Barbara's Meanderings: Tim Hooker

Thoughts on a Rainy Sunday!

blogging Sunday, March 29, 2009

This is just a very short post to let everyone know the winner of the book drawing from last week's interview with Tim Hooker is:

madcapmaggie!!!

She will receive an autographed copy of Rocket Man: A Rhapsody of Short Stories from Tim Hooker. If the winner will please contact me I will give Tim your name and address and he will send it to you directly. I will post the name of the winner on my Facebook page too. In case the winner didn't get to read this blog post yet.:)

Congratulations and I hope that the next interview will have more commenters. Thank you to the people who did leave questions and comments.

Today was a day of dissenting. Looking back on the day it was probably because of the impending thunder storm. It rained all day lightly and there was a fog hanging over the whole landscape as we drove to Stew Leonard's for food. It only lasts about a month and then we have to go back and do it all over again.:) My daughters and I kept disagreeing over almost everything both going up there and coming home. Then when we had gotten home and dragged all the bags from the car and put the stuff away, I was upstairs when I heard this loud crash like the sky was literally cracking. Then the sky lit up and rain poured down faster and faster until it seemed that the roof wouldn't be able to hold all the pounding water that suddenly exploded from the clouds. It was literally an assault of rain!:) I hugged myself happy that I wasn't underneath it but safe in my dry house! It's little times like these that make you happy you are in the comfort of your own home.

Then all the anger and dissidence went away and we ate dinner in peace and calm. It was a good end to a very chaotic and stress-filled week.

I'm subbing Chapter 22 and maybe Chapter 23 of When My Life Changed to my critique group this week. Also this is going to be the week I'm resubbing my YA novel, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. It will be going to an agent. Please keep your fingers crossed.:)

Until next time, have a great Monday!!! I'm trying to make my posts shorter.:) I will also talk about the movie we saw this weekend and a few other non-writing things next post. Again - Congratulations to madcapmaggie.:)

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Postcard Friendship Friday!

betty boop Friday, March 27, 2009

For Postcard Friendship Friday

Thank you to Tim Hooker for a very interesting and complete interview about his writing. Thank you also to the people who left comments and/or questions for Tim. I will leave this open for more people to ask questions or comments if you missed doing that. Otherwise it's only four people who are in the drawing and the winner will be announced in the next post. I am disappointed that there weren't more people who left comments or questions.

One of my daughters told me that I had too many ideas and too much to read in my blogs. I have nothing to say except these are my mind's meanderings. If you read the description of my blog it says these are the thoughts of a writer. Unfortunately or fortunately for my ideas, these are the things I think about during the day. I want to share them with you, since some of them are rarely discussed and some are only my thoughts. I would like your opinion on whether I should shorten my blog or not. I'd be interested to know if it's too much to read and I should put it into shorter blocks. It seems that today everything needs to be in short spurts like Twitter responses. You can see I can't do that. It's one of the reasons I have to spend so much time on revising my work. In any piece of writing I can always go back and cut some of my words. I can probably do it here too, but most of the time I don't. It's more a stream of consciousness thing and more like I'm talking to you. I feel blogging is like having a conversation with a lot of people at the same time. Even though most of the time you don't get too many responses right away.:)

I used to carry around a journal and write down my thoughts whenever they occurred. But it's too heavy to carry it around in my bag, so I leave it home and come back and write about everything in my blog now. :)

So this has nothing to do with anything that I've written before, but today for some reason I started thinking about a middle grade fantasy novel that I wrote as my first serious novel. It came from a story I used to tell my brother when he was younger and that I recycled and told to my daughters before they went to sleep. By the time it had come to my daughters it was elaborate and I couldn't start the story where it was. So for a project for a Writing Workshop for my masters degree I used it and started from the beginning. It didn't matter that when I started the story I didn't start it at the beginning and that I never knew how it began. I went back and introduced the characters and wrote a fantasy story that is very unique.:) No, seriously, I have never read anything like it. Neither had my professor, though she never really commented about the story, but rather about whether I had fulfilled the assignment, which I had. Then I left it alone and picked it up again a few years later when I had plenty of time and thought I had it ready to be published after a few critique groups had commented on it. Now that I think back on it this wasn't ready at all. It received three rejections and I put it away and have never looked at it since then.

