Category: Interviews

Author Cynthia Townley describes her writing style as fast-paced, and keeping to short, easy to read chapters. She says, “I like to keep the storyline moving forward by utilizing cliffhangers at the end of chapters, where possible – building toward suspense, and thus, inviting the reader to turn the page. I don’t include a lot of ‘fluff’ but rather stick to the storyline. I want readers to have a ‘can’t put down’ novel that both men and women enjoy. On several occasions, my writing style has been compared to James Patterson’s novels, which I certainly take as a compliment.”

Cynthia believes that what sets her crime fiction apart is that she incorporated psychics. The field is pretty crowded with mystery/crime novels, and detective novels, but Cynthia wanted a hook that would make hers unique.

She says, “I actually visited a psychic once, many years ago, out of curiosity. I didn’t have an appointment, nor did I show any identification, but she knew I was born on Labor Day. That blew me away. One thing she said to me that I never forgot was that I would meet someone important to me with a birthday on September 15th. Fast-forward twenty-five years and my youngest son married a girl whose birthday is September 15th. True story!” I salute Cynthia’s patience. I would have gone to get my money back after ten years. That’s just how I roll. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Cynthia Townley”

Author Mark Cantrell  has been told his writing demonstrates a certain dry humor, a cynical wit, and a tendency towards the darker view of life. While he is at ease with all that, he also feels his work embodies  an underlying optimism, a qualified celebration of the human spirit and its strengths, but a refusal to separate them out neatly into good and bad. “Life is never that neat and I try to reflect that in my fiction.”

Mark’s work covers a wide swath, from straight journalism to commentary. He says the tone changes depending on what he’s writing about. Depending on what is called for, he may adopt a conversational style, tongue-in-cheek humor, or the strident tones of an angry young man. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Mark Cantrell”

Gerry McCullough, author of Belfast Girls and Danger Danger believes  the most important thing in good prose writing is clarity. She credits a quote from George Orwell for reminding her that good prose is like a window pane. She says, “I strongly dislike writing which is complicated, pretentious, and hard to follow. I’ve tried in my own writing to keep it simple and clear, without ending up sounding like someone addressing a child. At the same time, I believe there’s room in a novel for more than straightforward, clear prose. The lyrical descriptive effects of poetry can add to the atmosphere; and I’ve often introduced poetic images and words in my descriptions. I think the mixture works well. The clarity moves the action along at a good pace, while the occasional poetic description draws the reader into the atmosphere of the book and the characters.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Gerry McCullough”

Author Mike Cooley says his writing is action oriented. He likes jumping right into the thick of a story and then “going for broke.” He says he stays away from overly-descriptive scene-setting because that’s not the way he thinks. “I am very visually oriented as well and I like exploring human nature and psychology.”

Mike says he is heavily influenced by writers like Phillip K. Dick, James Tiptree Jr., Harlan Ellison, and Roger Zelazny, although he doesn’t think he writes like any of them.

Mike says many of his stories are very character-centric, and his inspiration comes from everywhere. “Ideas are all around us. I’ve never had a shortage.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Mike D. Cooley”