VAJ’s 10 Hottest Author Interviews of 2009

compiled by Aggie Villanueva

I was thinking of doing a list like this anyway, but Daniel Scocco at Daily Blog Tips urged me on, along with thousands of other bloggers, with his Group Writing Project, 2009 In Review.

Everyone loves interviews. I think what we love is that feeling of sitting down for a chat with leaders in our field while they share their secrets of success and insider tips. Visual Arts Junction is emerging as a go-to spot for insightful interviews. For this reason, as 2009 plays out, I thought it appropriate to compile a list of the best of the best.

The interviews, done by Cindy Bauer, Shelagh Watkins and myself, offer you the straight dope from the author’s mouths, along with what’s new for them in the near future. So curl up in your favorite chair and enjoy the visit.

VAJ’s 20 Hottest Author Interviews of 2009

Bill Myers, Mysteries of God

Bill Myers‘ 104 books, videos and movies have sold over eight million copies, including his many children’s series. So, most likely you are already familiar with him. But Bill is best known for his soul-searching suspense thrillers. I think what makes me unique (the odd duck) in publishing, is I’m not necessarily interested in evangelism (as in Christian fiction) but write to explore the mysteries of God (which keeps me out of mainstream). Don’t know anyone else caught in the dilemma, but I’m having a blast.”…

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to do What Your Publisher Won’t

As you can imagine I’m not able to purchase the book(s) of everyone I interview, and I hardly ever do. But this time I did. Researching for my interview with Carolyn Howard-Johnson was so informative (and got me so excited about promoting) that I simply had to get this book. It wasn’t just the rave reviews in her press kit from professional promoters claiming to have noted 100 new ideas to use for their own authors, nor the fact that some call it an “author’s lifeline,” a “reliable life-support system,” “The Frugal Promo Bible,” “ingenious and generous,” and refer to Carolyn as a “marketing maestro…”

Irene S. Levine, Writing With Substance and Style

Irene’s work has been published in some of America’s major newspapers (such as the Chicago Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Newsday, USA Today and the Washington Post), and the nation’s most widely-read consumer magazines, and now her first single-authored non-fiction book, Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend, was published by Overlook Press in September 2009…

Gail Gaymer Martin, How to Sell 3,000,000 books in Twelve Years

Gail Gaymer Martin has sold almost three million of her books in print, 42 published novels, plus innumerable novellas, magazine articles, scripts, skits, church programs, columns, and a Hallmark TV Movie option, The Christmas Kite. Ms. Martin is co-founder of the American Christian Fiction Writers, one of the most prestigious writing organizations in North America, and recipient of dozens of awards from writing’s most honored organizations such as National Booksellers Best Award for traditional romance.

Larry Brooks, Fix Your Story with the Help of Larry Brooks

No matter how professional the writer, Larry Brooks has much to teach us, and his methods are nothing short of revolutionary, if you listen to his thousands of students. “Your manuscript…doesn’t need to be perfect; it needs to be better than perfect. It needs to grab an agent or an editor who has seen it all before by the throat and squeeze…”

Writing Coach Mark David Gerson, Awakening Your Muse

Mark David Gerson fills a void in writing that stands out as an aha moment in education. Anyone with the call to write understands the spiritual and psychological undercurrents behind every word, whether fiction, poetry or journalism. Stumbling across Mark David was a treasure trove for me, even as a professional writer. He asks multi-layered questions that will strengthen any writer who plumbs them, but more, he offers personal coaching to achieve that end…

Joanna Penn, Author 2.0: The Empowered Author

“The publishing industry is reshaping in the wake of crumbling publishing empires and the rise of ebooks and ebook readers.” Joanna Penn, British author, speaker and business consultant based in Australia, is the founder of The Creative Penn,, a rich resource for web authors. But it is her one-stop brainchild, Author 2.0, that sets her site apart…

Amanda Abizaid , Amanda Abizaid Interview

An Interview with infamous singer/songwriter, Amanda Abizaid! “I usually write my own songs and sometimes I collaborate with other songwriting friends, depending on the song that I am feeling. I have been writing songs for the last 8 years, but always wrote in my diary all my life, not realizing I was a songwriter.” Cindy: You’ve released 5 albums: Undivided – 2007, The Great Plan Vol. 1&2 – 2007, In The Loop – 2008 and Lebanon – 2008. Are there any new releases in the works?…

Hank Phillippi Ryan, Hank Phillippi Ryan Interview

They say to “write what you know”. Your Charlotte McNally series is about an investigative reporter, always looking for that award-winning story. So you are definitely an expert on the subject matter. Has your own reporting career helped you in coming up with the story ideas for your series?

Hank: Sure-I’ve wired myself with hidden cameras, confronted corrupt politicians and chased down criminals…so making Charlotte McNally my alter-ego makes sense. After 30 years as a reporter I’ve learned there’s always another fabulous story to track down…

Rayni Joan: a Self-confessed Bulimic

“I grew up in Newburgh, New York, during the 1940s and 50s. During a critical period in the early 1970s, I was part of the Liberation News Service collective, where, for $35 and ten free meals per week, I researched and wrote news and feature articles. It was during this period that my feature article, Women, Fat of the Land, appeared widely throughout the U.S. It was June, 1970, and I became the first public confessor to the then unheard of habit of binging and purging, later diagnosed in the 1980s as bulimia…”

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