Author Interview: Dina Guillen and Michelle Lowrey

Today, I had the chance to chat a little with Dina Guillen and Michelle Lowrey, authors of Cooking Club: Great Ideas and Delicious Recipes for Fabulous Get-Togethers. Be sure to read my review of the book!

Jennifer Walker: Tell us about other writing/book projects you have--past, present and future.

Dina and Michelle: Past would be our first book, The Plank Grilling Cookbook. It was published in 2006 and it has done extremely well, with over 30,000 books sold to date. Cooking Club: Great Ideas and Delicious Recipes for Fabulous Get-Togethers just came out this year, and we are also trying to build an online cooking club community, so we started writing a food blog, www.cookingclubconfidential.wordpress.com that focuses on cooking club stories, advice, tips, profiles, etc.


Jennifer Walker: Out of all of your cooking club members, how were you two elected to write this book? Did the other members contribute?

Dina and Michelle: We co-wrote The Plank Grilling cookbook with our other cooking club members, Maria Everly and Gretchen Bernsdorff. When the opportunity to write the second book was offered to the four of us, both Gretchen and Maria decided that that the time commitment was too great, and they opted out of the project. Gretchen has since moved, and is not part of our cooking club anymore, but the support and enthusiasm for the project by both of them has been so gracious. In fact, everyone from our cooking club has been so supportive. It’s been so fun writing about our dear cooking club friends, and letting the public “in” on our fabulous group!


Jennifer Walker: Did anything fun or interesting or unusual or otherwise noteworthy happen during the course of writing Cooking Club?

Dina and Michelle:If you asked us about the Plank Grilling Cookbook, we would regale you with stories about all the fires we started while grilling on those pieces of wood. But this book was pretty non-eventful. We are incredibly organized. We prepared an outline for the book, set a timeline, and turned in our manuscript to our editor on time.


Jennifer Walker: How did you get started as published authors?

Dina and Michelle: We are very proud of how these books came to fruition. When Dina came up with the idea for writing The Plank Grilling book, we did not have an agent, a lawyer, or anyone else helping us along. We did everything ourselves, and shopped the book around to different publishers. We were so pleasantly surprised that even more than one publishing house wanted to publish the book. Plank Grilling was a new phenomenon back then, and hey, we were on to something! Once we settled on a publisher, we did the negotiating ourselves with the help of a mutual friend Suzanne Nielson. Yes, we were green, and had very little knowledge of what we were doing, but we learned a lot. The Cooking Club book came next, and was offered to us by Sasquatch books (the publishers of our first book.) We had a nice opportunity to sit down with Biba Caggiano from Biba’s restaurant, here in Sacramento. She was so kind and gracious, and gave us great advice on how to negotiate a book contract. We actually thanked her in the book! Michelle had the opportunity to give her a copy of our book, and she was so impressed by it. That was such a nice compliment, coming from such a well know Sacramento institution such as Biba.


Jennifer Walker: Tell us about your families. How supportive are they of your writing...and of cooking club?

Dina Guillen: I have an incredibly supportive husband, Roland, and a wonderful 9-year-old son, Andrew. They encourage me to try new dishes, and experiment with exotic flavors and cuisines. Since they are not picky eaters and will try practically anything, I have the flexibility and freedom to go crazy in the kitchen and have an appreciative audience at the same time. When you are in a cooking club, and writing cookbooks, you need honest taste testers with good palates, and I have that in my own home. It doesn’t get better then that!

Michelle Lowrey: They are of course, very supportive. My Mom is an amazing chef, and I grew up eating beautiful food. My Mom was always cooking something delicious, and that love of food was fostered in me from a very young age. The fact that I have written two cookbooks just tickles my parents to no end!


Jennifer Walker: Have you had any mentors or influences in your writing career?

Dina Guillen: I was a Journalism major in college, and one of my journalism professors, Dr. Art Margosian, encouraged my writing abilities, mentored me, and gave me the confidence to pursue a career in writing. I have had a love of food and cooking from a very young age, and it comes from having a very large family who loved food. Every occasion was celebrated w ith a feast, whether it was a graduation, a baptism, or simply losing your 8th tooth – it was always about the food. One of my aunts, Aunt Vera, would ask me to smell or eat a fruit at its peak of ripeness, roll her eyes and groan in ecstasy as she was enjoying it herself, and go on and on about how delicious it was. How was I going to grown up not loving food? With the combined influences of Dr. Margosian and my Aunt Vera, it seems I was destined to be a food writer.

