Stacey Cochran’s Book Chatter Interview Is Up!

Here’s the Book Chatter interview I participated in last night! The show is hosted by popular Claws author Stacey Cochran, and the hour-long interview includes a total of five indie authors: Zoe Winters, R.J. Keller, P.A. Woodburn, Lynda Hilbrun, and me. It was great fun – and R.J. revealed her hugely exciting news! Several viewers IM’d in questions about that, so if you’re an author, seriously, watch the video.

I haven’t watched it yet but I probably sound so squeaky-voiced and nervous! My apartment is always SO loud on Friday nights – guy and girl upstairs clomping around in hard-soled shoes and blasting music, guy next door blasting TV, guy and girl under me blasting music, etc. etc. etc. So I decided to go the Writers Room, where I have a membership, and use their designated “phone room” to do the phone-in interview. Well, for the first time EVER it was insanely loud there on a Friday night. Usually, no one is there at that time; everyone is out having a life. But last night it was packed; people were coming in and out of the phone room like mad, making calls, talking to themselves and what not, noisily picking up and rattling keys to the ladies’ / men’s rooms. Then, a person came in to re-paint the kitchen. And of course the supply room they banged around in just had to be right off from the phone room. I finally ended up in the building’s lobby where ringing bells from the elevators signaling floor stops abounded. All the noise made me so nervous! Someday, I will have to leave New York, so I can have peace and quiet in a room of my own…

Anyway, it was a blast chatting about our books and the publishing process and ebooks and Amazon and self-publishing with four other authors and Mr. Cochran. I don’t think he’s ever had that many on the show at once 🙂

KINDLE AUTHOR INTERVIEW

I am today’s interviewee on the new blog, Kindle Author, which is for people who are thinking about publishing their books via Kindle. I think it’s my longest interview yet and I blabber on and on about my own writing and publishing journey, the reader outreach I’ve tried to do, and the advantages I’ve found of publishing in e-book form. If you’re an aspiring author, I highly suggest subscribing to that blog; he’s got some really good interviews up.

SWALLOW IS A GOLD MEDALIST!

In Independent Publisher‘s Living Now Book Awards, in the category of Women’s Fiction. I’m so happy! Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Also, check out the other medalists — in all the categories, but particularly in my own. Stressed in Scottsdale by Marcia Fine and Shaken and Stirred by Crystal Black Davis both look very entertaining as well as enlightening. And Stressed is set in my old neck of the woods!

Independently published and small press-published books face an enormous uphill battle both in the marketplace and in terms of gaining acceptance within the greater publishing industry (despite the fact that a small press novel won this year’s Pulitzer). I’m immensely grateful to publications like Independent Publisher and ForeWord, and Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award (open for the first time this year to self-published books) for their invaluable recognition and support.