Fiction Scribe

Hello and happy Friday, everyone.

Today I have an excellent interview by a woman whose name truly die hard Dallas fans will recognize, Camille Marchetta. She is here today to talk about her novel The River, By Moonlight. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to the site.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Marchetta. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

Hello. Please call me Camille. And thank you for your invitation, Jaime. Tell a bit about myself? Yes. Well . . . I was born in Brooklyn, one of New York City’s five boroughs. I went to elementary and high school there and to college just about thirty minutes farther north. A very romantic adolescent, I dreamed of being an ex-patriot, and though I made it almost to the Canadian border when I was about twelve (car trouble ended that holiday), I never actually left the country until after I got my degree. My first trip abroad was to the Grenadines, on vacation.

A few months later, I went to London, fell in love with it, decided to stay, and worked there as a literary agent for several years. (One of the many perks of my life at the time was that I got to travel in England, as well as on the continent, for business and for fun.)

When I decided I was ready to start writing, I went on to Los Angeles, where I had friends working in television. It took a while, but I did finally get a job, first as a scriptwriter, then as a story editor on Dallas (at the very beginning, as it happened), and after that my career was off and running. I wrote pilots for new series, a TV movie, worked as a writer/producer on other series, including Dynasty, and took time off in between to write novels. I co-authored two with Ivana Trump and, so far, have three of my own

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

Writing was something I always wanted to do. My mother claimed that, long before I could read, I used to bang away at my father’s old Underwood typewriter, pretending I was writing a story. And I remember beginning my first novel when I was eight.

I never finished it, which – unfortunately – was the tale of my writing life for many years after. It was a matter of self-confidence, I think, of being too timid to try to elbow my way into a “club” that included Tolstoy, Wharton, Fitzgerald, so many writers I admired. But getting that job at the literary agency in London really was a stroke of good fortune. Working with my clients, I learned that all writers, at least from time to time, lose their confidence; and that it’s necessary to push past that, focus on the work, keep writing, and hope for the best. Now, that’s what I try to do.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your novel The River, By Moonlight. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

The novel is set in New York City and the Hudson River Valley, in 1917, just as the United States is about to enter the First World War. It deals with the death of Lily Canning, a talented young artist, and the effect of her loss on her family and friends. They are devastated by grief, tormented by questions of how and why, and if that isn’t enough, they’re all terrified that the coming war will cost them more lives, more loved ones.

How do we get beyond our pain and fear, how do we move on? These are among the questions raised in the novel. Each of the main characters has a different answer. Some of those answers are satisfying. Some are not. But I believe they’re honest answers and that, in the end, a case is made for the resiliency of the human spirit and the power of hope.

What inspired you to write The River, By Moonlight? Where did the idea begin?

(more…)

Dear readers, this week we have the author of a very powerful book joining us. Judy Gregerson’s Bad Girls Club is a story of strength and secrets, trials and family loyalty.

Please join me in welcoming Judy to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Gregerson. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

Well, I’m the mother of two college-age daughter. I have a great husband who’s very supportive of everything I do. My background is in advertising and publishing and I’ve worked for a couple of big daily newspapers. I live in the Pacific Northwest but grew up on the eastern end of Long Island which is very much like Cape Cod. I’m a hermit who loves people, so I can be happy if I’m out with people or if I’m home alone.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I was always interested in writing. But in my twenties I started working on my first book, Save Me! A Young Woman’s Journey Through Schizophrenia to Health. I had a writer friend who encouraged me and I was very, very fortunate in that the first editor I sent my book to bought it. After that book, I took a long break, left NYC, moved to Seattle, started a family and then came back to writing.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your novel Bad Girls Club. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Bad Girls Club is a story told by Destiny, a seventeen-year-old who desperately wants to save her mentally ill mother and make her well and also rescue her little sister from her mom’s outbursts. Her dad is clueless about how bad things are. He just won’t face it. And one summer, the whole family spirals out of control and Destiny has to make life and death decisions for herself and her sister.

What inspired you to write Bad Girls Club? Where did the idea begin?

(more…)

Hello everyone!

