Category: writing life

Sherry: Hi Barbara, and thanks for chatting with us today! To get things started, please tell us a little about the story/book you have in the Eclectica bundle.

Barbara: The Hooded Man is set in my fantasy world of Silvery Earth, in the southern kingdoms inspired by India and Persia. There isn’t much magic, since at this time the Magical Races are hiding from Humans. This novella won Honorable Mention at Writers of the Future Contest and is now being produced as audio book as well.

Sherry: Wow, very exciting! So with that in the works, what’s your current writing project? How do you feel about it right this minute?

Barbara: I have dived back into the Star Minds Lone Wolves Team missions and I had to reread the books because the first fifteen missions were written last summer, so I needed a reminder of where my characters were at. I still love them and plan another fifteen stories. And another short novel about another Lone Wolf that came up to mind while I thought about them.

Sherry: Sounds like that’s going to keep you busy for a while! Do you remember what sparked the idea for your story in Eclectica bundle?

Barbara: It’s my version of Zorro (he leaves the sign of the Goddess Zindagi, so theoretically a Z), but set in India instead of South America, so to speak. He goes back to his hometown after thirteen years in the hope of getting his childhood love and finds an evil governor at the helm – and of course the bad guy wants his ladylove too…

Sherry: Have you written any series characters? What’s their appeal for you?

Barbara: The only series of short stories is Star Minds Lone Wolves Team. I wrote the (short) novels first, exploring the characters (Adventurer, Pilot, Hacker, Thief, Mercenary and Freelance), and at the end of Hacker they decide to form a team of mercenaries. Some of their jobs are incorporated in the novels (Thief and Mercenary), others in the Shorts connected to them. I love the Youngsters (Icy Aya, her ex Jes-syd, Shanell) and mostly their “leader” Hariel, who also gave me an idea for the umpteenth Lone Wolf. Then there’s Cherry and now, in the second batch of missions, we have two new members, Cyrus and L’ill’oreta… just love those guys, but they’ll end up in couples, so wouldn’t be considered lone wolves anymore, right?

Sherry: Do you remember the first story you wrote? Tell us about it.

Barbara: Oh yeah. “The Glass World,” summer of 1978. It was even illustrated by yours truly, handwritten on a yellow notebook. I recycled it in two of my fantasy novels.  I tried to keep the style through the translation. Half is in Chronicles of the Varian Empire ・ The Spell, the other half is in Books of the Immortals ・ Water.

Sherry: I always say nothing we write is ever really wasted. :) Are there certain themes that keep coming up in your work? If so, is it intentional, or something that just happens?

Barbara: Most of my protagonists are from the 4 “O” against society (something I learned at a panel at a Screenwriting Expo), usually either Outsiders or Outcasts – which is how I feel most of the time – sometimes Outlaws and rarely Others. For a clearer definition of the 4 “O”:

Outsider is his own worst enemy, he can’t get back into society unless he is able to change.

Outcast recognizes that his skills carry a price and he cannot live in the embrace of society, so he stays out of it.

Outlaw is outside of the law and all society, doesn’t care what society says and follows his own terms, rules and laws.

Other is the society destroyer, thinks himself as a world-saver ・ the world is corrupted, and he wants to make a new one.

I think it’s intentional, since I do feel an outsider on this planet! :)

Sherry: That’s so interesting! I don’t think I’ve come across the 4 O’s before, but I can see how they would be interesting to consider when thinking about characters. And speaking of thinking about characters (and stories), are you a planner/outliner/architect or a pantser/gardener/discovery writer?

Barbara: Pantser. I outline only when I write in a historical frame, then I need to keep the dates of historical events straight, LOL!

Sherry: Pantsers unite! I dabble in outlining, but only when I really have to! :) Now, I’ve found that many writers also put their creativity to use in ways other than writing. Do you consider yourself a “creative person?” What other creative outlets do you have?

Barbara: Drawing! I’m a professional writer and a hobbyist artist! To relax I do color pencil portraits of celebrities (currently Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, previously Keanu Reeves, a.k.a. Da Muses), I’ve done a graphic novel for Silvery Earth and I’ve started a strip/web comic but I’m still trying to figure out where to post it.

Sherry: That’s something else we have in common–I love working in colored pencil, although I haven’t done it in a while. So to close out our chat, tell us about your other works, projects, publications, and what’s on the horizon next. This is the shameless self-promotion portion of the interview. :)

Barbara: I have four main series and a few standalone. Silvery Earth is made of standalone books that cover 500 years of its history, more or less. Star Minds is a science fantasy saga, now in its third generation. Vampires Through the Centuries is historical fantasy and it’s now merging with Future Earth Chronicles, since who else can survive the apocalypse of the Western Civilization better than vampires? It’s mostly SFF, but there are some contemporary stories in the standalone section…

Sherry: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today, Barbara! I can’t wait to dive into this bundle. :)

Barbara G. Tarn had an intense life in the Middle Ages that stuck to her through the centuries. She prefers swords to guns, long gowns to mini-skirts, and even though she buried the warrior woman, she deplores the death of knights in shining chainmail. She likes to think her condo apartment is a medieval castle, unfortunately lacking a dungeon to throw noisy neighbors and naughty colleagues in. She’s a writer, sometimes artist, mostly a world-creator and story-teller. Two of her stories received an Honorable Mention at the Writers of the Future contest. One of her stories has been published in Pulphouse Magazine #5 (March  2019). She writes, draws, ignores her day job and blogs at: http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com. You can also find her titles and visit her author page at Amazon Author Central to learn more.

