Steampunk Granny Interviews Reading Glasses Author, Richard Voza

                                                               

I’m very happy to introduce Richard Voza, a life-long New Jersey resident.  He has written four novels, one of which (Connecting Flight) will be released by Start Publishing. Most of his work tends to lean in the paranormal direction, but there’s always room for humor in the mix. His film reviews can be found at Cinekatz.com.  He sometimes hangs out with the South Jersey Writers Group.  His current work-in-progress is a time-travel novel called Time.

 

Marie Gilbert: Hi Richard, it’s a pleasure doing this interview with you and I have lots of questions. First tell us a bit about yourself and how and what got you into writing.

Richard Voza: Ever since college, I have always had something that I could consider a “work in progress.”  During college I wrote a screenplay, my first real piece of work, and I sent that to a film agent.  Good news: he loved it.  Bad news: he told me to keep my eye out for a movie coming out soon called “Pretty Woman.” The only difference between my story and that film was that my main character was a rock star instead of a “Wall Street” type of guy.  About 20 years ago, during my early years teaching, I wrote a story about a boy caught in the middle of the Civil War.  Since then, my writing and attitude have grown up.

While teaching for 25 years, I wasn’t taking my writing very seriously. I was always working on something, but I would just stop after a second or third draft and then do almost nothing with it.  After 15 years of teaching, I realized that I needed to get more serious about it.  I then wrote three novels in about five years.  During the past three years – after completely stepping away from education – I’ve been more focused than ever and now have a right to call myself “published.”

Marie Gilbert: You have four books under your belt so far, which one is your favorite? I know this is a tough question, but there has to be one that you favor more than the rest.

Richard Voza: you're right, this is a tough question. However, if a choice must be made, I’ll have to go with an older book, Room 317.  It's about a man who has had so many things go wrong in his life that he's contemplating suicide.  Before doing so, he wants to see the Pacific Ocean.  On his way there, he stumbles into a situation in which he simultaneously witnesses an "organized" crime while also endangering the lives of a single mom and her child.  He knows he could easily protect himself and walk away, but instead he is willing to potentially sacrifice himself to protect them.  His personal circumstances make him a candidate to jump off a building or blow himself up in a crowded movie theater, but instead he manages to attempt something positive.

 

                                                                 

Marie Gilbert: What was your inspiration for Mrs. Rabinski? Is she based on anyone that you know?

Richard Voza: Don’t tell anyone, but Mrs. Rabinski is based very closely on someone I know.  Although that person has not exactly done the things that Mrs. Rabinski does, her own life conditions are similar. This is how most, possibly all of my writing is generated.  I look at real-life situation, and I simply think, "How could this become interesting?"  While accompanying someone on a similar doctor visit that Mrs. Rabinski attends, I twisted it into something else.  To the best of my recollection, that's the same process for everything I have ever written. 

Marie Gilbert: What are you working on now?

Richard Voza: My current work-in-progress is tentatively titled "Time."  Yeah, that's a bad title, but it's short and easy to type until I change it.  I have always loved and wanted to write a time travel story, but the problem for me was that I couldn't write one until I had what I considered an "acceptable" time travel device or theory.  The nuclear DeLorean hitting 88 mph was already taken, and other devices in books I’ve read were just dumb to me.  I was watching a science television show a few months ago about parallel universes when I finally found my idea/device, and it's connected to déjà vu. The story involves a character much like in Room 317, but this time the man with nothing much to live for volunteers for an experiment that might send him back in time where he potentially can correct all of his mistakes, or he might die. Or both.

 

                                                                      

Marie Gilbert: It’s always nice when we get to see you at the South Jersey Writers’ Group. What drew you to our group and why would you recommend someone joining a writers’ group.

Richard Voza: I found the group after complaining to a friend about a bad writers' group I had joined. She showed me the Meetup.com website, and a quick search resulted in the SJWG.  The best part of this and hopefully any writers' group is the camaraderie and encouragement to move forward with your work. At my first meeting, I heard members talking sadly about their rejection letters.  I interrupted and said, "Hey.  Don’t feel down about that.  A rejection means you're trying.  I have no rejections to talk about at the moment, but that means that I haven't been trying hard enough."  Now, about a year later, I have a novel titled “Connecting Flight” that will be released in a few months by Start Publishing, a small press in New York.

Marie Gilbert: You do movie reviews. What type of movies do you like to watch?

Richard Voza: I mostly enjoy movies about "real" people.  What I mean is I don't like movies about wealthy people who have the ability to hop on a private jet and zip to wherever and buy whatever.  Most of us like those movies because they involve an escape to a fun and exciting lifestyle - but it's nothing I can relate to.  I prefer movies that could be stories about people I actually know with problems that must be solved by real people who don't have extreme weapons or government connections.

