Questions that Matter with Kena Sosa

I asked the questions that matter of Kena Sosa! But first, the books: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kindertransport-kena-sosa/1126408869

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-unhuggables-kena-sosa/1127095020

Kindertransport is a winner of Book Cover Contest for Authors Talk About It website for October/November 2017 and won silver in the chapter book/middle grade category for the Children’s Literary Classics Awards 2018! So very exciting!!

Now, some questions!

Hello, Kena! What’s your favorite sound?

I’m torn on this question. Hearing the words “I love you” is magical. However, if you want it to be only a sound, I would say the sound of a drum moves me. I have played percussion in a variety of formats since middle school-drumline, then taiko drumming, cajon and now hand drums. It is a primal yet enchanting sound and I can’t go long without it.

Drumroll, please! Do you know what your name means? Or who were you named after?

I was named after my paternal grandfather, Ken. They just feminized the name and here I am. However, I have researched it a little, and from what I found it seems to mean born of fire. I think it’s a pretty accurate description.

That name is hot! Favorite drink?

Well, coffee is my drug of choice, but if there is a drink that I would say is an indulgence it would be bubble tea! Chewing your drink is not for everyone but I can’t get enough of it.

I have heard of it but…not sure about that…Do you have an irrational fear?

Yes, I have a fear of flying. I have done it many times, but it petrifies me. One of my coworkers is a flight instructor and has literally taken me under his wing to teach me ground school in the effort to ease my anxiety about it. It holds me back as a wanderlust-driven traveler, so hopefully this works.

Don’t let my name fool you–I have a similar fear! What’s the most marvelous thing you have ever seen with your own eyes?

My sons light me up constantly. When they reach in for a hug and wear a smile ear to ear, there’s nothing like it. They are incredible and enchanting every day. I’m sure most parents feel that way. Outside of motherhood, I will say that this summer, I experienced some of the most amazing moments. One of which was on the bridge of a cargo ship that was bringing me back to the US from Europe. As we approached Charleston, South Carolina it had been raining. By the time we could see land, it was clearing. Plain as day there was a rainbow over Fort Sumter as if welcoming me back home from my journey. That is one I will never forget.

What an enchanting sight! Your life is being narrated! Who is doing the narration?

Well, my hero, Mr. T would narrate my life. He would pity all the fools I’ve ever encountered. I would love to meet him one day!

Love it! If you could add an appendage to your body, what would it be?

If I could have any extra appendage, it would be a prehensile tail to grab things. I’m a busy person so I can use all the help I can get. I can imagine climbing and holding onto tree branches with it too. I’d play pranks on people like tapping their shoulder behind their back with it then looking the other way. Monkey life sounds brilliant to me.

Sounds like fun! Thank you, Kena, for taking this important challenge! Support Kena by checking out the award-winning books and the links below! Feel that tap on your shoulder? That’s just me, telling you to come back next Friday for another author!

http://riverroadpress.com/store/p40/The_Unhuggables.html

http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/

http://www.clcawards.org/2018_Award_Winning_Books.html

https://clcreviews.blogspot.com/2018/11/kindertransport-childs-journey-earns.html

Happy reading! 🙂

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Questions that Matter with J. D. Park

I asked the questions that matter of J.D. Park! But first, the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1718068395/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Now let’s ask…

Hello, J.D.! What’s your biggest screw up in the kitchen?

This question is tough as I have had so very many. I am absolutely not someone who enjoys cooking. My husband cooks 90% of our meals. He’s amazing. I have burned, overcooked, undercooked, over seasoned, mixed up table and teaspoons; you name it, I’ve done it. I’d say that the one thing I screw up in the kitchen consistently is EGGS! I am the worst. They are always way overdone. They end up rubbery and all around disgusting, even writing about them now makes me dread the next time I cook them! 

That answer is eggs-cellent! Ha-ha! *clears throat* Sorry. What’s your favorite sound?

