- The Underground–Book Promotion! May 2, 2013
- …And The Reviews Are Coming In April 17, 2013
- Let’s Hear It For The Women! February 17, 2013
- Marketing Mania February 8, 2013
- 5 Rules for Surviving the End of the World January 22, 2013
- Published! January 14, 2013
- Interview with Joyce Lavene December 18, 2012
- Karina Fabian–Six Rules for Worldbuilding October 25, 2012
- Ghosts of a Different Pallor–Justine Graykin September 24, 2012
- Interview With Catherine Lundoff September 15, 2012
Monica Leonelle–The SocialPunk Blog Tour
As promised, here’s my interview of Monica Leonelle, author of SocialPunk, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble now. Let’s get into it!
Monica Leonelle is a well-known digital media strategist and the author of three novels. She blogs at Prose on Fire (http://proseonfire.com) and shares her writing and social media knowledge with other bloggers and authors through her Free Writer Toolkit (http://proseonfire.com/free-writer-toolkit).
When did you discover or decide to become a writer?
Just a few years ago. But I also wanted to be one when I was a kid. I feel like I mostly write because I can’t help it. I love to write and that’s how I express myself, day in and day out. I can never understand how people want to be writers or authors when they don’t write. I always think, “Then why aren’t you writing every day?” I organically average at least 2,000 words a day writing. When I’m finishing up a manuscript, I average closer to 5,000 words a day. This is just what I do, so I never believe people who say they’re going to write something but just don’t have the time.
Is being a writer anything like you imagined it would be?
It’s hard, and no one imagines that. So I suppose that’s a yes. 
Do you have any writing quirks or rituals?
While I do write all around the clock for my job, I get most of my fiction writing done in the wee hours of… Continue reading
My Article at The Demon Stole My Pencil
Check out my article at the Demon–http://norabpeevy.blogspot.com/
Writing Techniques
I have two writing techniques that I routinely use to help me write my story. The first is to interview my characters, whether they play main or supporting roles. It helps me get “inside their heads” so to understand what their reactions might be in a given situation, not to mention fleshing them out for purposes of character development. For example, questions I might ask are to tell me about themselves, pet peeves and their worst nightmare. Some of their answers are quite surprising, even to me!
My second technique is to write background pieces. This is not the same as backstory. Sometimes I discover parts of my world that I know nothing about. I have to get familiar and comfortable with it so I can write a believable chapter. Here’s an example: My vampire has a number of business interests in Seattle. So, it’s only logical that he’ll need workers to help run these concerns. Many of the employees of these various businesses are his human servants. But how does he find them? Well, through an employment agency he runs. It’s a legitmate agency in that it’s not just used for recruiting human servants–it actually finds people jobs, whether it’s in one of my vampire’s businesses or not. And those that go to work for him are not necessarily made into servants. There are certain qualifications that must be met, but even if a recruit meets them, it still doesn’t mean he’ll end up a servant. And to think I just discovered this tonight!
What it means… Continue reading