My Story Spot

Here is a writers Interview with Suzanne!

1. First off, How many books have you published?

My 22nd book will be released in September 2009. It’s already up at amazon.com, although there is no cover art yet. The book is called The Lucky Baseball: My Story in a Japanese-American Internment Camp. The book is part of Enslow Publisher’s historical adventure series for middle grade readers.

2. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. My first published book came out in 1997, though. It was called Kidding Around Kansas City. It was a children’s travel guide.

3. What has inspired you to write?

Gosh. Anything and everything inspires me to write. Whenever I see something interesting or do something fun, my next thought is, “Gee. I should write about this!”

4. What sacrifices did you have to make for you to write and publish your first book? The ones after that?

When my first book was published I was a full time teacher, I was going to graduate school at night, and I had two teenage sons at home. I don’t feel that I really sacrificed anything to write that book. I just had to carefully manage my time.

For every other book I’ve written, I’ve had to spend a great deal of time at my keyboard writing. I could have been out doing other things.

But it never feels like a sacrifice to me when I’m working on an article, story, or book because I love to write. Often, I take my writing with me when I travel.  That’s the really GREAT thing about writing. It can be done any where, any time.

5. About how many hours and days did it take you to write your book?

I don’t think of writing a book in terms of hours or days.  I tend to think of it in terms of weeks or months. It took me about 9 months to write my newest book. Often, it takes me about a year to write a book. Some shorter books have been written in a couple of months, though.

6. Are you happy that you went through all that to write and publish your book?

For me, the BEST part of being a published author is the time spent WRITING the book. I love it when I get a story going and I get so involved in writing it that I forget what time or day it is, or where I am. I’m simply living in the world of my characters. So, yes, I’m always happy for everything I go through to write and publish my books.

7. Was it worth it to you?

Well, I don’t get rich from writing my books. But every book I’ve written has been worth it. I’ve learned about many things from all the nonfiction books I’ve written. And, I’ve learned a lot about the writing process from writing novels.

8. Finally, what advice would you give a first time writer?

Give yourself time to succeed as a writer. It takes time, study, and work to become a published author. But you can become a writer. All you have to do is write and keep on writing.

Visit my website and see some of my books at http://www.suzannelieurance.com

If you need a writing coach, check out http://www.workingwriterscoach.com

Here is  the writer’s interview with John Baker:

1. First off, How many books have you published?

I’ve published nine novels

2. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing all my life, since I was at school.

3. What has inspired you to write?

An itch to write inhabits me. It is the only thing that makes me feel whole. Life without writing would be intolerable.

4. What sacrifices did you have to make for you to write and publish your first book? The ones after that?

I have never made much money with my books. So the sacrifices were all material, from the first novel, and, I expect, through any more that I write.

5. About how many hours and days did it take you to write your book?

Daily hours are difficult to estimate. I usually work mornings and do something physical in the afternoons. The last novel took me three to four years to write.

6. Are you happy that you went through all that to write and publish your book?

Oh, yes. It’s a very privileged position to be able to do what you love for a living.

7. Was it worth it to you?

Without a doubt. No question.

8. Finally, what advice would you give a first time writer?

Don’t listen to other writers or anyone who wants to teach you to write. Find your own voice.

Want to learn more about John Baker? Go here!!!

http://johnbakersblog.co.uk
http://www.johnbakeronline.co.uk
http://twitter.com/johnbakeronline

So I read The Hobbit for my book report and had to write this for class:
What do you think of it? thanks! 

