Q & A: Guy Lamolinara, Head of the LOC Center for the Book

The Library of Congress blog recently featured a Q&A with Guy Lamolinara, the Head of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress! 

Working with and learning from Guy is always a delight for us here at the NH Center for the Book. His cheerful demeanor and enthusiasm about Center for the Book affiliate projects and ideas is always warmly welcomed and appreciated.

Click here for the full Q&A with Guy.

To find out more about the Library of Congress Center for the Book and its 56 affiliates, click here.

Q&A: Paul Jenkins

There are a lot of wonderful writers living in our state, some full-time, some part-time.  As the Director of the NH Center for the Book I get the opportunity to talk to many of them. This interview series of Q&As with New Hampshire authors here on Book Notes lets me share that experience a bit with my blog readers.   

If someone hasn't read your work yet, where should they start?
Probably best to start with my most recent book, Bluegrass Ambassadors: The McLain Family Band in Appalachia and the World.  The McLains’ story is fascinating and involved, even if readers are not bluegrass music fans.  

When did you first think of yourself as a writer? I first began to think of myself as a writer when a couple of short stories of mine were published in my college literary magazine.  When my first book was published in 2005, this credential made me feel comfortable calling myself an author.  

How did you end up living in NH?  My wife and I moved to New Hampshire from Cincinnati in 2016.  I’d lived in Cincinnati since 1988, but we decided to move to Goffstown in order to help care for my wife’s elderly parents.  Two of my books have been completed while living in the Granite State. 

Where do you like to write?  I do most of my writing in my office at home, but if time allows I sometimes work on current projects while at work.  My desk at home is populated by all manner of inspiring knickknacks, including 2.5” figures of Charles Dickens and one of his most famous creations, Mr. Pickwick.  

How important is place in your writing?  Since I write mainly non-fiction, the idea of place is relevant only to my material.  Exploring and understanding the region of Appalachia was central to my book on  the McLain Family Band, and Liverpool pervades everything I write about the Beatles.  

What do you do when you aren't writing?  I am the University Librarian at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire.  In my leisure hours I enjoy reading, playing tennis, hiking, playing and singing folk songs, and painting toy soldiers.  

What's the best piece of advice (writing or otherwise) you were ever given?  A few maxims spring to mind.  People are good at different things.  Play to your strengths.  Try hard and be kind.  Specific to writing, I think it is important to mainly stick to what you know, unless you are a truly inspired fiction writer.  

What books do you love and what about them speaks to you? I love Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Hardy. Among more contemporary writers, I think John Irving and Ian McEwan are very good.  I am drawn to books that portray suffering.  Sounds a bit bleak, I know, but who wants to read about people whose lives present no challenges?  

What are you working on now?  I’m going to try to write some short stories.  I’ve had one published already, but I am largely new to the genre.  I also want to try my hand at writing a children’s book.  My main field is music, though.  I’m working on writing pieces on John Prine and Al Stewart right now.  

What do you want to share that I neglected to ask about?  Reading has brought me great joy throughout my life.  As my father, an English professor, said: “reading is the only dependable pleasure.”  So as a writer I find great satisfaction in having produced four books that may have proved stimulating to interested readers.  My books about musicians are sort of like mixed tapes: I want to expose listeners to what I consider great music.  One of my books is about the Beatles.  Everyone knows about them, but two others feature musicians whose work would be new to most.  

Learn more about Paul's work at https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B0028OI8XC

 

Q&A: Susan Ann Wall

Susan Ann Wall

There are a lot of wonderful writers living in our state, some full-time, some part-time.  As the Director of the NH Center for the Book I get the opportunity to talk to many of them. This interview series of Q&As with New Hampshire authors here on Book Notes lets me share that experience a bit with my blog readers.
If someone hasn't read your work yet, where should they start?

I currently have two romantic series, the Fighting Back for Love series which has two novels and the Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love series, which has the 5^th book coming out December 3. The two series are quite different. Because the Fighting Back for Love series focuses on life after cancer, whether as a survivor or a caregiver, they are very emotionally charged books. If you like the kind of story that makes you laugh on one page and cry on the next, I recommend starting with that series. If you prefer not to shed so many tears, the Puget Sound series focuses on New Beginnings, Enduring Friendships, and Unexpected Love.

When did you first think of yourself as a writer?

Always. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I started out writing poetry, but also loved writing research papers in high school and college. I also wrote for the college newspaper and continued to write poetry in my early twenties. But I didn’t consider myself a “novelist” until I wrote my first novel in 2010.

How did you end up living in NH?

