Interview with fantasy author Jeremy Shory about his book The Journal of Forgotten Secrets...

		Fantasy author Jeremy Shory is with us in the forum today. He’s the author of The Journal of Forgotten Secrets, and his obvious passion for work and life shines through with every word he speaks. I'm looking forward to learning more.
Tim Greaton: It’s great to have you here Jeremy. I’m anxious to talk about your book, but first I was hoping you could tell us a little about your childhood.   Jeremy Shory: I actually had a very gifted upbringing growing up in Orlando. Not gifted in the sense of having gobs of money, but gifted by having the luxury of major theme parks in my backyard. I have always felt that people travel thousands of miles to see Disney World and Universal Studios and Sea World/ Busch Gardens, so why not take advantage of my close proximity. Truth be told, I really love the theme parks. It’s a way to escape from day to day issues and just live in the magical moment. Because of being able to visit these magical places on a regular basis, I feel like I’ve always had a passion for replicating that feeling for those that can’t make it by transporting their mind via a story.   Tim Greaton: A lot of authors I talk with, Jeremy, have unusual pastimes, but you’re more of a guys’ guy. Can you tell our audience about that and how you use your interest to help others?   Jeremy Shory: I’m a big football junkie. I love just about everything involving the sport, from college on up to the pros. I’m a big Florida State Seminoles fan (grew up with them being the premier team in the 90’s and have painstakingly stuck with them ever since). For a while I was serving as chief ACC correspondent for a college football website called FantasyCollegeBlitz, which has since shut down. Now I tend to fill my football desires by co-operating a local flag football league that pairs inner city kids with adults to help guide and mentor through the sport. We play some ball and have some heart-to-heart discussions in the process. It’s as rewarding as it is fun.   Tim Greaton: Even though you’ve spent a lot of time at the Florida theme parks, I understand there is another magical place that has impacted your career.   Jeremy Shory: Ah yes, this is a good one. I’d say the place that will always stand out to me as being vital to my life as a writer is the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. I know, it sounds like a strange place to consider influential, but if it wasn’t for Atlantis I don’t think I would have come up with The Orion Chronicles concept. My wife and I were vacationing at the amazing resort and it literally was paradise. If you haven’t been, you must find a way to go at least once in your life. You won’t regret it. But anyways, so my wife and I were having a great time and I said to her, “You know, I just need to write the next pop-culture phenomenon that way we can just stay here any time we want.” As silly as the comment was, later that night, which was our last night on the vacation mind you, I was lying in bed and I couldn’t get to sleep. Now I don’t know if it was because of anxiousness about leaving the next morning or what, but I like to say it was because my mind was racing with all these fantastic ideas for a new story. I started jotting them down into my phone (see I wasn’t lying about that) and before I knew it, I had enough to get The Journal of Forgotten Secrets started. So Atlantis played a crucial role for me in my writing career and for that, I have to say it was possibly the best vacation I’ve ever taken.   Tim Greaton: Who are the authors who have influenced your work? And I suppose the next natural question would be do you model your work after any particular author?   Jeremy Shory: Consider me your next Stephen King mixed with J.K. Rowling , Dan Brown, Kurt Vonnegut, and Rick Riordan. Okay, not really. I think that would be pretty impossible to be all of those combined. But to answer it honestly, I’d say I don’t think anyone can write a Young Adult Magic Fantasy about a teenager without saying J.K. Rowling had some influence on them in some way. But the person I feel I most compare to from a stylization standpoint would be the great Dan Brown. He has a way of keeping his chapters short, but eventful. In addition, he has a unique way of injecting internal thought monologues for his characters and that’s something I really liked, so I infused it into my stories as well.   Tim Greaton: I love to ask writers about their creative systems. I, for instance, prefer my office to be quiet or to have classical or movie soundtrack music in the background. What kind of writing environment and process have you developed?   