Marie Gilbert: Did you ever write a bad review of a movie that everyone else liked?

Richard Voza: Oh dear yes. I have had the most trouble with my review of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  To me, it was 80% all about the technology without much of a story.  It had the potential for a fabulous story, but it left that undeveloped.  It also had one of the most indecipherable endings ever.  I’ve been told that if I read the book, then I’ll completely understand the ending.  To me, that's unfair.  A good movie needs to stand on its own without the book as a crutch.  I have had email arguments with the late great Roger Ebert about this movie.  We also argued about his love and my similar dislike of The Great Gatsby, another work that everyone loves – except me.

Marie Gilbert: Richard I want to thank you for this interview for our Reading Glasses Fans. I loved your story, Mrs. Rabinski and I also have known people just like her. I’ll be looking forward to reading your upcoming book, “Connecting Flight” and I’m sure after our followers read Mrs. Rabinski, they’ll want to read your novel, too.

 

You can find Reading Glasses on Amazon, Kindle and Smashwords and you can find my book Roof Oasis, an apocalyptic tale with a twist on Amazon and Kindle. The second book in the series will be out this summer.

                                                                         

 

Steampunk Granny Interviews Co-Editor of Reading Glasses, Jessica A. Walsh

                                                                      

I’m so happy to interview this next guest. Jessica is a friend and a member of our writers’ group, The South Jersey Writers’ Group. She is also the co-editor of Reading Glasses, the Hypothetical Press Anthology. Jessica has a story in this anthology called Unquiet Mind.

When Jessica is not editing, she is an avid reader and writer of creative non-fiction. She is a Communications Manager for a non-profit in Philadelphia, PA. She lives in Southern New Jersey and escapes to the beach with her surfboard whenever possible. She has been a member of the South Jersey Writers’ Group since 2011. This is her first publication.

 

Marie Gilbert: I’m so happy to chat with you. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jessica A. Walsh: I love learning and growing, in every way possible. I am a very passionate person and need to be working toward a goal at all times, whether it’s finishing a story, losing weight or learning how to surf. I don’t do well being stagnant. Besides reading and writing, I enjoy cooking and keeping active; jogging, practicing yoga, anything that keeps me moving. I love to tell jokes that people say are pretty bad, even though I find them hysterical. I have a child’s sense of humor when it comes to jokes.

                                                               

Marie Gilbert: What inspired you to be a writer?

Jessica A. Walsh: I have loved reading as long as I can remember. I know not everyone who loves to read wants to write, but love of the word just came natural to me. Once I started writing in 3rd or 4th grade, I was praised for my ability and creativity. From then on, all of my teachers throughout the rest of my public education saw that in me and encouraged it, even giving me special writing assignments. I suppose that's what really inspired me to keep doing it. I had wonderful teachers. My oldest brother is also a very talented writer and he inspires and encourages me as well.

Marie Gilbert: What genre do you enjoy writing the most?

Jessica A. Walsh: I enjoy writing creative non-fiction most. After all, I, and the people closest to me, am the character I know best. I am naturally introspective and like to use writing to capture my life experiences and stories, while simultaneously reflecting to better understand and learn from them. It's not until you try to write down and capture all the elements of an event that you can really begin to understand and interpret them, while preserving those memories at the same time.

                                                                    

Marie Gilbert: Where did the inspiration for this story come from?

Jessica A. Walsh: Reading Glasses being a speculative fiction collection, Unquiet Mind was out of my element. I started by creating a character, Reven, whose loneliness, anger and overactive mind was familiar to me and then gave her an unreal characteristic to oblige the spec element. Everything else came from there. That made it easier for me because I was writing about realistic people and scenarios, just with an unreal disorder in an unreal setting.

                                                          

                                                              

Marie Gilbert: What are you working on now?

Jessica A. Walsh: I am very excited to be launching a new blog soon called Cracking the Nut (crackingnut.blogspot.com). I am working on content and design. I'm currently in almost a constant state of introspection while some new and exciting things are happening in my life. I want to capture those revelations and thoughts, successes and failures, and hopefully even inspire some people at the same time - all with a strong dose of humility. The name is a play on words since I am attempting to crack the nut on my suffering, while I can also be a little bit of a self-proclaimed nutcase at times haha.

Marie Gilbert: What was it like to be the co-editor of the Reading Glasses Anthology? Was it harder than you expected? Easier?

