WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Shelby K. Morrison, Author

Shelby K. Morrison, Author
SHATTERED

Shelby K. Morrison just released her debut novel, SHATTERED, described by reviewers as “a captivating...thought provoking...action packed psychological thriller!” full of surprises. The novel tracks a college student from Beaverton, Oregon, who senses she is being watched.

Morrison currently lives in Utah, but was born in Oregon and grew up in California and Utah.  She plans to try on multiple genres and is currently writing a fantasy story. She says she is addicted to doing research, but also enjoys DIY projects, and especially “hanging out” with her husband and two shih-tzus.

Q: In what genre[s] would you place SHATTERED? Mystery, thriller, or SciFi? Or all three? Who will enjoy reading SHATTERED the most?

Shelby K. Morrison: After doing some thinking, listening to my readers and learning about genres, I'd actually place SHATTERED among the psychological thrillers. The sci-fi aspect is so small that those that aren't sci-fi fans would steer clear when they really shouldn't. No spaceships, no aliens. Readers that enjoy a good thinker and some fast action will enjoy SHATTERED, no matter the age. If they are tired of the traditional who-dun-it mysteries and want something fresh to nag at their thoughts, SHATTERED is the book for them. Also, any readers fascinated by conspiracy theories should definitely pick up SHATTERED. It could also be categorized as an action adventure.

Q: What are the attributes of an engaging mystery? Is a mystery also a thriller? If not, what makes a thriller? How did you create a “thriller/mystery” or “psychological thriller?”

Shelby K. Morrison: For a mystery to be engaging, I feel the reader should want to find the answers as much as the protagonist. They should get frustrated when they reach dead-ends, they should be concerned about the looming deadline. A mystery can be a thriller if there is the possibility of death, if you are not only absorbed in the mystery but also the safety of your characters. I've created a thriller/mystery with SHATTERED because the reader is learning with Alex, yet also afraid for Alex. They know just a little more than she, but just a little. They are curious, frustrated, anxious to find the answers in time. A mystery with a deadly deadline. Was that redundant?

Q: How do you entice readers to care about your characters, especially your protagonist, Alex Bowen? Do you base your characters on real people?

Shelby K. Morrison: SHATTERED is a particular story, where the readers might not connect completely with Alex until mid-way through the book when a large secret is revealed. Might. However, I try to allow my readers to understand Alex bit by bit as the story progresses. Apart from that, I strive to make my protagonists as human as possible, with annoyances, bad habits, flaws, weaknesses. Alex, for example, is very naïve in the beginning of the book, very trusting. Ian, a secondary character, hates riddles. And on it goes. Characters shouldn't be the perfect person, they should be real. Sometimes the reader may want to slap them and other times they may want to hug them. I don't base them on real people because, honestly, book characters need to be larger than life. Real, only better. They are real people in my head, for whatever that's worth.

Q: Does the concept of “heroes” vs “villains” apply to SHATTERED? Do you need a villain to produce a hero?

Shelby K. Morrison: SHATTERED doesn't have a strong obvious villain. Certainly you will know who the villain is meant to be, but that doesn't make them a true villain. If that makes sense. It's all perspective. To some, the villain in SHATTERED is no villain at all. Some could venture as far (very far) as to say that the villain could technically be viewed as a hero. But to Alex, this is her villain, the dragon she must slay. You don't necessarily have to always have a dragon to slay, to find a hero. You just have to have a character who stops at nothing to do what they feel is right.

Q: How or what inspired you to conceive of your story about a college student being watched? Is it based on a real event? 

Shelby K. Morrison: Haha! I would certainly hope not! No, most of the story is my imagination. However, large, and I mean LARGE, chunks are based off of true life. Strung together, a complete work of fiction. Broken up, huge truths. This might be scary to readers. And it should be. That's the point. Mainly the tiny bud of the idea (it's altered much more into what it is today) started when I thought "What if everything you knew was a lie?" I can't say much more, lest I spoil it. However, if you visit my website, I do go into more detail about the inspiration of SHATTERED. Only read after you've read the book.

Q: Did you write SHATTERED purely to entertain, or did you also want to deliver a message and/or educate your readers? 

