TWIN TRINITY MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ELEMENTS OF THE SOUL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Twin Trinity Media / Accentuate Services
michy@twintrinitymedia.com

TWIN TRINITY MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF ELEMENTS OF THE SOUL


TEXAS, USA - July 3, 2009 Twin Trinity Media, part of the Accentuate FAMILY of Author Services, announces the Accentuate Writers Anthology Elements of the Soul has gone to print and will be released late this summer. The collection of short stories and poems is a compilation of the winners of the Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology and Poetry Contest that took place in 2008. Writers braved tough competition to vie for a place in the anthology, a royalty contract, cash and merchandise prizes.


The stories and poems in Elements of the Soul were written on four themes: "Fire & Ice", "Winds of Change", "April Showers" and "Summer Heat". Contestants' submissions were judged on use of theme, adherence to submission guidelines and quality of the story and writing. In addition to the contest winners' stories, two authors were included in the anthology as Editor's Picks and received royalty contracts.


The Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology and Poetry Contest, now in its second year, gives writers an opportunity to obtain critiques, a chance to win cash and merchandise prizes, and a publishing contract. Anyone is eligible to enter the contests for a small fee, but only the best work rises to the top and is included in the Accentuate Writers Anthology.


The managing editor for Twin Trinity Media and owner of Accentuate Services, Michelle L Devon, says, "I have been honored to watch the contests grow and the writers grow along with them. The stories are getting better and the competition is fierce. I'm proud to play a small part in helping make writing dreams come true with these contests and anthologies. It's very exciting and humbling."


Authors for Elements of the Soul include: Steven "Thor" Gunnin, Jennifer Walker, Rissa Watkins, Lindsay Maddox, George Kramer, Lucinda Gunnin, Jo Brielyn, M. Lori Motley, Susan Sosbe and Laurie Darroch-Meekis. The anthology also features talented poets to fill in the pages between stories with wonderful imagery and substance. Michelle L Devon, author of In a Perfect World and The Path: A Series on Redemption and Sensual Awakening, who is a contributing author to other anthologies herself, edited the book and contributed to the foreword.


Elements of the Soul is currently available at a special pre-order price of $13.00, which includes shipping and handling, taxes and a specially made bookmark. Orders can be placed at THIS LINK.


Accentuate Services has been in business for over fourteen years and is dedicated to providing services to authors, from publishing consulting to editing and writing coaching. Other ventures that are part of the Accentuate FAMILY of Author Services include Unsent Letters, Recipes & Recovery, Erotic Anthologies, and the Accentuate Writers Forum, with other projects in the works. Visit the website at www.AccentuateServices.com for more information.


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Twin Trinity Media / Accentuate Services
c/o: Michelle L Devon
Toll-Free: 866.641.8130
Michy@twintrinitymedia.com
http://www.accentuateservices.com

Author Interview With Kathy-Diane Leveille

Mini-Bio for Kathy-Diane Leveille:

Kathy-Diane Leveille is a former broadcast journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation who discovered the only thing more thrilling than reading a wonderful story is harnessing the power of the imagination to write one. Her short story collection Roads Unravelling was published to critical acclaim after a selection from its pages Learning to Spin was adapted to radio drama for CBC’s Summer Drama Festival. The tale Showdown at the Four Corner’s Corral was revised for the stage and performed by New City Theater in Saint John.

Kathy-Diane’s prose has been published in a number of literary journals including Grain, Room of One's Own, The Oklahoma Review, Pottersfield Portfolio, The Cormorant; as well as various anthologies such as Water Studies: New Voices in Maritime Fiction (Pottersfield Press) and New Brunswick Short Stories (Neptune).

Kathy-Diane is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death RWA and Crimewriters of Canada.

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I have loved books forever. My best friends are books. When I was growing up, a Saturday wasn’t complete without a trip on the bus to the local library. I would sit in the back of the bus on the way home, where there was lots of room to spread my booty, and savour the potential humming between the covers. Having my debut novel Let the Shadows Fall Behind You published is a dream come true. I live on the east coast with my husband and two sons next to a lovely garden. I love bird watching, hiking and motorcycle riding. I’m so pleased to be a guest today.

