The Mystery of Romance Writing! Author Sharon Buchbinder: Interview on the Hangin With Web Show

This was tons of fun and brings back great memories of SpaceCoast Book Lovers 2019!

Interview with Dennis De Rose of Moneysaver Editing

What made you decide to be an editor? About 10 years ago, I decided that I wanted to help writers by reviewing their books but I didn’t want to purchase them. I contacted a wonderful lady, Deborah Gaynor from Kentucky. She had a reviewing service, Readers Favorite, that she had started a few years earlier. She accepted me as a reviewer and I began by reading an adventure novel. (I edited the next book he wrote and it won a gold medal for best fiction in the category). When I sent my review to Deborah, she realized it was well written. Apparently, most of the reviews she received needed tweaking. She asked me to do that for her and I accepted the challenge. I tweaked 1000 reviews for her and she agreed to put me on her website as her editor. The first thing I edited was a children’s story about a horse. I wanted to edit the story for free but the author insisted on paying me. I accepted five dollars as payment and that is how this adventure began. 

What do you like best about being an editor? I love helping writers make their books be the best they can be.

What do you like the least? Having to tell a writer that their writing needs a lot of work (sucks) and proving it to them.

How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for editing? When I was born, my mother always told me my first word was… Why? I bet she was joking but I have asked questions for as long as I can remember. I have always been detail oriented, trying to make things better than they are. I can’t help it. Working in a prison as a counselor, I was trained to write well because reports had to be accurate and understood by everyone. My visual issues have also helped me to be a better editor because I have always read only one word at a time. It’s difficult to miss mistakes that way.  

Have you ever felt as if you were being dictated to while you wrote a book--as if the words came of their own accord? If yes, which book did that happen with? I co-authored one book, Jumpstarting Your Inner Novelist by Julius Thompson. That was a snap because I wrote about editing and the usage of proper grammar. In this case, the answer is yes.

I’ve edited over 50 novels to date, along with some nonfiction, and I am currently in between novels, waiting for writers to complete their manuscripts.  

What’s your favorite time management tip? Time management is not really an issue for me because I am currently retired and I will not edit against an unreasonable deadline. I know that the slow turtle wins the race. Nothing rushed is ever done well.

If you had one take-away piece of advice for authors, what would it be? Please don’t rush the writing process because if you do, expect to pay more in the long run. Your writing will probably be shoddy and you will end up paying your editor a fortune to edit your manuscript.

Did music help you find your muse with this book? If yes, which song did you find yourself going back to over and over again as you wrote? I love listening to music but not while I’m editing because I need my full concentration to do the job right.

Tell me more about Wish You Were Here Badfinger, a Rock Fantasy by Joyce Isaacson… Here is the back cover blurb.

WISH YOU WERE HERE Badfinger, a Rock Fantasy is a novel that crosses the love between band brothers with the pop-paranormal, set to a killer soundtrack. Badfinger’s Tommy Evans, after years of depression following the death of a beloved band mate, Pete Ham, slips into heaven by the skin of his teeth. Guided by an angel, Gabriel, he sets out on a Dantean voyage through the strata of the afterlife to reunite with his lost lead singer, Pete Ham. Along the way, Tommy encounters a repertoire of famous faces—chafing against, laughing with, and learning from each one in the fierce quest for his best friend’s soul. WISH YOU WERE HERE BADFINGER is a novel about after-death adventure, rules, and posthumous love. It features the overtly fictionalized spirits of real-world artists, performers, and thinkers to explore questions about legacy—but not always to answer them… and to say “Blimey” from time-to-time.

How about an excerpt from Wish You Were Here Badfinger, a Rock Fantasy? Here is the first segment of chapter 1….

This is remarkable but where am I going? I’m spiraling upward at a very high rate of speed, surrounded by colors that appear to be morphing one into the other. I seem to be heading toward an infinite white light. Now, I see other people stepping onto a soft substance.

Who is this gigantic person standing behind that dark wooden podium? As if by magic, I’m being jostled into line while others arrive behind me. I seem to have no control over my actions. What is going on here? Now I see a bright white gate and there’s a tall man with piercing blue eyes standing in front of it.

I watched intently as the towering man signaled with his hand; some people were directed to the left, others to the right. Without warning, he beckoned me to the right. Right or left, what does that mean?  Now I am being unceremoniously directed to sit in a yellow padded chair, several others are doing the same. I’m dressed in me blue Jeans, a corduroy jacket and gym shoes. Nervous as a cat in heat, I touch me sideburns over and over, afraid of what’s next; I just want to get this waiting over with. Suddenly I have to abandon me seat for another seat, as the line moves along slowly. Blimey! How much time has gone by? The line seems endless. I wonder what is beyond the gate. What’s up ahead?

“Come here, Tom Evans.” A man with wings gestured for me to get up and follow him to a room and take another seat; of course, I have no choice.

