Alex Cord's Blog

This interview is with fellow Western author John D. Fie. Jr. He has scored two large Western hits, and has a third on the way. It will be interesting to see what the secret to his success is…

Morning John. It sure is a pleasure to have you on our site.

Good morning!

What does it feel like to be one of the top authors in the Western genre?

It feels pretty good. It’s good to know that somebody is enjoying your story.

How do you approach promotion?

I think you have to have a balanced promotional diet. I believe that it’s important to make sure everything you do works with all the things you’ve been doing. Make sure you are touching readers every single day, and make sure people are following you. Don’t just try one thing– try many things and pull them together to make your books known.

Are you enjoying those new sales awards from Outlaws Publishing?

Yes—very much so. It’s always a pleasure to be recognized as a success.

Do you enjoy interviews?

They’re not my favorite thing to do. But I do them because they are needed. I would be happy to talk to you all day– but I’d rather be down by the lake while doing it.

Is advertising important?

Yes. Can any product be sold without advertising? I don’t think so.

Why are Westerns still so popular?

As surprised as people are at the success of Westerns, I’m really not. I’ve always enjoyed the West, and I know many others have, too. I think there’s a lot of hype when it comes to romance, erotica and horror—but the Western fanbase is just as busy buying the books they want.

What can we expect from you in the future?

A sequel to Blood on the Plains has been released entitled Benson’s Creek, plus another short story later on in my Wild West short story series.

Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Did you have your covers in mind before you saw them?

Blood on the Plains, at first, had a very bland looking cover. I had a contract with a different publisher at the time. The book wasn’t moving. Outlaws Publishing took a look at the book and the cover. It wasn’t until I signed with Outlaws Publishing that the book was pulled from the market. The cover was re-designed, and I immediately saw the difference. The book, with the new cover design, just jumped at you. I knew right then I had made a good decision going with Outlaws. They specialize in the Western genre. Luke Pressor, U.S. Marshal also had two different book covers. Several covers were designed, and we put our heads together and again came up with a colorful book cover with eye appeal.

Let’s talk about “Blood on The Plains” for a moment. Is there anything you’d change about that book?

With Blood on the Plains, I would say the ending. I left the reader with a rather short ending. I  maybe should have embellished on the romance between Sally Phillips and Matt Hutchens. In Luke Pressor, U.S. Marshal, I think perhaps I should have introduced the marshal into the story earlier to add a little more excitement.

Give us an interesting, fun fact or a few about your book or series.

I like to use small, quick one-liners in my stories to add a little comedy. Also to have a few characters that are somehow different from the others.

What other books are similar to your own?  What makes them alike?

I honestly can’t think of any. I try to be different than other authors. There is one complaint that I hear all the time about Western books—that they’re all the same. I try hard to be different.

How can we contact you or find out more about your books?

You can go to my Amazon author page (amazon.com/author/johnfie or go to Outlawspublishing.com). Visit my blog on the Cowboy Campfire at Outlaws Publishing or email my publicist at Nick@nickwale.org.

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?

The best thing a reader can do for an author is to leave a review. Tell others about your experience. Let the author know about your experience with the story.

Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

For new writers, make sure you get an editor. You can’t edit the book enough. When you’re ready to publish, look around and choose wisely, then stand by for the reviews.

What do you think is the key to success?

Good writing, good promotion and making sure you surround yourself with those who will help you, rather than hinder you. A good publisher, publicist, and editor will make you as an author. A poor publisher, publicist, or editor will break you. I need say no more. Invest in yourself, your product and hire a good publicist.

This new interview with John was recorded live from his home. If you would like to learn more about this great Western author you can visit his website here. You can also discover more about him by visiting his Amazon Author Page today. 