It's rare today to find an author who does nothing but write for a living. Do you have a 'real' job other than writing, and if so, what is it? What are some other jobs you've had in your life?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I’m a former broadcast journalist with CBC radio. Seventeen years ago, when I was home on maternity leave with my youngest son, I dug out an old file of story ideas and started scribbling. By the time the date arrived when I was supposed to return to work, I had already decided that I didn’t want to keep putting my dream of writing fiction on the back burner. Since then I’ve done different jobs, including being a janitor and typing medical transcription, to give me the time and energy to pursue my passion. My first book Roads Unravelling, a collection of short stories set on the Kennebecasis River where I live, was published a few years ago. Let the Shadows Fall Behind You released this spring is my first novel.

What compelled you to write your first novel?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: Let the Shadows Fall Behind You (Kunati Books) was inspired by my fascination with disappearances. An estimated 10 million people go missing each year in the U.S. alone, but no one’s ever documented how many of these incidents defy explanation. Take the mystifying case documented by psychic, Sylvia Browne, of the man who stepped out his front door and vanished in broad daylight. His family could hear him calling, but no one could see him anywhere. Let the Shadows Fall Behind You features Brannagh Maloney whose boyfriend, Nikki, disappears into thin air while conducting a bird count up north. Brannagh reluctantly returns home for a reunion of the childhood club Tuatha-de-Dananns. She hides out at her Grandmother’s cottage near the woods where her mother was murdered fifteen years ago. As Brannagh tries to solve the mystery behind Nikki’s vanishing, she is haunted by the secrets hiding the most startling disappearance of all.

Have you always wanted to be a writer?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I don’t remember making any formal decision. I have just always had a need to put pen to page. I wrote my first poem when I was in Grade 1:

Oh Father Dear, I’m glad you’re here
So we can celebrate this day, with a Doran’s beer.

Of course I didn’t understand why my teacher’s eyes rounded with horror when she read it. That was my first lesson in discovering that not everyone will welcome the truth in what you write! I wrote radio dramas in Grade 6 and the school Christmas play; lots of poetry and short stories in high school. I started trying to write a novel in my early twenties while I worked night shift as a technician at CBC. I still have the notes!

Tell us a little bit about your book/s.

Kathy-Diane Leveille: Let the Shadows Fall Behind You is Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood meets Harlan Coben. I loved writing it because I was able to combine the ingredients I crave in fiction: a dark hero, a broken and brave heroine, loyal sidekicks; and the shifting, persistent threat of evil that must be conquered. It’s a multi-layered plot, sharpened by elements of romance, suspense, poetry and comedy. I love anything Irish and grew extremely fond of these women--Brannagh, Annie, Tish and Diane— and was sad to write the last page. I especially relate to Brannagh, the protagonist. She is determined to leave dark secrets in her past behind, but the disappearance of Nikki leads her straight back home. So often in life, that is exactly what happens. The very thing we don’t want to deal with keeps knocking at our door until we face it head on. Brannagh learns that nothing can change the past, but the power of friendship can transform the future.

How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: There is no feeling like it. Picture the arrival of Christmas morning, the thrill of hearing a newborn baby’s cry and the rush of your first kiss all rolled into one. My husband and I went out for dinner. He’s my number one cheerleader and gets more excited than I do! The first time I did a reading in a library was probably one of the most thrilling moments in my life. I felt as if everything had come full circle.

What inspires you and motivates you to write the very most?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I love riding in the car or on a train and gazing out the window. There’s always something in the landscape to twig my imagination. Once it was a chair in the middle of a field. I started wondering who put it there and why. The short story The Chair in my first book Roads Unravelling was born. I usually begin by simultaneously visualizing a situation that causes an upheaval in life, and hearing a character’s voice emote their reaction to it. It’s a very strange process and definitely has my husband worried some days; especially when he dusts the books on my research shelf: Handbook of Poisons and Crime Scene Investigation.

The main characters of your stories - do you find that you put a little of yourself into each of them or do you create them to be completely different from you?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: Creating characters during the inspiration stage isn’t a conscious decision. I really can’t explain how it happens. But during the perspiration stage, when I shape my initial idea into a story using the tools of the craft, I usually try to refine the character into the kind I relate to and love when I read fiction: Human and flawed, but capable of heroism nonetheless.

Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: There are tons of writers I admire, and many who have been extremely generous on my road to publication. In fact, I have chats with them every Thursday on my blog http://lettheshadowsfallbehindyou.blogspot.com which is lots of fun. It’s nice to know you aren’t alone. Everyone had to start somewhere.

When growing up, did you have a favorite author, book series, or book?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I enjoyed Joy Fielding, the Bronte sisters, Nancy Drew and C. S. Lewis.

What about now: who is your favorite author and what is your favorite genre to read?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I love reading psychological suspense, and am currently on a kick reading Nicci French, a British husband and wife team.

Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I have a large chair that could fit 3 people in its lap. It allows me to keep lots of books, pads of paper and pens by my side. Directly across from the chair is a large picture window three-quarters sky and one-quarter river that is constantly shifting in light and color. My writing basket which holds pens, pencils, highlighters, note pads, books on the craft and novels by authors I’m studying. I usually start with a pen and pad for the inspiration stage, then move to the computer for the perspiration stage. When I get to a place where I’m uncertain as to how to proceed, I always go back to pen and paper. I think there’s some mechanism in that tactile exercise that frees the right brain to soar.

Do you watch television? If so, what are your favorite shows? Does television influence of inspire your writing?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I’m addicted to Kitchen Nightmares with Chef Gordon Ramsey. This may sound like a strange choice, but I always relate to the entrepreneurs who start out with a romantic notion of owning a restaurant. Sooner or later, they’re hit with the hard cold facts of running a business. There’s always a point in the show where they have to admit they need help, surrender their ego, and really hunker down and do whatever the experts tell them to do for the business to survive. It’s exactly like novel writing in my opinion. Luckily, I’ve had lots of generous experts along the way who have been willing to lend a hand and teach me. Of course, being human, there are times I secretly mourn the fact that I’m not a genius and can’t whip up instant perfection; but, the truth is, it’s the friendships I’ve made on the journey to publication that make my life so rich.

Focusing on your most recent (or first) book, tell our readers what genre your book is and what popular author you think your writing style in this book is most like.

Kathy-Diane Leveille: Let the Shadows Fall Behind You is a suspense novel that, in the end, extols the power of female friendship; it’s Sue Monk Kidd meets Harlan Coben.

How long did it take you to write your most recent (or first) book? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long (or short)?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: It took about five years to write Let the Shadows Fall Behind You from the initial idea stage to publication. I had so much to learn about novel writing with each draft: plot, characterization, theme, setting. I loved the larger canvas of a novel compared to a short story, but, at the same time, I had to juggle a lot more balls in the air. It was thrilling when they finally stopped dropping! I used Writer’s Digest On-Line Market to send out queries. I was thrilled to choose Kunati Books. They’re an award-winning publisher, not afraid of taking risks. My relationship with them has been supportive and energizing.

Is there anyone you'd like to specifically acknowledge who has inspired, motivated, encouraged or supported your writing?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: My husband is my #1 cheerleader. He’s always been the first to remind me how important it is to pursue one’s passion REGARDLESS of the outcome. The thrill remains is in the journey, not necessarily the destination. I find with writing there never really is a point of ‘having arrived.’ Every time I conquer a challenge, there’s a new one on the horizon. That’s why I love it.

Thinking about your writing career, is there anything you'd go back and do differently now that you have been published?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: I think if I had had access to seasoned professionals in the industry sooner, I might have learned a lot faster about what it takes to survive and thrive in today’s publishing world. Living on the Canadian east coast, it’s pretty isolated from the hub of the industry. You absolutely have to know the business, how it works and its current needs to give yourself a leg up. I think I was too naïve in believing that all I needed to do was write well and the work would find a home on its own. In some instances this can happen, but the greater reality is that selling books is a business, and one that is constantly changing. I romanticized the industry when I needed to view myself as a business woman.

How has having a book published changed your life?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: It’s definitely given my writing life a jolt of adrenalin. The learning curve has risen tremendously, and I’m busier than ever trying to balance it all. But it’s one heck of a ride. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Is there any lesson or moral you hope your story might reveal to those who read it?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: Ultimately, Let the Shadows Fall Behind You is a story about coming to terms with the past and letting it go.

Do you have any book signings, tours or special events planned to promote your book that readers might be interested in attending? If so, when and where?

Kathy-Diane Leveille: Do I? You betcha. It’s all listed here:

http://kathydiane.wordpress.com You’ll find a running list on the EVENTS page, but I also post interviews, reviews, signings, contests as they occur on the main page. I’m really excited about attending the Canadian Crimewriters Bloody Words Conference in June with host, Louise Penny; and The International Thrill Writers ThrillerFest with Sandra Brown and David Morrell in New York in July.

If you’re interested in Shadows Fall N Friends, my interviews with authors I’ve met on the road to publication check here every Thursday: http://lettheshadowsfallbehindyou.blogspot.com

I send out an E-muse letter every month with a schedule of which authors I’m interviewing when, along with updates and announcement of the winner of the monthly draw for a 50.00 gift certificate from Amazon. To subscribe just drop me an e-mail at shadowsfall@kathy-dianeleveille.com

Please leave a comment if you drop bys. I’d love to hear from you!

