Hi! I am Carolyn Howard Johnson,
your trusty New Book Review blogger and author of the multi
award-winning HowTo Do It
Frugally Series of books for writers. This blog has heretofore been
exclusive for reviews but I thought I’d do a special series of interviews after
I chatted with Jeanie Loiacono, President of Loiacono Literary
Agency – Where ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary! I
thought sharing the interviews would help the many subscribers and visitors to
this New Book Review blog, including authors, reviewers, and, of course, readers
who just might find a new favorite author among the featured books and
authors.
So, today welcome H. W. “BUZZ” BERNARD.
Bernard is writing from vast experience. He has a B. S. in
Atmospheric Science, University of Washington, was a Weather Officer in the
United States Air Force Reserve 1963-1996 (two tours in Vietnam 1965-1966),
Meritorious Service Medal 1993, flew with Hurricane Hunters 1995, received the
Legion of Merit 1996, and worked as a meteorologist and defense contractor
1968-1996. Bernard’s other published works include: Weather Watch (1979, Walker
and Company), The Greenhouse Effect (1980, Ballinger Publishing Company/Harper
Colophon Books), The Travelers Almanac–North America (1987, The Riverdale
Company), The Travelers Almanac II–Europe (1991, The Riverdale Company)
and Global Warming Unchecked (1993, Indiana University Press). He has written
four thrillers for BelleBooks: EYEWALL, PLAGUE, SUPERCELL and BLIZZARD, and has
another in the works, CASCADIA.
He has also won numerous awards for both nonfiction and
fiction from the Southeastern Writers Association (SWA) and the Atlanta Writers
Club (AWC).
In 2005, a short story, “Oregon Grinder,” was granted an
honorable mention in the Lorian Hemingway Competition.
What
is your genre? Fiction.
What
made you want to be a writer? I’ve always enjoyed writing; always knew I had
a talent for it, although I did have to spend a lot of time learning the craft of writing
fiction.
Of all
the authors out there, who inspired you most? James
Lee Burke, whom I think is the best fiction writer in the business. There’s another author by the name of Brian
Jay Corrigan (The Poet of Loch Ness)
who’s a professor and writing instructor, and who not only personally urged me to keep writing, but
also taught me more about the craft of creating fiction than any one person I’ve
ever met.
What
is your writing style? Do you outline? Linearly, By scene? Why? I have
a rather
cinematic view in mind as I write.
I try to embed my readers in a setting, creating characters in
conflict…with each other or with themselves.
I like drama and tension, and try to end each
chapter with a hook, Wow, what’s going to happen
next?
I
outline, but only broadly, perhaps a couple of pages-worth of notes. I create, if you will, a
roadmap or strategic
plan, knowing I want to get from Point A to Point B to Point C, etc. Only I
don’t know how I’m going to do it. That doesn’t occur until I sit down to
write. The outline, by
the way, is a
“living” document; I make changes to it as I proceed through the
manuscript.
I tried
to write a novel once without an outline.
I got totally lost, gave up on the manuscript after
about 100 pages, and
never again tried writing without an outline.
Do you
write every day? How much? How long? I
write when I can. I’d like to do about
six hours a day (any more than that, and my efficiency nose-dives), but often
can’t.
Do you
think reading is important to writing for an author? Why? I love
to read; always have. I don’t have as
much time to do it now that I’m an
author, but I still think it’s important to see how the really top-flight
writers go about their business. As a
writer, I’m constantly learning, and reading is one of the mechanisms to do
that.
What
are some of the things you would like to share with budding authors?
Writing, for most up-and-coming authors, is
hard work. Not impossible, just hard.
You’ve got to keep at it. Day
after day. Butt in chair, fingers on
keyboard. Also, I would suggest you
participate in a critique group, or have writing partner. Attend seminars, classes, and conferences.
There is no magic formula or secret to success, you’ve just got to keep learning
and pounding out the words.
Do you
have any marketing and promotional advice, referrals, tips you would like to
share? For
non-big-name authors, like myself, promotions on Amazon (the 800-pound gorilla
in the retail business) are what seem to jump start my book
sales.
Do you
think conferences are beneficial? If so, what have you learned? Which ones do
you frequent? Conferences
are extremely beneficial, not only for the instruction available, but for the
networking opportunities. The contacts I’ve made at conferences were key and
critical in my success as a novelist. I
attend the Southeastern Writers Association Workshop every year. The people I
met there were instrumental in getting me published. I feel so strongly about
that that I joined the Board of Directors and am currently the association’s
vice president. Here’s my pitch for the conference: it’s a relatively intimate
(limited to about seventy-five attendees), boutiquey workshop held in a
subtropical paradise called St. Simons Island on the Georgia coast every June.
You really ought to check it out.
- Where can we find you, your books, and when
is your next event? My books are available through all the standard
commercial outlets. My next big event
will be Murder in the Magic City (Birmingham, February 6th) Murder on the Menu
(Wetumpka, February 7th) in Alabama. The contract for my fifth novel, Cascadia, is pending. www.buzzbernard.com Represented by
Loiacono Literary Agency, Jeanie Loiacono http://www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/buzz-bernard/ Bernard
Schedule of Events Facebook Vice President, Southeastern Writers
Association member, International Thriller Writers member, Atlanta Writers
Club member, Willamette Writers
MORE ABOUT THE SPONSORING AGENT
Jeanie Loiacono, President, Loiacono Literary
Agency
A facilitator of dreams, Jeanie Loiacono represents over eighty authors. Her
forte is mystery, romance, thrillers, historical/military/southern fiction, and
all quality fiction/nonfiction. Her passion is to see her authors
succeed.“There is nothing more rewarding than to hold one of my author’s books and know I helped bring it to fruition. I am so blessed and privileged to be able to work with some of the most talented writers in the world.” Jeanie.L@llallc.net www.loiaconoliteraryagency.com
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