Then Virginia S. Grenier and Donna McDine from Stories for Children

Magazine announced a contest to write a dream story for children, Wacky Dream Contest and I thought, why not make this a dream! Of course, this is a dream. It's a fantasy and it's about a scary thing that some kids think about. This contest is for both adult and children writers who are interested in writing a story to be included. More about the story in my next post. I have to go back and reread it first.:) Don't forget to check the link for all the contest details. There are too many to list here.:)

The picture on the top is for Postcard Friendship Friday and it's one of my favorite things. I love Betty Boop and can't seem to get enough of her. I love the small dolls and the large ones. I even have a clock of her.:) So Marie of Cpaphil Vintage Postcards, here is my offering for Friday. Sorry it's a tiny bit late.:)

That's it for today. If you want to comment on yesterday's interview you may leave your comment until the end of the weekend. I'll give all of you who didn't get here that much time!!! Until the next time thank you to all of my readers and I hope you will post a comment when you visit.:)

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If It's Thursday It Must Be a Guest Author Interview!

critique groups Thursday, March 26, 2009

Welcome to my second guest author interview with Tim Hooker. Today this is also part of the Red River Writers Blog Tour and I hope that any of you who are not part of this great group will join. Thank you to April Robins for arranging all of this.

Tim's bio is extensive. He has been an Instructor for several colleges, a Director of Public Relations and Marketing, a Manager of a college Reading and Writing Center, a Radio Announcer, a newspaper columnist, and a Program Coordinator for Student Services. Tim has both a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and a Master of Arts in English. He currently has three published books: Rocket Man, Duncan Hambeth, Furniture King of the South, Looking for a Ci

ty and many articles of his are published in several magazines. He edits a blog with several contributors called Sushi Tuesday. Please check out his full bio, which is too large to put here.

Here is the interview and please leave your question or comments. Tim has promised to answer all and will

stay through tomorrow to answer if you were late coming.:) I'm always late, so I understand.:)

Interview with Tim Hooker

I noticed as I was reading your bio that you took your Masters twice. Why did you decide to get your MFA?

I did two masters, including the M.F.A., for several reasons. The M.A. in Writing was one of the best experiences in my life. It gave me a good grounding in all aspects of writing-- Composition, Rhetoric, Professional Writing, and Creative Writing. But, in one sense, it was still a generalist program. And, the M.F.A. was the fine-tuning I wanted in Creative Writing. Professionally speaking, I wanted the academic clout that came from holding a terminal degree. But, more specifically, I saw the M.F.A. as being to a writer what Parris Island is to a Marine. I went into the program thinking I was a writer; I left knowing I was a ***-****** writer.

Going through the M.F.A. program soaked me in the Creative Writing discipline until I became the discipline. I couldn’t take the writer out of me now, if I wanted to. And, whether I’m ever at the top of the best-seller list, the experience has gone beyond taking classes. The process has significantly contributed to me becoming me.

Your latest book, Duncan Hambeth, Furniture King of the South, is a play. What made you decide to write it in play form?

Duncan Hambeth started off as a thought experiment. It dawned on me that there were an awful lot of parallels between Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and “MacBeth.” And, the more I studied the two plays, the more convinced I became that they were structurally the same play. Both had questions about who should be in charge. Both had strong female characters. Both had elements of the supernatural. Both had political maneuverings. And, both were resolved with violence. The big difference was that “MacBeth” was told from the perspective of the one who stole the throne; “Hamlet” was told from the perspective of the one who had the throne stolen from him.

With this in mind, I typed both plays into my computer. And, then, I started merging them along a time line. Then, I started fusing characters together. King Duncan and Hamlet’s Father fused together. Gertrude and Lady MacBeth fused together. Hamlet, Malcolm, and Donalbain fused together. And, Claudius and MacBeth fused together.
Then, I got scared. It was working . . . too well.

So, I deflated Shakespeare. I took his beautiful words and melted them down into modern Southern vernacular. And, it still worked.

But, reading plays is a dying art. So, now, I’m writing the novelization of the play, entitled “Memphis Knights.” It gives me the opportunity to fill in the backstory. And, hopefully, it will be out this Fall.

