#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Sandra Skalski

I’d like to welcome Sandra Skalski to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: I adore my butterfly garden and my Christmas ornament collection. Some of them belonged to my grandmother.

Things you need to throw out: I keep old greeting cards. One of these days I must throw them all away.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A comfy chair and a cup of coffee or an ice-cold seltzer.

Things that hamper your writing: Access to the internet. I can either write or doomscroll, but not both.

Things you love about writing: I love the opportunity winning the Writers of the Future contest provided me. The support and encouragement have been amazing. Aspiring SFF writers should enter.

Things you hate about writing: I hate when I know the story isn't working but I don't know why. I'll have to pull weeds or some other mindless chore until I find the solution.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Occasionally, I get a raging case of imposter syndrome.

Easiest thing about being a writer: I love when I get 'in the zone' and the words spill out before my internal editor catches on.

Favorite foods: Steak and raspberries.

Things that make you want to gag: Liver makes me gag.

Favorite smell: I swoon over any kind of gardenia, especially Tahitian gardenia.

Something that makes you hold your nose: I hate the smell of Bradford Pear trees in bloom.

Things you always put in your books: I try to include a bit of humor in most things I write.

Things you never put in your books: Elves, dwarves and goblins won't be in my stories. They've been done to death.

Things to say to an author: I really enjoyed your book.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: What were you thinking with that ending?

Favorite places you’ve been: I love the Galapagos Islands and French Polynesia.

Places you never want to go to again: I avoid big cities. Crowds are not for me.

Favorite things to do: I love to dig in the garden or relax on a beach.

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

Things that make you happy: I love spending time with my family and friends. When I'm not with them, you can find me in the garden.

Things that drive you crazy: Traffic jams get on my last nerve.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I did a scuba dive to 130 feet to see the Blue Hole of Belize.

Something you chickened out from doing: The Angel's Landing hike in Zion. We changed our minds at the last minute.

About Sandra:

Sandra Skalski is a wife, mom and engineer who scribbles stories in her spare time. She likes to write story that make you smile. When she’s not writing, you can find her in the butterfly garden or traveling with her husband. This year, her stories have appeared in Writers of The Future Vol. 41, Allegory Magazine and Black Cat Weekly.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Sandra-Skalski-Author-61574495129204/

X: https://x.com/sandyskalski

#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Shamayne Olivia

I’d like to welcome Shamayne Olivia back to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: For free time anytime I like to create art using a coloring app. For longer periods of free time, we like to attend live music venues or the theatre.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: Grocery shopping.

Things you need when you’re in your writing cave: Peace and quiet with natural light. I like to write in my bedroom because it’s in the back of the house. I have windows looking out to the garden in our backyard.

Things that distract you from writing: perfectionism

Hardest thing about being a writer: Self-doubt, In the beginning, I think I spent as much time convincing myself I could do this as much as I did actually writing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: I’m still thinking about that one.

Something you’re really good at: intuition, organization, and time management

Something you’re really bad at: backing into a parking spot or parallel parking on the street. I get nervous.

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: an oceanographer

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: that I would write and publish a book then own my own business

Something you wish you could do: Sing with a strong voice.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I wish I’d never learned to doubt my own abilities.

Last best thing you ate: Chicken Piccata on our anniversary at a swanky Italian restaurant. At one time the restaurant was called Romeo’s. The new owners named it Juliet’s.

Last thing you regret eating: Pork belly. One bite was enough to know.

Favorite places you’ve been: National Parks in Colorado and Utah

Places you never want to go to again: Over-crowded tourist towns

Best thing you’ve ever done: Coach my daughter through labor and delivery of both my grandsons.

Biggest mistake: not retiring sooner.

The most exciting thing about your writing life: the people I have met. Each stage of my writing journey introduced me to the people I needed in my life at that time. Some are well known and others are like me, but one step ahead and could offer guidance.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: It’s hard to say since I never imagined I would be a writer. My life as a writer unfolded as I worked to rebuild a life untethered from a painful past. The writing was part of the journey.

About Shamayne:

Shamayne Olivia is an author, speaker, and facilitator whose journey of reclaiming her authentic self has defined her life’s work. The eldest of four children, she carried adult responsibilities far too young, navigating the emotional needs of both siblings and parents. After her parents’ divorce at age eight, she was shaped by the lasting effects of alcoholism and rigid religious beliefs. Refusing to be defined by these patterns, she chose a path of healing and transformation—breaking the generational cycle and guiding others to do the same with courage, hope, and resilience. Her first book, Shoes That Fit Her Soul, explores these intricacies, removing the layers to uncover the fundamental steps needed to recover one’s identity and enjoy a more meaningful life.

