teacher. The latter position has led her to believe she could run a small country if given the opportunity. She is the singer and lyricist for a folk/acoustic duo Kristen & J, she has finished a novel and has co-written a screenplay, Teachers: The Movie, which was an official selection for the 2014 Houston Comedy Film Festival. Kristen’s short story, “Of Man and Mouse” was published in the December 2013 issue of Underground Voices magazine, and several of her micro-fiction pieces have received accolades in various contests. Kristen lives in a small town in northern Rhode Island with her husband and cat.

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January 30, 2015 · 12:16 am

Three by Five Welcomes Back Trish Hopkinson with Three by Five Part IV

Today wraps up the conversation with Poet Trish Hopkinson.

VAH: What words of wisdom do you have for the emerging writer?

TH: The same I’ve been told by so many writers and professors—read more, write more. Beyond that, I like to share any other writing tips I come across and typically post them on my poetry blog.

VAH: What part does social media play in your writing career?

TH: It plays a much larger part than I originally expected. I follow the blogs and Facebook pages of lit mags and journals I like most, stay in touch with literary organizations, learn about opportunities from other poets and writers, post my publication successes, share poetry and other writing tips, promote fellow poets, and otherwise use my blog to support poetry and writing.

VAH: Do you belong to writing or author organizations and what benefit have you found in doing so?

TH: I am a member of the League of Utah Writers. So far, I’ve had too many conflicts to attend their meetings and gatherings, but I plan to attend their conference later this year and they have been supportive of work.

VAH: Do you have any favorite online sites or blogs that you find useful or interesting?

TH: Many! My favorite for inspiration and learning about new things is Brainpickings. They are constantly putting out new articles on a wide variety of topics. I also have several listed on my blog under Writing Resources, but my favorites are probably ErikaDreifus.com, The Review Review, and Winning Writers.

VAH: What was your writing education (formal or informal, structured or self-developed, etc.) and what were the pros and cons of your experiences?

TH: I was a nontraditional college student and spent several years taking one class at a time to gradually work toward my Bachelor of Science degree in English with a Creative Writing emphasis. Once my children got older I was able to take up to three classes at a time and finally graduated in December 2013. I’m now just staying active in continuing that education by writing, reading, and learning whenever I can—I call it a personal MFA. I may, at some point, discover I need a more formal community to continue progressing as a writer, but for now, I take an occasional workshop class online with Rooster Moans, go to a weekly open mic, and stay in touch with as many poets and writers as I can to build my writing community. Getting my undergrad really gave me all the tools I needed to continue learning and developing as a writer on my own. I don’t think I would have been able to learn all my education provided nearly as quickly on my own and I met some incredible writers and friends along the way.

VAH: Writing conferences, retreats, seminars – any favorites and why?

TH: I’d like to attend a writing conference at least once a year, but since this was my first year out of school, I haven’t had a chance to do so. I will likely check out everything I can locally before travelling to go to others.

Thanks so very much Trish for participating with Three by Five. For more of her published work, visit her publication list.

Bonus question: Three random, non-writing facts about you?

TH: I am a beer connoisseur, I have run two half marathons, and I volunteer at the Sundance Film Festival, 2015 will be my second year.

Provo, Utah poet Trish Hopkinson contributes to the writing community with her blog where she shares interesting writing tips, articles, calls for submissions (no fee only), and other info to help promote writing and poetry in general. She has always loved words—in fact, her mother tells everyone she was born with a pen in her hand. She has two chapbooks Emissions and Pieced Into Treetops and has been published in several anthologies and journals, including The Found Poetry Review, Chagrin River Review, and Reconnaissance Magazine. She is a project manager by profession and resides in Utah with her handsome husband and their two outstanding children. You can follow her poetry adventures online at her website, or Facebook or visit her on Linkedin.

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January 23, 2015 · 12:53 am

Three by Five Welcomes Back Trish Hopkinson with Three by Five Part III

Today’s installment of January’s Three by Five conversation with Poet Trish Hopkinson is about the writing life.

