Thanks to my fellow Scribophile avatar battle nemesis, George Wells, I’ve
been hopped upon… and now must return the favor as well as hop on a few other
heads. I have to admit I’m finding this
quite entertaining.
Okay, the first part of this Hop is for me to answer three questions. I’d rather make three wishes, but I guess I must answer questions instead.
Question #1 – What am
I working on? Well, what am I NOT
working on would have been a more prudent question and a much easier one to
answer. Apart from reading query letters,
social networking, promotion, and marketing, I work hard placing my writers
into the hands of publishers at my literary agency (North Star Literary Agency). I also keep my editors busy at North Star
Editing Services. With my own writing, I stay busy crafting short
stories, chapters on my novels Hunter & Chase and The Immortals, flash
fiction, and poetry. I also keep busy writing
articles for the West Georgia Living Magazine and SongPlaces.com. Let’s not forget I try to post at least 3-5
times on my various blogs, including this one. At this rate I can even write in the few hours of
sleep I might steal every now and again. Besides sleep is overrated –who needs
it?
Question #2 – How does my work differ from others in its genre? Well, I don’t really mean to be a smart-ass, but what makes my work different is the fact that I wrote it. My work encompasses my passions, my sense of humor, and my quirky personality – which is something no one else could ever duplicate. They can be similar, but never the same.
Question #3 – Why do I write what I do? Simple - because it’s what I like. I once tried to write what I thought other people would be interested in, but in the process of trying to shove my big imagination and personality into something demure, I ended up wasting my time and misusing my talent. I’m best at writing when I’m writing myself.
Well, that wasn’t so bad. If you’ve got a lick of common sense, you should be able to get a good idea of the type of personality I possess. And now, as much as I hate to share the limelight, I must shift the focus from me and shine it toward a few other writers who deserve at least a glance of your attention. I completely love and respect these writers and would very much appreciate it if you would hop on over and visit their pages.
My first victim is Mark Lawrence, author of The Broken Empire series. In my opinion he’s a modern-day philosopher, but the publishing industry insists on calling him a fiction novelist. He does pretty well at writing a good book, but the wisdom, knowledge, and philosophy he peppers throughout the pages of his novels are out of this world. This Brit’s blog can be found at: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk/ so, hop on over there and give him a look-sy.
Mark Lawrence is married with four children, one of whom is severely disabled. His day job is as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. At one point he was qualified to say 'this isn't rocket science ... oh wait, it actually is'.Between work and caring for his disabled child, Mark spends his time writing, playing computer games, tending an allotment, brewing beer, and avoiding DIY.
My next victim is writer Christian Fennell,
author of the upcoming novel, Urram Hill. There are not many writers that move
my soul the way this one does. I’d place
him right up there with Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac, Jeff Suwak, Mark
Lawrence and Patrick Rothfuss. This is
one of those few authors I’d read over and over and over again. Like his
mentor, Cormac McCarthy, Fennell likes to break the rules and think outside the
box. So, if you like boxes, you might
want to skip this rebel. But, if you’re
up for a little excitement, hop on over to http://christianfennell.wix.com/christianfennell
and check out what he’s up to.
Christian Fennell is currently working on two books: a collection of short stories - On My Way to Sunday, and a novel - Urram Hill. When not writing fiction, he works as a freelance technical writer and editor. He's currently a contributing writer for The Prague Review.
My last victim is an up and becoming talent, R.M. James, author of Hear
Me Scream, the first book in the Sorrows trilogy. The first time I read this novel, I read it
blind as I judged a writing contest, and had no idea about the author. When I found out it was the ever so sweet and
beautiful R.M. James, I couldn’t believe such a dark, detailed,
post-apocalyptic, and violent story could came from the same person. I was
literally floored at the writing talent of this young woman. I have to admit, I was also a little
jealous. I can’t wait for her debut
novel to sweep the country and make the rest of you fall in love with her as I
have. So, don’t hesitate any longer, hop
on over to her blog and see what survival tips she has left for you at http://rmjameswrites.blogspot.com/
.
Living in the wild countryside serves R.M. James as an open casket bloated with story ideas. She perceives the strange in the mundane and the majestic in the ordinary. She loves writing. She loves reading. The two arts often collide in a struggle for supremacy that neither one ever loses. Victory comes in the form a good read in a brand new novel.
Okay, folks …that should be all of it. I hope you’ve enjoyed that little bit of hopping. I’m sure you all needed the exercise. Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment – but make sure they’re pithy and make absolutely no sense. I’ve a low tolerance for sensible comments.
Till next time,
~T.L Gray
https://www.facebook.com/authortlgray
https://www.twitter.com/authortlgray
No comments:
Post a Comment