7.2.15 – 7 Minutes With… Carla Norton

By JT Ellison

Carla and I met on a warm April day at the Southern Kentucky Bookfest, where we served together on the thriller panel. But I already knew of her from her stellar fiction debut, THE EDGE OF NORMAL, which was one of best books I read in 2014. The writing was excellent, but it was her main character, Reeve LeClaire, who was so striking. I couldn’t wait to read more about her, and this year, Carla is releasing the sequel, WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER, which walks a fascinating line between straight-out thriller and really creepy stalker story. Carla’s got a very cool background, too, so let’s get to it. I will say this, if you’re new to Carla’s work, I can’t wait to hear what you think. Welcome, Carla!

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Set your music to shuffle and hit play. What’s the first song that comes up?

Ah, it’s a nice piece by acoustic guitarist Eric Hansen, called “String Theory.”

Now that we’ve set the mood, what are you working on today?

This morning I’m working on my novel-in-progress, which I can’t talk about until it’s close to finished. (I’m a bit superstitious about that.) Later today, I need to work on handouts for a writing workshop I’m teaching.

What’s your latest book about?

WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER is a crime novel about a 23-year-old survivor of kidnapping and captivity named Reeve who is just getting her life back on track when her abductor escapes from a mental lock-up facility. His escape is Reeve’s worst nightmare, and as he evades capture—baffling authorities and leaving a bloody trail through the forests of Washington State—she realizes that she knows him better than anyone, and must risk everything to try to stop him.

It’s the second in my series—the sequel to THE EDGE OF NORMAL—but I’m getting great responses from first-time readers, so I’m hugely relieved that it works as a stand-alone.

Where do you write, and what tools do you use?

For me, the first hours of the day are for carrying the dream state onto the page, so I mostly write in bed in the morning, then migrate to my office in the afternoon. But I’ll carry my laptop all over the house, and I keep notepads everywhere—even by the shower—so that I can always jot down ideas.

What was your favorite book as a child?

I read Nancy Drew, but she was already driving, which made her hard to relate to, so I preferred the Trixie Belden series, because a 13-year-old tomboy who solved crimes while riding a bike was more to my taste. The next book that springs to mind is HENDERSON THE RAIN KING, which I read it in high school. Before that, I saw literature as a dusty stack of books by dead guys from which teachers pulled reading assignments, but Saul Bellow’s writing was so vibrant, he rocked my world.

What’s your secret talent?

Ha! That’s a good one. I can’t sing, tap dance, or juggle. Does speaking Japanese count?

What book are you reading now?

I’m reading a lot of nonfiction, which is research for my next book, so I can’t talk about it. But I recently read ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, which was absolutely terrific. No wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize.

Who is your writing idol? Have you met him/her? If so, did you completely nerd out or keep your cool?

I’d love to be cool, but unfortunately, I either freeze or nerd out. For instance, my stomach was doing flips when I first spotted Stephen King at the Edgar Awards. He looked extremely handsome and quite imposing in his tux, and it took several glasses of wine before I rallied the courage to speak to him. Then I grinned and babbled while pumping his hand. To his credit, he was thoroughly gracious.

What’s your favorite bit of writing advice?

My all-time favorite quote about writing is from Walter Mosley: “Plot is the structure of revelation.” I love that. But there’s a more down-to-earth quote from my grandfather that also resonates with me. He used to say, “I don’t give a damn about it unless it breathes,” and that applies to writing as well as to life. Forget the pontification. Don’t try to dazzle everyone with long, lyrical passages and esoteric vocabulary. Readers want to be moved, so it’s our job to slip inside the skins of our characters and breathe life into them.

What do you do if the words aren’t flowing?

When I’m stuck, I’ll go for a walk on the beach, where I can draw in the sand and talk to myself like a crazy lady without frightening anyone. Then I might approach a scene from another character’s point of view, or I might set that scene aside and move on to the next one. Recently, I was struggling to find drama in a section that needed to be cut out of the action and relegated to backstory.

Are you creatively satisfied?

Oh, for brief, glorious moments I’m lifted by a kind of literary glee. But then I’ll write something leaden, which brings me back down to earth.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I’ve never even considered that question. Let’s see… World peace?

