My guest today is Australian author Jill
Paterson. Jill writes murder mysteries and is an avid reader. She also loves
going to the opera, traveling, and delving into her family's genealogy.
Welcome, Jill. I’m so glad you’re here and
able to visit my little corner of cyberspace, especially as you had to ‘travel’
halfway around the globe to do it!
If you’re comfy, I’d like to get right down
to business and talk writing! Are you ready?
Jill – Absolutely.
Anne – Wonderful! Tell us about your latest
release.
Jill - MURDER AT THE ROCK was released in
June 2011 and is the second book in the Fitzjohn Mystery Series.
It tells the story of Laurence Harford, a
prominent businessman and philanthropist who is found murdered in the historic
Rocks area of Sydney. Detective Chief Inspector Fitzjohn is asked to solve the crime
quickly and discreetly. After barely starting his investigation, uncovering a discarded
mistress and disgruntled employees, a second killing occurs.
Meanwhile, Laurence’s nephew, Nicholas
Harford, has his certainties in life shaken when he not only becomes a suspect
in his uncle’s death, but receives a mysterious gold locket that starts a chain
of events unravelling his family’s dark truths.
Anne – It sounds like a fantastic read.
Where can readers get a copy?
Jill -
It’s available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.
Also on Smashwords. My debut novel, “The Celtic Dagger” is
available in Australia at Booktopia.
Anne - What one how-to write book is a must
on your bookshelf? Why?
Jill - I have many how-to-write books on my
bookshelf, but I would have to say that, You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian
Roberts is my favorite. I purchased it years ago, and I still refer to it on
occasion. I think the reason it’s my favourite is because it’s one of those
books you can leaf through and easily find what you are looking for. Not only
does it discuss mystery writing but also, editing, revising and submission, to
name a few.
Anne - I often write while sitting in my
car. Parked. In my driveway! I call it my “cone of silence”. My very own
writer’s cocoon, if you will. Do you have a unique place to write? Tell us
about it.
Jill - Yes, I do have a unique place to
write, but it isn’t a cone of silence. In fact, it’s probably the noisiest
place I could find. It’s at the coffee shop of my local aquatic centre. You can
imagine the din with two swimming pools filled with people, not to mention the
children’s wading pool with fountain. Maybe I’m a bit odd, but I find it a
great place to write, and I don’t notice the noise.
Anne – Wow. I am impressed. That would take
mega concentration on my part. Hey, who am I kidding? I could never write in an
aquatic center. For one thing, it’s too humid!
Moving on…Do you belong to any writer’s
organizations, critique groups, and/or depend on beta readers?
Jill - I belong to two writer’s
organizations, the NSW Writers Centre in Sydney, Australia,
and the ACT Writers Centre, in Canberra. Both offer great support and information for writers.
Anne - How long did your journey from
wannabe writer to published author take?
Jill - It took a long time. Years, in fact.
Mainly because I had a lot of other commitments. But I suppose I finally got
going when I took a semester break from university and enrolled in a creative
writing course at a local college. Our first exercise was to write a letter to
the editor of the newspaper which I dutifully did, and it was published by next
week’s class.
Next, we were told to write a short story
and submit it to a magazine. I called mine, Ashes to Ashes, a humorous piece
about a woman sprinkling her husband’s ashes. Anyway, to my amazement, it was
published in a women’s magazine. After its publication, I received a letter
from a funeral parlour director asking whether he could use it in his monthly
newsletter. I had no idea funeral parlours put out newsletters, but obviously
they do.
After this bit of excitement, it was back
to university, and although I wrote several more short stories, I didn’t decide
to write a book until after I had finished my degree. My family took little interest
in this exercise, humouring me or giving me blank looks when I talked endlessly
about my plot! Even so, I carried on and four years later my book, The Celtic
Dagger, was published in October 2010.
Anne – Fascinating how it all fell into
place for you! How many rejections did you acquire along the way? What kept you
going?