Jeremy Shory: My cell phone has about eight different pages full of different notes about The Orion Chronicles – plot notes for the overall series, plots for specific books, character names, monsters – you name it, I have it written down. I feel this works the best for me because I always have my phone on me no matter where I am, and ideas come to me constantly. So my cell phone gets quite a workout as I add and remove notes to it. Then I always make sure to have it next to me as I sit down to write the next chapter so I can look for any standalone pieces of information I might be able to work into the story somehow. I listened to my iPod when I was writing The Journal of Forgotten Secrets, but now I almost prefer silence as I write. I feel too distracted with any blasting music nowadays.   Tim Greaton: I’ve never been a fan of dense writing, which often comes in the form of huge chunks of encyclopedic information being dumped on the reader or even as endless descriptive details delivered every time a character enters a new scene. You definitely don’t have that problem, Jeremy, and in fact readers have told you just the opposite. Could you talk a little about that?   Jeremy Shory: I have been told that I have a unique way of injecting specific details into the story without bogging it down. I personally struggle reading a piece that seems like all I’m getting are the details—how long, how much, what color, what cut someone’s hair is for example. I feel there is always a way to infuse the details into the action. This gets back to the age old rule of “Show, don’t Tell.” If I said someone had voluminous curly, auburn hair that covered her head, you’d get the picture. But what if I said she tucked her auburn hair behind her ear, moving the curly strands out of her face. There’s a difference…there’s action. It’s the same information, but not like you’re reading a laundry list of features. I’ve worked hard at that concept and I appreciate those who notice.   Tim Greaton: Okay, first I have to say I LOVE the cover for The Journal of Forgotten Secrets. Could you tell us about it…the book, I mean?J   Jeremy Shory: The Orion Chronicles: The Journal of Forgotten Secrets is the first installment in my Orion Chronicles series. It’s about a teenager who finds himself inadvertently lured into a sadistic plan, a game of life and death if you will, that was specifically designed for him by a mastermind that was thought to have vanished almost one hundred years ago. The more Orion dives into this evil scheme, the more he uncovers about his family and how everyone he’s ever known has been keeping dark secrets from him. Ultimately he decides he’s had enough and he determines he’s going to take matters into his own hands and start controlling his own fate. At least he thinks he is anyways.   Tim Greaton: Sounds like a great premise, Jeremy. In a lot of ways, I see parallels in how we work. For instance, one of my sisters reads everything I write and has served as a “first reader” for many of my novels. You, too, have some family help. Could you tell us how that works?   Jeremy Shory: Oh gosh, I don’t think there’s any way I could have ever completed The Journal of Forgotten Secrets without the help of my sister, Kristy. I consider her my resident Orion Chronicles expert because she’s read so many drafts of it she could probably recite it in her sleep. This is a great question because it really gives me the opportunity to thank those who really helped in my writing process. As I mentioned my sister read every version, every small edit or plot change, and did it with a smile (I know how mundane it had to have been for her reading the same thing over and over). She was a big factor in shaping the story into what it is today.   Tim Greaton: Are there others involved in your production process?   Jeremy Shory: My brother, Jason, and best friend Shereena, were my early editors of sorts. They read the very first version of the story, looking for plot holes and giving feedback on the overall flow. My editor, Carissa Rossi, was a big influence and really helped guide me with some excellent advice on how to tell a clear and precise story. I’ve become really close with a well-known author named Shaunna Rodriguez, and I’ve recently leaned on her in regards to my writings as well. She’s been super supportive; it’s been wonderful to have an author companion like that, especially someone who knows the industry like she does. And of course my wife…she was there listening to every note I was jotting down or plot point I wanted to throw in the story. I really can’t thank these people enough because they were so influential throughout the entire process.   Tim Greaton: When you say Orion Chronicles, I hear series. What can we expect next?   