Shelby K. Morrison: I wrote SHATTERED to entertain. Yet, as it grew into the story it is today, it became plump with a message. But, to make it clear, I didn't write it with a message in mind. The message came with the territory. A message that the world is moving at an alarming rate. If we don't put our foot down, draw the line somewhere, it will swallow us whole. We need to take a step back and ask ourselves, "Is this really what we as humans want? Or are we just drifting with the tide, accepting the world as it morphs into something our ancestors wouldn't recognize?" But the message isn't a glaring one, just one that will probably dance through most readers’ minds as the book comes to a close.

Q: How relevant is setting—in Oregon or at a college—to telling your story?

Shelby K. Morrison: College and Oregon are just to relay the life Alex led before tragedy struck. The real setting is the island. Oops, spoiler! But SHATTERED didn't always take Alex to an island. It originally took her to France. But that was boring, difficult to convey, not ripe with danger. An island, though. That is dangerous, mysterious, threatening. Setting is key for the emotion you want your readers to feel while reading. It's like asking if the set to a play is important. Always. Sometimes that one little (big) tweak can totally transform your story from okay to great!

Q: Do you control your characters when writing, or do they lead you to write what they want?

Shelby K. Morrison: I'd say the control goes 30/70. I can't make my character do something if their character just wouldn't. It's like someone writing a story about me and writing that I picked up a crab. Sorry! Nope, no crabs. Even if it would help the story, my character wouldn't do it. So I can only encourage my characters, not force. If I desperately want them to do something out of the norm, I need a different character. This can all be avoided by designing the character you want from the get-go so they always do what you hope. That's my method, anyway. 

Q: What’s next?

Shelby K. Morrison: I'm currently working on a Fantasy title. Gasp! I know, genre leap. But I'm just starting out and haven't found my niche yet. The goal is to have it published by the end of the year or early 2015.

Q: Tell us about Shelby K. Morrison. What do you do when you’re not writing?

Shelby K. Morrison: When I'm not writing, I'm researching. It's an addiction. When I'm not doing that, I enjoy DIY-projects, bargain shopping, taking up a random artsy hobby for the month or hanging out with my husband and two shih-tzus.

About Shelby K. Morrison

Shelby K. Morrison was born in Oregon and grew up in California and Utah. SHATTERED is Shelby's debut novel, with many more to come. Shelby plans on exploring other genres down the road before claiming a specialty. She currently lives in Utah with her husband and two dogs. When she isn't writing or reading, she enjoys researching, crafting, bargain shopping, and DIY-projects.

About SHATTERED

What would you sacrifice to learn the truth? That is the question Alex Bowen, a headstrong college student from Beaverton, Oregon, must ask herself when she learns she's being watched. But who's doing the spying? And why have they chosen her?

Thrown from her world of comfort, yet determined to discover the truth, Alex soon finds herself cut off from family and friends and forced to make allies wherever she can find them. With dead ends at every turn, and more than one pursuer closing in, she quickly learns some questions are best left unasked. Now, with her life and sanity on the line, Alex must resist her enemy's mind games if she wants to expose every dark secret.  To succumb would result in her true identity being lost forever and countless others suffering the same fate. But to succeed, would shatter everything she knows.

Links

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble

Website

Book Trailer 

Goodreads 

Facebook 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ShelbyKMorrison

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: A.R. Taylor, Author

A.R. Taylor, Author
SEX, RAIN, AND COLD FUSION

A.R. Taylor characterizes her new novel, SEX, RAIN, AND COLD FUSION as “a comic novel, a piece of quality mainstream fiction.” Her reviewers love her humor—“Physics has never been funnier!” -- but they also appreciate her characters and the mystery. “She's brilliant, incisive, wildly entertaining and profoundly touching. This is a book well worth reading despite all its raucous conceits.”

The award-winning writer has written plays, essays, and fiction and claims movie scripts are the most difficult to produce, with documentaries a close second. Although she continues to write, she dreams of owning a restaurant/tavern with live music.  Above all, she says “the best thing in her life” is her daughter.

Don't miss the excerpt at the end of her interview.

Q: How would you characterize SEX, RAIN, AND COLD FUSION? Is it a romance, a mystery, literary fiction, or…?

A.R. Taylor: It's a comic novel, a piece of quality mainstream fiction.

Q: Reviewers love your humor:  “Physics has never been funnier!”,  “There is no author funnier or smarter, nobody who packs her punch,” and “highly original sense of humor is like that of no other writer of today.” Humor is difficult to write – people see “funny” differently. Do you target a specific group with your humor? How do you make your story funny?