Alright, now for the really important questions:

  • Beach or mountains? Beach, please, though I love to ski when given the chance.
  • Coffee or tea? Coffee in the morning, and tea in the afternoon. Writing requires frequent doses of caffeine.
  • Skydive or bungee jump? Neither, thank you very much. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground.
  • Chocolate or vanilla? CHOCOLATE! It’s brain food, right? So there’s no guilt in having some dark chocolate, especially with almonds, or orange, or chili.
  • Winter or summer? Summer. I love the long days.
  • Cake or pie? Peach pie with ice cream. Yum.
  • Cats or dogs? That’s a tough one. Dogs are brave, empathetic creatures, and I’m a secretly in love with Cesar Milan, but dogs are also a lot of work. The truth is, I prefer cats because they’re wonderfully independent and I’m just plain lazy.
  • Pens or pencils? Pens.
  • Truth or dare? Truth.
  • Print or ebook? I read ebooks when I travel, but I prefer to have physical books—especially the ones I love most—close at hand, on the bookshelf, where I can fondle them at will.

_________

Carla Norton

Carla Norton is a novelist, journalist, and true crime writer. Her debut fiction, THE EDGE OF NORMAL, was a Thriller Award finalist in 2014. The sequel, WHAT DOESN’T KILL HER, is coming in June. Carla’s true crime books include PERFECT VICTIM, which was put on the reading list for the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit and became a #1 New York Times bestseller. She also writes monthly for AlgonquinRedux.com. To learn more, visit CarlaNorton.com, or find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

And you can catch Carla at some of her book tour stops below!
Tues. July 7: Book Culture, 450 Columbus Ave., NYC, 7:00 p.m.

July 8-11: Various events, ThrillerFest, NYC

Wed. Aug. 5: Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA, 7:00 p.m.

Via: JT Ellison

    

6.15.15 – Today’s the big day for BASED ON: Words, Notes, and Art from Nashville

By JT Ellison

I have the greatest pleasure of announcing that today we see the release of a most fabulous original project, and I am honored to be a part of it. My dear friend Chuck Beard told me he wanted to curate a special anthology, with songs based on short stories written by Nashville authors, and I told him I was in before he finished his sentence.

And now, BASED ON is alive!!!!!

All the details are below, but we have a special, one time event TONIGHT– the ultimate launch party, Come see the show, get your copy of the book and CD, and revel in the art this great city produces. Here’s the official announcement. Hope to see you tonight!

________

East Side Story is incredibly excited to be publishing an anthology titled Based On: Words, Notes, and Art from Nashville! This project is a rich collection of short stories, songs, and visual art prints “based on” one another and thoughtfully arranged in a single printed book that includes a CD of 12 songs. We will celebrate the publication of Based On with a one-night ticketed show at Belmont University’s BEAUTIFUL McAfee Concert Hall Monday, June 15, at 7:00 p.m. We would LOVE for you to join us!

Tickets to the event and pre-sale book purchases may be made at BasedonNashville.EventBrite.com.

Based On: Words, Notes, and Art from Nashville contributors include:

Authors: Chuck Beard, Paige Crutcher, Tony Earley, J.T. Ellison, Cary Graham, River Jordan, Ariel Lawhon, Betsy Phillips, RashadthaPoet (Rashad Rayford), Victoria Schwab, Shawn Whitsell, and Tommy Womack. (Introduction by Craig Havighurst /afterword by Robert Hicks)

Musicians: Kyle Andrews, Boom Forest, Carolina Story, Michael B. Hicks, Griffin W House, Phil Madeira, David Mead, The Coal Men, The Lower Caves, The Rough & Tumble, Tristen Gaspadarek, and Brooke Waggoner.

Visual Artists: Adam Baker, Cory Basil, Carl Carbonell, efharper (Emily Harper Beard), Michael Mcbride, Barry A. Noland, Rebecca Sloan, Julie Sola, and Ian White.

All proceeds from the book and event will benefit the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. Printed copies of Based On will be available at East Side Story and Howlin’ Books after the event on June 15.

We are extremely proud of this project and hope that you will share in our excitement on June 15. Any help sharing this information would be greatly appreciate. See you soon!

Via: JT Ellison

    

e Marketing tools: Thunderclap!

