INTERVIEWS!

INTERVIEW WITH M.R. KAYSER, AUTHOR OF THE CURLY WOLF

LaTawnia: Hi Michael, I am so glad to have the opportunity to interview you today. It's been many years since I have read a western, but after reading The Curly Wolf I may have to pick up a few and start reading them again.

I have tons of questions to ask you about the book and about yourself. So I hope you're ready!

My first question is, can you explain to my readers what is a "curly wolf" is?

Michael: "Curly wolf" was an old West expression to describe a dangerous man. Billy the Kid and John Wesley Hardin were curly wolves. Modern vernacular equivalents might be "gangsta" or "bad dude."

LaTawnia: What made you decide on the title, The Curly Wolf?

Michael: My original title was Knee High to Death, but critique-rs didn't like that and they were probably right. Although the title character is young, his age really isn't important enough to be referenced in the title. Plus it just sounds too pulp-western for today's market. Anyway, another character refers to Arizona by that term early in the plot, so when I decided to change the title, that struck me as fitting. I thought it had never been used before, but it has (another western, in fact).

LaTawnia: When did you decide to write The Curly Wolf?

Michael: I decided to write The Curly Wolf in 2004. But I only had a few chapters down when I moved to Florida. Life kept getting in the way, so I went through long periods without working on it at all, but I finally had a complete manuscript by 2008, that had gone through a couple critiques and revisions. A couple more years wasted querying traditional publishers, and that brings us to 2010.

LaTawnia: Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Michael: I started out wanting to be a comic book artist. My drawing did show some promise early on, though I was self-taught. Writing was a neccessity, when I tried to produce my own original comic books. Then somewhere down the line the challenge of crafting a story without pictures locked onto me. I'd say by my mid-to-late teens, I knew for sure I wanted to write for a living.

LaTawnia: Is this a self-published ebook?

Michael: Yes. Everything is me--from the dotted "I"s, crossed "T"s to the cover design.

LaTawnia: Why did you choose the ebook format?

Michael: Well, e-books seem to be the wave of the future for publishing/reading. They're more cost effective for both the reader and publisher, and it's a lot easier to revise an ebook than a paperback after that first print run has begun. Best of all, for me, is that it gets readers to decide for themselves what they'd like to read, rather than some suit in New York who can only afford so much paper and ink, and will make cuts according to market predictions, formula orthodoxy or their own personal or political bias.

LaTawnia: What publishing house/company did you go through to put your book together?

Michael: I e-published through Amazon and Smashwords, so ebook versions are available for Kindle, Nook, iPod/iPad, Sony Reader, Kobo, etc. For the print edition I went through Createspace, which is one(?) of Amazon's publishing imprints.

LaTawnia: Would you recommend the ebook publishers to other writers?

Michael: Certainly--for all the reasons mentioned above.

LaTawnia: What gave you the idea to write it from a curly wolf's angle?

Michael: I guess I wanted to give the reader a glimpse into the character's soul so that they could see what only God can see inside some people in real life.

LaTawnia: Where did you get the idea to write it?

Michael: I was thinking a lot about the parable of the prodigal son how much and how badly I've screwed up, and how quick God is to forgive me and welcome me back. I also found the transformation from Saul to Paul intriguing. Here was a guy gleefully persecuting the early Church-approving of the murder of Stephen by the Sanhedrin and so forth. God dealt with Saul differently than with other abusers of His people, and it fascinates me. Nothing less would have convicted the spirit of such a zealot than to strike him blind and speak directly to him. But the Lord saw something inside Saul/Paul that He knew could be put to a holy purpose. As for me, personally, I tend to write people off as a lost cause. I would have been tempted to deal with Saul the way the Old Testament judges (like Ehud) would have. But God never writes us off, no matter how wickedly we behave. At least, He will make sure we have no excuses for ultimately making the wrong choice, as Saul surely didn't after his experience on the road to Damascus. So from there I conceived of a character many of us would be tempted to write off: an amoral hired killer with no respect for human life--even his own. But behind what we as humans can perceive, the killer has a soul and a spirit that are still redeemable.

LaTawnia: Who is your favorite character in The Curly Wolf?

Michael: Hmm. I really liked the way Wes Tatum turned out. But then Chippewa George, a minor character in this story, probably edges him out for favorites.

LaTawnia: Why is that person(s) your favorite?