 

http://player.cinchcast.com/?platformId=1&assetType=single&assetId=7744187

Check Out Entertainment Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Wild West Showdown with J-C- Hulsey on BlogTalkRadio

HAWKE… THIS IS ARCHANGEL…

 

If you want to win a private phone call with “Archangel” actor ALEX CORD all you have to do is enter this new contest! To enter all you have to do is like his Facebook Page, Follow him on Twitter or buy a copy of his new book “The Man Who Would Be God” and send a copy of your receipt to alexcordnews@gmx.com

We also have several runner-up prizes including copies of “The Man Who Would Be God” and autographs.

The lucky winner of this contest will win a private conversation with Alex via Skype or phone. This is a competition you can’t pass up the chance of winning…

 

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Would you like to win a real piece of “Airwolf” memorabilia? Keep on reading if you would!
Alex Cord is giving three signed photographs away to three lucky winners and all you have to do to win is “like” his Facebook page, “follow” him on Twitter or buy his book “A Feather in the Rain.”
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The winners will be drawn at random one week from today!
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Megan Elizabeth is an exciting new author from Satalyte Publishing. Her first book “Sinners Craving: A League of the Fallen” is set for release next month and has already caused quite a stir.

This interview just proves how versatile Megan is as a personality and as an author. Stay tuned for part 2!

wHY ARE PEOPLE SO CRAZY ABOUT SINNERS CRAVING: A LEAGUE OF THE FALLEN?

The only thing standing between our world and eternal hell on earth is one Fallen angel who proves mistakes can be made more than once. A former warrior angel in the heavenly kingdom, Matteaus is now the leader of The League of the Fallen. He’s a powerful being renowned for his mastery in combat and his numerous battles against Lucifer’s evil creations.

His drive for redemption is his only focus. His aspiration and only desire is to return to heaven from his earthly banishment. Matteaus has a nagging feeling that his life is about to change. Centuries of fighting, and one disastrous relationship with a ‘Love Goddess’, have kept him away from females; then his next assignment brings him right into the path of the vivacious and fiery Taylor.

Matteaus’ fierce focus on his work is a result of the scars he has from a past relationship; one that left him with feelings of humiliation and hesitation to get involved in another. Yet Taylor is everything that he could dream of, and the one who could possibly tempt him into trying for love again. She stimulates his weary existence; mind, body and soul. But Taylor comes with her own set of baggage and when she catches Matteaus in a compromising position, her stubborn nature takes over and Matteaus counts himself lucky if she even gives him the time of day.

Taylor is instantly attracted to the overwhelming magnetism that rolls off of Matteaus. However, the challenges of her past keep her from pursuing any kind of relationship. Life has been difficult for her. She and her beloved son have been avoiding Lucifer’s pursuit for years. Lucifer has been hunting Taylor for the prize of a mix of her immortal blood and her powerful son. Her single minded focus keeps the two of them safe, and she doesn’t have time or patience for an unwanted love affair. Yet Matteaus’s scorching touch and unfailing passion illicit cravings in her she thought she would never experience again.

But even as their desire for each other begins to overtake them, Matteaus’s thirst for redemption and his own personal code of ethics drives him to maintain his distance. He has a powerful and jealous ex-girlfriend who is hell bent on getting him back, while Lucifer is determined to have her as his potential his soul mate.

Matteaus’s responsibilities as leader of The League of the Fallen require his constant attention. His plate is close to overflowing and with the addition of dealing with Taylor’s fiery nature, he’s out of his depth. But could this be the mission that finally earns his redemption? Or will his disastrous personal life cost him everything, including the one female he is destined to love?

Sounds like a hit to me!

You can catch Megan on her Facebook page or send fan mail directly to her publisher.

 

 

 

Princess Fumi Hancock is one of those special personalities you come across only once in a while. She is a talented writer, a movie-maker, and hosts a very popular Internet chat show called “The Princess in Surburbia.” I have the honor of sharing an interview with her to mark a very special one year anniversary of “The Princess in Surburbia.” Her career goes deep into the heart of the entertainment industry with a bestselling book called “The Adventures of Jewel Cardwell” and a forthcoming movie called “Of Sentimental Value.” She is also releasing her new book “Of Sentimental Value” soon. We have also learnt that she is up for several awards in her capacity as a movie maker– Fumi is currently winning the race to win “Favorite Screenwriter,” and her upcoming movie is likely to win “Favorite Trailer/ Short Movie” at the African NAFCA… What a career! Don’t forget to vote for her and her movie “Of Sentimental Value!”

