Happily married – Nontraditional student – Veteran of the US Navy – 30,000 words into writing a science fiction novel – Animal lover – Volunteer – Goofball…Wait, that should be first…..No no no, Happily married goofball …..I mean, Happily married to a goofball….wait..no….I mean, yes I am married to a goofball….Okay okay, here it is……Happily married goofballs who love their four-legged kids, who enjoy helping others in need and are 1/4 of the way through our Master’s…Yeah, that’s it!

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1.       So, did you know your husband was a redneck before you married him? Or did you find out after it was too late?

I was the queen of his double-wide trailer at first sight. We are definitely two peas in a pod. So to answer your question….yes I knew his neck was as red as the Georgia Bulldogs;-)

 Here we are planting collard greens:

 2.       I love that your site has a whole section dedicated to Encouragement! Were these quotes all compiled at once, or did you collect them over time?

I found them all together from this website: http://sites.google.com/site/amberdine/beginning. I always look for inspirational words, videos or pictures to help keep me going. I also enjoy helping others in any way I can so that is why I created the Encouragement page ~ http://tammyholloway.wordpress.com/encouragement-2/

I have volunteered for many organizations over the years to satisfy my need to help others. My latest venture is with a group called Feed Fannin. Money is raised in different ways and I am in charge of this one:

 And some past cool volunteer jobs:

Laramie Raptor Refuge

Give Kids The World

 

Marine Life Oceanarium (Now IMMS)

 (This is not me pictured here)

 …and a whole list of other wonderful places.

 3.       Where did you learn your puppy whispering skills?

The art of puppy whispering is my own unique way of training. I’ve researched animal behaviors since I was very young and owning dogs all my life made it easier to study them. When other kids were watching cartoons and playing with dolls, I was watching animal documentaries and feeding the wild squirrels and pigeons out of my hand. Dogs have their own language and I take the time to watch every action. It is a combination of patience, understanding, reading the language, enrichment and a whole lot of love that helps me train. It is not related to the dog whispering you see on TV but they meet the same objective I suppose. Buster and Daisy both learned the famous “Beer Trick” at a young age but Buster was 6 months old. Daisy is seen here doing the trick at 5 months old. This training is the foundation for many other tricks:

 http://youtu.be/fjkjjw5TLC4

 4.       I have a cat that plays fetch! Do your dogs have tricks that just came naturally to them? Or is it all training?

That is too cute! I have to see that. Some of their tricks do come naturally but most from some form of training. Here is Daisy performing the “Clean the Peanut Butter Jar” trick…she’s so talented lol!

 5.       Is it difficult to live with an alien named “Al” in your brain who keeps repeating “Norf du spak! Norf du spak!”? Does he at least work as a muse, and does he have a brother?

I am ready to have brain surgery to get him removed. Flak dort kheb …..”AL!!!”……Anyway, he serves no purpose other than to irritate.

 6.       Does Al help at all with your migraines?

Yep. He helps make them worse.

 7.       There’s a place on your website with feeds from Stephen King and Dean Koontz. What is it about these two authors that moved you to include their updates on your blog?

Both inspire me to write. My twisted imagination reminds me of some of their work and it helps drive me to reach toward a goal to be as good as them one day. It is like having two magnificent, jaw-dropping wonders on either side of me….Grand Canyon on one side and Mount Everest on the other….both  have a very difficult path to get to the end but neither one impossible.

 8.       Does your military experience influence your writing?

No. My military experience was uneventful and boring mostly. I received the Humanitarian Award while I was in which I am proud of but nothing to really write about. However, I did get the G I Bill which helped pay for college, which gave me writing experience, which eventually led me to this point. If that counts as influence then my answer is yes.

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 9.       What’s your stance on the great “traditional versus self-publishing” debate?

As I travel down this road, I learn more and more about the two. They both serve a purpose for different “target markets”. You have your traditional readers who refuse to get into the age of electronics and the younger generation who may never turn the actual pages of a book.

 10.   How did “About My Mother” come to be published on Amazon?

I entered a contest with Aberdeen Publishing and placed in the top ten. I was very excited about that since it was just a quick story thrown together with no edits. It was all from the heart. My father passed away and I watched the pain my mom went through after he passed. I sat at the computer and wrote without stopping. It was a Mother’s Day present for her which she now cherishes.

 11.   What is “The Deep Freeze” about?

The Deep Freeze is a science fiction novel about a boy and an alien who share an inner connection. The boy, Michael, works at a local grocery store and finds himself locked inside a faulty walk-in freezer while preparing for inventory the next day. When he finally sabotages the freezer, it begins to thaw and something else comes to life in the freezer with him.  He manages to escape but so does Xanthan (the name Michael gave it from his D&D game days) and now Michael is the only one that can stop the menacing alien from its reign of terror.

 12.   What do you need to accomplish before publishing “Deep Freeze?”

More lessons on writing and about 40,000 more words. The words are the easy part. My descriptions, however, need some work 🙂

 13.   What are your plans to publish and promote “Deep Freeze?”  

I want to go with the traditional way of publishing so I will be spending quite a bit of time on this book to make sure it is in the best format. As far as promoting the book, I will do whatever necessary to get it out there. I will contact book stores in order to do signings and attend writing conferences or other activities to get The Deep Freeze recognized. I joined the local Chamber of Commerce as another outlet for promotion as well.

 14.   When did you get serious about writing and why?

I got serious about writing when I woke up one day last December and began writing The Deep Freeze from a dream. I kept writing and writing and realized how much I loved it. I also realized I had no writing experience other than years of college papers and general English courses so I put The Deep Freeze on hold and joined the Georgia Writers Association. I have been attending writing conferences ever since. I also began writing short stories to sharpen my writing skills.

 15.   What is your favorite electronic or digital writing tool?

My trusty ol’ laptop

 16.   What is your favorite non-electronic writing tool?

A cheap pen and a 10 cent notepad

 17.   What is the most persistent distraction from writing? 

School. I have to put my college first and if I have homework (which I do now lol), I cannot concentrate because I am worried about getting my homework done.

 18.   What is your ideal writing environment? Have you ever been able to create it?

Right here at home. It is peaceful, quiet and I live in the mountains in the middle of the woods. The creek runs along the side of the house in the shape of a crescent and the birds chirp a sweet melody in my ears. Home…definitely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OajWsSmhG-0

19.   How important was it to you, personally, to establish a web presence as a pre-published writer?

To be honest, I was just so excited about The Deep Freeze that I felt the need to express it in any way I could. I first started with Facebook since I was already there. I felt the encouragement from friends and it helped push me further. I then decided to try and get to know some wonderful, experienced people like you to learn all that I can. The blog http://tammyholloway.wordpress.com/  came when I learned that Stephen King started out writing short stories as did many other famous authors. I felt it was probably the best way to practice before going back and finishing The Deep Freeze. It is also a good way to get feedback. However, I try to refrain from too much time spent on each site and focus more on reading.

20.   Who shot first, Han or Greedo?

Well that depends on age I suppose. If kids are reading this, Greedo shot first. We don’t want to go around messing with what is “morally” correct and what is not now do we? However, Greedo is no longer around to testify in his defense and the chances of some kid actually reading about me are slim so Han shot first. It’s a good thing because Greedo was a horrible shot!

 Han was not:

AmyBeth ~ Thanks again for giving me the honor of being interviewed. Your questions were great and the time you put into research for each interviewee is amazing. Writers need people like you in their lives and I am lucky to have cyber met you. It’s time to feed Al before he gets mad;-)

You’re very welcome! It was so much fun to learn all about you!

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