Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and take a ride on Ty Johnston’s Blog Tour.  I’m more than happy to be part of this huge event and I want to personally thank Ty for asking me to do this.  And to do the whole “eye for an eye” thing, I’ve decided to do my post in the same way he did his for me.  I had the pleasure of interviewing him.  The following is from the man himself and I do hope you’ll all check out his site, and his new book.

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Fantasy author Ty Johnston’s blog tour 2011 is running from November 1 through November 30. His novels include City of Rogues, Bayne’s Climb and More than Kin, all of which are available for the Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/Ty-Johnston/e/B002MCBQRU/ ), the Nook (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/ty-johnston ) and online at Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/darkbow ). His latest novel, Ghosts of the Asylum, is officially available for e-books as of November 21. To find out more, follow him at his blog tyjohnston.blogspot.com.

1.) When did you realize that you wanted to be an author?

I honestly can’t remember a time when I did not want to be a writer. Even as a child growing up in the 1970s, I started writing and drawing my own comic books when I was about five. I wrote my very first novel in fourth grade. It would be called fan fiction today, but back then it was just a rip-off story about James Bond. Ha!

I think comic books were a huge influence on me wanting to be a writer, but in ’77 Star Wars came along and that changed everything for me. Also in 1977, I believe I was first introduced to the fantasy genre through a televised Rankin/Bass animated version of The Hobbit. Those elements kicked things off for my speculative genre interests, and turned me towards literature.

2.) Where do your writing roots lie?

Physically, in my home state of Kentucky. From a literary point of view, like many children of the 1970s, I first discovered fantasy through J.R.R. Tolkien and soon after the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing games. About 1980 I discovered Sword & Sorcery literature through the Thieves’ World anthologies. I read my first horror novel in the early ’80s, that book being Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, and that opened up new doors to me for how to tell stories, specifically dark stories. The first novel I ever remember reading was Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, followed up soon after with The Three Investigators series of novels originally by Robert Arthur.

I’m not sure that answers your question, though it does give an idea of my earliest influences. Over the years I’ve found myself affected by a number of writers, those who I don’t wish to emulate, but who have urged me toward particular themes or topics. Hemingway comes to mind, as does Truman Capote, Alexandre Dumas, and Steven Erikson.

3.) What would you say is the easiest part/hardest part of being a writer?

The easiest part? I’m not sure there is an “easiest” part to being a writer. Each task has its own rewards and difficulties. Perhaps it would be interacting with readers and fans. My favorite part of writing is working out the plots in my head, but that’s not necessarily easy.

The hardest part? Answering these questions. Just kidding! Actually, for me, the hardest part comes with rewriting and editing. It’s not that I find editing particularly difficult in and of itself, after all I was a newspaper editor for nearly 20 years (not that that’s the same thing as being a book editor), but by the time I’ve reached the editing stage, I have my latest story out of my system. I told the tale, I know everything that has happened, so it can seem like pulling teeth to have to jump back into a story. If I can set a story aside for a few months, this feeling of tedium is not nearly so strong, but when I finish writing a piece and then jump right into writing, I frankly become quite bored. I need time to put distance between myself and my stories, so I can come to a tale with fresh eyes and possibly different ideas.

4.) Who’s writing style would you say you most closely resemble?

Hmm, that’s a tough one. My style probably leans most toward that of late fantasy author David Gemmell, though I mean in no way to compare myself with his talent. And to tell the truth, while I enjoy Gemmell’s writing, I wouldn’t necessarily call myself his biggest fan. But as a storyteller, I see myself doing (or attempting) a lot of things Gemmell did with his writings.

5.) Outside of writing, what is the one thing you’d most like to do during your lifetime?

Oh, gosh, writing is so much of my life, I can hardly imagine doing anything outside of it. Maybe world peace? Or playing more video games? That’s it. Those are my two options. World peace or video games. I wonder which one is more likely to happen?

To be serious for a moment, I’m not sure I would have a single, major goal for my lifetime. But I do have some interests outside of writing. For instance, I’m off-and-on involved in animal rescue, mostly with abandoned pet rabbits. Though somewhat related to writing, I do study quite a bit of philosophical and religious related works, mostly in relation to history, so perhaps I might wish to accomplish something in that area, though it would likely be writing related.

6.) What is the one piece of advice you’d give to up and coming writers?

Learn to write.

