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An interview with Ruth de Jauregui

Ruth de Jauregui 1993

Who is Ruth de Jauregui and why do you write?

I’m a California girl, born and raised. I’m also Welsh and a mutt of the palest persuasion, so yeah, I’m a white girl. My Mom’s family is from the South, so we have the usual Cherokee story. Trust me, it’s just a story, proven by both DNA and documentation (many, many thanks to the Facebook Cherokee Genealogy group who researched our tall tale and proved it wrong).

My last name was acquired from my ex-husband, who is a good guy. We were young and just not right for each other. It’s all good. He’s Basque from Spain via Mexico and on to the United States. You pronounce de Jauregui like this: they-how-rhey-ghee …but look, just call me Ruth.

Why do I write? I’ve been a reader since the day I could pick up a book, and then I discovered science fiction and fantasy. Probably Edgar Rice Burroughs from my parents’ bookshelf, but then I discovered Andre Norton at the library! I was in heaven. Well, actually, I was on the Solar Queen or looking for the Zero Stone or meeting aliens on a strange new world. The Lord of the Rings, Mercy Thompson, The Rivers of London, Mona Livelong, and more fill my bookshelves.

I’ve always wanted to write books, but it took me a long time to get started. Work, kids, kicking it down at the club on the weekends, you know how it is. I was busy.

Where do you live and what do you do when you’re not writing?

I currently live on the southern edge of the Pacific Northwest. When I’m not working on the next novel or writing home-and-garden articles for eHow and SFGate, I’m reading or sleeping or working the phones at my part-time job (Actually, in my home office. COVID allows me to work at home so that silver lining thing is definitely happening here).

How long have you been writing and what have you learned about yourself through your writing?

My first book, Ghost Towns, was published in 1988. I was given the opportunity by Bill Yenne, my boss at American Graphic Systems. I spent 10 years designing books. Writing brought out the fact that I’m a horrible procrastinator. It took five years to write my first Bitter novel, but Bitter Sins is going quicker.

I’ve also found that I’m a pantser when it comes to fiction. I’m tapping away on the keyboard and all of a sudden, the characters take over and where the heck did that come from? Strangely, I’m the opposite with nonfiction. I outline the whole article or book before I start.

I’ve also learned a lot about writing characters. I can write a BIPOC woman in the context of the story, but I can’t write how it is to be a BIPOC person because, well, I’m white. There are nuances to every action. I’m fortunate that my daughter (who is the face of Bitter) is able to get me back on track when I’ve overstepped my boundaries and drifted into the ditch.

What audience are you trying to reach with your work? Is there an audience for Ruth de Jauregui?

Well, the nonfiction is all about history, cooking and gardening. There’s always an audience for all of that.

Fiction? Well, I write California-based, BIPOC main characters set in the diverse world that I live in. My audience? Well, I hope there’s an audience for complex, ornery women who navigate an urban fantasy landscape that’s just down the street and around the corner from our “real” world. Maybe I should put it the other way – if a person is offended by BIPOC main characters – well maybe that individual isn’t my audience.

What are the elements of a good story?

Complicated characters, a snarky sense of humor, imaginative settings and plot lines and for god’s sake, no more “white guy saves the universe” tropes. They’re boring. Been there, read that, it’s old.

Tell us about your latest book.

Bitter is a homicide detective in Sacramento, California. She’s well known in her world as an extremely successful detective, which leads to reporters following her around and unexpected encounters with admiring fans.

She’s ornery, middle-aged, has a tuxedo cat named “Gato,” and buys tamales and elote from the tamale man who comes around her Alkali Flat neighborhood every week. She drinks wine and listens to Brazilian jazz. She doesn’t believe in ghosts, or things that go bump in the night, but strange creatures live in her city and some she’s seen with her own eyes.

Bitter

And when something hisses from a dark alley, it’s not always a cat.

Where do you see your writing career five years from now?

I hope to have at least five Bitter books out, as well as the four book fantasy series that I was working on when Bitter was conceived. She shoved everything else aside, including a steamfunk alternate history set in 1840s California. I have at least five projects on the back burner.

What are you working on now?

The second Bitter book, Bitter Sins, is nearly done. She’s gone outside of her usual stomping grounds and found plenty of mayhem and murder in Las Vegas. I’m in the midst of the big rewrite and edit. There’s still work to do though – I’ve misplaced a body. Darn.

Anything else we need to know?

