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My guest today is one of the coolest folks I know. She's been a good friend and, frankly, a damned good author. Please welcome C.W. LaSart to my blog. C.W. LaSart (Left) and Robert McCammon at World Horror Con 2013 JJ: When did you start writing? C.W.: I started writing as soon as I was able to write. I didn’t take it serious until just a few years ago, but there were very few times when I wasn’t writing something. JJ: What was the first story you remember writing? C.W.: It would have to be a terrible little chapbook I made in the second or third grade. A blatant case of plagiarism, my Mother still treasured it. She may even still have it. JJ: What genre is your most preferred? C.W.: I prefer both reading and writing horror. I read a little fantasy from time to time, but horror is my main genre for both. JJ: What challenges you the most in your writing? C.W.: Adopting a schedule. I am a very fast writer, but I am al...

I am having so much fun with Coffin Hop this year. There are so many wonderful authors and publishing houses signed up this year. Click that badge over on the right there and check out the list for yourself. Scroll through and visit all the super awesome writers that have given of their time and hard work to make this event the fun it is. On to my interview with the lovely, and utterly amazing, Leigh M Lane. We share a ToC together in the charity anthology Scare Package and she has blessedly edited two of my books so trust me when I say this woman rocks. Q: When did you start writing? A: I was just a little girl, somewhere around nine or ten years old, when the writing bug first bit me. Q: What was the first story you remember writing? A: I don’t remember a whole lot about it since it was around thirty years ago, but I do remember it was about a good witch and her cat. I also remember giving it a cardboard cover, complete with crayon drawings (because all “real” books...

I'm currently editing a novel I wrote a couple years ago. It's similar to Shifters but has its very own interesting cast of characters. Since Zombies are so big right now I thought I would introduce you to Bob. He is a zombie that was inspired by my friend Nate. As I edited this novel that was originally written for my friends at Cellufun I changed a few names and even rewrote large chunks (including the ending) to make the story flow better. Bob decided he had a little side story to share with you guys and here it is. I hope you enjoy him as much as I do. Nate, if you're reading this; don't ever forget that horde equals family! Now on to Bob... "It's not easy being an Undead American in this day and age. People are always assuming you're just a mindless brain muncher. They think that those of us who have been reanimated are just hollow shells bent on destruction and death. They couldn't be more wrong. I have never hurt anyone that didn't de...

Those of you who know me, know about Mr. B. He's my fuzzy giant guardian and right now he has got it bad for the sweet tempered, adorable, little border collie next door. I mean bad. He howls and whines if he sees she is outside and he will haul his gianormous furry behind at light speed over to the property line to meet her. She comes over every day and waits in plain view for Mr. B to see her. When I let him out she runs to the treeline and stops just on the other side. Then they chat for awhile, tails wagging and tongues lolling. Little by little she gets closer and closer to him. Each day brings another inch and a few hours of my pup sulking around the house gazing out of the windows looking for Lola. God help you if you play either 'Lola' or 'Copacabana' in my house. If you play either song Bigs will start pinin' away and running from window to window looking for his furry little love. No kidding. Much like Pavlov's dog, when mine hears the signa...

Okay, so most of you know I absolutely suck at keeping up with a blog. It's been months since I posted last and I am really bloody awful at keeping people up to date on what I'm doing. Except on Facebook. I'm pretty well addicted to it. I even go to a support group that meets on Facebook Mon-Sun every two hours. ;-) I adore being an Indie author. However, I suck badly at the marketing aspect of it. I'm not one who can run around screaming 'BUY MY BOOK!' Nor am I the sort who will put up a sexy picture of myself partially clothed to sell books. Pimpin' ain't really my thing. I figure if you like my writing you'll buy my books. I don't ever want to surround myself with ass kissing sycophants the way I see some authors (both traditionally pubbed and Indies) do. When you start listening to the people who like you for your status and not the people you trust then you start churning out crap books. Your writing suffers because nobody wants to tel...

As many of you know I am a huge fan of Ms. Lane's book 'Finding Poe'. So when she contacted me and said she read my book 'Shifters' and found some edits, I was grateful. I can edit for style and flow easily enough but I really need to go back to school and learn more about editing for punctuation (I am a comma junkie.) <--See like that; do I put the period on the inside of the parenthesis or the outside? I was so focused on being a zookeeper that I sort of ignored anything that wasn't about animals or organic chemistry. She sent me what had to be hours of work on her part cleaning up my grammatical messes and punctuational problems. She did not ask for anything in return. I asked her if I could list her as editor and she thanked me. That's right, the woman who had spent hours polishing up my gem thanked me for crediting her for it. This is the sort of camaraderie you find often in the Indie community. We help each other with cover art and with editing...

So here I am wired up and stuck in a bed for however many days it takes. It was supposed to be a week but hopefully I'll get out sooner. Did I mention I'm having a video EEG? Not only am I wired up for the week but they'll have video of it too. Yay.  I mean really, who doesn't want video of them looking perfectly horrid? I feel rather sorry for the poor chap that has to stare at my mug for a week. I can tell you that the glue they use for the electrodes itches like crazy. I can also tell you nurses and PAs do not get enough money. The ones I've met here have been downright awesome. For those who don't know my background here's a little summary: Nine years ago I was a successful zoo keeper. I was working at the Detroit Zoo and was in bliss. I had the greatest managers, curators, and coworkers anyone could hope to have. One day I was scrubbing the Penguinarium and this pain shot down my left arm into my pinky finger. It brought me to my knees. Mind you, ...