Fumi, can I start by asking why you started your Internet show?

On Nov. 16, 2012, my YA Fantasy novel, The Adventures of Jewel Cardwell, became Amazon’s Teens-Horrors Bestseller. This prompted solicitations from many reviewers, bloggers and readers. As my royal background was unveiled to them, they wanted to know more! They asked me for a vehicle where they could see me in my natural habitat. Then came the vision to create an online TV show–The Princess in Suburbia–where my fans are invited to snicker or cry as I share my life story & dish out spicy nuggets of wisdom on life, love, family, business & everything in between!

What really inspired you to reach out to an Internet audience?

As a writer, you cannot ignore the electronic / Internet age. When I launched my book, I did a virtual tour, which was incredibly successful. My readers are on the Internet, and the easiest and quickest way to reach them is through the Internet.

What has been your most exciting moment as host of “The Princess In Surburbia?”

Just the opportunity to meet incredible people whom I have invited as guests on my show. More importantly, guests trust me with their stories and rely on me to share their point of view in an authentic way.

How do you juggle such a high octane career? Writer, movie-maker and host?

Oh, my… sometimes I can’t figure it out. Here is what I know: when you are doing what you love, time goes by very fast … you hit challenges, but you quickly pull yourself and keep going. My passion for the three fuels me on a daily basis.

How do you know what your audience wants to see?

I talk with my audience. I do not stand aloof, but through my social media outlets, I often reach out to them. Their thoughts matter to me, and they have been known to steer me in the right direction Take this upcoming movie–Of Sentimental Value. I put together a focus team. Thanks to them, I can safely say we have ended up with a great movie. I take this time to thank all who have carried us with their support. For those who have not watched the trailer for the novel and movie, take a look.

How do you choose guests? Is it hard to get good guests?

While many talk show hosts may say it is challenging finding guests, I have not encountered that yet. Those I have invited have been incredibly generous with their time, and I am very grateful for that. My episodic themes pick my guests. Once I know the burning question for the segment, then we go looking for guests who fit that bill.

Do you ever get nervous hosting your own show?

I am a firm believer that you never get to a point where you are no longer nervous. This is a healthy nervousness as it allows me to push the envelope.

How often do you have to do re-takes of a scene?

I ad lib a lot, so I often just tape and be myself, then let the chips fall where then may. Of course, there have been some episodes where I have had to retake more than twice.

Which episode is your favorite and why?

There was an episode where my friend and I talked about Oprah and her friend Gayle. We were both very free with our thoughts and just allowed the audience into my world. Here is one of the episodes. http://youtu.be/3Vd0Goed0AE

What are you doing to celebrate your one year anniversary?

One year of being on the Internet, but over 10 years in the TV industry. It is obvious my readers love to enter my world… I’m thinking of releasing some tapes from my vault. This footage has not been seen anywhere. I will also be giving away copies of my novel, The Adventures of Jewel Cardwell. Oh, by the way, selected people will be getting copies of the upcoming novel Of Sentimental Value. Get ready.

Do you think you will ever become bored of hosting your show?

Hosting this show is part of me… who I am. I can’t imagine being bored. So much to talk about.

 

VOTE FOR
PRINCESS FUMI HANCOCK
AND HER MOVIE
“OF SENTIMENTAL VALUE”
TODAY

 

 

Rob Morris is a high school teacher and military historian who lives in Ammon, Idaho. His first book, ‘Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crewmen over Europe in World War II’ (Potomac, 2006), is now in its fifth printing and remains a popular book in the genre. Morris next co-wrote ‘Combat Bombardier’ with 95th Bomb Group bombardier Leonard Herman in 2007. In 2012, his seminal history of the WWII 95th Bomb Group, ‘Wild Blue Yonder and Beyond’ (Potomac, 2012), commissioned by the Group, was published. 2013 had been a busy year for Morris, as his writing credits include ‘Untold Valor: World War Two in the Pacific’ (Fonthill); ‘The Battle of Gettysburg’ (Instinctive); ‘Presidents of the United States’ (Instinctive); and ‘The Civil War Chronicles (Instinctive).

