Roo Cadell Interview

You may have read a couple posts back that I wanted to start a publicity group to honor worthy authors who aren't getting the attention they deserve. This applies to indie, self-pubbed, and traditionally published books. (If you want to join the group or nominate a title for this, email me at indiebookgroup (at) gmail (dot) com.

The first selection for this group is the superbly written and unforgettable book, The Rainey Seasons by Roo Cadell, available exclusively as a Kindle ebook. The book follows Mel Rainey as she discovers that life isn't what she thought and there are more invisible possibilities than she could ever have imagined.   From a depressed, surly teenage boy, to a crazy aunt, to a mysterious old man to the smart and quick witted Mel, herself, the cast of characters is so unique and enthralling that you will carry them around with you for a very long time.

The writing itself is so good it makes me jealous. (No joke. This is definitely one of those books I wish I'd written.)  I truly believe this book is of the caliber of best seller status. And, the way hot teen books go today, this would make for an incredible movie franchise. (anybody out there have any film connections?)

    I decided to ask Roo a few questions, which she was kind enough to answer. I hope you'll take a look at her book. It's $3.50 well spent. I also hope you'll enjoy our little Q&A. Now, let's meet Roo Cadell!

Restless Writer (RW): How long have you been writing?

Roo Cadell (RC): Since my mid-teens really, but I only began publishing about eight years ago, in my mid-twenties, starting with stories written for a partworks publisher (available monthly by subscription), followed by several novels written to a fairly strict formula under various names for a packager that produces series for publishers of children’s books. While I was writing these I wrote other things for myself, the main project being The Rainey Seasons.

RW: Why did you decide to go the Kindle ebook route to publishing?

RC: Honestly? I got fed up of publishers telling me that the work I sent them wasn’t what they were looking for just then, or that it was out of tune with the current market. It was never my ambition to write for a specific market. It might sound conceited, but I only ever wanted to write for myself (hoping that a few people out there would be interested). So... the ebook route!

RW: Besides the amazing The Rainey Seasons, you've also written the adorable Swoozy Noon series. Are you currently working on anything new?

RC: I’m always working on something new, but never talk about it until it’s finished. Even then I don’t like to say much about my writing. Writers write, speakers speak – generally.

RW: Where is your favorite vacation spot?

RC: I have two. One is in North Wales, a perfect little purpose-built Italianate village called Portmeirion. The other is actually in Italy: the town of Bellagio beside Lake Como. If you’re looking for some place to encourage your imagination to wander - or to write – head to either of these!

Thank you so much, Roo!  Little do you know that your answers to the last question have made me miss Wales and Bellagio...both places I've visited and agree are beautiful.

Terri Rowe Interview

This time, I'm interviewing another awesome MeeGenius author who's another home state girl. (perhaps MichGenius would be a more accurate name?)

Terri Rowe is the author of the adorable, and fun, Green Goo. So head on over there and snatch up a copy for yourself. It's cute. It's funny. It won't break the bank.
You can keep up with Terri on her blog and her Facebook page.

So, without further ado, Terri Rowe!

The Restless Writer (RW): What undesirable food item is ‘green goo’ to you?

Terri Rowe (TR): Well, I was quite limited in my eating habits-it took me years to get brave enough to try a lot of different foods. I didn't like tomatoes when I was really young-but by the time I was around 10-they were one of my favorite foods. I also didn't try guacamole until I was an adult-and now I love it soo much-I even use it as a sandwich spread. I was blessed with an aunt that always was encouraging me to tr new foods and new experiences. I am still not fond of red cherries-but I will eat them. I prefer black cherries. I also agree with my 98 year old grandmother-she says custard pie is certainly not her favorite-but she will eat! :)

RW: Did a particular incident prompt you to write this story?

TR: When I was first dating my husband-I went to a family Christmas gathering on his side adn that was the first time I met my two year old nephew. Someone had just had him try some food that he didn't like-the texture was gross to him-and as he toddled over to me-he stopped and threw up all over me. He looked at me with big sad eyes-a little scared. I laughed-asked him if he felt better-he nodded-and then I said-"Well, it's all okay. Let's get you cleaned up." I had him in mind and two of my friends daughters-one tha also vomits when trying foods of an odd texture and one that eats guacamole by the spoonful-at just two years old.

RW: How long have you been writing for children?

