Category Archives: Book Development - Page 4

Toby Heidel – Producing and Selling Audiobooks

Posted by Victor Volkman on April 24, 2008 No comments

On Thursday, April 17th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Toby Heidel, futurist with Red Planet Audiobooks in Austin, TX. Toby shared with us the changing nature of the audiobook industry and how small publishers and self-published authors can take advantage of this burgeoning new market without spending a fortune. Trends such as online delivery and market fragmentation can actually work in your favor by creating a level playing field. Red Planet produces and distributes audiobooks for independent authors and small publishers.

Toby is in charge of long range planning for the company, implementing new technologies and responding to developing trends in the audiobook industry. In addition to his work with Red Planet, Toby has a solid background in spoken word entertainment as the long-time Executive Director for the Violet Crown Radio Players, a radio drama re-creation troupe based in Austin, Texas.

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Andrea Campbell – Writing Realistic Forensics and Crime Stories

Posted by Victor Volkman on November 2, 2007 No comments

On Thursday, November 1st, 2007 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, criminologist, and consultant Andrea Campbell from her home in Hot Springs, Arkansas. in Hot Springs Arkansas. Her latest title is the Legal Ease: A Guide to Criminal Law, Evidence and Procedure (2nd Ed.), a reader-friendly book that is now a college law textbook published by Charles C. Thomas Publishers. Andrea shared with us how to find authoritatives sources for crime-scene forensics, evidence handling, police procedure, and court proceedings. She also shared many insider’s tips including how to find and use forensics experts and a realistic look at what it takes to write for the True Crime genre.

She is the author of ten nonfiction books on a variety of topics, but specializes in forensic science, criminal law, and entertaining with interactive parties. Andrea is also Editor for the Arkansas Identification News, a quarterly that goes out to forensic scientists and law enforcement, whom all belong to the International Association for Identification. A trained forensic artist, Andrea is capable of building a bust out of clay from a skull and can do cadaver drawings and fugitive updates. A Diplomate and Fellow with the American College of Forensic Examiners International, Andrea frequently attends forensic science training conferences and blogs on several topics. Currently, she is working on a book about the world’s first detective for Overlook Press.

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Liz Carmack – Tips for Planning and Organizing Research for Your Nonfiction book

Posted by Victor Volkman on October 26, 2007 No comments

On Thursday, October 25th, 2007 Tyler Tichelaar and Victor Volkman spoke with writer, journalist, and researcher Liz Carmack. Her love for heritage travel and her desire to provide travelers with a practical reference to Texas’ historic hotels inspired her to write Historic Hotels of Texas: A Traveler’s Guide. Liz shared her hard-won experience and real-life stories of how to define your topic and its scope, identifying and exploiting research and information sources, how to work with an archival library, planning your time to be most effective, developing a useful information filing system, and how to maintain a sense of fun and curiousity about it all.

During her research, Liz traveled more than 20,000 miles across Texas to visit the 64 hotels featured in her book. Liz interviewed local historians, innkeepers and hotel guests, and uncovered historic hotel details in archives, libraries and museums.Liz is a freelance technical and business writer for the public and private sectors in Austin, Texas, and is principal of Liz Carmack Communications. Her travel articles have appeared in Texas Highways, Austin Woman, A, and Heritage magazines. A former newspaper journalist, she is the Austin City Expert for homeandabroad.com.

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Mark David Gerson – The Myth of Writer’s Block!

Posted by Victor Volkman on October 19, 2007 No comments

On October 18th, 2007 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, writing coach and mentor Mark David Gerson. He has taught writing as creative and spiritual pursuit for more than 15 years in colleges, universities and community centers, as well as for groups and individuals as a coach and mentor. His upcoming book, a book of inspiration, instruction and practice for writers and anyone who wants to write is The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write. Mark David shared with us his rationale of why Writer’s Block is a myth, how we create it and how we can un-create it, the role of distractions in blocking us, living with deadlines and commitments, and how we can be in the zone
writing.

Before moving to the U.S. in 1997, he worked for more than a decade as full-time as a freelance writer and editor in his native Canada. His latest book, a story about the power of story, is intriguingly titled The MoonQuest: A True Fantasy and is the first volume in a projected trilogy.
Mark David also produces a free inspirational e-newsletter every month that reaches more than 1200 subscribers in some two dozen countries. He spoke with us from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.