I grew up here! I did move away for 13 years, between my time in college in Massachusetts and then five years in the U.S. Army and then another 7 moving around. While we were vacationing here one summer, we just fell in love with the peacefulness and beauty and decided this was where we wanted to raise our children. That was 2006 and we moved back in 2007, building a house on the same property where I spent my wonderful childhood.

Where do you like to write?

Anywhere. I don’t have a set “writing spot” or what a lot of writers call a “writing cave.” I enjoy sitting in my rocking chair on the deck and writing, but most of my writing is accomplished in my comfy chair in the living room.

How important is place in your writing?

Location is very important. Setting is its own character and has a great influence on the story as well as the characters. City folk behave differently than country folk, so I try to stay true to that in my books.

What do you do when you aren't writing?

I have three kids, ages 10, 11, and 13, so they keep me busy. We love to kayak and ski, and we love to travel, so we go on a few adventures every year.

What’s the best piece of advice (writing or otherwise) you were ever given?

Breathe. It sounds so simple, but sometimes I get so wrapped up in my crazy life, and overwhelmed with my ever-growing to-do list that I forget just to sit back and breathe. Making the conscious effort to breathe in and out offers moments to reflect on what’s important and allows me to put things into perspective. I actually wrote a poem (Because I Breathe) back in 1995 inspired by my friend’s advice and it is something I like to share with my friends when they get caught up in the craziness of life.

What books do you love and what about them speaks to you?

I read a lot and I have some favorite authors. Susan Mallery and Jill Shalvis are my favorite romance authors. They tell great stories that offer such a fun escape. I also love to read Barry Eisler who writes political thrillers and Lisa Gardner who writes crime thrillers. These stories are often complex and I love getting wrapped up in those kinds of plots and trying to predict what’s going to happen (I’m usually wrong because they are so good at the plot twists).

What are you working on now?

December 3 is the release of my next Puget Sound ~ Alive With Love novel. The Sound of Circumstance is book #5 in this series, so I’m busy with final edits and book promotion. In November I’ll be writing Whisper to a Scream, the story of a female soldier who has been medically discharged from the army and is learning to live with PTSD and combat injuries while battling a prescription drug addiction. This book will be released in March. I’m also in the final revisions of the first novella in my new Reluctant Brides series, Marrying for Love, which will be released in an anthology with 7 other authors in January. I have a really aggressive publication schedule in 2016, so I’ll be writing like crazy and constantly reminding myself to breathe!! 

You can learn more about Susan and her work at www.susanannwall.com

Q&A: Jessie Crockett

Jessie Crockett

There are a lot of wonderful writers living in our state. As the Director of the NH Center for the Book I get the opportunity to talk to many of them. This interview series of Q&As with New Hampshire authors here on Book Notes lets me share that experience a bit with my blog readers. 

If someone hasn't read your work yet, where should they start?

Live Free or Die is my first novel and at this time is a stand-alone. Drizzled with Death is the first in my Sugar Grove series. I would suggest starting with either of those.

When did you first think of yourself as a writer? 

  I think for me it was attending the New England Crime Bake for the first time. Spending such a remarkable weekend in the company of other writers with similar questions and passions made me feel like I was really a writer too. 

How did you end up living in NH? 

My family moved to New Hampshire when I was eight years old. My parents were from Maine and wanted to be close to extended family but not quite in the same backyard as everyone else. To them New Hampshire was the perfect location. I’ve loved being here ever since.

Where do you like to write? 

I have a home office where I do the majority of my actual draft writing. I do the early part of my planning and brainstorming for my novels with pen and paper so I tend to be more mobile with that part of the process. In that case I might work at the beach, at a park or while waiting for an appointment.

How important is place in your writing? 

For me place is one of the most important parts of the story. My characters are always entwined with their settings in such a way that they would not be themselves if moved somewhere else. Besides, if you write about New England, like I do, you can’t resist making a bit of a fuss about the wonders of this place.

What do you do when you aren't writing? 

I’m an avid knitter. I love to walk the beach at all times of the year and I love to host parties. I also facilitate a writing group at the local middle school.

What’s the best piece of advice (writing or otherwise) you were ever given?

Several years ago when I was looking for an agent I naturally received a lot of rejections. One week I received seven in just six days. When I emailed my husband to say I was feeling beaten down by the process he told me “Chin up, pen down.” The memory of his wise words kept encouraging me until I finally landed a contract.
What books do you love and what about them speaks to you? 