Through decades of seeking her true identity, she uncovered profound insights and revelations that became the foundation of her business, Shoes That Fit Her Soul, LLC. Drawing from her own experiences, she created the Shoes That Fit Her Soul workbook, digital workbook, and workshop—resources designed to help others reclaim their voices, rewrite their stories, and step boldly into lives of purpose.

Shamayne lives in the Texas Hill Country, near Austin, with her generously supportive husband, Craig, and two affectionate cats, Wrigley and Ivy. She is the mother to three remarkable adult children, Sydney, Nathan, and Daniel, and “Maymie” to her beloved grandchildren, Emerson, Joaquin, and Jude.

When she’s not writing or leading workshops, Shamayne finds joy in family time, traveling, live music and theatre, major league baseball, and practicing yoga. Simple practices that remind her to stay grounded in gratitude and wonder for each new chapter.

Her hope is that every woman who encounters her work discovers the same truth she has embraced: it’s never too late to reclaim the light within you.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: About Author – Shoes That Fit Her Soul

Organizing Your Book Files

There is nothing that will make an author cry faster than not being able to find the most recent version of a manuscript. I really dislike not being able to find things when I need them, so this is the method that works for me.

The Writing Files

1. I use Microsoft Word, so I create folders for each of my books.

2. There is one main file. At the end of each writing session, I make a backup of that to my cloud files. (I talked to a writer recently who saves each update in a new file with the date in the name. She mentioned that it took her a long time to find which changes she was looking for. My writing time is limited. I don’t want to spend hours looking for a file.)

3. When I get edits (because each publisher has its own file naming convention), I put my original manuscript in a subfolder (e.g. Original Files) and save the edits in the editor’s format. When other edits happen, I do the same thing. There is always one main book file that gets backed up.

4. If I have chapters or paragraphs that I’m removing, I make a copy of them and create a file in the “Original Files” folder for unused material. Make sure the file name describes what it is because you don’t want to have to open a bunch of files if it’s called something generic. Are you going to remember what “old chapter four” is several months later?

5. I create a character spreadsheet for each series. When there is a new manuscript, I make a copy of it and save it to the new book’s folder. Then I add a column for this book. I note which reoccurring characters appear in the new book and add the new folks. This file has what recipes I used, key information on the characters, and location information that I don’t want to lose between books. I also add names of people I want to recognize in my author notes, so I don’t forget anyone.

6. I have a Word document with my current biography, social media link, and book links. This helps when I need to create a post or provide this information. This document gets updated every time something changes.

Graphics and Book Covers

1. When I get the graphics of the final book cover, it goes in my master file on my laptop (and gets backed up.) This way, I can find all the book covers in one place.

2. I make a subfolder for each series/book for different promotional graphics for the book.

3. When I make a new image or a video, I put it in its folder.

4. I use BookBrush to create the book with different backgrounds and in different formats (e.g. ebook, audio, paperback, hardback). I use Canva to create my graphics.

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with donalee Moulton

I’d like to welcome author donalee Moulton back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

The coolest thing you’ve bought online: A catio. It’s a portable mesh enclosure that lets indoor cats safely enjoy the outdoors. Looks a little like a foldable black maze. Wiley Bob thought it was great until the wind picked it up and moved it three feet with him in it. No longer his favorite toy.

The thing you wished you’d never bought. I knew it was a scam when I bought it and still forked out $39.95 for a life-like toy poodle that barks, runs, licks your face. Yeah right. I got a small stuffed toy that somewhat resembled a dog.

Something you’re really good at: I’m going to say yoga. I’m not sure I’m as good at it as I really enjoy it – at least four times a week. I can do shoelace; I can almost do crow; I am nowhere near getting my legs to assume the lotus position. Ironic really. I have a new series out: the Lotus Detective Agency.

Something you’re really bad at: Eating well. Eating healthy. Eating. I’m the world’s slowest eater (along with the three-toed sloth apparently). There are numerous reasons for this. Bottom line: I’m always trying to stuff food in my face to make sure I’m getting lots of calories. That would be cake, not brussels sprouts.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I’m tempted to say, “Write a book.” I’m going to go with stuffing myself inside a survival suit and being launched into the depths of a training pool. I was writing an article on a company that makes these suits for the offshore oil industry. The trainer suggested I test the suit. In a moment of weakness, I said yes. And still here.