Michelle Lowrey: Well, my Mom is my biggest mentor. But, a very happy memory of my childhood is sitting down with my Mom and religiously watching The French Chef with Julia Child. We both loved that show, and I think back on that with such happy memories. When the movie Julie and Julia came out this summer, I couldn’t help but think of my Mom, but also how much Julia Child influenced so many people. There’s not many chefs out there that won’t say that Julia didn't influence them in some way or the other. She really was a fascinating woman.


Jennifer Walker: Do you have a "day job"?

Dina Guillen: I am a marketing director at Wiley Design Communications, Inc., a brand development and marketing firm in mid-town Sacramento.

Michelle Lowrey: I actually went to culinary school in San Francisco, and worked as a pastry chef for 5 years before I left the food industry to stay at home and raise my two kids. The writing of the two books has been so much fun for me because I got the opportunity to write about something I loved…food! These days, I work at my children’s school three days a week. Something I really enjoy.


Jennifer Walker: Do you have hobbies outside of writing and cooking? What are they?

Dina Guillen: I love to read, and could spend hours on a sofa reading with contentment. I also love to go hiking with my friends and family. I’ve never hiked outside of California, and I would love to plan a vacation hiking (and eating) my way through the trip.

Michelle Lowrey: It’s funny, because when I started thinking about my hobbies, they all seemed food related somehow! I mean, I love reading, but they are always books on food or chefs, and I love to entertain, but that involves cooking! I do love to hike, and my husband and I love living here in this area because of the closeness to the Sierra’s and all the great hiking trails. I love yoga, and have been doing bikram yoga for a few years now. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my husband Corey has just gotten into running, and I have started running a little myself.


Jennifer Walker: What is your favorite restaurant, and why?

Dina Guillen: Locally, my favorite restaurant is Mulvaney’s in Sacramento, because I am a huge fan of lamb and no one prepares it better then Partick Mulvaney. But if I were to choose anyplace in the world, I would travel to New Orleans and eat at Chef Susan Spicer’s restaurant, Bayona. Each time I’ve had a meal there, it is consistently amazing. And she makes the best sweet breads.

Michelle Lowrey: This question, I really thought about a lot. I love food, and think about it all the time, and my answer to this questions changes every time I answer it depending on my mood! Right now, at this very moment, I’ve been obsessing over this tiny little place in New York City called S’mac, where the only thing they serve is macaroni and cheese. I’m a comfort food love r, and this place is where you need to go to get your fix. They serve every flavor combination imaginable, but my favorite is the gruyere cheese with slab bacon. They even make their own noodles. Seems silly, but to say that this place is my FAVORITE restaurant, when I’ve eaten at so many amazing places, but this is no ordinary macaroni and cheese let me tell you!


Jennifer Walker: If you had to pick one type of cuisine to make and eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Dina Guillen: Middle Eastern food.

Michelle Lowrey: I love Cajun/Creole food more than any other. In our book, we did a chapter on food from New Orleans, and testing those recipes was so much fun! I love having a pot of homemade gumbo cooking on the stove. It just makes me happy!

Thank you to Dina and Michelle for stopping by...it was so fun getting to learn a little more about you!

Stay tuned for their guest post on food writing.

Book Review: Cooking Club, by Dina Guillen and Michelle Lowrey

Cooking Club: Great Ideas and Delicious Recipes for Fabulous Get-Togethers
by Dina Guillen and Michelle Lowrey

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Sasquatch Books (May 5, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1570615608
Rating (1 to 5*): *****



Review

Cooking Club: Great Ideas & Delicious Recipes for Fabulous Get-Togethers is three books in one: it’s a how-to/idea book, a cookbook and a getting-to-know-some-great-people book! This book tells you everything you need to know about starting your own cooking club or spicing up your current one.

A cooking club, in a nutshell, is a club that gets together to enjoy good food and good company—food that is cooked either by the host or by the guests. Clubs generally meet periodically, such as once per month, trading off duties so everyone gets a chance to cook and host.

There are many different formats and themes for cooking clubs, and Cooking Club gives you plenty of examples of not only how the authors’ club, The Kitchen Table Cooking Club, works, but how other clubs work across the country. It is also packed full of advice for recruiting members, keeping people interested, and generally having a great time.

