Interview with Marsha Roberts

EKKO Mysteries has long admired hard working authors, which is why we started the EKKO Mysteries Author Spotlight Series, focusing on emerging authors and their stories.

Check out this awesome interview with Marsha Roberts,

author of

Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer and her Parable of the Tomato Plant

Was there a moment or specific event that made you commit to writing?

As a matter of fact, there was. I was having dinner with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. During the course of the evening, I shared stories of some of the adventures I'd had - many of them were pretty grand since I had produced a play that had toured all over the world, entertaining American troops at home and overseas. Lots of stories there! My friend said, "You should write a book!" Well, I'd heard that for years and I guess it was just one time too many. I had written some of my stories down, but that's the moment I decided I was going to write a book. I just had no idea how much I was going to love the process! 

It’s great to hear how much you loved the hard work. What is the title of your book?

Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer and her Parable of the Tomato Plant

Wow. That’s a great title. Where did the idea come from?

As my dad got older he had increased medical problems as is often the case. When there were occasions for gift giving, I wanted to give him something that would have special meaning. So I started writing stories for him, stories of my childhood and the various things he had done that had a lasting impact on me. Some were rather funny, some poignant, but they were all written to let him know how much I appreciated his efforts to be a great dad.

Several years later, I found myself about as lost as I had ever been. We had been hard hit by the economy, like so many other people, and I was feeling pretty beat-up by life. I came across hand-written pages of an experience I had with a tomato plant (of all things!) tucked away in a drawer. When I read it, I cried, smiled at the silliness of life and felt more hopeful. Embedded in it was an old lesson learned that I had forgotten, but at least I had written it down! It was a "parable" of sorts and I realized I had a story to tell that others could relate to. By the way, the second chapter in my book came directly from one of my gift stories to my dad.

What a terrific source of inspiration. What genre does your book fall under?

It falls under two categories: memoir and inspirational. But it is definitely not your typical inspirational book or a standard memoir. Some people say that if there were an official genre for Boomer Lit, that's where it would be. Although I've had terrific response to my book from all ages, it's unquestionably told from the point of view of a Boomer - a mutinous one at that!

For the readers out there, how would you describe the pace of the story?

Interesting question. Each chapter of my book is a vignette, a piece of my life that has a specific point to it, often referred to as a "parable," although there's an overall story arc from beginning to end.

I approached the story-telling as if I was talking directly to a friend. It seems to have worked because numerous reviews have said things like:

"you feel as if you're sitting on the front porch with an old friend."

Even Kirkus Reviews commented on it: "Her voice is conversational, not stilted or academic, with a clear, uncluttered style that makes her memoir an easy, casual read."

I was very pleased with that, it made me feel like I'd done my job well.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

That's a tough one, since so much of the story is about me! The story stretches from my mutinous childhood (I got kicked out of kindergarten when I was 5 years old!) to the present time. Casting kids is tough because they change so fast, but if I could go back in movie history, the little girl who played Scout in To Kill A Mockingbird  would be perfect!

If we're talking about the present-day Marsha, I'd go with Jean Smart. She's noticeably tall like I am and she always plays a feisty gal very convincingly!

How would you describe your book in one sentence?

If you've ever wondered what happens when real life collides with real miracles, this book belongs on your nightstand.

Awesome. Self-published, published or represented by an agency?

Self-published. E-book through Kindle and Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and all the other online retailers.

Paperbacks are available to all online retailers through CreateSpace.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The very first draft was only about half as long as the final book, and that took me about five months. I realized that the vignettes didn't connect up as well as they should and the book needed a stronger story arc. The next draft took me another four months or so and doubled the length of the manuscript. Since this was really the first draft of the actual Mutinous Boomer book as it came to be, I'd have to say nine months total.

What other books would you compare this story to?

I know everyone thinks their book is different, just like their kid is the cutest! But, seriously, my book is structured unlike any I've ever seen.

That said, I did read a book by Max Lucado called Mocha With Max which had a subtitle of Friendly Thoughts & Simple Truths from the Writings of Max Lucado.  It did give you the feeling that a friend was having a cup of coffee with you and he shared some personal stories that made you feel as if you knew him.

