Today’s author spotlight features Connie Spittler
Tell us a little about yourself: A long time author and film/video writer/producer, my writing appears in 20 anthologies that include such notables as The Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Deepak Chopra, Barbara Kingsolver, Terry Tempest Williams, Desmond Tutu. THE WISE WOMEN VIDEO SERIES I wrote and produced is archived in Harvard’s Library on the History of Women in America. My award winning books are THE DESERT ETERNAL, a 2008 Southwest Book of the Year and LEGEND OF BROOK HOLLOW, 2012 best nature book, NLAPW, Washington, D. C. The audiobook by Blackstone for my latest literary mystery, THE EROTICA BOOK CLUB FOR NICE LADIES, came out January, 2016. The Czech version of this cozy mystery will be released by Albatros Media in the Czech Republic in 2016. I signed at the American Library Conference in San Francisco, CA, in 2015; was featured author at Day of the Book special event in Salida, CO and appeared on a literary panel in Austin, TX, with best selling mystery author, Susan Wittig Albert and well known author/publisher Deborah Winegarten.
Tell us about your latest novel: THE EROTICA BOOK CLUB FOR NICE LADIES Involves a stolen, ancient book of herbal cures. A librarian with her own bookmobile arrives in a small California town to start an unusual book club that quotes from classic authors such as Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters and the like, with only a sentence or two from THE DECAMERON and CANDIDE. The book club members soon become entangled in the search for the stolen book as well as in other serious crimes that occur in their little town. Called “a fantastical romantic mystery of friendship, science and literature” by Sally Deskins, editor of Les Femmes Folles books and “highly original. Beautfully defined and amusing characters.” Christina Britton Conroy, author One Man’s Music.
Where did the idea for your latest novel come from? The title came from a 1991 anthology I once bought entitled EROTICA, WOMEN’S WRITING FROM SAPPHO TO MARGARET ATWOOD. Most of the authors quoted in my book come from that anthology. I was fascinated by the idea that the word could be applied to well recognized classic authors and knew I’d write about it some day. Themes in the book came from people I knew or places I’d been. Herbal cures sprang from discussions with a writers group of Mexican American Women Authors in Tucson, AZ. The themes of breast cancer and grief came from my experience, my family, and from friends. The Gypsies arrived via memories of my home town, Wagner, S.D. where once a year, a group of travelers cam through. The monarch butterfly migration appears on the pages because my husband and I had the magical experience of traveling through such a miracle of nature.
Traditional, Small Press, or Self-publish? Why? Small Press. Because I met small press publisher, Kira Gale of River Junction Press, who wanted to read my book, loved it, and asked to publish it. Her books are distributed by IPG, Independent Publishers Group. I knew of them and their excellent reputation. She also created a fiction imprint for the book, Fiction Junction.
Who are some of your favorite authors? Almost too many to mention, but I like Tom Robbins. Kurt Vonnegut, Dorothy Sayers, Barbara Kingsolver and Terry Tempest Williams.
What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most (or the least)? Can I like it all or most of it? How thrilling the moments when inspirations are flying through the air. The writing is difficult, but once you get the story down and working, it’s exhilarating. Editing can be fun too as the story is reshaped into a publishable book. Marketing is hard for me, but it’s so important. If the readers don’t know about a book, how are they going to find it?
How do you deal with rejection? I give it a day, then forge on. Every book is not for everyone. This is my saying, “If we were all the same, there’d only need to be one of us.”
What is your favorite TV show (or movie)? Why? My background is film and TV, so I have many favorites. A few: for dialog: Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing and Sports Night. For intricate plots and changing POV’s: the movie Magnolia and any/all of Wes Anderson’s plus his quirky characters are delicious.
How can our readers find you?
Website: www.conniespittler.com
Facebook Connie Spittler-author https://www.facebook.com/connie.spittlerauthor.3
Amazon: Erotica Book Club for Nice Ladies or Connie Spittler
