Category: Writing

Creator of “fantastic families, magical academies, and epic adventures”!

Show Notes with Links:

The Hundred Halls BOOK 1: TRIALS OF MAGIC

• Tom shares who he is when he’s not writing.
• He shares his exciting news about a new cooperative strategy card game based on his books, available in February! (Subscribe to his newsletter to get up-to-date info)

• With over 60 published books, how do you keep track of your characters? (any writing apps?)
• How do you remember what you’ve written?
• When did you know you could make a living from your imagination?
• Everyone wants to know the “trick” for success. How many years did it take you to become on “overnight success”?

• You have all the elements of a magical world. Harry-Potter-type schools, guilt-ridden older sister who must learn the truth about how to respond to the unknown, jealous, tormenting peers. . .
• Trials of Magic has a scene reminiscent of one in Orson Scott Card’s Enders Game
• Which authors/books inspired you most?
• You chose two sisters for this series. Why?
• What one word would sum up Trials of Magic? [mine is FUN!]
• Cover Art designers: Ravven.com and G&S Covers
• Where do you write? Tom discusses his writing routine.
• We discuss the need for tension in stories, and Tom says, “Authors are really cruel people.”
• Do you have a favorite pair of socks? [we share our socks!] Or any other thing most don’t know about you?

• What is one piece of advice writers can use right now?
• What’s your writing goal for 2024, and do you ever worry about how long you can keep up the pace?

Here’s a list of Tom’s current Hundred Halls titles!

The Hundred Halls (Arcanium Hall)
Book 1: Trials of Magic
Book 2: Web of Lies
Book 3: Alchemy of Souls
Book 4: Gathering of Shadows
Book 5: City of Sorcery

The Reluctant Assassin (Academy of Subtle Arts)
Book 1: The Reluctant Assassin
Book 2: The Sorcerous Spy
Book 3: The Veiled Diplomat
Book 4: Agent Unraveled
Book 5: The Webs That Bind

Gamemakers Online (Gamemakers Hall)
Book 1: The Warped Forest
Book 2: Gladiators of Warsong
Book 3: Citadel of Broken Dreams
Book 4: Enter the Daemonpits
Book 5: Plane of Twilight

Animalians (Animalians Hall)
Book 1: Wild Magic
Book 2: Bane of the Hunter
Book 3: Mark of the Phoenix
Book 4: Arcane Mutations
Book 5: Untamed Destiny

Stone Singers (Stone Singers Hall)
Book 1: Song of Siren and Blood
Book 2: House of Snake and Tome
Book 3: Storm of Dragon and Stone
Book 4: Sonata of Shadow and Thorn
Book 5: Well of Demon and Bone

• All the books can be found at major retailers and directly from the author at https://thomaskcarpenter.com/.
• Subscribe to his newsletter here: https://www.subscribepage.com/trialsofmagic
• Anything else you’d like our listeners to know?
• You may support Tom’s growing list of fun, magical creations by contributing whatever you can to his Kickstarter Campaign! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orderofmerlintrilogy/champions-of-the-hundred-halls
• Oh, and I introduce our new puppy, Banjo!

Laurel Stuff:

Find my other work here!

• Laurel’s Amazon Author page
• https://leadvillelaurel.com/writing-tips/
• https://www.facebook.com/LeadvilleLaurel/
• My YouTube Channel
• https://soundcloud.com/laurelmchargue (my podcast)
• @laurelstuff (my TikTok)

Please subscribe to Alligator Preserves on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts, and tell your friends about it! I’d love it if you “liked” the episodes you listen to, and I’d love it even more if you’d post a quick comment!

Meet the award-winning, tie-dye wearing author of epic social science fiction!

