Tag: Ames Writers

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Author

Bi Ayers

What’s your genre?
Memoir/creative nonfiction

Are you published?
Indie press publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
I wanted to share what I’ve learned about the nail salon industry with the hope of helping others to excel with their business. I also wanted to shine a spotlight on an industry which many are familiar with, yet most don’t know its history.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I’ve read a lot of business books over the years, and I feel the authors wanted to share their knowledge and expertise on their subject, which to me is powerful, and it inspired me to share my own knowledge in my industry.

Name your favorite books and their authors
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I never meant to include as much personal information in my book, but I’m glad I did.

What one piece of advice would you give a budding writer?
People are interested in your story so, pen your thoughts and keep on writing.

Author bio
Bi Ayers was born and raised in Hue, Viet Nam. At age fifteen, he began a new life in the United States. As a Vietnamese American immigrant, he learned early on how to adapt to change. Coming from a hardworking family of leaders and business-owners, Ayers was motivated to start his own business and follow in the family tradition. His professional journey is intertwined with the history of the nail salon boom. His experience re-settling in the United States after growing up in a Communist regime and his own business success as an American nail salon owner offer other Vietnamese Americans and anyone interested in starting their own business an inspiring example of what it takes to open shop and thrive. To learn more about Bi and Polished, click here.

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Author

Stephanie Hansen

What is your genre?
Crime Thriller

Are you published?
Self published

What inspired you to become a writer?
I woke up during a thunderstorm one December evening and told myself a story to fall back asleep. For days afterward, I couldn’t get that story out of my head so I started writing what would become the opening scene in my first book. Things spiraled from there and I found myself swept up in the world of writing thrillers.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I’ve really enjoyed some of Andy Weir’s interviews. The author of The Martian, he self published that book before it was discovered by traditional publishing. He’s really funny (which comes across in his books) and a total nerd. He does a ton of research for his books and as a professor myself, I find it neat the way he helps the reader digest extremely complex science and engineering concepts in his sci-fi works.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Fox and O’Hare Series by Lee Goldberg and Janet Evanovich
Sigma Force Series by James Rollins

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I’m a beef cattle professor at Iowa State University and writing is one of my side gigs. I love to travel and my books each feature a national park. I’m a coffee addict and amateur photographer. My current series, Harper and Reese Crime Thrillers, starts in Glacier National Park in Cold Woods and I am working on the second book in that series now.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Figure out what motivates you. If you need external pressure to complete the book, join a writing group. It is a great way to connect with fellow writers and help you finish the first draft. Also remember, there is a lot of writing advice out there, not all of it is right for you.

Author bio
Stephanie (S.L.) Hansen knows that isolated, stunning locations and mystery go together like peanut butter and jelly. With a passion for exploring the great outdoors and a knack for crafting heart-stopping adventures in remote wilderness settings, Hansen is always seeking the perfect backdrop for her next page-turner. So, if you find yourself hiking through the backcountry with her, don’t be surprised if she starts musing about the best spot to bury a body – after all, when it comes to creating suspense, she’s got the recipe down pat. To join in on the adventure and discover what twists and turns she has in store for her readers next, click here, and sign up for her newsletter today.

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Author

Hallie Baur

What’s your genre?
Historical & Speculative Fiction

Are you published?
Indie press publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
My inspiration to write involves a great amount of duality. Writing serves as both an outlet for my imagination, as well as a tool for presence. Whether I need an escape or a grounding moment, writing is there for me. It’s a bonus when readers want to join me for the ride.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired you writing?
I admire the works of Pamela Des Barres, Margaret Atwood, and Stephen King; all three have shaped my writing style. Pamela Des Barres writes in a truthful, relatable way. I enjoy that she hasn’t led a “traditional” life. My first formal writing class after high school was an online course with Atwood. She takes stories way beyond the limits of typical imagination, and I cannot absorb enough of her brilliance. King holds the same quality of disregard for limits, not only in his stories, but in the writing world. Though my genre differs from these authors, I highly revere and appreciate their works.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
First is On the Road by Jack Kerouac. Themes of adventure and irreverence continue to influence me. Second must be I’m With the Band by Pamela Des Barres. She poetically breaks down the complications of experiencing a wild yet beautiful world as a young woman. Third is Life by Keith Richards.

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
Human connection, nostalgia, and subconscious revelations play into my stories (good and bad aspects.) I don’t always follow the classic statutes of writing, not out of disrespect, but because I chose not to follow the path of most traditional authors.

What one piece of advice would you give a budding writer?
Use the ideas you can’t stop thinking about. Move the bead. More ideas will come to fill in the gaps.

Author bio
Hallie Baur, historical fiction novelist and poet, views the world through a nostalgic lens and uses her fascination with the past to transplant readers into the settings of her stories.

Baur lives in the Midwest with her husband and Maine Coon cat. When she’s not writing she can be found dancing, making her way to the front row of a concert, and seeing the world.

