AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Michael Melville talks five things learned writing ALL THE ROADS HOME

After nine months of living in the Highlands of Scotland with just his dog while recovering from a devastating divorce, Shawn Stewart, a changed man, begins an interesting and emotional journey back to his hometown of Astoria Oregon. He reconnects with lost parts of his heart, mind, spirit, and forgotten memories and says goodbye as he begins the next stage in getting his life back.

Along the way, he reconnects with his best friend Billy who, unbeknownst to Shawn, has a lot riding on his recovery and future happiness.

Once arriving home, an old romance begins to blossom but teeters on a precipice as personal struggles and serious family conflict begin to make cracks in his new life.

Shawn struggles not with just who he wants to be but also with who his family needs him to be.
The appearance of an old man named Pockets leads to life-altering choices for Shawn, and life changing news for his best friend.

All the Roads Home is a story about how a group of people come together not just for the benefit of one man, but also for each other.

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1. FORMATTING HASSLES
This has more to do with the print version then the Kindle version.

With my first novel, RUNNING NORTHWEST, the formatting went pretty easy.

With ALL THE ROADS HOME, it was such a pain in the ass. I don’t know if it was because of the new update for Word, but it took me forever. My word file was showing me one thing and the online proofer for CS was showing another.

Then I ran out of coffee day... Ugh.

In fact, this last week I’ve basically done nothing but get the print edition of ATRH right.

So, I learned that I will be paying for formatting for the next book in the series which is The Diner. Not because I can’t do it, but it’s just too much of a pain in my ass.

2. MARKETING HEADACHES
It sucks but I learned a lot in between the first book and the newest one.
Financially, with ALL THE ROADS HOME, I wasn’t able to put as much money into pre-release marketing (and post-release so far) as what I would have liked. However, I took the things learned and made a lot more headway, this time.

Blogging and my circles (NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK!--PJW) have helped significantly.
So for the next one, I’ll be having more money to spend on promotions.

3. WRITING TIME
Although I don’t buy into the belief that writers write every day, I learned I do need to make more time every day to at least try and write. If that means I sit in front of the computer and type nothing for an hour because nothing is coming, then that’s the way it is.

I learned while writing ATRH to not push it. I did a warm up write to get the juices flowing. It helped a lot but sometimes it didn’t. So if that means I write a blog post, and no novel words, then I do. (Writing is writing. Writers write. So, yeah, Mike, you're going about the right way. Bravo!--PJW) Considering how much is involved in actually being a writer, it’s not the end of my world if a week or three goes by and I don’t write anything of substance in my current WIP. I know it will get done. I’d rather write nothing in my WIP then have what I’m writing feel forced or even half-assed. I have no desire to be one those authors whipping out 3 novels a year for marketing reasons.

4. WHERE DOES MY BOOK FIT IN?
Very early on I was so worried about ALL THE ROADS HOME and the Oregon series for which the novel is a part of. I wasn’t sure where it would fit in. Where its niche was, or even what genre since the early idea crossed several genres and made it feel overly complex even though I loved the story.
I read so many silly ass blog posts and advice in writing groups for indies that it scared the shit out of me because I wasn’t clear on my genre definitions and target audience.

Then, on vacation, I ran into a friend of mine who publishes with HarperCollins and talked to him about the book. At that point, I was six chapters in.

He gave me the best advice I ever got.

He said, “Write the damn book that you want to write, and don’t worry about all that garbage, Melville.” (Best advice ever!--PJW)

It was simple, but clear advice.

From that point on, I finished the book without worrying about the things that I had, and am very happy with how it turned out. Sometimes you just gotta let the cards lay where they fall.

I think because of the way the business side of this makes us feel, we authors get too side-tracked by the marketing, and rules and stuff. I know I do, and I know it gets in the way of my writing.

5. WORDS...
I use a lot of random, pointless words. I found this out with RUNNING NORTHWEST after my new editor got a hold of it and she pointed it out.

It was the same with ALL THE ROADS HOME.

One of the biggest is “though” and ending a sentence with it.

My writing patterns for dialogue are mirrored by real-life speech and "though" is a word I hear used often in that way, and use it myself. In a novel, however, it's generally completely unnecessary. I think I took out over 80 of the word “though” during the editing of ALL THE ROADS HOME. I know a few slipped in.