Show Notes with Links:

WELCOME! I met Johnny Worthen at the RMFW Conference in September! He presented the workshop: “The Muddled Middle”

• Johnny tells us about himself after I tease him about being a tie-dye king…which is now his “brand”!
• We agree with how liberating it is to have a uniform (which leads me to wonder how the world would change if the military adopted tie-dye uniforms)!
• He tells us about his debut as a storyteller.
• He talks about his bagel shop in Oregon (The Daily Bagel).
• I give him more than 4 floors to present his elevator pitch for Of Kings, Queens, and Colonies
• I read some of his wonderful similes and figurative language elements, and we discuss “multi-genreism”
• I ask about the space elevator thread—and wiki says “The key concept of the space elevator appeared in 1895 when Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.”
• I ask about his natives—and reflections of Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.”
• Bees and honey, Religion and school indoctrination, steampunk elements, and more!
• Johnny reads a passage from “Of Kings, Queens, and Colonies”…
• I ask what’s the most controversial thing he’ve ever done, and he tells us.
• He talks about his greatest challenge as a writer
• Lightning round:   Chocolate or pistachio / fall or spring / Star Trek or StarWars / dogs or llamas ) listen for his answers!
• I ask about the dark fiction press he edits for in LA.
• Shout-outs and ADVICE to writers!
• Johnnyworthen.com
• Flame Tree Publishing

Laurel Stuff:

Find my other work here!

• Laurel’s Amazon Author page
• https://leadvillelaurel.com/writing-tips/
• https://www.facebook.com/LeadvilleLaurel/
• My YouTube Channel
• https://soundcloud.com/laurelmchargue (my podcast)
• @laurelstuff (my TikTok)

Please subscribe to Alligator Preserves on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts, and tell your friends about it! I’d love it if you “liked” the episodes you listen to, and I’d love it even more if you’d post a quick comment!

“The Last Hurrah: A Phoebe Korneal Mystery” by Judilee Butler & GaGa Gabardi fills the bill!

Show Notes with Links:

• Judilee (Judy) Butler and Jean (GaGa) Gabardi have co-authored a cozy murder mystery series in a place I recognize!
• Gaga and Judy tell us a bit about themselves.
• We get an ELEVATOR PITCH for The Last Hurrah, book 1 of their series.
• They discuss why and how they wrote the first book.
• CCWritersExhange has benefitted both authors (and we encourage everyone to join this supportive writing group!)
• We talk about collaborating with other authors and what their roles were in developing/writing this ongoing story.
• We learn what makes a murder mystery cozy.
• Judy and Jean discuss the research they did to make Oresville (Leadville!) feel real.

• They tell us what surprised them while creating this series.
• We touch on marketing and the challenges of technology.
• How many more books will there be? A funny answer!
• They each give shout-outs and advice to budding authors.
• Find their books on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Hurrah-Phoebe-Korneal-Mystery-ebook/dp/B08PFXHT76/
• Follow them on their website here: https://jgabardi.wixsite.com/bngbooks

Laurel Stuff:

Find my other work here!

• Laurel’s Amazon Author page
• https://leadvillelaurel.com/writing-tips/
• https://www.facebook.com/LeadvilleLaurel/
• My YouTube Channel
• https://soundcloud.com/laurelmchargue (my podcast)
• @laurelstuff (my TikTok)

Please subscribe to Alligator Preserves on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts, and tell your friends about it! I’d love it if you “liked” the episodes you listen to, and I’d love it even more if you’d post a quick comment!

[Now SCRATCH those last two words!]

Guest Blog! Five-Minute Writing Tips by Kathleen Kaska

Kathleen Kaska recently sent me her Five-Minute Writing Tips, and I had to share them with you this National Novel Writing Month! I’ve enjoyed several conversations with Kathleen during interviews about her latest books (she has many), and I hope you’ll enjoy the videos of our visits (see below Kathleen’s tips). And so, without further ado, her helpful tips! (Time to rewatch Throw Momma from the Train!)

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Don’t Be Like Larry Donner: Seven R’s for Removing Writer’s Block

Was the night . . . humid, moist, or wet? Is the right word on the tip of your tongue, but you’re tongue-tied? Do you have a great scene for murdering a condescending convenience-store clerk, but can’t get his body into the beer box without being seen? Have your characters developed minds of their own, barricaded themselves in a bank vault, and refused to make an appearance on your computer screen?

