I just finished being interviewed on blog talk radio, and all things considered, it went okay. Well, there was that part where my mind went blank and I couldn’t think of a single disease mentioned in A Spark of Heavenly Fire, couldn’t think of a single biological warfare experiment that I researched. Sheesh. I spent years on the research. You’d think at least some of it would have come easily to mind. I did manage to mention a connection between swine flu and the novel, but still . . . it would have been nice to sound as knowledgable as I am about the horrors of biological warfare and human experimentation. And I talked about the Hanta River in North Korea, when it’s in South Korea. In the end, though, it doesn’t matter. The story isn’t about disease, though I kill off hundreds of thousands of Colorado residents with the flu-like epidemic I created. The disease, the deaths, the quarantine are all simply the setting for the story of how insomniac Kate Cummings came alive when all around her people were dying.
What does matter is that I didn’t give the right website address for my publisher, Second Wind Publishing. Aaaarrrggghhhh! You can find them at http://secondwindpublishing.com. Just goes to show that you can’t take anything for granted. Make sure you have website addresses and other pertinent information right in front of you. Don’t rely on your memory!
I had fun, though. I’d met one of the hosts, Steven Clark Bradley, author of Patriot Acts, through Facebook. We’ve had a few interesting email conversations, he’s participated in some of my discussions, and he did a wonderful review of More Deaths Than One. During the blog talk show he mentioned that he stayed up late one night to read my book –Oh, how I enjoy keeping men up late at night! What power!
We talked about how I got the ideas for my books, talked about the characters, and I got in a plug for my novel, Daughter Am I, which will be published next month. All good stuff. The best thing about Blog Talk Radio is that, like all blogs, it’s forever. So stop by whenever you can. I’ll be there.
Blog Talk Two (Today’s interview): Back Story — The Behind the Scenes Look at Writing a Novel
Blog Talk One (My first interview): Talk to Me: Conversations With Creative, Unconventional People
Steven Clark Bradley’s review: More Deaths Than One
More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire are available from Second Wind Publishing, LLC.
You can also download the first 30% free at Smashwords
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
: 
Bertram's Blog 
September 5, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I’ve done three Internet radio interviews and after listening to the first of them done last April, I decided several things. One was that I didn’t need to begin every answer with the word “well.” I wrote that word on a scrap of paper prior to interview #2. Then I noticed how easy it was to forget the obvious: URLs, names of characters in the book…even though I don’t like outlines, I’m not above setting up a cheat sheet for radio because I always have stage fright doing anything that involves talking to people.
You’re thinking of such things after your interview because they stand out. But as I listened, I didn’t notice such things. I heard a very personable author talking quite naturally and casually about two books I enjoyed reading quite a bit. It was a fun show.
Malcolm
September 5, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Thanks, Malcolm. And thanks for listening! The worst offense is the wrong URL for my publisher, but I have a hunch in the end I’ll get more notice for Second Wind Publishing by talking about my blunder than I would if I’d given the right URL. If anyone checks, I think they will understand that Second Wind Publishing is not a wind generating machine. (I’m refraining from making the obvious joke.)
September 5, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I always used to hate the “oral” tests when I did languages at school. Even in general conversation, things vanish in a haze, so I’m filled with admiration for your bravery.
September 7, 2009 at 5:59 am
Pat,
I am in complete admiration for your skills …Public speaking is the latest one …
Adina
September 7, 2009 at 11:34 am
Thank you, Sheila and Adina. For some reason it’s not a problem for me — I enjoy being interviewed for some odd reason. Perhaps because I don’t think of as an interview but simply as a conversation with a new friend.