#WriterWednesdayInterview with Lori Robbins

I’d like to welcome Lori Robbins to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite fall traditions: I never miss an opportunity to go apple and pumpkin picking.

Something autumn-related that you’ll never do again: Overestimate how many apples and pumpkins I need, which results in two weeks of making vats of applesauce and watching the pumpkins wither as I debate how many pumpkin seeds one can reasonably be expected to roast and eat.

Favorite fall treat: I love roasted chestnuts and candy apples.

A fall treat that makes you gag: Pumpkin spice malted milk balls. How can such a thing exist?

Something you only do in the fall: I hide candy from the rest of the family and then eat it myself.

Something you’d never do in the fall season: Go outdoors when the temperature dips below 50 degrees. Maybe 60. As a resident of northern New Jersey, this does pose a few problems.

Favorite autumn beverage: My favorite autumn drink is an apple brandy cocktail that’s topped with champagne. After drinking a few you still have a half bottle of opened champagne, which I think of as a win.

A drink that gives you a sour face: I know this is heresy to many, but I don’t drink tea. Ever.

Favorite fall smell: Wood smoke is my favorite and has the added advantage of not triggering any allergies.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Every brand of tea [see above] with the possible exception of chamomile.

Best fall memory: My first Halloween in suburban New Jersey. We had just moved from NYC, and it was a great way to meet the neighbors!

Something you’d rather forget: The year I dressed as a black cat and got my tail stuck in an elevator door. Twice.

Funniest autumn story: Finding an empty bag of hidden Halloween candy with a note from my kids that said We always enjoy the hunt, heh, heh, heh

Something embarrassing that happened during the fall: Showing up at a Halloween party and finding out no one else was wearing a costume.

Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: Apple pie, for sure!

Your worst kitchen disaster: Making pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin. There’s a reason the canned stuff is so popular.

Favorite place you spent a fall day: My daughter’s September wedding at the Jersey shore was magical. She got married on the beach, and a crowd of late-season beach goers joined in.

The worst place to spend a fall day: My backyard is the worst place to be in October and November. I’m fairly certain my allergy to leaf mold was born out a disinclination to wield a rake.

Funniest pumpkin-carving story: Carving a pumpkin and having people think the kids must have done it.

Your worst pumpkin-carving story: Trying to carve a pumpkin with one of those flexible knives that come in pumpkin carving kits, deciding a kitchen knife would work better, and then slicing three fingers instead of said pumpkin. On the other hand, blood from the wound was definitely on brand for Halloween.

Best Halloween memory: Playing Scrabble with friends while answering the door to trick-or-treaters.

Worst Halloween experience: Losing every single Scrabble game because it was my house, and I was the one doling out candy. As a matter of record, I’d like to make a case for including the word “rebeaner” in the Scrabble dictionary. What other word would you use to describe someone who repeatedly beans another person on the head with a bag of candy? Had my fellow Scrabble players agreed, I would have won.

About Lori:

Lori Robbins began dancing at age 16 and launched her professional career three years later. She performed with a number of modern dance and classical ballet companies, including Ballet Hispanico and the St. Louis Ballet, and her commercial work included featured spots for Pavlova Perfume. After ten very lean years onstage she became an English teacher and now writes full time.

Lori is the author of the On Pointe mysteries; the third book in that series, Murder in Third Position, is due out in November and is set in a fictional New York City ballet company. The first book in her Master Class series, Lesson Plan for Murder, features a crimefighting English teacher and will release in early 2023. She won the Indie Award for Best Mystery, the Silver Falchion for Best Cozy Mystery, and was a finalist for both a Readers’ Choice and Mystery and Mayhem Book Award.

Short stories include “Accidents Happen” in Murder Most Diabolical and “Leading Ladies” in Justice for All. She’s also a contributor to The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers Cookbook.

As a dancer, writer, English teacher, and mother of six, Lori is an expert in the homicidal impulses everyday life inspires.

Let’s Be Social:

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http://lorirobbinsauthor@gmail.com

23 Tech Terms Writers Should Know

Technology has its own vocabulary, and I’m often fascinated with the terms and where they come from. Here’s a list of 23 that could worm their way into your writing.

1. Account Harvesting - This is the method of collecting a system’s account names.

2. Back Door - This is a tool that’s installed to give the attacker access and bypasses security.

3. Biometrics - These are physical attributes of a user that can be used to provide access to a device or software (e.g. retinal, fingerprint, or facial scans).

4. Brute Force - This is a type of attack that tries all possibilities by bombarding the victim with one option after another in a continuous attack.