A.R. Taylor: The only group I really target is people who like to laugh, smart, interested readers who nevertheless will fall for the banana peel every time. When you say "make your story funny," that's a tough one. It's a matter of how you see the world, with a certain distance or irony, and refusal to take yourself too seriously. There's an old saying, "It may not be fun, but it's always funny."

Q: Reviewers also appreciate your characters. “Wonderfully engaging characters”, “The characters, with all their flaws, were quirky and lovable,” “Really liked the characters,” “characters were so well developed and layered.” How did you make your characters engaging? Why do your readers care about them, particularly your protagonist, David Oster?

A.R. Taylor: It's not possible to make readers care for your characters, if you, the writer, don't. So, you have to love them even when they're stupid or cruel or even villainous, and that can be tough. At times, David behaves like a jerk, but he's a charmer too. You have to hold your characters very close to your own heart––that will help other people like them as well.

Q: You set SEX, RAIN, AND COLD FUSION in the Pacific Northwest, which enabled you to include “RAIN” in your title. Can you comment on the value of using setting to tell your story, or any story.

A.R. Taylor: For me, a particular landscape and its weather control a great deal of normal, everyday behavior. I lived in the Pacific Northwest for five years, and I can honestly say that it rained 85% of the time, at least to my sodden brain, and it caused (in my novel) "an unwholesome addiction to drink, philandering, and crafts."

Q: How relevant is the concept of “heroes” vs “villains” to telling your story?

A.R. Taylor: I often look at my stories and say, "Gee, who's the villain?" Basically you get so immersed in a character's problems that you come to see him or her as just trying to be good but failing constantly. So hero and villain are twins in the womb. From a writing standpoint, villains are fun to write, and everybody loves a good villain.

Q: SEX, RAIN, AND COLD FUSION is, according to reviewers, also a mystery, and one they couldn’t put down. How do you develop suspense amidst laughter?

A.R. Taylor: With sweat and constant re-writing. This is just the hardest technical trick in the world, especially in a comic novel, because you can get lost in your own jokes, and the characters make you think of other crazy things they could get into, but you must hang on to the thread of the story like grim death. It's a bit like weaving a tapestry—just keep pulling certain threads tighter and don't drop any. Easy to say, really bone crushing to do, as all you writers out there know, and I'm honored that reviewers thought I succeeded.

Q: In addition to entertaining readers, did you also intend to deliver a message or educate them?

A.R. Taylor: I don't think good novels start out with the intention to educate, but by indirection they can. So, in the case of SEX, RAIN, AND COLD FUSION several of the characters are scientists who happen to be working on two entirely discredited theories, cold fusion and the fifth force. I got very interested in these subjects, and I hope curious readers will look into them, too.

Q: You have written in a variety of outlets including as head writer for Emmy-winning shows. Do you have a favorite? Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? Scripts or novels? Books or short stories?

A.R. Taylor: You're looking at my checkered history of trying to make a living at writing! I think movie scripts are the single hardest form in the world, documentaries (in which I worked) a close second. The novel form is wonderful for its scope, its expansiveness, and the variety of characters. I love writing short stories, too, as a way to try out novel ideas or to work on specific problems in fiction––say, the surprise ending. One summer I worked on four such stories and had a ball.

Q: What’s next?

A.R. Taylor: Oh boy, I'm working on a new novel that I started several years ago but dropped in frustration. Now I'm back at it. While it has comic elements, it's also steamy and seriously romantic.

Q: Tell us something about A.R. Taylor. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

A.R. Taylor: First off, I'm really Anne with an "e." I play paddle tennis at the Venice boardwalk, love to dance and cook––my dream would be to own a tavern/restaurant with live music. I love learning languages and speak French and Spanish, but just now (sigh) I'm going back to the piano, and to prove it I've got a real live teacher. But the best thing in my life is my beautiful, kind, talented daughter, with whom I spend a lot of time.

About A.R. Taylor

A. R. Taylor is an award-wining playwright, essayist, and fiction writer. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Southwest Review, Pedantic Monthly, The Cynic online magazine, the Berkeley Insider, Red Rock Review, and Rosebud, among others. The New Short Fiction series featured her short stories, and her work has been performed at the HBO Workspace, the Annenberg Center, and The Federal Bar. Taylor herself played the Gotham Comedy Club in New York and Tongue & Groove in Hollywood.