That's the closest I've read that has any real comparison, but then again, I haven't read them all!

What was your inspiration for this book? 

When we were touring our play, Letters From The Front, to the troops for fifteen years, the most amazing experience was the fact that it touched other people's lives. Audience members, whether active duty, veterans or family members, would come up after the show and tell us how much it meant to them.

Yes, it was an incredible adventure, but the best part was that it moved people, touched their hearts. That was my motivation to write this book.

I felt my story would hit a chord in other's lives and (hopefully!) help. That's what inspired me to write my Mutinous Boomer book.

I’m sure the booklovers are already inrigued, but what else might pique the reader’s interest? 

Well, I think guys are really surprised at how much they like it! The cover and the theme seems to relate more to women, especially boomer women, but I've received extraordinary responses from men. They tell me they appreciate that I didn't pull any punches, that I was honest and straight up about what happened to me and the way I dealt with it.

One reader said she was attracted to my "choose to be happy philosophy." I never quite thought of it like that, but she was absolutely right. I do choose to be happy and I hope it's contagious!

What is your favorite response from a reader?

The reader review that blew my socks off started like this:

 "Can a professed atheist enjoy reading an inspirational memoir? If the book is Marsha Roberts' Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer and her Parable of the Tomato Plant, the answer is a resounding, yes."

She continued on and then concluded, "Marsha's vibrant personality and sense of humor are ever present, making Mutinous Boomer fun to read. Marsha looks back on her experiences with the wisdom of a present-day Boomer. Her quest for self-understanding is therapeutic for her and exemplary for the reader. This particular reader may not believe in God, but I believe in Marsha Roberts and her entertaining book."

As you can imagine, I was knocked over by this. I received many reader reviews from people who were not "believers" but who found hope and encouragement in my book. Perfect!

Kirkus Reviews called my book "An optimistic look at the magic of life." Who can argue with Kirkus? Not me!

What can we expect in the future from an author like Marsha Roberts?

I've definitely got another one or two Mutinous Boomer books in me! But I'm also working on a book about a project that sprung from our play which generated millions of letters of support to our troops stationed overseas. I'm compiling the best of those letters along with some remarkable stories about the men and women who serve our nation so bravely.

And beyond that? Who can say? I'm a writer now and I'll be very curious to see where it takes me! Cheers!

Thanks for the killer interview. Kudos to Marsha Roberts!

Discover more about

Confessions of an Instinctively Mutinous Baby Boomer and her Parable of the Tomato Plant

at the following places:

Amazon

Marsha on Facebook

Marsha’s Blog: http://mutinousboomer.wordpress.com/

Interview with Michael Kaye

EKKO Mysteries has long admired hard working authors, which is why we started the EKKO Mysteries Author Spotlight Series, focusing on emerging authors and their stories.

Check out this awesome interview with Michael Kaye,

author of

The Awakening

.

Was there a moment or specific event that made you commit to writing?

Over the years, several friends, family members, and colleagues have told me that I should write a book.  I never took them seriously or really thought about it.  In early May, my daughter and I were talking about how she was the only student in her eighth grade social studies class that knew the figure on the U.S. debt.  After about twenty minutes of talking about the economy, she said you should write a book. 

For some reason the next day, I sat down at my laptop and just started typing. Within three or four days, I had the first three chapters written.  When I showed my daughter what I had written, she told me that I should keep writing.  I was doubtful, so I decided to post what I had written to an online forum that I frequent daily. 

It was not until I saw twenty to thirty users; several being self-published authors whose books I had read and enjoyed, all saying finish it.  That was the point in time that I decided I could write a novel.  Their replies gave me the encouragement to buckle down and crank out the novel. 

What’s the title of your book? 

The book is entitled The Awakening – Book 1. 

It is the first in a series of post-apocalyptic war fiction that I plan on writing.

Where did the idea come from?

If you read The Awakening and knew me in real life, you would quickly realize the first three or four chapters are real conversations I have had with several C-level individuals at top financial firms.  Thus, John, the main character is actually me.