TR: I have been writing for children for over 10 years. One of my first projects was a gift for a co-worker. I ended up with his name for a Christmas gift exchange and my other co-workers challenged me to write and illustrate a story for the guy's daughter-as he was devoted to her. I spent well over 80 hours on that project. I was very proud of it and it was extremely well received. :)

RW: How did you first hear of MeeGenius?

TR: I am a fan of Three Minute Fiction contests on Facebook-which is an online writer's community based on the 600 word or less writing challenge sponsored by NPR. I saw a blurb on that sight about the MeeGenius Author Challenge and thought it sounded very exciting!

RW: What’s your favorite meal?

TR: My dad's homemade lasagna-with his homemade sauce, garlic toast, and his coleslaw with his homemade sauce. We usually have guacamole and chips as an appetizer.

RW: If you were invited to a dinner party that was only serving classically hated foods, who would you want to go with you?

TR: I would want my siblings there, my husband-and also my best friend. My best friend is always horrified by my ability to try and eat foods that I have never had or don't really like very much.

RW: Who are some of your favorite children’s picture book authors?

TR: From my childhood-I loved Katherine Jackson, Richard Scarry, and as I got older Marion Holland, Laura Inglass Wilder, Sydney Taylor, Elizabeth Enright, Lois Lenski, Julie Campbell, and so many, many other great authors. I was blessed with plenty of time spent at the library and reading at home. :)

RW: What are you working on now?

TR: I am working on four new storybooks. One of them also features a food-this time a pretty universal favorite food of children around the world. I am also working on two middle grade novels, a blog, and several screenplays.

Thanks so much for stopping by Terri! Although, you have made me hungry for guacamole. :) 

It Needs to be Said

Ladies and gentlemen, who wants to get on board with a rant about the unfairness of publishing? I see at least one of you with your hand raised, so let's forge ahead.

Take, for example, the fate of books that are good. I mean, really good. And they get no press. They get no acclaim. They are released. Some people find them. They fade into nothingness. Yeah, I'm gonna name some names here.

You know what book I really enjoyed that didn't get the recognition it deserved?
Rob & Sara.com co-written by P.J. Petersen and Ivy Ruckman. Really cool people too. How do I know? Because I wrote to them after I finished the book to tell them how much I enjoyed it. I loved how they subtly wove in the message that there are dangers lurking on the internet, that people aren't necessarily who they claim to be, but that it isn't all bad. You really can meet a kindred spirit in a digital life. They were grateful for my letter because they were slammed for not doing exactly what I said they did. They didn't beat the morale of the story into your brain. They let the reader come to their own conclusion. It was a skillfully executed book. But if you click that book title above, you'll find it's out of print. Amazon doesn't even have a cover photo available. Sad. Not fair.

I could make an enormous list of these kinds of books, but that would get redundant so I'll let Rob & Sara.com stand as my example for that.

But now I have a new kind of example. This is the kind I bet most of you can get behind. The books that are so wonderful they deserve to be published. But they just get rejected. Again and again and again. And then you look at some of the things that are published and see that it's no better than your manuscript. No better than your friends manuscript. But theirs is a book and yours is a file on your computer. Unless, of course, you self publish, which barely gives you any more credibility than if you'd left it a file on your computer. But there is brilliant stuff that falls into this category.

For example:

Brand new book 2 in the Holly Wild series

One of the adorable Swoozy Noon books by Roo Cadell

Now, Holly Wild is available in print, thanks to her savvy author/illustrator. My daughter has the first book and just loved it. What could be more fun than a nature loving girl and her adventures in Michigan?

I am really disappointed that the Swoozy Noon series is only available as an ebook. The stories are short, funny and adorable. I would love to cuddle up with these little books and read them with my kids. It's not the same to cuddle up with the iPad. It just isn't.

But these two series definitely get the Restless Writer Seal of approval. But they should have more of a chance to get noticed. Word of mouth only works if someone finds them to talk about in the first place.

And then, there is the talented and brilliant Jody Lamb. Rejected far more than it ever should have been, her beautiful story, Easter Ann Peters: Operation Cool, tells the story of a middle grade girl who struggles to get comfortable in her own skin while balancing the pressures of school with the secret of her alcoholic mother. Sounds heavy, but Jody has given so much life and humor to Easter Ann that it's truly a heartwarming story. Jody has finally found a new, independent publisher who was wise enough to see the high quality of the story and its importance. But, being new and independent, it's hard to get a new list of books off the ground. So there's a Kickstarter campaign.  I pre-ordered my copy through the Kickstarter because it's another fantastic book that deserves a chance.