In addition to all of the useful information on how to start a cooking club and keep it going, Cooking Club gives 12 monthly theme ideas, each with eight interesting recipes for an evening of fun and delicious food—starting with a cocktail and ending with dessert. While some are fairly traditional, most have The Kitchen Table’s own twists that either make them special or just a little easier or faster to make than the original version.

Each recipe is accompanied by a short, but invariably charming, account of how the recipe found its way into The Kitchen Table’s list of favorites. In addition, each recipe’s introduction explains where to get unusual ingredients, gives warnings about long cooking or prep times and includes tips for success when preparing the dish for cooking club. As someone who is likely to plan to make a recipe without thoroughly reading it first (and then finding out too late that you’re supposed to marinate the meat for three days or something), I appreciated having this important information up front where I was less likely to miss it! Each recipe is cooking club tested and approved, and each is well written and easy to follow. The recipes looked so good that I want to try some of them at home, even if I never join a cooking club.

Each theme includes a list of tips for hosting the party, including ideas for decorating, ambiance and favors for the guests. Even if the reader chooses not to follow the book to the letter, there are so many ideas that it is easy to use them as a launching pad to come up with your own.

Throughout Cooking Club, the reader learns about some fun people, both in The Kitchen Table Cooking Club and in cooking clubs around the country. They are such charming people that you might want to start your own cooking club and invite them over! You also see how they have grown and changed through their adventures in the cooking club. I found it so inspiring that I’m already trying to figure out how I can fit a cooking club into my busy schedule!

Check back over the next few days—I’ll have an interview with the authors of Cooking Club, Dina Guillen and Michelle Lowrey. They will also be making a guest post about food writing!

Author Interview: Laurie Darroch-Meekis

Today's interview is with Laurie Darroch-Meekis, whose work will appear in the upcoming anthology, Elements of the Soul.



Jennifer Walker: Tell me about the work you have in Elements of the Soul. What is it about, and what inspired it?

Laurie Daroch-Meekis: I have a short story called Kleio. The name was inspired by the Greek muse of history. She is mentioned in a well-known painting in the story. Kleio is about a treasure found at a flea market and the search to uncover the origins of the treasure. (I love flea markets, garage sales, antique shops, old book stores and hunting for unknown surprises, the thrill of the discoveries. It is the adventurer in me.)

I was also chosen as the featured poet and have four poems in the book, all inspired by things and people in my life. Poetry and lyrics are a great love of mine and have been since I was very small; I was thrilled to be chosen for that title.

I enjoy using elements from my real life in my fiction stories. The flea market I wrote about really exists. Some details are real too. Others are loosely based on people or places and things I know--or they are made up.

Anna, the antiques dealer is how I think my mother would have aged if she had lived past her 50’s, a gracious, intelligent and beautiful lady. The other characters are based on people in my life, my immediate family.

Even the stroller used to carry flea market finds was real. One of my best friends used to bring one when we went to that particular flea market. The reactions to her pushing it around were hysterically funny at times.

The treasure at the end ties into my cultural heritage. I am fascinated with antique books too, the craftsmanship and symbolism in them. History has always interested me.


Jennifer Walker: Did you have any misgivings about entering the contest? How did you get over them?

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: I am always nervous entering contests, but someone has to win and you can’t ever win if you never try.


Jennifer Walker: Have you entered any more contests since the one that got you into the book? Do you plan to enter any more?

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: I have entered many of them. Yes, I will continue to do so. I like the challenge. Winning is nice too. It reinforces the love of writing on another level. Some you win and some you lose. The point is to try.


Jennifer Walker: How have the Accentuate Writers Anthology contests helped you grow as a writer?

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: I think belonging to a writing group has spurred on my writing even more. It is nice to have more feedback from people who understand and appreciate the art of writing. This was the first place I started entering writing contests.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me about other writing projects you have going, unrelated to the contests.

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: The specific list is too long to write here. I write articles online and in print. I have about 1,000 pieces published so far. I am always working on articles, stories, poetry, lyrics and a couple novel ideas besides that. I enjoy trying to write in most genres and for most age groups.


Jennifer Walker: Is writing your full time job, or do you have a "day job"?

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: It is more than full time but so far it isn’t a living wage. I know it can be, so that is my goal. At the moment, I am a struggling writer. I would like to be a success at this. I know I can be.


