Recently at The IndieView (plus some other stuff)

Before letting you know about the latest happenings at The IndieView, I've got a couple other things to mention.

First, BigAl has been busy lately, with an interview on Lyn Horner's blog and another just today on DV Berkom's blog. For those who would rather listen than read (that doesn't apply to anyone visiting this site, does it?) BigAl was also a guest recently on the A Kind Voice on Books podcast.

Next, you may have noticed a couple ad spots that are new on the right side of the page. Authors, publishers, or other parties who are interested in running ads at Books and Pals or The IndieView can find out how by visiting Project Wonderful. It's unbelievably cheap. 

And finally, the most recent interviews at The IndieView starting with a refresher on the different kinds of interviews.

The IndieView

This is an interview with a standard set of open ended questions. While they focus on a specific book, they also delve into the author's history as a writer and the path they took in becoming an indie author.

The BookView

This is a shorter interview format for authors who have already done an IndieView which focuses just on their most recent book.

Reviewer IndieView

These are interviews with reviewers who have their own review blog that delve into their approach to reviewing. A great way to find other book blogs you might like to follow. (For authors, there is also an extensive database of indie friendly review sites you might like to check out.)

Allirea's Realm

By invitation only, these are quirky, often irreverent interviews done by longtime Books and Pals follower, Allirea.


(Authors and reviewers interested in doing an IndieView should visit this page for details.)

IndieView with Amanda from Cozy Tea Corner reviews

 I try my best not to completely trash a book, because I know it’s a hard process, but they are seeking me out for my honest opinion, not just an advocacy piece.


Allirea’s Realm, Coffee and Conversation with Jason Gurley

Sometimes it’s difficult to get excited about something created by someone close to you. Novels are mysterious to so many people, so when they discover that you’ve written one, it tends to unravel that mysteriousness. I know that I don’t often read books that my friends write, and it’s usually because I’m too close to that person to see past them to their creation. 


Bookview with Mary Fan, author of Synthetic Illusions

Then, I got stuck again and realized I hated everything I’d written. So that got scrapped too.


IndieView with reviewer Mati Raine of Steampunk Sparrow’s Book Blog

Books are works of art: they are never truly perfect, you just have to decide when to walk away and let it be seen. 


IndieView with Allen Houston, author of Nightfall Gardens

Ideas can come from anywhere. Dreams are a good one. Snippets of conversation overheard on the subway. I played the “what if” game with my father a lot when I was a kid. I remember asking him once, “What if a werewolf jumped out of the woods while we were walking home?” He responded, “We would run like hell.” He was right on that.


BookView with Jonathan Bennett & David Bennett, authors of The Teen Popularity Handbook

Yet, in spite of the huge need for teens to be popular and fit in, there is no book specifically devoted to teen popularity. We decided to do the research and create the tips to fill that need.


IndieView with Michael Patrick Hicks, author of Convergence

In 1999/2000 time-frame, I read a really cool BBC News Science article about a team of researchers who, for the first time ever, were able to plug into a cat’s brain directly and record video of what the animal was seeing. These scientists were able to build a device and tap into the cat’s optical nerve, and pipe it through a TV set. It was pretty remarkable, and set the stage for what would later become the DRMR device I write about in this book.


IndieView with M.H. Soars, author of The Prophecy of Arcadia

 hear so many people say that they would love to write a book but then they list all the reasons why they can’t. I don’t buy that. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to accomplish it.


IndieView with Tom Abrahams, author of Allegiance

It began as a book about Texas seceding from the union and morphed into a more complex story.  I got the idea from all of the “secession” talk during the early days of the 2012 presidential primary campaign.


Allirea’s Realm, Coffee and Conversation with Jools Sinclair

You don’t want to be out in the middle of a giant lake with the wind kicking up and big black waves rolling into you. That’s what happened and it was very, very scary. 


IndieView with reviewer Don Grant of Gut Reaction Reviews

Like most readers I read to escape, to learn, and to expose myself to new ideas. The fun part is getting inside a character’s head and reading about what makes them tick.


BookView with Rebecca Forster, author of Keeping Counsel

I read an article about an attorney whose client confessed to murdering two people and showed him where the bodies were. The attorney was bound to keep his client’s counsel and the man remained free. I thought that was frightening and wondered how such a scenario would play out if the attorney’s friends or family were at risk.


BookView with Elizabeth Corrigan, author of Raising Chaos

I learned that writing a second book involves just as much sweat and just as many tears as writing a first one. I kind of thought/hoped that after I had one book published, the writing process would get easier from there. But it turns out there are always more things to learn, more ideas to show instead of tell, and more birds that are just dying to chirp in the background of your Pakistani forest scene. 

IndieView with Jocie McKade, author of Heart River Inn

My husband took me to a resort in the Pocono’s for an anniversary.  While I didn’t get surrounded and wounded by evil swans, I did encounter a few couples that had some seriously interesting (weird) traits that made it into the book.