Her awards include the De Golyer Prize in American Studies, a nomination for the Henry Murray Award at Harvard, recognition from the NBC Program for New Writers, the Writers' Guild East, The Dana Fiction awards, the Theatre of Louisville Humana Prize, and the Writers Foundation of America Gold Statuette for Comedy. In addition, she was head writer on two Emmy award-winning series for public television.

About SEX, RAIN, AND COLD FUSION

Prepare to meet physicist David Oster, a big thinker, a charming cad who flees Caltech and his three girlfriends for the Pacific Northwest, pastoral fantasy firmly in hand. Whatever will he do with all that rain, yet another beautiful woman, and several crazy physicists intent on his ruin? Obviously he needs to discover some entirely new physics principle, as yet unnamed, but can he deliver?

Excerpt

            Days later, David found himself seated high atop the administration building in a glassed-in conference room with President Royce Thornton, a tall, gangly, gray-haired man clad in a mustard-colored suit. Trying to ignore an interminable discussion of university sports, he instead concentrated his attention on the first serious downpour since his arrival. At Caltech, David had perfected the art of fixing someone with a stare while at the same moment making calculations. Counting was the trick. Watching from the front of his head, he counted at the back, and his consciousness would remain on point even though he wasn’t listening. This was a minor skill, but the rain offered a promising medium. How fat were the drops, and how long did it take each one to fall from the branches of a tree? These raindrops seemed lean and needlelike, and he had just formulated their location on his new scientific creation, the Oster Wet Scale, when Thornton turned to him, shuffling through a sheaf of papers.

“Oster, Oster, is it?”

            “David Oster,” he replied, eyeballing the other gloomy men at the table, which predictably included Niels Hoekstra.

            “We must get you to work, Oster. No point in you just catching things under the ocean, or whatever you people do.”

As David opened his mouth to define the nature of physical oceanography, Thornton gave a tremendous snort indicative of a nasal problem so deep, so unreachable, he might well pull up his stomach to get rid of it. He looked around, but nobody else reacted, not even Hoekstra.

The president pressed his face into a white handkerchief while he continued speaking. “We would like to put on a show for our basketball team, the Steelheads. Something amazing, diverting. Specifically horses.”
            “I’m sorry, what did you say, sir?”

            “Don’t toy with me, young man. Horses on the basketball court! Haven’t you been listening to anything the others have said?”

            “I have, I have. It’s just that sports, per se, is not really my area.” David had been a decent rugby player in college, and his father had been ferocious at tennis, but in general, the American obsession with sports left him cold.

            “Consider it your area now. In addition to the Larson Kinne Institute, as of this year, we have a new sports center courtesy of the same donor, named in honor of his wife’s family, Crestole. Naturally, it has a state-of-the-art basketball floor. The question is, can the floor of this basketball court withstand five or ten horses on it performing a show for, say, fifteen minutes, something like that? That’s a physics question, I think.”

            “It’s an engineering question, I believe.”

            The vision of a new, young person who was presumably a faculty member telling President Thornton of Western Washington State University what he was supposed to know already made the room seize up like a car engine low on oil. The assembled males stared in open pity. Hoekstra, however, looked sly, almost gleeful.

“I am an agriculturalist, sir,” Thornton fairly shouted. “Do not play the dummy with me.” He slammed his papers down and dismissed the meeting.

Links

Amazon 

Website

Booktrailer
Twitter:  @BallGirl1

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Robert Penner, Fantasy Author

Robert Penner, Author
DARK MOON SHADOW

Robert Penner writes fantasy to give readers an escape from reality. It’s also his favorite genre to read. His just-released book, DARK MOON SHADOW, includes wizards, evil, and a sap farmer hero. It is his first full-length fantasy novel. Prior to this, he has written Young Adult (YA) fantasy and paranormal stories.

Penner describes himself as “low-key” and enjoys spending his non-writing time with his wife and daughter – and reading as many fantasy books as time allows.

Q: Why do you write fantasy and paranormal stories?

Robert Penner: I write fantasy because I love to read it. I feel life is full of stress and responsibilities that a nice escape of adventure in a fantasy is a great way to relieve some of that.

Q: How do you create credibility in your fantasy and paranormal worlds? Is believability relevant?

Robert Penner: Believability is totally relevant, but not probability. Fantasy is not real, but the reader must believe it is, in the context of the world he/she is reading.  Strong world building is key in accomplishing this.

Q:  Tell us about your latest book, the epic fantasy, DARK MOON SHADOW.