Jennifer Walker: To what do you attribute your success as a writer so far?

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: Faith, I guess, that and sheer bullheadedness.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me about your family. Are they supportive of your writing?

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: Yes and they are big book and reading fans too, so that helps. My husband and daughter’s creative minds sometimes give me great ideas for my writing. Light bulb moments is what I call them.


Jennifer Walker: What was the last book you read?

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: I haven’t had much time to read lately. I love books with a passion though. The last one I read was “The Shack”, very uplifting.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me one thing about yourself that you think most people don't know.

Laurie Darroch-Meekis: I suppose there is a lot people don't know about me. Some things I keep very close to myself, others I share.

Thanks, Laurie, for stopping by!

Author Interview: M. Lori Motley

Today, I spoke with M. Lori Motley, whose stories will appear in the upcoming anthology, Elements of the Soul.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me about the work you have in Elements of the Soul. What is it about, and what inspired it?

M. Lori Motley: I have two stories in EoS: Flood of Tears and Summer Heat. The themes were really the only thing that inspired me. The stories aren't based on my life or anything like that. For the second one, I had a dream about a puppy mill and knew I had to include one in a story. It worked its way casually into Summer Heat.


Jennifer Walker: Did you have any misgivings about entering the contest? How did you get over them?

M. Lori Motley: I'm naturally reticent about sharing my writing: a result of low self-esteem most likely. However, entering the contests on Michy's board didn't seem too traumatizing to me. It's easier to enter a contest when everyone is rooting for everyone else instead of fiercely competing.


Jennifer Walker: Have you entered any more contests since the one that got you into the book? Do you plan to enter any more?

M. Lori Motley: I've entered almost every Accentuate Anthology contest since the first one, but no others.


Jennifer Walker: How have the Accentuate Writers Anthology contests helped you grow as a writer?

M. Lori Motley: It gave me quite a bit of confidence. I'm beginning to branch out into other contests and submitting to mags and ezines.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me about other writing projects you have going, unrelated to the contests.

M. Lori Motley: Oh boy. I'm trying very hard to finish one novel before the end of the year. I tried to pick what I thought would be the most marketable out of the six novel projects I have going. When I get stuck or bored with that one, I go over to one of the others. I'm working on about four pieces of flash and short fiction for other contests right now as well.


Jennifer Walker: Is writing your full time job, or do you have a "day job"?

M. Lori Motley: I don't work outside my home. I'm self-employed full time with freelance writing and web design, development and operations.


Jennifer Walker: To what do you attribute your success as a writer so far?

M. Lori Motley: Natural talent, I suppose. I've always been a decent writer. I hope that doesn't sound arrogant. A heck of a lot of practice helps as well. Perseverance helps.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me about your family. Are they supportive of your writing?

M. Lori Motley: My Mom is supremely supportive. She always asks what I'm working on next. My sisters are as well.


Jennifer Walker: What was the last movie you saw?

M. Lori Motley: In the theaters it was Kung Fu Panda with my eldest son. The last movie on TV was an oldie called "Cuba" with Sean Connery. It wasn't all that great. I'm not really a big movie watcher.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me one thing about yourself that you think most people don't know.

M. Lori Motley: Hmm. There are probably tons of things about me that most people don't know. I'm "addicted" to computer games. There's one I can share. I'm extremely busy and get all my work done, but I play computer games more than what is good for me.

Author Interview: Sam Moffie

Today, Sam Moffie, author of No Mad, stopped by to answer a few questions. Be sure to read his review below!

Jennifer Walker: Please tell us about any other book projects you have, past, present and future.

Sam Moffie: I am finishing up The Book of Eli, which is going through its second editing. I have started to write To Kill the Duke.


Jennifer Walker: What inspired the story of No Mad?

Sam Moffie: I wanted to tell a story about the modern middle aged American male/dad.


Jennifer Walker: Your books seem to have a recurring theme involving Youngstown, Ohio--is that where you're from? Where else have you lived?

Sam Moffie: I was born in Newton, Massachusetts. I was raised in Youngstown. Spent 4 years in Springfield, Ohio and another 8 in Cleveland, Ohio.


Jennifer Walker: Are any of the people or events in No Mad based in reality?

Sam Moffie: Yes. But the readers have to figure that out.


Jennifer Walker: How did you get started on your writing career? Have you always wanted to write, or is this a recent development?