The story starts with Bilbo
A hobbit don't you see
They are small people that go up to the knee
A hole for a home they like cakes and tea

Bilbo Baggins does not do anything unexpected
He stays where he is and is respected
Then a party comes and inspected
The hobbit was to be a burglar-he was selected

Bilbo did not say yes instantly
After thinking hard on it he said yes
The next day you can guess
He ventures with some boldness

They came by 3 trolls
Bilbo pick-pockets them but gets caught
Cautions the dwarves should have taught
The wizard Gandalf freeing them on spot

So the journey moves on
Staying here and there
A lightning storm hits with a scare
spend the night by a cave which was bare 

Goblins found the 15 sleeping
Brought the travelers as prisoners
Saving the ponies as appetizers
planning to kill the dwarves afters

Of course they pick a fight
Running down tunnels, goblins on their tail
 They refuse to fail
They forget about the trapped hobbit' s bail 

Bilbo comes out of the dark tunnels and finds his friends
They travel onward until the wargs they meet another
They climb trees with dread about the other
Their faces draining color

Eagles save the 15 from death
They then travel to another fellow
Beon was his name and he was not mellow
They tricked him to letting them stay without a bellow

The hobbit invisible with his special  ring on finger
He frees his friends form poisonous spiders
They were really still outsiders
Starving,  they look for providers

They go up into the mountain
The red thief dragon Smaug's home
The dwarves tell Bilbo to roam
The gold the dragon was laying on piled like a dome

They anger the dragon
Smaug flies to the town
Most of which he drowns
Until he is killed down

The greed of the found gold argument turns to war
But with Wargs and goblins charging in
They forget every fight exept to win
And to kill all the wargs and goblins with a grin

The battle of the five armies was terrible
The songs that were made said so
The battle was dark until a chance of luck began to glow
Beon the half bear man and eagles took part in the blow

Bilbo wrote a story with all his adventures
For anything anybody said he didn't care
He was back in his comfortable chair
No words could compare what adventure he did dare.

A blue pen was lying on a desk. It was as small as a pencil and as fat as a marker. It had written many words, (5,000 to be exact ~but who’s counting?). Something  picked up the pen, and began to write on the paper. The pen loved to dance so it is obvious he danced as he painted words. He danced slow when the words where  sad, and danced fast when the words where happy. He could tell the emotions through the writers grip on him.

~

He had never seen anything the words described, but he dreamed of one day seeing those things. He could feel  the thing that was holding him  shake  and slap him down on the wooden desk,  and  the pen pitied  it.  After a moment the pen was up and dancing again, happy as ever.  The word he was making were describing  a “sunset” which sounded lovely to the pen.  He wished he could witness a ‘sunset” but knew he was to be on the desk forever and never going places. He was dancing for what seemed like hours, and when the room became dark, the pen was put down and it became a pen lying on a desk all over again until the next time he was to paint the amazing words.

To the west of the universe

how far you shall go

To the land of Ecox in a green glow

Kings, wolves, Dragons and more
Live as an adventure that is not a bore
To the north of the planet to the south they would run
How great would life be that is full of fun
Loving land a ton

From low red ants to a height of a dragon
Adventures of fun..... Come on!

Hail Sapphire, the bravest of all!
All hail to the pirates who Sails the seas
All hail to the Villains who sneak around between
All hail to the city who tower those unseen
 All hail to the kings who rule all the land!
Hail the population of Ecox; a planet so grand!

Whoever shall visit of the chosen people who go there
 mind that a thousand adventures are waiting for them so rare  

Whoever dares to be grand will maybe be a chosen one 
and will get to see that great land

I’m going to answer one question in form of a story as an example. Lets see how it turns out.

Do you think people deserve second chances?

Yes I do. For example, a criminal, named Terwen is sitting in a dark cell. He has a scrap of paper in front of him,  with a  pencil in his hand.

“What are you doin’?” demands one of the inmates.

“writing” Terwen answers quietly. He writes down his past and experiences, how he got in so  much trouble, and how he got a death penalty. He told his readers not to do what he did and to go on another path. His work told present robbers, and criminals to stop what they are doing, and just get a regular job.

Terwen is an example of a person who has repented his ways, and if he got out of jail and gotten a second chance, he would have been a very influential person. Instead, he is executed the next day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another example would be something like this: Julie had a long night. She had a soccer game to go to and a baseball practice. Homework was way down the list of things to do, but when Julie got home she tried to do some of it. The only problem was that it was 11:00 at night, and she was to tired to pay attention and do it right. So the next morning, the teacher was so angry at such poor work, he gave Julie a second chance and made her to it over after schoolt.