What do you do now? Start by deleting the words “writer’s block” from your vocabulary, then remember the advice of Larry Donner. “Who’s he?” you ask. Remember the movie Throw Momma from the Train, a spoof on Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 thriller, Strangers on a Train? Throw Momma from the Train stars Billy Crystal as writing instructor Larry Donner and Danny DeVito as his overzealous student, Owen Lift.

The plot in both films is based on the theory that if you eliminate the motive, you can get away with murder. In other words, “You kill mine, and I’ll kill yours.” In Throw Momma, Larry wants his wife dead, Owen his mother.

The sub-plot in the spoof has to do with writer’s block. Larry has a severe case of it, which is magnified by the murder charge against him, but the basic lesson to his students is: “A writer writes, always.” So, take Larry’s advice if the words won’t flow and follow my seven “R’s.”

1. Resurrect: Work on more than one writing project.

If you hit a roadblock while working on a story, just move to another. Allow your creativity time to process what you have written. In the meantime, continue writing. I keep several projects in the works: a proposal, an article, a blog post, or even an old-fashioned letter to a friend. This allows me to log several hours a day of writing and feel like I’ve accomplished something.

2. Rewrite: Edit what you’ve already written.

As a writer, you may like to ignore the left side of your brain, but that petty and unrelentingly critical hemisphere is your friend. While the right side of your brain allows the creative stream to flow unencumbered by rules of the English language, you have to tidy up the result with the left.

I set aside my first drafts to let them settle. When the time is right, I let my left-brain do the dirty work.

3. Research: Spend more time gathering information.

Being at a loss for words might mean you’re out of ammunition. There is no better way for me to get those juices flowing again than to delve deeper into my subject, searching for facts and anecdotes that add dimension to the piece.

While working on my article “Digging for Ancient Treasure: Agatha Christie in the Middle East,” I read Christie’s book, Come Tell Me How You Live, a humorous account of her life with her husband, archeologist Max Mallowan. This autobiographical story gave me a new perspective and added a twist to my article.

4. Regroup: Join a writers’ critique group or enroll in a writing class or workshop.

I believe a good writer, like a good teacher, is always willing to learn. For me, groups and workshops increase my motivation and benefit my writing creatively and financially. Isolating myself with my thoughts and computer might be comforting, but I cannot live on my own words alone. I need feedback.

An effective critique group is made up of colleagues, not best friends, and objective criticism is the goal. Don’t go ballistic like Larry Donner did in the film when his nemesis (Momma) gave him the perfect word. “The night was wet” might be accurate, but “sultry” rolls off the tongue and adds more depth to Larry’s description, setting the tone for his story.

Learn from your peers. The day a writer feels that he/she has learned everything there is to know about the art and business of writing is the day that writer should hang up her pen.

5. Resolve: Solve problems that interfere with your concentration.

Well, at least make an attempt. You might not be able to convince your mother not to call during your writing time, or guarantee that your four-year-old won’t fall off his tricycle, but you can arrange and organize your day to ensure fewer distractions.

Maybe you can drop off your kids at your mother’s for the afternoon, turn off your phone, notifications, or even let your emails go unread. Just remove some obstacles so that your path is clear.

6. Read: Read your favorite author.

I have several books that I call my inspirational jumpstarts. They vary from the poetic prose of Beryl Markham’s West with the Night, to the comic dialogue of Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody mystery series, to my favorite poetry book, Nine Horses, by Billy Collins. Reading a great book or story inspires me to write. Likewise, if I am writing an article and am having trouble with that first line, I peruse magazines and read the first sentences of a few articles. This gets my mind off what is not working for me and allows me to focus on what works for other writers.

7. Relax: It might be time to let your mind wander.

Watch Throw Momma from the Train. While your conscious self-relaxes, your brain is still at work processing behind the scenes. As in the movie, everything resolves itself in the end, given enough time and a change of scenery. Larry’s wife is found alive, so the murder charges against him are dropped; Owen’s mother dies a natural death, giving Owen the freedom he needs to become himself; and both writer and student publish a book.

The moral of the story: whether you are running from the law or hiding from your mother, no matter if the night is humid, moist, wet, or sultry, a writer writes—always.

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