VAH: Are you a full-time writer?

TH: I have a full-time job as a project manager for a software company. I’ve been with the company for over 15 years and I love what I do, but writing poetry is a necessity for me. I just am not happy unless I make time for it.

VAH: What gets you writing?

TH: I collect writing prompts, but I rarely refer back to them. I almost always have something in mind or on a list that I want to write, and since I have limited time available to actually do the writing, I’m usually ready to go when I do sit down to write.

VAH: I’ve got a whole book of prompts and ideas and even have them land in my email box. Like you, I rarely refer back to them. What is your “process” when working on a new piece of writing?

TH: Once I have a topic, I start composing the first lines and edit as I go. Once I have the first draft done, I’ll go back and do the first revision immediately—look for better word choices to add alliteration, assonance, and/or consonance; take out all the line breaks and then put in new line breaks, etc. If I do get stuck mid-poem, I’ll look for a form to help me move it along, such as a villanelle or a sonnet.

VAH: Do you have a submission system or plan?

TH: My process for submitting has really evolved over the last year. Essentially, I rely on Duotrope to track most submissions, I put deadlines in my Outlook calendar, and I keep a spreadsheet of the poems I want to submit, have submitted, and whether or not they’ve already been published and where. Since my time is limited, it’s important to me to be as efficient as possible. I have templates for cover letters and several bios of different lengths to help the submission process go more quickly.

VAH: Duotrope has been very helpful for me. I found I’m able to keep better track of where I’ve sent a piece that has gone out numerous times and not yet found a home. I’m trying a spreadsheet this year, after years of a pen and notebook tracker as well as Duotrope. What does your typical writing day include?

TH: I usually try to spend a few hours a few days a week. I get the urgent stuff out of the way first—submissions with deadlines and blog posts. If I am writing something new for a submission, I make sure to give myself at least a couple of weeks to write and revise before the deadline. If I have an idea for poem, sometimes I just have to stop everything else that I’m doing and get it written.

More Trish Hopkinson later in the month. Till then, enjoy this poem – Footnote to a Footnote via the Chagrin River Review.

Bonus question: What is a little known fact about you that will amaze and/or amuse?

TH: I’m a Deadhead. I love the Grateful Dead and used to go to concerts whenever I could before Jerry Garcia died.

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January 13, 2015 · 12:58 am

Three by Five Welcomes Back Trish Hopkinson with Three by Five Part II

VAH: Welcome back to January’s conversation with Utah poet, Trish Hopkinson. In this installment, let’s talk a little about what the writer reads. Trish who would you say is your favorite literary character?

TH: Dean Moriarty from Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road. I really loved the free spirit and mystery of Neal Cassady, of whom the character was based upon.

VAH: What about a favorite author?

TH: I really love Ernest Hemingway. His writing seems accessible, inspiring, and entertaining. I need to read much more of his work.

VAH: He was once my favorite also. I’ve moved on to Diana Gabaldon now as my all time favorite. Trish, imagine you’re stranded in a snowstorm, stuck on a deserted island. What books would you hope to have with you or find?

TH: Moby Dick. Because I still haven’t finished it! I just never seem to have the time I want to spend reading it as carefully as I’d like to.

VAH: Your likelihood of being stranded in a snowstorm there in Provo is probably higher than on an island. That’s a good long read to have on your phone or tucked in your bag. Do you have a most memorable book, story or poem you’ve read?

TH: “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath. I discovered her work when I was in my early teens and it fascinated me. I had never really read confessional poetry until then and I was hooked immediately.

VAH: There’s a lot to unpack in that one. And what is your favorite book, poem, or story?

TH: “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain, (340)” by Emily Dickinson. I love her concise style and the power she packed into every syllable.

VAH: That’s an interesting one to spend some time with.

Thanks Trish, for this delightful look into what the writer reads.

And now, a bonus, random life question. If you had a super power, what would it be?

LH: Well, to stop time of course!

