Interview with Dirk D. Griffin, Author of War and Pieces (Poems)

Hello,

Today’s interview is with Dirk D. Griffin, author of War and Pieces.

Please see below.

Thanks!

-Vince

 

Interview

1) What is your author name and in what state do you live (or country if not in the US)?

I use my legal name on my work: Dirk D Griffin. I live in New Albany, Indiana which is, in many ways, a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky (just across the Ohio River).

2) What is the title of your newest book and what is the genre?

My newest work is a collection of poems titled “War & Pieces.”

3) What is the book about?

I’ll quote from the back jacket as it very succinctly gives the overall impression:
“Travel through lives touched by the every day sacred and profane. Be transported into the pain, hope, loss, gain and transcendence as you go.”

Poetry is mostly about journeys, and my collection is very much laid out like one. 

4) Where did you come up with the idea?

I rather spontaneously write poetry, but I tend to be in a certain frame of mind when I do. I often will have a spark and from there it is a matter of shaping that thought until I have a complete idea. The collection was a series of poems that, with the help of my editor, Marian Allen – of Per Bastet Publishers, helped me shape the book into a coherent whole. As I was searching my creative mind, I stumbled on the title, which also helped in selecting sections and order of placement. It was very much a jigsaw puzzle without a picture of the what it should look like when done. As the picture took shape, it became easier and easier to determine what the final form should be.

5) How long did it take you to write it?

Well, the poems are a selection of what I consider my best work over the last decade of writing. I am, at best a slow writer, and poetry is especially difficult to nail down. While a majority of the work I pulled from was whole, it definitely benefited from the editorial process. So, from poem selection to final book was probably about 6-8 months of slow formation and editing.

6) Did you learn anything from the project?

I believe so. I am now tackling long form work in a novel, and while I’ve also done short stories (which are available in several different volumes of Southern Indiana Writers [SIW] collections). Those short stories may be collected into a single volume sometime in the future.

7) Do you have an author website and/or blog? How about a book video?

Per Bastet helped me set up a writer’s page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dirk-D-Griffin/e/B081VV66H1/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 and a blog may show up there this year, though I’m not sure what form it will take.

8) Do you have any success tips to pass on to fellow authors? How about any great editors/cover artists? T. Lee Harris did the cover for War & Pieces as well as many of the SIW collections and the work is top notch. I also found Ms. Allen a truly great editor and easy to work with. Both Allen and Harris are authors who have an encouraging attitude and a fantastic eye for text.  

9) What genres do you like to read? Are you open to reading new authors and reviewing their work?

Well, I like history and biography, and am quite partial to SF and Fantasy. I cut my reading teeth on Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, Issac Asimov, and James Blish (in the form of Star Trek collections). As of late, I’ve been trying to get to some classics like Les Miserable, Jude the Obscure, Don Quixote, and such. But I’ve also been reading some obscure things like The Little Book of Stoicism, How to be a Hermit, The Seventeen Solutions, and The Search for Cosmic Justice. I’m sort of all over the place and am always up for a new reading experience.

10) What is your favorite book of all time and why?

It is a lot like asking my favorite restaurant; it often depends on mood. It usually comes down to a few books: Dandelion Wine by Bradbury, Watership Down by Adams, or American Gods by Gaiman.

11) Fun Question: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind? 

Currently, I am sans pet, but do love them dearly. I have reached a point where losing them is so painful, that I can no longer take the loss. My housemates though have two dogs that are, by extension, in my care as well. A beautiful, sweet, Husky named Isis, and Mr. Quin, a feisty, little Shih Tzu who is quite a wacky little guy.

12) Fun Question 2: Do you own an electronic reading device? If so, what kind and how do you like it?

I currently have a Kindle Paperwhite and really love it. I have always read about three books at a time – I’m ADD and I’m a slow reader. I am encouraged by the completed percentage tally. My Kindle makes it very easy to keep my shifting between books. I haven’t tried anything else other than reading on my laptop or computer using the Kindle app, so I can’t make comparisons.

 

*As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Flow – Poems of Faith by Vincent Lowry

I’m leaving a post here to let my subscribers know about my newest book, Flow – Poems of Faith. 🙂

Per Amazon:

Flow – Poems of Faith is a spiritual journey about the sections of the New and Old Testament. Whether you are experiencing pain, anger, depression, loss, confusion, or change, you are invited to find God’s peace and love with the poetry found in Flow.

You are also encouraged after each poem to contribute your own God-inspired creativity with a poem, song, or prayer.