Jill - I had two rejections. I would
probably have had more but after the second, and after failing to find an agent
who would take me on, I decided to enter The Celtic Dagger in a competition
that my writers centre and a Sydney publisher was running. Needless to say, I didn’t win so it was back
to the drawing board and I spent the next year improving my manuscript. By the
time the competition came around again I was ready and I entered again. This
time I came second which led to the book’s publication.
I decided not to go through all of the
above with my second book, Murder At The Rocks.
Instead, I self-published it.
Anne – It’s a fantastic time to be an
author, especially regarding being in total control. What one thing about the
self-publishing process surprised you the most?
Jill - Probably how easy it was. I don't mean I breezed through the whole
experience without a snag. I met a few on the way, but each time there was help
at hand whether it was in the FAQs on Smashwords, or the information on Kindle
Direct Publishing KDP or Createspace.
I think my biggest snag was trying to format my manuscript for the paperback
edition. I wanted to do it myself, you see, but try as I may, I couldn't get it
right. After nearly two weeks (I'm stubborn) I finally gave in, and went in search
on the web for someone who could produce the PDF file I needed. I was lucky
enough to find Jera Publishing. They are reasonably priced, very efficient and
quick.
My second snag was to de-mystify the tax issue
to do with the withholding of 30 percent of your earnings if you do not issue
W-8BEN forms to
whomever you are publishing with. In my case, Smashwords, KDP and Createspace.
There again help was readily available, this time, through members of a
Goodreads group I belong to as well as information I found on KDP. I did a Post
about this process on my blog.
Anne - What advice would you
give to authors contemplating a similar move?
Jill - Do your research. Find out as much as you can about self publishing
so that you can make an informed decision. There are information pages on
Smashwords, Kindle Direct Publishing and Createspace to name just a few, as
well as many Blogs on the subject.
Self publishing sites are set up so well that you don't have to be a
computer whizz. You just have to follow instructions as you go. Also I've found
their support services excellent.
Anne – If you could just snap your fingers
and go, where would you visit, return to, or move? Why?
Jill - I would return to Paris, Edinburgh, London, and York because I loved visiting
them all. I would visit Cornwall because I think the coastline is magnificent. I would also like to visit
New York. If
I could move somewhere, it would be to York (in the UK). I was there in 2006 and I remember not wanting to leave.
Anne –All are fabulous places, but I’ve got the sudden urge to go back to London. J Any
words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers?
Jill - My advice would be to write
regularly and read a lot. Join a writers group where you will find like minded
people, and lastly, keep your dream of being published in the forefront of your
mind because eventually, it will become a reality.
Anne – Sage advice, Jill. Where can readers
reach you online?
Anne - You’ve graciously offered to give
away an e-copy of Murder At The Rocks to one commenter chosen at random. What
question do you have for them?
Jill – Readers can select one of the
following three questions:
(1) Would you choose to self-publishing?
(2) What do you most struggle with in your
writing?
(3) Do you have a question for me?
Anne – Great questions, Jill. The winner
will be announced on Friday, November 4, so please check back to see if you’ve
won an e-copy of Murder At the Rocks.
Thank you so much for dropping by to chat,
Jill. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wish you every success. And if I ever make it to Australia, let's do lunch and most importantly talk writing!
* * *
My guest today is Australian author Jill
Paterson. Jill writes murder mysteries and is an avid reader. She also loves
going to the opera, traveling, and delving into her family's genealogy. 
The countdown has begun for the second 2011 Mystery We Write Blog Tour, and the holiday mood of giving is infectious! Beginning Fri., Nov. 25 through Fri., Dec. 9, 2011 fifteen mystery authors will take part in an intensive, two-week blog blitz of author interviews, excerpts, fun facts, and giveaways. Each author will conduct their own giveaway, so be sure to make the rounds for details. The number of books to be won is staggering!
At the end of the tour I'll select THREE names from the comments on all fourteen of my blog appearances. The winners will each receive an e-copy of Frank, Incense and Muriel book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries and recipient of the prestigious 2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit. 
Thanks to everyone who dropped by during the Banned Books Weed Giveaway Hop. This hop was hosted by the amazing ladies at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and I Read Banned Books. It's a pleasure to have been involved and meet so many new and exciting Fun, Fantastic Friends and Followers!