This week I have a bonus interview to put up. I’ve talked to novelist Mary Simonsen who wrote the novel Pemberley Remembered. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her here to the site.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Simonsen. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I grew up in Northern New Jersey very near to New York City. It was a great place to live as we were close to Broadway, the concert venues and the museums. While working in an engineering office, I met my husband, Paul. We’ve been married for 31 years and have two grown daughters and a granddaughter.

Before having children, most of my career was as a legal secretary, but after my girls were old enough to go to school, I reinvented myself and became a special education assistant. I retired two years ago to pursue my own interests which are travel and writing a novel.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I always enjoyed writing, but it wasn’t until I had to write papers for college that I realized that I had some talent in that area. I have written for neighbourhood newsletters and a genealogical society, and I always got positive feedback. Like Jane Austen, much of my writing was for the “amusement of my family� and for the joy of writing.

You’ve recently published your novel Pemberley Remembered. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

The story’s setting is postwar England. Maggie Joyce, a young American, is working in London when she learns that a country house in Derbyshire might possibly be the real home of the characters who inspired Jane Austen’s Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

Maggie, a fan of the novel, goes to Derbyshire and meets Jack and Beth Crowell who have ties to the estate and who share stories with her of the family who occupied Montclair, the novel’s Pemberley. She is befriended by the Crowells and learns about the effects that the First World War had on them and their families. She also meets Rob McAllister, a man who served as a navigator on a B-17 bomber during the Second World War. They fall in love, but there are difficulties because of his wartime experiences.

What inspired you to write Pemberley Remembered? Where did the idea begin?

(more…)

Hello everyone!

Today I have talked to the lovely Ms. Judi Moreo who is talking about her achievement journal (pictured on the right). If the name Judi Moreo sounds familiar to you, I interviewed her previously. You can read the interview here.

Hello and welcome back to Fiction Scribe, Ms. Moreo.

It’s nice to be back. Thank you for interviewing me again.

In August of 2007, I interviewed you about your book You Are More Than Enough: Every Woman’s Guide to Purpose, Passion, and Power. You are currently on tour once more for your Achievement Journal. Could you tell us a bit about that and how it relates to your book?

Yes. The Achievement Journal is the companion to my book, You Are More Than Enough. It was designed to assist anyone who is wanting to find out more about themselves or anyone who wants to achieve their dreams and goals. Or both. It is a fast, easy, convenient way to record your wants, hopes, and desires, to write down your ideas, and to create the life that you’ve dreamed of.

What exactly is an achievement journal? What can people expect to do and accomplish with this journal?

When you write in this journal on a regular basis, it keeps you future focused toward the achievement of your goals and dreams. It will provide you with a record of your strengths and successes as well as an acknowledgment of the characteristics, values, talents, people, and things for which you are grateful.

What inspired you to create an achievement journal?

(more…)

Hello and welcome everyone.

Today we have a special interview and a first for Fiction Scribe. Today we are talking to Carole Schutter, the woman who wrote the book September Dawn which is based off the movie September Dawn.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Schutter. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I’m a romantic who has had the good fortune to live in romantic places. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii with its enormous diversity of culture filled me with stories from around the world and nurtured my love of history and the people who came before us. From there, I moved to Aspen, Colorado which is completely unique and different from almost any place on earth. Again, I experienced a world of glamour, excitement, and tragedy.

Now, at a time when most people are heading for retirement, I have finally jump-started the writing career I always dreamed of. Thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, I became part of the 1.1% of all screenwriters that ever get a movie made. The book, by the same name, was based on the movie, “September Dawn.�

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I “wrote� my first story at five years old. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. But life got in the way.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your novel September Dawn. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Based on an act Look Magazine calls one of the greatest crimes in America, “September Dawn� is the story of the daughter of a Christian pastor and the son of a Mormon Bishop who fall in love in an atmosphere of fear and hatred. The Mountain Meadow Massacre oddly enough occurred on September 11, 1857.

September Dawn started out at a movie. Could you tell us a bit about how you go about writing the novel version of a movie?

(more…)

Hello everyone! Today I bring you a special bonus interview for this week.