Anything you want your readers to know?

Thank you so much for inviting me to be your guest and meeting all your readers. Please let me know what you think of Let the Shadows Fall Behind You at shadowsfall@kathy-dianeleveille.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Happy Reading!
Kathy-Diane

Book: Let the Shadows Fall Behind You

Synopsis of Let the Shadows Fall Behind You:

On a grey morning in Northern Ontario in 1978, when the first fat snowflakes drifted down erasing all the familiar landmarks, Nikolai Mirsky headed out the door of the haunted cabin he shared with his lover, Brannagh Maloney. And disappeared…

Brannagh, a Natural Science Illustrator, struggled to collate the data from their bird count through the long winter. By the time the icicles began to melt, she was filled with a growing dread that the infamous wilderness preservationist wasn’t returning.

When Brannagh left New Brunswick, ten years ago, she swore it was for good. But now her best friend, Annie, won’t stop worrying about her, and won’t stop hounding her to come back for a reunion of their childhood all-girls club The Tuatha-de-Dannans. Brannagh finally relents, but she refuses to go to her childhood home and face her irascible Grandfather. Instead, she hides out at her Grandmother’s summer cottage, even though it is far too close to the woods where her mother was murdered. As Brannagh struggles to put to rest the questions surrounding Nikki’s disappearance, she finds it impossible to ignore the family secrets circling the most tragic disappearance of all. Brannagh learns that nothing magical will ever change her past, but the fierce love of friends holds the power to transform the future.

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Elements of the Soul - Pre-order and Reserve Your Copy Today!

Pre-order special: $13.00

Includes shipping & handling, taxes, and a custom-made bookmark.

Pre-order to reserve your copy of the first Accentuate Writers Anthology and ensure you are among the first to ever hold one of these gorgeous paperback volumes in your hands!

Ten talented authors and our very best poets come together to offer this over-250 page book, containing 15 sensational short stories as well as several poems from our featured winning poets.

Each author placed, against fierce competition, in 'first' - 'second' - or 'third' place in the Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology Contest to win the coveted position as an author in the very first Accentuate Writers Anthology.

Author bios and interviews will be coming up soon. In the meantime, if you're interested in pre-ordering your very own copy of Elements of the Soul, which will be shipped to you in a matter of mere weeks from now, and want to be one of the very first to own this gorgeous anthology, just click the 'Buy Now' button above and place your order. There are no limits, so order a few for your friends and family too!

When you order your copy, 10% of the net profit from the sale of each book will be donated to literacy programs. Proceeds donated to these literary programs will take place once per quarter, when sales and royalties to authors are processed. Records and receipts of donations are available for viewing upon request. Additionally, the money gained from these books is used to turn around and invest in future writing contests. Purchasing Accentuate Anthologies from Twin Trinity Media ensures your purchase goes to help keep authors writing, foster a love of the literary arts, and help to fund literacy programs.

Of course, you also get a gorgeous book, perfect bound, high-gloss cover that is suitable for framing! Oh, and you know, the stories are good too! Click that BUY NOW link today! The cost to pre-order this special book includes your taxes and shipping in the total. If you order through this special pre-order link, your book--including shipping & handling, taxes, and a custom-made bookmark based on the cover of the book--will only cost a flat $13.00 TOTAL!

Visit this website for more information:
http://anthologies.accentuatewritersforum.com

Author Interview with Keith Knapp, Author of Moonlight

Keith Knapp has been doing one form of writing or another since he was a kid. He started with short stories then moved to screenplays when he discovered a love for movies during high school. During this time he also became heavily involved in music (playing drums), and still does to this day. After moving from Chicago (where he attended film school) to Los Angeles to pursue a screenwriting career, Keith eventually found himself turning a movie idea of his into his first novel, Moonlight. It wasn't by choice; the story simply wasn't working as a script. Since then he's devoted himself full-time to writing novels. He currently lives in Van Nuys with his three cats.

What compelled you to write your first book?

Oddly enough nothing compelled me to do it - it just happened. I had an idea for a movie where one day nothing worked anymore: no power, no watches, no cars, no cell phones, nothing. You know, things went back to the very beginning for people. Very Twilight Zone-ish. I worked on the script for maybe a year, and it just wasn't happening. Someone suggested I try it as a book. Since I really liked the idea, really wanted to see what the characters I had so far had would do in such a situation, I gave it a go. Two years later I had Moonlight.

