The "Great Lakes Authors" Sixlet talks briefly on why they write

Q & A with the GREAT LAKES AUTHORS 

who will be attending 

the GRAND RAPIDS COMIC CON this October.

Jamie-Jo Brenner 

1. Why do you write? I have always loved to write and find that I am much more comfortable with the written word versus the spoken word. I don't get as much time to write as I would like, so when I do write it is because I truly believe that I have something to say and want to share it with people.

2. When do you find is the best time to write? I like writing at night or in the evenings. I like to have the whole day to process what I want to say, or a whole day's worth of experiences to explore. Plus, I am absolutely not a morning person (even though I try to be).

3. What is your end goal as a writer/author? My end goal as a writer/author would be to share my thoughts, experiences, and passions with the world in the way I feel most comfortable. I have always written about topics that deeply matter to me, so my goal would be to try to bring awareness or discussion to some of those topics. And I would like to do so for as long as I continue to enjoy it.


Ingar Rudholm

1. Why do you write? As single parent, my mom worked odd jobs (retail stores, painting, traveling sales, etc) to support her kids. But her real passion was painting and art.  She always said, "When I retire, I'm going to paint and make arts and crafts."  Unfortunately, before she retired, she was diagnosed with dementia and she never pursued her passion.  So, I thought before I die, I want a few books.

2. When do you find is the best time to write? Between the hours of 11pm and 1 am.  Any time after that, I end up falling asleep hunched over my laptop.

3. What is your end goal as a writer/author? Inspire people to never lose their imagination.

Lawrence Heibel1. Why do you write?   I have a pathological need to express myself in written words.  Like eating and breathing I have a need to write that must be exercised.

2. When do you find is the best time to write?  I can write any time any where but prefer the dead of night when the house is quiet.

3. What is your end goal as a writer/author?  I write for myself, but I do want to be heard.  My goal as a writer is to entertain myself.  My goal as an author is to entertain others.

Melanie Swiftney1. Why do you write? I love telling stories. Always have. As a teenager I loved sharing my short stories with friends and that yearning to see people's reactions when they read something I wrote is intoxicating. Since publishing my first novel in 2012, it's been even more addictive. I just love entertaining people.

2. When do you find is the best time to write? My preferred time is first thing in the morning, before I've checked email or Facebook or turned on the TV.

3. What is your end goal as a writer/author? TO RULE THE WORLD! Well, to sell lots of books and be a full-time author. Isn't that every writer's goal?

Deanna J Compton1. Why do you write?  Writing is a way to express myself that I find fulfilling.  It is my voice and I can't be silenced or interrupted or argued with during the process.

2. When do you find is the best time to write? I like to write in the morning before my other responsibilities take over and sometimes in the evening if I have any energy left at the end of the day.

3. What is your end goal as a writer/author? My end goal as a writer is to produce an entertaining story.

Peter Welmerink1. Why do you write?  My therapist says it is therapeutic, then charges by $120 and sends me on my way. I wish she’d loosen the straightjacket though.

2. When do you find is the best time to write? I typically get up before the bird and the worm to catch some words, and place them in some form of order on the blank sheet.

3. What is your end goal as a writer/author? First, to get these stories out of my head. There’s a reason for them being here and wanting to be let out. Second, hopefully I can share with others, and hopefully they get a little form of entertainment from my ramblings.

 

Tommy B Smith - Five Things Learned

Tommy B Smith talks

FIVE THINGS LEARNED ABOUT WRITING

 

 

I met Tommy at IMAGINARIUM 2015, stopped by his table, said hello. I'd seen and heard his name before, and it was good putting a name to a face. He is a writer of Horror, and from what I'm seeing from his list of material...a damn good and creepy writer of Horror.

 

Here he talks about the craft of writing and being an author.

 

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1. Being an effective author is far more than simply writing a book. It is more than polishing a book to a sharp shine or signing a contract with a publisher. It is more than merely making others aware that your book exists. All of these steps are important, but the process is not this simple unless you are incredibly lucky. It is work, and that work can be time-consuming. As such, be prepared.

 

 

2. Even in doing what we do best, authors—people—possess strengths and weaknesses. Parts of my journey as an author have brought a better understanding of these, for my own case, and methods of addressing them.

 

 

3. The lenses through which a work’s author and its reader perceive can be quite different. It is important to distinguish constructive criticism from destructive criticism. Beware of misleading advice, but be aware that, when utilized properly, constructive criticism can be an author’s valuable tool.

 

 

4. Life isn’t apt to be fair, nor is every person, company, or organization within the world of writing, editing, and publishing. Be aware of who you are dealing with, and read the fine print.

 

 

5. I write dark fiction. For some time, I had no classification for what I wrote. Some of it was horror, but not all of it. I also wrote tales of fantasy, one science fiction story, and some dark borderline-literary stories. “Dark fiction” seems the most accurate description of what I do in general. 

 

 

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About the Author

Tommy B. Smith is a writer of dark fiction and the author of Poisonous and Pieces of Chaos. His work has appeared in numerous publications over the years to include Every Day Fiction, Night to Dawn, Black Petals, Blood Moon Rising, and a variety of other magazines and anthologies. He has previously worked with Morpheus Tales as editor of the magazine's Dark Sorcery and Urban Horror special issues. His presence infests Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife and cats. More information can be found on his website at http://www.tommybsmith.com



 

Social Media Links:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authortommybsmith

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/penofchaos
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5765423.Tommy_B_Smith

 

His work

 

 

 

Following the Quake of ’79, a terrible force came to the city of St. Charles. This was the Living Poison. In Lilac Chambers, it may have found the perfect host. As she finds herself changing, becoming increasingly dangerous to everyone around her, it becomes apparent that her state of being is no accident of nature. She is becoming a prime vehicle for the Living Poison’s destructive swath through the streets of St. Charles. Detective Brandt McCullough has seen the Living Poison’s brutality. John Sutterfield, ringmaster of Sutterfield’s Circus of the Fantastic, is discovering its malignancy festering within the very circus he founded. These two are the only ones who might stand in the way of a force greater than anything they have ever known, one which threatens to wash the streets in red and swallow the city into chaos, but the stakes may be higher than either of them can imagine. St. Charles—indeed, the world—may tremble.

Link to Poisonous on Amazon

This book is a collision of ink and paper and an awakening of possibilities. Captured within are fragments of glass, metal, bone, ice, dreams, visions, and lives. Inside its pages, you will read of a lost village and the burning affliction of its people. You will share in an engineer’s unveiling of a hidden conspiracy. You will visit with a child confined to a tiny rectangular world on the brink of dissolution, and you will follow a girl on her trek from a home of crime and poverty across barren fields of ice to where an unspeakable force dwells. These are but a few of the works you will find among this collection of fourteen tales which blends the cosmic, the psychological, the human, and the inhuman in bringing together the essential dark fiction from author Tommy B. Smith’s pen of chaos.
Link to Pieces of Chaos on Amazon


What some people are saying about Smith's work

"His prose is tight and drives the story so the reader keeps flipping the pages."

"...features great writing, edge of your seat drama and the kind of gothic horror you can really sink your teeth into. A huge adrenaline rush for serious horror junkies!"

"...his stories are delightfully twisted, with sharp prose and unexpected turns..."