Sam Moffie: I always wanted to write. I ended up getting sidetracked for 22 years.


Jennifer Walker: Do you have a "day job", or do you write for a living?

Sam Moffie: I own a tavern.


Jennifer Walker: What is your favorite movie? Book?

Sam Moffie: There are a lot of them. Movie... Would have to be The Seachers, Citizen Kane, Forrest Gump, The Producers (not the musical), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Schindler's List. Books -- The World According to Garp, A Widow for One Year, Breakfast of Champions, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atlas Shrugged.


Jennifer Walker: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be, and with whom?

Sam Moffie: I'm going there in about 6 weeks. Amsterdam with my muse/girlfriend Juliette.


Jennifer Walker: Aaron's book concept for Yearbook sounds like fun. Have you thought about writing it?
Sam Moffie: Yes. I'd love to do a book like that. Great question.

Thank you, Sam, for stopping by!

Book Review: No Mad, by Sam Moffie

No Mad, by Sam Moffie

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: BookSurge; 1st edition (February 24, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1439204616
Rating (1 to 5 *): ****



Review

Nomad…a wanderer. When Aaron Abrams rushes home to tell his wife about his incredible book deal, he finds something that changes his life forever: his wife and brother going at it in his swimming pool. Before they can even finish their little romp, Aaron is out the door and starting a journey to a new life. First to New York to finalize his book deal, then to his Alma Mater to look up his old class mates to interview them for a book about life after college. Leaving married life behind, he lets go of any inhibitions he might have had. Is he mad? No--while he occasionally harbours some ill thoughts about his ex-wife-to-be and ex-brother-to-be, he is more focused on moving on.

Aaron’s journey is not just a physical one, carrying him across the country. It is also a spiritual journey that carries him back in time as forward into a new life. As he enters his “way back machine”, he relives some of his fondest childhood memories. At the same time, he watches as today’s youth create some of those same memories—showing that kids really don’t change much from generation to generation.

If you prefer a linear story, you will not find it in Sam Moffie’s books—he likes to jump forward and backward in time as he tells the story. However, the timeline really does not matter, because it is Aaron’s journey that is the point of the book. In reading the book, you get to know Aaron and what makes him tick—and what ticks him off. And what gets him off.

Readers with delicate sensibilities will want to note that there are some explicit scenes and raunchy language in the book. It is a raucous tale that will make you laugh and repulse you all at the same time, and it will certainly entertain you.

Guest blog: As I See Em by Sam Moffie

I will be posting a review of No Mad, by Sam Moffie, on Monday. In the mean time, please enjoy a guest post from the author!

COLUMN: AS I SEE EM
BY Sam Moffie


IT'S NOT A HARD RAIN THAT IS FALLING... IT'S A STEADY ONE


The other day I was working in my yard, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I was able to listen to music as loud as I wanted and I didn't want to bother my family or my neighbors, so I wore my head phones and portable CD contraption. I was listening to a smorgasboard of songs by Bob Dylan.

I really enjoy listening to music while I do chores around the house. This is mainly a result of not belonging to a gym anymore, where I would have in my hey-day pump iron five to six times a week with my own music playing in my one good ear ( I was born deaf in the other one). I fondly remember my first headset -- which meant my own music, because the music that played in the gyms of my earlier days was always set on appeasment. I could not get into lifting when appeasing music was on. Anyways... now I lift in my basement to my own music and at my own pace. Who said getting older wasn't fun?

The only other time I ever listened to music while doing yard work or chores around the house, was when I was in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Wittenberg University. Almost like a scene from my latest novel -- No Mad... almost.

But now, I had Bob, his music and my yard work -- actually weed pulling to attend to (why pot is sometimes called 'weed' by others never made any sense to me. Weeds are terrible and pot is good. I mean, whoever tried to roll and smoke a weed from their yard)?

As Dylan's music soothed my aching back and knees (getting older isn't fun), I really found myself concentrating on his lyrics; not that I haven't before. The more I focused, the more I realized that it is a shame that Bob Dyla hasn't won a Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

But this isn't about that. It's more about the state of current affairs... the politicians of Washington D.C. and where they are taking us... what they are doing to us. Notice I wrote politicians and not democrat or republican. Because anyone who thinks that there is a difference between the two political parties has been smoking way too much 'weed'.

All politicians at all levels in today's America are about themselves, THEIR families, THEIR toadies and the people who they really work for -- THEIR lobbyists and THEIR campaign contributors.

