July 17, 2007

The Write Side of Life

ST: Welcome back, Mix. Tell us, what made you decide to be a writer?
MM: I’m not sure what made me try it. I think I was just getting bored with what I was reading. Nothing out there was really what I wanted (multicultural, paranormal elements, scorching romance) so I figured instead of complaining maybe I should try my hand at it.

ST: How long have you been writing?
MM: I started writing in May of 2002 so it’s been five years now. WOW, I hadn’t even realized. However, I must admit that I wasn’t writing everyday in the beginning and didn’t really get serious until the fall of 2004. Before that it was just my little secret wish.

ST: How many books have you written?
MM: How many have I written or how many are available? LOL! I’ve written four books: 2 short stories, 1 novella and 1 novel. The novel was the first I wrote and will probably never see daylight (which is a good thing). I hope to sell the two short stories this year and my novella, along with finding a new home for THE DJINNI.

ST: Which is your favorite and why?
MM: THE DJINNI is my favorite, partially because it’s the one I spent the most time working on and partially because it came from such a great dream. *sigh* Man that was a good dream.

ST: LOL. Do you find writing to be fulfilling? And in what way?
MM: Absolutely. The first scene I ever wrote was something very suspenseful and when I got to the bottom of the page my heart was beating so hard I thought I was on the verge of a heart attack! It was such a rush and such a stunning pleasure to be in control of an entire world. In some ways, this is as close as I can ever get to the divine because it puts me in the role of creator. It’s a heady feeling.

ST: What’s a normal day like for you?
MM: Hectic! I usually wake at 6 am and check email first thing. I try to respond to as much as possible before leaving for work at about 7:30. I usually don’t get home until after 7pm and then it’s play time with my three year old son. His bath and bedtime will usually take until about 9pm. My husband and I are exhausted by the time we crawl into bed about 11pm.

ST: With your busy life how do you find time to write?
MM: I have a long commute to work so I write on the train and jot things down on sticky notes at work. I get ideas at random times so I just go with it. I’m always surprised at the cool ideas I get while standing in line to buy lunch or just walking down the sidewalk.

ST: Thank you, Minx. We’ll see you and our audience in the morning. Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

July 16, 2007

Minx Malone Tells All

ST: Hi, Minx Malone, welcome and thank you for visiting with us this week.
MM: Thanks so much for having me Sloane!

ST: Tell us a about yourself.
MM: This is hard because I never know what to say! I live with my husband in the Washington D.C. area with our three year old son. I’m kind of boring really. I live vicariously through my characters! Although I do have varied interests such as astronomy, Egyptology and of course writing!

ST: You are anything but boring, Minx. Your debut novel, THE DJINNI, looks to be an exciting hot read. Please tell us about the book.
MM: THE DJINNI is about an ordinary woman who gets an extraordinary present one day. I think we’ve all had times when we’re plodding through the routine of our lives and wishing something exciting would happen. The heroine of my story, Ally, is an accountant whose boyfriend cheated on her. She lives alone now since the grandmother who raised her passed away and she’s not the most social person. Then she receives her grandmother’s last bequest, an antique ruby ring. Unbeknownst to her, she’s now carrying around Damien, an Egyptian prince now bound to her.

ST: How did you come up with the story line?
MM: I had a very vivid dream about a Djinni *wink* and just had to write something down. Somehow all the detail such as his Egyptian heritage, the Magi and the curse just seemed to spring from my brain later.

ST: And where can we buy THE DJINNI?
MM: My book was available at Triskelion Publishing. Since they’ve closed I need to find it a new home. lol. It wasn’t available in print, only e-book format but I actually prefer ebooks now, especially for the more erotic titles. No one can see the cover of what I’m reading and since I’m using my PDA, most people just think I’m updating my calendar or reading email! Keeps the nosy people away…

ST: I love it! Thanks so much for being here. Will we see you bright and early tomorrow>
MM: Definitely.

ST: Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

July 15, 2007

Minx Comes Out to Play

Join us July 16 - 20 for a fun week as Minx Malone talks about her life as an author.

See you tomorrow. Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

July 13, 2007

Have you missed me?

I’ve certainly missed all of you and everything to do with the elecronic world.

Several weeks back my computer acted weird, especially Outlook Express. As you all know, these things don’t cure themselves no matter how hard we hope. It got to the point that I had to call in the Geek Squad.

The voice who answers their phone, 1-800-GeekSquad, sounds just like Sgt. Joe Friday from the old Dragnet series. Immediately, I was in a better mood. The best part is you talk to a HUMAN. How’s that for customer service?

Agent David pulled up in his VW bug a few days later. With clipboard in hand, he introduced himself while straightening his narrow black tie over his pure white short sleeved shirt. After almost two hours of frantic typing and mouse clicking, the poor guy shook his head, but that tie never moved an inch from its original location, and told me he’d have to return in a few days. I wasn’t happy but I could understand he had other commitmenmts. Probably at the local bar because he seemed pretty frustrated at all the viruses that had attacked my poor old Dell.

Dave returned five days later and worked for hours. I’d already backed up everything but a few files, so it didn’t take long for him to dump my system, clean it, and reload, only another four plus hours. Now I’m in computer heaven. My internet runs like the wind and my old baby is like brand new.

Here’s my computer problem advice for today - don’t screw around with cousin Bill who thinks he knows what he’s doing and is dirt cheap. You’re only going to end up more frustrated. Call the Geek Squad. They’re fun and sure know what the heck they’re doing.

Be sure to join me along with Barbara Clark, Ann Cory, Kate Hill, Tuesday Morrigan, for Guest Author Day over at Sherrill Quinn’s Follow Your Passion Yahoo Group;

Saturday July 14, 2007
9:00 am - 9:00 pm CST

We’ll all have some neat prizes along with tantalizing excerpts. Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane

July 3, 2007

Happy Fourth!

To each and every one of my fellow Americans I wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday.

I’ll be back next week after the Geek Squad arrives on Thursday to correct my computer from whatever dastardly thing is eating it alive.

Until then…

Happy Writing!
Sloane