“However” is another one I have issues with. LOL

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Praise for Melville's ALL THE ROADS HOME:

"...another beautifully written book by Michael Melville. His unique painterly style of writing truly transports you to the location of each character. In the beginning chapters you slowly become acquainted with the main character, Shawn, taking in his surroundings and connecting with his heart. As you journey with Shawn from Scotland back to the US and across the country, you find yourself being sucked further into the story and truly caring for each of the characters. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone looking for something new and fresh to read."

"RUNNING NORTHWEST was an amazing book, but this one blew it out of the water. He (Melville) did a really terrific job showing the story through the main character, Shawn. I felt extremely close to all the characters, like I've known them my whole life. As you follow Shawn through his adventures you find yourself not being able to put the book down. I was reading this at work, home, and whenever I could find the time. Another amazing book by Michael, and I look forward to more. Job well done, 5 stars all the way."

"I loved this book from the very beginning. I've never been to Scotland, but I feel like I have from reading this (Oregon too). Michael has a talent for making his characters and places so real. Honestly, it's a great story..."

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Michael is 37, a novelist, former entrepreneur and a senior at Grand Valley State University. He is a proud father of an amazing year and a half-old little boy named Jax and happily engaged to his mother; an amazingly inspirational woman named Stacey. He is now trying to make his mark in the literary word in some noticeable way as an author and writer.

He has published two works so far in his writing career. The first was Running Northwest; a romance novel about a single father raising his adopted son alone on the Oregon Coast. The second is a short story called Christmas Senses, which is about a man stricken with blindness and how he experiences Christmas with his family in his own unique way.

He recently released his second full-length novel and 3rd published work titled All the Roads Home in January 2016. This novel is the first book in his new and exciting Oregon Series. He is already hard at work writing the second book in that series titled The Diner, which will come out later in 2016.

AUTHOR LINKS

Twitter: @BooksbyMelville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BooksbyMichaelMelville
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/6469570.Michael_Melville
Blog: https://oregonmike98.wordpress.com/
Website: www.BooksbyMichaelMelville.com
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/michaelmelvillebooks
Instagram: @oregonmike98


OTHER BOOKS BY MICHAEL MELVILLE

 

Imagine a place where dreams come true and new ones are born. A place where friends laugh, kids smile and new love blossoms. Where walks on foggy ocean beaches or misty woods become memories that will last a lifetime. A place where people and nature peacefully coexist and enjoy the company of one another. A place where lost love can be reborn and lives made simple and perfect. A place where you can get lost in your future and leave the darkness behind. Find that place in Running Northwest.

Set against the unpredictable Pacific Ocean, on the rocky, forested northern coast of Oregon is a story about heartbreaking loss, rebuilding, fate and love. Running Northwest takes the reader on a journey as an unexpected road weaves its way through the life of single father, Thomas James and his 8-year-old son, Daniel. In Michigan, newly single Stephanie Davis is about to begin her own journey down a path she never expected and never even knew existed which will change her life in ways never imagined.

RUNNING NORTHWEST is available for Kindle and Paperback

Lawrence Heibel discusses FIVE THINGS LEARNED WRITING

Writer/author Lawrence Heibel discusses the five things he learned writing REUNION.

 

 

 

Pam Mondy witnesses her abusive husband’s death as she prepares to leave him for her college professor Ron Candleson.  Five years later, Steve Thorndyk, a young medium, unwittingly helps Ray, Pam’s dead husband, to return to life by possessing a living body.  Six months later, Ron and Pam Candleson are camping at Bay Haven State Park where Ron is reunited with his teenage children.  Disguised in a living body, Ray strikes up a reunion with Pam which includes a seduction and a reign of terror.

 

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1. I wrote the novel in the early 80s and made little effort to publish.  I got it back out in 2013 and read it and discovered that after 30 years the novel still held up.  It was a solid story.

2. It’s okay to write dark, violent material.  I was afraid when younger that if I wrote violence and sex scenes that readers, namely friends and family, would chastise me.  They didn’t because I didn’t write them gratuitously.  The sex and violence were important to the story.