Jeremy Shory: The Orion Chronicles is scheduled to be five parts. The Journal of Forgotten Secrets is out right now and I’m working on book two, which is titled Curse of the Phantom Brotherhood. The second story really builds on the first by picking up right where it leaves off. It answers some questions raised in book one, but more importantly we start to see some of the seeds planted begin to sprout into more complex, overarching storylines that will be carried throughout the series. Orion and his three friends, Grayson, Cremmel, and Zora will remain the focus in each story, but I promise, there’s room for many more characters and each of them will have their moments in the spotlight as the series continues.   Tim Greaton: After writing The Journal of Forgotten Secrets, did you wish you could have changed something? Do you think you will address that issue in future sequels?   Jeremy Shory: I like to think that I’m a pretty descriptive writer, giving details via action, but I know The Journal of Forgotten Secrets carried a steep learning curve with it in terms of writing style. I feel like I’ve been able to take the lessons in efficiency I learned while writing it and apply them to each piece of writing I’ve done since then, including Curse of the Phantom Brotherhood.  There’s something to be said for the way an author can paint a clear picture using as few words as possible…it’s an art really. As we touched on earlier, I’m not a fan of overly verbose or wordy pieces as I feel it tends to detract from the main concept. So if I had to say there was something I wish I could change about The Journal of Forgotten Secrets, it’s that I wish I would’ve honed that efficiency skill beforehand. It would have saved a lot of time.   Tim Greaton: I can see your eyes glimmer as we talk about having a Hollywood-style, effectively unlimited budget to promote your book. Can you tell us how you’d spend those heaps of advertising dollars?   Jeremy Shory: What a tricky question. An unlimited budget means an infinite amount of ways to get myself into trouble. I think a billboard plastered up in the heart of Times Square in New York City would be the perfect launching point for a major marketing campaign. With the millions of people swarming through there, I’d think it would maybe catch a few eyes. Then I’d follow that up with replacing the Hollywood sign with my series title, The Orion Chronicles…that would get everyone’s attention right? Next, I’d drop a canvas of my book cover that would stretch the whole length of the legendary London clock, Big Ben. If replacing the Hollywood sign didn’t bring some awareness, I think that would. And finally, for the cherry on top, I’d have afternoon and late night commercials run on all the major networks in hopes that I’d be able to get the college kids talking about it. Yeah, I think that pretty much hits all the major demographics. Now I kind of wish I did have an unlimited ad budgetJ.    Tim Greaton: It would be great if you could share your website/blogsite and links to where our audience could directly communicate with you and purchase your stories.   Jeremy Shory: Absolutely, I’d love to share.   The Orion Chronicles: The Journal of Forgotten Secrets is up on Amazon now for the Kindle and can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Orion-Chronicles-Forgotten-ebook/dp/B00BKAZKLS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364751260&sr=8-1&keywords=the+orion+chronicles.   I plan to have it up for the Nook, iBooks, and in hardback and paperback versions within the next few weeks.   My main website, which is doubles as my blog, is www.TheOrionChronicles.com. There are all kinds of neat things on that site including character bios and photos, Rules for some of the games I’ve invented for The Orion Chronicle series (including a really fun card game called Rookie Mistake), and Magical Race descriptions as told by one of the main characters. I have a cool blog series going on right now that are blogs about the characters written by the characters, really giving them a voice outside the novels. You could say I finally have a constructive outlet for all the voices in my head.    Fans can contact me through my site, or email directly at Jeremy@TheOrionChronicles.com. Also, I’m very active on Twitter where I love to follow just about everyone, and people can find me under my twitter handle @OrionChronicles. Finally, I have a Facebook Fan Page where I tend to drop little tidbits and snippets of my current work, and the link for that is https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Orion-Chronicles/254014971329207?fref=ts.      Tim Greaton: Thanks for taking the time with me today, Jeremy. It’s been a lot of fun, and I suspect many of our audience members are now searching for copies of your book.   Jeremy Shory: Tim, I appreciate the opportunity to spread the word about my work. I’m very humbled and grateful. You have a fantastic site and do an amazing job promoting authors, so I cannot begin to thank you for the work you do to help us out. And thank you to your readers for checking me out. Word-of-mouth marketing is the #1 most effective tool out there, so anything you or your readers do for me is such an honor. Thank you a million times over.