Michael: Both these men have qualities I really admire. Tatum may speak too harshly at times, but he has a strong sense of justice and he doesn't compromise his principles. When it comes to standing up for what's right, he won't back down no matter what the odds against him. Chippewa George is much like a wild animal--perhaps a wolf or a bobcat. He loves and protects his family, but would prefer to live without any other human contact. He's tough and courageous. Despite his loner mentality, he is deeply loyal to friends and has sympathy for victims of society--though he'd be the last to ever admit it. Both of these guys are men you'd want to have on your side in any fight.

LaTawnia: Why did you choose that particular topic - Homesteaders vs the Railroad?

Michael: Wow. How to answer without getting into a big political analysis? Well, as much as I love the classic westerns, both in print and on the screen, I don't buy into their anti-capitalist "greedy land owners vs. the little guy" themes. Things are not nearly that simple. Truth is, they're not even as simple as I portrayed them. Joe Brody is a greedy land owner/cattle baron, to be sure. Wade Stoddard also has a large spread, but is honest, generous and hard-working. Brody takes over the town of Blue Stone, and is able to coerce smaller land owners into surrendering their aims via "legal" methods. Meanwhile, he gets the federal government to back him up via this railroad deal. In real life, the government and media label the Wade Stoddards of the world as the greedy bad guys, and never run out of schemes to take what they earn. The Joe Brodys of the world wheel and deal in both the government and corporate arenas, amassing tremendous personal gain by regulating their competition out of business, manipulating the market and using legislative methods to ensure that taxpayers shoulder the burden of their risks and failures.

LaTawnia: Well, that came out simple enough! Lol! Did you always want to write westerns?

Michael: No. Actually I had no interest in the genre until watching John Ford's The Searchers in film school. Then I went overboard watching western movies and reading western novels. My father was a big Louis L'Amour fan, but I despised westerns when that considerable library was at my fingertips, so-to-speak. Westerns are loaded with potential because "the West" still has such a mythical quality to it. It lends itself to larger-than-life characters and epic themes.

LaTawnia: Have you written anything else?

Michael: Yes, but none of it published under my real name except this one, so far. I really didn't want to publish a western under my real name, but my wife, family and even some friends were almost offended that I published my other books under a pseudonym. So it was kinda' peer pressure that made me stray from my “branding" strategy with this title. I want to write in several genres, including sci fi, fantasy, historical, mystery and speculative fiction. I hope the next title with my name on it will be a novel about an interstate road race, with a guitar-playing hot rodder as the hero. Trouble is, I have to finish writing it first.

LaTawnia: Hmmm... Perhaps you may wish to reveal that nom de plume at a later time! Is there someone special in your life that has supported and encouraged you, especially during the writing and publishing of this book?

Michael: Not during that time. But during my childhood my mother was very encouraging about my creative bent. I still look back sometimes and am encouraged to know that at least one person always believed in me.

LaTawnia: Is there anything in particular you want your readers to walk away with, from this book?

Michael: Most of all, I want them to walk away entertained, and glad to have invested the time to escape for a while. I tried not to beat anyone over the head with my worldview, but it would be nice if the book also reinforces the fact that the Lord is the God of second chances; that He has not given up on you and can still find a place for you in accomplishing His purpose, no matter what a mess you've made of your own life.

LaTawnia: Will there be a sequel to The Curly Wolf?

Michael: Not a sequel per se, but I would like to tell Chippewa George's story one day.

LaTawnia: Well, I know I'll be looking forward to reading that story. Where can people buy The Curly Wolf? And what is the cost?

Michael: The ebook is only $2.99, and available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple's iStore, Sony's Reader Store, Kobo, Smashwords, Diesel and probably more online sources. The trade paperback is $14.00 and can be found at the same online stores, or ordered from your local bookstore.

LaTawnia: How can my readers contact you?

Michael: The best, quickest way might be my Facebook page: "Author M.R. Kayser." I'd love to hear from anyone and everyone with a comment, question or thought.

LaTawnia: Michael, I want to thank you for your time and for such an entertaining book and interview. I look forward to reading more of your work. I know my readers will also.

Michael: Thank you, LaTawnia. I'm very thankful for your time and attention.

Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed the interview. I know I did. If you would like to see my review of The Curly Wolf, just click here http://latawniakreviews.blogspot.com/2010/12/curly-wolf-by-m-r-kayser.html.

Thursday October 7, 2010

I am so excited today! I had the privelege of interviewing Dr. Hubert Glover, the author of "Engaging Thoughts" and I had such a wonderful conversation with him. I wish I could have recorded it and placed the recording here for you, but I didn't know how to do that. So what you are going is get is snippets of our conversation.