3. It took me 30 years to “finish” this book.  All the revision in the world won’t make it perfect.  When a story is done you need to turn it over to a professional editor, take their comments and suggestions to the story and make necessary changes. 

4. Writing is an intregal part of my life.  I was an avid reader because I loved get involved in other stories.  Now I write those other stories and there is nothing more gratifying than spending time with imaginary people (except spending time with real people).

5. Once a story is told, it’s time to move onto another story.  I don’t define myself in any genre.  I have five books published,  New Blood is a photographic novel that is a vampire story told with 100 pictures and 100 pages of text.  Overture to Rain is a novella suspense story that takes place in a stone prison cell.  Termination Notice is a collection of early short stories mixing horror, literary, sci-fi and humor.  Reunion is a horror thriller and Will You Please Listen, Please Is a collection of short stories that look at how we talk or don’t talk, listen or don’t listen to each other and ourselves.  In progress are a fantasy trilogy and a contemporary drama.  Novels pending are a criminal perspective and a spiritual toned book.  You don’t have to confine your writing to any one genre.  Just write what you enjoy be it one genre or 10.

 

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About the Author

 

Lawrence Heibel is a professional writer with five books published by his company, Heibel Media.  Lawrence has been writing since elementary school.  He worked 13 years writing news and features for the Grand Rapids Press.  Writing is his passion, but his career path veered from writing to photography in 2006 as he anticipated the change in the newspaper industry.  While writing for the newspaper, he developed skills as a photojournalist and in 2006 transitioned from newspaper correspondent and photojournalist to portrait, event and wedding photographer.  Since 2010, Lawrence has split his time between writing novels and short stories and helping photographers from hobbyists to professionals improve their photography through classes, workshops and photography studio rental at WorkShoots in Grand Rapids.   His first novel, Reunion was published in November 2014 and a collection of short stories titled Will You Please Listen, Please was published in March 2015.  He has four novels in various stages of production including a fantasy trilogy and a contemporary drama.   He lives in Cutlerville with his wife, Kim, who has put up with him for 30 years.  They have two sons, Andrew 26 and Alex 20.

 

Author Links

Website: Heibel Media, LLC

Heibel Media LLC on Facebook

Lawrence Heibel on Facebook

E-Mail: Lawrence@heibelmedia.com

 

 

 

Other Books by Lawrence R. Heibel

(For further information and purchasing info, please go to Heibel Media, LLC)

 

 

 

A lonely young vampire waits for the sun to rise and put him out of his miserable existence.  A young woman comes along looking for a vampire and can’t bear losing him to the sun.  As the night rolls on, the vampire tells the story of the vampires who came before him and how he is doomed to follow their deadly desire for New Blood.  Will his story convince her that he should die?  Or can she give him a reason to live?

 

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In a land where it rains once every 19 years, when the rains come, life is renewed.  However, for a prisoner in a stone cell at the bottom of a valley, the rains will bring his death.  On the day the rain comes, another prisoner is dropped into the cell next to him.  As the rains fall, the two prisoners exchange stories with an ending you won’t see coming.

 

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An eclectic collection of short stories that give insight to a young writer.  Included are a handful of stories from Lawrence's elementary and high school years. The main stories are from Lawrence’s 20s.   Stories range from the humorous supernatural story Door to Door which pits a working Mom against an inept demon trying to buy souls.  Test Duty is a sci-fi story that stirs memories of the Vietnam conflict.  Turning to Golf is a contemporary drama about a young father struggling with his daughter’s coming of age.

 

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A collection of contemporary short stories that have a central theme of communication between oneself and others.  The title story goes back and forth between a married couple as they think about what they want to tell their spouse but can’t bring themselves to say what they need.  In The Squashing of a Toad, a middle aged man faces his child self and teenage self as two opposing forces in his life that kept him from living the life he wanted.  In At the Intersection three peoples’ lives are changed by a lack of communication.

 

For further information and purchasing info, please go to Heibel Media, LLC

 

 

 

Come visit Lawrence and five other West Michigan authors at Grand Rapids Comic Con, October 16-18, 2015

 

 

 

Russell Slater -- FIVE THINGS LEARNED WRITING

Russell Slater is a writer and author AND small press publisher located in West Michigan.