Oh, gee. I’m a mom and grandma. Three kids, three dads, yeah, lots of life experience to weave into my stories. Mi familia es todo. Forever and ever.

Professional life includes retired public employee, graphic artist, and writer. I’ve held a wide assortment of jobs and gigs, including security guard, disc jockey, signmaker, inventory specialist, and food service worker.

Ruth de Jauregui
Ruth de Jauregui

Oh, and I have a science fiction and fantasy website geared toward teens and young adults of Color, Alien Star Books. It’s all about getting our kids to read, by any means necessary. Representation is important and every child should be able to see themselves as the main character and hero of exciting adventures.

About the interviewer:

Derrick Ferguson is a pulp, western, and thriller author from Brooklyn, New York. His current books are the Dillon series.

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An Interview with Bryan Batson

Gate to Seoul
Bryan Batson at the gate to Seoul, Korea.

A few questions for Bryan Batson — his bio is at the end of this article.

What inspired you to write poetry?
I almost can’t remember when I didn’t write poetry. This is a bit of a convoluted answer, but it actually highlights a bit of my character. I grew up in a relatively poor family on a small farm about 20 miles outside Nacogdoches, Texas. My family had a band that played Country and
Western and Gospel Music. When I was a little boy, I was asked what instrument I wanted to learn. I responded with “bagpipes”. My parents did not find that acceptable and voiced their disapproval. Being the hardheaded farm boy I was, I refused to learn anything else (though I did strum a guitar on occasion). However, if you find yourself constantly around jam sessions, you pick up meter, rhythm, rhyme, timbre, melody, harmony, form, texture, and dynamics whether you want to or not. Over time words became my instrument and poetry became my medium. Where my brothers got attention for their amazing musical talents, I would be sitting at a table or in a pew, scribbling lines in iambic pentameter while I sang along.

Who is your favorite poet, and why?
This is particularly hard. I’m very eclectic in my preferences for poetry. I’m truly all over the place. I grew up on lyric poetry, but I’m an omnivorous consumer of poetry. My favorite poem is Rudyard Kipling’s “If” — I routinely share it with my son as it has great meaning on balance and self-worth that is useful for a man finding his place in the world. I can quote (and misquote) Robert Frost and Langston Hughes pretty much at will. I enjoy biblical poetry as well as the bits of Quranic poetry that I know. I think the most impactful group of poets in my life are Ahrens, Altman, Brick, Dorough, Drewe, Fishberg, Johnson, Mandary, Mendoza, Newall, and Yohe (collectively SchoolHouse Rock). I’m 48 and I can quote every one of their lyrics verbatim. It is amazing how far some SHR will get you in life. I believe aphorism is a type of poetry. I love when wordplay is like swordplay. I capture well-turned phrases for later use. You’ll find a lot of Sam Clemens (Mark Twain), Churchill, and classic Greek poetic aphorism in what I write. I love the Song of Roland, Beowulf, and a lot of Shakespeare. I like classic epic poetry and the idea that the same lines I read and feel today have been shared for eons essentially unaltered. It strikes a chord with the historian in me. I’m also fond of folk poetry — the common person standing against the powers that be (which is ironic considering my profession). In my heart, I’m a romantic poet, and I love romance poetry most of all. Poetry was made for wooing. I believe this in my soul. As a result, I think my favorite poet is a tossup between George Gordon Lord Byron and Shel Silverstein. I don’t know why but I’m drawn to the true romantic poet and the broken romantic poet. I love that Lord Byron was a man of action and died following his beliefs (while also a noble and a cad). The same man that wrote “She Walks in Beauty” died fighting in someone else’s war because he thought it was both the right and the adventurous thing to do. I love the beautiful brokenness of Silverstein and the crazy complexity of being both a children’s author and a contributing author to Playboy. I go back and reread his works from my youth and realize that they are much darker with adult eyes. I also want to put in a plug for Sea Chanties — I love every Sea Chanty ever (I’m listening to The Hollow Points “Pieces of Eight” as I write).

Do you have formal training in writing poetry?
Not really — I took a couple of creative writing classes in college. I have taken (and teach) courses in military writing. The closest thing I have to real instruction in poetry writing is that I was semi-adopted by my high school teachers and school administrators. When things were pretty chaotic in my home life, those guardian angels at Nacogdoches High School kept me from wrecking my life. It was a deep personal investment from a group of teachers that helped me become everything I am today. My high school graduation party was thrown in the breakroom by the counselor’s office. The staff gave me a bible they all signed. I’ve read it until its falling apart, but it is one of the most precious things I own. I have a love of learning that
guides my study of poetry.