This is an easy question for me to answer, the sound of my kid’s laughter. They are still young and laugh with their whole bodies. It’s hard to hear that sound and not smile. Sometimes, when I listen to them laughing, I know they are doing something they shouldn’t because nothing you are supposed to do generates that much laughter but I will let it slide for an extra second just to soak up that sound.

I will agree with that one! Do you believe in love at first sight?

No. I believe in lust and attraction at first sight but not love. At least not the lasting kind. Love takes time to develop. It takes getting to know, really know, a person. It takes seeing flaws and deciding to look past them because the other character traits a person has far out way the flaws. Being physically attracted to someone is easy. Loving someone you truly know, that’s special, and that takes time.

I respect that answer! Are you usually early, late, or on time?

I, personally, am early. I live in the country, so I always estimate the drive time taking longer than it usually does because I never know what I might get stuck behind (tractor, sheep…). My kids, however, make me less early and more on time than I would like. We are still rarely late but as the saying goes, “If you can’t be on time, be early.”

I will take that advice to heart! What would you tell your younger self?

So much. SO. MUCH. I’d start with all the basics; Everything you are worried about right now, you won’t care about in the future. Don’t worry so much what others think of you, worry what you think of you. Work harder in school now because it’ll make it easier later on. All of the standard life tips. Then I’d tell me the stuff I really need to hear. Hold out for the good things in life because you do deserve them. Make sure you help as many people as you can whenever you can. It’ll make you a much happier person and might even change someone’s life along the way. Surround yourself with people who want good things for you. The people who lift you up and root you on; those are the people you need to find and keep. And perhaps the most important thing I can tell my younger self is: You don’t need to have all the answers now or even later. Life is messy and ever-changing. Adapt as things come, learn from the things you didn’t like the outcome of and make better, more informed decisions going forward. None of us have it all figured out, and that’s not only okay, it’s how it’s supposed to be.

Listen to that all you young ones out there! What’s the most marvelous thing you have ever seen with your own eyes?

I’ve seen it twice, and I can’t imagine anything ever being more marvelous than this; When the Dr. held up my newborn and said “It’s a boy” and the second time “It’s a girl.” We didn’t find out the gender of our babies. We went old school and had yellow, green and beige everything. Not knowing who these little humans were until they came into the world was just amazing. When my son was born, I couldn’t believe we had a boy. I was shocked. My husband is a big brother, so he wanted a boy for that reason. I only have an older sister, so a boy seemed so abstract to me but when they said “it’s a boy,” I was shocked. I knew I would never love anything as much as I loved that baby and that was miraculous. Three years and 11 hours later they said “girl” and it floored me. We knew we weren’t going to have any more after the second regardless of the gender but secretly hoped for a girl. I wanted my husband to be able to experience the daddy/daughter love that I was getting with mother/son relationship. I knew that day that if I had ten kids, I’d love each of them as much as I did that first time I saw my son. The love multiplies. And when my son first held his baby sister, talk about heart exploding.

My heart just eggs-ploded with joy at that answer! (I’ll stop soon, I promise!) If you had to live without one of the five senses, which sense do you give up?

I think I’d give up the ability to smell. I couldn’t give up sight. Not being able to see my kid’s faces would be heartbreaking. Sound falls under the same category; their laughter is too important. Touch would be tragic. Never feeling a hug from my husband, never receiving the comfort a touch can bring, nope. I guess I could stand to lose taste but without taste, smell would be torture…So smell it is!

That question is eggs-treme! Oh, yes! Thank you, J.D., for answering my all-important questions! Support J.D. by checking out the links below! Next week, we’ll be here, bad puns and all, to listen to another interview!

https://www.facebook.com/jdparkauthor

Twitter: @JDParkauthor

Happy reading! 🙂

Questions that Matter with Neil Davies

 

I asked those questions that matter of Neil Davies! But first, the book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075VNY8Q2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i10

Now some questions!