Joining us today is Cheryl Snell, the author of the novel Shiva’s Arms. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to the site.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Snell. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

Thanks for having me, Jaime. I was trained as a classical pianist, and performed and taught music for many years. When I married into a Hindu Brahmin family, I began to write seriously to make sense of my new situation. Over the past six years, I have published three poetry collections, and earned several Pushcart Prize nominations. I am on staff at Alsop Review as book reviews editor.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I can’t remember a time when I did not scribble. I’d write poems for family birthdays and little pieces to amuse my father. My love of words can be traced to him, I think. At the table, he would recite Chaucer, Coleridge and Robert Burns, complete with brogue. He had a great library, and I had the full run of it.

You’ve recently published your novel Shiva’s Arms. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

It’s a literary novel that crosses cultures and genres. It has religious and political elements, and some readers have called it a love story. Here’s a brief synopsis—

When Alice marries Ramesh, she is plunged into a battle of wills with her mother-in-law, named Shiva for the Hindu god of Creation and Destruction. The older woman usurps Alice’s authority in her own home, and never lets her forget her lowly place in the Indian joint-family. On one annual visit, the power struggle between the women is interrupted when a family secret is revealed that costs Shiva both her health and her reputation. It is up to Alice to heal the rift between them, as the story evolves into an exploration of freedom and duty, rootlessness and belonging, cultural identity and the meaning of home.

What inspired you to write Shiva’s Arms? Where did the idea begin?

(more…)

Hello everyone and happy Friday.

This week for author interviews, we’re joined by Kathleen Willey, the author of the very powerful book Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton. This book talks about Ms. Willey’s time in the service of the former US President and what her live has been like since that traumatic time.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Willey. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I am presently a real estate agent in the state of Virginia. I was a soccer Mom, wife and volunteer. My children are grown and living outside of Virginia

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I was involved in the Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky scandals and after many years of being thrust into the national limelight, I decided to tell my story.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your nonfiction novel Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

(more…)

Hello Fiction Scribe readers and happy last Friday of 2007!

It is my immense pleasure to bring you the last author interview of 2007, an interview with the funny and straightforward fantasy author Jim Melvin. He’s the author of The Death Wizard Chronicles, which he is going to talk about today. Please join me in welcoming him to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Mr. Melvin. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

It would be my pleasure. I was born in Poughkeepsie , N.Y. , but spent more than forty years of my life in St. Petersburg , Fla. I now am 50 years old and live in Clemson , S.C. I graduated from the University of South Florida ( Tampa ) with a B.A. in Journalism in 1979. I was an award-winning journalist at the St. Petersburg Times for twenty-five years and retired in 2004 to become a full-time novelist. At the Times, I specialized in science, nature, health and fitness, and I wrote about everything from childhood drowning to erupting volcanoes.

I am a student of Eastern philosophy and mindfulness meditation, the latter of which helps to clear my mind for long bouts of writing. I am married and have five daughters. The Death Wizard Chronicles, a six-book epic fantasy series, marks my debut as a novelist.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

When I was a junior in high school, I boldly decided that I wanted to become a best-selling novelist, and I went around telling everyone I knew that I was going to make $75-million. Keep in mind this was the mid-1970s, so that’s probably around $300-million if you figure in 21st-century inflation. When I was 20 years old, I wrote a horror novel entitled Sarah’s Curse, believing then that my dream was under way. An agent who was a family friend shopped it around a little, and though it received some nice responses, it never found a publisher. But I wasn’t overly concerned because I believed my second novel would be the one to hit it big. In the meantime, I started my career as a journalist at the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. For me, the rat race officially began. Soon I was working 50-hour weeks and raising a family – and there never was a second book. Twenty-five years later, I was fortunate enough to be able to semi-retire. In September 2004, I wrote the first word of Book One of The Death Wizard Chronicles. Seven-hundred-thousand words later, I’m in the final revision process of Book Six.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your novel The Death Wizard Chronicles: The Pit. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

I describe my series as a cross between J.R.R. Tolkien and Stephen King – (more…)

Hello everyone! Last week I had the pleasure of reviewing Leslie Oren’s online dating guide. I am very pleased to say Ms. Oren was willing to do an interview with me!

