Welcome to my new website at www.sharonpoppen.com . It’s all new thanks to the great creative work of Paul at Easytime Services at www.easytimeservices.com.

Been a little lax in my postings lately. I could blame the holidays and they did take up some of my time. However, been working on my book of short stories and at getting the sequels to ‘After the War, Before the Peace’ edited and ready for publication.

Remember, I certainly try to, “Procrastination is the thief of time.” – Edward Young, ‘Night Thoughts’

What is the working title of your book?

‘The Band’ is the sixth in a series of books about the Farrell Family which started with my novel ‘After the War, Before the Peace’ which takes place shortly after the end of the U.S. Civil War.  The time frame for ”The Band’ is the 1950s and 1960s.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

At the end of book 5, titled ‘Stephen’s Boys’, the main character is a wounded WWII vet who is trying to raise four sons on a ranch in Maui, Hawaii. When I ended book 5, J.J., the oldest son, stayed in my mind. Being a child of the early rock and roll era, I decided to take the Farrell family into the wild and crazy world of teen idols and how they approached being teen idols, touring, fame and drugs.

What genre does your book fall under?

It’s Contemporary/Romance.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Channing Tatum could be J.J., Justin Bartha could be Johnny, Bradley Cooper could be Steve and Justin Timberlake could be Mikey.

What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A genuinely good man copes with the challenges of fame and fortune.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I have self-published one of my four novels and will not self-publish again. I have two potential publishers that are interested in the Farrell family series.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About one year. I would have liked to spend more time on it. In fact, if a missed a few days, my characters would invade my thoughts and lure me back into their realm. I was working on marketing my third novel ‘Abby-Finding More Than Gold’ and doing the final edits and prep for the release of my fourth novel ‘Regardless’ which was published in September of this year.

What other books would you compare to this story within your genre?

None come to mind at the moment. I started with a character who was a genuinely, dependable young man and took his character on a descent into wine, women and drugs, then tried to make my readers like him again. It will be interesting to see if this will pass the believable test with my editor.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Like I said earlier, the Farrell Family have always been almost ‘real’ people to me. In fact, one readers told me that he feels that the characters are so multi-dimensional real that he thinks I may have actually been a part of this family in a previous life. So, when book five ended, the oldest son basically said ‘My turn. Now tell my story.’

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The background story of the life, times and culture of the 1950s-60s as to interests, morals, locations and attitudes of the Baby Boom Generation.

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog! Your interest in most appreciated.

Now, if you’re still reading, I have two requests to make:

1. Drop by the blogs I’ve listed below to discover some really good and interesting writers.
2. Leave me a comment about my Next Big Thing post and on Nov. 22nd, I’ll put the names of all commenters in a hat and draw out one to win the $10 Amazon gift certificate.

Blogs to Visit:

www.regantaylorsworld.blogspot.com

www.christinelondon.blogspot.com

www.reginaandrews.wordpress.com

http://www.books-writing.com/interview-with-author-sharon-poppen

www.tracyriva.com

 Lots of Exciting Things Going on these days. January and February are always busy months for me.

Such an exciting week! We put Hannah up on CreateSpace a couple weeks ago. We gave it away free for a few days and 6,904 folks downloaded the book. Yahoo!!! Since the free period ended another 165 books have been purchased and I’ve received 2 five star reviews. I repeat, YAHOO!!!

Still no word from my agent on After the War, Before the Peace and Mama played for the King. But, there’s always tomorrow.

Been having some book signings and have met some interesting folks, but only sold a few books. Nothing like what’s happening at Amazon with Hannah.

Started a new book club at The Book Exchange, our local used book store. We discuss an author rather than a particular book. Last month it was John Grisham and next month it is my hero, Leon Uris.

My quote for the day comes from the movie Home Run. I just saw it last Friday and I highly recommend it. A little boy at bat for his Little League team get this advice from his coach. By following it, he hit a home run. The quote: “Nothing great happens when you hold back.” Cory Brand, character in the movie Home Run.

Today was my day with my fellow writers and friends at Hastings Books and Music. What a fun group! Every Thursday morning nearly a dozen of us gather, order coffee and such, then sit and discuss movies, books, life in general and quite often sex talk sneaks in, all PG rated of course. One of the things we discussed today is that while we are all eligible for senior citizen discounts, there was not one mention of a doctor appointment or medications we are taking. We all commented on the fact that many of our conversations with friends and relatives seem centered around our deterioration. Not so with this dynamic bunch of creative folks. So Stimulating!

We did have our sad moment though when we all had to say farewell to Ann. Her primary home is in Colorado, but she spends the winters here in Havasu. This very talented writer publishs under the name A.E. Connors and is the author of Anzac, a novel about the relocation of English children to such far away places as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It’s available at Amazon.com . I suggest you check out this often warm, sometimes sad fictionalization of an actual chain of events.

My sales of Hannah are keeping me so jazzed. Right now I have 249 ebook sales and 2 print books. Yahoo! I can only hope this sales buzz lasts a few more days.

Got an interesting bit of observation from a fellow writer today. We were talking about a rather famous author and how he is so good at character development and yet some of his books seems to fall below his talent level. My fellow writer, Jim, made the comment that he felt I was on the verge of a ‘break through’ in my writing. I’m not sure exactly what he meant, but I felt complimented.

Had a woman show up today who heard about our writer’s group and decided to drop in for a visit. Laurie fit right in and seemed to enjoy the stimulating conversation. I didn’t get a chance to talk with her before she left, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of her.

Guess that’s it for tonight. I’ll close with this bit of wisdom about aging – “To be seventy years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

Nothing Great Happens When You Hold Back!!

Had a very busy summer – 2 more books published (Finding Amy and Mama Played for the King), working on marketing the three books I have on Amazon, finalizing a book of short stories to go on sale at Amazon within a week, vacationing in Calif. with kids and grandkids and just plain having fun.

The sales for Hannah have been so rewarding. Lots of good reviews are coming in to the Amazon site.

As for works in progress, I finished the sixth book in the After the War, Before the Peace series. The working name is the The Band. It was a fun, yet challenging endeavor as I took a character that starts out as the rock of the family, turn him into a vile creature that most of the family walks away from and finally turning him back into the family member the entire clan once depended on. I’ve gotten some great critiques from my writer’s group that have helped me to fine tune this on one of the best of the Farrell Brothers series. Now, I’m working on what will be the final book of the series. It’s working title is Space. I hope to bring my readers full circle as to the impact of Carmenalita, the young Mexican girl in the first book, through the accomplishments of her namesake and great, granddaughter.

I saw a wonderful film this summer – Home Run. It was a study very similar to what I put the character J.J. through in my novel the band – moving a character from good to bad, then back to good. I came away from that movie with a lovely motivational quote that I keep and read in my daily calendar. The man character, a pro baseball player, advises a little league boy that “Nothing great happens when you hold back!!!”