Flow – Poems of Faith is Vincent Lowry’s sixth book. His other works are American Vineyard, #LucysLetter – The Children of the Greenhouse Age, Surfing the Seconds, Dreams Reign Supreme, and Constellation Chronicles – The Lost Civilization of Aries.

Interview with Amanda Adams, Author of Don’t Hold Your Breath! A Protagonist’s Poetic Catharsis

Hello,

Today we have an interview with Amanda Adams, author of Don’t Hold Your Breath – A Protagonist’s Poetic Catharsis.

Please enjoy!

Best,

-Vincent Lowry

Interview:

1) What is your author name and in what state do you live (or country if not in the US)? My pen name is Amanda Adams; I live in Illinois, far-western suburbs of Chicago.

2) What is the title of your newest book and what is the genre?  Don’t Hold Your Breath: A Protagonist’s Poetic Catharsis, Genre – Poetry

3) What is the book about? It is about the four phases of relationships: longing, love, loss, and liberty. Each day, we wake up and perform on the stage of our lives. In doing so, we develop the need to express the feelings conceived in our minds about our relationships. This book gives the reader a unique opportunity to express themselves. It not only allows them to read poetry, but also to write their own thoughts, feelings and poetry about their relationships. I included thought questions and lines to write responses – (that was my brilliant daughter’s idea)!

4) Where did you come up with the idea? I used to give an annual “Don’t Hold Your Breath” party for my girlfriends when I lived in New York. It was a time for defining our troubles, expressing our fears, soothing our wounds and renewing our spirits. Although we were very different, we had a common link: we held our breath in hopes of Mr. Right. Some of us found Mr. Right and some of us found Mr. Right-now, however we continued to hold onto our truth, “Boyfriends, lovers and husbands come and go, but your girlfriends, they are forever!“ My poetry reflects the feelings I experienced in my relationships along life’s way.

5) How long did it take you to write it? I wrote the poetry over a 25 year period. It took me about 1 year to compile, edit, design, and publish the book.

6) Did you learn anything from the project? I learned that relationships usually fit into four phases; longing for love, feelings of love, loss of love, and the liberty of loving ourselves.

7) Do you have an author website and/or blog? How about a book video?

Website: http://booksbyamandaadams.com

No book video, but I do have a video of a TV interview I did about women working in technology and my books are also discussed.  They are posted on my LinkedIn page:

http://linkedin.com/in/phyllisaadams

8) Do you have any success tips to pass on to fellow authors? How about any great editors/cover artists? The best advice I can give authors is to write your hurt.  What I mean by that is, write about things that keep you up at night, things that have caused you pain in your life. Every book that I write is with the intent of inspiring women to look at where they are in life and if they don’t like what they see, to make a change. My goal is to be a catalyst of change for women, everywhere.

I worked with a great graphic artist, Kelly Webb (kawebb2@yahoo.com), for the cover of my first book, The Sangrita Club.

9) What genres do you like to read? Are you open to reading new authors and reviewing their work? I like to read the short stories of J. California Cooper, the legal thrillers of John Grisham, the crime fiction of Sidney Sheldon, the poetry of Maya Angelou and many more. Yes, I am open to reading new authors and reviewing their work.

10) What is your favorite book of all time and why? Aside from the Bible that is so rich with poetry, history, and short stories, and my first book, The Sangrita Club, a novel, I would say “Homemade Love” by J. California Cooper is my favorite.  She inspired my writing style of examining deeply personal and taboo topics, but unexpectedly dropping in a comedic curve ball to throw the reader into a laughing fit.  I truly loved her work and her rich characters.

11) Fun Question: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind? Yes, my daughter has a bunny named Salted Caramel.  She is so sweet, but she also has a salty side!

12) Fun Question 2: Do you own an electronic reading device? If so, what kind and how do you like it? If I need to read an ebook, I usually use my iPad or iPhone. My preference is to flip through the pages with my fingers and dog ear the corners.

Bonus: What’s next? I am in the process of writing three books, all of which are different genres.  My goal is to write a book in as many genres as I possibly can.  I am a multifaceted person with many interests, therefore I want to be a multifaceted author. My next book to be published is entitled: Rewriting Relationships: A Divas 52-week Devo.

*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Interview with Kaitlynzq, Author of Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu

Hello,

Today’s interview is with Kaitlynzq, Author of Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu.

Please enjoy!

Best,

-Vincent Lowry

 

Interview:

1) What is your author name and in what state do you live (or country if not in the US)?