Here, he talks about FIVE THINGS LEARNED WRITING his Classic Monster (in my words) novella, ACIPENSER.

 

 

Something in the lake… 4th of July Weekend!

 

Time for flags, barbeques and late night fireworks. For the residents of a sleepy West Michigan community, the carefree days of sun-soaked bliss are about to be interrupted by a deadly abomination of nature…lurking in the depths of a local lake. ACIPENSER

 

Vietnam veteran Silas Sobel loves Green Lake. He watches over the water – protects it. When he witnesses a mysterious attack on a pontoon of partiers, his claims are dismissed as wild stories. Setting out on a lone mission, he utilizes unconventional methods to capture the proof he needs. As the town slowly realizes the truth, they find themselves woefully unprepared to combat the hideously mutated monsters of Green Lake.

 

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FIVE THINGS I LEARNED while writing ACIPENSER

 

FYS – Finish Your Shit.  Don’t look backward (until the end). 

 

1. FYS

This is the most important acronym for a writer.  Put simply: Finish your shit.  Great words of advice.  Twenty half-written stories are useless, whereas a terrible yet fully-written rough draft has a future.  Get it done, maintain momentum, and don’t stop until you write “THE END.”  I’m still working on this.   

 

2. ACIPENSERS don’t have teeth – wait, yes they do! 

 

When I chose the Lake Sturgeon as my “Green Lake Monster,” I soon was disappointed to learn that these fish don’t even have teeth!  Somehow a giant mutant fish that gummed people to death didn’t seem as frightening as rows upon rows of serrated steak-knife teeth.  So we gave him chompers – deadly, pointy ones.  Coincidently, I did learn later on that certain species of Acipensers in Eastern Asia are predatory fish, and do in fact have teeth. 

 

3. We’re famous!  (not really)

People aren’t like cockroaches – in fact, they like the spotlight.  I love writing stories based locally, and I knew by creating a fictional lake monster in a community near where I live, I would be scaring my friends and neighbors.  Knowing there are many “Green Lakes” out there, I specifically had my cover artist (Jordan Richardson) put an outline of “our” Green Lake as a glare in the monster’s eyeball.  It’s just something small, and discrete – not something you’d normally notice, but when locals say, “Is this about our Green Lake,” I can point to that small detail, and they instantly smile.  Some area readers like to guess which characters resemble actual people.  

 

4. Great art will sell your book

Yes, people do judge a book by its cover.  An awful story with a great cover will outsell an awesome story with a terrible cover.  We are visual creatures, and we buy visual entertainment (whose actual content is mostly unseen –movies, books, magazines) based on the package it comes in (or cover).  Work with talented artists who can convey your story through a great cover.  The reader should have some idea what the book is about based on the cover – when readers pick up a copy of Acipenser to thumb through, they have a pretty good notion that the story involves some type of terrifying monster with sharp teeth.  Too many covers on the market today, whether through independent or traditional publishing houses, appear too generic.    

 

It took Jordan and I several months to develop the final look of Acipenser.  He went through many variations, and after several sit-down meetings and dozens of emails exchanged, we finally got it right.  I love the final look of the monster – so much so, I got him tattooed on my left shoulder. 

 

5. It’s all good: Feedback

Feedback is our emotional payment for our work (physical payment in the form of cash, checks, and credit are nice too).  After pouring heart and soul into a project, hearing the response from readers can be satisfying, encouraging, or maybe disheartening.  Even if a reader gives you blunt, at times rude, feedback – it’s all good.  Our first reaction when receiving negative feedback may be to snatch the nearest solid object and thump them over the head with it, but resist the urge.  Bite your tongue.  Smile.  Say, “thank you for taking the time to read it.”  Think about their feedback – does it have merit?  Yes, the truth can sting sometimes.   Use negative feedback as a learning experience. 

Toughen thy skin until it becomes an armor shell that can absorb whatever a reader throws at you. 

 

Positive feedback makes us writer-types puuuuurrrr.  “I liked it,” or “it was an enjoyable read” are nice to hear, but what really gets me purring is the feedback with details.  Stories of readers’ reaction to your material are great.  I recently had a woman who lives on Green Lake tell me how her teenage daughter bought a copy of Acipenser, and then invited her girlfriends for a sleep over.  They took turns reading it aloud to one another and then went swimming in the lake at night. 