Robert Penner: DARK MOON SHADOW is the first in a series of three novels set in the Protectors of the Realm universe. It is my first full-length fantasy novel.

Q:  How do you engage readers to embrace your characters?

Robert Penner:  I like to make my characters relatable, or likable either good or bad. There has to be something that the reader can hang on to in a character. They can sympathize with the character in some way. They can say, "I know where he is coming from," or "I understand why I hate that villin."

Q:  Do you feature heroes and villains in your stories? What makes a good villain? Do you need a villain to have a hero?

Robert Penner: There are several heroes in Dark Moon, but one main character’s storyline. Sub-heroes are weaved throughout the story. There are villains. My story would not be a good one without a villain. Although you don't always need a villain to have a hero, but in this tale there has to be.

Q: You write both YA and adult stories. What do you do specifically to target youth readers?

Robert Penner: In my YA stories I tried to have a moral to each adventure that dealt with YA topics; something that a YA could learn from in the adventure and maybe apply to their own life. Magic always seems to be a good avenue to bring in the young adult.

Q:  Do you write your stories primarily to entertain, or do you also write to educate or deliver a message?

Robert Penner: In YA to educate as well as entertain, but in Dark Moon it's strictly to entertain. I don't feel like delivering a message here, nor should I. Most people want to be entertained not preached at. Even though it's hard to write a tale without having some take on the world and relationships that can come across as a teachable moment. I can't deny that, nor help it, but my goal is to entertain.

Q:  Do your characters push you around and make you write what they want? Or are you in control?

Robert Penner:  This is the beauty of writing. Even though I outline my adventure and try to stay on track while I write, I can never do that. Often, I find my characters coming to life and indeed making their own way at times. I sometimes need to grab hold of them and guide them back. I like to know my point A and B in each chapter, but in-between I never know how my characters are going to fill the gap.

Q: What’s next?

Robert Penner: Tears of Duranthidil is next. This will be a sequel to Dark Moon and tie up a lot of loose ends. In the meantime I will release a Free 3 chapter back-story for Dark Moon to help people generate interest. I will also post it on the website.

Q: Tell us about Robert Penner. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Robert Penner:  I spend most of my other-time working and spending time with my wife and daughter.  Writing time is what I actually have to fight for. I also spend my time before bed reading Fantasy. I know that doesn't shed too much light about myself, but I'm actually pretty low-key.

About Robert Penner

“I love to read and write Fantasy and have been writing seriously since 2005. Dark Moon Shadow is my first full-length novel in Fantasy. I have written and sold e-books in YA fantasy and Paranormal. Dark Moon Shadow is the first in a series of three novels that take place in the Protectors of the Realm universe. Tears of Duranthidil is the follow-up of Dark Moon. A third, stand alone, will hopefully follow.

“My venture as an Indie Author was sparked in 2004 by listening to a podcast called Dragon Page Cover to Cover. This podcast no longer exists (sadly), but I learned from the host of that show that I could bypass traditional publishing and make my own path. The hosts Michael R. Mennenga and Michael A. Stackpole were the first to really pounce and cover the emerging title-wave of e-books and the changing of traditional publishing. I credit this podcast for inspiring me to write, build a website, and produce quality e-books for everyone to read. Currently I work full-time and write on the side.”

About DARK MOON SHADOW

Before...Wizards protected the land from danger with an awesome display of light and power. Before...they went into hiding.

Then Darkness...

A terrible Dark Moon Shadow shrouds Elberoth as Elkzier pillage the countryside in search of those unchanged by the Dark Moon Magic.  With much of the land under the Black Wizards control, he seeks to destroy the Wizards of old and absorb their power.

Timson, the son of a simple sap farmer, is among the few who have not succumbed to the Dark Moon Magic, and is devastated by the destruction of his village and family. In search of the Green Wizard, he learns of his true heritage while teaming up with Mantier, a gritty, seasoned soldier from Harkton. Timson and Mantier embark on a journey of life and death in an effort to save their homeland from the evil that holds it captive.

Links

Free prequel 

Amazon Kindle
Barnes and Noble Nook
Smashwords 

Twitter @pennerstories

Webpage  

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: A M Rees, Writer of Prose and Poetry

A M Rees, Author
THE JOURNAL

A M Rees, writer of prose and poetry, brings us THE JOURNAL (coming soon!), described as “a story of one Woman’s journey through pain and into love.” Mixing poetry with prose, Rees intends for readers to “connect” to her story of self-discovery. To enhance the reader's experience, she keeps the character and setting “subtle,” although admits a strong influence by the ocean, her muse.