Hi, Neil! Let’s start with my favorite question: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

At least I tried.

Short and honest! I love it! If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

I really wish I could live long enough to see us flying spaceships between the planets like in all my favourite scifi space opera books and films. I’d like to be there when spaceship travel is as common as aeroplane travel is today.

Maybe you will live long enough! You never know…If you were a road sign, what would you say?

No Entry! (I really don’t know why people think I’m a negative type of person)

Perhaps if you changed it to “proceed with caution”…Do you prefer the movie or the book?

In almost all cases, the book. Generally speaking, I think, through necessities of time, too much has to be left out when turning a book into a film. It’s why, often, turning a short story into a film can work better than a novel. Novels are just too long, too complex and have too many subplots, characters and subtleties that films just don’t have the time to deal with. Plus (pet hate coming up here) so many scriptwriters/directors seem to feel it necessary to change details for absolutely no reason I can see other than their own egos.

Always read the book, people! Favorite drink?

Pepsi Max.

Drink up! Do you believe in aliens?

To answer truthfully and completely I need to split it up.

First, do I believe alien life exists out there in the Universe? Yes, absolutely, 100% The Universe is so vast that I find it impossible to think there isn’t other life out there. And I get so depressed when I hear scientists talking about life purely in terms of our kind of life. Who’s to say that our carbon, oxygen breathing type of life is the only one possible? Very narrow-minded.

Second, do I believe intelligent (i.e. in a form we can understand as intelligent) life exists out there in the Universe? Yes, to a good 90% probability. Again, the sheer vastness of the Universe argues in favour of this, purely by chance and randomness. Hard to believe we’re the only planet that just happened to have the right combination of factors to bring our kind of life into being. Doesn’t mean they will have developed the same way we have, but they could have had similar beginnings.

Third (and final), do I believe aliens have visited or are visiting Earth? No. Highly unlikely. Think of ourselves discovering another planet with intelligent life on it. Would we pop in and out, kidnap people, quietly slaughter native animals during the night and so on? No, we would announce our arrival and make our presence known clearly and unambiguously. The one other possibility is that The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy was right, and we are plagued with alien pranksters who like to drop in on underdeveloped worlds like ours and strut around in front of the natives making ‘beep beep’ noises.

Forty-two, let us not forget it! What would you tell your younger self?

Don’t be so afraid of failure, rejection or ridicule, and don’t worry about what other people think of you. Too many years being afraid to talk to girls, afraid to speak up in groups, afraid to say the odd or funny things that would pop into my head when with others, afraid to push my music, and, most of all, afraid to send my writing off to publishers. With the exception of one failed attempt, it wasn’t until I met my wife and she starting pushing me that I actually began sending stuff off. No one was more surprised than me when, among the rejections, there were acceptances. Don’t be afraid, just go for it!

Yes, yes, yes, and amen!! Thank you, Neil, for providing us some inspiration! Support Neil by checking out the links below! Next week, we’re knocking down the “No Entry” sign to merge with another important author! Don’t miss it!

https://www.amazon.com/Neil-Davies/e/B0034ORVZ6/

https://www.facebook.com/nwdavies

http://www.nwdavies.co.uk

Twitter: @nwdavies

Happy reading! 🙂

Questions that Matter with Rita Chapman

I asked the questions that matter of Rita Chapman! But first, the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CYZTSZK/

Now some questions!

Good day, Rita! Let’s start: what is one of your favorite quotes?

“Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” Bill Nye

Knowledge is power! Are you usually early, late, or on time?

I hate being late! I try to be on time but sometimes, I have to admit, I arrive early. If I’m catching a plane it’s very early.

Wouldn’t want to miss that flight! If you were reincarnated as an animal, what would it be?

A horse, as anyone would know who has read my book Winston – A Horse’s Tale. But I would have to hope ardently for a kind and knowledgeable owner.