I love light-hearted reads by E.F. Benson and P.G. Wodehouse because I delight in the outrageous characters and the general silliness. I adore contemplative and magical  books by Alice Hoffman because they are transportive and engrossing and they make me think about the internal lives of others. I devour bleak Scandinavian crime novels like those by Arnaldur Indridason because the language tends to be elegantly spare and the weather described therein makes New Hampshire look mild by comparison.

What are you working on now? 

Thanks for asking! Currently, I’m at work on a new series for Berkley called the Change of Fortune Mysteries. The first one is entitled Whispers Beyond the Veil. It’s a historical mystery set in Old Orchard Beach, Maine in 1898, the year the original pier opened. The story centers around a young woman named Ruby Proulx who comes to live at her aunt’s oceanfront hotel which caters to the Spiritualist community. When a guest and well-known psychic debunker is found murdered near the pier the police turn their investigation on the hotel and its staff of mediums, astrologers and prognosticators. I have been having enormous fun with it and can hardly wait for it to release in fall of 2016!

You can learn more about Jessie and her work at www.jessiecrockett.com

Q&A: Kevin Flynn

Kevin Flynn

There are a lot of wonderful writers living in our state. As the Director of the NH Center for the Book I get the opportunity to talk to many of them. This interview series of Q&As with New Hampshire authors here on Book Notes lets me share that experience a bit with my blog readers. This month I visited with Kevin Flynn who represents the NH Writers' Project on the NH Center for the Book's Advisory Board.

If someone hasn't read your work yet, where should they start?

I’d recommend they pick up Our Little Secret which I wrote with my partner in print and in life, Rebecca Lavoie. Not everyone is familiar with the true crime genre, and many have a preconceived notion of what it is. I think Our Little Secret makes a case that true crime can be riveting, well-written, and three dimensional. In this story, nobody wears a black hat or a white hat; there are just shades of gray. If you like nonfiction, then this would be a good book to start with.

When did you first think of yourself as a writer?

I spent almost 20 years as a broadcast journalist in NH, so I always identified myself as a reporter. After I left television and started asking people for interviews for my first book, I felt reticent. Rebecca asked why and I said, “I’ve always said ‘I’m a reporter’ and people knew I was working for an established outlet. I’m on my own. I can’t say that anymore.” She replied, “You’re not a reporter. You say, ‘I am a writer.’” I had an agent. I had a book deal. I had an advance. That’s when I said, “Yeah, I’m a writer.”

How did you end up living in NH?

I moved here from Western Massachusetts to attend Notre Dame College in Manchester. When I graduated I got a job working eight hours a week at WZID radio. Foot + door = residency.

Where do you like to write?

I have a room that’s a home office/library where I feel “literary.”

I’ll get a table at a local bookstore if I need work outside of the house, but I don’t want to be that jerk who takes up a table the whole day. I’m not like the hipsters typing deep thoughts in their blogs. A publishing deadline is far more inspirational than pretending to be Hemingway in a Spanish café.

How important is place in your writing?

It depends on the story. In Wicked Intentions and Our Little Secret, the idea of bucolic small-town New Hampshire is a key theme. It sets a stark contrast to a violent reality. Other works, like Legally Dead or Notes on a Killing, are more character-driven so setting and place are not as predominate.

What do you do when you aren't writing?

When they don’t stink, I watch the Red Sox. When they do stink, I drink heavily. Mostly, I laugh and laugh about everything with my wife Rebecca. For people who write about murder and mayhem, we’re the most comedic couple you’ll ever meet.

What’s the best piece of advice (writing or otherwise) you were ever given?

Whenever my agent, Sharlene Martin, gets on my butt, she says, “If writing were easy, everybody would do it.” Also, my Dad said, “If you’re going to wear a necktie, look like you’ve worn one all your life.”

What books do you love and what about them speaks to you?

I love everything by John Steinbeck. He infuses every story with humanity and usually the last sentence of the book is the thing that stays with you. I write about real people, but I strive to bring out their humanity too.

What are you working on now?

My next book, out in October 2015, is a solo project; my first foray into the world of historical narrative nonfiction.

American Sweepstakes is the untold story about how New Hampshire bucked the federal ban and started a lottery in 1964, paving the way for the “American daydream.” The Feds, the press, the mob, and the church were all against it. People were actually arrested for possessing New Hampshire Sweepstakes tickets.

What people forget is that first lottery wasn’t a scratch ticket – it was a horse race!

 

What do you want to share that I neglected to ask about?

People always ask what it’s like writing with your wife. We say it’s just like moving a couch for six months. But really, the only thing we ever fight about is how to start the book. It’s the only argument in our marriage I ever win.

You can learn more about Kevin's work (and Rebecca's) at www.authorkevinflynn.com