What inspired you to begin writing?

Mick Jagger asked, “What can a poor boy do, ‘cept sing for a Rock’N’Roll band?”

When I was seven years old, one of my chores on the farm was to go out to the big trough and water the cows. And, in the mud around the big aluminum trough, I’d watch the ants crawl along and it reminded me of desert terrain in a TV show I was watching-- “Rat Patrol.” So, out of boredom, I’d tell myself little stories. And, I just knew that my stories would be what I’d be remembered for.

I felt the impulse to be creative early on and, in my neighborhood, there were not a lot of opportunities for upward mobility. There were musicians who played in church, but I couldn’t afford an instrument. I wanted to paint, but that required supplies I couldn’t get. But, as a writer, with a broken pencil and a scrap of paper, I knew I could be in business.

So, I took Mick Jagger seriously.

Would you share with us the story of how you got your first novel published?

There’s really not that much to tell. I wrote Rocket Man in the Summer of 1990. I wanted to be able to tell myself that I’d written something of value before I turned thirty. But, it sat in my strongbox for approximately fifteen years for two reasons. One, the further I went through graduate school, the more I heard about how impossible it was to get anything published. And, two, I found out years later that I have Avoidant Personality Disorder. In layman’s terms, that means a person received so much negativity in their childhood that their psyche simply saturates with it and can’t absorb any more. People with APD have an extremely difficult time dealing with rejection and negative feedback. So, I was caught between the proverbial Scylla and Charybdis, compelled to write and equally compelled to not go through the rejection process so common to pre-digital publishing. Self-publishing through Xlibris helped me negotiate those treacherous waters.

What do you think of the importance of networking in relation to book sales? Which social networks do you think work the best for marketing and why?

A writer has to be careful when networking. There are plenty of people who are willing to take free copies of your book, as long as you’re giving them away. But, that takes money out of your writing business; it doesn’t bring money into it.

So, you have to develop a business plan. How can money come into your writing business?
1) Book sales
2) Speaking engagements
3) Teaching opportunities

What else is critical to business? Advertising.

So, Sushi Tuesday is my loss-leader. At www.SushiTuesday.com, I am daily giving away literary product, so folks will sample my goods. Through direct visits to my site and through catching the feed via SinfoniaCircle, Twitter, and Facebook, I am building a loyal following around a brand-- the writers of Sushi Tuesday.

When I wrote the Sunday Op/Ed column for the Cleveland Daily Banner, there were more than a few people who would come up to me and tell me I was the reason they bought the paper. They wanted to hear what that Hooker boy had to say this week.

Think about it.

Professors don’t buy books. We have desk copies given to us. It’s ordinary folks who buy books. And, just like every other aspect of their lives, they’re looking for value. They want something that is thought-provoking and entertaining. They want to stretch their minds and they want people who will speak for them.

So, I give away samples. I build a customer base. And, every quarter, I get a royalty check from Xlibris.

Would you please share with our readers the steps of your writing process?

I write at two different speeds-- big project and small project.

With big projects, I’m very much a nuts-and-bolts kind of guy. I want outlines. I want character profiles. I want to know what’s going to happen before it happens.

With the small projects, the Sushi Tuesday essays, I keep my eyes and mind open for that story that comes across the screen that has a kink in it. With my FeedDemon RSS reader, I scan a ton of news stories every day, looking for that quirky story that I can bounce off of.

But, having done that ground-level work, I move to the next step. The story is told that, when Bette Midler is rehearsing her band, they bring in the sheet music and pass it out to the players. Then, twenty minutes later, they take up the music and the players make it their own. Within that twenty minutes, they’ve either gotten it or they haven’t.

The best writing advice I ever received was when a colleague of mine told me to “write about what breaks your heart.” You can block out movement all day long. You can tweak dialogue ad nauseum. But, then, you’ve got to get to that level of the text where you’re writing straight from your heart. When I have to stop typing so I can wipe my eyes so I can see the screen, I know I’m where I’m supposed to be.

And, the audience does, too.

How important do you think critique groups are for writers and do you have one?

The only thing I learned in creative writing workshops was how much I hated creative writing workshops. I avoid them. They are evil.

