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

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.


Joylene Butler is the author of Dead Witness and Broken But Not Dead. Links – Website, Blog






Cindy Huefner Cromer, formally a New Jersey resident, now resides in Stuart, Florida, with her husband, son, and daughter. Cindy works as a laboratory scientist and executive. As the president of a laboratory network, she has written numerous laboratory procedures and research documents. Driven by a passion for suspense and mystery novels, she dreamed of becoming a writer. Her dream turned into reality with the release of her debut suspense novel, Desperate Measures. She is currently working on her second novel, Desperate Deceptions. Plans are in place for her third and fourth books.  Website, Link, Link


 
Thea Landen writes erotic literature, frequently in a sci-fi/fantasy setting. When she's not writing, or thinking about writing, her hands and mind are occupied by either yarn crafts or role-playing games. Blog, Link, Link




Jared Gullage, an English Language Arts teacher in Alabama, is the author of Drinna, The Dustfinders, and The Afterknight. Through his father's introduction to books like The Hobbit, Great Expectations, and works by Ray Bradbury, Jared discovered a universe within his own imagination. Jared put his vision to work through role-play games and then storytelling. Following his father's words, "paint pictures with words", this compulsive writer plans to leave his mark upon the writing world, one dent at a time.



Children’s Picture Book author, Clara Bowman-Jahn, of “Annie’s Special Day” is living the life of her dreams an hour at a time. Link, Blog, 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? 

Joylene Butler: Other writers. Every time I read a great piece of fiction I stop dead in my tracks. All I can think of is I want to write like this… I want to write like this… I want to write like this!

Cindy Cromer: I’d have to say my dad is the biggest influence in my life. As an only child he has always encouraged me to follow any dream I had. In writing, Lisa Gardner is my biggest influence. She has an amazing talent for writing a story with an ending the reader doesn’t see coming.

Thea Landen: Rand Miller, the creator of the "Myst" games and the co-author of the three accompanying novels. I played the games repeatedly and read the books more times than I can count when I was in middle school. He essentially built a world around world-builders, and as a result, nearly anything one can imagine is possible. I also love strong, realistic female characters, and the women of Myst fit this bill. To be shown in my formative years that there are no boundaries, and that anything my mind comes up with is fair game, is very liberating and inspiring.

Jared Gullage: Probably Ray Bradbury, if not my father. Both have always encouraged me to seek wonder and to write. Ray Bradbury was always a source of wonder for me. He wrote about everything and often blurred the lines between fantasy and reality. My father just always encouraged me to "create pictures with words."

Clara Bowman-Jahn: My mother was my biggest influence in writing and everything else. At age fifteen she shared her journal of quotes with me. She had copied quotes from books she had read that meant a lot to her. I was impressed and started doing the same thing. As I grew I started using the journal as a kind of diary and friend. I have kept a journal for over forty years now. I wrote everything down from venting my feelings to exploring my options to problems in those journals. It has been a long held hope that one day I rewrite my journals to become public essays helping others who struggle with life’s challenges and hope to ease the way for them. I used my journals as grief took me from its depths to healing after my late husband died and on through a traumatic brain disorder. As I look back on these writings I can’t help but hope there are some that would help others cope through the same kinds of things.

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)