Jessica A. Walsh It was certainly an experience, that's for sure. I don't think I knew what to expect so every part of it was a surprise. I think we strongly underestimated the amount of time it would all take - scoring all of the submissions, some stories taking upward of ten hours to edit, not to mention waiting for author responses - but I also realized how much I enjoy editing. Almost every single author was pleased and appreciative with the edits to their story, which was really lovely. I was also working full-time and wrapping up my last year at Saint Joseph's University throughout almost all of this so that didn't help matters. But I am very proud of the work Amy Holiday and I did. I'm ready to work on my own writing and projects now though, with the exception of the occasional editing assignment. (I'm available!)

                                                                             

Marie Gilbert: Thank you so much Jessica for appearing on my blog and I’m sure everyone will want to read Reading Glasses and Unquiet Mind. Also, on October 24th, our writers' group held a book launch for Reading Glasses and it was a big success.

My Story is in Chicken Soup For The Soul: Touched by an Angel

                                                              

Have you ever encountered an angel? You probably do almost every day, but maybe you don’t recognize them. They look just like everyone else, but they are out there. I submitted a story to Chicken Soup for the Soul almost a year ago. It was a true story that happened around twenty years ago.  My life was at stake. I was in an isolated area with two assailants closing in on me. If you want to find out who saved me, you’ll have to buy Chicken Soup for the Soul: Touched by an Angel.  My story is called Angel on the Footbridge. You can buy the book on Amazon.com

 

                                                                    

If you get the book, tell me if you liked my true story. Thank you.

 

Steampunk Granny's Interview with Ray Rebmann from Reading Glasses

                                                              

       Ray with his dog, Leah near Jake's Landing in Cape May County.

I’m really excited about interviewing Ray because I enjoyed reading his story, Sifkin, which is featured in Reading Glasses. When Ray Rebmann isn’t training guide dogs for the sight impaired, he’s writing. His first book of nonfiction, How Can You Give Up That Adorable Puppy (Unlimited Publishing) describes a family’s years of service as dog trainers. His fiction work includes Chalk Town and the World’s Bottle Cap Championship of the Universe, an e-book published by Wild Child Publishing, and Jersey Devil, The Cursed Unfortunate published by MuseItUp Publishing. He is also the curator of the Dennis Township Historical Museum. Rebmann lives in the wilds of New Jersey, with his wife of 27 years.

                                                       

Marie Gilbert: I’m so happy to interview you. Why don’t you tell the readers of this post a bit about yourself and why you wanted to become a writer.

Ray Rebmann: Because my father said I couldn't. Just kidding. I've always wanted to write and after many detours along the way, I'm finally getting to do it. I'm 60 years old, retired after 30+ years in a government management position. Since retiring, I've published three books and have three more in the pipeline. I think what first sparked my interest in writing was reading the stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Marie Gilbert: What was the inspiration for Sifkin? Is it based on your own personal relationship to your father?

Ray Rebmann: It's not based on my relationship with my father. He died at a young age (49). We did have our tumultuous times together...me growing up in "the 60's" and all. But he tried to be supportive. That said, his influence nudged me into a more "traditional" career. His idea was always for me to work at the regular job to make a living and then once that part was covered, write for the enjoyment of it. That's what I'm doing.

 Sifkin's Fence came to me in a dream.

                                                                             

Marie Gilbert: What genre do you prefer to write?

Ray Rebmann: Fiction.  I lean toward the fantasy but I like to make it "realistic".

Marie Gilbert: I’ve read your bio and see that you’ve been published before and one of the stories is about the Jersey Devil (which I can’t wait to read, especially after reading Sifkin). Is George from Sifkin based somewhat on what we know of the Jersey Devil? Your take of the myth?

Ray Rebmann: I wasn't thinking about JD when I wrote it. I guess there's a connection with southern New Jersey history and all. I live in the Pine Barrens. There are nights out there when it is very easy to believe in the Jersey Devil.

I think the JD story is vastly underappreciated. I'm also fascinated by the Blue Hole story (up around Ancora I believe) and how it connects with the JD. I used it in my story about the devil.

Marie Gilbert: What are you working on now?

Ray Rebmann: A book based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee". I'm the curator of a museum in Dennisville NJ and there's an old house in the area that Poe was said to have visited. The house was owned by the Townsend family and one of the daughters was named Annabelle. She later married a man named Lee, hence the connection. Saying the poem is based on her due to the similarity of names is a stretch since she didn't become Mrs. Lee until after Poe died. But in fiction, all is possible isn't it? For instance, there are scenes in the book that are set in the future. The narrative actually works along three separate plot lines. I'm having fun with it.