This interview is one of the first Rob Morris has given this year. It’s an exclusive, and I think you will enjoy it!

Good morning, Rob. Thank you for agreeing to undertake this interview.

Good morning.

I want to start by asking what inspires you?

A) When ordinary people dig deep and do extraordinary things.  I find inspiration in people that have that spark–the real and universal. I am most interested in the way human beings rise above themselves and their surroundings to do things that turn them into something greater than the sum of their parts.

Who is the most inspiring individual you’ve ever met?

I’ve met many as a WWII military historian, but my most inspiring individual was my grandpa, Herman. His mother and father immigrated from Austria to Idaho in the 1870s and homesteaded just off the Nez Perce Reservation. Herman only got to finish the 8th grade, but he was a self-made man whose imagination and talent seemed limitless. In his lifetime he was a telephone lineman, an auto and motorcycle mechanic, a farmer, a telephone company owner, a movie theatre owner, and a historian. He’s still my hero, and he’s been gone for 40 years now.

So, when did you first consider yourself to be a writer?

When I wrote and illustrated my own stories as a four-year-old. Before I could write, I narrated the words to my mom or dad, who would neatly inscribe them under my illustrations. I wrote a 50-page book at age 9 that I thought was pretty good and decided I like to put my stories on paper whether anybody else enjoyed them or not.

How many times have you started a story without finishing?

Rarely. I am a writer of the old school, who believes writing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. When I start something, I finish it.

What is the greatest writing aide a writer can have?

People who inspire in some way.

How does a cover present itself? Where do those ideas come from?

As an author who has had several books published by large publishers, I have enjoyed the times when I was given artistic input. My first cover, on Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crewmen Over Europe in World War Two, was from a William Phillips painting I saw on the wall of the airplane’s bombardier while visiting the bombardier’s home in Worcester, Massachusetts. I knew it had to be the cover, so I tracked the author down and got his permission. The cover of my book The Wild Blue Yonder and Beyond: The 95th Bomb Group in War and Peace, came to me in a dream. It tells the story of the American bomber group in England, complete with planes taking off, the old Norman church of Horham, Suffolk in the background, and some English children waving at the planes. The cover of my latest, Untold Valor: The Second World War in the Pacific, was designed by the publisher, but I really like it, because it shows young Marines on Okinawa hunkered down in an artillery shell hole trying to stay alive.

When you sit down to write a book, do you go through a lot of drafts?

Yes. Editing is the key to good, tight writing. As is practice. The more ways you try something, the more likely you’ll get it right.

How did you find your writing style?

I just wrote a lot, and it found me. I don’t consciously have a style. I just write in words that feel and sound right to me. I pride myself on being accessible. My favorite writer quote is by Ernest Hemingway. Paraphrased, it is “Why use a twenty-dollar word when a twenty-five cent word will do?”

What is a “writer’s” heaven?

To me, writer’s heaven is the excitement you get when you get a new idea for a new project. Another variety of writer’s heaven is seeing one’s book in print, holding the book for the first time, inhaling the scent of paper and ink, and realizing you have given birth to a new being that is very similar to a child.

What are the things a writer “must not” do?

A writer must always speak the truth. I also feel a writer must be true to the craft by not ripping off somebody else’s writing idea because it has made money. How many Lord of the Rings or Hunger Games does the world need, anyway? Do something new.

How often have you read another writer’s book and said, “I can do better than that” to yourself?

Pretty often. Success in the writing world is similar to success in Hollywood or anywhere else—being in the right place at the right time with the right look and knowing the right people. Well, I live in Idaho, so I don’t know the right people to get my stuff published, but I do have a feeling that I’m good and that at some point that makes my odds better.