Please join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Oren. Tell us a bit about yourself.

• I’m originally from New York, but have lived in Los Angeles for the last 18 years. I actually started out in the music business, then segued into PR – working for national agencies at first, and then for the Hollywood studios. I’m currently senior vice president, publicity, for Fox Television Studios, one of several studios at Fox that develops and produces television shows.

You’ve written the book Fine, I’ll Go Online! The Hollywood Publicist’s Guide to Successful Internet Dating. Did you ever think that you would someday be giving women all over the world dating advice?

• No, I can’t say that I saw that one coming!

What or who caused you to take that final leap and turn all the advice you’d been giving into a book?

• It actually happened quite organically. I started dating online about six years ago and had a lot of success doing it – meaning that I consistently met quality men with whom I had fun dates. Some were just basic first or second dates – nothing to write home about, but still perfectly pleasant – but some turned into more substantial relationships. As I talked about these experiences with friends, I started to realize that the nuts and bolts that seem necessary for successful online dating were things I did automatically by virtue of my job as an entertainment publicist. For example, I knew how to “pitch,� which means I knew how to write those first “grabby� emails and responses to potential dates.

(more…)

Happy Friday everyone!

Today I have a treat for you. The murder mystery author Roberta Isleib has been lovely enough to grant me an interview with her. Please join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Isleib. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

Hello and thanks for having me in! I’m a clinical psychologist and the author of seven mysteries, the latest just out this month: PREACHING TO THE CORPSE. The first five books starred a neurotic lady golfer. The new series features a psychologist living in Connecticut who writes an advice column–not that she’s an expert on her own life!

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

Writing is a mid-life crisis for me. After years and years of school and a career as a therapist, I began to write articles about the psychology of golf. Gradually my ambitions expanded and I started working on a mystery novel–the kind of book I’d always loved to read.

You’re currently on virtual tour for your mystery novel Preaching to the Corpse. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Of course! The holidays have arrived in postcard-perfect Guilford, CT, but someone’s taking the joy out of the season…

Psychologist/advice columnist Dr. Rebecca Butterman gets a call in the middle of night from the minister at her church. He’s in custody after going to a fellow parishioner’s home and finding her dead. The murdered matron was the leader of a search committee charged with finding a new assistant pastor after the previous assistant left in a rush. Rebecca learns that the committee was divided–has someone tried to eliminate the competition? Rebecca puts her analytical skills to work to do her own Search–for a killer. All while resisting the urge to break the seventh commandment with a very married detective, and praying she’s not the next victim.

What inspired you to write Preaching to the Corpse? Where did the idea begin?

Honestly I think I must have been sitting in some meeting at church. Either I was “bored to death” or annoyed to death. I started daydreaming, as writers do: What if someone in a meeting like this one was murdered? It seemed as though it would be especially frightening to have the crime committed by someone you think you know, in a place where most people expect nothing but good…

(more…)

Hello everyone! Today I have a bonus interview for you. Joy Collins, the author of the powerful novel Second Chance is my guest. Please join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Collins. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I am a nurse “by day�. I trained at Bellevue Hospital in NYC back when they still did that [now nurses are trained in colleges]. I’ve worked in just about every aspect of nursing in and out of hospitals but now I run my own legal nurse consulting business at home. It’s a great life. I get to stay home with my fur-babies and I can set my own schedule so it I can write to my heart’s content. I’ve been married to the love of my life for twenty-six years and we live in AZ now. Both of us come from back east but we love living in the desert.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I think, like most writers, I started writing as a little kid. I remember writing stories and even making my own little books as far back as grade school. I worked on the school paper and yearbook in high school. While still in high school, I wrote an episode for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, a television show popular at the time. Even though I was only seventeen, I managed to obtain an agent from Samuel French, Inc. and my script made it all the way to Hollywood. That rejection letter is still one of my most prized possessions. I had always planned on being a writer but then life got in the way. I put it aside for many years. When I reached mid-life, I think I realized that I really didn’t have all the time left I wanted and it was now or never. So, I started publishing articles and then got busy with my book.