I'm also working on a sequel to my nonfiction book "How Can You Give up That Adorable Puppy?" The first book was about a family's adventures raising nine puppies to become guide dogs for the sight impaired. (Our family volunteers for the Seeing Eye in Morristown). The sequel centers on Leah, one of the nine, who returns to live with her family after "retiring" from SE.

Marie Gilbert: What advice would you give to a young person who is thinking of becoming a writer?

Ray Rebmann: Real simple. Read widely and write about whatever interests you. As an exercise in self-discipline, read and write about stuff that doesn't interest you too. For years, I did newspaper work covering tourist events in Wildwood...I hated it. But it paid well and I got to practice my craft, art exorcise my demons...whatever.

 

Thank you so much, Ray for sharing with us and I know our readers will be looking to reading your story in Reading Glasses. You can find the book, here.
READING GLASSES is available now!Amazon.com: amzn.to/1Ch4mF7
Kindle Store: amzn.to/1qvdLQP

Why not drop by and leave us a Goodreads review?https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23269135-reading-glasses
You can find my book, Roof Oasis on Amazon.com and Kindle. Roof Oasis is the first in a series and the apocalypse is not what you expected.

                                                                   

Steampunk Granny Interviews Reading Glasses Author, K.A. Magrowski

                                                            

 

Krista is the vice-president of the South Jersey Writers’ Group and according to her bio, she’s been mangling the English language since 1985 and hopes to secure a book deal before the zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion. She’s a wonderful writer so I think she’ll beat the apocalypse deadline. Krista’s work can be found in “Apparitions of Murder,” Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey. 2012, Dreams of Decadence magazine and We Walk Invisible: A Short Story Anthology (Chupa Cabra House).

                                                                   

Krista’s story “The Highborn,” is featured in Reading Glasses. 2014.

Marie Gilbert: I’m so very happy for you, my friend, and I know everyone would like to know more about you. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

K.A. Magrowski: I guess I’ve always been making up stories, as I think many kids do. I didn’t really start writing anything down formally until I was about 14 when I starting writing some bad teenage poetry and then a sci-fi novel that, thankfully, never saw the light of day. After high school I had a love/hate relationship with writing – I still made up stories in my head but rarely wrote anything down until I was in my late 20s when I joined a writing group in Philadelphia run by Alison Hicks (www.philawordshop.com) where I learned so much about writing through our weekly meetings. It’s been a crazy ride since then as I’ve continued to learn, to improve, and “perfect” my craft.

                                                                    

Marie Gilbert: Tell us a little bit about your main character and where did you get the inspiration for this story?

K.A. Magrowski: The story was inspired as I lay on my bed by an image I received of a priestess with snake arm bands in a candle-lit temple. After a few false endings, the completed story came to me while writing up against the anthology deadline. Amazing how that works.

 

Marie Gilbert: Why do people seem to fear a powerful woman or Goddess?

 

K. A. Magrowski: I don’t know exactly. I think there’s a deep-seated fear, especially in America, of powerful women because so much of our language is male-oriented. The Founding Fathers. The Men Who Built America. The constant qualifiers – woman coach, woman pastor, female lead, woman writer. Rarely do you see the converse. Male is understood as a default and everything else almost seems to come as a surprise. That kind of thing we see everyday in media. Strong, intelligent women, even today, are viewed so many times as bitches, or conniving temptresses, or whining hags that don’t know their place.

Religions especially can be infuriating in this regard. The Catholic Church would be a different place if more women held positions of power and decision making. We’re still going through growing pains when it comes to gender equality in many spheres.

Marie Gilbert: What type of stories are you more comfortable writing?

 

K. A. Magrowski: I can’t say I write to any theme but most of my writing has an element of the supernatural or the strange or the unusual. It’s the way I see the world I guess. If the mundane world were all there was to the universe, and there were no mysteries or unexplained phenomena, then I would probably just fall over from boredom.

Marie Gilbert: I know you’re working on a ghost story and I can’t wait until it’s published. With that thought in mind, when do you expect to get it published and will Hypothetical Press be the publisher you’ll go with?

K.A. Magrowski: Magic 8-ball says, ask again later .

Marie Gilbert: As Vice-President of the South Jersey Writers’ Group, tell us what makes a writing group successful?

K.A. Magrowski: Obviously, first and foremost, it’s the people. You need a group of people willing to work together, to listen, to learn, and to share. I think that’s what makes the South Jersey Writers’ Group so much fun to work with – there are so many people who are willing to share their time and expertise without ego getting in the way.

Also, I think having people willing to commit their time. We couldn’t do what we do, or offer the variety and scope we can, with our volunteers. There’s a lot of hard work and planning that go into making the group run smoothly.