I guess I should give a synopsis about The Awakening.  The main character, John, is the owner of an IT consulting company.  After having several discussions with C-level individuals of leading financial firms, he learns about the potential of the U.S. having an economic collapse.  The plot continues with what steps John takes to prepare himself and his family, the challenges he faces, and then the collapse actually happens. 

In real life, this is almost a mirror story of my life. 

In 2005, I started an IT consulting company after meeting the chief operating officer of a top 100-asset management firm at a charity poker game.  Three weeks after the charity event, I filed the legal paperwork to form my company and they signed on the next day to become my first of multiple financial and banking clients. 

Two years ago, in several random conversations with multiple C-level financial clients and friends, I kept hearing the same thing by these different individuals.  They all are essentially saying the same thing—the dollar will eventually collapse, we cannot sustain our spending levels because of the mounting debt levels, OPEC has been considering pricing oil in a secondary currency, and China is moving strongly to battle the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency.  At the time, I was not completely aware of everything they were discussing, which led me to start learning about macroeconomics, currency wars, and currency swap deals. 

My conclusions after eight to nine months of constant reading on the subject now reflect the same concerns that my clients stated to me.  That there is a great concern that we all need to be aware of in regards to our economy and the actual potential for the U.S. dollar to be replaced as the world’s reserve currency. Naturally, these concerns led me into taking steps to become prepared in case this actually happens.

So am I a crazy doomsday prepper?  No, but am I prepared?  Yes.

What genre does your book fall under?

The Awakening is a post-apocalyptic war fiction novel.

How would you describe the pace of the story?

I will admit that the first few chapters start out slow.  I did this somewhat intentionally, however, because I wanted to provide as much viable real financial information about the US economy, currency swap deals, and a clear understanding how being the world’s reserve currency as enabled the U.S. to acquire the largest amount of debt in the world. When we have a full generation not understand simple financial understanding—as denoted by so many buying houses they could not afford unless they used interest only loans. 

I wanted to try to provide insight into the financial system to the readers, with hopes of opening a few eyes while the read.  In addition, I read three to four books a month on wide varieties of subjects, and something I vary rarely see is a decent amount of background information that gets the plot rolling, this is especially true in the post-apocalyptic genre.  It is typically “BANG” an EMP hit the U.S. and now the grid is down or “with the U.S. in financial ruins, our hero heads out to survive.” 

Once I finished presenting the financial information, the pace of the plot picks up must faster.  The reason for this is that in real life an economic collapse could happen very fast, practically overnight.  Although we have slowly been moving toward the cliff’s edge, once we hit the point of no return, it will be like an uncontrolled train barreling full steam down a curving track.  To sight examples, you can look at Argentina and Russia – it was like flipping off the light switch for them when their currencies collapsed.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

I have never thought about ever turning this book into a movie.  If, an author agent that specialized in movie deals approached me, and I was fortunate enough to land one, I do not think I would care too much who played what role as long as the storyline remained intact.  The characters in the book are just your everyday Mr. and Mrs. Joe America, so I would not want some action hero like Jason Statham or Mark Wahlberg playing the main characters.

How would you describe your book in one sentence?

Is it fiction or is it the future, you decide.

Self-published, published, or represented by an agency? 

I self-published The Awakening, however if I had the chance to be represented by a publishing company I would definitely consider it for the future books in the series.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

From start to finish, including taking two weeks off in July – it took just under three months to finish The Awakening.

What books would you compare The Awakening to?

There are several great books in the post-apocalyptic war fiction novels out there. 

Ones that I particularly enjoyed reading are: the 299 Days series by Glenn Tate, Grid Down series by Bruce Hemming, as well as One Second After, and Lights Out.  

What was your inspiration for this book? 

Once I had started writing, I think what inspired me to keep writing was just a goal to try to inform or “awaken” more people to the financial mess we are in as nation.  Although, in the book, I do delve into politics trashing a similar current administration, the mess we are in is based on several generations of leadership from both sides of the fence equally. 