 

Interview with talented Marla Blowers, author of the Young and Naive series....

 

		Today, in the forum, I’m pleased to have my friend Marla Blowers.  She’s here to talk about her writing journey, the Young and Naïve series, and a little about her upcoming project.
Tim Greaton: It’s great to finally have you here in the forum, Marla. As writers, we’re used to putting characters in difficult circumstances, but you lived through a period that not even our characters have endured. Could you tell us about it? Marla Blowers: I was raised in the Midwest, Nebraska to be exact. I wasn’t an only child but I came along so late that I am actually closer in age to my nieces and nephews. I will share one very memorable time in my childhood, and one that I am sure most children have not experienced. Thank God! At a very young age I ran onto a highway and was hit by a truck. I spent a month in traction and then wore a body cast. I basically had to learn to walk all over again. I can remember the ride to the hospital and throwing up in the emergency room. I celebrated a birthday in the hospital, one young boy messed with the levers on my bed and my legs dropped down. My sister also snuck a puppy into the hospital as a gift, of course it didn’t get to stay there but I had it to look forward to when I got home.   Tim Greaton: Since you can’t write one hundred percent of the time, what hobbies keep you busy in your off hours?  Marla Blowers: I love to sew! Not mending but actually designing a garment or item. I have sewn since I was in Junior High. I still even have some of those patterns I used way back when and they were only .65 now you can pay $18.00 or more for a pattern. You name it I have probably sewn it. I also have an embroidery machine and if I could I would embroider on anything. Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately for some relatives and friends, not everything will fit into the hoop. I have read you can embroider on toilet paper but that just seems like a waste. (She grins) Tim Greaton: I often get emails asking me when the next book in one or another series is coming out. Apparently, I need to take some lessons from you. It seems like you went from one book to three in now time. Do you have other works stashed away in a closet waiting for release? Marla Blowers: Funny you should ask. I just pulled 3 manuscripts out of cobwebs just a little over two years ago. I was saddened every time I came across them and a few times almost tossed them out. But finally I decided I needed to do this for me. So in March of 2011, I began working on them, and in August of 2011 my first book was published. Eight months later the 3rd one was on the market. So to answer your question currently nothing but clothes are in my closet.  Tim Greaton: I love how imaginative writers can be, but you’ve taken it to a whole new level. Could you share how your creativity occasionally spills over into the non-writing world?  Marla Blowers: For a few years, whenever my husband or I were supposed to pick up someone at the airport (including each other) we always dressed up in silly costumes. For example, he picked me up at the airport and he was dressed up like a devil with a pitchfork holding a sign that read ‘Whenever you go, everything goes to hell’. And once I dressed up almost like a hooker to pick him up. It really wasn’t that bad but for me it felt pretty daring. The funniest one however was a time before 9-11 when you could go all the way to the gate to meet the arrivals. My husband and I were there to pick up my sister and her husband and we cross dressed. I was dressed like a real nerd in yellow pants and glasses with tape holding them together. My husband wore a bright orange mumu, bright red lipstick, swinging a purse on one elbow. He also had a 5 o’clock shadow. The best part was watching people’s reaction to us. They truly didn’t know if we were for real or not. They kind of looked at us out of the corner of their eyes. My sister however was appalled and tried to pretend she didn’t know us. She didn’t even want to walk out to the car with us.   Tim Greaton: (Takes a minute to stop laughing.) I’m glad I wasn’t in the middle of a drink, Marla. Is there a book or a story that impacted your life? Marla Blowers: I am not trying to butter you up but, seriously, your novel The Santa Shop really made me look at a few things differently. I especially love the sentence: “You’ve got to finish your Pop-Tarts.” Tim Greaton: You’re very kind, Marla; one of the perks of interviewing friends. For our readers, more than one hundred thousand people have now read that first book in my Samaritans Conspiracy. In a later scene in the book, Skip Ralstat is about to leap to his death from a very high, windy Vermont bridge. His mind is churning up all sorts of excuses about why he should change his mind and get the hell off that frigid railing. One of his less convincing internal arguments is, “You’ve got to finish your Pop Tarts.” Marla Blowers: I just love that, Tim! I have kept The Santa Shop on my Kindle and have read that paragraph to many people. Given that so many of us are just a paycheck away from losing everything, I look at homeless people with different eyes these days. Tim Greaton: I recently read an article about how the Smith-Corona