Without that second chance, Julie would have a low grade. Instead, she got a B for doing it over!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lastly, a final example would be when Nate was speeding in the suburbs. He was in a hurry, because he was late getting home, and he had left his 5 year old son and 2 year old daughter at home alone by accident. He had totally forgot!  Then  he hear sirens.

“Great”He muttered, and pulled over to the right side. The policeman poked his head in the window. After he did all the paper work, and the ticket, Nate tried his luck.

“Please sir, I have to get home, I got 2 toddlers alone at home.”Nate pleaded.

“how long were they alone?”

“About 5 minutes”Nate replied. The policeman looked at Nate thoughtfully.

“Ok, I’ll give you another chance. You may go, but promise me you won’t  speed  on these streets or any street elsewhere again? I will also let the charge for leaving toddlers go since you look so worried.” the policeman said to the driver.

“thank you, thank you,  thank you, sir! I promise!” Nate said smiling and drove the speed limit to his house, where his son and daughter where waiting for him by the window.

So with Nate, Julie, and  Terwen  as example of second chances, You can clearly see that  I think people deserve  second chances.  Nate  never sped again and got home just in time before the kids hurt themselves, Julie got a chance to fix her grades and learn something, and Terwen deserved a second chance to be a  leader, but never got to be one.

Note: Never try anything that was in these scenes at home, because there is one in 8 chance it will work out. I never said the death penalty was bad or good, I just said what happened so please don’t comment saying that you disagree with me about  Terwen’s execution. Thank you! 🙂

I hoped you enjoyed reading this!

Here is a writers interview with Mark David Gerson:

1. First off, How many books have you published?

The ingenious cat owner duplicated a map in the White House for the mystery writer. The cat owner looked up at the clock, and grumbled to himself. He looked at his cloud white hand which was swinging at his side, very numb. “I really need a doctor” he whispered. He had sprained his hand an hour ago, trying to get up the slippery steps of the white house without being noticed.

He had gone in the bathroom window and copied the map with his stinging hand. When he had finished, his hand had gone strangely numb. On top of that, water had gotten on the master copy and it had made the cat owner have to look at the map harder to see it. There was n ear splitting knock on the bathroom door. The cat owner had to get out of the building, and fast. So, he skid to the window, opened it and jumped out.Pathetically, he fell on his back, and was winded for a moment. He quickly checked if the maps were there. They were. His spirits high, he leaped up and sprinted to his black mustang car.

His cat, Rogue, was sitting proudly in the drivers seat. The cat owner pushed the cat aside and turned the key, and sped away. The speedometer reached 80 when the man heard police sirens. He was the only car on the back road in Maryland, and so it made the man more annoyed to see a cop. He gently went to the right side of the road and stopped the car.

The police car stopped right behind him, and the angry cop stalked to the driver window of the man’s car. “Show me your license!’The policeman ordered. The cat owner fiddled for his wallet and pulled out the card. Xenic Linch Holt it said in bold letters at the top of the card, and underneath was his picture that had been taken the year before.The policeman looked at the card, and back at Xenic. “Okay Mr. Holt, I’m writing you a ticket for speeding 40 miles over” The angry cop said. Xenic look at the car’s wheel and cursed silently. “how much are you going to charge?”Xenic questioned nervously. “since I’m in a bad mood, $1000 dollars” The cop said while handing the piece of paper to him, and then dismissed Xenic with a flick of his hand. Xenic pretended to search for something while the police car drove the opposite way.

Xenic sneezed and drove straight, not thinking about the ticket, or about the fact that another $1000 will come out of the bank from his savings. Tears ran down Xenic’s cheeks. “This is all his fault, this is his fault that I am doomed” Xenic yelled. He headed for the nearest hospital to get a cast for his limp hand. He had enough time. Rogue came out from under the seat. His spotted brown pelt flattened from having to lay in a tight space. Rogue knew that his master was crying, and he knew that his master himself had gotten them both in trouble. Not that Rogue cared. He had plans that would turn he and his master’s life around, and all Rogue needed was to get to the building that the map led to.