Dr. Glover is a warm and engaging person to talk with; full of charm and a great sense of humor. You will find that charm, personality, humor and humilty in his compliation of poetry in "Engaging Thoughts."

So without further ado, here is the interview...

Dr. Glover, thank you for taking the time for this interview. I understand that you are busy, so I will try not to take up too much of your time.



First, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Dr. Glover: I was blessed with two solid Christian parents. They raised me with strong principles in Christianity, in patriotism and work. I learned to read in church. It was the bedrock of my education. The church believed in teaching children how to read so they could understand what was being preached.

In church I was very active. It's where I developed my self-esteem. In school I would have been the one who was last picked for basketball, but in church I was confident.

LaTawnia: How long have you been writing poetry?

Dr. Glover: I have been writing poetry since I was a child. I would write poetry for certain events and occasions, inspirational, religious, or if someone was feeling downtrodden.

LaTawnia: In reading “Engaging Thoughts” one poem in particular spoke to me. It's titled “The Wrong Button.” I definitely related to that one!

Dr. Glover: I read all of the time and about fourteen years ago I started reading devotionals. I read one about ten years ago that suggested we look at things in a different way after something occurred. Did we do things our way or God's way? I decided to do it God's way!

LaTawnia: How difficult has self-publishing been for you?

Dr. Glover: I have been blessed, if it wasn't for Loretta, it would have been much harder. She is the one with the knowledge. She discovered Amazon's CreateSpace, a self-publishing affiliate of Amazon.com. Getting “Engaging Thoughts” published hasn't been too difficult. The difficult part is “What do you do next?” “How do you get it out there?”

I am currently working on a leadership book and truthfully it will probably be easier to sell it in other markets than Inspirational/Religion/Christianity. Those are a tighter market to get into.

But one benefit of self-publishing is ownership. You own the contents of the book. I had gone through a different self-publishing company that not only monopolized my time but my money so I decided to use CreateSpace. Since I owned the contents of the book, I only had to change the cover. Loretta was the one who designed the cover.

LaTawnia: It's a beautiful cover, she did a great job.

What is one of the things you want to accomplish with this book?

Dr. Glover: I want to use this book as a fund-raiser. If churches or groups are looking for ways to raise funds, they can buy this book and I will share the proceeds with them.

LaTawnia: What do you hope your readers will get from your book of poetry?

Dr. Glover: Hope. That God loves them, and no one is perfect and hopefully they will discover God's will and take any plans they have to God and find the Word themselves.

LaTawnia: One last question, Where can we find you or contact you?

Dr. Glover: I can be reached through email engagingthoughts@gmail.com and our website is http://www.engagingthoughts.net/http://www.engagingthoughts.net/

LaTawnia: Thank you again Dr. Glover for taking the time for this interview. It is greatly appreciated.

Dr. Glover: Thank you. It has been a pleasure.


For those of you who are interested in self-publishing, Dr. Glover and his assistant, Loretta, would be glad to share with you their experience, knowledge and more. Dr Glover wants to help. He says he has been given the gift of helping and giving. So don't hesitate to contact him or Loretta if you are looking for some suggestions and assistance. (By the way, Loretta, Dr. Glover had nothing but wonderful things to say about you and the work you have done. Perhaps next time I will have the joy of speaking with you!)

The interview was taken over the telephone so please forgive me for taking artistic liberties in writing this interview down. My notes and memory aren't what they use to be. But, I have tried to be as accurate as possible. I do want to share with you how much I enjoyed talking with Dr. Glover. He is a very intelligent, charismatic and in many ways, a humble man. And the love he has for the Lord is obvious while talking with him. You will also discover this love when you read his book, Engaging Thoughts.

If you are interested in "Engaging Thoughts" for fund-raising purposes, please email Dr. Glover and let him know. He will be happy to assist you and your group.

LaTawnia Kintz



Today I have the privilege of interviewing a new author, Patience Prence, the author of SCARS: An Amazing End-Times Prophecy Novel.

LaTawnia: “Patience, first, I would like to know a little bit about yourself that I can share with my readers. Don't forget your family.”

Patience: “I was born and raised in Southern California. (I experienced a few earthquakes!) I met my husband at a Christian singles retreat at Arrowhead Springs Resort where author Josh McDowell was speaking. A few years ago my husband and I moved to Northern California. I have one son who is married and lives in Florida.