typewriter company misread the technology tea leaves, which is why they are not Apple or Dell today. You’re smirking, so you know what I’m getting at. Marla Blowers: Yes, I do. You know me too well. At first, I started writing in a notebook while I sat in a car waiting for kids to be done with whatever activity they were in. I moved up to something similar to an electric typewriter that had memory. I guess it was some sort of word processor. That seems like a lifetime ago. I would write a little story for each of my kids and then with all of us around the table we would push a button and it typed what I had written onto paper. We just thought this was amazing! I now write on a laptop, but I do stop the car every once in a while to jot down on a receipt or anything handy something that just popped into my head.   Tim Greaton: A lot of writers ask friends and family to serve as beta readers, but that hasn’t really worked out for you. Why is that?  Marla Blowers: My first three books had been stored away for so many years that many of my family and friends had read at least the first one. I never really asked for criticism. It was more like, “Look what I wrote.” It’s okay, though. I usually trust what I write as far as the storyline goes, but I am a terrible editor. If I could have talked a family member or friend into reading it with edits in mind, that would have been wonderful. But I had to hire professional editors for all three books, and even then little issues still cropped up. I think a book could be edited ten times and something would still get missed. I have to admit I am always just a little bit tickled when I read someone else’s book and see an error. It helps me feel they are as human as the rest of us. Tim Greaton: Do you think of yourself as a genre writer? Marla Blowers: I would definitely say I am an author of women’s books. I do have a couple loyal men who have read all my books and will read anything I write but my target is really for women. I want my books to be as believable as possible and have added many of my own life experiences and some of my relatives. Of course most people will never know which events took place in my life, although I’m sure a few will recognize them. Tim Greaton: Could you tell us a little about your latest book?  Marla Blowers: Young And Naïve, Wasted Years is about a young girl who lives in the Midwest before moving across country when a relationship goes bad. Even after putting miles between her and her past, she finds herself in another dead end relationship. She finally meets Mr. Right and believes herself to be the luckiest woman alive…until her two little girls are kidnapped! Tim Greaton: What led you to tell this particular story?  Marla Blowers: I’ve always had an interest in children searching for their biological parents. As I mentioned earlier, I was much younger than my siblings and truly thought I was adopted. In all my writings someone is in search of a family member. It’s also true in my next, fourth book, which is not part of my Young And Naïve series. Tim Greaton: I read and enjoyed the first book in your Young and Naïve series, Learning To Fall. There are three books out now. Do you intend to continue the series?  Marla Blowers: I have decided to stop there. Your readers might also like to know that any of the three books can be read without any knowledge of the others. My next book is a bit different, mainly in genre. It will be about a man who believes he was reincarnated so it will possibly be a paranormal. I love romance so you can be sure it will also be a romance novel as well. Even though as the series progressed I grew a little braver, I always seem to tame down love scenes before they actually get sent off to the editor. I am probably as curious as anyone else to see what gets sent to the editor next time.  Tim Greaton: If your next birthday party were based on your Young and Naïve series theme, what would it be like? Marla Blowers: It would be a slumber party, and we would lay on our sleeping bags talking about old times. My friends would obviously have pictures of me with orange and black hair, and they would tell lies about me. Cause that’s what friends do! My kids, who are now grown with children of their own, would not be allowed to come, for fear they would learn which parts of my stories were true. Actually, as adults, they probably have their own stories to tell.  Tim Greaton: It would be great if you could share your website/blogsite and links to where our audience could directly communicate with you and purchase your novels. Marla Blowers: https://www.facebook.com/YoungAndNaiveBooks https://www.facebook.com/YoungAndNaiveDaddy https://www.facebook.com/YoungAndNaiveWastedYears Hy-Vee Grocery Store 840 E 23rd St. Fremont, NE Tim Greaton: Thanks for taking the time with me today, Marla. It’s been fun hanging out, and I suspect you have a sizable army looking up your books right now. Marla Blowers: Tim, as you know, I’m a fan as well as a friend. I always look forward to reading your forum and am honored to be here with you today. I also want to thank your readers, who I happen to know now number in the thousands. Everyone, please feel free to contact me on Facebook or right here. I always love answering questions and making new friends.

