In the Author Spotlight & Contest

ALAN NAYES

CONTEST: Alan Nayes will be giving away a free copy of his biomedical thriller THE UNNATURAL to one lucky commenter. Good luck!

AL: Hi Alan! Welcome to Blog Bites.

Alan: Hi, Ann, thank you so much for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here.

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

Alan: I’ve recently purchased some land in rural Texas and I’m working on renovating an old ranch house. It’s taking some time but it’s fun to see the progress and who knows—one day I may just spend a month or two there and write a book. A month or two? I only wish I could write a novel that fast.

AL: Tell us about a current or upcoming release.

Alan: BARBARY POINT is my current release and the story is now available on the Amazon and Barnesandnoble websites. BARBARY POINT is a love story that involves a woman who flies back to Wisconsin to close out her father’s estate and ends up falling in love with a fishing guide. Even for those who aren’t keen on fishing, I think the story will “hook” you. I know—not funny.

AL: What other works are you deep into?

Alan: HEMLOCK POND. I jump genres here away from romance directly into the realm of horror. HEMLOCK POND is about a woman and her young son who move into an old farmhouse with a haunted pond on the property. Um…sounds a little like my property. Uh-oh.

AL: When was the defining moment when you realized you wanted to be a writer?

Alan: No defining moment for me, Ann. But more a bunch of small moments—a creative writing class years ago, writing some music in college, and then some screenplays later and finally the eventual publication of my first novel GARGOYLES.

AL: What do you like best about writing? What is your least favorite thing?

Alan: Best—editing. Worst—trying to hammer out that first draft. Some days I’d rather go to the dentist than try to fill up a blank page with words. Not really, but it doesn’t always come easy. Wish it did.

AL: What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

Alan: That’s a tough one. I wish I could come up with something really bizarre but it would all be fiction. I must be boring because most of my inspiration comes from simple things I experience in everyday life—newspaper articles, books, dealings with people. My inspiration for BARBARY POINT came from a cottage my family owns on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. I travel up there several times a year and have always thought this would be an ideal locale for a love story. Or if no love showed up, at least relax and fish!

AL: It’s time to get personal! Do you have a favorite sport, &/or team that you follow? I love football and my Missouri Tigers.

Alan: Easy, easy, easy. The Superbowl champs—Green Bay Packers. Have always loved them ever since the days of Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Willie Wood, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, all of ‘em. Aaron Rodgers will be another great one.

AL: Best movie you've seen recently?

Alan: I don’t see many movies but one I did watch in the theaters was Avatar—pretty impressive.

AL: Where would you like to travel if you had the chance?

Alan: Three places I want to see—Antarctica, Hawaii—can’t believe I haven’t been there yet, and some island in the South Pacific—still deciding which one. Have been to my first two choices—the Amazon and the Galapagos Islands. One day I’d like to climb Kilimanjaro. Better train some first.

AL: If I asked your best friend what type of person you are, what would he or she tell me?

Alan: Hardworking, honest, dedicated, great sense of humor, did I say intelligent, witty—oh, you wanted her opinion, not mine. Sorry. “He spends too much time at his computer.” Hey, I swear that one big story’s in me somewhere.

AL: What do you hope for your writing career in the next few years? Any goals that you have yet to obtain that you have set for yourself?

Alan: Big goal—land one of my stories on the New York Times bestseller’s list.

AL: Please share a favorite quote(s) with us.

Alan: My favorite movie quote is from The Flight of the Phoenix—“Mr. Townes, you behave as if stupidity were a virtue.” Sometimes I feel that way when I’m staring at that half finished paragraph.

AL: Thanks so much for sharing with us, Alan.

Alan: Thank you, Ann. It really was a pleasure.

AL: If you’d like to find out more about Alan please visit:

Website: http://anayes.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Alan-Nayes/125860424139928
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/alannayes
Alan Nayes Blog: http://www.alannayes.blogspot.com/

FEATURED TITLE: BARBARY POINT

Blurb:

When Kelly English flies back to Oshkosh,Wisconsin, to close out her father’s estate, the last thing on her mind is falling in love. Again. Kelly is twenty-eight and engaged to an older man who is quite wealthy. She’s happy, and only desires to make the trip back brief, sell her deceased father’s place, and return to her stable life in Los Angeles. However, while taking care of business in Oshkosh, Kelly meets a fishing guide.

BARBARY POINT is Kelly’s story of what happened that one magical week in May on the shores of Lake Winnebago when the ducklings hatch and the walleye run.

Exerpt:

Mother always reminded me, Kelly, love from the mind is nothing more than a pleasurable arrangement, whereas love from the heart lasts forever.

I had listened to these same exact words beginning in junior high, again in high school, and throughout college. And it always worried me I might not be able to tell the difference.

A man I deeply loved once told me that a fish lunges after an artificial lure solely on instinct. He sees it, wants it, and zappo, he‘s hooked.

Love is a lot like that. You see someone you want, the chemistry is there, and zappo, you‘re hooked.

REMEMBER: Alan Nayes will be giving away a free copy of his biomedical thriller THE UNNATURAL to one lucky commenter. Good luck!