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Author

Gary Eller

What’s your genre?
Fiction, novel and short story, occasional nonfiction

Are you published?
Traditional publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
In short: early encouragement, love reading, opportunity, and disillusionment with my first career choice.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
Co-favorites) Raymond Carver, Alice Munro
Carver: simple, minimalistic use of language, his subtexts say so much. And, as he was once described: “He taught us that literature can exist with a bottle of catsup resting on a table in a trailer house.”

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver
One-Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Friend of My Youth by Alice Munro

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I’m a well-concealed introvert whose sometimes dark writing belies the fact that I’m a quite nice guy.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Read, read, read…all the writers you love.
Remember the advice of your old favorite uncle: “Work hard and don’t give up.”
The paycheck should not matter.
And finally, this is related to the previous. Marry well.

Author bio
Born and raised in Rolla, North Dakota, I worked as a pharmacist mostly in Alaska for fifteen years. I became a writer after earning an MFA degree at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa.

My collection of short stories, Thin Ice and Other Risks, was published by New Rivers Press. I’ve also published many stand-alone short stories and nonfiction articles. My novel, True North, was published by BHC Press in late 2021.

I have several writing awards, the most significant being a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. I’ve taught fiction and nonfiction at Iowa State University.  I live and work now in Ames, Iowa, while spending parts of summers in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota.

Click here to visit Gary.

Author Spotlight with Third Stanza Poets & 11 Days of Global Unity

Join founder, Ana McCracken for an evening “spotlighting” Third Stanza Poets as they revive their longstanding tradition of hosting 11 Days of Global Unity – a reading series formerly held in September at Cafe Diem on Main Street prior to the Covid-19 quarantine.

This event will kick off the Fall 2023 Author Spotlight Series.
Categories
Author

Paul Brooke

What’s your genre?
Poetry

Are you published?
Traditional publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
Always nature has been at the forefront. My work focuses on the relationship of humans with the wild world. I am deeply interested in understanding why we mistreat the earth and how we can live in harmony with it.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
There are so many that it is hard to boil it down. In terms of poetry, Gary Snyder was an inspiration early as he understood the complexities of the natural world and he integrated a Zen philosophy, which I found intriguing. Later, fiction writers like Toni Morrison blew my mind with their historical retellings and incredible imaginations. Her book, Beloved, is my absolute favorite. Today, there are so many talented authors that it is a joy to read and discover new voices.

Name three of your favorite books
As I mentioned earlier, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, then Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridan, and Sylvia Plath’s The Collected Poems.

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I love to travel and that often fills my writing. Recently, I went to Chile and I just finished a collection that fuses nature photography and form poetry. My newest work explores the often unheard side of Antarctica and I plan to go there very soon. For me, it is necessary to have experiences that show me awe and wonder in order to find inspiration. Those moments are transcendent and illuminating. Always necessary to building the best work I can.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to a budding writer?
Revise. Revise. Revise. Be patient with your work and be patient if you send it out. There will be tons of rejections. And for most young writers those rejections can send them running away. Run into the rejection and then submit again somewhere else.

Author bio
Paul Brooke has five collections of photography and poetry including Light and Matter: Poems and Photographs of Iowa (2008) and Meditations on Egrets: Poems and Photographs of Sanibel Island (2010). Sirens and Seriemas: Photographs and Poems of the Amazon and Pantanal (2015) was published by Brambleby Books of London, England, while Finishing Line Press published Arm Wrestling at the Iowa State Fair (2018). Jaguars of the Northern Pantanal: Panthera onca at the Meeting of the Waters was published by Academic Press (2020), while The Skáld and the Drukkin Tröllaukin: Photographs and Poems of Iceland was released by Gold Wake (2022). Brooke recently was awarded both an Iowa Arts Fellowship and a grant for publishing a diversity of writers. Click here to visit Paul.

Categories
Author

Jackie Haley

What’s your genre?
Fiction / Nonfiction

Are you published?
Indie press publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
I’ve always enjoyed writing and I also had a great support system to continue my writing path.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
Jane Austen is one of the great authors that gave me inspiration.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
The Client by John Grisham

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I founded Dream To Author to help people write, publish and market their first book.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Don’t quit. Keep going and set realistic goals for yourself. Get help from people that have the experience and can support you.

Author bio
Jackie Haley is a nationally recognized, award-winning author, speaker and entrepreneur. She’s appeared on CBS, NBC, among many other major media outlets and traveled the country representing her books.

Her novel, Crystal Beach (2012) is about a “girl next door that stumbles into a James Bond movie.” The anticipated sequel, Truce Island (2017) followed. Shortly after, she was approached by David Schmitz to write his family’s inspiring story about Brenda, his wife who passed from ovarian cancer. Two years after Brenda’s death, her family received a surprising gift from her. Brenda’s Wish (2020) won awards, received national endorsements and more. Now, Jackie helps people write, publish and market their first book at DreamToAuthor.com

Categories
Author

Tom Geraty

What’s your genre?
Memoir

Are you published?
Indie press publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
Writing, alongside acting and music, is simply (or at times not so simply) a way for me to reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary. I find that all forms of creative expression provide me a direct link to the deepest and most profound places in my heart.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I have a lot of respect and admiration for Colson Whitehead. He finds honest, creative, and compelling ways to tell stories I am familiar with in ways that bring my understanding to a deeper, further, and more personal level.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Twenty Years A-Growing by Maurice O’Sullivan

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
Being a stay-at-home dad was the greatest gig of my life. So great that, although my sons live over a thousand miles from home, the “nest” will always feel full.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
My one bit of advice is threefold: don’t listen to naysayers, read the masters, and trust your vision and your voice.