 

Dark fiction author Lin Boelz joins us in the forum today....

 

		Today, in the Forum, Lin Boelz is here to talk about her novels and stories. I have a feeling we’re in for an interesting interview. Lin. Lin, would you like to have a seat now?
Tim Greaton: Seriously, it’s great to have you here, Lin. I have often compared the process of creating a story to preparing a stew. This analogy works particularly well for someone with your interests, doesn’t it?   Lin Boelz: I do love cooking. In my spice cabinet alone I have over 140 different spices. Recently I have gotten into making my own canned goods and cheese. Rather than your stew comparison, I would probably say cake. I love baking. I have gone so far as to order ingredients from Africa, England and India to bake a recipe that caught my eye.   Tim Greaton: Your mother had a difficult childhood that turned into a fascinating method of raising children. Could you tell us about that?   Lin Boelz: My mom lost her mother when she was five and was adopted by an aunt who had no children of her own. Her aunt turned out to be like Cinderella’s evil stepmother. Consequently, my mother’s childhood was filled with all work and no play. As a result, when she had kids of her own, she made up for lost time. When Dad would leave for work, the four of us, including Mom, would play hide and seek and tag in the house. Yes in the house, running and jumping on furniture.   Tim Greaton: So when you weren’t all running and playing together, did your family have any difficult times?   Lin Boelz: I remember one Christmas when my dad had lost his job. We barely had enough money for rent and a few groceries.  That year, we all drew pictures and wrapped them in homemade paper. Though hard at the time, it is the Christmas that we now remember fondly and talk about the most. We learned that it is not what you own on the outside but what you own on the inside that matters: the gift of family love stays with a person for a lifetime.   Tim Greaton: We’ve already talked about your international recipe fetish. Do you have any other pastimes that you’d like to share?   Lin Boelz: Gardening is another of my hobbies; it ties in well with my cooking. I have started an herb garden and use the herbs to make medicine instead of taking manmade drugs. I also have a soapwort plant; I make soap out of the roots. I like to be close with nature.   Tim Greaton: People often say your writing makes it easy to visualize themselves in your scenes, which is a tremendous compliment. But there’s another comment you often hear. What is that?   Lin Boelz (grins mischievously): Some readers say I have a dark side.   Tim Greaton: I know you have a some works currently with retailers. What are those?   Lin Boelz: In all, I have nine short stories, a variety puzzle book, and two novels currently available. Syeribus Creatures of the Night is a two-book series. Vampire Dolls is a standalone novel.   Tim Greaton: So what else can readers expect in the near future?   Lin Boelz: I have two novels and short stories coming out by the end of April. I’m having an especially great time producing one project I pulled out of moth balls recently. It’s called my Prepper & Survival E-zine, where I share what I have learned about preparing for short- and long-term disasters.   Tim Greaton: Writers are always fun to hang out with because they seem to have the best stories about their pasts. Something happened to you when you were seventeen. Do you remember what I’m talking about?   Lin Boelz: One night, I came home late from a date. My upstairs room had an outside staircase, which was too dark to use at night. Well, when I moved a trunk to open the French doors, to let my dog in, a rattlesnake was lying beside him. It had crawled upstairs looking for a place to keep warm. My dad saved the day by trapping it in a box and letting it go in the desert the next day.   Tim Greaton: I often ask novelists about their writing “system.” You use a term I’ve never heard before.   