Sitting down in front of a medium-sized screen floating ten feet in front of me, the only bright thing in this very dark room, I rested me hands in an upright position on me legs. Where the Hell am I?

It’s so dark in here, I can’t see the chair or even me hands and I can’t tell if the person has left or is still here. Wait! A movie is beginning, but I see a little baby. I’m seeing me life story before me eyes, and suddenly I am remembering all of the details of me life!

What are those things that look like rosary beads on top of the screen? I sat in that dark room, thinking as I watched me movie. Each time I did something good in me movie I obtained a bead on the right side. Every time I did something wrong, I received a bead on the left side. The beads are moving as if by magic from place to place and I can only watch it happen. I see more beads on the left side than the right. Finally, I know what the left side means. Now there's a scale on the side of the screen. In awe, I watched the beads fall into the scales as it tipped to the left. I’m shaken to the core of me being, but I don’t know why.

I screamed, “OK, get it over with! Send me to Hell already!”

A luminous figure appeared out of nowhere. I think that happens a lot around here.

“You were a good father, Tom. You were kind to family and friends, and you suffered from depression, something not always your fault and you played a benefit concert. Charity is a big thing here. Tom Evans, are you sorry for the bad things you have done in your life?”

“Yes, I am!”

I wiped me tearful eyes with me right hand. The scale tipped to the right.

“Our time is over. Your guide will take you the rest of the way.”

Standing up from me seat, the glowing figure pointed toward a bright light.

Out of curiosity I followed that light out of the darkness.

I heard a voice calling me name, “Tom Evans?”

“Who’s there?”

Me eyes started to adjust to the bright light, seeing a man sporting two white glowing wings almost as tall as me. Walking in front of the being, I noticed he’s wearing a white gown. A light surrounded his face; he has short brown hair framing his teardrop shaped eyes and a soft smile. Blimey!

“You are calling me, right?”

“Yes, I am here to help you get settled into your new surroundings.”

“Where am I going?”

“…To Level 5 for now. Until you’re ready to advance, you will stay there. Souls don't just sit on their laurels. They are always moving.”

“…Really, what’s Level 5?”

“It’s part of Heaven, you ask a lot of questions, Tom. But that is also the part of the process.”

Yes, I have so many questions about me afterlife or is this just a dream?

“Hold my hand and I will bring you to Level 5.”

Taking the angel’s hand, I became light on me feet, flying through strobes of color, seeing another soul traveling in the opposite direction. Where is that soul going? I wondered to myself.

We landed, the flight seemed shorter than me first trip.

Where can writers find more about your editing acumen and you on the Internet?

Moneysaver Editing : https://moneysaver104158167.wordpress.com/ (still in the making)

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-de-rose-15262917/ (my most developed site to date)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Moneysaver.Editing/ (not my favorite choice)

Dennis De Rose aka Moneysaver Editing, thank you so much for being with us here today. I know my writers will enjoy your interview. Sharon, thank you. I would love to expand on anything you deem necessary.

Interview and Review: Bite the Bullet, Vampire Cohorts Book One by Angela Louise McGurk

 

What made you decide to be an author?My unrelenting need to write drove me to it. I write daily. It’s essential to me. I love exploring fictional worlds, which I can do by reading, but I also love creating worlds. I have stories to tell, and if I wasn’t writing for others I’d still be writing for myself.  It’s nice to be able to explore my fears and experience things that I never will in real life through literature.
 
What do you like best about being a writer? What do you like the least?I love exploring other worlds and possibilities, but in all honesty the best part about writing and then sharing stories is touching the minds and hearts of others. I’m not a famous author. I may never been one. But words I’ve strung together have made thousands of people laugh or cry. How awe-inspiring is that? That has to be the best thing about writing for an audience.
The worst thing about writing are those days when every word is a struggle. With the current series I’ve developed some ability to write through writer’s block, with the knowledge I can go back and fix what isn’t right later. Some days it’s hard, though.
 
How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?I think I’ve felt a lot. Things haven’t always been easy. I’m told I write emotion quite well, and I think that’s possibly why.
 
Have you ever felt as if you were being dictated to while you wrote a book--as if the words came of their own accord? If yes, which book did that happen with? This current release, Bite the Bullet. I wrote the first chapter and sat on it for a year, then I picked it up again and it wrote itself. Most of the series has been that way (I’m currently writing book six). There are sections I struggled with, but for the most part, this story wanted out and I just pressed the keys on the keyboard.
 
You’ve written eight novels and are working on a ninth novel. What’s your favorite time management tip?Not all eight are published yet, but as they’re part of this and my last series, they all will be. I think it’s important to set realistic goals. I aim for a chapter a week, and try to stick to that. I write every day, which helps. It’s been tough running up to Bite the Bullet’s release as promotion has taken up some time, as well as getting covers sorted, etc. I’m managing about a chapter a week all the same though, so it’s not too bad, even though I also work full time.
 