You recently published your first novel Second Chance. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

(more…)

Hello and welcome, everyone, to this week’s author interview. Today I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing the very interesting Jean Hackensmith. Jean is one half of the duo who created the book The Ultimate Passage. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Hackensmith. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I’ve been writing since I was about twenty years old—thirty-one years, to be exact, and yes, I’m disclosing my age! I have been married to my second husband, Ron, for 14 years—he’s my biggest fan and my biggest supporter. I am the proud mother of three, the stepmother of two and the grandmother of ten. My children and grandchildren alike are the highlight of my life. Next to writing, my passion is live theatre. I founded our local community theatre back in 1992 and still direct 2-3 shows a year. In fact, I wrote a play called “Blue Moon,� which will be going up in February.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I was sitting at the counter in my kitchen at 20 years old talking to my mother on the phone. I was an avid reader, and I was also a doodler. The next thing I knew, this…line came out on the page. Yes, I still remember that line: “Jenny McCall awoke with a scream on her lips.� I thought to myself, Hey, that would be a great first line for a book! Well, it kind of went from there. I, of course, had to decide why Jenny McCall had a scream on her lips, but after that, the story just kind of flowed. It also sucked. Those first few stories were never published, and they didn’t deserve to be. They were a learning experience, though, I’ll tell you that!

You’re currently on virtual tour for your novel The Ultimate Passage. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Obviously, it’s a time travel romance. Well, maybe not so obviously, but it is. The main plot idea behind “The Ultimate Passage� is one I’ve had been playing with for years. In a nutshell, take a futuristic man—one from way into the future—who lives in a time period where citizens live in domed cities, war and disease are no more, and sex has been outlawed. Sex is messy and unsanitary, after all, and it can also lead to sexually transmitted disease. Now, put this guy back in 14th century Scotland, where they do still have sex, and make him fall in love with a very beautiful woman. Oh, and I forgot to mention, this guy is also President of the United States. Yes, you get the idea…

What inspired you to write The Ultimate Passage? Where did the idea begin?

(more…)

Hello everyone. Today I am welcoming Professor Holly Fretwell to the site to talk about her controversial book The Sky’s Not Falling! Why It’s OK to Chill about Global Warming. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her and enjoy the interview as much as I have.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Fretwell. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I am an adjunct professor at Montana State University where I teach The Economic Way of Thinking, Microeconomics, Natural Resource Economics and Environmental Economics. I also attended Montana State University as a student where I earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and master’s degree in resource economics. I am a research fellow at PERC, the Property and Environment Research Center. My research focus of the last decade has been on forests, parks, and public lands policy. I have examined the state of our national forests and parks on which I have spoken as an expert witness for Congress. Only in recent years have I taken on the study of climate change and its policy implications.

My interest in global warming came from an economic policy investigation that was scaring me as I realized the implications and huge costs that would arise if we were to attempt to prevent global warming through government intervention and regulation on CO2 emissions. My expertise is not in climate science, rather in the economic and policy implications of a warmer earth.

Think about it, if we assume that the earth is warming, it is human caused, and we can do something about it, the potential actions, as we’ve seen in many proposals, are extremely costly. The real catch, however, is that the benefits from those costly actions are tiny. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the many ideas I address in The Sky’s NOT Falling.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I have been writing journal articles, Policy Series, and Public Lands Reports for PERC for over a decade. I have been published in professional journals and the popular press including the Wall Street Journal, Journal for Environmental Economics and Management, Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum, Journal of Forestry, and Consumer’s Research. I have published a number of book chapters as well, including The Untouchables: America’s National Forests, in Government vs. Environment. Eds Donal R. Leal and Roger E. Meiners. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, MD in 2002 and a forthcoming chapter in the Fraser Institute book, A Breath of Fresh Air.

I enjoyed writing as a student. I had a lot of opportunities to write in undergrad as a political science major and, of course, wrote a thesis to obtain my master’s. It was not, however, an area I thought I would pursue. Rather, it is the value of the communication through writing that has motivated me as an author. I research and I teach. In order to better help people understand the big picture of the world we live in I also began to write.

