Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Meet YA Author Rossandra White

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes YA author Rossandra White. I found Rossandra's story about how she started writing extremely interesting, and I'm sure you will also.

Here's a bit about Rossandra:

Rossandra White, a fourth generation South African, spent the first twenty-three years of her life in Zambia, where she had a baboon for a pet and learned to tell a log from a crocodile. As well as Monkey's Wedding, she is the author of the memoir, Loveyoubye: Holding Fast, Letting Go, And Then There's The Dog, published by She Writes Press. She lives in Laguna Beach with her two Staffordshire Bull Terriers, with whom she fights for space in her bed. When she’s not writing, she's at the gym or hiking the hills behind her home in Laguna Beach.

Why did you pick to write books for YA?

Twenty-two years ago, I felt compelled to write a book. Not something I’d always wanted to do. Maybe it was just time to finally get down all those stories I’d heard over the years about my ancestors who had been in South Africa since the 1800s. And then there were my own experiences growing up in a small Zambian copper mining town, as well as those two years we lived on a Zimbabwe sisal plantation. This was when Britain ruled, when the bush was full of animals.

There were all those road trips my family took to the Congo, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. The time an elephant chased our car for two miles, forcing my dad to reverse down an excuse for a dirt road before the elephant gave up. The time we spent in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro with a crazy Belgian who kept wild animals for filmmakers’ use, as well as that episode in Kenya when rebels attacked the cattle ranch where we were staying with a family my dad befriended along the way. I had a lot to write about. What I didn’t know was that I had intuitively chose writing, “to take fuller possession of the reality of my life,” to paraphrase Ted Hughes.

What types of books do you like to read?

Literary fiction.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Read, hike, travel, the occasional movie, dinner with friends.

Tell us about Monkey’s Wedding and how the story came to be.

It came about as I was revising an awful 500-page memoir of flashbacks I wrote about my life in Africa. I found myself wanting to give voice to a black African point of view. With this in mind, I created these two adolescents, Elizabeth and Tururu, a boy who worked for the family, and began with an incident that happened to me in Zimbabwe as a six-year-old when I was poisoned by rebels.

Here's a Peek at Monkey's Wedding:




Adolescents Elizabeth and Tururu—she’s white, he’s black—share an uneasy friendship on a remote sisal plantation in 1953's Zimbabwe. Resentment to white rule erupts throwing them into the crossfire of political change and ancient ritual.

To make matters worse, a clash between Tururu’s witchdoctor grandmother and her apprentice unleash ancient fire spirits that will make the British overlords look like saints. Will their friendship survive?

The novel’s dual viewpoints afford an intimate glimpse into the two faces of a country at a crucial time in its history.





Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

My memoir, Loveyoubye: Holding Fast, Letting Go And Then There’s The Dog, was the first of my books to be published. It was written after Monkey’s Wedding.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I’m revising Mine Dances, a coming-of-age story. It’s the sequel to Monkey’s Wedding with the same characters.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Get your butt in that chair every day, and get used to staring at a blank page, consider time spent with the blank page well worth it; it’s an investment, it tells control central you’re serious about this writing thing.

Copy a passage from a writer you admire, one that really rings your bell and reword it, improve upon it. Builds writing muscle.

Anything else you want readers to know?

On my website, I have a more detailed description of how Monkey's Wedding came to be.

Where can readers find you and your books?



My website
Facebook

Amazon:~
Monkey’s Wedding
Loveyoubye

B&N:~
Monkey’s Wedding
Loveyoubye



Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Meet Fantasy Writer Kevin Hopson

Carpinello's Writing Pages is excited to welcome Fantasy author Kevin Hobson. I first met Kevin through MuseItUp Publishing which acquired my second Arthurian Legend book, The King's Ransom, Young Knights of the Round Table back in 2011. Today he's introducing us to his first cross-over fantasy novel.

I've taken a bit of a hiatus because of family and work. Good to be back here.

Here's a bit about Kevin:

Prior to hitting the fiction scene in 2009, I was a freelance writer for several years, covering everything from finance to sports. My debut work, World of Ash, was released by MuseItUp Publishing in the fall of 2010. Since then, I have released over a dozen books through MuseItUp, and I have also been published in various magazines and anthology books. My writing covers many genres, including dark fiction and horror, science fiction and fantasy, and crime fiction.

What types of books do you like to read?

I rarely read non-fiction, but I’ll read just about anything when it comes to fiction.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I like to watch movies and play card games, but I enjoy reading the most.

Tell us about Brinewood and how the story came to be.

Brinewood is for the upper edges of YA readers. It is a cross-over fantasy, which means it takes characters from two separate series of mine. More specifically, my Jacob Schmidt (mystery) and Vargrom (fantasy) series. It’s a unique combination, but it seems to work. I had the idea running through my head for a while, and I couldn’t decide which genre to write at the time, so I decided to combine the two.

Here's a peek at Brinewood:

When a wizard named Fremonar accidentally opens a portal to his world, private investigator Jacob Schmidt is thrust into it. Though the gateway closes before Jacob can return to Earth, Fremonar assures Jacob that he can send him back, but it will take a few days. Fremonar needs to regain full strength before attempting such a feat.

In the meantime, Fremonar has a problem. His brother Ikalis recently passed, and the wizard has a suspicion that he was murdered. As he learns more about Jacob, Fremonar asks for the stranger’s help. Jacob ultimately accepts the wizard’s proposition, but he hasn’t a clue what awaits him. All he knows is that two dwarfs will be accompanying him on his journey to Brinewood, and maybe even a pesky gnome when all is said and done. Unfortunately for Jacob, his allies might end up doing him more harm than good.


Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

Yes. I’ve written several books, but most of them are related to the two ongoing series I already mentioned. My Jacob Schmidt series revolves around a former Atlanta police officer turned private investigator. My Vargrom series is a spin-off from my young adult fantasy novella, The Fire King. It deals with a dwarf named Modrad, who hails from a mountain city called Vargrom.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I’m currently working on a drama/romance novel. I’m also writing various short stories for several themed anthologies.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Try to read and write each day. Reading inspires me to write, and vice-versa. Not only does it keep me engaged, it keeps me sharp, too.

Anything else you want readers to know?

Though I’ve taken a break from them recently, I also like to make book trailers. There’s a YouTube link on my website where people can view all of my trailers.

Where can readers find you and your books?

My website and Amazon page are probably the best places to learn more about me and my books.

Website: www.kmhopson.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Hopson/e/B006XVDMT6