More Trish Hopkinson later in the month. Till then, enjoy this poem – A Poet Searches for ‘Sex’ in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Three by Five interviews publish on days that end in 3!

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January 6, 2015 · 12:55 am

Down to Five!

There are some really interesting entries in this year’s Emerging Writer competition and it’s been tough to whittle down the field. Working through the semi-finalists to identify the top three requires critical reading of both the prompt response and the writing sample. With such a large bucket full of semi-finalists, both the writing sample and the prompt response must evoke a strong resonance. Some years, a grand writing sample or stellar prompt response will tip the scale. This year, both facets of the entry must be outstanding not just as a stand alone reading, but ranked within the field of entries.

I’ll be posting a few of the semi-finalists’ prompt responses between now and the conference. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed reading them.

Congratulations in no particular order to the top five:

Tonissa Saul

Kristen Falso-Capaldi

Ali McCart

Phylise Smith

Caroline Zarlengo Sposto

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January 5, 2015 · 2:30 pm

Three by Five – On Deck Winter and Spring

Three by Five has some interesting writers on tap for the rest of winter and into spring. This month continues with Poet Trish Hopkinson. In February, the 2015 Emerging Writer Prize winner. In March, there’s Texas poet Laurie Kolp. In April it’s Texas poet Ronnie K. Stephens. In May, Canadian poet and novelist Mariah E. Wilson. June brings Canadian poet Carol A. Stephen. Summer and fall will bring other intriguing writers for your discovery.

And as always, if you’re an emerging writer, published author or contributing member of the writing community you’re invited to participate with Three by Five.

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January 3, 2015 · 12:37 am

Trish Hopkinson Interview Part I

VAH: Welcome Trish Hopkinson. Thanks for joining the conversation at Three by Five. First up, the fundamental question – Why do you write?

TH: I write for me. I write because I am selfish—a selfish poet. I write because there is something intensely ironic and humane about being human. I write to lift up the heaviness of tangibility, to keep my thoughts light and my breathing deep. I write for my children, to show them that being selfish has a place and makes you more accessible to those you love. I write to uncover sympathy and turn it over, to expose the soft belly of empathy, to peel away layers of hardness, and to be someone’s friend when they need me. I write to relieve the busy-ness behind my eyes, the thoughts that keep me awake when I should be sleepy, and the unsettled havoc of the work week.

VAH: I enjoyed the poetry of your response. Tell us, why did you become a writer and when did you know or feel like you were a writer?

TH: I’ve been writing poetry since I was five or six years old. I have always loved words—in fact, my mother tells everyone I was born with a pen in my hand. I wrote hundreds of poems before turning twenty, most of which I should say were good practice, but nothing notable. I’ve kept them all and I do look back on them from time to time. Writing has always been a part of my life and directed all aspects of it, from my education as an English major to using technical writing to forward my career in the software industry.

VAH: I think most of us have those reams of dusty files tucked away with our first explorations in writing. You’re brave though, to go back through them! Your mom says you were born with a pen in hand, any influences?

TH: The poets I admired growing up certainly influenced me the most, specifically Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsberg and the other Beat poets, and of course, Emily Dickinson. On a more personal level, I had some exceptional professors in college, some of whom became good friends and have been very supportive and encouraging.

VAH: What do you remember about your piece of writing? What was it about and what prompted its creation?

TH: I think my very first poem had something to do with church and family and was accompanied by a crayon drawing which I created as a gift for the clergy of our church. Since it was a gift, I no longer have it, but I remember being proud of it.

VAH: Well, seems that gift was blessed in your continued success as a poet. Do you a favorite piece that you’ve written to date?

TH: My favorite poem that I’ve written is “Waiting Around.” It was inspired by Pablo Neruda’s “Walking Around” and in the process of writing it, I very much enjoyed closely reading and studying Neruda’s poem. Often, the process of creating is my favorite part of writing, much more than the finished work itself.

VAH: The journey verses the destination or perhaps the work verses the end product? A good place to pause and interesting idea to consider.

More with Trish Hopkinson later in the month.