Something you chickened out from doing: The list is long. My general philosophy is that if it can kill me, seriously injure me, or scare the bejesus out of me, then it’s a “no.” So that rules out skiing, bungee jumping, and watching anything directed by John Carpenter.

The funniest thing to happen to you: As a teenager, I often slept in until the last minute then bolted for school. One day I grabbed the jeans at the foot of my bed, thrust legs into the pants and grabbed a sweater. At break, I went to the washroom. Looked down at the bottom of my left leg only to see a blob of brown. I pulled on the blob of brown and kept pulling. It was pantyhose I’d worn the day before. Sadly, I was not alone in the washroom.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: I had this lovely jacket with these big bright silver buttons. I often wore it when I was teaching or presenting. One day I was standing before a class and looked down to see a wrinkle in one of the big bright silver buttons. When I touched it all the silver came off the button. Then it came off all the buttons. The silver was actually aluminum foil that had been wrapped around the “real” buttons to protect them before the jacket sold.

The funniest thing that happened to you on vacation: We had this fabulous house rented in Florida for a family vacation. I’m working quietly on my computer early one morning when my son-in-law comes tearing down the stairs and out the deck door. “It’s a giant lizard,” he yelled. I’m on my feet and running out the door with him. It was indeed a giant lizard. A giant ceramic lizard sitting inanimate on the patio table.

The most embarrassing thing that happened to you on a vacation: My husband and I were in Arizona. We dropped my mother at her bridge tournament and decided to go to the zoo. When we got there, we thought something was wrong. There was not a person in sight. There was not an animal in sight. We later learned no one goes out at high noon with the sun blazing and thermostat topping 100 degrees. That included the lions.

Best piece of advice you received from another writer: Ask for feedback. Listen to feedback. Be thankful for feedback. But pay attention to the little voice inside you that says whether you should change your writing as a result.

Something you would tell a younger you about your writing: Yes, you can.

About donalee:

donalee Moulton’s first mystery book Hung out to Die was published in 2023. A historical mystery, Conflagration!, was published in 2024. It won the 2024 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense (Historical Fiction). donalee has two new books out in 2025, Bind and Melt, the first in a new series, the Lotus Detective Agency.

A short story “Swan Song” was one of 21 selected for publication in Cold Canadian Crime. It was shortlisted for an Award of Excellence. Other short stories have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines. donalee’s short story “Troubled Water” was shortlisted for a 2024 Derringer Award and a 2024 Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada. 

 donalee is an award-winning freelance journalist. She has written articles for print and online publications across North America including The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Lawyer’s Daily, National Post, and Canadian Business.

 As well, donalee is the author of The Thong Principle: Saying What You Mean and Meaning What You Say and co-authored the book, Celebrity Court Cases: Trials of the Rich and Famous.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://donaleemoulton.com  

Amazon Author: http://amazon.com/author/donaleemoulton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donaleemoultonauthor

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/donaleemoulton

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaleemoulton/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/donaleemoulton.bsky.social

Instagram: donaleemoulton

#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Diane Bator

I’d like to welcome Diane Bator to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite fall traditions: shuffling through the leaves, taking photos of the colors, drives in the country to see the scenery

Something autumn-related that you’ll never do again: trick or treat.

Favorite fall treat: caramel apples!!

A fall treat that makes you gag: Molasses kisses we used to get as kids.

Favorite autumn beverage: Pumpkin Spice Lattes

A drink that gives you a sour face: Green Tea

Favorite fall smell: crisp mornings

Something that makes you hold your nose: skunky ponds

Best fall memory: walking with my dogs in the field behind our house as a kid

Something you’d rather forget: being in the truck when dad was hunting

A tradition you share with others: Hallothanksmas with my family since winters can be unpredictable and we live hours apart!

A tradition that can be retired: Over buying for Christmas. Yes, I’m guilty.

Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: apple crisp with fresh picked apples

Your worst kitchen disaster: my first time cooking rice! The bottom of the pot was black.

Favorite place you spent a fall day: In the local park walking through the crunchy leaves.

The worst place to spend a fall day: In the mall

Your best Halloween costume: A spider!

A Halloween costume that wasn’t quite what you imagined: Tired Writer.

Favorite pumpkin spice item: Lattes

Something that should never be pumpkin-spiced flavored: Chocolate

Best Halloween memory: Taking the kids out when they were little

Worst Halloween experience: Getting caught in a snowstorm miles from home!

