Writers4Higher features author Darlyn Finch Kuhn

Hi Darlyn. Welcome to Writers4Higher!

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

My seven-year-old brother taught me to read when I was three, and I remember writing anthropomorphic stories shortly after that. “Arthur the Antelope” was the first one, and, since my father was a visual artist, I remember sketching Arthur frolicking among some flowers as an illustration. I’m not sure how many letters of the alphabet I made it through before abandoning that project, but I’m sure I could count them on one hand.

Old Yeller was the first book that inspired me to write a novel, though that goal was not accomplished until I was in my mid-fifties. I remember thinking the people in that book sounded like the ones who surrounded me in my daily life growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, and being excited that people who talked “real,” like my family and friends did, could exist in a novel.

I wrote plays as a child (and saw them produced, both at school and at the Daughters of the American Revolution), moved into a passion for poetry, and wanted, with all my heart, to write for a newspaper, like Lois Lane. I got an AA in Journalism from Florida Junior College and sold a few freelance stories to the Florida Times Union/Jacksonville Journal before getting married and settling into a “real job” at a bank. Other jobs followed, some writing-related, some not, including a stint in the Sports department at the Orlando Sentinel.

I raised a wonderful daughter, finished my bachelor’s degree at Rollins College, got divorced, and then was selected as a writer-in-residence at the Jack Kerouac House Project of Orlando. Those three months of putting my writing first literally changed my entire life.

Shady Lane Press, affiliated with the Kerouac Project, published my first short story and poetry collection, Red Wax Rose. I met a man from the project’s board of directors in the dining room of the house at a party, and married him five years later on its front porch. We published (through our label, Scribbles) a collection of our love poems, called Three Houses.

I went to Spalding University for an MFA in creative nonfiction and poetry, and then workshopped my first novel, Sewing Holes, with Connie May Fowler’s Remembering Blue retreat group. Joan Leggitt of Twisted Road Publications made my dreams come true by publishing the novel in 2015. We came full circle by holding the launch party at the Kerouac House.

               

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

My husband and I have a PR content firm called Brad Kuhn and Associates, where we keep the lights on by writing corporate pieces and making beautiful video book trailers. On the literary side, I am currently writing the screenplay for Sewing Holes, because I think it would make an excellent and inspiring movie, and I would also like to take it to the stage at some point.

What I want most for the future is for the book, movie, and play to encourage others with its message of love and resilience.

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

I write a blog called Scribbles that serves to encourage writers and booklovers to gather together in support of one another around literary events. It has been called The Heartbeat of the Central Florida Writing Lifestyle. I believe it contributes to a sense of community for writers, in what can be a tremendously solitary pursuit.

Where to find out more about Darlyn: 

Links:

Scribbles: http://darlynfinchkuhn.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darlyn.finch

Twitter: @FinchKuhn

Sewing Holes: https://twistedroadpublications.com/sewing-holes/

Three Houses: http://darlynfinchkuhn.com/three-houses/

Thank you for visiting the Writers4Higher blog.

Please do, come again!

Rhett DeVane

Southern fiction author and blogmaster

www.rhettdevane.com

Writers4Higher features author Taj Shotwell

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

Author and Educator Taj Shotwell

Hi, Taj. Welcome to the Writers4Higher family!

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

Born as Theresa Ann James, I use the acronym, “TAJ”, as my pseudo. I’m the middle child of eleven children, raised by a strict career-military father and a God-fearing-homemaker mother.  Reading fictional stories allowed me to escape from the realities of my then dysfunctional environment.  I learned strong morals and hard work ethics, early on. Parental guidance was stressed on behavior, cleanliness, and leaving home by age 18. Yet, special family gathering included my mother’s angelic singing, dancing, and poetry. This later inspired me to write songs & stories, and choreograph dance. I enjoy family drama films, plays, and TV shows, including action, suspense, and mysteries.