Visit Verse-Virtual for a sampler of Trish Hopkinson’s poetry.

Trish Hopkinson contributes to the writing community with her blog where she shares interesting writing tips, articles, calls for submissions (no fee only), and other info to help promote writing and poetry in general. She has always loved words—in fact, her mother tells everyone she was born with a pen in her hand. She has two chapbooks Emissions and Pieced Into Treetops and has been published in several anthologies and journals, including The Found Poetry Review, Chagrin River Review, and Reconnaissance Magazine. She is a project manager by profession and resides in Utah with her handsome husband and their two outstanding children. You can follow her poetry adventures online at her website, or Facebook or visit her on Linkedin.

Three by Five interviews publish on days that end in 3!

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December 30, 2014 · 12:41 am

Three by Five Author – J. M. Gregoire Bonus

J. M. Gregoire Bonus Round

VAH: Favorite, inspiring quote and why?

JMG: “The problem is not the problem. Your attitude about the problem is the problem. Do you understand?” – Jack Sparrow

This is one I recently discovered and it makes SO MUCH SENSE. It may not be Einstein or Shakespeare, but it’s one of the most brilliant quotes I have ever come across. Approach obstacles in life with pessimism, and all you’re going to accomplish is making things more difficult for yourself. Approach it with optimism and you will find the answer to any problem will be much easier to see.

VAH: Three random non writing related facts about you?

JMG: My son and I were both born on Halloween night, 29 years and 3.5 hours apart. If given the choice, and it wouldn’t result in me wearing a wide load sign on my back or a bleeding ulcer, I would live off of buffalo wings alone for the rest of my life. I am one DVD purchase, one book purchase, or one iTunes purchase away from starring in my very own episode of Hoarders. I am a TV/Movie/Music/Reading junkie equally, but I am told admitting you have a problem is the first step in recovery.

VAH: What would your last meal be?

JMG: Probably shrimp. Just a great, big shrimp cocktail ring. I’m allergic to shrimp now, but I wasn’t always. I ate seafood my whole life, and then one day when I was 26 years old, had a veerrrrrrrrrrrrrrry unpleasant allergic reaction. I tried it again about six months later with the same result. After that, my doctor said “Yeah, ummm, stop doing that.” So, no more seafood for me. And man, do I miss it! So, yeah, if I was having my last meal, it would totally be shrimp.

And, of course, it would be my last meal because I probably ended up beating someone to death with a frozen tuna for driving like a moron. It would be the fishiest instance of road rage ever.

J.M. Gregoire – thanks for being part of Three by Five!

Author Info

J.M. Gregoire was born and raised in New Hampshire, USA, and despite her abhorrence for any season that dares to drop to a temperature below seventy degrees, she still currently resides there with her two children and her two cats. Always a passionate reader, her love of urban fantasy books eventually morphed into a love of writing them. She is currently working on the Demon Legacy series, and has a spin off series, the Killer Instinct series, coming soon.

Visit J.M. Gregoire’s social media or online: Website / Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram.

Check out The Demon Legacy Series and The Killer Instinct Series.

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December 23, 2014 · 2:53 pm

Three by Five Author – J. M. Gregoire Part 3

J. M. Gregoire

VAH: So, who is your biggest fan?

JMG: That’s a seriously tough call. I am lucky to have my own standing army of super-supportive family and friends cheering me on through the journey of being a writer. The dedication in The Devil You Know took me FOREVER to write. I was a hot mess, writing through a curtain of streaming tears by the time I was done. Publishing is a tough industry to be an indie in, and I can say I have never once felt alone. I am so frikkin lucky to have all the people I do supporting me. I could never possibly say thank you enough for everything they have given me. To have the people you care about supporting you in something you devote yourself to is a pretty incredible feeling. Art, in any form, is about putting yourself out there, as naked as you could possibly get, in front of the whole world. To know that I have this LEGION of people who have my back, and who will stand there beside me, hand-in-hand, the whole way…..ugh, I just don’t have words. If you all are reading this (and you know who you are), thank you and I ain’t got nothin’ but love for ya’! Shout out to my minions!!!!! REPRESENT!!!!!!