Marie Gilbert. It was pleasure talking about your story featured in Reading Glasses and I’m sure everyone reading this interview will want to read all your works. Thank you, Krista.

You can find Krista, here:
http://kamagrowski.com/

https://www.facebook.com/krista.magrowski?fref=ts

You can find Reading Glasses here:

And, my apocalyptic tale with a twist, Roof Oasis, the first in a series is on Amazon.com and on Kindle.

                                                                          

Steampunk Granny Interviews Author Christine Hardy from the Reading Glasses Anthology

                                                                

Christine is a member of the wonderful South Jersey Writers’ Group and she was published in our group’s first anthology, Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey, which is a collection of stories ranging from humorous to horror. Christine's story was  The Gargoyle Cat.

                                                                  

 

This year, Christine was featured in the Hypothetical Press Anthology called Reading Glasses. Her story is called The Beach House.

 

                                                             

Marie Gilbert: So excited about interviewing you, Christine. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what drew you to writing.

Christine Hardy: There has never been a time that I wasn't making up stories. My first “book” was a crayon-illustrated fable about flowers who were attacked by evil weeds. Some friendly earthworms saved them by eating the soil around the weeds so they fell over. I was very proud of it, and spent a lot of time printing the words out neatly and drawing the little pictures. I’m sure my mom still has it.

Marie Gilbert: What genres do you like writing in and why?

Christine Hardy: Fantasy is my natural home. I've always loved the magical, mysterious and unpredictable quality of fairy tales and myths. I had an hour-long bus ride to school as a child and would read the whole way there and back.  Mysteries were a favorite also. Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers…  I devoured them all. It was actually quite tough to write something in the sci-fi realm for The Beach House. 

                                                                        

Marie Gilbert: What other works have you published? I remember you saying something on facebook about another story of yours being published in an anthology.

Christine Hardy: "The Dragon in the Kettle" will be included in A BARD DAY'S KNIGHT, coming from Double Dragon in early 2015. It was the first full-length story I'd written in a decade and very dear to my heart. A female blacksmith, who has earned a reputation for her exquisite ironwork, has been secretly using a dragon's egg to keep her forge unusually hot. One morning, she finds that the egg has hatched into an insatiably hungry, iron-munching baby dragon. She puts it in a kettle and tries to smuggle it out of town before anyone finds out, but the dragon doesn’t stay in the kettle for long.

"Bessie Returns" will appear in DIFFERENT DRAGONS II, which will be released by Wolfsinger Press on Oct. 1st. In that story, a dragon roller coaster battles the Loch Ness Monster to protect the human employees and guests at a lakeside amusement park. I was highly caffeinated when I pitched that concept and wasn't sure how I would pull it off, but somehow I did and it's a lot of fun to read. 

 

Marie Gilbert: What was the inspiration for The Beach House?

 

Christine Hardy: The idea for "The Beach House" came from a prompt on the Wolfsinger Press website, in which an object delivered in a box transports the recipient to another world. My idea at the time was a shipment of bare root roses that would grow up over an arbor and create a gateway. When the South Jersey Writer's Group had a story contest with a theme of "Another Jersey Shore" I put the two together. The result was The Beach House, which won the first ever SJWG story contest. I can’t tell you how surprised I was when it won. There is such a sense of validation when your work is appreciated. “They like me. They really like me!”

 

Marie Gilbert: Did you know someone in real life that you based the character of Pooja?

Christine Hardy: I did have a childhood friend named Pooja, though she was a few years younger than I. Her family lived across the street from us. As soon as you walked into their house, you smelled the spices and heard the soft, lilting tones of their voices. It was like entering another world. The real Pooja is a lawyer now and we’ve lost touch, but she did have an infectious giggle and was always both very pretty and very sassy.

Christine & some of the South Jersey Writer's Group members                                                                    

Marie Gilbert: What project are you working on now?

 

Christine Hardy: I'm not working on anything particular at the moment, but I've got two fantasy novels and a teenaged elf story brewing, all set in the same world, plus a children's story about a pair of mice. I've had requests for more Gargoyle Cat stories, so I'm toying with some ideas for that, too.

Thank you for doing the interview, Christine and I know people will love your story. Don't forget to visit the South Jersey Writers' Group this Saturday, October 11th for the Collingswood Book Festival in Collingswood, New Jersey. We will be selling the new Reading Glasses Anthology, and

 

                                          Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey,

 

                                                                                   

 

                                                   What to Expect When You're Dead

 

                                                                                 

 

 and of course the first book in my apocalyptic tale with a twist, Roof Oasis. Stop by and say hello. My pet zombies will be there to greet you.