Welcome to the cyber Ranch
blog of Spiltmilk and another Pick On Me Tuesday. Today I have a guest from up north. Now Mouse
was up there doing some important work when he came across her. He invited her
to come for a visit. She is here and she
is a published author and outdoorswoman. Her neighbors are moose and bears. She
lives next door to the bearded one, Chris. She has agreed to an interview, so
please welcome Anna of Alaska, better known as Anna L Walls. I prefer Anna of
Alaska. So say Howdy to Anna of Alaska.
Anna, would you say a
few words and tell us about Anna?
Hello Roy, thanks for having me
here. I’m a rancher’s daughter born and raised on my father’s ranch until I
ventured out into the big bad world when I went to college. When all that
didn’t work out the way I wanted, I joined the Army where I met my husband who
brought me to Alaska. Well actually the Army did that but it was my husband who
kept us here and I certainly didn’t object.
Now you write fantasy
stories of magic and unknown worlds how did you get there?
It certainly wasn’t planned. Never,
until long after I had lived out here in the middle of nowhere, did I ever
think I would become a writer, let alone get something turned into a real book.
My son, one day gave me this little, rather old laptop computer – only the
second such machine I’d ever worked with and the first one was one of the
really old, boot up by floppy disk, kinda Apple computer. We even still have
the dinosaur upstairs haha, but I digress.
I took typing in high school, like
most kids my age, and I’ve had my own typewriter or two over the years (I still
have those too), so what the heck, I thought I’d see if I remembered how to
type, but what to type; that was the question. By coincidence I had been
writing a story in a loose-leaf notebook. I’d done one before, and it was fun,
but that one had gotten lost amongst all the moves we made out here before
settling where we live now. So, long story short, I started copying what I’d written
into my new toy. Now THAT was cool!!! That was, oh wow, maybe 20 years ago now.
My how time flies when you’re having fun.
Do you write in other
genre?
My favorite genre is sword and
sorcery, but I also write some science fiction (without much science). I’m
trying to get one such book, The Speed of Dreams, published as an eBook. No
takers yet though.
I have read some of
your blog novel http://thefortunesofmagic.blogspot.com/and it is a fun and exciting read. Do you
have a hidden desire to be in your story or are you a character in your stories?
I think most writers pour a little
of themselves into their stories or their characters. I know I do. Male or
female, I make the decisions for my characters as ‘what would I do if’. After
all, it’s my way of living the ultimate fantasy.
Men and birthing babies has always
been humorous to me – I’ve heard a few funny stories in my life and one of them
in included in the book not far from here. However, I love this scene. Harris is
the young king who only recently regained a partial grip on his throne and half
of his country before winter set in. As you might guess, his mother has just
gone into labor and he was summoned.
When Daniella arrived with her
mother, bearing more water and rags, Harris complained. “Why did you come get me if I have to stay
out here?”
Daniella smiled her sympathy but
her mother had an answer. “You men have
to share some of the pain. Having
children can’t be all fun.”
“But it’s not my baby! It’s my mother’s!”
“Consider yourself lucky. You get to practice.” Then they were gone behind the closed door
too.
Do you have any more
books that are to be published and when will they be out?
I have a whole line-up of books I
would love to get published one day. I’m trying to get accepted by Whisky Creek
Press for The Speed of Dreams. It’s my hope that they will be interested in
some of my other stuff. Bucks Country Publishing will publish my trilogy a book
a year, and I’m pretty sure they do eBooks too. With luck, he will continue to
want my work. I am currently trying to clean up my account with Lebrary.com so
I can post my published book there as an eBook. I had trouble converting my
book to the required pdf because my computer split the sections into separate pdf
– I’ve recently learned how to rectify that. It will be for sale there for $4 I
think.
I understand you write some poetry could you give us a
sample?
My one and only
poem – written for my current work in progress, though only the first stanza
was used; the rest came to me in a dream. I love my dreams; they tell me such
awesome stories.
In the newness of our time, we
swim
In
the first quarter of our time, we crawl
In
the fullness of our time, we walk
In
the last quarter of our time, we rest
Life
is a circle
We
rest, that we might remember how to swim
Death walks at our shoulder
He
reaches for some of us sooner than others
The
touch of Death can be a quick slap
The
touch of Death can be a slow caress
Life
is a circle
Rest,
ye weary soldiers that
you might remember how to swim
God is our Lord
His
plans for us are a complicated weave
In
His wisdom, he plucks one from here that he may place one there
Sometimes
the thread of our life needs must be short and sometimes long
Life
is a circle
Swim
with long strokes that your next thread will hold God’s weave
In
the dawn of our time, we curl in the security of our womb
In
the morning of our time, we learn to laugh and cry at our world
In
the noon of our time, we learn to rile and rage at our life
In
the evening of our time, our touch has been felt
Life
is a circle
It
is time for us to teach the young to laugh
It
is time to shed a tear for all those we have lost
We
shed a tear so that we may remember how to swim
For
without tears, there is no swimming
That was good. You should write more poems.
If a person wanted to buy a copy of your book where could
they get one?
My book, King
by Right of Blood and Might, is available on Amazon for a great price here
Amazon
. You should give it a try. Or, if you want a signed copy, you can buy it from
me. Unfortunately, I don’t have a way to mail anything right now so other
arrangements can be made for those who are interested in that avenue. You can
read a sample on any of my blogs, my website and even on my fan page on
Facebook.
We have a sample copy here on the right hand side bar and you can click and browse and can go to amazon to get one.
Due to some logistics problems we not able have Anna sign your copy at this time. Anna is a hundred mile from the nearest town and uses her own gas powered generator and satellite dish to be here. It will be three mouths before she goes to town for supply's.
What advise can you give us on self-publishing?
To be very, very
careful if you are venturing in that direction. There are lots and lots of
publishing companies out there who are only interested in what you can pay
them; they could care less how well your book does once it’s published. And all
too many of those are merely interested in nursing off your wallet and not even
producing a finished product. In truth, the publishing industry is really
rather cut-throat; after all, there are absolutely billions of books out there
all seeking to be noticed. There are some self-publishing companies out there,
who are relatively cost-free, but you must consider, you get what you pay for,
and if you go the totally free route, you risk putting out a poor quality book
and no one wants that.
Now
you write three blogs and Anna’s Obsession is about writing,
what do you find as the easiest part of writing? What is the most difficult?
For me, the
easiest part is telling the story. The hardest part has got to be the mechanics
of doing so well – getting all the punctuation right, putting the paragraphs
where they need to be, keeping the order of events, descriptions or perceptions
in the proper order. The tiny details may not be noticed by the average reader,
but they do make a difference.
Here
is the big tough question; what question would you like to have people to ask
you, and the one you won’t answer?
Questions; I’m very good with
questions – ask me anything. I’ll answer any but the most personal questions as
honestly as I can.
There you have it
folks; she will answer your questions. So ask away in the comment section and
Anna will answer the same. There is one thing
more Anna L Walls I would like to present you this milk bucket.
It’s an award
for Blogging Excellence for your Anna of Alaska . Congratulations can we have a speech?
Aw that’s so sweet, and it’s cute
too. Thanks Roy. All I need to do is wring out the tablecloth so I can have me
a nice fresh-from-the-cow glass of milk. Ha, ha, ha.
Speeches have never been my strong
point. I’m okay with carrying on a conversation but not with starting one. Even
writing my blogs is rather hard for me because I never know what to talk about.
So, cheers to all with my glass of reclaimed milk. Waste not, want not.
Give Anna a big cheers and drink up Anna.
Anna and will answer your question now in the comments. Thank you for coming and please let us have your questions. May god bless.