When Rees is not working on her novels or poetry, she writes stories on life coaching and traveling and covers competitive surfing as a free lance writer. She recently moved from the UK to Sydney where she enjoys surfing, frequenting the beaches, and watching sunrises and sunsets. She has written a first draft sequel to THE JOURNAL, as well as a novel based on horse racing.

Don’t miss the excerpt to THE JOURNAL following the interview, illustrating her use of poetry within her prose.

Q: How did you conceive of THE JOURNAL? Why did you write it? 

A M Rees: The idea of THE JOURNAL came together after receiving some truly touching emails from readers of my blog. The rawness of sharing personal thoughts that usually go unheard in polite society seemed to connect with many readers. It was through that process that I developed the story of a woman sharing every intimate emotion and brutally honest thought in a journal.

Q: Early reviewers praise your writing in THE JOURNAL as a “combination of emotive poetry and colloquial prose.” How do you combine these to entice your reader?

A M Rees: THE JOURNAL consists of ‘snapshots’ of life, ideas and thoughts through an inspirational journey of self-discovery. It is written in the relaxed manner one would expect when journaling moments and memories, giving it a simple, raw and intimate feel. The poetry is intermittently scattered in-between prose, connecting the story whilst sharing deeper, emotional thoughts that prose alone cannot always achieve. This, I believe, is the magic of poetry.

Q: How close to a real person is your protagonist? Is she based on anyone?

A M Rees: Many of the diary extracts and poetry pieces in this novella are hauntingly similar to my own experiences, and I believe it is the honesty of sharing real emotions that connect with the reader, and inspires them to find their own courage. That being said, it is not my own personal journey - there are also pieces of every woman I have ever met within the protagonist, which may help all women to feel a connection to the story.

Q: You are a journalist, a poet, and now a novelist. Which is your favorite?

A M Rees: I simply adore the journey that writing a novel takes me on, it is an obsession that clutches at every part of my life. When I am writing a book, I can do little else. I write about it, think about it and dream about it constantly. I find myself in a state of wild, obsessive excitement, although that pleasure comes with equal amounts of pain. There are days, weeks maybe even months when the long haul of novel writing seems to take its toll in the form of self doubt and loathing. This is when writing articles rescue me – mini milestones of acknowledgements that I am not in fact a complete failure! Then the inspiration comes back and I am flying high once again.

But poetry has always been a release for me, an escapism, a way to shrink the universe around me to fit inside my heart. It allows me to understand the world, it allows me to understand myself… it allows me to keep the therapist at bay!

Q: How do you engage readers to care about your characters?

A M Rees:  THE JOURNAL is a quirky little thing for many reasons, one of them being that none of the characters are named. This is in an attempt to highlight the fact that you do not need to know or label a stranger to empathize and understand their pains and emotions. It leaves the door open for the readers to make the characters their own, perhaps their friends or sisters, maybe even themselves.

When reading THE JOURNAL, I want the overall experience to feel as though you have taken a sneaky peek into somebody’s life and that somebody could be the woman you sit next to on the bus or in a café but she’s out there, somewhere…

Q: Did you write THE JOURNAL to entertain readers, to educate them, to deliver a message, to inspire?

A M Rees: I think a good story encapsulates all of the above. The craft is sharing a story that does this naturally without preaching or being dictatorial in any way. For THE JOURNAL, I believe the strongest impulse was to inspire – to inspire courage, inspire hope and inspire women to find their own path from heartbreak towards self-discovery.

Q:  How relevant is setting to your story? Could it occur anywhere?

A M Rees:  Just like the non-naming of the characters, the setting is also very subtle, although there is a strong theme to coastal areas – there is in everything I write, I can’t help it! The ocean is my muse for life, love and loss, and in this case, it certainly helps unravel the story within THE JOURNAL in many ways.

Q:  How relevant is the concept of hero vs villain to your story? Do you need a villain in order to have a hero?

A M Rees: Within THE JOURNAL, the villain takes the form of heartbreak itself, so in that context, the protagonist is both the villain and hero of her own story. Every emotion we feel, we allow ourselves to feel and we always have a choice to change it, no matter how hard that choice and change can be. It is an empowering and terrifying fact, but I believe the women who can fight the battles that reside in the silent chambers of their hearts will become the heroes of their own lives. We are not princesses waiting to be saved by our prince – we can learn to save ourselves.