That's why the lyrics from Bob's song IT'S A HARD RAIN struck a nerve in me. All the lines from this song are great. It's easy looking back 40 years and seeing that it appears that Boby was writing about nuclear fallout. then again, knowing Bob, maybe he was writing about something else.

"I SAW 10,000 TALKERS WHOSE TONGUES WERE ALL BROKEN..."

Makes me think about all politicians in how they basically talk a lot and don't say a damn thing. You can also throw in the MSM (main stream media) as part of the 10,000. Know why?

Because the MSM has become part of the problem. They wear their bias on their designer suits and dresses. Worse...they only repeat the news, not report the news. The internet is going to kill the MSM, and that's going to be a good thing.

So, big deal Sam, the politicians are lying to us. The news reporters are terrible. So what Sam?

No, it's not that. They are only the smoke screens for what the big story is. The amounts of money NOT getting to where it should be.

Because there is enough money in this country to repair anything and everything. It doesn't get to where it has to go.

Why? because the broken tongues take it. And they will continue to take it until those tongues are removed.

--------------------------------

Thank you, Sam! Tune in on Monday for the review of No Mad!

Author Interview: Rissa Watkins

Today's interview is with Rissa Watkins, whose story "Fly" appears in the upcoming anthology, Elements of the Soul.

Jennifer Walker: Tell me about the work you have in Elements of the Soul. What is it about, and what inspired it?

Rissa Watkins: My contribution to Elements of the Soul is a short story titled "Fly". It is about a man and his wife having to deal with an aging mom who no longer can care for herself. It was inspired by experiences we had with my father. It gave me the chance to writing the ending I wish was possible in real life.


Jennifer Walker: Did you have any misgivings about entering the contest? How did you get over them?

Rissa Watkins: Entering this story was my way of getting over my misgivings of not winning the previous one. I made it to the semi-finals but didn't place. So the same night results were announced, I sent in my entry fee for the next Accentuate Writers Anthology contest and won.


Jennifer Walker: Have you entered any more contests since the one that got you into the book? Do you plan to enter any more?

Rissa Watkins: I have entered contests both for the Accentuate Services Anthology contests and other places. I plan to keep entering them as long as my imagination and fingers hold out.


Jennifer Walker: How have the Accentuate Writers Anthology contests helped you grow as a writer?

Rissa Watkins: The nurturing environment offered at Accentuate Writers Forum helped me to be brave enough to submit my stories to complete strangers to be judged. The positive responses I have received have helped build my confidence in my writing immensely.


Jennifer Walker: Tell me about other writing projects you have going, unrelated to the contests.

Rissa Watkins: Like most writers, I am working on a book, have a few more started and even more queuing up impatiently in my head.


Jennifer Walker: Is writing your full time job, or do you have a "day job"?

Rissa Watkins: Writing is my full time job now. Winning the Accentuate Services Anthology contest helped push me over the edge from part time writer to full time starving artist. Hopefully everyone reading this will buy several copies of Elements of the Soul to contribute much needed funds to my dwindling bank account.


Jennifer Walker: To what do you attribute your success as a writer so far?

Rissa Watkins: Overwhelming support from other writers of the Accentuate Writers Forum who are like family, mentors to look up to such as Michelle Devon who runs the forum and is always ready for advice or a butt kicking and you, Jennifer Walker for being brave enough to lead the way and offering help and inspiration when I need it. I have been blessed with amazing friends such as Susan Sosbe, a fellow writer and dear friend who is always there for whatever crisis, writing or otherwise, anytime I need her. [Note from Jennifer: aw, you're making me blush!]


Jennifer Walker: Tell me about your family. Are they supportive of your writing?

Rissa Watkins: My amazing husband has supported me without question in my writing career. My family rallied behind me when I decided to quit my job in this really bad economy to write full time.


Jennifer Walker: What was the last movie you saw?

Rissa Watkins: Transformers 2. I wrote a review about it so I could deduct the ticket cost. Who says you can't mix business and pleasure?


Jennifer Walker: Tell me one thing about yourself that you think most people don't know.

Rissa Watkins: I am almost embarrassed to tell people I am a writer. I feel like a kid playing dress up in mom's clothes because I don't think I have earned the title yet.

Thank you to Rissa for stopping by! Congratulations on your win, and here's to much success in the future!