Does the act of writing poetry bring you comfort or grief?
Poetry can come from a place that can do either. It depends on what stimulates the moment of writing. For me, the process usually starts with a trigger. If it’s a traumatic trigger, I’m likely to express grief. I read or hear something that requires a response from me. I can force myself to write, but that is usually less effective initially than what gets produced in the organic,
spontaneous fashion. After I have it on paper, then I transition to a more formal editing process. I determine meter and validate word choices. I also deconstruct the story and reassemble it as required to build tension. In some ways, the process of poetry sausage-making does cause me grief but the end product provides me great comfort even when the topic is dark.

What advice do you have for a person that is new to writing poetry?
It is funny, but when I read this question I immediately responded in verse. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a Monty Python sketch…

Read a lot on a variety of topics. Get swept away in mundane times.
Ever expand your vocabulary. It’s the only way to find tricky rhymes.
Let your heart out of your ribcage. Put sweat and blood in every line.
Show honesty and compassion always. Just be human and you’ll be fine.

How are you going to pursue the publication of a collection of your poetry?
I have no good answer to this question. I don’t know that I am doing anything other than contributing to Poets to Save America at this moment. For the majority of my life, I have dabbled in creative writing, mostly in poetry. While I’ve dreamed of writing something that the public adores, I lack the talent, motivation, or industrial understanding to make the dream real. While I write my magnum opus one couplet at a time, it is the process that makes me happy. The act of writing makes me whole. I’ve no idea how to monetize that. I really hope that doesn’t sound pretentious. It is honestly the best answer I have even if it’s a bad one.

Biography:
Bryan Batson is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor and curriculum author teaching the Advanced Operations Course for the Department of Distance Education of the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Bryan has been in the Army for 24 years and served 13 months in the National Guard while in college.

Bryan received a Bachelor of Arts in Military History with a Minor in Leadership from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1994. He has a Master of Arts in International Relations from Webster University from 2008, a Master of Military Arts and Sciences in Theater Operations (Operational Art) from the School of Advanced Military Studies, and is currently working on his terminal degree, a Ph.D. in Security Studies from Kansas State University.

Bryan has multiple overseas tours — 2 iterations to Bosnia; 3 years in Iraq including a Headquarters and Service Battery Command during the 2003 invasion, a year as a military advisor to the Iraqi 30th Brigade, and a year as the lead military planner for the US Embassy; a year in Afghanistan as the Chief of Coalition Force Management for the ISAF Joint Command; and a year in South Korea as the 8th Army Deputy Fire Support Coordinator and Chief of Targeting.

Bryan is married to Laura Horne Batson (nee Laura Gayle Horne) who is the Director of Teaching and Learning for the Leavenworth, Kansas School District. They have two children- Will, a Pharmacy Doctoral student at the University of Kansas, and Megan a Freshman at Barton College.

Bryan Batson is a frequent contributor to Poets To Save America, a project of the Sangria Summit Society.

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An interview with Catharine Clark-Sayles

Catharine Clark-Sayles is a geriatrician practicing north of San Francisco. She traveled across the United States extensively with a military family while she was young, then became an Army doctor. When she turned forty she discovered that she had missed her twenties the first time around and reconnected with poetry to find them.

https://clarksayles.com/

Jim: Who first inspired you to write poetry?

Catharine:
When I was a child my grandfather, a Newspaper editor, sent me a book of Robert Frost poetry, You Come Too. I wrote on and off through childhood then stopped for years. The local weatherman was leading a three-day mini cruise to Ensenada and giving lectures on the weather. He asked us to write a poem and it reminded me of the pleasure.

Jim: You have written three books of poetry. The third book is due out soon. Please tell us about your newest work, Brats.

Catharine:
My dad was career military–started as a private in the Army Air Corps and retired with two stars from the Air Force Space Command. I was a military brat: a label of pride. It was not always the easiest way to grow up. These are poems from that experience. They are mostly narrative. Since I was an Army doctor, my first night on call felt like a new kid started over at a new base so there is a poem from that as well as a couple from my medical world.

Jim:
When I think of your poetry, William Carlos Williams enters my mind. He was also a medical doctor that took the time to write and publish his poetry. What value does the act of being a poet bring to your life?

