Saturday, December 29, 2012

Author Spotlight 2012's Greatest Hits



Gazalapalooza is all about writers and writing. Our Author Spotlight is a very popular recurring feature. That’s understandable, because not only do we have only the most fascinating, erudite and attractive authors visit the Spotlight, but these same literary luminaries shed bright light on the art, craft and business of writing books that people everywhere love to read. We’re fortunate that lots of very gifted authors generously spent some of their valuable time educating and entertaining our blog’s readers. We’re equally blessed that many thousands of Gazalapalooza readers like you from all over the world dropped by to learn and laugh with the 21 authors who graced our pages in 2012.

2013 is mere hours away. Soon we’ll be ringing in the New Year with Author Spotlights shining on Bruce T. Jones, James Grippando (back for seconds!), and Brad Meltzer, all visiting to talk about their respective new thrillers The Lost Reflection, Blood Money, and The Fifth Assassin.

And that’s just in January.

As we prepare to bid adieu to 2012, we decided to say farewell by assembling a "greatest hits" compilation of sorts. (Admittedly, it’s a highly subjective assemblage, but it’s our name on the virtual door so we get to do what we want. That’s one of the benefits of being boss blogger.) Accordingly, we’ve culled from our Author Spotlight interviews some nugget of truth, fiction, wisdom, or inanity from each authorial soul intrepid enough to venture into the Spotlight’s white hot heat in 2012.

Without further ado, please join us as we ring out the old year and welcome in the new with the Gazalapalooza Author Spotlight Redux, 2012 Edition. Enjoy.

Salma Abdelnour: "After wondering for years if I had the guts to follow that fantasy and see where it would lead, I finally did it."

David Baldacci: "Be afraid with every project that you can't bring the magic again. Fear is a great antidote to complacency and formula."

Steve Berry: "What is known, is suspect."

Catherine Coulter: "So, yeah, it's a block, but it's not caused by angst or stress or any sort of psychological malaise -- I think it's all because of a bad plot."

Richard Doetsch: "I disagree. No rules. Rules constrict creativity. If I listened to the rules I wouldn’t have started my novel, The 13th Hour, at the last chapter and written it backwards."

Dan Fesperman: "Apologies for looking like such a tatterdemalion in my current state of labefactation, but you scrofulous laggards were certainly a bit dilatory in arriving."

John Gilstrap: "Plus, if my copy of Moby Dick is the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, I’ll have toilet paper for my first 672 days on the island.  (Oooh, I’m going to be in trouble for that one.)"

James Grippando: "The only people who can be totally honest with each other are lovers or strangers. Everyone else is just negotiating."

Malcolm Holt: "It's hard trying to watch a DVD in the bath."

Alan Orloff: "I’ve lived in the D.C. area most of my life, so I know something about the sordid stories associated with those walking the corridors of power."

Kira Peikoff: "For me, books are my drug of choice — my regular and much-needed dose of enlightenment, entertainment, wonder, and inspiration."

Matthew Reilly: "So far as I know, the only rule is this: write what you love to read yourself."

Matt Richtel: "You imagine you won the lottery, or that the beautiful woman/man across the aisle in the bookstore flirted with you, or that you saved the airplane from terrorists on 9/11."

James Rollins: "Whatever problem you struggle with during your writing day (dialog, opening a scene, etc.), you’ll discover a great example on how to address that in the book you read that night."

Kieran Shields: "Side effects of this novel may include sleeplessness, temporary confusion, and feelings of delusional well-being.  If you experience criminal detection lasting more than 4 hours, seek immediate professional assistance."

J. Gregory Smith: "…I came up with a sort of superhypnosis combined with a mysterious concoction that allows access to the deepest reaches of a subject's subconscious. Now we're talking power."

Simon Tolkien: "…I don’t think that starting at page one and seeing what happens can ever be a recipe for success. Writing good novels requires great organizational skills, particularly if the writer intends to keep his reader absorbed in the unfolding story."

Tim Wendel: "Well, you start with the rules. Those are your flickering lights as you move into the darkness when you begin any new book."

Stephen White: "Obviously, if someone doesn’t get around to reading the ending of this fine series, you won’t be able to tell me all the ways I screwed it up. Why would anyone pass up that chance?"

David Wong: "That's a deeply personal question, and you quite frankly have no business asking it. This interview is over."

Stuart Woods: "I have a fevered imagination and a rich fantasy life, which helps with the sex scenes. That’s all you need."

Wow. It’s difficult to pick a favorite, isn’t it? Trust us, it’s not nearly so easy as you might assume.

We extend our many and sincere thanks to all of our Spotlight Authors. Remember to support our authors. Read their Spotlights. Then go read their books. All of them are available all sorts of places, including Amazon.

Last, but immeasurably far from least, we also thank all of you, Gazalaplaooza’s readers, for spending some of your precious time with us this year. We wish all of you and yours a very happy, peaceful and bountiful 2013. Be good to each other. And keep reading.


 "Who said nights were for sleep?"
~~Marilyn Monroe~~

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