30 second interview | Donna Collins' Blog

Posts Tagged ‘30 second interview’

30 Second Interview with…..Piper Bayard

Posted in 30 Second Interview With...., tagged 30 second interview, Apex Preditor, author, Bayard and Holmes, books, Donna Collins, Donna Newton, dystopian thriller, fiction, Firelands, Holmes, novel, paranormal, piper bayard, Thrillers, twitter, writer on July 31, 2013| 5 Comments »

James Lipton and the Actors Studio did it for fun with the actors…..Now, I’m doing it for fun with the writers.

It’s been a while, but I’ve dusted off the 30 Second Interview for a second outing. And who better to kick start it than belly dancing, fiction writer, Piper Bayard.But first, what do we know about this post-apocalyptic author, who happens to be my critique partner, and a very good friend? Well, she’s a recovering attorney, who has one or two university degrees under her belt, and kinda rules Twitter. (Seriously, I guarantee you a reply – even a conversation – if you tweet her).Piper grew up in New Mexico, and during her teenage years, worked summers at a Rock Mountain dude ranch (in a State she refuses to name), as a horse wrangler. Why the unnamed State? Because there was this one time when a group of New Yorkers wanted to see an elk – and there wasn’t any elk to see. So, to get over the problem and give their tourists a good time, Piper strapped an ornamental deer ract to the head of a bay horse named Bucky. And, unbelievable as it is, it worked!

So, how did this cowgirl become a writer when she was actually studying law? Well, it was when a job offer for her to sell insurance landed at her feet. She’d hit a cross-roads in life, and her chosen career path boiled down to one thing: What could she not live without? Selling insurance or writing books? We all know how that one turned out.Apart from Piper’s debut novel being a dystopian thriller, she also writes spy novels with fellow writer, (who also happens to be an Intelligence Agent and real life James Bond), Jay Holmes. Together, they have just finished the first in the seven part ‘Apex Predator’ series, which will be published by Stonehouse Inc., in the near future.

Oh, four other random things you need to know about Piper… she taught me to shoot a gun, she makes me run for EVERY plane we have to catch, she can ride an ATV like no one else I’ve ever seen, and she is one heck of a cool room-mate!

Right then, let’s see how she did with the feared ten questions:

1. What is your favorite word? Serendipity

2. What is your least favorite word? Globule

3. What turns you on? Laughter. Laughter is the closest thing to sex besides sex

4. What turns you off? Malice

5. What sound do you love? Bells

6. What sound do you hate? Fighting

7. What is your favorite curse word? Fuck me Agnes! (Blame Holmes for that one.)

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Host on Mythbusters

9. What profession would you not like to do? Nursing

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? “Good job”

‘Firelands’ is an amazing read, and available on amazon in digital and paperback format.

And, watch out for the first novel in the ‘Apex Preditor’ series. Release date to be confirmed shortly.

Contact Information

For more information regarding Piper Bayard, please check out her website, Facebook, twitter, blog.

If you want more of me, try checking out: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, You Tube, and Linkedin.

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30 Second Interview with…..Brendan Foley

Posted in 30 Second Interview With...., tagged 30 second interview, author, Brendan Foley, Donna Newton, Life Coach, The 5 States of Success, thriller, writer, writing, wwbc on March 28, 2012| 2 Comments »

James Lipton and the Actors Studio did it for fun with the actors…..Now, I’m doing it for fun with the writers.

This 30 Second Interview sees a different kind of writer than what we’ve had so far.

No, by different I don’t mean he finger-paints his words on to chalk boards or chisels them into rock. I mean this is a writer of non-fiction.

Let me introduce you to Brendan Foley. It’s okay, he won’t bite. Trust me.

So who is Brendan Foley and what does he do? Well there is Brendan Foley, the International sailing champion who has represented Ireland at many World and European Championships. Or, Brendan Foley the owner and founder of Seachange Training. But, if it’s success in your career, business, and life you’re after, then you need Brendan Foley the best selling author and life coach.

With quotes such as ‘Happiness is the starting point, not the end goal. Be happy now!’ Brendan has worked with thousands of people and helped them find their potential. And with numerous TV appearances on shows such as The Morning show, you know you’re going to be in safe hands.

Here’s some of the amazing books and CD’s you can buy:

The Yin Yang Complex – signed paperback book

The Yin Yang Complex explores the nature of the masculine and feminine energy, that exists inside every person regardless of gender. Learn how to create balance and success in your relationships, business, the community and the environment.