Catharine:
Dr. Williams provided a model of a doctor having a full practice, writing poems and writing about the lives of his patients. For me, poetry has given me better listening and a better ability to explain. I joke that I am fluent in metaphor. I can wait better for the story of an illness to develop. No matter the identified set of symptoms, there is often a secret worry about what they mean that needs to be addressed to help heal.

Jim: What is the best way for a poet to gain a larger reading audience for their work?

Catharine:
I am not as good at this as I should be but I think you start locally, connect with your community, support other writers and send out good work regularly. Connect with a writing group through a class or a writers conference, go to open mic, send out work frequently and show up for other poets. Buy poetry books and give them as gifts. Let friends know you are interested in reading your work.

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An interview with Rachel Brune

Rachel Brune served five years as a combat journalist, including two tours in Iraq, and a brief stint as a columnist for her hometown newspaper. After her second tour, she attended graduate school at the University at Albany in NY, where she earned her MA in Political Communication, and her commission as a second lieutenant in the military police corps. She returned to the Army Reserve in November 2014.

http://infamous-scribbler.com/blog/about-contact-info/

My interview with Rachel Brune:

Jim: Who is your favorite living author?

Rachel:

Well, that’s a tricky question, because I’m friends with and/or follow a lot of my favorite authors on Facebook and social media… but lately I’ve been really enjoying re-reading Michael Connelly, who writes some of the best detective fiction out there, as well as getting into Brian McClellan’s fantasy novels.

Jim: You have written many books. I’ve read two of them, and reviewed one. What is the best book that you have written, and why?

Rachel:

I think that my best book is always the one I’m writing next. I’m always trying to improve every time I sit down to write, so that is the goal, at least. That said, I think the piece of writing that I look back most fondly on is a short story I wrote, a steampunk horror piece called “THE TERRIBLE, VAST PYRE OF CHIEF MACHINIST KIRLISOVEYITCH” that appeared in the October 2012 issue of Dark Moon Digest.

Jim: Where do your most creative ideas spring from?

Rachel:

Most of the time, different kernels of ideas are coming together and interacting with each other without me realizing it, until something clicks and I’ll have to grab a pen and paper, or my phone, and write it down. I have a lot of disparate hobbies and experiences, and while it sometimes means that it looks like I’m all over the place, it also means that I have a hard time stopping the flow of ideas long enough to actually write down and work with one until it becomes a book.

Jim: When did you decide to become a writer?

Rachel:

It’s only in the past few years that I consciously decided that I was going to pursue this as a career. Prior to that, writing was something that I did in addition to whatever career I was pursuing. But I’ve been writing since I started a newspaper for my neighborhood block when I was in the third or fourth grade.

Jim: Why is it hard for the independent nonfiction writer to earn a living?

Rachel:

That’s a good question. I don’t know if it’s really my area of expertise, but I would say that the current publishing success model relies on publishing often, publishing niche, and building as much of an author platform as possible.

Nonfiction authors, on the other hand, typically spend more time on their work, and the audience tends to be somewhat smaller for their finished projects. There are always a million factors that affect an author’s fiscal health, but those are the ones I could see of particular relevance to nonfiction writers.

Jim: How does a novelist gain a wider reading audience?

Rachel:

Write well enough and often enough that people will give your book a chance, and then come back and give the next book a chance. Sounds super easy, right? Also, learn marketing and social media strategy, as well as enough graphic design to hire a good cover designer. Finally, have some capital to finance your career, because even if you’re with a publishing house, you’re going to have to do some marketing yourself. And finally, when you are discouraged and contemplating quitting — don’t. Just keep going and putting words on paper and putting yourself out there and learning all you can about how to do those things effectively.

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Our Followup Interviews with Bobby Nash (Part 2)

Bobby Nash

The second of our two followup interviews with Bobby Nash:

Bobby Nash writes novels, comic books, short stories, novellas, graphic novels, and the occasional screenplay for a variety of publishers. He is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers. For more information on Bobby Nash please visit him at www.bobbynash.com

Jim: Writers often say there’s more to being a writer that simply writing. What does being a writer mean to you?