Stop laughing. Or cursing. I’m being serious. I run across too many beginning writers who don’t seem to know the basics of solid storytelling. I see characters who act and speak unrealistically, plots and events that jump all over the place and/or make no sense, and often seemingly little thought given to what lies behind a story, the particular themes to a tale (what an author “wants to say” in any given piece).

I don’t mean to belittle those who are learning or struggling with those basics. Everyone has to learn. But don’t slap something together, especially a first novel, then tell me (and readers) how great it is. It’s quite rare a first novel is solid reading material. Let the readers decide whether something is great or not.

As for learning those basics, one of my favorite pieces of advice is for beginners to study screenwriting. Screenwriting breaks storytelling down into basic formulas, almost like simple math, without the writer having to worry so much about their prose. Once those basics are learned, the rules can be broken.

7.) Where do you see yourself as a writer in the next ten years?

I try to not look ahead further than my next writing project, though I always have somewhat vague, distant goals in mind. I’m working on an epic fantasy series that could eventually contain 40 to 50 novels, so over the next decade I hope to be further along with those tales. Then there are a hundred other novel ideas jumping around in my head, and I hope to have at least a few of those out of my system. One of my difficulties as a writer is that I’m always coming up with new ideas, but I try not to force myself into a strict schedule of what stories to write next. I prefer to finish a novel, then give myself a month or so to figure out what my next project will be, to find what draws my interest.

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I want to again thank Ty for allowing me to interview him and be one of the hosts for his latest book, Ghosts Of The Asylum.  I’m hoping that Ty will be kind enough to furnish me with a full-on press release when the book comes out November 21st so that I can put it up here on my blog for the whole world to see (Ahem, Ty?  Old buddy?  Oh Pal O’Mine?)  But until then, be sure to stop by his site and check out all the other titles he’s got under his belt.  He may come from the days of Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons, but his work is truly a one-of-a-kind.

It’s the first day of NaNoWriMo and my fingers are already numb.  I’m happy to say, though, it’s only the first day and I’ve already put more than 3500 words down for my story.  I’m going to do it this year if it kills me.  I want to be able to say that I won the NaNo challenge this year, and I think what’s going to take me over the line is that the story I’m working on is one that’s been brewing in my head for quite some time now.  I won’t give too much away just yet, but I will say that I’m taking an old fairy tale and giving it a modern twist and seeing it through the eyes of the bad person.  But I’ve only just started, so who knows where the characters will end up taking me before it’s all said and done.

This is my 5th year of NaNo, though I’ve only managed to make it through to the end once before.  And that story is lying on my hard drive somewhere, just waiting for the day I pull my head out of my back-end and get it polished up.  It’s an interesting story and I’m sure if I worked on it a bit, I could turn it into something worth having published.  Trust me, I’ve read enough e-books in the past year to know that mine isn’t nearly as bad as some I’ve read.  But then again, it’s nowhere near as good as some I’ve read.  But if I continually compare my writing to that of those who I think are beyond my own scope, I’ll never have the spinal column to put one of my own out there.  And I’m not talking about authors like Stephen King or John Grisham.  They’re way beyond my range.  But I have read a few newer authors who blow my work out of the water.  I’m talking about authors like Andrew E. Kaufman and Ty Johnston.  Seriously, these two gentlemen are some of the best authors I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading and virtually meeting.  Check them out, read their books, see what I mean.

I’ll try to do regular updates throughout the month.  With doing this, my regular thing at Blog Engage, my real-world job, and still being a mom/wife type person, this could be a very busy month.  But truthfully, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

If you’re doing NaNo this year, add me to your buddy list.  You’ll find me listed as CRSENTER.  Happy Writing Kids!!!!!

Miss me????  I know it’s been a month and a half since my last post but I’ve been on such a whirlwind ride that I’m just now getting time to catch my breath.  Between my new job at Blog Engage, trying to keep up with my other writing clients, trying to read an e-book or two in there somewhere, and still stay on top of my real world duties, I’m seriously thinking that I’ve lost at least about 87 hours.  LOL

So what else has been happening?  Well, I am in the process of getting ready for NaNoWriMo 2011.  That’s right boys and girls, it’s almost time once again to speed write our way into the record books and pound out 50,000 words in 30 days.  It’s a good thing we don’t have to have a working ready novel in that length of time, just a good first draft that could possibly be turned into a serious work of literary art.  Well, into a half way descent e-book anyway.  LOL  I have the basis for my book ready to go and a basic outline of my characters.  I can’t write any part of the story until 12:01 am on November 1st, but I can get all my ducks…er, characters in a row beforehand.  I’m hoping that by being somewhat prepared that I’ll have a shot at hitting the finish line again this year.  I’ve done it only once before, but I really want it this year.  I’m hoping to make this one into a real book before it’s all said and done with.