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Russell Slater is a Michigan author and head of Peninsulam Publishing (Publishing stories Made in Michigan). In addition to his published novels, his work has been featured in the (Wayland) Penasee Globe, Allegan County News, Flavor 616 Magazine, Michigan Medical Marijuana Magazine, Engraver's Journal and the Volunteer: Civil Air Patrol Magazine. He enjoys creative writing in multiple genres, from alternate history political thrillers, to sci-fi/horror, and children's books. He lives in a rural community with his wife and son.

 

 

 

Peninsulam Publishing and Book Links

 

www.peninsulampublishing.com

https://www.facebook.com/peninsulampublishing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things Learned By The Editors and Organizers of GIFTS OF THE MAGI: A SPECULATIVE HOLIDAY COLLECTION

by darkheroicfantasy

I met Chris Garrison, John Allen and RJ Sullivan in person at IMAGINARIUM 2014. Three fine gents who were immediately friendly and outgoing to a fellow writer new to not only writer conventions but to the joint publisher we work with.

When I heard they had put a collection of short stories together and were donating proceeds to charity, it was obvious to me they needed some space to talk about this undertaking and great anthology of very talented writers and authors.--PJW Dec 2014

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SFG Publishing, a newly formed publishing label of the Indianapolis based Speculative Fiction Guild, is proud to present its first-ever release: a holiday anthology with all proceeds benefitting Indy Reads, a not-for-profit organization that provides tutoring to illiterate and semi-literate adults.

Gifts of the Magi:a Speculative Holiday Collection gathers original fiction assembled by editors and SFG members John F. Allen, E. Chris Garrison and R.J. Sullivan.

The editors made a list of up-and-coming new voices that they loved to read, checked it twice, and started inviting. Most authors offered an immediate and enthusiastic "yes", and contributed some amazing stories, all new and written especially for this collection.

In most cases, the editors received stories set within an author's series universe. Readers of fan favorite series can return to familiar settings and characters, such as the Coyote Series by Chantal Noordeloos and the Clockwork Republics tales by Katina French. NYT and USA Today Bestseller Debra Holland also revisited the fantasy world of her Gods' Dream Trilogy, and the anthology's editors each contributed a new story from their ongoing series.

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THINGS LEARNED BY THE ORGANIZERS

RJS = RJ Sullivan

ECG = E. Chris Garrison

JFA = John F. Allen

1. How did this anthology come about? When was the idea born? Why?

RJS: For years I've been making "Blue Christmas" puns every holiday on my Facebook wall, the pun coming from the blue-haired punk girl protagonist of my paranormal thriller series. Originally I thought I'd do an original ebook short story titled "Blue Christmas" available for holidays this year. Then I thought I'd pitch it to Seventh Star Press as an in-house collection.

SSP was enthusiastic but they could not make room for it with the relatively short notice I'd given them. Understandable, but that meant waiting until 2015 and I'm not that patient. In the meantime, Chris and John were on board and drafting stories. Chris has a great deal of layout and organizational  talent and knows how to make software behave. John has the art skills you desperately need for a project like this. The three of us are local to Indy and are founding members of the Speculative Fiction Guild, a local writer support group. The three of us had collaborated at many levels--conventions, marketing, support, etc. So I knew we would work well together. We formalized the partnership over a conversation, divided up the duties, and it seems like overnight, we were off and running.

2. If this was a CLOSED or SELECTED AUTHOR SUBMISSION piece, how did you pick the writers for the anthology?

RJS: Speculative Fiction Guild (SFG) member Matthew Barron had the connections with Indy Reads, and SFG had held an event there a year ago. So we had a charity to support. After that, we just thought of authors we knew, liked, and knew well enough to approach. We gave priority to authors who had ongoing series, and by keeping it invitation only, we had no rejections and no slush pile--just a few rewrites. We filled 15 slots very quickly, and the high quality in many cases is stunning.