The Yin Yang Complex – Guided Meditations CD

Experience the guided meditations from the Yin Yang Complex. This powerful audio experience will help you to understand your masculine and feminine energy and help you to create more balance in your life. The CD tracks:

Introduction
Meet your Yin and Yang
The Yin and Yang of Nature
Discover Yourself
Envisioning the future

All the meditations are voiced by the author Brendan Foley.

The 5 States of Success – ebook and paperback

‘5 States of Success’: insight, connection, certainty, vitality and spirit. When these states are entered into they produce; clarity, empathy, conviction, action and purpose, which are the essential ingredients of meaningful success.

You can also check out his amazon page.

One thing I totally love about this guy is, if you email him, he will not only autograph a book but will also write a personal message of your choice.

So for a guy that has it all together, what did he make of our ten questions?

1. What is your favorite word? Yes

2. What is your least favorite word? Bored

3. What turns you on? My Wife. The Ocean. Life.

4. What turns you off? Celery

5. What sound do you love? The whispers of my children sleeping

6. What sound do you hate? Vacuums on acrylic carpet

7. What is your favorite curse word? Clusterfuck (a term for every possible thing going wrong all at the same time!)

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Exploration filmaking

9. What profession would you not like to do? Taxidermist

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? “Great, you made it, the party has started – they’re all waiting for you!”

Contact Information

For more information regarding Brendan Foley, please check out his website, Facebook, twitter, blog. Or, why not email Brendan at foleybrendan@gmail.com?

If you want more of me, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linkedin

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30 Second Interview with…..Chris Nickson

Posted in 30 Second Interview With...., tagged 30 second interview, author, biography, Chris Nickson, Christopher Reeve, Cold Cruel Winter, Constant Lovers, Creme De La Crime, David Boreanaz, Donna Newton, fiction, Global Rhythm, library Journal, paranormal, Richard Nottingham Series, The Broken Token, thriller, writer, writing, wwbc on March 14, 2012| 9 Comments »

James Lipton and the Actors Studio did it for fun with the actors…..Now, I’m doing it for fun with the writers.

Now, I have one hell of an imagination (as most of you know), but what eleven year old kid, when given a school essay to write, would dream up a story about bomb disposal?

Author and writing extraordinaire, Chris Nickson. That’s who.

From that moment on, Chris realised he was born to be a storyteller. Um, yeah, no kidding.

Leeds-born Chris moved to the good old U S of A at the tender age of 21, where he stayed for thirty years.

Now if you are a music lover, then you may know him as the well-known music journalist, Chris Nickson, where he has written for numerous publications, including Global Rhythm. No? Well Chris also broadcast on NPR, and is the author of The NPR Curious Listener’s Guide to World Music, Solid Air: The Life of John Martyn and the forthcoming Nice Up the Dance: The Story of Studio One

To top that, he’s also a singer-songwriter and guitarist.

However, maybe you know the name ‘Chris Nickson’ if you have a love for celebrity biographies. Chris has written several including ones for Will Smith, David Boreanaz, Ewan McGreggor, Mariah Carey, and Superhero Christopher Reeve.

In fact, in an interview on Laydilejur: Books and Stuff…, Chris boasts “At the height of it I was doing five or six (biographies) a year, as well as plenty of music journalism – to nourish the soul. I was very lucky, I was a writer and I was making a good living. If it was prostitution, it was definitely at the call girl end of the scale.”

No, still haven’t heard of him? Even though he has published over 28 non-fiction books? What rock have you guys been hiding under?

Chris is also author of the Richard Nottingham Series. The first, The Broken Token, was published in 2010. This was followed in 2011 with Cold Cruel Winter, which was subsequently named one of the 10 Best Mysteries of 2011 by Library Journal.

And Creme De La Crime has just released Constant Lovers, the third in the series. It’s US release date is set for May 1st, 2012.

Come the Fear, the fourth book in the Richard Nottingham series will be released in the UK in July 2012.

Also, 2011 saw the e-book release of late singer-songwriter John Martyn’s biography: ‘Solid Air: The Life of John Martyn’.

So, let’s see what self-confessed Yorkshireman and devotee of good tea and digestive biscuits made of our interview.

1. What is your favorite word? Actually

2. What is your least favorite word? Debt

3. What turns you on? Hair

4. What turns you off? Hatred

5. What sound do you love? Birdsong

6. What sound do you hate? Banality

7. What is your favorite curse word? Fuck

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Musician

9. What profession would you not like to do? CEO

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? “Bugger Off!”

