Sunday Coffee Time Chat with Author P.C. Zick

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Stacy

Welcome to Sunday morning Coffee Chat time!

Today’s guest is P.C. Zick!

Welcome!!!? Normally I call my guests by their first name, but you are secretive and use initials… You do know that in my line of work, PC actually stands for Probably Cause, right? I might have to keep a close eye on you! Anyway welcome! Hope my readers enjoy this – and take a moment to view your Video Greeting!!!

SE: Thank you for that great introduction! Let’s get started with the interview! My standard first question – Coffee or Tea?

PC: I am coffee all the way, strong enough to grow hair with a touch of cream.

SE: lol… That’s funny! Alright, you’re an author, what else?

PC: In 2011, I began writing fiction as my full time job. I?ve been an English teacher, reporter, columnist, editor, publisher, and public relations director. Since 2001, all my jobs have been focused on some type of writing.

SE: Then you have a good background for being a writer! That’s great! What is your favorite thing to do when you aren?t writing or working?

PC: I love spending time with my husband. We?re still newlyweds and hope to remain that way for the rest of our lives. We have a small pleasure boat and we spend all warm weekends cruising around the rivers near us. We also kayak and golf. And of course when I?m not outdoors I?m reading.

SE: Writer and Reader – they go hand and hand. So what is your favorite color?

PC: Deep, deep red of the maroon hue. It?s rich and makes me feel embraced in warm and loving arms.

SE: Awww… that is romantic. What is your favorite season?

PC: I don?t like winter, but I do like the holidays. I was born on December 23, so the month of December is usually my favorite. But for a whole season? I love spring, summer, and fall equally.

SE: A holiday baby, cool! If you could live anyplace on earth, where would it be?

PC: Right here for right now in western Pennsylvania. I?ll live wherever I need to live and I always embrace the place. I believe that we make our home with what surrounds us at any given time. Right now I?m embracing the Pittsburgh area.

SE: I’m waving from the Philly area!? That is a nice way to look at things.? So how long have your been writing?

PC: I?ve been writing seriously since 1998 when I finished my first novel. It was always a passion or dream of mine to be a writer. I dabbled until I finished that first book. It was picked up by a small publisher , which gave me courage to start writing for the local paper. I continued to write fiction in the early mornings and late evenings.

SE: How awesome! How many hours a day do you devote to writing?

PC: I spend 10-12 hours doing something related to writing, but unfortunately marketing takes up far too much of that time.

SE: Ugh! I know… It takes up so much time! Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?

PC: I try to have a routine. As soon as I finish here, I?ll start on the final edits for Native Lands. That takes priority right now. I?m also writing a romance in the Romance in a Month class so I?ll end my day with writing at least one chapter on that book. However, it?s almost noon and I haven?t done any real writing at all!

SE: It is amazing how fast time gets away from us! Is there some place special you like to be when you write?

PC: I love my office. It?s set up like I?ve always dreamed. But there are days when I like to get out of the house and go to the library or a coffee shop and just write without distraction. When all else fails, I pull out the old legal pad, sharpen my pencils, and sit down and write longhand what needs to be written for the day. I find that very freeing to try another method.

SE: I’m not sure I could write that way. My fingers move to fast, if I wrote long hand I wouldn’t be able to read it, lol! Do you listen to music or do you need a quiet place to write?

PC: I listen to new age or classical music. I can?t listen to anything with lyrics while I?m doing my own composing. When I?m doing marketing stuff, it doesn?t matter.

SE: My kind of girl! I listen to those kinds too!? So, let’s talk book now! What is the name of it and is it part of a series or a stand alone novel?

PC: Native Lands is the third book in my Florida Fiction Series although each of the novels are stand-alones.

SE: What is it about?

PC: When their environment is torn apart by a conglomerate of international interests, a tribe of native Floridians thought to be extinct rise up and form their own oddly matched conglomerate, and with the assistance of nature, attempt to halt the destruction of the natural world they treasure. Cultural boundaries established centuries ago are erased as love and nature seek the balance lost in the battle for power and control of the last of the Florida frontier.

