Voices of Fiction - Influences on Life/Writing - Part Two

Welcome to another edition of Voices of Fiction.

We have a wonderful group of authors here today to discuss those who have influenced them in both life and in writing.

Please welcome our guests.

Cara Marsi, an award-nominated author, is a former corporate drone and cubicle dweller who is finally free of her fabric-covered cage. She craves books with happy endings and loves to write about independent heroines and the strong heroes who love them. Cara is published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. She’s also published numerous short romance stories in national women’s magazines. Cara and her husband enjoy traveling and she loves to write about the places they've visited. They share their house with a fat black diva of a cat named Killer.  
Website, Twitter, Facebook


Reno Charlton - I'm a full time copywriter, working from home to provide clients around the world with content for websites, magazines and other media. I am also an author, having written and published three children's fantasy novels and two short stories for older readers. The short stories were created under my pen name of Emily Ho. One of these stories, The Journey Home, won a Curtis Brown Short Story Competition. Link, Link, Link



Ellen Spain is a retired Federal Investigator, now turned author, editor, and educator. She is active with EPIC, PennWriters, RWA, SCBWI, and the Pittsburgh East Writers.
Website, Link, Link




Barbara Ehrentreu, a retired teacher with a Masters degree in Reading and Writing K-12 and seventeen years of teaching experience lives with her family in Stamford, Connecticut. When she received her Masters degree she began writing seriously. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, Barbara’s first YA novel, published by MuseItUp Publishing was inspired by Paula Danziger. Her novel is also available on Amazon for Kindle and paperback, Barnes & Noble for both paperback and Nook, Smashwords, Omnilit and of course The Muse Bookstore. In addition, Barbara has a story in Lavender Dreams, a memorial anthology for which all the proceeds go to cancer research. She has three poems in Prompted: An International Collection of Poems by the Anthologists for which all the proceeds go to Literacy research. Her blog, Barbara’s Meanderings, http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/, is networked on both Facebook and Blog Catalog. She hosts Red River Writers Live Tales from the Pages on Blog Talk Radio every 4th Thursday. In addition, her children's story, “The Trouble with Follow the Leader” and an adult story, “Out on a Ledge” are published online. She has written book reviews for Authorlink.com. and several of her reviews have been on Acewriters and Celebrity Café. She is a member of SCBWI. Writing is her life! Blog, Facebook, Twitter 

Bobbi Carducci, also writing as Barbara Simpson Carducci, is the author of Storee Wryter Gets a Dog, A GOLD Mom’s Choice Award winner for excellence also named A Best Dog Book for Young Readers in Cesar’s Way Magazine (the official publication of Cesar Milan, TVs the Dog Whisperer) The book for young readers ages 6-10 not only tells a story kids enjoy, it also encourages them to write their own stories. Bobbi Carducci is a former senior staff writer for a Washington, D.C. area newspaper, she is professional book reviewer and an award winning short story writer. She lives in Virginia with her husband Michael. Together they are the directors of the Young Voices Foundation, an educational nonprofit established to mentor young writers. Blog, Link, Link


Welcome Authors! It’s wonderful to have you back for another round.

Now the question is: Who has been the biggest influence in your life? in your writing?

Cara Marsi: Biggest influence on my writing? All those wonderful authors in all those books I've read since childhood. In my life? That's hard to say, there have been so many wonderful influences. Maybe my Aunt Ann and Aunt Rosie. I was close to both of them. And they believed in me.

Reno Charlton: In terms of general people, my three older sisters. They used to encourage my reading as I grew up and always had tonnes of cast off books for me to read. They also used to encourage me to write stories when I was younger. When it comes to other writers, Enid Blyton and Stephen King have both influenced me, which explains why I write magical fantasy books with a hint of horror!

Ellen Spain: My late mother and late father (my loving parents who I still miss) were and still are the biggest influence in my life, encouraging me to do my best and never stop learning and always be compassionate and understanding to those around me. My writing: Years ago, I enjoyed watching "Murder She Wrote" and over the next twelve years of that TV program, watched many of the main characters evolve. Before I decided to take the retirement package, I knew I wanted to write mystery stories like those "clean" Murder She Wrote TV programs. As far as a real person, it was and still is my best friend, the Regency Romance/Mystery novelist and university professor, Barbara Miller, who appears to churn out book after book with minimum effort.

Barbara Ehrentreu: When she was alive, my mother was a very big influence on my life. She kept telling me how to live and it was only after I was an adult that I realized how right she had been. The biggest influence in my writing is Paula Danziger. She helped me to see the mistakes I was making and how to correct them. She guided me to rewrite the first chapters of my first novel and she encouraged me to continue writing it. Her workshop has stayed with me for years with all of the writing ideas she gave to us.

Bobbi Carducci: My mother was always an avid reader. Seeing her with book all the time definitely sent a message that reading was something interesting and enjoyable. She is the person who introduced me to the library where I would go every Saturday. It was a magical place of infinite possibility. I would carry home as many books as they would allow, often arriving home with deep indentations on my arms from the book covers. Then I’d find a quiet spot under a tree or on the front porch and read until lured away to play a rousing game of kickball or tag. I loved the stories so much I decided I’d write some myself. I poured over my favorite books, counting words in sentences, sentences in paragraphs, paragraphs in pages, pages in chapters. I studied the words in the sentences that appealed to me tried to emulate the voice and cadence I liked most. I wrote my first story at the age of eight and have been writing ever since.
     My writing is influenced by the authors of all the books I’ve read and continue to read. It was through reading I learned to appreciate voice and characterization. A well thought out plot and a scene that comes to life in my imagination served as life lessons for me.
      Of course I have to mention my mentors, fellow members of Pennwriters, Inc., Lorraine Henderson and Denise Meyers. They encouraged this closet writer to step out into to the light and begin submitting for publication. My husband Michael is my biggest fan and he gave me the encouragement to follow their lead. It is because of their faith in me that I now do all I can to assist other writers in pursuing their goals.

Thank you all for joining us today and sharing your influences in both life and writing.

Readers feel free to ask questions concerning this topic in the comments. Also feel free to send questions to chergreen@chergreen.com Subject: Voices of Fiction Question, and have them answered by the participating authors in later editions.

There’s also room for more authors to participate. Drop me an email, Subject: Voices of Fiction.

(Disclaimer - Bios and answers have been posted as submitted by author)