Shelley Mosley, John Charles, Joanne Hamilton-Selway, and Sandra VanWinkle

Interview with Shelley Mosley, John Charles, Joanne Hamilton-Selway, and Sandra VanWinkle

1. What inspired you to write?
What inspired this particular book is the fact that most of the “must read” book lists that come out are filled with the classics we all had to read in college. For the most part, people aren’t interested in those. The truth is, people are just too busy to look for great reads. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Ultimate Reading List offers more than 1,000 titles in areas readers ask for as well as suggestions in areas they might not be familiar with, but would like to try. Categories we’ve chosen include: mysteries, suspense, romances, westerns, science fiction, fantasy, chick lit, horror, humor, true crime, inspirational fiction, inspirational non-fiction, popular fiction, literary fiction, biographies, history, travel, science and medicine, and true animal stories. Besides mud wrestling over which titles to include, we interviewed dozens of librarians, readers, and editors to get suggestions for this book.

2. Who is your favorite author?
We have too many to list here. That’s why we wrote the book! 8-)

3. Tell us something unique thing about you.
Sandy and Shelley have both won national limerick contests.

4. What do you want your fans to know about you?
None of us fit the old “librarian” stereotype. (Not that we know any librarians who do!)

5. What obstacles did you have to overcome to get published?
We’re lucky--our last two projects were suggested by the publishers. However, on our other projects, we’ve had all the obstacles writers face before they get published: finishing the manuscript; finding an editor who liked our work; and accepting rejection. (Some people advise you to embrace rejection, but we wouldn’t go that far!) It took us five years before we were published in book format.

6. What books have you published and do you have any sequels in the works? If so, give us all the juicy details!

Shelley, John, Sandy, and Joanne wrote Romance Today: An A-to-Z Guide to Contemporary American Romance Writers (Greenwood Press, 2006). John and Shelley co-authored The Suffragists in Literature for Youth: The Fight for the Vote (Rowman & Littlefield/Scarecrow Press, 2006), a resource for librarians and teachers of students from elementary school to college. John co-authored The Mystery Readers’ Advisory: The Librarian’s Clues to Murder and Mayhem (American Library Association, 2002). Shelley co-authored Crash Course in Library Supervision, which will be out in Fall, 2007. Writing with Deborah Mazoyer as Deborah Shelley, Shelley is a five-time published romance author. Their first novel, Talk about Love, was a Holt Medallion finalist. Their other romantic comedies are: It’s in His Kiss, My Favorite Flavor, One Starry Night, and “Falling for You” in Romancing the Holidays, Volume I.

We’d love to do a sequel to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Ultimate Reading List, but that depends on sales of the first edition.

As for current projects, Sandy and Shelley have a children’s book under consideration, and Shelley has a romantic comedy under consideration. Shelley’s other children’s book has been rejected more times than the Florida vote count.

7. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Write every day. Writing is a skill, just like playing the piano. You need to practice.
Read, read, read!
Never give up.
Learn from your rejections. Don’t let rejected manuscripts sit in a drawer--send them back out.
Keep more than one project going at a time.
Never give up.
Read the publisher’s guidelines, and follow them to the letter.
Make sure your manuscript is as error-free as possible, double-spaced, and easy to read.
Never give up.
Join a writer’s group.
Get into a good critique group.
Never give up.
Take as many writing classes and seminars as you possibly can.
Go to writer’s conferences--that’s where you meet the editors who buy your books.
Never give up.

Shelley, John, Sandy, and Joanne, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and good luck on all your future endeavors! I hope to see another book for you as a group or individually again soon!

Alan Coleman Interview

A Conversation with Author Alan Coleman

Q: Give us a brief synopsis of your new book Quest of the Seal Bearers: The Five Jewels.

A: This book continues the saga of the Fantasmal Fighters, twenty fairly average teenagers from Earth who are thrown into an adventure on the world of Mendala where a tyrant named Davron has taken over. Davron has a weapon known as the Book of War, which he can use to creature indestructible creatures, but the Fantasmal Fighters have the mark of the seals, and this allows them to destroy the monsters Davron creates. In The Five Jewels both sides are racing to control a set of artifacts (the five jewels) which could ensure victory for whoever has them.

Q: Tell me about the writing and artwork contest you are running with the release of this book.