And all this led me to an idea...

There are groups online that seek to link aspiring authors and self published authors so that, hopefully, something will come of it. Besides some friendships, I don't see that it really makes much of a difference in sales and marketing. Other than that, if you're willing to pay big bucks to have someone market your books, or to pay for ads somewhere, you don't have many options.

What if, there were other people like me who love good books and like to help authors. What if, we were to form a book review club? I'd like to start this club. Here's how I envision it working.

We have 1 title per month, 12 a year. To be in the club, you promise to read and review at least 3 of the books. Now, because the goal is to help generate sales and publicity, I would hope everyone would buy the 3 titles they agree to review. But if there are other, legal, ways to get a copy of the book, so be it. Books can be reviewed on individual blogs, hopefully on a website like Amazon or GoodReads or wherever else it might benefit the author. Reviews are to be truthful. If you read a self published book and it shouldn't have been published yet. Say it. But not in a way that's hateful. Say it constructively: I didn't think the plot was well thought out. The characters didn't feel real to me. There were too many distracting grammar errors. etc.

If you're interested in submitting your book for consideration for this review process, please stick to the children's and young adult genre. Sorry, that's just what I like to read so that's who I want to help. If you want to submit your book, you agree to review at least 3 other titles in the year. If you don't, your title will be dropped from the list and any published publicity will be deleted. Show the love, folks. Don't be greedy.

And, one more thing. I'm tired of bloggers selling ad space on their personal blogs. Really? Do I deserve $25 a month or more from you to put a picture of your book in my sidebar? No, I don't. So, I've decided that I'll go ahead and feature someone's book in my sidebar, for free, once a month. I'll draw a winner every month and contact you for a graphic and link. Does that sound fun? I'll start with Holly Wild and Swoozy Noon for the rest of this month because they're both new and I love them.

Email me at indiebookgroup (at) gmail (dot) com  for more information about any of this and to join up!

Dream Girl Book Trailer

Been quiet lately, haven't I? Yes, that's a bi-product of busyness. 

What have I been busy doing?

I'm glad you asked.

For one thing, I've finally slogged through the major revisions of Dream Girl! (my YA novel for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about.) It's currently out to the few and the proud readers who will give me their feedback so I can revise some more, as necessary and get this bad boy into the hands of agents and editors. 

To keep myself from premature submission syndrome, I put together a book trailer. For a taste of what I've been toiling over for so many years, here's a peek.  

The graphics aren't the best, but you know what is? That awesome voice reading my words. It's a powerful experience to give your words to someone else and see how they interpret them. In this case, I couldn't have imagined a better result. In fact, I am so impressed that I decided to interview The Voice, himself, in case you want to give the English treatment to your own words. (I highly recommend it.)

Welcome, Robert Charleston of www.OneLoneEnglishman.com

 

This is the view from Robert's studio.

The Restless Writer (RW): You have a gorgeous voice! Your timing and inflection are just perfect. Have you taken voice or acting lessons or is this 100% natural talent?

Robert Charleston (RC): No lessons of any kind. I simply enjoy speaking other people’s words aloud. Some things I’m asked to read are quite a challenge. All the better!

RW: You mention it a little on your website, but how did you get started doing this?

RC: American friends used to laugh at the way I said things (such as dot-com) and ask me to record the odd poem or piece of prose to send to friends back home to amuse them too. Except that most of the friends (all right, women friends!) weren’t so much amused as... how can I put it... fascinated. And they too asked me to record things. And here we are today.

RW: Have you ever been to the US? If so, where did you go and what did you most enjoy here? If not, what would you most like to see or do here?

RC: I haven’t travelled widely in America. New York, parts of California, hitch-hiked along the odd highway, that’s all. Top place is probably Grand Central Station. Two places I would love to visit are Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio in Memphis (to record one of my own songs in the very space used by Elvis and Jerry Lee), and the Florida Keys (probably because of Hemingway.)

I am in love with this view!

RW: Many Americans have a romanticized view of England. What do you like most about living there? Can you tell us a little about where you live?

RC: I like never knowing what weather to expect from one day to the next. I’m also a sucker for open countryside, Spring, harvest-time, tucked-away villages, ruined castles, and big soft ice-cream at the seaside. And where do I live? Right now in a gorgeous old cottage, parts of which date back to the mid seventeen hundreds. It’s in my study at this cottage that I do my recording. There are no straight lines in this building, which makes it constantly fascinating, and the garden is like a small park, with mossy steps, a lily-covered pond, curious walls, and a little upside down house concealed in thick bushes, with a door in the floor only big enough for a child to crawl through.