Tell us a little bit about your book/s.

Moonlight starts off with my original concept: one day nothing works anymore. Cars, power, watches, anything and everything electrical. Then The Reason for all that shows up in the form of one man - you can call him the Devil, Pure Evil, whatever you like - and it turns very supernatural and George Romero-ish. There are zombies (although not technically "zombies," but the term works) because, wouldn't you know it, us humans have really made a mess of this place, our bad guy knows this, and all he's really trying to do is start things over. I'm really bad at summing up my own work, as you can tell. A bunch of other stuff happens and maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't.

Are you currently working on any writing projects our readers should watch for release soon?

I'm currently in re-writes on my second novel, Coda, about what happens to a group of people right after they die. I've also completed my first short story in maybe 20 years, The Boy Next Door, which is currently making rounds for publication. I hope to have both out by the end of the year.

Have you ever won any writing awards? If so, what?

I won a screenwriting award my senior year in high school for a short script (which I later shot myself). The script was pretty good, the movie itself was terrible (if there's one thing I've learned in life it's that I'm not a filmmaker), and I think it's that award that pushed me to follow writing as a dream. It's the only award I've one, the only contest (or what-have-you) that something of mine's been entered in, and I didn't even enter it - one of my teachers did - so you have him to blame. You know, a group of people comes out one day and says, "Hey man, this thing you wrote ain't bad, so here's an award and some money, keep it up." I think once I knew that people outside of my group of friends and family was liking what I was doing, that's when things clicked with me.

How did you feel the day you held the copy of your first book in your hands?

It was very surreal. And shiny. That was the first thing I noticed: the cover was shiny. I'm easily impressed by shiny things. Then there was about ten minutes of me paging through it and trying to grasp that 100,000 words I had written were now in this book format that anyone could buy - and man, it looked like a book, you know? My name was on every page. After those ten minutes, even though that feeling of accomplishment stayed with me, I put the book down and went back to work on Coda, 'cause really it's the writing that's important.

What type of music, if any, do you listen to while you write?

I'm a huge Metallica fan, but I'll go back and forth between having them on and having complete silence. Usually when I'm doing a first draft I need complete silence - I'm in that world, I'm those characters, and a lot of times there's no music in that world, so I choose to have no music in my world, either. But during re-writes, when my brain is a little more open, I'll toss on "The Black Album" or "Death Magnetic."

What inspires you and motivates you to write the very most?

A little angry golumn-type thing that's in my chest. If I don't write every day, he gets very mad.

The main characters of your stories - do you find that you put a little of yourself into each of them or do you create them to be completely different from you?

All the characters start out as me - or a part of me, at least. Write what you know. But as the story evolves, so do the characters. By the end of the first draft, while parts of me are still in every character, they've also developed their own voices, their own motivations, sometimes very different from my own. They end up with their own way of talking and doing things, which wouldn't be how I'd do things. So during re-writes, now that I know these people better, it's very easy to see where they stray.

For each of my two novels, about halfway through the first draft is when the characters start to really speak to me and take over. It's then that I no longer know where the story is going or how they're gonna get out of this situation or that event - I don't do outlines. For example, in Moonlight there is a very long section where the characters are trapped in a high school. I had no idea how to get them out of there. The Devil had them trapped in there, so how do you get out of that? It was figured out, and not by me, but by one of the characters - which I was of course very thankful for.

Is there an established writer you admire and emulate in your own writing? Do you have a writing mentor?

I think if for nothing else than his prose, it's Stephen King. He's not what I call a Flowery Writer. He doesn't try to impress you with big words or show off with word play and such. He's just telling you a story, which is what I try to do. I prefer, when I'm reading, to not be aware that I'm reading at all. I like that feeling of just sitting there with the author, in their head, and he/she is showing you this movie. King is a master at this.

Do you have any pets? What are they? Tell us about them.

I have three cats - Jonsey, Ripley and Padme - and they're my family. They pull me up when I'm down, make me laugh when I'm down, and sleep a lot, which is great when I need silence.

Bring us into your home and set the scene for us when you are writing. What does it look like?

I have this old desk, had it since I was 17, I think. I write on an old computer - it must be ten years old by now - in MSWord. I really don't need anything more than a typewriter, but a computer of course makes it easier to fix your mistakes - which I make a lot of. A computer is also great for breaks; I usually take a break once an hour, jump on You Tube for some Metallica or Guns N' Roses videos. I've tried writing by hand, but only when the ol' computer's broken and I have no choice. I really don't like writing this way not because it's time consuming but because from all my years of drumming I've developed carpel tunnel syndrome in my right hand which flares up if I use a pen too much.