You and me both! Is the glass half-empty or half-full?

Definitely half-full. I’m lucky to be a born optimist. Unless the glass is holding champagne then it would be half-empty.

If it’s half-empty, fill it up! If you were in a circus, what would your job be?

I’d be the trick-rider on the horses.

Giddy-up!! Favorite drink?

Champagne, but closely followed by a sweet Martini.

Sippin’ the bubbly! Last question: you’ve just stepped from your cocoon and you’re a beautiful butterfly! What’s your first thought?

Where can I find something to eat?

My thoughts exactly! Thank you, Rita, for taking my challenge! Support Rita by checking out the links below and join us next Friday as we fill our glasses with champagne and interview another author who matters!

Happy reading! 🙂

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view…
E-book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CYZTSZK/
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1986740900/
Large Print edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1718658842/
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CYZTSZK/

My website is www.ritaleechapman.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rita.chapman
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5834608.Rita_Lee_Chapman

 

OWS CYCON 2019 BLITZ: D. GABRIELLE JENSEN

I asked the questions that matter of D. Gabrielle Jensen! But first, the website: https://www.dgabriellejensen.com/

Welcome, D.! Time to play! What superpower would you like to have for a day?

I’ve always wanted to be a telepath/pusher, like Professor X. But I think, if I were to only have it for a day, I’d want something like flight. Flight sounds cool but unless it is supersonic, I don’t think it would be practical in the long run.

Either superpower sounds awesome! Tell us something you have never told anyone else.

I really can’t think of anything I’ve never told anyone. I have a couple of friends who know just about everything, as I think everyone does. But through my poetry, especially, I think that most of my darkest secrets have been exposed. I’m a pretty open, unashamed person, if people are just willing to ask the questions.

I am willing to ask the questions! So answer me this: When was the last time you got the giggles at an inappropriate time? 

I don’t know how “inappropriate” it was but a couple weeks ago, my manager in my day job and I were setting up a prize wheel and for some reason it was the funniest thing we’d ever done.

I’m curious now what the prizes were…Describe your best pair of socks.

As a general rule, I don’t like socks. But because I live in a place where winter is a real thing, I do have some. I like fun socks, bright colors, characters. My favorites are Keroppi, Hello Kitty’s little froggy friend, and Shock, the little purple witch from Nightmare Before Christmas.

Socks are a great way to express your inner quirkiness! Do you have an irrational fear?

My parents are divorced. Both sets of their parents are divorced. Both my mom’s brother and sister have been divorced twice. Both of my parents have nephews who are divorced. I have developed a concern that divorce might be hereditary and that I have it on both sides.

That fear may not be so irrational…Quick! Ask your spouse/closest friend/parent or sibling to describe you in three words. What did they say?

Creative, determined, caring

Aww!! That person gets some bonus points! Your life is being narrated! Who is doing the narration?

Kat Dennings or Ryan Reynolds. My life needs someone comfortable with roasting sarcasm and gratuitous F-bombs.

Both are great choices! Thank you, D., for letting your quirky show! This is it for our Cycon blitz! Thanks so much for coming on this tour! Come next Friday for another author answering life’s important questions!

Happy reading! 🙂

OWS CYCON 2019 BLITZ: TRACY A. BALL

I asked Tracy A. Ball the questions that matter! Here is a link: https://www.amazon.com/Tracy-A.-Ball/e/B00JH7R8XY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Welcome, Tracy! You can only have one kind of sandwich: What is it?

Either a Deli Turkey and Roast Beef with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and potato chips. It doesn’t matter what kind, it’s all about the crunchy. Or, a Cheesesteak sub with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, fried onions, salt & pepper. I could live off either one of those for the rest of my days.

I’ll take the cheesesteak! What would you name a boat if you had one?

My boat would be black and I would call it Snape. I would sail around making people wonder if I were a good or bad person.

Love it! What superpower would you like to have for a day?