RW: Your sister, Elspeth, has a companion site www.OneLoneEnglishwoman.com  Presumably, you have a good relationship with her. Did you always get along well?

RC: Elspeth and I both provide readings for anyone who wants them, mostly separately but occasionally (when asked) together. We get along very well these days, but when we were kids she was pretty bossy. A couple of years younger than me and wanting to be in charge the whole time. These days, she lets me be boss on alternate Wednesdays.

Window on the right is the studio where the magic happens!

RW: Your recording samples are from classic literature. Are you an avid reader? Any favorite authors or passages?

RC: I used to read far more than I do these days. Because I do a fair bit of voice work now I like to seek out passages or poems that I can explore thoroughly, which can mean poring over a short piece for ages, reading it aloud over and over seeking out the most affecting inflexion or nuance without sounding pompous (I hope). I would love to record an extract from something dark, like Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Turn of the Screw. But I like to do modern stuff too!

RW: The recording you did for me, which I used for my book trailer, gave me goosebumps, it's so good! How did you get started doing book trailer voiceovers and what do you most enjoy about it?

RC: When my cousin (an author) asked me to do a book trailer for a YouTube video (The Realities of Aldous U) I relished those few words so much that I just wanted to do more and more. I wouldn’t want to do a whole audio book, but I do like trying to get the most out of a few lines, be it an extract from a novel, a poem or, indeed, a book trailer intro.

RW: Is there anything you're at liberty to share about the most memorable greetings you've been asked to record?

RC: Ah, The Song of Solomon. Whew! I’ll record that again anytime, with pleasure, particularly the bit about the (CENSORED!).

RW: If someone loves your voice but doesn't have a literary passage or any specific material in mind for you to read, what would you recommend?

RC: I would suggest that they email me (OneLoneEnglishman (at) gmail (dot) com)or Elspeth (OneLoneEnglishwoman (at) gmail (dot) com) and say what sort of mood they wish to invoke or convey and we’ll see if we can find something appropriate. No extra charge for the research. Elspeth and I enjoy it, we really do.

RW: Are there any famous voices that inspire you?

RC: I don’t know about ‘inspire’, but there are some that are a joy to listen to. Orson Welles for one. Garrison Keillor for another. And Cary Grant, Antonio Banderas, Alan Rickman, and oh, to sound like Geraldine McEwan...

RW: Ok, give it to me straight. Many Americans turn to putty for a good English accent, but do you have a thing for American accents? (of any variety)

RC: I’m not good at accents myself, but I do enjoy other people’s. You name it I’ll probably dig it at some level. 

Thank you, Robert!  

A monumental honor

Since I've immersed myself in the business of writing and publishing, whenever I read a new book, I always look at the dedication and acknowledgments. Sometimes, I wonder who those names belong to. Increasingly, some of the names become familiar. Ah, that's an agent. That's another author I heard speak at a conference. Whoa, that's a dude I met at a conference. Etc.

Well, as much as I want to see my own name printed on the cover of a book, I never in my wildest dreams expected my name to appear, alone, on the dedication page of a book. I mean, who dreams of that? It's awesome but how could such a thing happen? Well, I'll tell you how. You need to make friends with authors. (or belong in their immediate family).

In my case, I wrote an email to an author, 7 years ago, to tell him how much I loved one of his books. Over the years, we've become friends. Such good friends, in fact, that he surprised me by dedicating the final book in the Jiggy McCue series to me. I can't explain the emotions that jockeyed for position in the moment I saw my name staring back at me from the coveted dedication page.

I am humbled, honored and delighted. And, naturally, I love this book. 

Me loving "my" book.

Murder and Chips by Michael Lawrence, is a UK import. (if you know me, you know this is even more thrilling for me). If you want to read a book and tell people, hey, I know the lady this book is dedicated to, I hope you'll support my friend and get a copy for yourself. Besides, while I'm waiting for my name to be printed on the spine of my own book, I'll gladly sign the dedication page of this one for you.

Love and rainbows!

The Restless Writer...a little less restless thanks to this.