My author name is my first name, Kaitlynzq, and I currently live in northern California, and have a love for soft, gentle breezes and calm climates.  Trees, flowers, the ocean, and mountains are all extremely important to me with how I connect.

 

 

2) What is the title of your newest book and what is the genre?

My writing forms into books that are connected as a set of interconnected stories with elements from each story that interweave in one another as heart’s wave, heart’s song, heart’s breath.  Characters with the same feelings, needs, dreams, desires while each book holds its own unique form.  Instead of a chronological set, the books included in a series are inter-connected, meaning interior connected.

 

My first series, Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu includes Ancient Script of Lovecontu audio poem, Legend of Song de Light audio book, Legend of Song de Light audio play, and Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu audio set.

 

With interior poetic stanzas hinted at in Legend of Song de Light that bloom into full poems in Ancient Script of Lovecontu to then step within notes of love within Legend of Song de Light, as a “Yes, …, I, …, will meet you tonight.”

 

And, all three of these books are held gently in my book Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu audio set, and written with poetic prose and touches of romance.

 

 

3) What is the book about?

Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu audio set holds the internal vocabulary of a character’s heart, that beautiful space of needs, desires, dreams, feelings, with the undercurrent of the depth of lovecontu a continual rhythm within a heart.

 

Lovecontu touches as flowers, sounds of a pink glow, song of radiant chords, and continues within the series of interconnected stories Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu.

 

For the vocal synopsis of this audio set, and more about the series, the following link will guide you to the playlist on my audio streams for Lovecontu Song de Light Lovecontu

 

https://soundcloud.com/kaitlynzq/sets/lovecontu-song-de-light-lovecontu-series

 

 

4) Where did you come up with the idea?

Within my books, I include delicate symmetry of colors, music, and flowers.  Sometimes as symbolic metaphors, and other times as literal connections, within a character’s experiences that at times, link with another character’s experience.  Moment by moment, layer by layer, that become a story.

 

My inspirations come from the interior spaces within my heart, within other people, and within precious natural elements like the layers inside of a tree.  And, in the night time depths of my heart the idea for this series continued to unfold to join in the daylight hours to reveal even more as I wrote.

 

 

5) How long did it take you to write it?

Each book is unique, and typically begin to form well before I put pen to paper. Once I do begin to write what my imagination holds, it takes about one to two years.

 

 

6) Do you have an author website and/or blog?

kaitlynzq.com

kaitlynzq.boutique

 

blog & audio streams newsletter signup form:  http://eepurl.com/dN-AFj

 

 

7) What genres do you like to read? Are you open to reading new authors and reviewing their work?

I love adult literary fiction, poetry and romance, and these are the same genres that I write in.  New authors are as wonderful as any author along the spectrum of their life and artistry.

 

I don’t review authors’ work; however, I have created a collective book box subscription that focuses on the beautiful depths of poetry, and highlights the full color wheel of poets.  If any poets are interested in being included in one of the editions for hearts’ poetry, more information is available here  kaitlynzq.com/poets-center

 

I would be honored to have a conversation with you about the opportunities to include you in hearts’ poetry…

 

a special extension and collection of the artistry of poets

each of their heart’s natural language, imagination’s dance

their words stream into sounds of lyrical compositions that form the stanzas

lines and notes that connect together into poems as their unique

heart’s wave, heart’s song, heart’s breath

heart’s breath, heart’s song, heart’s wave

and are woven into each month’s hearts’ poetry

 

 

8) Fun Question: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind?

I don’t have a pet; however, I connect with many animals…butterflies gentle way they float in the air, snow leopard and their soft, intense depth of their eyes, horses and their elegant way, bigfin reef squid and its beautiful way of bioluminescence in the sea, a hummingbird’s dance, eagle’s long wingspan, axolotl and their kind expression, little blue penguin’s precious tenderness, and my list goes on and on.

 

And, my love of these precious beings are part of something that I’ve designed called giving tree, where 25% of sales goes to a charity within books, theatre, radio and nature.  For more information about this community sharing extension, and to synchronize your purchase with the current month’s giving tree moments, please visit these pages

 

kaitlynzq.com/giving-tree

kaitlynzq.boutique/giving-tree

 

#kaitlynzq

 

 

 

Into the Shadows by David I. Mayerhoff

Into the Shadows

Many novel things can only be found in places hidden by the dark, where we wouldn’t think to look. Mayerhoff’s award-winning poems in this collection explore darkness and the bright things we can uncover to light our way into the future.

 

 

 

As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.