tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82643953808207153202024-03-07T22:02:39.693-08:00Minnesota WritesDerek E. Sullivan talks with authors from the Land of 10,000 LakesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-48529239086509331562014-11-17T14:38:00.000-08:002014-11-17T14:38:01.044-08:00Amanda Hocking talks about expections and possible movies<span class="paragraph-0"></span><br />
If you're wondering how to write a New York
Times bestseller and become a millionaire, you should probably take
Amanda Hocking's advice.<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">The Austin-based
writer went from working as a dishwasher to being employed as a group
home worker to writing a series of best-selling novels. Hocking started
writing for fun as a child and finished her first book at age 17. It
went nowhere, but she kept going. Along the way she started
self-publishing e-books (at one point selling 9,000 copies a day),
signed a $2 million publishing contract, quit working at the group home
and sold film rights to her three-book "Trylle" series.</span>
<br />
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Hocking
is one of 13 local writers who will be attending the Third Annual
Celebration of Rochester-Area Authors, which is scheduled from 2 p.m. to
4 p.m. on Saturday at the Rochester Public Library Auditorium. </div>
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At most of her appearances, Hocking said potential writers ask her for her recipe for success.</div>
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"I
do get that question and I tell people to read a lot and research a
lot. I think people can never really read enough," Hocking said. "You
can always read more than your writing, even if you're writing a lot.
Also, do a lot of publishing research because there are so many
different opinions and paths you can take right now. One path that works
for one person might not work for another. You should do your research
and see what path works best for you."</div>
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When asked why she has been so successful, Hocking talks about her early "vocal readers."</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"A
couple people really enjoyed them and kind of through word of mouth
everything snowballed from there. As to why people enjoy them in the
first place, people seem to like the romance in the book and my romantic
leads."</div>
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Hocking
has published 15 books and has a brand new novel coming out in January.
When she first started writing it was a fun diversion from her day job.
Now, writing is her career, and her publisher, St. Martin's Press,
expects Hocking's books to sell millions of copies.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"I
try not to think about it when I'm writing. When I'm outlining and
brainstorming I think more about what readers are into and what they're
looking to read, want to read," she said.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Hocking's
fan base loves her stories of paranormal romance. And while she's not
about to leave the genre, she is trying new things within it.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"I
try to change it up and push myself and try to look at even similar
situations, but from different angles, and approach them in different
ways," she said.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Along
with writing her next book, Hocking is keeping an eye on the potential
film versions of her "Trylle" series. She admitted that she saw the
characters on the big screen when she was writing the novels.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"I
actually did want the Trylle series turned into movies when I was
writing it probably more so than my other books because I think visually
it would be a fun thing to watch," she said. "But I also did feel like
if it happens, it happens. I'm not going to put my eggs in one basket
because I know how finicky the movie industry can be. But I do think it
would be fun."</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-16309082427425014342014-11-17T14:35:00.002-08:002014-11-17T14:35:57.003-08:00Carrie Mesrobian talks book titles and pretending to be a boy<div class="content">
<span class="paragraph-0">Regardless of whom
she's speaking with or where she's reading, young adult author Carrie
Mesrobian always gets asked the same question.</span>
<span class="paragraph-1">"Why did you title your book 'Sex and Violence?'"</span>
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Mesrobian's answer: I didn't.</div>
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The title "Sex and Violence" came from Mesrobian's editor at Twin Cities publisher Carolrhoda LAB, Andrew Karre.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
The
title made sense, so Mesrobian signed off on it, and the rest is
history. The book has been a critical darling and helped Mesrobian, a
writing teacher based in Twin Cities, sell three more books, including
"Perfectly Fine White Boy," which was released Oct. 1.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Mesrobian
will discuss book titles and more when she appears at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at
the Rochester Public Library. She was invited to speak at the library
after she won the Minnesota Book Award for Young Adult Literature for
"Sex And Violence."</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Despite
being published by a small Twin Cities house, "Sex and Violence" has
been praised by national best-selling YA authors Andrew Smith
("Grasshopper Jungle") and Gayle Forman ("If I Stay") and was named one
of the best books of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Mesrobian's
tour to promote her book has been pretty typical for a first-time
author. She has traveled to numerous colleges, festivals and libraries
and talked about her two main characters, Evan Carter ("Sex and
Violence") and Sean Norwhalt ("Perfectly Fine White Boy"). Mesrobian
admits that in the current world of YA, female writers don't typically
use male narrators.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"People
will always ask me how I can sound like a boy, and how I know how a boy
thinks, what a boy talks like and what a boy acts like," she said.