By noreply@blogger.com (Alexandra Sokoloff)

I’m teaching a five-day workshop at the West Texas AMU Writers Academy this week. It’s a writing intensive in which I have 15 students plotting their entire books in one week. Exhausting, but highly rewarding, and miraculously, yet again we are right on course to get this all done. In five days!

Academy students are very motivated and I always end up doing adjunct sessions on ebook publishing and marketing. So here’s one free marketing resource I’m showing my students – an interesting wrinkle on book marketing called Thunderclap!

Thunderclap! is a crowdspeaking platform that amplifies messages by allowing large groups of people to share a single message together at the same time. Sort of an online flashmob.

I’ve just used Thunderclap! to create a book launch page for the print and audio release of Cold Moon on July 7. People who want to support me and the Huntress series can sign up for an automatic Tweet or Facebook share about the book release on the day, and the Thunderclap site automatically posts the tweets/shares all at the same time. Just once, no follow up, no spam, no need to you to remember, no need for me to bug anyone – and everyone who signs up to support is automatically entered in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card!

This is what gets posted:

Cold Moon, #3 of Alexandra Sokoloff’s Huntress/FBI Thrillers, is out today! Now evil has something to fear. #ColdMoon http://thndr.it/1GgkoVo

You can check out the support page to see how it works, here – and also, of course, I’m hoping you’ll sign up to have a Tweet and/or Facebook post go out on my launch day!

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/27229-cold-moon-book-launch

I like how the dashboard page (which you can continue to edit up until the day of the Thunderclap) keeps count of the social media reach you’re accruing as people continue to sign up. It’s a much more efficient way of getting your friends and followers lined up to support your book launch. And apparently a Thunderclap can get your book trending on Twitter on release day.

Of course, I’ll report back on results.

Has anyone else tried this?

Thanks for signing up!
— Alex





Via: Alexandra Sokoloff

    

Anatomy of a PhD – application process

By PD Martin

I decided to apply for a PhD back in September 2014, and since I received the fantastic news that I got in (!) I’ve been meaning to blog about the process, especially the key milestones. So, this is a retrospective blog on the application process and I’ll write other blogs to catch up with the process over the coming months.

The application process itself is fairly time-consuming, but the effort is well worth it. The first thing to do is look a universities that fit the bill. Things to consider include the university’s creative writing reputation, the course structure, the supervisors and the location (although not as important with a research PhD in this day and age).

While researching some of my top picks (the universities I knew had strong creative writing departments), I discovered that the creative writing PhD in Australia is either via a Doctorate of Philosophy or a Doctorate of Creative Arts. However, regardless of which PhD you enrol in, the structures can be very different across universities. A research PhD in creative writing consists of:

  1. A creative writing piece (e.g. a collection of short stories or poems, or a novel/novella).
  2. An exegesis (a researched, academic paper that ideally addresses a gap in the current research).

Now, the balance (and word counts) assigned to these elements vary. Some universities require a 50,000 word novel (novella) and a 50,000 word exegesis. I didn’t feel this break up was conducive to producing a viable, publishable novel — plus, to be honest, it wouldn’t play to my strengths. I’ve got a lot more experience as an author/novelist than writing academic papers and theses. So for me, my first point of difference was to look at the structure and investigate universities where the creative-to-exegesis ratio was more like 70:30.

The next (and arguably most important element) to research was each university’s supervisors. Basically, you need to match your writing and potential research field with the academic staff at each university. Some universities have a central application system (you send in your proposal and the co-ordinator discusses it with the staff to see if anyone’s interested) but at most of the universities I investigated the onus was on the applicant to research the academic staff and approach them directly to gauge interest. This probably takes as much time (maybe more) as actually writing the proposal!

Finally, I considered the university’s location, but it wasn’t a deciding factor for me. Again, because for much of the time you’re working autonomously the university doesn’t have to be nearby or even in the same state, Once you’re up and running, you do ‘meet’ with your supervisor fortnightly, but these meetings can be done with a combination of emails, phone calls and in-person meetings.

I was lucky enough to get a couple of offers in the end, but I chose Adelaide University. The things I love the most about Adelaide University are its creative writing reputation and my supervisor Brian Castro (who recently won the Patrick White Literary Award and has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin four times). As I shift my writing focus, I believe Brian will be an invaluable guide along the way.

So here’s to the next three years!

Via: P.D. Martin