5. Cookie - When you access a website with your browser, some information is stored on your computer that can be retrieved later.

6. Data Mining - This is a technique used to analyze information, sometimes from different sources. It’s often used in business and marketing tasks.

7. Denial of Service - This is a type of attack that prevents users from accessing system.

8. Hardening - This is when computer engineers identify and fix vulnerabilities.

9. Honey Pot - These are defense mechanisms that appear to be vulnerabilities in a system. When attacked, they track information on the attacker. (Flies are attracted to a honey pot.)

10. Least Privilege - This is where system administrators assign the least amount of access or permissions necessary for a user.

11. MAC Address - This is the number that uniquely identifies your network device from all the other devices.

12. Masquerade Attack - This is a type of attack where one system falsely poses as another. It pretends or assumes the identity of the victim.

13. Phishing - This is when the bad actor uses emails that look like trusted sources to get the victim to enter his or her credentials. It allows them to steal logins, passwords, and other personal information.

14. Ping (Packet Internet Groper) - The is the time it takes a small data set or communication to go from a server to your device and back again. It allows the sender to see if the destination exists or accepts requests. It takes its name from a submariner’s sonar pulse.

15. Plain Text - This is ordinary (readable) text before it is encrypted or decrypted.

16. Smurf - This is a type of attack on a system that sends a call out (ping) to the site. It usually results in a lot of communication activity.

17. Social Engineering - This is the term that describes the nontechnical ways that bad actors get information to attack a system. It can be by phone calls, lies, tricks, or threats.

18. Spoof - This is when a bad actor tries to gain access by posing as an authorized user.

19. Time to Live - This is a value in the code that tells the network router whether or not the request (network packet) is too old and should be discarded.

20. Trojan Horse - This is a program that appears to be useful, but it has malicious code that allows it entry or access to a system. The user thinks he/she is accessing a program, but it loads dangerous code that allows the bad actor to bypass security protocols.

21. Worm - This is a computer program that infects other hosts on a network. It often uses the victim’s computer resources for malicious purposes.

22. Zero Day - This is the day that a new computer vulnerability is discovered. Often a patch to correct it has not yet been released.

23. Zombie - This is a type of computer that is connected to the internet and is infected by a virus or controlled by a hacker. It is often part of a botnet (network of bots involved in malicious attacks) Most owners of zombie computers are not aware that someone is using their computer this way.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Lynn Chandler Willis

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Lynn Chandler Willis to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: Blankets and fuzzy socks

Things you need to throw out: Blankets and fuzzy socks

Things you need for your writing sessions: A playlist created on Spotify specific to that book, and visual images of how I envision my characters.

Things that hamper your writing: Certain songs on said playlist have such an emotional pull on me that I’ll find myself changing the direction of the scene to fit the song.

Things you love about writing: Letting my mind wander with all the what-ifs and when it all comes together in a complete story.

Things you hate about writing: Coming up with character names! The names have to have meaning and contribute to the characterization.

Words that describe you: Warped.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Perfectionist, until I’m not.

Favorite foods: Pizza and anything Mexican. Oh, and Asian! Friday nights are my indulgence nights and I rotate between ordering pizza, Mexican, or Asian. It’s sadly predictable.

Things that make you want to gag: Sardines.

Favorite smell: Fresh linen. Remember the smell of freshly washed sheets air drying on a line in the backyard? Cleanest smell ever!

Something that makes you hold your nose: Certain types of cheese. And I’m a big fan of cheese so that one is tricky.

Something you wish you could do: Stick to an exercise routine.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Play Wordle.

Something you like to do: Walk Finn (my brown border collie) around the farm and easy-to-moderate hikes.

Something you wish you’d never done: Tried hiking a rocky trail up the side of a local mountain. No guardrail––nothing to keep you from falling. It was meant for mountain goats and I’m not a mountain goat. It was terrifying! You know when you’re in that moment of sheer panic that you just can’t move? That was me.

Favorite books (or genre): Anything by William Kent Krueger and/or Tana French

Books you wouldn’t buy: Epic fantasies. This world is hard enough for me to understand.

Most embarrassing moment: Misspelled my own name in a by-line

Proudest moment: When the whole family turned out for my first book signing.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Adopt Finn (the brown border collie) from the shelter

Biggest mistake: Bringing home two sibling, 8-week-old puppies. As much as I love puppies, they’re especially nice when you can enjoy puppy kisses when they belong to someone else.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I made a difference.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I had a reviewer take me to task for my acknowledgements.

