Ask the Author: Anne Sweazy-Kulju
Answered Questions (7)
Anne Sweazy-Kulju
What really happened to my paternal grandmother? She was an abused woman who entered a hospital for a cough, was diagnosed with tuberculosis and reportedly died there, in Elkhart Indiana--where no death certificate is found in her name. Six months later a woman her age, with her name, moved to Hood River. Oregon.
Or maybe she is Elise, from my book, "BODIE". There is a Swazey Hotel there, and the female innkeeper was murdered.
Or maybe she is Elise, from my book, "BODIE". There is a Swazey Hotel there, and the female innkeeper was murdered.
Anne Sweazy-Kulju
I have to go with Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara. I love to be frustrated by deep, loving relationships in literature that become threatened by misunderstandings. In fact, I used that device, to some extent, with Burke and Lily in my novel, "Grog Wars".
Anne Sweazy-Kulju
I heard it all through college, "a writer writes." Yes, it is a good idea to discipline yourself to "go to work" each day (your laptop) and write something. But what they did not tell me, and I wish someone had, is that a writer needs to read. A good writer should find the best writers in his/her genre and read them. You will, by osmosis or something, soak up their writing skills. Read lots in your favorite genre and it will make you a better writer--and of course, write, write, write!
Anne Sweazy-Kulju
The hours. They're crazy for any normal person, but for a writer (and insomniac, naturally), they rock.
Anne Sweazy-Kulju
Just like Jack London, I go after it with a club. I grab the keys and the purse and I go out and watch people (either with a Pelican Brewery's Kiwanda Cream Ale, or a Tillamook ice cream milk shake from Stimulus, just across the street). I don't come back until one of us, the writer's block or me, is beat to crap (is that okay to say here?)--either way, the block is gone.
Anne Sweazy-Kulju
Thanks for asking! "Grog Wars" released yesterday, December 30, 2014. It is the stand-alone Part I of a 2-Part epic adventure in northwest historical fiction. I am well-into the sequel, now (working title, "Grog Wars, Dos"); the story continues with the nephews, and it goes to Mexico. It is coming along nicely--boy, is this stuff fun to write!
Anne Sweazy-Kulju
Thanks for asking a great question about "Grog Wars"!
I am a total history-geek so I am always watching the History channel and lots of documentaries and such. One day I was blowing dry my hair and my husband in the other room had the TV turned up to hear. It was so loud, I caught a snag of something about the original owner of the Brewery we know as Schlitz. I thought I heard that the man, August Krug, suffered a fatal freak accident, and his bookkeeper, Schlitz, married the widow and took over the business. I was intrigued; what I heard was, "conspiracy."
That's really all it takes for me. I am a lot like the Pitbulls I rescue, in that when I sink my teeth into something, they pretty much lock on to it. It was really hard finding out how Krug died, and that made me wonder. When I finally did find out, via a research student from the University of Wisconsin, I wondered even more...but I don't want to spoil it for you.
I am a total history-geek so I am always watching the History channel and lots of documentaries and such. One day I was blowing dry my hair and my husband in the other room had the TV turned up to hear. It was so loud, I caught a snag of something about the original owner of the Brewery we know as Schlitz. I thought I heard that the man, August Krug, suffered a fatal freak accident, and his bookkeeper, Schlitz, married the widow and took over the business. I was intrigued; what I heard was, "conspiracy."
That's really all it takes for me. I am a lot like the Pitbulls I rescue, in that when I sink my teeth into something, they pretty much lock on to it. It was really hard finding out how Krug died, and that made me wonder. When I finally did find out, via a research student from the University of Wisconsin, I wondered even more...but I don't want to spoil it for you.
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