VAH: What about who is your favorite author?

JMG: If I had to pick just one, it would be Stephen King. My love of horror and thrillers all started with him.

When I was 11 or 12 years old, my school held what they called a “read-in” – we spent one school week just reading. You could bring blankets, and pillows, and you could chill in PJ’s for the day, and the whole point was just to read. Get ubercomfy and read. My mom was a huge Stephen King nut when I was growing up, and she was in a SK Book of the Month club type thing in which she got a new hardcover of his every month. She had the hardcover, uncut version of The Stand (if you’ve ever seen this book, you know it’s a BEHEMOTH of a book), and in a flight of optimistic fancy, I decided I wanted to read it. I started reading very young and had burned through my entire library so my mom said “go for it.”

The first day of the read-in comes around, and I go to school toting my mom’s copy of The Stand. All was just peachy until my teacher saw what I was reading. She sent me to the principal’s office and called my mom at work. When they told her what I was reading, she just said “Yeah, and where do you think she got it?!” They gave me the book back, and I went back to my blankets and read for a week. Of course, I didn’t even come CLOSE to finishing it but that day was the start of my love for him.

He’s the one author I probably wouldn’t be able to speak to if I were to meet him. I have a serious inferiority complex with this man. I would like to be as good as him one day, but I will be perfectly happy settling for the title of #1 Fangirl for the rest of my life. He’s just a master in the field of writing, and a teency bit of a god in my eyes. LOL A total rock star. I have this big wooden cabinet at home with glass doors on the front of it. Inside is my Stephen King/Anne Rice collection of hardcovers. Those are the prized possessions in my library. He’s the King of horror and she’s the Queen of vamp fiction.

VAH: What does your typical writing day include?

JMG: Coffee. Lots and LOTS of coffee. LOL! I don’t really get full writing days. I am either at work during the day or I have my kids with me on the weekends. It does happen once in a great while, but it is a rarity. On the momentous occasions when I do get a writing day to myself, There are two directions my day can go:

Direction #1) I drag myself out of bed and go get some coffee. Take a hot shower to wake up a bit. Throw on some footie pajamas (Yes, I am 34 years old and I still wear footie pajamas – black ones with Jack Skellington all over them. What of it? Growing up is for the birds.) and wrap myself in one of the 50 different fleece throw blankets I have kicking around my house. Then I plant myself in front of the desk, open up the laptop, and start writing.

There is this epic battle that happens approximately every 40 minutes or so between the angel on my left shoulder telling me to keep writing and the devil on my right shoulder saying she bets there are some uberhot pictures of Ian Somerhalder on Pinterest that I NEED to see. This battle will go on all day and who wins is in direct correlation to how much coffee I have ingested.

For my lunch break (if I remember to take one), I get myself some grub and probably watch an episode of Doctor Who (sooooo addicted). Each episode is about 45-46 minutes long without commercials. At the 20 minute mark, I start psyching myself up to get back to writing. If I don’t do that, I will realize 4 episodes later that I haven’t gotten CRAP for writing done.

Direction #2) Wake up at 4am with a brilliant story idea, start drinking coffee, and start writing. After I have lost count of the number of times I have refilled my coffee and screamed at my computer at least twice due to a plot turn I wasn’t expecting or planning on, I look up and realize it is past 10pm and I have NO CLUE where the day went.

When I write, I either have to talk myself into it or hang on for dear life while it happens to me. It’s two very different extremes.

VAH: Thoughts on the writing community – what writing or author organizations do you belong to and where online do you frequent for community, online conversing, networking or commiserating? Do you have some favorite online sites?

JMG: It’s all about Facebook and Twitter for me. I have tried connecting with other authors on different sites and it just hasn’t worked for me. Reddit looked promising but their site design SUCKS. They need something that refreshes instead of a static forum platform. It’s great if you sit there pressing F5 every 3 minutes. LOL! I also tried connecting with writers on Goodreads, but there’s just too much salesmanship on there.