And don’t forget to pick up the Eclectica Bundle for Barb’s story and more great reading!

Sherry: Hi Joslyn! Thanks for joining us for this interview. To start, please tell us a little about the story/book you have in the Cat Tales #2 bundle.

Joslyn: Death of a Muse introduces David Peeler, an up-and-coming sculptor who loses his career, his fiancée, and everything else that matters to him with the slice of a surgeon’s knife. The procedure to remove a small, benign tumor in his frontal lobe leaves him with a TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, which changes his personality such that he doesn’t know how to live with himself anymore. And doesn’t want to. In a last ditch effort to regain some semblance of his former life, he visits an artist retreat. While there, he becomes involved in a murder investigation and discovers aspects of the new David Peeler that may reignite his spark for life.

Sherry: Sounds intriguing! Do you remember what sparked the idea for Death of a Muse?

Joslyn: The idea for Death of a Muse hit me while I was reading Lisa Cron’s marvelous book, Wired For Story. She was relating how important emotion is in everything we do, how critical it is for making decisions, and she told of a man who underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor and lost a minute piece of his frontal lobe, radically affecting his emotions. Post-surgery, he was unable to make the simplest decisions, because he just didn’t care. He was unable to place values on the different options and therefore found it impossible to choose one over the other. I found this fascinating, and the idea for David Peeler, an artist in a similar situation who has to relearn how to be himself, was born.

Sherry: Why do you write short fiction? Love, necessity, marketability, or something else?

Joslyn: I love short suspense! Ever since I discovered a stack of old Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines in my grandma’s basement when I was just a kid, I’ve been a huge fan of those nugget-sized pieces of pure reading pleasure and been seized with the desire to create that kind of reading experience for others. From a practical standpoint, short stories are quicker to produce and have huge potential for advancing a writer’s career. There’s so much you can do with them—market to magazines, use as reader magnets or bonuses, bundle it up like Cat Tales and team with other authors to reach more readers.

Sherry: Oh, wow, I used to devour those mystery magazines! Their influence definitely shows up in how often I integrate mysteries into other genres. :) But back to you…are you a planner/outliner/architect or a pantser/gardener/discovery writer?

Joslyn: I am definitely an architect, master planner type. I love this part of the writing process and find it to be the most creative and the most fun. This is where I ask myself what if questions and let the story rove all over until it takes shape. Then I outline that shape, scene by scene, so that when it’s time to write, I have a clear objective for each scene and a story that has a good chance of satisfying the reader because I know, in advance, it’s got what it takes. The outline is not a cage, but a structure like a trellis to support my story as it grows. There are still plenty of surprises and flashes of inspiration to be had as the writing progresses.

Sherry: Well, we’re complete opposites in that department. :) But I’m always interested in how other writers work. Do you prefer music, silence, or some other noise in the background when you write?

Joslyn: As a musician, I find it very difficult to work while music of any sort is playing. If there’s music, I’m compelled to follow it, to get lost in the patterns and beauty of it. It takes me to a different place than I need to be for my writing. I prefer quiet, but if there’s a lot of background noise, I like to use the sound of a rainstorm to cover it and let me write effectively.

Sherry: Many writers also put their creativity to use in ways other than writing. Do you consider yourself a “creative person?” What other creative outlets do you have?

I definitely consider myself a creative person. I’m a musician and I write songs, as well as prose and poetry. I also like to write arrangements of other people’s songs, often combining two pieces or using the meter from one piece to create a new version of a different piece.

I’m also creative in the kitchen. I like to cook and bake and make too many things that are way too delicious. I’ve had to curtail my kitchen activities as my metabolism slows with age. While that’s a big bummer in some ways, it gives me more time to write, and that’s good!

Sherry: Tell us about your other works, projects, publications, and what’s on the horizon next. This is the shameless self-promotion portion of the interview. ☺

Joslyn: I’m currently working on two projects scheduled for release in 2019. I’m very excited about Steadman’s Blind, which is a paraquel to my thriller, Nocturne In Ashes. In other words, it takes place at the same time and in the same setting, and some of the scenes and characters intertwine between the two stories. Fascinating stuff! In Nocturne, Mt. Rainier erupts, causing all manner of devastation and trapping my heroine, Riley Forte, in a small community stalked by a killer. She teams up with Nate, a homicide detective out of his jurisdiction, who manages to get a message to the local sheriff’s dispatch, but it takes three days for the deputies to arrive. Steadman’s Blind is their story—those two deputies—and it’s packed with action and suspense! It’s set for release on November 19th.

In addition, I’m working on an audio version of The Tower, a romantic suspense set in the aftermath of WWII. Plus, I’ll have a new audio story and eBook which I plan to release exclusively to my reader’s group as bonuses this year—one in June and one as a Christmas present. Sign up to join us and get the goods!

Sherry: Thanks so much for sharing with us, Joslyn! I look forward to reading Death of a Muse.

Joslyn Chase writes suspense fiction, ranging from mysteries to thrillers with an occasional dip into the horror genre. She is a classical pianist, music teacher, and storyteller who loves American History and holds a degree in American Studies. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, with her husband, a dog, and at least one child at any given time, but has previously resided in Spain and Germany as well as various locations in the United States. Joslyn keeps a webpage at joslynchase.com, and you can also find her on Facebook and Goodreads, where you can watch a video trailer for Death of a Muse.

And don’t forget to check out Cat Tales #2 while you can!