  How many people can tell you this fact: In the past fifty years, the U.S. government has only had six years of balanced budget and of those six years all of them had a surplus.  Think about it, forty-four years of having a government run a deficit and now we are quickly approaching $17 trillion in debt, and that doesn’t count the $80 trillion of unfunded liabilities the government owes itself a variety of funds and departments.

What might pique the reader’s interest? 

During the second half of the book, I start discuss different preparedness topics, including making a solar cooker, canning for food preservation, creating a smoke house, etc.  The solar cooker was actually a science project my daughter had to complete in her eight-grade class.

What is your favorite response from a reader?

I just received my thirty-seventh five star a few days ago.  The title was “One Scary Ass Book” and to quote part of the review: 

I was reading this book shortly after the government shut down in early October.  With all the mass shootings during the last few years, coupled with the anti-gun mentality running rampant across the nation, and then the government shutdown with the country about to default on it's debts, this book was just like reading the headlines and listening to the talking heads on TV news!  Deja-vu all over again!!!

Seriously, this is a great novel.  It has a plot that is highly probable and a cast of characters that are very well developed.  The author has a solid grasp of the financial inner workings of the world's economy.  This book is scarry.  Period!

What can we expect in the future from an author like Michael Kaye?

I am currently a third of the way through Book 2, which will be called The Initial Shock.  After that is complete I am sure there will be a Book 3.  I am also tossing around the idea of writing a non-fiction economic or political book as well, but again that is just an idea being toss around right now.

Awesome interview and Big Kudos to Michael Kaye!

Discover more about The Awakening at the following places:

You can find The Awakening at Amazon

Also, you can visit the website at http://www.michaelkayebooks.com

Follow me on

Twitter @michaelkayebook  

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

Interview with Dianne Harmon

EKKO Mysteries has long admired hard working authors, which is why we started the EKKO Mysteries Author Spotlight Series, focusing on emerging authors and their stories.

This week we interviewed

Dianne Harmon

author of Blue Coyote Motel.

What’s the title of your book? 

I have published three, but let's go with my newest one, Coyote in Provence.

Where did the idea come from?

My first book was Blue Coyote Motel. So many people wanted to know what happened to Maria after she left for Provence

Then I had to write the sequel.

What genre do your books fall under?

Blue Coyote Motel was more of a psychological thriller dealing with drugs that could stop people from aging and combat depression. Coyote in Provence is more of a cozy mystery, full of romance, art theft, food, and wine.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

I'd like to see Penelope Cruz as Maria. As for Jordan, hmmmm

How would you describe your book in one sentence?

Maria and Jordan share a love of food as they try to find out who stole the California Impressionist paintings 

and who are the little Afghan girls in the barn at the suspect's family home in Provence?  

Self-published, published, or represented by an agency? 

I am self-published.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

A couple of weeks.

What books would you compare  

Blue Coyote Motel  

to?

I can't really say because the books is predicated and still involved with an anti-aging serum. I'm not familiar with any that are comparable.

What was your inspiration for this book? 

Blue Coyote Motel was the genesis for Coyote in Provence, came about at a hotel in Palm Springs, California. It was 106 degrees out and the air conditioner was silent. I turned to my husband and said, "Wouldn't it be interesting if someone put a 'feel-good' drug in the air conditioner and all of people's problems went away?" He looked at me and said, "There's your book." And so it was.

What might pique the reader’s interest? 

If someone likes art, romance, Provence, food or wine, this is your book!

Kudos to Dianne Harmon!

Discover more about Blue Coyote Motel at the following places:

Coyote Motel http://amzn.to/SO8uIj 

Tea Party Teddy http://amzn.to/ZgKwIB

Coyote in Provence http://ow.ly/pUZW2 

Goodreads Author Page http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6568284.Dianne_Harman

Facebook Author Page http://www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorDianneHarman

Twitter Username http://www.twitter.com/@DianneDHarman

Website: www.dianneharman.com

"Perfect for readers who enjoy reading for fun."

EKKO Reviews @ http://www.ekkomysteries.com/reviews/

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