Contact Information

For more information regarding Chris Nickson, please check out his website, Facebook, twitter, blog, or email Chris at chrisnickson2@gmail.com

If you want more of me, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linkedin

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30 Second Interview with…..Thomas Atkinson

Posted in 30 Second Interview With...., tagged 30 second interview, author, Donna Newton, fiction, paranormal, Playright, Poet, Ron McLarty, Standing Deadwood, Thomas Atkinson, thriller, writer, wwbc on March 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

James Lipton and the Actors Studio did it for fun with the actors…..Now, I’m doing it for fun with the writers.

Wow, I’ve just looked at Thomas Atkinson’s resume. Geez…. This may take a while!Okay, first of all, Thomas, who likes to be referred to as Thom, lives in southern Ohio with one wife and two sons.

Now, this is the time when I usually dig around and write a short bio. However, Thom was super cool and sent me a bunch of information on himself. So, rather than pick the bones out of it, I thought I’d just print it.

Over to you, Thom! (I’m sure he’d reply with a thank you.)

“About me: I’m an author and playwright of what has been described as “hillbilly gothic.”

I recently completed collection of short stories: The title story Standing Deadwood appeared in The North American Review, and River’s Edge appeared in The Indiana Review.

The opening story in the collection, Dancing Turtle, took Grand Prize in the inaugural Santa Barbara Writer Conference National Writing Contest and was judged by the author Ron McLarty (The Memory of Running, Traveler, Art in America, and The Dropper). His comments: “A girl damaged at birth, struggling to form words, invites us into an inner life that is both painful and glorious. At the Appalachian Festival she reveals herself with a phrase I will never forget…In this beautiful and evocative story the author reaches into the reader’s heart.”

And on 8th March I was able to announce this: The closing story in the collection, Grimace in the Burnt Black Hills, has just won a major award and has been accepted for publication in The Sun magazine.

My first novel, Strobe Life, is now available for Kindle on Amazon. And, I have also just completed my second novel, Tiki Man.

On the playwriting side of things, I’m the author of seven plays, including Cuttings, Copperheads, Clear Liquor & Coal Black Nights, The Circle of Mystery, Battling the Ghost of Max Schmeling, and D’s Tire Towne. My one-woman show ‘Cuttings’ has had several critically-acclaimed productions, and was a finalist for the 2010 NAAA Double X Play Reading Festival in London. My short play (based on a short story), Dancing Turtle, has just been included in the Culture * Park 10th Annual Short Play Marathon, and has been picked up for a full production at a one act festival this summer in Rhode Island.

I’ve won a bunch of honors and awards for both fiction and drama, including four Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship grants.”

Thanks Thom. I do just want to add that The Sun Magazine has 70,000 subscribers and a circulation of
I don’t know what their total circulation is, but they have 70,000 subscribers and a circulation of much, much more.

Thom has also won an array of honors and awards including Community of Voices Writing Contest, Theatre Conspiracy 9th Annual New Play Contest, Mercantile Library Short Story Competition, Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Grant in Fiction, Nominated for Society of Midland Authors Drama Award, and Post-Corbett Award Finalist in Literature.

Although there’s no award for answering these ten question, Thom broke his winning tradition and answered them anyway.

1. What is your favorite word? Vacuous

2. What is your least favorite word? Empowerment (a close second: Amputation)

3. What turns you on? Heat

4. What turns you off? Tattoos

5. What sound do you love? 1975 Triumph Spitfire

6. What sound do you hate? Fox “News”

7. What is your favorite curse word? Douche (and variants: douche-bag and douche-baggery)

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Sculptor

9. What profession would you not like to do? Coroner

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? “WTF?”

Contact Information

For more information regarding Thoman Atkinson, please check out his LinkedIn Page.

So, what do you think of Thom’s award winning writing? Do you feel inspired yet?

If you want more of me, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linkedin

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30 Second Interview with…..Lorelei King

Posted in 30 Second Interview With...., tagged 30 second interview, author, BBC, Bob the Builder, Chuggington, creative content Ltd, Donna Newton, fiction, Lorelei King, Narrator, Notting Hill, paranormal, scripts, thriller, writer, writing on February 29, 2012| 10 Comments »

James Lipton and the Actors Studio did it for fun with the actors…..Now, I’m doing it for fun with the writers.

Okay, we’ve all heard Sting singing about ‘An Englishman in New York’. Well, todays 30 Second Interview is about an American Gal in London.

Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Los Angeles, Lorelei King always planned to move to Paris. But in 1981, she came to London on what should have been a three-day stop over, and never left. She’s now married to actor Vincent Marzello.