Asking anyone for anything, including help, has always been difficult. Having to ask, caused me to feel weak and powerless.  Even today, I feel I must earn my way and is reluctant to accept gifts. I’ve always had to have a “Plan”-- backed up with “Plan-B”, and believe in going above and beyond.

In 1979, when I lived in San Francisco and a single mom, I earned a MBA. That summer, I wrote my first play called “Black Snow”, but had no idea what to do with it-  so, I filed it away.  Years later, I decided to return to college to earn a doctorate degree in education.   I wrote my dissertation on the outcomes of the performing arts on students’ learning.  Immediately after graduating, I wrote a concept report for a performing arts boarding school (7^th-12^th grades) with a unique curriculum and program, and imagined someday its actual existence.

In 1993, I moved to Tallahassee to accept a position as a full-time university professor. During my down-time, I wrote a family drama play called “Maggie: Never Bitter”, inspired by my mother, Maggie. Years later, in 2006, the play was presented in a public reading at the university-- under the direction of the university’s Theater department. I received helpful critiques and made adjustments accordingly. However, shortly after that event, my mother became seriously ill.  I set the play aside—delaying a full stage production--- and for several years dedicated any extra time I had commuting 10-hours to Memphis from Tallahassee to care for my mother.   After my mother’s death and my retirement from the university, I worked full-time on the play and the boarding school plans. Hoping the play landed on “Broadway”, my vision expanded to film, therefore, I converted it to a screenplay and submitted to agents and producers.  An emotional incident occurred with a relative that triggered me to start writing fictional drama novels (based on my life, from the mid-1950s): "Middle Child: Build a Fence All Around Me" was launched in December 2014, and "Middle Child 2: Better Than Good," was launched in June 2015.  

International traveling and a healthy life-style play an essential part of my being.  My feet have touched the soils of many continents. Yet, I plan to compete the bucket-list.  To maintain fitness, I eat healthy foods-- and have volunteered as a certified aerobic dance instructor at various centers and schools, since 2004- domestically and internationally; including Costa Rica, India, China, and cruising down the Rhine River in Europe.

One of my greatest fears is to become a burden to anyone. Maybe it’s because of the possible act or expression of disappointment and inconveniences that I’ve witnessed some caregivers develop, especially a family member.  I believe that the best gift we can give our children is our independence and to make less importance on leaving behind financial rewards.

Divorced for many years, I have a well-educated and liberated daughter, and two young adult grandchildren (a male and female).   All of whom are good people and I love dearly, yet I definitely believe they are from another planet.

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

My vision/purpose is to share my work with the public and entertainment world, and perhaps, leave behind a small contribution or legacy for future artists, educators and readers.  Writing novels, stage and screen plays, and educational resources have been truly fulfilling.  Each day, I awake thinking about my work; rationalizing the joy, entertainment and knowledge that I will bring to others; envisioning my work on the stage or film; and about the prospects the work will bring to skilled artists. Furthermore, my educational resources will be used in many classrooms for student’s professional development.

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

I’m an educator first and I cherish my accomplishments.  However, I’m in the position to give back to a profession (performing arts), that I admire and one that helped me throughout my life endeavors. I’m the founder of “The Business of Arts Academy, Inc.” (BAA), a 501c3 year round boarding and day school – (in development).  BAA will provide a comprehensive college-preparatory academic in arts and business for co-ed students in grades 7^th through 12^th.   The academy will be located in the Tallahassee, Florida, area -- serving local, national, and international students.  All proceeds from my literary work are contributed to the development of the school and I volunteer my efforts.

  

Would you like to find Taj?

Check out the links to this talented author:

Website:    www.tajshotwell.com

Amazon:    Taj Shotwell author page on Amazon

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ta.shotwell

Twitter:      https://twitter.com/tajshotwell1

Goodreads:  Taj Shotwell on Goodreads

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

The Writers4Higher Market

Rhett DeVane

Fiction with a Southern Twist

Writers4Higher blog

Rhett's Website

Rhett's funny Southern Blog

Writers4Higher features author Jeff Weddle

Hi Jeff. Welcome to Writers4Higher.