Also, as of this coming Monday (October 17th), I’m on vacation.  Okay, my real world bosses (husband and wife team) are taking their vacation, which means those of us who work under them will be on a forced vacation.  Oh darn.  It might sound like I’m throwing a pity-party (yeah I know, oh poor baby.  Have to sit home and do nothing but play on the puter for 2 whole weeks), but the truth is it will kind of suck.  I have to sit at home while my bosses go on their annual jaunt to Bermuda.  Oh well, I hope they have a good time and enjoy their vacation.  I know I will as my son who’s in the Navy is getting to come home during that exact same 2 weeks.  Now that was a gift from God himself.

As I said above, I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few e-books here and there, but I do have say one thing.  On one of my last posts (in August), I’d mentioned that I’d been given the chance to read and review a book by Heather Cashman called Perception.  I have to admit that I have been unable to finish this book.  Not because it sucks, because I cried 3 different times in the first part of this book.  My problem is that once into the middle of the book, it just drags on.  I’m not good with dragging on.  I’m like the little kid who goes for a walk in the woods and sees a bunny half way through.  I gotta follow that bunny and I’m probably going to get lost.  I will say this though, if you enjoy stories that have to do with a person having the ability to see the world through the eyes and thoughts of their animal companion, then I highly recommend Heather’s book.  It’s a very long book, but the characters are very realistic and there’s some killer scenes in the first half of the book.

Well, that’s all for now.  Hopefully I’ll get around to getting more posts done now that I’m getting into a regular swing of things.  I’ve got a few more e-books downloaded in the Kindle, so as time goes on, I’ll try and get a couple reviews posted for your amusement.  Until then, happy writing and remember, when the going gets tough…get a bigger hammer!!!!!  CIAO!!

But, with this being a pretty big deal, I’ll be spending a lot of time one the site.  This isn’t just some site needing someone to keep up with things, this is an actual paying gig that requires me to do some actual work.  I can dig it.  That means no more playing around with the giveaway girls, or at least not as much.  I’ll still be checking out some of my more favoritest places and of course, keeping up with the book stuff and talking about fiction.  I still have a book to finish for Heather Cashman, which by the was has made me cry 3 different times and I just over half way done.

For those wh0 have never heard of Blog Engage, it’s an amazing place where bloggers come together and check out each others posts.  Blog posts are submitted to the site and other members vote on them.  If a post gets 11 or more votes, it becomes a published piece and that’s where everyone wants to be.  It’s fun and it can bring a lot of traffic to your blog.  The site also has their own blog, which is where I’ll be doing my thing.  There’s a lot of valuable information on this site, all geared toward helping our fellow bloggers.

And don’t worry, I won’t be giving up on giveaways altogether.  I would have a meltdown if I could enter a book giveaway or 2.  I’ll keep you all up to date and I still have my own sites to run.  Won’t be giving up on those either.  So stick around and see what we can cook up.  This is going to be a fun and bumpy ride, but that’s what makes it so interesting.

This is a wonderful resource for writers of all genre.  There are places where fiction writers can sit and discuss their upcoming books, places for non-fiction writers to discuss the topics of the day, and a place where they can all hang out together.  There are links to various paying writing jobs, links to writing contests, and links to places about grants and awards.  If it’s got anything to do with writing, it can be found on this forum.

The gorgeous lady behind AWF is one of the very first writers I had the pleasure of meeting online, Michelle Devon.  She is an amazingly talented woman and has a killer sense of humor.  Michy (Michelle) refers to herself as a freelance writer, author, poet, and professional dreamer and I think that last one is something we can all relate to.

If you’ve been looking for a place to hang out with other writers who’ve been where you are, and are where you once were, this is the place to go.  Even if you’re tired of talking about writing and just want to hang out, there’s plenty of room at the Accentuate Writers Forum.

