Yeah! Events Galore!

Well its been a bit of dry spell but the virtual event was fun and I am going to have another one in February to celebrate my Birthday. Its the big 50, (I just made a sound my cat would recognize, a whimper.) So I want to have a big party with all my fans celebrating my life and writing. This event will be about both my books and fan fiction writing. So come with all your questions and I will be happy to answer them for you. I am still working on a date so I will get back to you on the date and time.







I am going to participate at an event at the Borders in Sherman Oaks. It's an open mike nite where writers read there works, I will be reading a selection of Fantasy Time Inc. If your in Los Angeles on Jan. 8. 2011 at 730pm please come and see me if you can.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189307661083946#!/events/create.php?eid=189307661083946






My new interview is with writer Braddon Mendelson and about his children's book,
He is an old friend and has written an adorable book called;
Have You Seen the Tickle Bug?



1. What is the best inspiration you ever had for a story?

I can't identify anything external that stimulates my creativity. At any given moment there are dozens of ideas rushing through my brain. Now most of them aren't very good, but suddenly one of them will come along and I'll think, "Wow! I have to write this." Nothing inspires me more than coming up with a good idea...



2. Is the best motivation for a character love or hate? Are heroes or villains more fun to write?

While love and hate can certainly motivate a character to action, I don't see them as being any better or worse than any other emotion in the palette of humanity. (i.e greed, lust, envy, revenge, psychosis, etc.)

I like characters who are heroes to some; villains to others.



3. Do you use the same process for writing every time or does it vary?

I often create notes in longhand before opening up the word processor. There's a different part of the brain invoked when using a pencil as opposed to a computer. It's especially helpful in writing comedy, when I'm searching for relationships between contemporary concepts, language and culture. The computer can sometimes be a barrier to free association.



4. What is your favorite character that you wrote yourself? What is your favorite character from another writer?

For the German sitcom I worked on, "Rita's World," there was a character called Schumann -- he was the manager of this grocery store in Cologne. On the outside, he was a rule-bound, insensitive disciplinarian, but inside, he really had a heart, and those scenes where it was exposed -- where I could peel off the icy facade and reveal his vulnerable side -- uncovered a wealth of humor and humanity. He was a fun character to write for.



5. Do you write in one style or several? Do you prefer one genre to another?

My first love is comedy, but I enjoy writing anything. I've written screenplays, press releases, poetry, short stories, internet satire, song lyrics, ad copy and a children's book entitled "Have you seen the Tickle Bug? (ISBN 1453669124), which is available from; http://www.amazon.com/dp/1453669124?tag=noisivision-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1453669124&adid=1WCQY4MYGHJ05HBRBR5P&
or your local bookstore.








Thanks Brad for the great interview, I'm sure our fellow writers will find enjoyable and informative.




Till next time;

Sherri

Just a reminder my book is available directly at the publisher site;
http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432758110

Virtual Event part 2

Well I had my Virtual Event and it went very well. I had some amazing people with amazing questions. Here is the link for a partial text of the event;


http://www.facebook.com/#!/note.php?note_id=129143120479934&id=162131603803045


It brought up questions and ideas that I wouldn't have thought of because they were a bit personal and outside of my comfort zone. I will most likely think about developing some of the ideas. They excited me:)





My new addition to my blog is an interview series with fellow writers. One of my favorite writers Melissa Good agreed to be my first interview. She wrote a series of books called The Tropical Storm Series. She came from Fan Fiction like I did and wrote two of my favorite characters Dar and Kerry.





With out further ado, here is Missy;





What is the best inspiration you ever had for a story?





The events surrounding 9/11.





Is the best motivation for a character love or hate?
Are heroes or villains more fun to write?





Love is far more powerful and devastating than hate and longer lasting. It's hard to hold on to fierce hate, but it's possible to never give up love in certain circumstances. So - really I would not say one or the other is better motivation but I think you have more fun writing from a position of love.





Do you use the same process for writing every time or does it vary?





I don't really have a process. I just start and see where it goes. So I guess it's always the same.





What is your favorite character that you wrote yourself?
What is your favorite character from another writer?





I don't know that I have a favorite personal character - I like a lot of them. I enjoy writing the main characters because they have unique viewpoints. For other authors - there are also a lot.


I enjoy science fiction mostly - probably Katherine Kurtz's Camber Macrorie is one of them and in the mystery realm I love Agatha Christie's Jane Marple.


(note from Sherri; I have to agree with Missy; love Jane Marple:)





Do you write in one style or several?
Do you prefer one genre to another?





I generally write pretty much in the same style - and I don't have a preference for genre in writing. It's more about the characters than the background really.





Thank you so much for being my first interview, it was great!





Now for my Know Your Creative Past this time a personal story of the star I would like to tell you about. It was in the 80's and I was a manager of candy store called Blum's. She was one of my regular customers and I knew who she was but was too shy to ask her. Then at Christmas time I asked her about her past. She told me all about her movies and answered all my questions and on the top of that gave me a huge order.





Her name was Virgina Mayo who was always one of my favorites. She was gracious, kind and funny. She told me all about Danny Kaye who I loved. I told her about the fact that my Dad could recite Danny Kaye songs with him. She loved it and told me to tell him that it was quite an achievement. She was a great lady:)

Till next time:)