Native Lands is a novel rich in intrigue and history as a tribe of Native Americans, thought to be extinct, fight to save their beloved heritage. They join with others willing to sacrifice everything to save further destruction of the Everglades and St. Augustine.

SE: I will admit that when I first heard the title, it didn’t peak my interest, but hearing more about it, I am very interested to read it! So, Do you have any upcoming projects in the works or other books that have been published ? Tell us about them?

PC: I have published five novels and three nonfiction books.

A Lethal Legacy (Psychological Suspense) – A fascinating study of human expectations, failings, and redemption filled with lust and forbidden lovers.

Live from the Road (Fiction) Live from the Road takes the reader on an often humorous, yet harrowing, journey as Meg Newton and Sally Sutton seek a change in the mundane routine of their lives. Joined by their daughters, they set off on a journey of salvation enhanced by the glories of the Mother Road.

Tortoise Stew (Florida Fiction Series, Book 1) ? Politics, murder, and chaos in rural Florida reign supreme in a story where love triumphs over it all.

Trails in the Sand (Florida Fiction Series, Book 2) ? Family secrets, an oil spill, and redemption create a roller coaster ride for journalist Caroline Carlisle.

Behind the Altar (Romance ? Behind the Love Trilogy, Book 1) – All seems perfect in Leah’s life until tattoo artist Dean rides his Harley into her heart in this story of forbidden love.

From Seed to Table (Blog posts) Gardening techniques, organic gardening, canning vegetables, and recipes galore

Civil War Journal of a Union Soldier (Memoir nonfiction) ? My great grandfather?s journal from his days as a soldier. It?s a personal account of war and all its sundry causes and effects from the eyes of a man who fought it.

Odyssey to Myself (Essays nonfiction): The people of Morocco, Italy, Panama, and Chile come to life through the experiences of the author as she absorbs the cultures so different from her own.

SE: WOW! You have so many different genre’s and style’s there! I love that! I’m like you, I like to jump! Although I have not jumped over to the non-fiction realm yet, someday I might. Thank you so much for coming to visit today! I’m so glad to have you here!

To find out more about P.C. Zick:

Website: www.pczick.com/

Blog: www.pczick.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://facebook/PCZick

Twitter: https://twitter/PCZick

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5989135.P_C_Zick

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/114232083554517874771/posts

Video Trailers: http://youtu.be/GNsZUiyDKIo?list=UUxE92WgTCZOLI6wrbIgoYhw

To Purchase books by P.C. Zick:

Sunday Coffee Time Chat with Author Michele Shriver

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Stacy

Welcome to Sunday morning Coffee Chat time!

Today’s guest is Michele Shriver!

SE: Welcome Michele!!! So glad you could join us today!

MS: Hello, Stacy and readers of this blog. I?m very excited to join you this morning to chat about my writing and my upcoming release. Thank you for having me.

SE: I have a very standard first questions, Coffee or Tea?

MS: A cafe mocha, please. I?m a bit of a snob when it comes to my coffee.?

SE: Be all the snog you want! I’m a mocha person myself!? So glad you are here. We just met recently and I’m really excited to learn more about you, so let’s jump right in!? We know you?re an author, but do you work another job when you are not writing?

MS: I do work another job. I?m an attorney specializing mainly in juvenile and child welfare law. I also do some criminal defense work, so I guess that kind of puts us on opposite sides. My real passion is the juvenile work, though.

SE: Ewww… you said the “D” word.? lol.. now worries, I know that people deserve to be represented, especially children. So what what is your favorite thing to do when you aren?t writing or working?

MS: I?m a big sports fan, mainly football and hockey.? I?ll pretty much watch any game on TV. I also enjoy reading other people?s books. And due to some current health issues, I?d have to put sleeping up there as a favorite activity.