First of all...perfect shirt!

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

I am a native Kentuckian living in Alabama. My family has been here for eleven years and we love it. My day job is teaching in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama. I am a pretty average guy. Wife. Son and daughter. Cat. Dog. I practice Tae Kwon Do, as do both of my kids. I also happen to be the son of a writer. My mother, Laura Weddle, has published two short story collections and I’m proud to be following her lead with my new collection from Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, When Giraffes Flew.

The strongest influences on my writing are probably Charles Bukowski, Barry Hannah, Raymond Carver and Richard Brautigan. I have loved short stories since I was old enough to read them and was fortunate enough to take classes from Barry Hannah when I was a graduate student at Ole Miss about twenty-five years ago. Barry taught me a lot about narrative voice and the delicious ways in which humor and simple human tragedy can comingle. While I don’t write every day, I have been a steady writer for many years. This new book is a culmination of my efforts over a long stretch.

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

When Giraffes Flew is my fourth book. My first, Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of The Outsider and Loujon Press (University Press of Mississippi, 2007) won the Eudora Welty Prize and my others are a poetry collection and a co-authored text on negotiation strategies for librarians. I’ve also published a fair amount of fiction and poetry in little magazines over the years. With Giraffes, I feel like I’m on a roll and am looking at putting together another story collection maybe in a couple of years. I might get ambitious and try my hand at a novel.


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

I am a teacher by profession, so I hope I can say that my job is helping others. The fact that I teach in a program that educates future librarians makes me feel like I’m helping not just those that I teach, but also the communities they will help when they find jobs as librarians. I also do volunteer work for the Tuscaloosa City Schools, most recently teaching Tae Kwon Do to elementary school kids. I have also taught classes in Book Arts and Origami for the kids.

To order When Giraffes Flew: http://www.syppublishing.com/when-giraffes-flew/

Do you have a taste for the bizarre, abstract, and peculiar? This eclectic collection of short stories will tantalize your imagination and your sense of propriety.

Here you will find exploding chickens, flying giraffes, and one very ugly monkey. Barbers sick with love and school spirit. A mailman with a vendetta against junk mail. Mayhem. Love gone wrong. Lost souls of all stripes. Join Jeff Weddle—Eudora Welty Prize winning author—for twenty-nine excursions into the dark heart of contemporary American letters. When Giraffes Flew is sure to grab you and not let go.

 A blurb from a reviewer:

"Weddle's stories are dark gems. When cracked open they reveal the pathos of the twisted light that governs the strangeness of the human psyche."

George Eklund, The Island Blade, Poems, and In the Arms of the Fog, Poems in Spanish and English

Where may I find Jeff Weddle?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeff.weddle1

Webpage: http://threestorycaves.wix.com/jeff-weddle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeddleJeff

Author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Weddle/e/B001JRZKX0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Thank you, Jeff.

Rhett DeVane

southern fiction author and blogmaster

www.rhettdevane.com

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.

Writers4Higher features Andrea Brunais, editor and author

Welcome, Andrea!

1. Tell me about yourself, your business, and the connection with the writing world.

As communications director for a large division at Virginia Tech, I operate as a sort of "backpack journalist," doing everything from writing communications plans to crafting news releases, shooting and editing short video stories and mentoring more junior writers. My early career was in journalism – I was a columnist and editor with Media General and, later, Knight-Ridder, and my journalism awards include a Robert Kennedy Journalism Award for investigative reporting and a first-place award from the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. After daily newspapers began their decline, I also edited an alternative weekly in Sarasota with the Creative Loafing chain.

My latest novel, Mercedes Wore Black, published by Yellow Southern Pine Publishing, tells the story of a "real" backpack journalist covering the Florida governor's race. Reviews have been glowing, and my publisher has submitted it as her nominee for the best Florida adult fiction category in this year's Florida Authors and Publishers Association contest.

Meanwhile, I have discovered that I love making the work of other writers shine just as much as I like to edit and improve my own!