A friend of mine is trying to get one going and I’ve agreed to come in and do book reports about writing books. But, I want nothing to do with a hack-and-slash group.

Having said that, when I write a big project, I do assemble what I call The Greek Chorus. I want three people to read along as I’m writing, not unlike the judges on “American Idol.” Randy loves everyone that comes across the stage. Simon hates everyone who comes across the stage. And, Paula’s actually been on a stage. Likewise, I want one reader who loves everything I’ve ever written. I want one reader who hates everything I’ve ever written. And, I want one reader to be a fellow writer, someone who’s been in the trenches, too. I figure the truth will be somewhere in the middle.

All of your books are meant for adults. Have you ever thought of writing for a younger audience?

I have been working on a project for some time that could find a following among younger writers. It’s called “The Warrior’s Guide to the Battle of the Sexes.”

Years ago, I ran across a translation of Sun-tzu’s Art of War and the back cover blurb talked about how it was the definitive work on conflict management and that, whether it was two companies vying for the same market or two armies on the same field or two people in a relationship, the rules of resolving conflict were the same.

Two people in a relationship.

It dawned on me that any two people could be a couple, as long as everything was going good. But, it was during the conflicts that couples broke up.

I realized, also, that guys were clueless when it comes to relationships. Women have entire sections of bookstores devoted to them understanding relationships. But, men didn’t get diddly.

So, the premise of “The Warrior’s Guide to the Battle of the Sexes” is a fictional advice column written for guys about relationships. And, the columnist takes something men don’t understand (relationships) and relabels it with something men understand instinctively (war).

I can sit down with any guy and listen to his awful love-life and then retell him what he just told me, using military jargon, and see the light-bulb go off over his head. He, then, knows what he needs to do.

So, hopefully, it will gain a following among teenage guys.

How important do you think it is for a writer to have an agent? Do you have one?

I don’t have one. Someday, I may need one. But, I know, ultimately, an agent’s allegiance is going to be with a publisher first and me second. So, I’ll have one of my attorney buddies riding herd over my end of the contract.

Your blog, Sushi Tuesday, has several contributors. Would you please describe how you met and why you decided to blog together?

Sushi Tuesday came into existence because I got to a place in life where all I was seeing were students and patients, and I needed more. So, I called a fraternity brother of mine that taught in another department and suggested lunch. He agreed, and we went to a sushi bar on a Tuesday. And, we’ve been meeting ever since. Our group has grown. We include an English professor, a music professor, a violin instructor, a sociologist, two psychologists, a lawyer, and a physician. We’re like Cleveland, Tennessee’s version of the Algonquin Roundtable.

Out of the luncheon came the idea for the website. I’d dabbled with blogs before that and had been unsatisfied. And, then, it dawned on me that I could replicate on www.SushiTuesday.com the op/ed column I’d done before for the Cleveland Daily Banner, at www.clevelandbanner.com. As such, the site was born.

Initially, I did all the writing and I garnered some good hit numbers. So, I invited one of my former students, Ashley Ledford, to write a weekly column. Then, I found Dr. Niama Williams on BlogTalkRadio, at www.blogtalkradio.com and invited her to write for the site. I found Dave Tabler and his Appalachian History blog at www.appalachianhistory.com , when I wrote a piece called “What’s a hillbilly?” Soon, he was writing for us. Then, I attended a meeting of the Cleveland Writer’s Guild, where I met our Poet-in-Residence, Celia Shaneyfelt. And, then, I found another fraternity brother, Michael Evans, on Facebook and found he’d already written a novel. He was the next piece of the puzzle.

Meanwhile, I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes and soon found I couldn’t crank out a piece daily. So, I devised a system where each of us take a day and have a separate section for features. Dave’s podcast runs on Monday. Ashley’s column runs on Tuesday. Michael’s column runs on Wednesday. Celia’s poetry runs on Thursday. And, I bring up the rear with my column on Friday. Concurrently, we feature short stories from students that run the entire month.
It’s a strength-in-numbers thing and, so far, it has worked. We now have a core audience that visits the site, as well as derivative audiences through SinfoniaCircle, Twitter, and Facebook. Sushi Tuesday is a literary honkytonk, that place where writers can try out new material, figure out what works and what doesn’t, and cultivate an audience along the way.