About Lynn:

Lynn Chandler Willis is a best-selling, multi-award-winning author who has worked in the corporate world, the television news industry, and had a thirteen-year run as the owner and publisher of a small-town newspaper. She lives in the heart of North Carolina on a mini-farm surrounded by chickens, turkeys, ducks, nine grandkids, a sassy little calico named Jingles, and Finn, a brown border collie known to be the best dog in the world. Seriously.

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#WriterWednesday Interview with Glenda Benevides

I’d like to welcome author and musician, Glenda Benevides, to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Words that describe you: Compassionate, thoughtful and understanding - Global Badass Goddess - BADASS B= Beautiful A= Accessible D=Daring A=Abundant S=Savvy S=Sassy

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Sometimes too trusting and I give people the benefit of the doubt too many times and still get taken advantage of.

Favorite places you’ve been: Edinburgh Scotland - the most beautiful and charming city in the world.

Places you never want to go to again: I can always find something I like no matter where I go but I would say most likely, very hot humid places on the planet also places like Oklahoma and TX.

Favorite music or song: Music to me is personal and it is mood driven. Sometimes ya wanna hear romantic or sexy or maybe even chill - just depends. It’s more like “my favorite artist” and that would be Rochelle Ferrell. She’s an extraordinary r&b/jazz soulful singer, songwriter who has it all.

Music that drives you crazy: Most likely makes me Sad, not so Crazy, because music is an art form not just a product to be used only. Music invites you to feel the depths of your own soul, to bring on joy, to dive into thoughts that need to be investigated! Music that has no soul, emotion and is prefabricated is sad and the market is flooded with unfortunate, superficial nonsense.

Things that make you happy: Excellent pizza, great conversation and all animals!

Things that drive you crazy: unorganized lives, messy junked up rooms and people who are always late and have no consideration for others.

Most embarrassing moment: When I was performing in Lake Tahoe on stage, all eyes were on me. I was dancing and missed stepped and landed on my ass with a loud echoing boom through the whole club. I had to get back up and keep going and finish singing my song - I felt embarrassed and wanted to go hide backstage.

Proudest moment: Was accepting an award for my song “Change” and performing it at AOF film festival in LA. https://www.actiononfilmfest.com/

Best thing you’ve ever done: Support a friend going through a dire ruff time and I plant trees every time someone buys my song or a book - One Tree Planted https://onetreeplanted.org/

Buy a Book or a Song = https://glendabenevides.com/courage-handbook-goddess-album

Biggest mistake: I don’t really believe in mistakes but more like, wrong choices from not listening that brings on grief with lessons. I have been con’d many times but I always learn something new about myself and why I chose to not listen to my inner guidance.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Date the wrong person! Just joking… I bungie jumped 250 feet straight down! I was scared to death but I made myself!

Something you chickened out from doing: Not asking Carl Anderson to sing a song I wrote for him and by the time I did, he had passed away. Carl was a singer of film and theater. He was an actor best known for his portrayal of Judas Iscariot in the Broadway and film versions of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

The funniest thing to happen to you: When I stopped looking so hard for a manager and someone to believe in me, and it happened on its own, and they found me.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Over all is not being prepared for my own podcast interviews! I try not to embarrass myself by being prepared.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Rachelle Ferrell amazing human being! High vibrational spiritual being, musician and more!

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Most people don’t look like their pictures!

The nicest thing a reader said to you: That I touched their heart and moved them so much they had to go home and think about what I said.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: That they felt they couldn’t do what it takes to have Courage.

Something you’re really good at: Being with people, giving them the freedom and acceptance for who they are, no judgement in the space. I find people, places and ontology fascinating. Also, singing and telling impactful stories that help people dive into who they are and want to be.

Ontology: branch of philosophy, is the science of what is

Something you’re really bad at: Math

About Glenda:

Glenda Benevides is an Award-winning, RECORDING ACADEMY {#IAmTheAcademy}, Voting Member, and GRAMMY® considered artist and author, is tireless when it comes to inspiring others to embrace their strength, listen to their heart, chart their course, feel inspired and dive into a musical, emotional and thrilling ride. Like a wild tent revival preacher, Glenda’s sermon is empowerment, enlightenment and builds bridges of understanding all wrapped together in powerful vocal expression that sways you from the tip of your head to the toes of your feet!

Let’s Be Social:

Website: glendabenevides.com

Spotify: glenda benevides - https://open.spotify.com/artist/7iEMzMaMTNsw7uw1Ivq59S

IG: glendabenevidesmusic

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YOUTUBE: YouTube.com/c/glendabenevides  (interviews and music videos)

To buy music plant a tree: https://bandcamp.com/glendabenevides

Improving Your Productivity - Tips for Writers

In workshops and interviews, I’m asked a lot about how long it takes me to write a novel. It took me over five years to write my first novel (and another two to get it published). As I worked on my writing and revising skills, I came up with some ideas that would help me be more productive and focused with my writing time. You need to find what works for you and your life. Here is what I do.