On Facebook and Twitter, I have connected with so many great authors. It works out really well for me. I have a very active Facebook fan page where I like to spend a lot of my time talking with readers, picking their brains on everything from books to music to movies to hot boys. LOL We have fun chatting it up on my fan page.

There are also a TON of indie author “support” groups on Facebook. Forewarning: A lot of the have 1000 – 2000 members and it’s just book link spam all day long. No one says anything except “buy my book”. However, there are a lot of good groups on there. You just have to ask around to find the right ones.

Twitter is where I do my nerd stalking and also where I connect with a lot of bloggers and authors. My Twitter account is run by me personally, and I use it for both my book blog and me as an author. My tweets are just me and whatever posts automatically from all my blogs (I have several). I have made lots of great blogger connections on there and TONS of great author connections!

The nerd stalking is all about my own nerdy obsessions. There are some people on this planet that I find brilliant and I love to admire them from afar. “Afar” being on Twitter, 140 characters at a time.

Some of my favorite peeps to follow are:

@Nerdist – Chris Hardwick from Nerdist Industries, The Talking Dead, The Nerdist Podcast

@ThatKevinSmith – Kevin Smith – I IDOLIZE THIS MAN AS AN ARTIST. Writer, Director, Actor, Podcaster (Hollywood Babble-On, Plus One, and Fatman on Batman are my favorites!)

@WorldCon, @BookExpoAmerica, @NY_Comic_Con, @AADConvention, @Comic_Con, @DragonCon, and @WonderCon – All the big cons around the US

@Jesus_M_Christ, @TheTweetOfGod, @Lord_Voldemort7, @DepressedDarth, and @DeathStarPR – Some of the funniest satire on Twitter

@wnbamerica – World Book Night (everyone should totally get involved!!!)

@NathanFillion – Nathan Fillion BECAUSE HE’S AMAZING!!!

@TorBooks – Tor Books is one of my favorite publishers of good dark urban fantasy

I am not a part of any author organizations. Not that I have anything against them, I think I am just not ready to add another something to my plate at the moment. LOL!

VAH: Traditional or independent publishing? Or a little of both? What choices have you made and why did you go the way you have?

JMG: That’s a tough question. It totally depends on who you are as a person. I would LOVE to have the man power of a marketing team behind me, but that’s the only reason I would want to get in bed with a publisher. I love being indie. It’s freedom and I genuinely love that.

That being said, if a publisher came to me tomorrow and said “sell me your series for $1,000,000,” I can’t say I wouldn’t take it, but it would be some long hard thinking before I made that decision.

I think both are equals in the world of publishing as far as validity goes. I think things are much easier as a traditionally published author, but the sacrifice most trads have to make is in artistic control and that means a LOT to me.

VAH: What is your best bit of advice to save another writer some anxiety or heartache?

JMG: Anxiety – Don’t self-impose deadlines. There’s no reason for it. Take your time and do it right.

Heartache – If you are unable to develop a thick skin, and some people aren’t able to do that, it’s probably a good idea to just not read reviews of your book, good or bad. Just forget about them and focus on writing. You may read a hundred stellar reviews, and all it takes is one real craptastic review to put you in a month-long bad mood. It’s not worth it. It’s discouraging and makes focusing on moving forward that much more difficult.

Author Information

Visit J.M. Gregoire’s social media or online: Website / Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram.

Check out The Demon Legacy Series and The Killer Instinct Series.

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December 13, 2014 · 12:27 am

December’s Three by Five Author – J. M. Gregoire – Part 2

J. M. Gregoire Part 2

Continuing the conversation with independent author J. M. Gregoire:

VAH: When did you decide you were a writer?