Are you a plotter or a pantser, i.e., do you outline your books ahead of time or are you an “organic” writer? Bite the Bullet was a seat of the pants job, but the later books in the series are planned. There is too much to remember and too much to tie up now to avoid having at least a basic plan. I love writing organically, just letting it flow, but I also like knowing every question I’ve left my readers with has been answered.
 
If you had one take away piece of advice for authors, what would it be?Don’t be defeated by writer’s block. Write through it, write past it. Get back to point where you know where you are going, because the bit’s you’ve had to force out can be fixed later.
 
Did music help you find your muse with this book? If yes, which song did you find yourself going back to over and over again as you wrote?Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. That song is really important for the book and the series.
 
Angela, thank you so much for being with us here today. I know my readers will enjoy your work and your interview.

Amazon     Amazon UK    Smashword 
Book Description: Let me tell you what it was to be made vampire. It wasn’t birth. Birth implies pushing, tearing forth into the light, screaming. Becoming immortal was to be pulled, to be tugged irrevocably into darkness, and it was silent.

I should have fought, any person should fight, but my mind had been filled with a hazy calm which forbade any battle. Struggling had been the last thing on my mind, even when my bus arrived and my assailant waved it on, dismissing my last hope of escape.

Yet my lack of rebellion was far from the most unsettling part of the stranger’s control over me. The truth was that the man could’ve asked anything of me and I would’ve complied, but he didn’t need to vocalise his request. I knew instinctively what he wanted. I sighed and surrendered myself as he held me against his front in a lover’s embrace, tipping my head and willingly giving him access to my throat.

“One day you’ll understand,” he whispered, his tone subdued. I’ve often wondered since if he was really talking to me. Perhaps he’d been talking to himself, persuading himself that one day I’d know and accept his reasons for what he’d planned for me.

I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. Because when my fangs came in, my world altered irrevocably. It became somewhere dark, somewhere filled with murder and blood, where magic was sinister and where even my closest ally seemed more like an enemy... Even if he did make my heart skip a beat.
Amazon     Amazon UK    Smashwords

About the Author: Angela grew up in a small pit village in the county of Northumberland in England. Currently she lives in an entirely different pit village in the same county, along with her husband and their two children. She qualified in Architectural Technology and has worked in construction, as well as running her own wedding stationery and graphic design business. Currently Angela's time is taken up with chasing a three year old, a four year old and a kid in his thirties who really should know better. Between that she works, writes and draws.

She is currently writing the final book in the Vampire Cohort series while editing the first book in the series for publication, as well as trying to store up the hundred other stories which are always racing around in her mind! While a love of writing has always been part of Angela's life, in recent years it has become a daily requirement. The vampires, werewolves, gods and fae just won't leave her alone!

Among Angela's other loves are camping, kayaking, the Lake District and history. She is a bit of a sci-fi geek, a bit of a Joss Whedon fan, and has such an eclectic taste in music it would take pages to write down what she likes.

http://angelamcgurk.com/  
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7516239.Angela_Louise_McGurk
http://www.amazon.com/Angela-Louise-McGurk/e/B00H6FFFYI/
https://www.facebook.com/angelalouisemcgurk/ 
https://twitter.com/Angela_McGurk   

 

My Rating: Five Firecrackers out of Five!
My Review: Author Angela McGurk has created a refreshingly new world of vampires who co-exist with humans peacefully. Treaties have been signed, laws enacted, the weaker humans protected with respect. Part of this world requires that humans who wish to be turned do so with consent. The consent is a legal document, witnessed and signed so no one can say "I didn't ask to be turned" and sue the very wealthy vampire houses. The heroine of the story, Darcy Francis Elizabeth Salix, goes to sleep a human and awakes as a vampire in a very painful way. She doesn't recall giving consent--except in a dream like state--and certainly never signed a contract! Her Sire and his underlings seek to assure her she did, indeed, but when she sees the paperwork, it is a forgery. Reluctantly, and only because her life depends on it, she moves into the big mansion that belongs to the Newcastle Cohort, where things grow even stranger as she transitions to full vampire.

Darcy is a feisty, kick ass heroine, who is quite capable of defending herself--except when she is around Conn, her Sire. She is beyond angry with him, but cannot stop thinking about him. She is pulled to him in ways she does not understand or want. Tall, dark, and dangerous, an inexplicable, even in vampire terms, bond holds her to him. She fights the attraction at every turn, in every definition, but that pull...

Into this world is thrust a murder mystery. Who would kill a vampire related to such a powerful Sire? Why butcher the victim in such a particular way? What old hurt did Conn inflict that his relatives are now being stalked by this heinous killer?

When I read a paranormal novel, in addition to good writing, I pay particular attention to world building, characterization, and plot. Angela McGurk delighted me with all four criteria and threw in some nerd humor, to boot. A delightful read which earned five firecrackers out of five from me!