Do you watch television? If so, what are your favorite shows? Does television influence of inspire your writing?

I watch way too much TV, and I think growing up in the "TV Generation" has affected how I write. I tend to go for very short, snappy scenes and chapters and end up with a lot of characters. I love 24 and am a huge Star Trek fan. I'm spending a lot of time now with the new BluRay set of the original Trek series that just came out. No one beats Shatner.

What about movies? Same as above.

Ask anyone and they'll tell you Star Wars. And yes, I even like the prequels. Now that I think about it, I believe that's why I usually end up with so many characters; there are lots of different characters in Star Wars, and love 'em or hate 'em, each character serves a purpose and is vey unique.

How long does it take you to write a book? When you started writing, did you think it would take that long (or short)?

It took about two years to complete Moonlight, although I'd had the idea for a number of years. I envisioned it'd take about two years, and ended up being right. Coda has also taken me about two years to complete, so I think I'm good for a book every two years.

Is there anyone you'd like to specifically acknowledge who has inspired, motivated, encouraged or supported your writing?

My mother. Writing all those short stories as a kid, man, I made her read them all and she loved them all. Of course, she was my mom, so she was bound to love them. I think it's a law. We move over to my father - I made him read them all, too - and he'd actually give me feedback to improve my writing. I think between the two of them they created a good balance for what I needed to move on. My mother has since passed away, but I still make my father read everything. And yes, he still gives me that all-important feedback.

Many authors have said that naming their characters is a difficult process, almost like choosing a name for their own child. How did you select the names of some of your lead characters in your book/s?

For me, a name is just a name. Pick one. I've had difficulty with last names, but now with the internet you can look up the meanings of various last names - there's a huge online dictionary of just last names. It's all organic. When I first start writing a novel, I'm meeting these people for the first time just like you when you go to read it - I don't feel like I'm "creating" characters but more telling someone's story. Those people tell me what their names are. It usually works out pretty well. I've been told a lot of the names in Moonlight have dual-meanings in the greater scene, but I never planned that.

Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?

As with the high school sequence in Moonlight, eventually the characters will dictate the story for me and bring it to a close, and I just let this happen. It really isn't writing anymore at that point - it's them telling me the story in my head and all I'm doing is typing it. I look at it kind of like sculpting. I start out with a lump of clay - that's the idea. I eventually get it to look like a vase, let's say. But only I can tell it's a vase - it might look like an ashtray to you, or maybe still just a lump of clay. Then through re-writing, that's when it gets scuplted by the characters, that's when it begins to look more like a vase to everyone - what color it is, what kind of flowers are in it, how big it is - and it's always the characters that do the sculpting. For this reason, this kind of "organic" writing, I tend to do five or six complete drafts per book.

Is there any lesson or moral you hope your story might reveal to those who read it?

I don't like lessons and morals in stories, but they're always there. I think whatever you pull out of a story, that's that moral or lesson for you at that point in your life. All I'm striving for is to entertain some folks, help them kill some time, show them some fun stuff. If they get more out of it, great. If they get just a good read, great.

Now, anything you want your readers to know?

Moonlight can most easily be found on any of the popular websites: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. To learn more about Keith and keep up-to-date with what he's working on, you can visit him on My Space at: myspace.com/keithknapp

Unsent Letters Now Accepting Submissions

http://www.ourunsentletters.com

We’ve all had that letter we wrote, never meaning to send. Maybe we never sent it because we couldn’t bring ourselves to face the recipient. Maybe we never sent it because the recipient was no longer living. Maybe we never sent it because we knew it would not be safe to do so.

But we wrote it anyway, knowing we would never send it.

Why?

Because we needed to get the emotion out of us, to say the words, even if they were never shared with anyone else.

Maybe the letter you wrote never actually made it onto paper. Maybe it’s still lingering around in your head, waiting for you to write it.

Do you have something you’ve been longing to say to someone, but you never thought you’d get the chance?

Now is your chance.

We want you to share you “Unsent Letters” with us, and if we use your letter, we will pay you, and you might even get included in a book collection of “Unsent Letters”.

Writer’s Guidelines

Submissions

Here, on this blog, we will update regularly with submissions received from people who have chosen to share their Unsent Letters with you. Please leave them comments and let them know how much you enjoyed, learned from, or appreciate their story.

Love and stuff,
Michy