RJS: I think what I learned....or rather, what was confirmed for me, is that there is more than one way around a problem, and not to give up the first time you hear the word no. I had envisioned GofM as one thing, and when I found out that couldn't happen, I could have just accepted it. But instead I looked at other options, my own resources, and the friendship I'd formed with Chris and John, and I suspected, I hoped, we had the talent between us to get it done ourselves. So I didn't accept the "no" I was first handed, and instead found another way to get it done. Quite possibly, we made something as good or better than the original idea.

JFA: Coming together to produce Gifts of the Magi was a HUGE learning experience for me. It showed me how much is necessary to produce self published material and how to do it effectively. The collaborative efforts involved were inspiring to say the least. I couldn't have asked for a better group of fellows to work with and awesomely talented authors to contribute. 

  

ECG: Putting together Gifts of the Magi showed me that communication at the beginning saves a lot of trouble, and fixing things later takes a lot of time. I think by communicating the goals for the anthology early on, we got a great set of submissions from the invited authors that have an alchemical synergy that makes the book have something for everyone, and better than we could have planned. On the flip side, formatting is a LOT more work than I expected, especially if authors are left to their own devices in formatting. The work of making the whole look homogenous and clean while combining the different stories took arranging and massaging the text into a common form that would have been simpler had we specified what we needed for submissions in the beginning. It was a learning experience, and a valuable one. I'm quite proud of the result, both in content and form.

GIFTS OF THE MAGI: A SPECULATIVE HOLIDAY COLLECTION

Stories for Christmas--authors for the New Year!

Find within this magical tome 14 NEW original holiday-themed stories of fantasy, horror and science fiction by a talented group of authors--plus one holiday essay. The tales from our Magi vary from the light and satirical to the dark and serious, and we've shuffled the deck to keep you guessing.

In "Unraveled" by A.D. Roland, a time guardian may have to choose between preserving reality or destroying the man she loves.

In "Freezy the Snow Demon" by Scott M. Sandridge. A snowman comes to life, but he's not a happy soul.

In "How Krampus Saved Christmas" by S.R. Roddey. Santa makes a terrible bargain in order to save Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, a furious fairy princess attacks a double-decker bus in E. Chris Garrison's "Christmas Special".

Two secret agents attend an exclusive Christmas party with an unusual price of admission in "A Quantum of Solstice" by J.P. Bastin.

In "The Dead of Night" by David Jobe. Soldiers in the midst of the zombie apocalypse try to find the Christmas spirit.

A boy and his father confront an alien creature on..."The Longest Night" by Matthew Barron.

In "An Ivory Christmas" by John F. Allen, a mercenary packing magical pistols battles a monster while Christmas shopping for her werewolf boyfriend.

Steampunk detectives find themselves fending off Christmas "elves" in "The Curious Case of the Cobbler's Christmas" by Katina French

Humans exiled to an alternate world blend alien and human holiday traditions in "A Season of Renewal" by Debra Holland.

A banished prince with a magic chicken finds a nearly drowned soldier--so says the storyteller in "The Warmth of Midwinter" by Marian Allen.

In "An Outlandish Christmas" by Chantal Noordeloos. Bounty hunter Coyote searches for a rogue elf.

A traumatized punk girl confronts the spirits from the worst night of her life in "Blue Christmas" by R.J. Sullivan.

In a dystopian future, Christmas is outlawed, as told in "This Thing Called Christmas" by Herika R. Raymer.

...And Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author Nicole Cushing reveals the holiday specials that she feels deserve "Lumps of Coal."

100% of all proceeds from this book benefit Indy Reads.

Gifts of the Magi: a Speculative Holiday Collection will be sold at Indy Reads Books, with ebook and paperback available online at Amazon. 

For more information, go to http://speculativefictionguild.wordpress.com/home/

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Indy Reads is a not-for-profit organization that relies on volunteers to provide basic literacy tutoring to illiterate and semi-literate adults. . "Our mission is to promote and improve the literacy of adults and families in Central Indiana. We believe that everyone should have an opportunity to learn to read, and our goal is to make Indianapolis 100% literate. Our programs include one-on-one tutoring, small group sessions, English as a Second Language instruction, and 'Literacy Labs' at neighborhood centers." Indy Reads operates a bookstore in downtown Indianapolis. Learn more at www.Indy Reads.org.