Guest Q&A with Author Van Heerling

I invited author Van Heerling to my blog as a special guest today to celebrate the release of his second novel Dreams of Eli. Thank goodness he agreed to show up!

Q. DREAMS OF ELI completely deviates from your first book, MALAIKA. What traits, if any, carry over between the two?

Dreams of Eli takes place during the 1800s while MALAIKA is present day Africa. They are indeed far apart, however, I would say that the general tone of the stories carry over. The protagonists in each story are deeply lost and flawed in their own ways. Although Dreams of Eli is quite disturbing in some parts, I have had readers contact me, bawling their eyes out after each story. I mean this in the best of ways.

Q. You have over 100 reviews for MALAIKA. What good/bad/ugly advice do you have for authors regarding reviews? 

Reviews are interesting. The advice I would appreciate hearing would be as follows: don’t get hung up on the unpleasant reviews. Read them once. Allow them to ruffle your feathers if this is the case, and then go back once you are cooled off and read them once more. During this second read, look for legitimate criticism. If there is any, allow it to improve your future work. I do this with my bad reviews. It takes some discipline. Ease into it. Above all else never respond in a negative way to someone that has left a bad review. Doing this reflects badly upon the author. Take your lumps.

As for the good reviews, remember them for when you doubt your talents. Go back and read them as many times as you feel is necessary. Know that these are YOUR readers. These are the people that want you to write. So write to them. If your readers contact you directly, make it a point to respond and thank them.

Q. If you could take 6 months off and travel anywhere you wanted to write your next novel, where would you go?

Mars.

Q. Which do you prefer to write: narrative or dialog? 

Narrative. First person narrative in fact. My absolute favorite way to tell a story is from the perspective of an untrustworthy narrator. What I mean by untrustworthy is unpredictable even to the character itself. For me it is unapologetic and allows the human condition to take hold.

Q. If you wrote a children's book, would the main character be a human or animal or otherwise? 

Human. I actually have two children’s books finished but not released. The first is of a little boy, called “The Bee Stomper.” The other is of an eight-year-old girl. One day I will release them, maybe. The latter will be a thirty book series. Yes, thirty.

Q. We both pride ourselves on being original thinkers. Which original quote of yours will become famous?

“In this life, seek your own answers, and quote yourself for a change.” It’s funny because people quote me.

Heather, thank you for the chat. It’s no secret that I think you are one of the lights in our darkening world. Shine.

Visit Van's website/blog at: http://www.vanheerlingbooks.com/

The Making of Chloe Kassidy

Special Guest Post by Author Cari Kamm:
 
The Making of Chloe Kassidy

“It was much easier to control the outcome in photography. Heartbreak couldn’t be retouched.” – Chloe Kassidy

As someone who has worked in the beauty industry for over a decade, who has a master’s in clinical nutrition from New York University and currently works in corporate social media management with clients in the beauty, fashion, and restaurant industries . . . how the heck did I create a character that’s a professional photographer?  I can say that I did pull it off considering my editor is a Photonovelist! Heather Hummel gave me the seal of approval.

Life inspires me to create a character. I don’t necessarily “hear voices in my head” as someone that would require medical attention. Ha! My imagination is always alert. It’s on twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. Yes, even when I’m sleeping.

In an instant, I can go from sipping my cappuccino, to walking along a tree-lined street, while sitting in a movie theater, to having lunch with a friend, if inspired by a sound, a person, a smell, or even a shadow, my mind will wander off and absorb something specific in a moment. That moment can lead me into a story idea or a personality for a character.

My protagonist Chloe Kassidy has just been accepted into one of Manhattan’s most exclusive art exhibits, Love Through Light. However, with her singular dedication to her career, she soon realizes that in sacrificing her personal life, she has never been in love. A hopeless romantic who is terrified of heartbreak, Chloe begins to enlist the help of her circle of friends to learn about love through their very different stories and experiences.

So why a photographer? I felt it would be a creative career that would allow the story to be told through the lens and allow Chloe to remain safe. To create a photographer, I had to declare myself as a photographer. For almost six months, I researched online photography and equipment blogs. I attended gallery openings, watched YouTube videos, and did several searches on photography terms and definitions. I highlighted words that could also be applied to love. Finally, I pulled out my Canon (I could finally use!) and behaved as a photographer. I walked the Brooklyn Bridge, through Central Park and sat in restaurants to create the voice of Chloe Kassidy. I took pictures everyday! Throughout my own daily life, a moment may capture me and I think, “Wow... my character would eat that, do that, say that, adore that.” All of the scenes in FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY were shot throughout the two years it took to write it. Lastly, I have family members that love photography as a hobby and one that is a professional photographer. I asked them personal questions such as “What do you feel when you’re shooting?” or “How does it feel when you’re capturing a moment?”

Chloe Kassidy and I shared similar feelings of failing, of not finishing, or not getting it right. She prepared for her exhibit opening and I work to complete the novel.

FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY was inspired by the notion that women grow up with ideas of true love and destiny, For Internal Use Only approaches those ideas with a decidedly twenty-first century viewpoint. By incorporating problems inherent with today’s dating world, this book is meant to enlighten readers to stop chasing fairytales and start creating their own. My goal was to write a humorous love story with an edgy and dramatic twist that gives each of us a new fairy tale to look forward to: our own.

Cari Kamm has worked in the beauty industry for over a decade, building brands, working behind the scenes, and even selling her own skin care line. She has a master’s in clinical nutrition from New York University. Kamm currently works in corporate social media management with clients in the beauty, fashion, and restaurant industries. Living in New York City with her mutt Schmutz, Kamm loves finding inspiration in the most unexpected places, being a novelist, and convincing her fiancé that ordering takeout and making dinner reservations are equal to cooking. More information can be found on her website, CariKamm.com. To check out the book trailer, click here: http://tinyurl.com/bdr7bfn.