Then all would come into place.

l

Rascal Fantastical

I was riding home on my dark red bike from a very long time on the site of a crime. Again. I am a detective and a very good one at it, but today was one of those days that my job was a pain in the brain. It had been a 90* degree kind of day too, which did not help make my detective stuff any easier. That’s why I was looking forward to a relaxing time at home, and maybe even more than 7 hours of sleep. A cold nutty bar sounds good right now I thought, since I knew my wife bought some at the local store yesterday.

I arrived home and dragged my dark red bike into the garage were junk was piled up to the roof. Maybe that’s why we don’t own a car, I thought. I looked the garage door when I put my bike in a corner where it was a perfect fit for a bike. Then I opened the door and our lab dog, Rascal, came and jumped on me, pulling me down and started to lick my face all over.

“Okay, Okay Rascal! I’m glad to see you to!”I said, getting him off me, trying to get up.

“Honey! how was work?” My wife said, walking up to me and giving me a soft kiss.

“Stressful,” I said, and flopped on the couch in the family room that was by the door.

“would you like a candy bar then?” My wife said, and went into the kitchen before I could answer.

I closed my eyes wanting a nap, but I saw something in the corner move. It’s probably Rascal I thought. But Rascal was in the backyard because my wife took him out after he had said hi to his master. Then I heard a loud thump. I sat up on the comfortable couch and waited for the thump to happen again.
Thump, thump, Thump, I heard.

“here is a nutty-buddy bar!” my wife handed the candy bar to me.

“Thank you dear,” I sighed, licking the cold candy.

“Dinner will be ready in about a half an hour!”She exclaimed, and hurryed in the kitchen, since the stove was beeping annoyingly.

Thump, thump, thump, the noise went again.

Suddenly, I heard a loud crack! and a large hole by the fireplace appeared and out came a giant rat the size of a toddler. I screamed like a little girl, and held my candy bar so tight,I thought I would destroy it into tiny pieces. The rat sniffed the air and saw me for the first time and my nutty-buddy bar was melting in my hand. This is just like my life I thought, mixed up mashed up and weird.

My wife came in when the rat was slowly coming torward the nutty-buddy bar and she screamed as loud as a horn. She ran to the back door and let Rascal in and Rascal Ran right in to the giant rat and they fought and rolled right into the backyard and on the grass Rascal killed the rat. Rascal was bloody so my wife cleaned him up, crying how he was a hero, while I removed the rat in to the trash can.

Since that incident, we have called our Rascal, Rascal Fantastical and have always counted on our dog killing a huge rat if one ever comes to my house again.

So the very next day I put a sign our door saying:

Heed all rats, Prince Rascal Fantastical lies in this house

I will never forget that day

Everyone who likes to write seems to have some kind of reason WHY they write, so here is my reason. To get away from it all.

What better way to travel than to read and write?  If I want to go to a magical garden, I pick up a book, and I’m there. Easy. I used to HATE writing. I Hated it until I went to summer school my 3rd going into 4th grade  summer . The teacher made us write a lot, and I learned that writing could be fun.  I’ve been writing ever since! I have a wild imagination, so that helps with my storytelling, and I write good poems.

My reason does sound weird, but really its so true. My 4rth grade summer I made up a whole entire world-all my own-that I’ve been working on ever since. Unfortunatly I never thought to write anything down on paper so its all in my head. Since I had all ready made that world, its easy to make up other ones. My best world that I LOVE is  named  Ecox the first one I made up. Its a magical world with humans as shape shifters, dragons, huge serpents,  100 foot trees~everything you can imagine (or just about) is on Ecox, including thieves, robbers and prisoners.

I can go on and on about Ecox (its been in my head for over two years…Would be an AWESOME book!) but i don’t want anyone to fall asleep on the computer. (Which is what I would probably do)   Writing helps me get out all these thoughts on paper, while putting me in different worlds  and places. Without books and paper, I don’t know what I would do!

So that is why I write.

Why do you write?