2. How do you work with authors?

As a book editor, I work with authors in two ways: I do general content editing, and I also do line edits. Many editors specialize in one type of editing or the other. Because of my newspaper training, I can do the character-by-character copy editing that upholds the highest standards of consistency and proper grammar. I can also take a step back from a manuscript and judge things such as: Does it sing? Is it well organized? Does it fulfill me as a reader? Are there big pieces missing?

I've been a voracious reader since childhood. My standards are high. I expect a writer to entertain and inspire me. I want character development and I also want that page-turning quality.

Also, as through the years, I've done book reviews for various publications. That has given me many opportunities to think through what makes a book work. When it doesn't, I've got to figure out a way to articulate what went wrong.

Lately I've read a couple of books where the main character doesn't pass the "who cares?" test. If I don't care about a character, I have little interest in reading about him or her – and I know legions of readers feel the same way! So that's the first hurdle for many authors. They need to find a way to make the reader love their characters or at least like them enough to want to live in their skins for a while!

3. Do you write as well as contribute through your business? Please share!

I continue to write as well as edit – and probably always will. Most recently, I edited a book of essays written by my mother during the last 20 years of her life. She co-founded a Write Focus writing group in her community in Michigan, and her fellow writers encouraged her to write more about her childhood growing up in small town in the 1930s and 1940s. I wish she had lived to see the wonderful reception the book has gotten! It's called On the Drop Side of Yonder, and it's available inexpensively via Amazon's CreateSpace and Kindle. Soon I'll have a different form of the book available absolutely free (and with no ads) on YouTube. The reading will be done by my dear friend and fellow author Saundra Kelley, who's a Jonesborough-trained storyteller par excellence.

LINKS: 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andreabrunais

Book editor website: http://andreabrunais.wix.com/andrea-brunais

Latest book: http://www.amazon.com/Mercedes-Wore-Black-Andrea-Brunais/dp/1940869102

Contact info: ANDREA BRUNAIS / 540.808.0864 / andreabrunais@gmx.com

Thank you for joining us on Writers4Higher.

Rhett DeVane

author and blogmaster

www.rhettdevane.com

  

Writers4Higher features Roberta Burton

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

Roberta Burton

Hi, Roberta. Welcome to the Writers4Higher family!

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

I have lived in Florida most of my life, and in Tallahassee longer than any other place. I came to Tallahassee to get my doctorate, but the Universe had other lessons for me in this town. One of those lessons was that I was destined to write a novel. However, it was not until I learned of OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at FSU, that I began my journey. I started by writing pieces for our small Writers’ Group. Our group began finding teachers to instruct us. I took online Writer’s Digest classes until I began to form my novel. I continue to take classes online and with OLLI. I bought books whenever one was recommended until I now have an entire wall of writing books. I attended writing conferences and took writing workshops, until finally through this wonderful community of writers, I have a published novel. I have also learned from reading novels, sometimes as many as three a week in many genres.

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

I have begun my second novel about Lee Lindsey, another literary fiction tale with a philosophical twist on time. This tale features an antagonist, as well as at least one other character, from The Burgundy Briefcase. A third planned novel features yet another character from the original book.

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

My blog is set up to answer, free of charge, relationship, addiction, and domestic violence questions from anyone who has a question in these areas. I just ask that the questioner use a pseudonym. I critique work for other writers and write reviews. I am a sometimes coach for writers who ask for accountability. I am always available to listen whether about a life problem or to a piece of writing.

The Burgundy Briefcase is available in print and e-book versions through Amazon.

Order The Burgundy Briefcase on Amazon

Order Kindle version of The Burgundy Briefcase

Would you like to find Roberta?

Check out the links to this talented author:

Ask Dr. Lee website

Ask Dr. Lee on Facebook 

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

The Writers4Higher Market

Rhett DeVane

Fiction with a Southern Twist

Writers4Higher blog

Rhett's Website

Rhett's funny Southern Blog