“I love the outdoors and was active in snow skiing, water skiing, kayaking, and I played softball until about ten years ago when I was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome. At the time I didn’t know I was legally blind, I thought my vision was normal. I fell into holes and tripped over things so everyone just thought I was clumsy. I remember while playing softball, I hit the ball outfield and ran to first base and headed towards second but I couldn’t find the base. I was frantically running in circles asking, “Where’s the base? I can’t find the base….” The second base girl kept pointing down, “It’s there! It’s there!” I finally made it safe but I was so embarrassed.

“Since I am limited to the things I can do, my husband bought us a tandem bike so now we enjoy riding down the American River Trail.

“I also like making videos for YouTube about the Bible and end-times. I have found this to be a great witnessing tool and a way to make new friends. After viewing one of my videos a young man commented and asked how to know if his name was in the “Lambs Book of Life.” This was a wonderful opportunity to share scripture with him. He just recently got baptized!”

LaTawnia: That is so awesome how you met your husband and that you still remain active despite your limitations. What a testimony to keep going when things get tough. And how wonderful that was about the young man. I love how God uses even YouTube to bring people to Himself.

My next questions is “Who is your target audience? And why?”

Patience: “I believe we are living in the last days and that the coming antichrist beast of Revelation thirteen will be soon be unveiled. In my research I have learned that the New Age movement is looking forward to revealing an entity called Maitreya.

“I wanted to write a book exposing the coming deception they will use to trick people into believing Maitreya is the Christ. At first I wanted to write a non-fiction book but the Lord put it in my heart to write a fiction because it would reach a larger group including teenagers. So I guess the target audience is teen and over.”

LaTawnia: “What is Usher Syndrome and how you can see to write a book?”

Patience: “Usher syndrome is an inherited disease that causes serious hearing loss and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), an eye disorder that causes your vision to worsen over time. I am hard of hearing (I read lips), and I have what you call “tunnel vision” I have no peripheral vision. When I type on the computer I am able to see a small area of the screen and the fonts are magnified to help me see. RP also causes night blindness; I cannot see in the dark and it’s very difficult to see on cloudy days or in dark places.”

LaTawnia: “How has having Usher Syndrome impacted your walk with God and your writing?”

Patience: “It has helped me to trust and be more dependent on him.

I think of the blind man who Jesus healed. His disciples asked Him who sinned, the man or his parents, that he was born blind. Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be manifest in him" (John 9:2-3).

“Because of this disability, it allows me to stay home and do what I love doing and that is to research and write. Through the writing of Scars I feel the Lord has used me to get his message out, that Jesus is the Christ and not to be deceived in the last days. Although having Usher Syndrome is frustrating and I have to depend on others, I have come to realize that if one person’s soul is saved by reading Scars it is well worth it.”

LaTawnia: “How did you come up with the Title SCARS?”

Patience: “When I was a little girl in church, I remember the teacher telling us that when we went to Heaven and met Jesus, he would show us his scars from when he was crucified on the cross. This has always stuck with me.

When I was thinking of a title, I wanted it to be about Jesus, that if people forgot everything about the story, I wanted them to at least remember that Jesus had scars and not to be deceived by anyone claiming to be Jesus. I believe the reason Jesus did not reprimand Thomas for wanting proof of his scars was because his scars testified that he was the truly risen Christ. Jesus warned in Matthew 24 to, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many, (Matt. 24:4-5).”

So Patience, are you working on another novel now?

“No, not at this time. I want to focus on promoting Scars for a year then if the Lord puts it in my heart, I want to write that non-fiction with all the information I compiled for the writing of Scars.”

What is the most important message you would like to get out to your readers?

“That Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. He has fulfilled over 333 Bible prophecies concerning his birth, death and resurrection. Not to be deceived by others claiming to be the Christ. Jesus made it very clear that he is coming back in the sky, “Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be, (Matt. 24:26-27).

“I would like to encourage people to be strong in their faith even if they face death. The Bible says not to fear them that can kill your body, but to rather fear God who is able to destroy your body and soul in hell. (Matt. 10:28).

“I pray for all to have the strength and courage as Becky did.”

Thank you Patience for taking the time to do this interview with me. It has been a pleasure getting to know you. I am praying the Lord will bless you with another book that will have just as much impact as this one, if not more. Perhaps it will be the non-fiction one you mentioned earlier.

Be sure to know I will be keeping you in my prayers and I am sure everyone else will also be praying for you. And I stand in agreement with you that we all will have the strength and courage as Becky.

If you would like to know more about Patience Prence you can go to her website at www.thespringharvest.com/patienceprence/

If you would like to buy a copy of this great book, you can do so at http://www.thespringharvest.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/

Scars is also available in Kindle, for those of you who have Kindle readers. Just go to Amazon.com and download your copy!