Lin Boelz: I am a flow writer. I just sit down and start writing, letting the story take me in whatever direction it wants to go. Sometimes I will just start typing a few words and, before I know it, I have a chapter. Recently, my husband has taken an interest in my writing and will come up with suggestions about the direction stories should take. I credit Syeribus’ ending to him. I also have taken on an editor, someone who isn’t as close to my stories. I definitely like having an editor for those times when I know what I want to write but forget to fill in the blanks for my readers.   Tim Greaton: Do you have beta readers in your family or circle of friends?   Lin Boelz: I already mentioned my husband. I have also started to use beta reading groups throughout the development of my books. One reader’s suggestion brought a couple of important changes to a work-in-progress chapter called The Wizard of Asil.   Tim Greaton: Could you tell us about your upcoming release?   Lin Boelz: It’s a combination of two projects that are coming out on the same day. One is a short story based on a man recently released from prison. He is determined to prove the warden wrong by not returning to the hell hole he emerged from after ten long years. First thing he needed was a job, but who was going to be willing to hire an ex-con? After having a job and a mysterious black cat fall in his lap, he figured maybe, just maybe he was going to get the break he deserved. Daniels soon finds out nothing is free and everything has a catch.   The other project is my aforementioned Prepper & Survival E-zine. I figure if I can help even one person become better prepared to navigate the stress and trials of disaster, then I will have done my job. Let’s face it, the world may never turn into an apocalyptic disaster movie, but earthquakes, floods and tornadoes are a fact of life. Are you ready to live off the grid or feed your family if it takes days or even weeks for help to arrive? And what if someone or something does cause the world to go crazy for a few weeks, months or years? What then?   Tim Greaton: Will there be sequels to either of those two new works?   (She gives me that grin again).   Tim Greaton: I’ll take that as a maybe J   Which author do you model your work after, or do you not see any parallels with past works you’ve read?   Lin Boelz: Edgar Allen Poe, Sherlock Holmes, and The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits television series had the most influence on my writing.   Tim Greaton: So that’s where the dark Lin comes from J   What part of your books are the most difficult to write?   Lin Boelz: It’s never the same, but one recent ending was particularly difficult. My husband and I battled for quite some time before it got worked out.   Tim Greaton: If a director contacted you to put one of your works on a movie screen right now, what would our audience see?   Lin Boelz: Scenes from my upcoming short story—   Tim Greaton: You really aren’t going to tell us the title?   Lin Boelz (again the grin): My movie would unfold with glimpses of a mysterious woman who is never seen at the same time as the black cat who often follows my freed prisoner around. To Daniels it will start to feel like the cat is everywhere at every waking moment.   Tim Greaton: You have a unique solution if any of the monsters from your stories appeared in real life. What is would you do exactly?   Lin Boelz: I would pull all the beds out of the house and leave the lights on.   Tim Greaton: Could you share your website/blogsite and links to where our audience could directly communicate with you and purchase your stories?   Lin Boelz: http://www.weaverofshadows.com. My email and blog are on the website. My books (under the name L.M. Boelz) are available on Amazon kindle and Smashwords.com. Smashwords is especially great because of the variety of download formats they offer.   Tim Greaton: Thanks for taking the time today, Lin. It’s been fun.   Lin Boelz: No, thank you. I feel lucky to have found a forum where readers can get to know authors. Really, your site is priceless.  Thank you, and thank you to all the readers who took time out of their busy days to spend with us.