We’re not quite Frank, Sammy, Dean-o, Peter, and Joey. But, we’re getting there.

What do you think of e-books and e-book readers like Kindle? Are any of your books in e-book form?

I believe e-books and e-book readers are the organic extension of a revolution equivalent to the invention of moveable type.

When Muddy Waters invented electricity[in music], a seismic shift occurred in music. For most of music’s history, professional musicians labored under the whims of the patrons who fed them. But, when kids named Paul and John and Mick and Keith and Roger and Peter and Eric and Stevie Ray were able to take their Stratocasters into sleazy little dives and play until their fingers bled, they were able to develop their craft on their own terms. And, the world has been a better place because of it.

Likewise, for most of literature’s history, you’ve only had a free press, if you owned the press. And, now, thanks to the Internet, POD publishing, and e-books, now everyone owns the press. I remember having classmates tell me that instructors had told them that, if they wanted to get published, they had to sleep with them. I’ve seen way too many effete academics excuse their inadequacies by proclaiming, “I write; therefore, let them learn to read.”

Those days are gone.

Now, a writer can control his/her own destiny. A writer can tell his/her story, regardless of whether it’s politically correct or whether he/she was born in the right neighborhood.
And, that’s a very liberating thing.

Presently, I don’t have any of my titles in e-book format. But, eventually, I will. E-books democratize the message. Everybody gets to speak.

Will there be some garbage printed along the way? Sure. But, there will also be some mighty fine writing rise to the surface that would have otherwise been squelched. And, that’s what scares the old literary establishment. Oh, heavens, everybody’s work will be on an even playing field; my work will be judged on its merits, and not on how pretentious my pedigree is. Oh, no!

Your books were published by Xlibris. Would you tell our readers what you think of this publisher and why you decided to go with them?

I chose Xlibris for a few reasons. There are any number of local printers who can stamp out a few dozens books and hand them to you. But, do they provide all the extras (LOC cataloging, copyright, etc.) that legitimize what you’re doing? And, once you have your box of books in hand, then what? For me, flexibility of distribution was a key factor. As an extension of Random House, I figured Xlibris would not be a fly-by-night operation. And, with the print-on-demand set-up, combined with the global reach of the Internet, I knew Xlibris would allow me to market my books worldwide, without inventory issues. And, so far, Xlibris has exceeded my expectations. I would recommend them to anyone.

I want to thank Tim Hooker for spending time with us today. Again, if you have any questions please ask them and please if you stopped by to read this leave a comment for Tim. It's like applause.:) Also, anyone who leaves a comment has a chance to win the contest for his book: Rocket Man: A Rhapsody of Short Stories. If you go to his blog you can read an excerpt of it.

Thank you to my new readers. It's wonderful to be reading all of your blogs too! Of course, to the readers who have been here awhile, thank you too. I love writing, so it's great that you like to read it too.:) I will be announcing the next interview tomorrow.

Until then, looking forward to seeing all your questions and comments and you could be the winner!!!

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We visit Shirley's Luxury Haven

red river writers Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The Sentosa resort

Today I promised that I was going to highlight a new blog. It is very difficult, because there are so many fabulous blogs. As I mentioned I am a member of the women's blogger directory.

The blog I am highlighting today is Welcome to Shirley'sLuxury Haven. Shirley lives in Singapore and she updates us constantly on new and exciting things to do in that area. I wish I lived there, because she makes everything look so good!!! Today's post is about a new resort there, Sentosa. The photo shows a picture of this resort! Don't you want to get on a plane and go

there?

She tells us also about concerts and gives great recipes for asian food. I love the animated slide show she has of all the dishes she features. All you need to do is click on the food and you get a larger picture of the dish on her other webpage. There you can subscribe and make your own slides to show on the website using the slide show she has there. Very cool!!!

But the main reason I like this blog is that she talks about fashion as well and in one of her posts she concentrated on how to tell a fake handbag from a real one. This is a serious problem when there are so many counterfeit bags out there. I was impressed by the detail she went into to show us the real thing!