Author bio
Tom Geraty was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Dowling Catholic High School in the late 70s and Drake University in the early 80s, where he played football for the then Division One Bulldogs and graduated with a degree in Education with a minor in Theater. Tom acted professionally in Chicago for several years before moving back to his hometown in 2002 with his wife, Katie, to raise their two young sons. He was a stay-at-home dad, continues to perform with local theaters, plays bass guitar, bakes pies, has two new knees, and holds dual citizenship with the United States and Ireland. Since the publication of his memoir, When The Trees Dance, he has learned that he has a younger half-sister he hopes to connect with soon…if he can find her. Click here to visit Tom.

Categories
Author

Patricia Kimle

What’s your genre?
Historical fiction

Are you published?
Self published

What inspired you to become a writer?
Long ago, we followed the Underground Railroad trail from Nebraska City, NE through western Iowa to West Des Moines and Grinnell as a short family vacation when our children were grade school age. My husband developed a story line based on the history, but a job change meant the project fell by the wayside. When said children had all left me with an empty nest, I decided to pick up the story. We say now that I was research and writing and my husband “story consultant.” I had always wanted to try writing fiction and it was an easier start since the basic idea was ready for me to take on.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I grew up not far from the home of Willa Cather in south central Nebraska. I’ve read O Pioneers! and My Ántonia many times from high school to now. In grade school, I loved and read Laura Ingalls Wilder as a child. I’ve always loved prairie stories. Actually any historical fiction with a good heroine will do.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
My favorites are always changing. I read a lot of books about creativity and recently loved Adorning the Dark, by Andrew Peterson. He is a singer/songwriter and story teller. I’ve loved every Charles Martin book I’ve read. And Susan May Warren is an incredible writer, mentor and businesswoman.

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I have been an artist for 30 years. As a freelance designer, I published how-to articles and books in the craft industry before craft publishing went the way of the dodo. Next I had a wholesale jewelry business selling silver and clay jewelry until I retired the business during covid. For the last 5 years, I have been painting in oils. I have 5 paintings that were inspired by scenes from my book, The Only Free Road: An Underground Railroad Saga Unveiled, including the cover art.

What one piece of advice would you give a budding writer?
Research can draw you down lots of rabbit holes, and if you are inclined, like me, to keep digging, remember to ask yourself occasionally if you’re coming up with details that actually contribute to the story or take your reader into the weeds. Sometimes its better to make something up and keep moving on.

Author bio
Patricia Kimle is an artist and lover of history. After 30 years in the craft and jewelry industry, she has turned her attention to painting and writing. Historical fiction is her favorite genre to read, so it was fun to make up a story with her husband and work together. Working on The Only Free Road, Patricia indulged her love of research in order to try to get lots of details to enrich the story.

She and Kevin have three grown children and live in Ames, Iowa. Visit Patricia here.

On Sunday, September 24th, Patricia will be a featured author at the 2nd Annual Ames Writers Collective Swift Literary Festival to be held during the Annual Octagon Art Festival. Check our calendar for details.

Categories
Author

Joe Geha

What’s your genre?
Memoir, fiction and drama

Are you published?
Traditional publisher

What inspired you to become a writer?
A teacher in college recognized something in me and encouraged it. That “something” I consider to be a gift as well as an obligation.

What author do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
I consider Richard Yates a “writers’ writer,” that is, someone a beginner can learn from. Yates is known for the deceptively simple directness of his prose style, the precision of his descriptions, the way he can pierce the reader with a character’s slightest gesture.

Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Eleven Kinds of Loneliness by Richard Yates
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan

What’s one thing readers should know about you?
I use poker to inform my work as an artist. In poker it’s particularly evident that nothing risked equals nothing gained. Therefore, a regular dose of low stakes poker is enough for me to keep in mind the need I have to continue taking artistic risks.

What one piece of advice would you give to a budding writer?
Read, and read, and read. Beyond reading, I would encourage the fledgling writer to approach their work as a child approaches a sandbox—ready to play. For the moment, pay no attention to that killjoy grownup, your internal editor. Instead build and tear down and see what turns up. You’ll need that editor, but not till later, while the child’s enjoying a well-earned nap.

And read.

Author bio
Joe Geha, Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University, is also the author of Through and Through: Toledo Stories, and Lebanese Blonde. His poems, plays, essays and short stories have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies. His work was granted an NEA award, Pushcart Prize, and the Arab American Book Award. Read about Joe’s lastest book, Kitchen Arabic How My Family Came to America and the Recipes We Brought With Us, here.