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Be yourself. Write something true. Don’t give up. Take criticism. Expect lots of rejection on the way. If something isn’t quite good enough, go back to the drawing board. Each try makes us better.

What is your writing routine? How do you discipline yourself to keep at it?

I’m old-school. I don’t sit and wait for a muse. Muses aren’t real. I write and write and write no matter what and then edit after a full day of writing. It is easier to edit the crap out at the end rather than as you go. As a teacher, I have often written late at night or early in the morning. I have written several of my successful books by sitting at a computer terminal for eight hours a day, seven days a week, for an entire summer. I learned discipline as a long-distance runner. Only through pain can one reach glory. If it wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t be called “work.”

Do you write every day?

I write something every day. But when I’m teaching, I’m writing lessons. I give 100% to everything I do. The Greeks called it arête.

Do you consider writing to be a form of activism? Do you think novelists have a duty to address political issues?

To an extent. It depends on the type of book. Certainly someone like George Orwell or Ken Kesey is an activist. I am personally not interested in politicians or politics per se. I like real people living real lives and being honest and courageous in the face of adversity. I don’t see politics as an area that draws out the best in people, and I don’t like most politicians. I guess because they violate my own idea that a person should be true to himself or herself and not grovel or pander. I have no interest in writing politically activist literature. But some of my favorites are good at it, like Orwell, Twain, Hemingway and Steinbeck.

Who are your favorite authors?

I love John Steinbeck, especially Grapes of Wrath. Also anything by Hemingway. Love Ken Kesey. And Orwell. And Dickens. And Twain. And…but where to stop?

I’m a school teacher for this question. What can you offer to help me prepare 4th graders to appreciate writing, now and for the rest of their lives?

I teach writing, as a matter of fact. To 9th graders. I tell my kids that writing is a way to find out about ourselves and try to make sense of the world around us. It can take the everyday and make it incredibly sublime or incredibly heart-breaking. All life is a story, and all stories are only preserved through writing. By writing, we learn about ourselves. It makes us human.

How do you like to write? By the pool? On the bed? In the car? What’s your heavenly writing situation?

At a table, with my computer and some strong coffee, and maybe a dog snoozing at my feet for company. Ideally, if I were better-off, I’d have a writer’s cottage in a great location like a cliff on the Kerry coast of Ireland.

Do you feel supported as a writer?

It is a solitary profession. I guess the support comes from those who let you know they like to read what you write. I’ve had that. It’s validating.

Many people think it’s important to be expressive when writing dialogue. How do you feel about it?

I think it’s important to write honest dialogue and not worry if it’s expressive. If dialogue is honest, it will be expressive at just right times and not when it doesn’t need to be. Besides, expressive is a pretty wide-ranging term.

How do you think your latest book “Untold Valor: The Second World War in the Pacific” will be received by readers?

All my previous books have been well-received by critics and general readers. I think if I do my job right, my readers will enjoy anything I write. But I owe it to them to give them quality.

Thank you for your time, Rob. “Untold Valor: The Second World War in the Pacific” is available now from Amazon.

Get your copy of “Untold Valor: The Second World War in the Pacific” today from Amazon!

Alex Cord appears in one of the hottest Indie writing magazines of today…

Alex Cord appears alongside a foray of other authors to share his experiences, memories and a little gossip

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Novel Reads By Novel Ideas  is considered to be one of the most successful literary E-zines in the Independent book world. Interviewees have included movie stars, artists, musicians and a host of well-known literary names. The E-zine consistently hits #1 on Amazon with downloads in the thousands. This is art that sells. The cover star for the month issue is a well known poet called G.P.A who has just finished an extended #1 run on the bestseller listings. Other interviewees in the month issue include Boyd Lemon, Becky McLendon and Tim Flanagan.

Originally Aired On:

“The Suncoast Magazine with Doug Miles”

WIBQ Radio, Sarasota, FL