I also love the background color of her blog - pink, and I look forward to reading each post. She describes herself as someone who is: Passionate about food, crazy over shopping, eccentric about travel, is in a frenzy over Hello Kitty! and Cooking's my passion. You can see her profile picture on top says it all.:)

So Shirley, from Welcome to Shirley's Luxury Haven, I am highlighting your blog and look forward to reading more interesting and unusual posts.:)

Tomorrow's guest author is Tim Hooker who is the author of three books and

who is also the editor of his blog Sushi Tuesday. During the last couple of days I have gotten to know a little bit about Tim and I think you will enjoy this interview very much!

Tim is giving away a copy of his book, Rocket Man as a thank you to one lucky person who either comments or asks a question. The winner will be announced as soon as all comments are in to the post. We will be taking comments on this post through Friday night. So please stop by and leave a comment. You could be the winner!!!! In the meantime go and see Tim's blog, Sushi Tuesday and read his bio.

Until next time, I'm really looking forward to our second guest author blogger, Tim Hooker. Please join us and maybe you will win the book give away contest!! Thank you to all my readers. Your comments warm my heart!!:)

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A Tuesday Quikie

"Guardian" Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Interview with Tim Hooker on Thursday, March 26th

It's time to gear up again for a new guest author interview. As I promised I will be interviewing a new guest author every Thursday. Please remember the author is here all day and possibly the next day to answer any questions you may have.

Here is a little bit about Tim Hooker and you can

find out more about his life at his website. He is the editor of a multi-author blog and has three published books, the latest being Duncan Hambeth, Furniture King of the South. I am looking forward to interviewing Tim and hearing all about why he titled his book as he did.:)

Also coming, in two weeks I will be interviewing Katie Hines, whose book, Guardian, a middle grade urban fantasy, is coming out June, 2009. If you want to be interviewed next week let me know and I'll arrange it. Tim and Katie are part of the Red River Writers Blog Tour 2, which is happening through April.

Meanwhile, a quick review for The Heretic's Tomb by Simon Rose. I had hoped to be able to read one of Simon's books before the interview, but it arrived too late. Set in both fourteenth century England and present day London,The Heretic's Tomb combines history with adventure and suspense.

Imagine you were suddenly thrown into fourteenth century England during the outbreak of The Black Plague. This is what happens to Annie as she finds a part of an amulet in the ruins of an old abbey. The author gives a very thorough explanation of what life is like for people in that time period and shows the devastation that the plague has wrought for almost everyone. Lady Isabella has lost her family during the early plague outbreak, but she is spared and tends to the sick with her home remedies. She lives in the abbey after her tragedy and is revered by the folk she tends. Much happens to her as she attempts to cure the sick and she must also suffer the wrath of the lord of the manor who searches for a way to stop her. In the course of his story, Simon Rose describes the world of the fourteenth century in explicit detail. He really throws you into the muddy streets of a typical town. If I were teaching this time period to a middle grade class I would be sure to have this book on hand! Also, it is a very quick and exciting read for anyone. If you want to read this go to amazon.com.

As far as my own writing is going, I am waiting to sub my chapter for this month to my critique group. I was finally able to start writing the party scene and I did it when I was sitting in the car waiting for my daughter. I had nothing to do and my other daughter, the one who had driven on the way over was playing on her IPod Touch. If you need to wait for someone an IPod Touch with games loaded on it is the best way to do it. They have all kinds of games. The ones I like best are where you have customers and you have to wait on them and either do their hair or give them chocolates. You can spend almost an hour playing these games. Of course there is Scrabble and Word Twist, but those require too much thinking.:) Also, you move up in levels in the hair salon and chocolate games. So I didn't have anything to do and took out a piece of paper and a pencil and began Chapter 23. I only have a page, but that will be enough to write the whole chapter. For me all I need is a sentence and I can usually write the whole chapter.

Welcome to my new readers and thank you to the readers who continue to follow my crazy ravings.:) Please leave a comment if you stop by. I always check to see if there are any new comments and answer them as soon as possible. Just a quick ad for both of the networks on which I'm listed: Blog Catalog and Facebook Networked Blogs. Also look for my name on the women's blogger network. I'm meeting a lot of new friends all over the world and finding so many blogs to read that I can't keep up. I will be highlighting a new blog tomorrow. Could it be yours? Until the next time have a great day!!!