Q: What’s next? Do you plan to write more novels?

A M Rees: I have a follow up to THE JOURNAL that is in first draft form, titled, 50 Love Letters – again, a clipped story, composed entirely of one sided love letters. This is heart melting stuff and I am already very sentimental about it!

I also have a completely different novel based in the fast paced world of horse racing, titled Ambition. Ambition is a suspense melodrama that explores the human need for success and the deceit people are willing to create to get what they want from life. Having ridden racehorses all of my adult life, my experiences behind the scenes from the very top of the racing world, from the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup in the UK to the world famous Melbourne Cup in Australia, enabled me to write Ambition with inside knowledge, precision and the passion that engulfs all who become involved. Ambition is in her final draft and I hope to send her out to the publishing world within the next 6 months.

As for poetry, I begin the journey of Spoken Word Performances this month during the Sydney Writer’s Festival – I am incredibly excited and nervous all at the same time. Watch this space as they say…

Q: Tell us about A M Rees. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

A M Rees: If I am not writing you will find me in the ocean, I recently followed my dreams, packed up my life in the UK and moved to the sunny shores of Sydney. I take advantage of that fact and surf with the regularity that could turn me into a mermaid. I think nearly every lesson in life can be taught by Mother Ocean. I watch the sunrise or sunset every day – a quiet few moments to reflect on how awesome and magical this world is. I read in beachside cafes, partake in yoga and hippy like meditations and eat ice cream.

For a writer, I am an incredible social being. I have been referred to as ‘the glue that brings people together.’ I like that – a nice closing sentiment, don’t you think?

About A M Rees

A M Rees is a strange individual with a life threatening romantic disorder.

As a Freelance Writer, her inspirational musings have been repeatedly published internationally, from motivational life coaching and thought provoking travel documents to covering world class surfing competitions around the globe.  

This enables A M Rees to succumb to her barefooted wanderlust armed with a notepad and a surfboard, whilst she explores the world’s oceans and emotions. And it is her ability to share these emotions with delicate empathy and brutal honesty that enables the pages of her debut novella, THE JOURNAL to come alive.

About THE JOURNAL (coming soon)

“Sometimes, the best gift you can be given is a broken heart. It rips you open, exposes your vulnerability and tests your courage. And I have been there. I have known hurt and darkness. I have been that person crying on the floor in the midnight hours, desperately clutching myself for fear of falling apart.

But it is from this place you will hear your inner wisdom speak and if you listen carefully, it will guide you from the darkness towards your own greatness. Are you ready for that journey?

Join me, as I share with you every thought and every emotion that scarred my heart, through love lost, world travels, friendship and hope. Writing in The Journal changed my life. Perhaps it will change yours too...”

The heroine is not a princess waiting to be saved by a prince. She’s ordinary woman with an extraordinary adventure, who learns to save herself. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious but always inspirational. Follow her as she takes the most important journey of her life – the journey of self discovery.

Excerpt from THE JOURNAL

The Sea Burial

       After a broken heart one tends to deny that the love ever existed, but you cannot deny something that has left you scarred. You free yourself from the past by acknowledging that the love will always exist, that it was real but it simply does not belong to you anymore - It belongs in the vastness of the Ocean. That knowledge lifts your spirit and lightens the load from a heavy heart. I wrote a poem on a scrap of paper and set it alight on a piece of driftwood that I placed along with my emotions into the sea.

Now that your heart doesn't belong to me,

I'll send our love out to the sea,

And in the ocean it will always remain,

And as it drifts, so will my pain.

       I watched and mourned as it mirrored the inevitable burn out of a toxic relationship.

Starting with a fiery passion that becomes self engulfing as you lose yourself in the flames, until exhausted, the fire gives way to a smoky smoldering. The heat subsides, the flames go out and you are left choking on the smoking remains of hopes and dreams until they eventually turn to ashes.

       I watched the ashes sink into the Ocean's locker with a sense of freedom, content that I had given this beautiful burden to the sea and in return I felt Mother Ocean lay salty kisses on my tongue.

       I took a step back and watched as my sandy footprints became washed away by the shore as if I had never stood there. The moment was already gone.

       "The past belongs to me," She whispered, drawing the shore back into Herself.

       I turned away leaving my past behind me making footprints into my future that one day too, will be washed away to be nothing but a seaside memory.

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