JMG: I have always written, as far back as I can remember, but the day I considered myself a writer for the first time was after I read the first review of Burning, the short story prequel to my Demon Legacy series. That was the day I realized that I may actually have something. Up until that point, although I enjoyed doing it, writing was just a form of art to me. The problem with art is it’s very personal. You create something out of nothing, and you love it to the core with every fiber of your being, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is going to think anything of it. I have a poem I wrote years ago, and I still it love to this day. When I read it, it transports me back to a certain point in time and I adore that feeling. However, I would never consider calling myself a poet. That just happened to be the art which came out on that particular day. Poetry is all about intense emotion and very often, it’s born of a sadness of some sort. I don’t have that in me. I am too much of an optimist. However, I have always been a storyteller. When I started to create the Demon Legacy world, I still wasn’t convinced I was a writer. It took someone else calling me a writer for me to realize it. Now I feel it in everything I do.

VAH: As an independently published author what is your best advice for emerging writers?

JMG: First, read a lot and write every day even if you only write a few sentences. Not to compare your work to others, but to learn from other styles. Reading lots of different styles will help you develop your own unique style.

Second, be humble and accept constructive criticism when you ask for it. If you ask for someone’s opinion, and you’re only asking so someone will pat you on the back and tell you how good and smart you are, you’re going to be very angry and highly disappointed when they actually come back with suggestions. This is something which some authors never learn, and it’s the worst mistake of their career.

Third, NEVER STOP BEING A FAN. The second you stop getting stupid excited about writing, not just your own, is the day it starts to become a chore. Get out and meet the authors you have fangirled or fanboyed over for years. Get so excited and nervous that your stomach turns. When you stop getting that feeling, I guarantee you will miss it like you’ve never missed anything in your life. Admiring another author feels just as good as being admired. I think a lot of writers forget to keep being a nerd for writing and I find that very sad.

Fourth, learn the ropes of publishing a book BEFORE you hit publish. Use betas. Use editors. Use proofreaders. Have a cover professionally made by someone who knows what they’re doing. Polish your book until you think it can’t possibly shine any brighter. THEN PUBLISH. There’s absolutely no reason to rush the process.

VAH: What are your thoughts on studying writing?

JMG: I don’t have a MFA in writing. I don’t think you need one to be a writer. However, it certainly couldn’t hurt. I can honestly say I don’t know a single reader who goes out and checks the collegiate history of an author before or after they’ve read one of their books. I think if you’re a writer, you’re a writer. It’s not something which can be taught, simply because creativity is either in you or it’s not. That being said, I feel studying writing is good for a writer in the technical sense. Higher learning is always a good thing. I think it is just a matter of how you apply it. Now, in my genre (urban fantasy and paranormal romance), it’s not “necessary” to have a masters in writing as the genre itself tends to be written in a way which sounds more like one person telling another person a story in every day conversation. Twist that same line of thinking into something like literary fiction and you’ll probably find the majority of LitFic authors are in possession of some sort of writing degree. Not to point fingers or anything, but there’s a reason a lot of LitFic authors look down on genre fiction authors. I look at it this way – everyone from all different walks of life love to read and the reader themselves shouldn’t need a degree to be able to enjoy reading a book. I think that is the mindset which most genre fiction is written from. So, is it worthwhile? Of course!! Is it necessary to be a successful writer? I think that depends on the tone and genre of your writing.

VAH: Do you have a favorite conference or writing retreat/seminar?

JMG: I have only done a few cons so far, but the one I am really excited about is The Novel Experience Event in Las Vegas in April 2015. That one is going to have 500 authors and 5 days of fun! I can’t wait!

VAH: Are you a full-time writer and if not, what is the job that sustains you so you may write?

JMG: Unfortunately, I am not a full-time writer yet. For now, my day job is working at a major financial services company. I answer internal employee Help Desk calls all day. It may sound tedious, but I love it. I am able to drink all the coffee my body can handle, and most of the time, I am strapped into my iPod with either a podcast playing or an audiobook playing. For someone who loves audiobooks, and I totally do (narrators are rock stars in my world), it’s a dream job. It’s low stress and I am able to write all day long between calls. Plus, I have a group of “fans” at work that follow my writing which is kind of fun.

Author Information

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Check out The Demon Legacy Series and The Killer Instinct Series.