About Diane:

Diane Bator is an Award-Winning Canadian mystery writer based in Alberta, book coach, editor, and mom of three. She is the host of the Escape With a Writer blog, and started her own publishing company, Escape With a Writer, in January of 2024 to relaunch her previous 15 novels as well as newer works.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://dianebator.ca/

Blog: http://dbator.blogspot.ca/

Newsletter: https://dianebator.substack.com/

How to Organize Your Marketing and Book Events

I have a day-gig, so most of my life is scheduled. I’ve tried a lot of different planners and programs over the years, and this is the method that works for me.

1. I have a monthly, four-year calendar (old school). It’s small enough to fit in my purse or laptop bag. But I can see each week and the entire month at one time.

2. When I know important dates (e.g. holidays, days off, deadlines, and publication dates), they go on the calendar.

3. When I apply or am planning an event, it goes on the calendar along with the location, contact, and time.

4. When an event is confirmed, I update it. (I also add the person’s email to my contact list in MS Outlook, and I save the correspondence in my email folder.)

5. If an event is cancelled or rescheduled, I change the date immediately to make sure I don’t double-book myself.

6. When I have publication dates, I reach out to my favorite book bloggers and super reviewers to see if they are interested in getting an ARC when they’re available. I make a list with their preferences, so when it’s time to plan the marketing, I have my list of early reviewers and blurb writers.

7. I also reach out to my favorite book tour organizers to get on their calendars for the book’s release.

8. I reach out to my favorite mystery Facebook group administrators to schedule book take-overs to coincide with my book launch celebrations.

9. Three to six months before publication date, I reach out to my favorite bookstores to schedule talks or book signings.

10. I have to be faithful and keep my calendar current so it’s useful.

What techniques and tools work for you?

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Cheree Wiley

I would like to welcome the multi-talented ChèRee Wiley to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: Turning off all the stories in my head

Easiest thing about being a writer: I get to tell the types of stories that I would want to read and encourage others through these stories of triumph.

Things you need for your writing sessions: I need to be surrounded by color, quiet, water or tea, and in a comfortable environment

Things that hamper your writing: Lots of noise, colorless, or uncomfortable

Something you’re really good at: I’m really good at motivating others

Something you’re really bad at: Math

Favorite music or song: Christian R&B (Madison Ryann Ward is my favorite artist)

Music that drives you crazy: Not a fan of Rock music (Too chaotic)

Things you’d walk a mile for: My children/family

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Negative People. They drain you.

Things to say to an author: When you’re stuck, write the types of stories that you would want to read. You started out as the audience, tap into that perspective.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: Telling them what to write or not to write. Also, telling them they cannot make a living as a writer.

Favorite places you’ve been: Brazil, it was an amazing experience

Places you never want to go to again: West Virginia

Favorite books (or genre): Romantic/Thriller

Books you wouldn’t buy: Horror

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: I recorded music as part of a singing group in my 20s.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: I tried art for a brief period of time, that didn’t turn out so well.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Parts of Missing Pieces are directly based on my own personal experiences with domestic abuse.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: Several of my stories portray child abuse, this is based on someone else’s haunting experiences that have never left me, but I was not abused as a child.

My favorite book as a child: Harold and the Purple Crayon

A book you’ve read more than once: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Your favorite movie as a child: I love The Princess Bride

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye

About ChèRee:

ChèRee Wiley is a devoted Christian, wife, and mother whose life and work reflect her deep faith and passion for empowering others. As the founder and CEO of Diverse Perspectives and Divine Wisdom Media & Publishing, she blends her love for God, family, and purposeful leadership to inspire transformation in every sphere she touches. Through her writing, ChèRee shares stories of faith, resilience, and redemption—encouraging readers to discover God’s hand in their own journeys. When she’s not writing or mentoring others, she enjoys spending time with her family, reflecting on scripture, and using her gifts to uplift and equip others to walk boldly in their divine purpose.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheree.anderson1/

Website: https://www.dpdei.com/books

#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Bjorn Leesson

I’d like to welcome Bjorn Leesson to the blog for #WriterWednesday.

Favorite thing to do when you have free time: I guess that depends on the mood. I like to just research various interesting things, wander around in the woods for no real reason, or just engage in hypothetical discussions with my wife. I’m an exciting guy.