So, lets start with Lorelei, the Actress.

With films such as ‘Notting Hill’ and ‘The Saint’, Lorelei can boast having worked with some of the best male actors around on both the small and big screen; from the handsome Hugh Grant to the rugged Bob the Builder. In fact, Lorelei has starred with one of my all time favorites, Michael Douglas in the wonderful movie, ‘Shining Through’. Now I’m jealous.

And Television is not to be ignored. Emmerdale, Cold Feet, and Jonathan Creek, to name just a few, can all brag Lorelei as part of their cast at one time or another.

Now, what about Lorelei the voice over actress?

Well, if you live in America and watch Bob the Builder, you may just recognise the voice of ‘Wendy’ and ‘Packer’.

And let’s not get into the two hundred plus programmes Lorelei’s recorded for the BBC. In fact, Lorelei has been described as ‘the best known American voice on radio 4’ after working on shows including Judge Dredd, Batman, and the classic American drama East of Eden.

As well at this, Lorelei also lends her multi award-winning voice to narrating audiobooks for best-selling authors Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton and Patricia Cornwell.

And this leads us nicely to Lorelei, the Multi Award Winning Voice.

With numerous awards including Audiofile’s ‘Best Voices’, APA Performer of the Year, and Audiofile Golden Earphones Award among the twenty or thirty trophies already fighting for space on her mantle, Lorelei recently won lNarrator of the Year and firmly established herself as the best narrator around.

So, what of Lorelei the writer?

Lorelei is credited for writing children’s programmes Chuggington, for which she is also script editor, Bob the Builder and Fantomcat. Plus, the Playstation video game Mothatruckas 1 and 2, and Cartoon Network’s Dexter’s Laboratory Video Game.

Phew. Is it time to catch a breath? No. Because Lorelei is also co-owner of Creative Content Ltd, a small digital publishing company (check out their blog).

Now you can catch a breath while you read Lorelei’s 30 Second Interview.

1. What is your favorite word? Courage

2. What is your least favorite word? Guts

3. What turns you on? Intelligence

4. What turns you off? Pretension

5. What sound do you love? The pop of the champagne cork

6. What sound do you hate? The crack-fizz of a pull tab

7. What is your favorite curse word? Bollocks

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Professional ice skater

9. What profession would you not like to do? Social worker

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? “First class to the left”

Contact Information

For more information regarding Lorelei King, please check out her website, IMDb, Facebook, twitter, blog

So, what do you think of Lorelei’s extensive career? What is your favorite Lorelei voice?

If you want more of me, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linkedin

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30 Second Interview with…..Jane Espenson

Posted in 30 Second Interview With...., tagged 30 second interview, author, battlestar galactica, buffy the vampire slayer, disney, Donna Newton, fiction, husbands, jane espenson, once upon a time, paranormal, script, spec script, spike, syfy, thriller, Torchwood, warehouse 13, writer on February 8, 2012| 8 Comments »

James Lipton and the Actors Studio did it for fun with the actors…..Now, I’m doing it for fun with the writers.

Jane Espenson is a writing machine. Not only did she write and work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of my favorite TV shows of the nineties (and I’m not afraid to admit it), but she also helped me out and shed light on where the word ‘frak’ originated. Yes, according to Jane, frak is a Battlestar Galactica phrase; and by the amount of times ‘frak’ has arisen in these interviews as a writers favorite curse word, I’d say we have quite a few Battlestar fans here.

So, who is American script writer and television producer, Jane Espenson?

Born in Ames, Iowa in 1964, Telly loving Jane first chased her dream of becoming a writer at the age of 13 after realising army medical TV show M*A*S*H accepted spec scripts. Even though she was still in junior high, and without the promise of a dime, she scribbled out a draft episode….. Still yet to be submitted.

Years later, while Jane was studying computer science and linguistics at University of California, Berkeley, she decided to try her luck at writing again. This time her target was Star Trek: The Next Generation. As part of a script submission program open to amateur writers, and which Jane refers to as the “last open door of show business”, she submitted several spec scripts.

In 1992, Jane landed a position with the Disney Writing Fellowship. From here, she worked on a number of sitcoms. These included ABC’s comedy Dinosaurs and Touchstone Television‘s short-lived Monty.

Now in her early thirties, Jane moved to TV’s Ellen as both writer and producer. However, after only a year, she decided she needed something different to comedy. Dramatic writing caught her attention and she applied to Mutant Enemy Productions for a position on the hit show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Spike: Jane's favorite Buffy character.