"They also asks me why I would want to write from a boy's point of
view."</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Mesrobian
said one key difference in her two books is that Evan has had a lot of
sex at the start of "Sex and Violence," while Sean ("Perfectly Fine
White Boy") is a virgin on page 1. Both are extremely interested in sex,
which Mesrobian said makes the teen characters normal.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"I
don't think either of my two protagonists are that far out there in
terms of how boys' minds work," she said. "I think my characters are
rather normal boys. I just don't think that men really advertise that
their brains work that way. In (YA), we just don't see that much of that
because people assume the readership of YA is girls, so they don't want
to freak girls out that boys are thinking about sex as much as they
are."</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-19413094560389120752014-11-03T12:55:00.001-08:002014-11-03T12:55:30.905-08:00Lawyer adds writer to his résumé<div class="content">
<span class="paragraph-0">It took two decades, but Allen Eskens has added a second job — writer — to his career as an attorney.</span>
<span class="paragraph-1">Eskens, a trial
lawyer, released his first book, the mystery "The Life We Bury," on Oct.
14. He has been studying creative writing at the University of Iowa
Workshop, at the The Loft in Minneapolis, and at Minnesota State
University, Mankato, for the past 20 years as he dreamed of publishing
his first book.</span>
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Eskens has been touring his home state promoting his debut novel. </div>
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Despite his profession of 20 years, Eskens said he didn't want to start his literary career with a court drama.</div>
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"I
decided with my first novel, I didn't want to write a legal thriller. I
didn't want my protagonist to be an attorney," said Eskens, who lives
in Mankato.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"The
Life We Bury" tells the story of Joe Talbert, a college student who,
for a class assignment, visits a nursing home. There, he visits with a
convicted murderer in his final days. The talk propels Talbert to look
into the man's past, which does not make some people happy.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
It took Eskens a year to write the book, though the path to publication leads back even longer than that.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"It's
been a 20-year journey," he said. "It was something that I worked hard
to do. I worked hard to develop my abilities and hone my skills, so that
when the time came I would feel that I was ready."</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Eskens
is currently working on his second book. He hopes to publish four books
by 2017. While the next book won't be a sequel, it will include one
secondary character from his debut, attorney Max Rooper.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"Being an attorney didn't play a lot in this novel, but it may in future novels," he said.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-66588849117014412072014-10-09T14:53:00.001-07:002014-10-09T14:55:44.937-07:00My interview with the author of new Cloud Cult biography<div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://wp.stolaf.edu/english/mark-allister/">Mark Allister</a> will release his latest book, a biography titled<a href="http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/chasing-the-light"> "Chasing the Light: The Cloud Cult Story"</a> on Oct. 15. Allister </span><span class="st">is a Professor of English, Environmental Studies, and American Studies at St. Olaf in Northfield. For those who do not know, <a href="http://www.cloudcult.com/">Cloud Cult</a> is an experimental rock group from Duluth, Minnesota. </span></span><br />
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="st"> </span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span></i></span></div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<div>
</div>
<span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div>
</div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px;">What drew you to write about Cloud Cult?</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px;"> </span></i> </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Mark: When I first heard about the band, I was strongly attracted to their
environmental principles. The more I learned about their personal
history, about their young son dying and the grieving that followed and
got played out in the music and career, the more interested I became,
and the interest grew even more when I learned about Craig Minowa's
spiritual seeking. I wouldn't have written about the band if I hadn't
liked their music very much -- the orchestral rock, the immense
variation, appeals to me. But I didn't imagine writing a book about the
band until I had witnessed a few concerts and saw the incredible caring
that the band displays toward its fans and the incredible devotion that
fans have for the band. I wanted to understand that more. What made
Cloud Cult fans so passionate? And beyond that, I began to get
interested, just partly for my own life, in questions about why we
respond to music as we do.<br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px;">You said earlier that the band is not just for Cloud Cult fans. What can non-fans take away from it?</span> </i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</span><span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Mark: This book will appeal to anyone interested in indie rock or popular
music, or the practices of doing green business. Readers interested in
Eastern spirituality or how art can help someone move through grieving
might like this book. Here's truly the kernel of what I believe about
the audience: <i>Chasing the Light</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> tells
the inspiring and compelling story of a band who has lived out its
principles in its business, and who has made great art and an affirming
story out of loss and hard times -- and therefore it's a book for anyone
and everyone.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<i>
</i><br />
<div>
<i>How much access to the band did you have during the writing/researching process?</i></div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Mark: I met (typically for a long lunch) with the members of the band except
for the Minowas, and also former manager Adrian Young, John Burgess (who
made a film about them back in 2008), and Jeff Johnson, their tour
manager. Craig and Connie Minowa and I exchanged emails -- I typically