The thing you’ll always move to the bottom of your to do list: I’m not a big fan of shopping. I really don’t like shopping; too many people around me, there apparently are rules when you shop, and it always ends with spending more money than it was worth.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Reminding yourself that no one will ever be as invested in your story as you are as the author. Sure, you will have fans, even some diehard fans, but no one will ever love it more than you.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Being reminded by others that no one will ever be as invested in your story as you are as the author.

Something you wish you could do: At this age, REMEMBER. . . anything. Anything at all. When I was young, I used to believe all my elders were exaggerating about forgetting stuff, but here I am, and it’s too late to listen now.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: It doesn’t matter. I can just say I don’t remember how, and odds are, I’m not lying about it.

Things you will run to the store for at midnight: Under the right conditions, PIZZA. Despite my aversion to shopping, I would for pizza, even at midnight. And now that I live twenty minutes in any direction from a town, driving there is the necessity, midnight or any other time. The only real drawback to living the county – no more pizza delivery.

Things you never put on your shopping list: Tofu, cauliflower, sushi, dill anything, or sour cream. These things are all evil, meant to disfigure and enslave humanity, and I will have no part of it. Even my bad memory will not let me forget how bad these things are.

Favorite places you’ve been: Away from home: Wales, England, Scotland, and Cornwall. Wonderful places! The scenery, the history, it’s all just awesome!

Places you never want to go to again: There is a really old BP gas station on the way to Florida from South Carolina along I95 (for the safety of everyone, I will not be more specific than that). You will know when you enter the bathroom at this horrid, evil place. You will feel the heaviness in the air of the alternate universe that exists in there, somewhere impossible in the normal universe.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Jeremy Clarkson and Robert Duvall. We’d have pizza. I’d drive to the store at midnight to go get it for us.

People you’d cancel dinner on: Probably just about any politician. I’d cancel my own attendance, but I would leave them with tofu, cauliflower, sushi, dill anything, and sour cream with directions to the above-mentioned bathroom at the BP on I95.

Favorite things to do: Read about new interesting things, observe nature or settings around me, or just discuss the mysteries of the universe with an interested friend. The simple things are most likely going to be my favorite.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: I would have to place “running through fire” and “eating bugs” pretty high on that list, but that answer seems a little like cheating. So, alternatively, I would have to say I, like virtually everyone, am not a big fan of filing income taxes. I could go on for days about what it does for my blood pressure, but just suffice it to say, thankfully, the lovely Mrs. Leesson files for us.

Best thing you’ve ever done: I haven’t done it yet. It’s coming, and I don’t know when, but it’s coming. It’s going to be awesome, and I will likely write it into one of my books.

Biggest mistake: Stopping at that BP bathroom on I95. I don’t think an exorcist can fix that place, and that’s why I am sending the politicians there.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I guess it is kind of a tie between mustering up the courage to try and publish my first book and driving stock cars at the local racetrack many many years ago. Both took some courage, and the risk was mental trauma from one, and physical trauma from the other. But both are ridiculously expensive.

Something you chickened out from doing: Skydiving with an adrenaline-junkie friend on mine. I am not particularly scared of heights like some people are, but jumping out of an airplane that is not in immediate danger of crashing with only basically a bed sheet popping out of a backpack to slow the fall is just kind of stupid if you ask me.

The most exciting thing about your writing life: Getting a new review. It doesn’t even have to be a five-star glowing praise of a review (although those are always very nice), just an honest review from a real person who actually read the book.

The one thing you wish you could do over in your writing life: Nothing. Everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t like it. It’s how we learn, and there will likely be a chance to do it again rather than over, and that is the time to do it differently than the first.

About Bjorn:

Bjorn Leesson has always been fascinated with many topics to include history, the supernatural, and writing. These interests combined led to the Outside the Thalsparr series, with the first book in the series, "Runes of the Dokkrsdottir." Bjorn was not formally trained as a writer and has worked in the industrial manufacturing field his entire life.

 Bjorn was born in the Lowcountry of South Carolina a long, long time ago.  He has worked in manufacturing all my working life to feed himself but has nourished his mind with the study of many topics; history of all eras, the paranormal, astronomy, writing of different types, photography, archeology, genealogy, vexillology, some other -ologies, even stock car racing for a couple of years, and on and on.  Bjorn finds just about everything fascinating in some way and has been accused of being too easily entertained.  A blend of a few of his interests led to the creation of the Thalsparr Universe.  The first six installments of the series are out now with more installments and spin-offs coming soon.  Bjorn currently lives in the Midlands of South Carolina with his wife of 25 years on their hobby farm.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/bjorn.leesson/

website:  https://thalsparr1891.wixsite.com/home