Writers4Higher: January 2014

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Writers4Higher features Kevin Don Porter

Welcome to Writers4Higher

The purpose of the Writers4Higher blog: to feature authors in a new light, a fresh look at the way writers use their talents and life energies to uplift humankind. Writers4Higher doesn’t promote religious or political views. Authors are asked to answer three simple questions: simple, yet complex.

This issue, Writers4Higher features

Kevin Don Porter

Hi, Kevin. Welcome to the Writers4Higher family!

Tell me a bit about yourself. Your book(s), your life, your inspiration.

I'm a weird, creepy introvert with an endless fascination with people. How they live, how they think, how they act. I love to "people watch" and wonder what lies behind the facades that they/we project. It's fun. That said, writing is an exercise of both introversion and extroversion. You write in solitude, just you and the story. Yet, in order to really reach readers and create a work that resonates with them, you kinda have to put yourself OUT THERE. Go places you may not want to go and talk about things that you would rather not. So, even though I/you may be an introvert, as a writer you're always putting yourself out there! Which is scary and fun!

I like to write without a filter. I don’t water down my characters to make them more palatable. I allow them to be as funny, honest, controversial or as troubled as they need to be. Difficult or controversial material that might be more convenient to eliminate during final edits, I tend to leave in because it’s the raw truth. That rawness is what readers connect with most. They purchased your book to get a glimpse into how you really feel, not necessarily to read only what you think they want to hear.

MISSING is my first published work. It's a humorously creepy (like me) young adult suspense novel about a boy’s obsession with the case of a missing girl, and his own internal search for self-acceptance. The story’s main character, Calvin Crane, is a 10-year-old who is struggling to accept his ethnicity as well as come to grips with his mental illness. After his family embarks upon a cross-country summer road trip from Maryland to California, Calvin has an unusual encounter with a strange man at Yellowstone National Park–a man he later believes is responsible for the disappearance of 5-year-old Gracie Stevens. As the family travels state-by-state, Calvin is convinced that he’s being stalked by the little girl’s kidnapper. He becomes leery of every vehicle, suspicious of every person. He can’t shake those nagging questions: Where is little Gracie? Is his mind playing tricks on him, or does danger lurk just a couple steps behind? It's totally fun, and creepy, and DEEP all at the same time.

Where do you see your writing career taking you in the future?

Writing is an addiction that I never wanna kick. Thoughts and stories churn and build up inside me and eventually erupt into characters and plots. Next for me is my first adult title, OVER THE EDGE, about a working-class man who turns vigilante after getting swindled by a fraudulent homebuilder. It will be a short story cliffhanger series called the ROSS ROULETTE SAGA. I’m also writing the next mystery in the Calvin Crane Chronicles. The working title is EVERY SHUT EYE AIN'T SLEEP—Calvin visits an island in southern Florida and manages to get caught up in even more drama. I always try to entertain and enlighten. I’m very excited about what the future holds, and what’s in store for readers.

How do you use your talents/time to help others?

Since becoming traditionally published, many of my friends and family have expressed interest in doing the same. So I always try to make time to give good advice when asked, and point writers in the right direction. Everyone has a story to tell. On a more mushy, existentialist note—I love to see joy on people's faces, buy food for nice, hungry people, and jump from dark corners to scare friends and family. Who doesn't love a good scare?

Would you like to find Kevin?

Check out the links to this talented author:

Kevin's Pinterest Page

Kevin Don Porter is the author of MISSING -- a humorous, yet creepy, mystery novel AVAILABLE on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Booksamillion.com,

IndieBound.org, and other fine retailers. He is also a Writer/Contributor for CBSLocal. For updates on his upcoming work, friend him on Facebook and Goodreads, follow him on Twitter and Pinterest, and subscribe to his articles for Examiner.com. Visit his website at www.kevindonporter.com.

Be sure to visit the Writers4Higher Market! We have gear for the writer in you.

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Rhett DeVane

Fiction with a Southern Twist

Writers4Higher blog

Rhett's Website

Rhett's funny Southern Blog

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Writers4Higher features Judy Howard

Welcome to Writers4Higher

This issue, Writers4Higher features

Judy Howard

Hi, Judy. Welcome to the Writers4Higher family!

Tell me about yourself. Your books, your life, your inspiration.

Like many authors, I wear more than one hat. I began grooming dogs and cats at the age of eleven and still own and operate my shop, THE CANINE BEAUTY SALON in Sun City, Calif. At this time in my life, I am semi-retired in order to satisfy my new passion. Writing. I am 67 and a widow with a cat named, Sportster.

In 2010, just for fun I enrolled in college creative writing course. It roped me in, hog-tied me, put me on the rotisserie, and now, three books later, I am still not done.

In 2011 I published my first book, COAST TO COAST WITH A CAT AND A GHOST. It is a memoir of my adventure driving across the country alone in my motor home after the death of my husband accompanied by a stuffed doll and my cat. The reviews praised the story as inspiring and fed my attraction – my compulsion - the writing monkey on my back, until now I cannot stop.

I wrote my second book, GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST (2012) as an experiment. I pooh-poohed the success of my first book. Anyone can write their own story, but can they make one up? That is the proof of a good writer, I said. The mystery-romance, GOING HOME WITH A CAT AND A GHOST portrays a widowed woman seeking a second chance for love as she travels, again, cross country in her RV to attend her 40th high school reunion and reunite with her high school boyfriend. I tell my readers if I cannot meet a man, I will just make one up.

The reviews of these two books continue to spur me on as I struggle with my third novel, INVISIBLE HEROES, to be released in 2014. I weave the story of a dog that becomes a service dog for an Iraq veteran struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Based on reality, I hope to bring attention to this serious issue facing our veterans today. Over twenty veterans a day commit suicide because of this disorder.

Where do you see your writing taking you in the future?

People struggling with their hardships inspire me. I hope to tell their stories and demonstrate that their conflicts and strife were not for naught. When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, I did not know how I would get through it. I told my friend of my agony. My friend said, “You will get through it, and then some day you will be able to tell someone else what it was like.”

I want my readers to close my book and say, “I can do it too.”

How do you use your talents /time to help others?

I love to give workshops on writing. I also love to travel in my RV with my cat. And I love to write. I combine my three passions by going to RV rallies and offering my seminars which are well attended. RVers are an adventurous lot with many stories to tell. 20% percent of the population has thought about writing a book. I know I did.

I travel, I teach, I write. What a life

I hope you know me a little better. Thank you for listening. Sportster and I hope to meet you somewhere along the road to writing.

Respectfully.
Judy Howard and Sportster