posed a question or asked them to clarify a subject, and they'd write me
back. I didn't meet the Minowas until the book was pretty much done -- I
went down to Madison in 2013 for a concert, wanting to write a
present-tense "day in the life of an indie band" (opening to the final
chapter). That was when I met Craig and Connie.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-12798280134883918422014-09-29T11:24:00.005-07:002014-09-29T11:24:48.401-07:00Kramer talks 'Delivering Death'<div class="encrypted-content">
Julie Kramer has published
six books since she left WCCO in 2001. She was at the Minneapolis-based
CBS station for 20 years as a news producer. Her debut novel,<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stalking-susan-julie-kramer/1100292213?ean=9780307388513">"Stalking Susan,"</a> came out in 2008. Her mystery novels tend to deal with a fictional TV reporter.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
This year, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/delivering-death-julie-kramer/1114922862?ean=9781451664669">"Delivering Death"</a>
was published. She promoted the mystery from Florida to Arizona, but
also included stops in Minnesota. Kramer, who grew up in Adams, will be
at St. John Lutheran Church in Owatonna at 1 p.m. Thursday.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"I
always try to have a lot of Minnesota stuff because I grew up in a
small town in Minnesota. This is kind of my home turf," said Kramer, who
lives in White Bear Lake.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.postbulletin.com/life/lifestyles/best-selling-authors-tour-southern-minnesota/article_6e3911d2-d851-5034-9c9c-6e7bf6c06fbd.html">Read more </a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-78466572398204777042014-09-29T11:22:00.002-07:002014-09-29T11:22:31.029-07:00Brian Freeman talks about book stops<span class="paragraph-1"></span><br />
In recent weeks, best-selling suspense writer Brian Freeman has stopped in La Crescent and Stewartville to talk with readers about his latest book, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cold-nowhere-brian-freeman/1114877307?ean=9781470880125">"A Cold Nowhere."</a>The suspense thriller was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="encrypted-content">
At
7 p.m. Oct. 14, Freeman will stop at the Austin Library for a book
reading and Q-and-A about the future adventures of Jonathan Stride,
Freeman's protagonist.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
Freeman
has published 10 novels and his books have been sold and translated in
17 countries. While he tours all over, he always holds events throughout
Minnesota.</div>
<div class="encrypted-content">
"I've
spent a lot of time in some great small towns through the years," said
Freeman, who lives in St. Paul. "For me, that's just a big part of the
fun of being a writer. I love the opportunity to chat with the readers
and librarians and the booksellers. Writing is such an intense, solitary
and introspective kind of profession for me, it's really wonderful to
have these kinds of opportunities to go out and talk to people
face-to-face."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.postbulletin.com/life/lifestyles/best-selling-authors-tour-southern-minnesota/article_6e3911d2-d851-5034-9c9c-6e7bf6c06fbd.html">Read more</a> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-64018302777484273842014-09-18T12:31:00.002-07:002014-09-18T12:31:28.649-07:00Rochester author offers advice on dating dead guys<span class="paragraph-0"></span><br />
Signing up for Twitter was a pretty good move for Rochester writer <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8124757.Ann_M_Noser">Ann Noser</a>.<br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">Shortly after creating her Twitter account, <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnMNoser">@annmnoser</a>, Noser entered a <a href="https://curiosityquills.com/">Curiosity Quills Press</a> contest she found on the popular social media site. The upstart publishing house, started in 2011, loved Noser's novel, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-date-dead-guys-ann-m-noser/1119938862?ean=9781620075197">"How To Date Dead Guys,"</a> and offered to publish it. On July 15, a book that Noser worked on for 12 years became a reality.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.postbulletin.com/life/lifestyles/rochester-author-offers-advice-on-dating-dead-guys/article_8ab44889-0b86-5972-8b30-ade8e71c71ab.html"> Read more...</a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-24381684915851446742014-09-18T12:21:00.002-07:002014-09-18T12:21:55.839-07:00Rochester writer nominated for Dayton Literary Peace Prize<span class="paragraph-0"></span><br />
A Rochester writer may win a big honor after writing a book about small acts of humanity in the face of upheaval and disaster.<br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1"><a href="http://www.psduffy.com/">P.S. (Penny) Duffy</a> recently learned that her debut novel, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cartographer-of-no-mans-land-ps-duffy/1114770978?ean=9780871403766">"The Cartographer of No Man's Land,"</a> was one of six finalists for the <a href="http://daytonliterarypeaceprize.org/">2014 Dayton Literary Peace Prize</a>
in fiction. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international
literary peace prize awarded in the United States. The prize celebrates
the power of literature to promote peace, social justice, and global
understanding.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.postbulletin.com/life/lifestyles/rochester-writer-nominated-for-dayton-literary-peace-prize/article_94ea3aa9-7007-5cb1-97bb-3e8d0d454c9d.html">Read more </a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264395380820715320.post-38323482773816227742014-09-18T11:38:00.004-07:002014-09-18T11:38:39.447-07:00Children's author, dying niece craft book<span class="paragraph-0"></span><br />
Her niece, nearing death, brought a book character to life with penciled illustrations, Eyota author Peggy Vevang says.<br />
<br />
<span class="paragraph-1">It was last summer
when Vavang hired her niece, Sarah Hackenmiller, to illustrate her book,
"Wretched Richard," which is set in the World War II era.<br />
</span>
<br />
<div class="encrypted-content">
Hackenmiller,
a longtime graphic designer for IBM and Rochester Community Education,
whose maiden name was Sarah Siebenaler, researched the 1940s to make
sure the clothing and automobiles were right.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.postbulletin.com/life/lifestyles/children-s-author-dying-niece-craft-book/article_5d58e461-73d5-5a43-933f-843860661923.html">Read more </a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319165295490735326noreply@blogger.com0