As you sit and try to come up with various story ideas, think about your real life.  Not the good parts where everything comes together as it should, but the parts that just totally suck.  Use them as fodder for your story lines.  So you didn’t get the promotion at work you wanted and it went to the guy who never seems to know what’s going on.  Use that as a base for a story.  Why does he always come out smelling like a rose?  Why did he get the promotion?  What are the forces behind his odd behavior?  Don’t stop to think about plot, just write and go for it.

This can be applied to just about any aspect of our lives.  We all know that sometimes, life just sucks.  But rather than hold it in or take it out on those around us, use it to your advantage.  Write out a story where you win and the rest of the world loses.  For a change you could be the one who gets the promotion, the guy/girl, and an award winning story in the end.

There have been hundreds of natural disaster movies coming out in the past 10 years.  With the year 2012 coming up fast, more and more fantastical ideas are coming to the forefront of fiction.  But as I sit here and watch how this hurricane is working its way up the coast, I can’t help but think how many different fictional stories could come out of this one real storm.

I live in tornado alley.  I’ve done the same thing watching the big storms that roll through here.  Though the reality of the storms is anything but fictional, the story ideas behind them can range from young adult fiction, to horror, to romance.  If it can be imagined with a tornado or hurricane in the mix, it can be written.

Though it’s true that fiction is all about making stuff up, there is a realistic quality to some of the best stories ever written.  And when adding the element of the elements, it’s best to be able to make them feel are real as possible.  It’s okay to make up a fictional storm, but at least make it so that the reader can feel the wind in their face.  The more realistic the storm, the more likely the reader is to tell their friends about your awesome story.

When I start out writing a story, I think about the characters first.  Who are they?  Why are they in the story?  What kind of people are they?  Once I’ve figured out the basics of them, I interview them.  Yes, I sit down and do a mock interview with my intended characters.  It helps me in shaping them into realistic figures that readers can believe in.  I don’t want a story filled with goodie-two-shoes, even if the story is about those types of people.  They have to have some flaws.  There has to be something about them that makes them human.  After all, none of us is perfect, so why should the characters in our books be so.

I do the same types of interviews for both the antagonist and the protagonist.  I also do this with all the lesser characters.  It’s how I get a more 3-dimentional feel for them.  It helps me come up with physical traits as well as psychological ones.  It even helps me create some emotional issues that may not even come out in the story.  But for me, knowing that those things are there, help me to create a story around the characters that are believeable.

What types of characters do you enjoy reading about?  Do you like the perfect never-done-wrong types or do you prefer your heroes to be a bit on the flawed side?  Do you want your villains to be a little bit sympathetic or should they be just down right hateful?  How do you create a character?

There are all kinds of writing groups on this site.  Some are meant to help the fiction writer, so to help the poet, and others are just there to help you build points.  And why would you want to do that???  Well because if you earn enough points, you can cash them in for all kinds of cool things including Paypal cash cards.  I’ve never earned that much myself, but I never really tried either.  I wasn’t there to try and make money, I used it as a way to find my personal voice and new people to hang out with.

There are 2 basic kinds of people on Gather.com.  Those that you’ll love to hang out with and talk about everything under the sun, and those that will harass you relentlessly and drive you absolutely mad.  And trust me, there are quite a few of them.  However, you don’t have to accept their friendship requests and if you accidentally run across one of the types of people, just unfriend them and you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Gather.com is kind of like a social network for writers.  And I mean writers of all genre, all walks of life, all personalities, and everything in between.  Whatever you are in this world, or whatever you want to be.  It’s all good and it’s okay because when you join up with site, you’ll find that you’ll look forward to the times you show up to Gather.

First of all, the lady behind Mother/Gamer/Writer is Diayll Sales and she’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of being and more.  I’m a mother and a writer, but I can’t really consider myself a gamer though I love Hidden Object Games.  LOL.  I found this very cool site when I saw her giveaway update.  She’d done a review of Dark Taste of Rapture by Gena Showalter and is giving away a copy.  The only issue I can see is that I couldn’t find an end date to this giveaway.

However, the rest of her site is awesome.  She’s got reviews of various video games and a lot of other books.  It’s a very cool site and I strongly recommend anyone who’s interested in either subject to run by pay a visit.  You won’t be disappointed.  It’s a gamer’s paradise, a reader’s dream world, and the place my blog wants to grow up to be.