1. I spend about a week plotting the story idea and thinking about what characters need to be involved.

2. I write an outline of each chapter. It’s usually a bulleted list of what happens. This helps me see where I can add clues and suspense. It also helps me see motives.

3. I need between 28-35 chapters for my word count. (I write cozy mysteries.)

4. I create a character list in an Excel spreadsheet to make sure I remember the key details. (I add a column for each book in the series.)

5. Then I start to write. I still have a day gig, so I write before work and during lunch. If I don’t hit my word count for the day, I’ll write more at night.

6. I try to do 1,000 words on workdays and at least 3,000 words on weekends and holidays. Life gets in the way sometimes, so if I know I have something else to do, I try to write ahead. Do your best to keep your schedule, but don’t beat yourself up. Some days, the words aren’t there.

7. I just write during this time. I don’t revise or edit. When I started writing, this really bogged me down. I spent months rewriting and revising before I ever finished the first draft.

8. When I’m done, I save it. (And always make a backup.) I then print out the draft.

9. Now it’s time for revising. I’ll spend another month or so looking for typos, plot holes, and any other thing that doesn’t make sense or contribute to the story. I add new stuff, and I delete a whole bunch of junk that bogs down the flow.

10. It’s time now for beta readers or my critique group.

11. Then it’s time for more revisions.

12. My agent and her fantastic crew read it next and provide feedback.

13. And it’s finally ready to go out for query.

This is my system, and it works for me. Give it a try. Keep what works for you. I am able to write at least three novels a year now.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Ashley Weckesser

Please welcome Ashley Weckesser to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things:

The outdoors, plants, animals and good food are just a few of my favorite things.

Things you need to throw out:

I need to throw out my garbage from this week, donate some articles of clothing that I no longer wear and some nasty old cat toys that my cats still seem to enjoy.

Words that describe you:

Crazy (in a good sense I hope), passionate, creative, adventurous, kind.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t:

Intimidating, anti-social.

Something you wish you could do:

I sincerely wish that I could fly (without the aid of technology)!

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

I wish that I had never learned how to crack my knuckles. I make a lot of people cringe…

Favorite things to do:

I love exploring the great outdoors when I get the chance to escape, playing video games, playing sports, creating art and cooking new and exciting meals.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing:

Cleaning up other people’s messes.

Things that make you happy:

Ice cream, cats, sunshine, fresh air.

Things that drive you crazy:

Gossip and people who don’t seem to mind taking advantage of other people including yourself.

Things to say to a composer:

Really any compliment will suffice however if you dig deep into all the hidden messages and complexities composers usually layer within their work, you will win them over.

Things to say to a composer if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next composition:

“You should’ve done ___ instead”, “It sounded nice.”, “Did you mean for it to sound like that?”.

About Ashley:

Ashley Weckesser is an Edmonton, AB-based composer and interdisciplinary artist working in the fields of music and sound, visual art and theater. An early-career artist, her instrumental and graphic score works have premiered at the University of Alberta’s Convocation Hall through the University’s Experimental Improvisation Ensemble (“XiMe”), Contemporary Music Ensemble and Edmonton's Ultraviolet Ensemble. A recent graduate from the University of Alberta, she has studied composition with Dr. Mark Hannesson and Dr. Scott Smallwood. Her current interests involve music design for video games and film, producing animated graphic scores, working with advanced music software such as Max/MSP, and the visual arts.

Her works have won awards for best video game audio design, multiple university scholarships and recently her animated graphic score, A Composer’s Nightmare, has been featured in the Toronto 4th Multicultural Film Festival 2021. Ashley’s primary goal in her works is emotional storytelling that ignites passion. Music cannot effectively impact listeners without having a story and without having emotion. Ashley has taken a new interest in musical compositions that are designed to explore the impact of music on the conscious and subconscious emotional reactions of both the performers and listeners. Her goals are to design music in both the film and video game industries, as well as live performances (taking multiple forms), that turn the active listener into a participant; creating their own personal story and subsequently emoting on a transcendent level. “I believe music and sound have the ability to connect people, thoughts and emotions. Music and Sound allow us to tell engaging stories with lasting effect. It is the bridge by which we can cross into the land of our subconscious and transcend our self awareness; it inspires.”