Joining season three, Jane remained until the shows climactic end five years later. These five years saw her promoted from both writer and executive story editor to co-executive producer and in 2003, Jane shared the Hugo Award for Best Short Dramatic Presentation with co-writer Drew Godard for writing the episode “Conversations with Dead People“.

All in all, Jane wrote 23 episodes for Buffy, starting with “Band Candy“, and finishing with Buffy’s penultimate episode, “End of Days“; and was the only staff writer to be credited on more than five episodes in a single season.

2005 saw Jane editing BenBella Books Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly. And in 2009, co-wrote several comic book stories for Tales of the Slayers, Tales of the Vampires and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the one-shots Jonathan and Reunion and the limited series Haunted.

Having already wrote a third season episode, and co-writing another, Battlestar Galactica welcomed Jane in 2008 as co-executive producer. She worked on every episode for the fourth series and wrote webisodes, and in 2010 moved over to Battlestars spin-off series Caprica, where she was co-executive producer and took on show runner duties midway through the first season.

She left Battlestar with a Streamy Awards after winning Best Writing for a Dramatic Web Series for Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy

In 2010, after claiming to be a fan of Torchwood, in particular the third series, “Children of Earth“, Jane joined creator, Russell T Davies, for Torchwood: Miracle Day, writing episodes 3, 5, 7 and co-writing episode 8 with Ryan Scott. Both writers also collaborated on the webseries, Torchwood: Web of Lies, starring Eliza Dushku.

Jane co-wrote and produced her first independent original web series with co-creator Brad Bell, entitled Husbands, which revolves around the life of two newly married gay men and premiered at http://husbandstheseries.com on Sept. 13, 2011.

Even though Jane has written episodes for dramas The O.C., Jake in Progress, and Gilmore Girls, she is without a doubt, best known for writing science fiction and fantasy. TV shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Torchwood, Angel, Dollshouse, Warehouse 13, and Once Upon a Time have all received her magic touch and are a force to be reckoned with in the ratings.

Jane is currently working as a consulting producer and writer on the ABC‘s series Once Upon a Time.

So, what did the woman who invented the name of the drink “Zima” while working for a marketing firm make of our questions?

1. What is your favorite word? Bubble

2. What is your least favorite word? Bitch

3. What turns you on? Wordplay

4. What turns you off? Waiting

5. What sound do you love? Peeping

6. What sound do you hate? Peeing

7. What is your favorite curse word? Frak

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Zookeeper

9. What profession would you not like to do? Assassin

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? ”One more time around.”

So, what was your favorite Buffy character? What was/is your favorite Espenson show?

Contact Information

For more information regarding Jane Espenson, please check out her Website, Facebook, twitter

If you want more of me, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linkedin

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An Exciting Time For My Blog

Posted in Writing, tagged 30 second interview, author, blog, books, competitions, Donna Newton, ecollegefinder, facebook, fiction, http://blog.ecollegefinder.org/, novel, paranormal, screenwriter, thriller, twitter, vote, writer, writing on January 26, 2012| 14 Comments »

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from ECollegeFinder notifying me that my blog had been nominated for an award. Yesterday, voting opened.

This is an extremely exciting for me.

I posted my first blog on 28th November, 2009. Like most new bloggers, I think I blogged about three times in two months and then nothing until October 2010, when I began blogging once a week. Now, however, I blog three times a week. I aim the majority of my articles towards writers, being I am one, but every now and then I like to have a little fun and embarass myself.

Every Monday I list all the latest writing competitions for authors and screenwriters I can find. Each Wednesday I post a 30 Second Interview, the particpants being either authors, screenwriters, or staff writers, and Fridays are usually a mix between writing advice, guest posts, book reveiws, or just a bit of ‘fun’.

What has overwhelmed me, is the amount of support my twitter and Facebook peeps have shown. I’ve lost count how many messages of congratulations and RT’s I’ve received on twitter alone.

If you like this blog, and if you would like to show your much appreciated support, please click the blue box above (or the one in the top right hand margin). It only takes a minute. Click ‘Donna Newton’s Blog’, and then, at the bottom of the list, ‘VOTE’.

Voting ends Friday 3rd February, so there’s no time to waste. Oh, and if you feel really generous, you can vote for me more than once. So even if you already have …..Vote again 😀

I’ll let you know how I do.

Let me know what special awards you’ve been nominated for, or received. I don’t care what it’s for. School activities, competitions, anything goes on here.

If you want more of me, I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Linkedin