Writing Prompt

So, I thought I'd try something a little different and give you a picture as a writing prompt. I've already come up with my own story for this character and I'm fascinated to see what other people will come up with for the exact same picture.
It doesn't have to be a long writing prompt. In fact, if you'd like to just brainstorm some ideas, phrases or words to describe the scene, that's fine with me too.
Just post whatever you feel like writing below as a comment.
What does this little scene bring to mind for you?

Beth Arnstein Interview

 Yes, it's time for another MeeGenius author interview. (There are a lot of us, aren't there?) 

Beth Arnstein has written the adorable story I'm Not Afraid of Anything. Which, I might add, is a current MeeGenius Bestseller! Way to go, Beth! 

Let's see what Beth has to say about writing and childhood fears.

The Restless Writer (RW):  As a mother of two young children myself, I know it can be extremely difficult to carve out writing time. You're the mother of a very little one yourself. How do you manage to make time for writing? 

Beth Arnstein (BA):  This is a tough one for me lately. My son is a year and a half and, though he’s never been a good sleeper, he has recently cut his naps to a half hour a day, tops. With dinner preparations (he likes to help me cook so I have to get the dangerous stuff done while he’s not around) and other responsibilities, it has been almost impossible for me to write during the day as I had before. And with him still not consistently sleeping through the night, the early morning shift popular with many writers (including Lisa Rose as she said in her interview) seems too tough for me too. I’m squeezing in some writing during Sesame Street and in the evening after he’s gone to bed. I’m not as productive this way, but I’m trying to make it work. I don’t think I’m too different from other writers who work or raise kids. If it is important enough, we just make time.

Beth Arnstein

RW: Your picture book deals with childhood fears. What are some of the things that scared you as a child?

BA: I wasn’t afraid of much, but my fears were very similar to that of the character in my book. I can remember, when I was still young enough to have to hold my mom’s hand in the shopping mall, we rode an escalator up to the next floor. My foot, or since I remember it that way it was probably just my shoelace, got caught between the steps as they were closing at the top. Someone had to press the emergency stop button. Whenever anything like this, or the story that inspired I’M NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING, happened, my imagination filled in what could’ve happened next. So, I guess what really scared me was my imagination.

RW: Are you still afraid of any of the same things from your childhood?

BA: I’m still a little uneasy on escalators. Though I don’t have a history with them, I’m also not a huge fan of birds.
 

RW: Are you the type of person who loves scary movies or do you prefer less creepy fare?

BA: Scary movies give me nightmares. There’s a great Target commercial out now with a man watching a scary movie and he turns on the light, which is a cfl and takes some time to get bright, so he stays scared. That’s so me. If I ever do watch something scary, I do it during the day and make sure someone, even if it is only my cat, is around to bring me back to reality.

RW: How did this story come to you?

BA: When I was about seven, I was sitting on the Berber carpet in the basement, smoothing my dress around my knees while my sister Katie (then four years old) was vacuuming. With the whole floor to work on, she, of course, chose to start right next to me. Right next to me got closer and closer until the vacuum caught my dress. The horrible growl of the vacuum scared us both. With pie-plate eyes, Katie tried to pull it away, but the vacuum was old and weighed probably twice as much as my sister. Sure I was going in after my dress, I screamed, “Mom! Katie’s sucking me up!” My mom ran to my rescue, laughing as she untangled the dress from the brush roll. She said there was no way I could fit in the vacuum, but, again, with my imagination and too many cartoons rattling around in my head, I didn’t completely believe her. Good thing, too, or there would be no story.
 

RW: What's the scariest story you've ever read?

BA: Probably THERE’S A MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK. Not too scary, I know. Like movies, scary books stick with me. Even the HUNGER GAMES had me a little on edge.
 

RW: The illustrations for your book are excellent. How did you react when you saw them for the first time?

BA: I reread the story a few times in a row. The illustrations have so many details and I didn’t want to miss any of them! Then I found David and Erin Hallangen-Lake on facebook and quickly sent a thank-you. It was the first time I’d ever not collaborated with the illustrator and I was just so pleased to see the creative take on my words.

RW: What is your biggest dream for your writing?
BA: My goal was to be published before my son learns to read. He’s so young, but as smart as he is, it happened just in time. Now, my dream is that my books will unlock something hidden inside each reader: dreams, potential, feelings of self-worth, or memories depending on the story. I want my words to make someone else feel something.

Thank you so much for answering my questions, Beth. And, I must add, I can't stomach scary stories or movies either. Glad I'm not the only one.