You are currently on virtual tour for your book The Sky’s Not Falling: Why it’s OK to Chill About Global Warming. Could you tell us a bit about the book?

Have you ever thought ‘I have heard so much about global warming I am not sure what is right?’ This is exactly what I thought when I started to study the issue. I was teaching a natural resources economics course and looking at the policy implications of global warming; they were scary.

(more…)

I thought it was well past time I put up another easy link list to all the author interviews I have done over the year just in case you have missed any or just started reading here. I plan to have a 2007 author interview PDF for readers who are interested ready to send out sometime in January.

I didn’t quite realize how many authors I had interviewed over the months, but here they are…

*Celia Hayes’ To Truckee’s Trail
*Dennis Griffin’s Cullotta
*Sheila Roberts’ On Strike for Christmas
*Maureen Fisher’s Jaguar Legacy
*Darrell Bain’s Savage Survival
*Shobahn Bantwal’s Dowry Bride
*L. Diane Wolfe’s Mike: Circle of Friends Book IV
*Mayra Calvani’s Dark Lullaby
*GA Whitting’s Pickle to Pie and her book launch interview
*Nick Oliva’s Only Moments
*Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein’s The Truth
*Hazel Statham’s Dominic
*Caridad Pineiro’s South Beach Chicas Catch Their Man
*Dwayne Anderson’s Partially Human
*Judi Moreo’s You are More than Enough
*Kim Baccellia’s Earrings of Ixtumea
*PG Forte’s Waiting for the Big One
*Australian historical fiction writer Wendy J. Dunn
*My mini-interview
*Sandi Kahn Shelton’s A Piece of Normal
*Literary fiction and fantasy author Gillian Polack
*Historical fiction author Brian Wainwright
*Medieval mystery author Felicity Pullman
*Children’s fantasy author Tansy Rayner Roberts - part one and part two
*Freelance Writing and Journalism with Elske
*Historical Mystery Maven Bobbie Chukran
*Crime thriller author Elsa Neal
*Historical fiction author T.D. Hawke
*Mr. Scribe on short stories
*Science fiction author Chris Miller
*Mistress of Poetry Jen Wills

If you are an author and would like to be interviewed (and/or have your book reviewed on The Book Stacks) contact me using the contact me button on the right.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Welcome to this week’s author interview. I had the pleasure of speaking to historical fiction novelist Celia Hayes. She’s here to talk about her life as an author and her book To Truckee’s Trail. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming her to Fiction Scribe.

Hello and thank you for stopping at Fiction Scribe, Ms. Hayes. Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

I live in Texas, after retiring from the Air Force, where I was a military broadcaster and public affairs technician. I grew up in California, but spent most of my time in the military living and travelling overseas. The movers had a bet going, the last time I moved – how many boxes of books they would pack. It topped out at 65.

What brought you into the world of writing? When did you start?

I started when I was about thirteen, actually – knowing that I wanted to be a writer, but I began to think that I ought to have something interesting to write about first – hence the military. Drastic, eh? I did a lot of writing in the military, actually: I did radio news, and spot production, training materials and video briefings.

Every time I turned around, there was a requirement for me to write something! A couple of years after I retired, I had a chance to start contributing to a military weblog, Sgt. Stryker’s Daily Brief (Now The Daily Brief at www.ncobrief.com) – and that is where I seriously started writing for a wider audience, and acquiring fans. I set myself a personal requirement to write an essay of 500-1,000 words for it three times a week, on anything that took my fancy and interest.

You’re here today to talk about your book To Truckee’s Trail. Would you tell us a bit about the book?

It’s one of the great unknown adventures of the frontier – the very first wagon-train party to bring wagons over the Sierra Nevada to California. In 1844 they discovered and scouted the route used by subsequent parties of emigrants, all the way from the Humboldt Sink, up along the Truckee River and over present-day Donner Pass. Like the Donner Party, they were also caught by winter snow, forced to break up into smaller groups and nearly starving while elements of their party spent the winter camping in twenty feet of snow.

(more…)