Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a native of Los Angeles, California and best known for my outrageous humor, new world organization concepts and unforgettable characters.
I wrote my first story when I was about 12; I had just discovered Judy Blume. At my primary school, about twice a year, our homeroom teacher would pass out full color catalogs of books for young readers. The catalogues were cheaply printed on thin newspaper but chock full of tiny images of book covers and a brief synopsis for each book. Those were my favorite days at school, but also the days I’d get into trouble; we were supposed to take them home and look at them there, but I could never wait to do that and would have to be told several times to put the catalog away! My mom raised me on her own—I don’t know how she did it!—but she still found a way to let me choose all the books I wanted from those catalogs. It was like Christmas when those books finally arrived at school. My book bag would be full to busting with all my new paperback books—it’s how I caught the book bug.
Not including the first book I ever wrote (still unpublished—ha!) I’ve written 3 books: a domestic suspense story in a dystopian setting, a paranormal satire and a short horror story.
Ambitious desire for social acknowledgment, the rise of economic awareness, emotional transcendence, triumph and revenge are recurring themes.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is AFTERLIFE. It’s a paranormal satire inspired by some old metaphysical audio recordings I came across on YouTube while looking for something entertaining to keep me company as I did something boring (probably the dishes). It was a recording of a book called THE NATURE OF PERSONAL REALITY by Jane Roberts. It got me thinking about how so much of what we experience is based on our beliefs, which led me to imagine what my own interface between lives might be like; based on my life experience, I imagined (and still hope) that it might take the shape of a cocktail bar (with free drinks!) and the idea for AFTERLIFE was born. AFTERLIFE is me writing (in good humor) about what I live and have come to know. The story is set in Los Angeles in 2026 and is interwoven with my own crazy/mean/colorful relationship experiences with people in (and sniffing around trying to break into) Hollywood.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t believe I have any unusual writing habits—I don’t think I’ve even ever heard of any. There are things I habitually do in preparation for writing, though I wouldn’t say these habits are unusual. But in case they are… I open the windows, shake the rugs and fluff the pillows in the room. I wipe down my entire workspace with a clean cloth and white vinegar (the surface of my desk, keyboard, monitor or laptop). I smudge the room with white sage and follow with a sweet smelling incense—usually sandalwood or nag champa, or some dhoop sticks (my favorite) if I’ve got some. Lastly, I fill a carafe with lemon water, make a pot of coffee or tea and put it on a tray right on the desk so I don’t have to get up for anything for a while. Then, I sit down, wait for the voices in my head to start talking and type out whatever they say!
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Authors who have influenced me are Chuck Palahniuk, Stephen King, Judy Blume, Louise Penny, China Mieville, M.C. Beaton, Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris.
Specific books that influence me are of the non-fiction variety. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLEBOOK AND BRIEFING ON MEDIA LAW, EATS, SHOOTS & LEAVES by Lynne Truss and a book written by Steve Kaplan called THE HIDDEN TOOLS OF COMEDY are books I always keep close at hand when I’m writing (these are my literary teddy bears). I particularly appreciate the work of Esther & Jerry Hicks; I weave their teachings into my stories often.
What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m elbows deep in producing The Afterlife Podcast, my second serial fiction podcast. The Afterlife episodes will begin airing in late spring. Right now, we’re still in Season One of The Mollyville Podcast, based on the dystopian fiction series I write—Mollyville. Both podcasts are available on iTunes and Stitcher and via my website.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still discovering this myself. A friend of mine (an ex-agent at CAA) suggested to me that the best thing I can do to promote my work is to create a following—it was what inspired me to do the podcasts. As far as methods, well… I’m still finding out for myself. As I discover what works, I will be happy to share those methods with any other writers who want to know (and ask me).
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Yes. Prioritize what matters to you. If you’re writing a novel, come up with a daily word count and hit it—make sure you f*@k!ng hit it—every time you sit down to write. Doing this is what really made the difference for me.
I read in an old interview with Stephen King that he (at the time) had a word count goal of 2000 words every day. He said he has breakfast with his family, takes a pot of tea and goes into his room to write. (I paraphrased slightly, but that is the gist.) When I read that, I said to myself, “Well, I want to have a career like Stephen King so that’s what I need to do too.” And I began—I elected a different word count than his, but I adopted his process.
At the end of my first day—yes, I hit my goal—I felt so empowered! It was such a good feeling that I decided that I wanted to (and could!) feel that good feeling every day! Now, I won’t say what my word count goal was/is but I will say that it’s up there. The reason for this is that I didn’t want to take a whole year to write my first book.
For any book I write, this is my process… I begin with a general idea of the genre I want to write; I look up the average word count for that genre (Christine Frazier at BetterNovelProject.com has the best stats on this—go to her site, subscribe to her blog, it’s helpful and inspiring!) then I decide the date I want to have the first draft finished by. I use an online date calculator (I like timeanddate.com) to come up with the exact number of days between the date I will begin my novel to the date I plan to finish it, and I use that number of days to divide into the average word count for the genre of story I intend to write. For example, if the average word count for my genre is 120,000 and I want to finish the novel in six months, I divide 120,000 by, let’s say, 103 days. I get 1,165 words per day that I have to write to have completed my draft by the date I selected. Why is this awesome? Because you can’t lose. As long as you hit your goal each day—now, mind you, on that date calculation I excluded weekends and holidays so I can still have a life—you’re going to have your book completed on or before that date. Each day, you’ll get closer to your goal. Doing it this way completely removes any doubt that it’s going to happen. With each day that you move toward your goal, you build confidence in yourself and your ability to write this book you’ve dreamed up. It’s very empowering. Each day that you accomplish your word count goal, you’re winning.
This brings me to my last two (and final) pieces of advice.
1. Start early in the day. Don’t save your writing until last; make it your priority to finish your words first.
2. (and my final piece of advice) Is to remember the first: prioritize what matters to you. It’s amazing all the distractions—great and small—that present us an opportunity to do something other than write. Don’t let them in. You can do this.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“There is nothing more important than feeling good.” Esther Hicks, when she’s channeling Abraham, says that.
What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading FINDERS KEEPERS by Stephen King.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I wrote a screenplay last summer. An executive producer suggested a few re-writes, I’ll be working on those as soon as I finish The Afterlife Podcast. Then, I’ll be back in the dystopian world of Mollyville, writing the second book in the series, Mollyville: State of Shock.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d bring THE SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Colin Towell, one of those Sherlock Holmes anthologies that has every Sherlock Holmes mystery ever penned, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH by G.K. Chesterton, and THE PEARL, a collection of erotic serialized novels, lewd short stories, jokes, limericks and 19th century smut released by the New York Book-of-the-month club in 1996.
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