Bobby: Writing stories is a big part of what I do as a writer, but there are many writer-related and admin type jobs that go along with being a writer. Taxes and paperwork is a biggie. Keeping track of receipts, expenditures, mileage, things like that. Answering emails, fan mail, requests for interviews, convention correspondence, and notes from editors and publishers. Not only am I doing the work I have now and editing and promoting work I did previously, but I am also working on setting up future work. There’s also promotion and marketing that happens each day as I try to find new audiences for my books. Social media is part of that promotion work. I also do some self-publishing so there is production work, layout, cover design, and writing press releases that have to be done. All of these things are important, but doing these tasks takes away from my writing time.

Jim: What is the best way your readers can help promote your work?

Bobby:

Reviews are a fantastic way to let others know you read and enjoyed a novel. There are many places to leave a review. Amazon, Barnes & Noble’s website, GoodReads, book review blogs, places like that. Reviews don’t have to be complicated either. One thing I hear a lot of “I don’t know how to write a review.” A review can be as easy as “I liked it. Great book.” Reviews are a big help. The more reviews a book gets on Amazon, the more often Amazon recommends a book to customers. Then, share your review on social media. Share the link that gets your friends to Amazon, B&N, etc. The easier we make it for people to find the book, the better.

Word of mouth is great. Tell your friends. Tell your librarian. Tell you local bookstore. You’re your local book club. The more who hear about a good book, the more will hopefully pick it up.

Jim: What are the pros and cons between working with a publisher and self-publishing and do you have a preference?

 

Bobby:

There are pros and cons to both, I think.

With self-publishing, the writer does everything. Or pays to have things done. That means, in addition to writing the novel, the self-published author also creates the cover, does the editing or hires an editor, does the production and design work on the covers and interior, deals with pre-press, writes back cover copy and sales copy, writes press releases, promotes books, gets author photos made, sets up interviews, sends out review copies, and whatever else they can do to get the word out there to let as many know it’s available as possible because, without distribution, the self-published author can easily get lost in the sea of books on Amazon. On the plus side, the author has total control. The book will be exactly how he or she wants it. There is a lot of creative freedom in that.

Working with a publisher means that the writers turns in the manuscript to the editor and doesn’t have a hand in any of the production until the galleys come in. Often, the author has no control over the cover. Sometimes, they get to see the cover before it is released. Sometimes, they don’t. Working with a publisher means you don’t have control over everything, but they may have better distribution which can help sales. This is not always the case. Some small publishers are using the same self-publishing tools so their books aren’t any more widely distributed than your self-published books. You have to do your homework before querying any publisher.

Jim: How can writers and other creators help each other? Do they help one another?

Bobby: I see a lot of help happening in the creative community. Sometimes it’s obvious stuff like reposting another creator’s news of a new release or interview, leaving reviews of their work that you’ve enjoyed, or just giving them a shout out. Have you ever heard a writer say, “if you liked my novel, you’ll probably also like…”? I have. Creators, for the most part, tend to be very helpful and welcoming. They also help in less obvious ways. I know many writers who are supportive behind the scenes. If I have a problem, or even a bad day and need to talk, there are several writers I know I can call and they are there for me as I would be for them. It’s nice having someone who understands what you’re going through. When I have writer problems, telling my family doesn’t help because they don’t understand what I’m talking about, but one of my writer friends does.

Jim: What are your goals as a writer? How do you achieve those goals?

Bobby: I set many writing goals for myself instead of one big goal. One of my first goals was to see if I could actually write a novel. Then, I had a goal of getting published. Then, getting published again. I never really had a specific goal in mind with regards to winning awards, but I did have the goal of gaining the respect of my peers and I think the awards are a reflection of that. A future goal is being able to make a living as a writer. This one is hard and I’m still a long ways off from reaching it, I fear. Another goal is to have the term “Bestselling Author” in front of my name. Sadly, I still have a ways to go to reach that one as well.

Jim: Do you ever have days where you want to give up and “throw in the towel”? What do you do on those days?

Bobby: Yes. Yes, I do. Writing can be a frustrating business. The actual writing isn’t what makes me want to throw in the towel from time to time. It’s the business side of it that usually gets to me. Sales are low, books aren’t doing well, there’s no money for promotion, I lost money at a con, things like that do weigh on me from time to time and I wonder why I keep putting myself through this, but then I remember the parts of this that I love and all the hard work I’ve put into it and I press on. Will there come a day when I give it up? I hope not, but you never know.

Jim: Writing can be a very solitary profession. How do you keep from going “stir crazy”?

Bobby: Every once in a while, I have to get out of the house and be around people. That helps. I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like due to other obligations, but it’s nice to get out when I can.