SE: Hey, napping should always be on that list!!!? So, what is your favorite color?

MS: Green. I?m not really sure why. Maybe because I like frogs and have collected them since I was about three. Not real ones, but stuffed, ceramic, wooden, you name it. I?ve got frogs in my house.

SE: Oh, my daughter would love to see them! She loves frogs too! What is your favorite season?

MS: Fall, because I love seeing the leaves change. And hoodies, jeans and boots are my favorite attire. And it?s the start of hockey season. Unfortunately, in Iowa it sometimes seems we skip fall and transition straight to winter.

SE: I have a good friend in Iowa, she said the same thing about the weather. Okay, so talking about living, if you could live anyplace on earth, where would it be?

MS: That?s a tough one. I most want to visit Portugal, but not having done that yet, I can?t say if I like it enough to live there. So I?ll go with Austin, TX because my family is there.? Except I can?t handle the heat, so I?d probably still want to spend 3 of 4 seasons where I am. I love Canada too.

SE: I love that so many people I interview love where they live! Other than writing, what do you have a passion for?

MS: Sports, books, food and wine.

SE: Nice! Okay, let’s switch tracks and talk about writing.? How long have your been writing? Was it a dream, a goal or is it just a hobby?

MS: I?ve been writing fiction in some capacity pretty much most of my life. I first caught the bug back in sixth grade with an assignment to write the first chapter of a book. I wanted to write the whole thing! It was mainly just a hobby until about 7 years ago when it became much more of a passion and goal.? Now I can?t stop.

SE: I love hearing that! How many hours a day do you devote to writing?

MS: I try to devote at least an hour or two a day to get some words written, if my job and my health allow. If I?m not actively writing, though, I am pretty much always thinking about it.

SE: Hard not to think about it when we aren’t clicking on our keyboards, isn’t it? Do you have a set routine or do you write when the mood strikes?

MS: I try to follow a routine and do something each day, but I can?t force my writing. Some days the words just aren?t there, so I?ll take a break that day.

SE: That is the best thing to do! Is there some place special you like to be when you write?

MS: Weather permitting, out on my back patio.

SE: Do you listen to music or do you need a quiet place to write?

MS: No music for me. Quiet, or the TV on in the background even though I never really pay much attention to what?s on when I?m immersed in writing.

SE: Very good, so let’s get on to one of your books,? What is the name of it and is it part of a series or a stand alone novel?

MS: The Art of Love. It?s stand alone, but with a spin off novel coming in a couple months.? Chelsea?s mom, Liz, played a big role in this book and kind of demanded a story of her own, so I just finished writing that.

SE; lol… I love demanding characters!? Where did the idea come from?

MS: This story was inspired by the cover. I bought a pre-made cover featuring an artsy scene simply because it caught my eye, and then planned a book about two art students finding love.

SE: Wow, that’s a different kind of inspiration! Cool! What is it about?

MS: Chelsea Matthews has a simple dream?travel the country on the art fair circuit selling her hand-crafted jewelry. When her disapproving father refuses to release her trust fund money to support her ambitions, she takes a part-time job in a campus gallery. While counting the days until she can be free of its stuffy confines, an unexpected temptation comes in the form of a sensitive painter.

For Hayden Shaw, having his paintings displayed in the finest galleries is the true measure of an artist?s success. When the pursuit of his goal puts him in contact with the free-spirited Chelsea, his world is turned upside down.

Can two seemingly opposite artists find middle ground and discover the art of love, or will a gallery curator with an agenda of her own undermine both their dreams?

SE: Sounds great Michele!? What about your other work, do you have any upcoming projects in the works or other books that have been published ? Tell us about them?

MS: I have three published women?s fiction novels, along with two contemporary romance.? More information about all of them is available on my website. My upcoming project is Starting Over, about a fifty-something divorcee getting another chance at love.

SE: That sounds great! I hope some of my readers check it out! Thank you so much for stopping by today! I loved having you and learning more about you!