A: The contest has four categories, two for writing, and two for art. Each category has a $100 first prize and 2 runner-up prizes that are $25 gift certificates. Anyone 13-years-old and older can enter and the deadline is July 15^th. The categories are all based around Mendala and my books so I have made the electronic copy of my first book available for download for the duration of the contest. In addition, there is an entire library of information about Mendala and the characters on my website, www.mendala.com.

I really want fantasy enthusiasts to get involved with Mendala. I created a vast world with its own cultures, societies, and histories, and just like any fantasy world, readers love to imagine the “what-ifs.” Fanfiction and fanart are a popular way for readers to get involved with their favorite books and shows and I want to encourage it. Despite the hundreds of pages of information I have about my world, there is a lot about Mendala I don’t know. My website is designed to allow them to submit their own art and stories and build a community of people who add to Mendala in their own way and explore all the scenarios they want. This contest is the first step and I hope it sparks more interest and participation in the site as well as increased readership.

Q: How did you come to write Quest of the Seal Bearers series?

A: I was in college when I decided to become serious about my writing and I was looking through all my old story ideas. This one seemed to have the most potential even though it’s significantly changed from its original concept.

Q: When did you develop the idea for Mendala?

A: That’s a tricky question. The original idea came from something my friends and I dreamed up in high school, it was a world we would use for a role-playing video game, but Mendala was just a name at that time with some very abstract ideas. I really developed Mendala in college when I decided the video game concept we abandoned may be the framework for a good story.

Q: Where can readers get more information on Mendala?

A: At my website. All the information you could ever want about Mendala is at www.mendala.com. I encourage readers to visit the Fantasmal Libraries, where I am constantly adding information about my world and discuss the books and the planet in the forums. The website is also a place where they can submit their own stories and art about Mendala and help contribute to the world.

Q: One of the critiques of fantasy adventures is that they are often deemed “predictable”, how does the Quest of the Seal Bearers challenge that stigma?

A: I actually use that stigma to my advantage. My readers often go through the story thinking they know exactly what will happen next and how it will end, only to find that there is always a twist and an unexpected surprise waiting for them.

Q: When will the next book in this series available?

A: Oh dear… I hope soon. I will try to push for the end of 2008.

Q: Briefly tell us of the vision you have for your book. What would you like your book to accomplish?

A: Quest of the Seal Bearers is just the first in what will be many short series centered around Mendala and in some cases the Fantasmal Fighters or other characters introduced in my first few books. I don’t plan to have one seemingly never-ending series of books that bores the reader with its lack of finality. Quest of the Seal Bearers will only be 4 or 5 books long and have a definite end. However, there will be connections within each series and I hope to engage avid readers who want to unravel every mystery of Mendala. I hope that when I write my last book (whenever that will be), I will have answered every question and people will be diving into my complex world for years after.

As I said before, I enjoy the idea of my readers being able to add to Mendala and write about the world, so I hope to one day allow others to publish their own books about my world. Wouldn’t that be something, to have the legacy of my writing continue even after I stop!

Q: What problems did you have to tackle to complete the book and what process did you undertake to finish the story?

A: My biggest problem with the second book was one of my subplots turned out to be completely unbelievable by the end of the book (which is saying something considering I’m writing fantasy). I had to completely redesign it. Since the rest of the book was fine, I had to meticulously extract all of the elements of the faulty subplot and then insert the new pieces in their place. It was extremely painful but the result was a far better book in the end.

Q: What advice do you have for first time writers?

A: Write… Most new writers stare at a blank piece of paper because they’re afraid what they put down won’t be good enough. But I’ve learned that it’s never good the first time around but you just keep writing. Then you go back and revise, and you write some more… then you go back and revise, then you write some more. You can’t expect perfection out of your first draft (or even your first book) but you just keep going. Just like any skill, the only way to improve is to practice.

Q: What else would you like to tell us about your book?

A: Though a lot of people don’t realize this, my books are actually Christian fantasy/adventure. I put a lot of my spiritual beliefs into the core of my writing, but I do it in such a way as to not beat people over the head with it. In reality I put a lot of thought into how I incorporate my spiritual beliefs into my writing. I hope that other Christians will be able to see this, and for everyone else, I just hope they enjoy the books.

Q: What else would you like to tell us about you?

A: Despite repeated attempts at improving, I’m still a pretty terrible bowler… I guess I should go more often. I still think its fun though.

To see my review of The Quest of the Seal Bearers Volume 1 and 2, please click here.