Her music, photography, graphic scores, and more can be viewed at https://www.aweckesser.com.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.aweckesser.com

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#WriterWednesday Interview with Daniele Cybulskie

I’d like to welcome Daniele Cybulskie to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you need for your writing sessions: A cup of tea, a glass of water, a clean desk, and a good notebook and pen to hand for catching stray ideas as I type.

Things that hamper your writing: Noise and clutter. Interruptions! I need a block of quiet time to deep think, whether I’m planning, editing, or crafting sentences.

Things you love about writing: I love that it’s a way of reaching out to people and connecting. For me, the flow state comes when I’m writing about something really interesting that I can’t wait to share. As a non-fiction writer, it’s all about showing people things and saying, “Look! Isn’t this cool?”

Things you hate about writing: It’s hard! It takes a lot of revision, and reading from different perspectives, and rethinking – but not overthinking. It also takes a thick skin, learning to accept feedback from editors, copyeditors, and then readers. But the benefits outweigh the pain.

Things you never want to run out of: Tea! Good pens, notebooks with the right line spacing, and Post-It Notes. Also time, but I frequently find myself running out of that….

Things you wish you’d never bought: Sometimes I impulse-buy lipstick, but I always regret the seriously pink ones.

Things you always put in your books: Jokes, and a sprinkling of sarcasm. History doesn’t need to be serious all the time. Some of the best-researched history books I’ve read have also made me laugh out loud at a well-timed joke.

Things you never put in your books: Insults. I want my books to be uplifting overall, so I avoid putting people (living or dead) down as much as possible.

Favorite places you’ve been: Scotland. Edinburgh is my favourite city. I’ve been to Scotland several times (lived there for a while), and every time I leave it’s heartrending. It’s just an absolutely beautiful, friendly, and historically rich country.

Places you never want to go to again: My old apartment. I honestly had a nightmare about it the other day.

Favorite books (or genre): I read a lot of books on positive psychology, so I was thrilled to be able to connect this scientific work to history in How to Live Like a Monk. These books give me a mood boost, and I’m really interested in the different ways we can test and challenge ourselves. I find human nature endlessly fascinating.

Books you wouldn’t buy: I don’t buy true crime. I would much rather investigate lives from long ago.

Things that make you happy: I’m a really simple person at heart. I live for sunshine, a cup of tea, and a good book. Time with family and friends. I love the physical challenge of Krav Maga, and the mental release of meditation. A quiet existence!

Things that drive you crazy: Unkindness. Casual rudeness – usually on the road! Injustice. Selfishness. Everyone is stressed these days, so it’s worth it to take two seconds to smile, wave, thank someone, or stand up for someone. Small gestures of kindness can change the world.

About Daniele:

As a writer, TEDx speaker, former college professor, and podcaster, Danièle has made medieval history fun, entertaining, and accessible for millions of people around the world. As well as introducing a general audience to the fascinating world of the Middle Ages, her books, articles, videos, and weekly podcast have been used as resources in schools and universities across North America. Danièle’s mission is to share the joy of history by highlighting our common humanity across time and space. When she’s not reading, writing, or recording, Danièle can be found drinking tea, doing Krav Maga, or sometimes building a backyard trebuchet.

Let’s Be Social:

Author/Podcaster/Historian

Website: www.danielecybulskie.com

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TedTalk:  History in Three Dimensions

A Playlist for National Redhead Day - November 5

Tomorrow is National Red Head Day! Here’s a playlist of ginger references. I was surprised at how many there are out there…

• Garth Brooks “Ain’t Goin’ Down”

• Dolly Parton “Jolene”

• Willie Nelson “Redheaded Stranger”

• John Palmer “The Band Played On”

• REM “Redhead Walking”

• Amy Winehouse “Valerie”

• Bruce Springsteen “Redheaded Woman”

• Ed Sheeran “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You”

• Miranda Lambert “White Liar”

• Bob Dylan “Tangled in Blue”

• Flock of Seagulls “I Ran”

• Counting Crows “Good Time”

• Gaelic Storm “Green Eyes, Red Hair”

• Natalie Merchant “San Andreas Fault”

• Bob Segar “Sightseeing”

• Brooks and Dunn “Boot-scootin’ Boogie”

• Neil Young “Cinnamon Girl”

• Travis Tritt “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde”

• Billy Joel “Keeping the Faith”

• Taylor Swift “Fifteen”

• Jake Owen “Barefoot Blue Jean Night”

• Billy Idol “Dead on Arrival”

• Shania Twain “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under”

• Little River Band “Redheaded Wildflower”

• Lonestar “Front Porch Lookin’ In”

• Sammy Hagar “Red”