Telekinesis!  And then Teleportation. I would like to help stupid people slap themselves and get away when they realize it’s me.  Clearly, I’m a villain.

Oh, I’m sure many of us have the same dream! If you were reincarnated as an animal, what would you be?

A bear, no question.  I’d spend three quarters of the year eating my butt off. And then I’d sleep through the winter! That’s love. Plus, who’s going to pick on me?

That sounds great! What is your motto?

Tell the truth. It doesn’t matter what happens next.

Good advice! If you had to live without one of the five senses, which sense would you give up? 

Smell, in a heartbeat. There are too many things I’d rather not get a whiff of and, most of the pretty smells are there to cover the ugly ones.

Though without smell, there isn’t much taste…Never trust a person who doesn’t like to…

Read fiction. That’s a person who also doesn’t like to think, learn, or grow. In my opinion, they intentionally miss adventures and dwell in negativity.

True, very true! Thank you, Tracy, for telling us the truth about you! Let us hibernate until it’s time for another interview!

OWS CYCON 2019 BLITZ: SHERRY RAMSEY

I asked the questions that matter of Sherry Ramsey! Check out the website: http://www.sherrydramsey.com/

Hello, Sherry! What is the last thing you do before you go to sleep?

Read! It’s a very rare night that I don’t open up a book or switch on my e-reader before settling down for the night. This is a habit I’ve had for as long as I can remember. It’s a way to calm my brain of all the thoughts, ideas, and worries that habitually take all the attention and focus instead on someone else’s story. When I startle awake because I’ve almost dropped the book, I know I’m ready for sleep!

Until you hit the cliffhanger that keeps you up all night! Would you go out in space if given the opportunity?

I hope I would. It sounds a bit weird for me to say this, since I don’t even really like airplane travel (or any travel, really—I like *being* different places but I dislike *getting* there). However, I hope I would take the opportunity to see our world from this magnificent other perspective if I had the chance.

Always look to the stars! Are you usually early, late, or on time?

My preference is to be exactly on time for things. This avoids both the awkward need to fill time when you’re early, and the guilt and apologies of being late. Of course, it does increase the risk of being late, but somehow I manage to live with that!

I have much to learn from you! I’m always late…What is one of your favorite quotes?

I’ve always liked, “Whether or not you write well, write bravely,” by Bill Stout. I like this idea because it doesn’t focus on the work itself, but on the writer, and the notion that as long as you’re tackling the writing with your whole intention, all the rest will follow. It gives permission to write a bad first draft secure in the knowledge that the quality of that draft is not the most important thing at that moment, which I think is so important for writers, especially newer writers, to accept.

Never fear the first draft! Fear the final one…Do you prefer the movie or the book?

In general, I’d say I prefer the book—or at least to have read a book before I see the ensuing movie. I like to have the experience of the book before the movie enshrines one set of visuals in my mind, so that my interpretations of the book come from the text. I do try not to expect a movie to be just the same as the book, because they are very different storytelling forms and it’s almost impossible for one to translate perfectly to the other. I think the two versions should be allowed to co-exist on their own terms.

A fair answer! Do you believe in aliens?

I find it easier to believe in aliens than to believe that Earth is the only cradle of life in the entire universe. I know there are arguments against their existence, but I feel like there is still so much we don’t know that it’s impossible to make an informed decision. Maybe it’s the science fiction writer in me, but what if there are intelligent life forms but their evolution has been so different that we simply don’t know what to look for or don’t yet have the ability to detect it? There are still too many unknowns for me. 

As long as they’re friendly…Have you ever had a dream at night that later came true?

Not an entire dream, but bits and pieces for sure. My Welsh grandmother used to call this “breaking the dream”—so if something happened that you had dreamed about (even if only somewhat related), she would say, “that breaks your dream.” Even as a child, I found that very striking, evocative language, so it has always stayed with me. There must be a story idea in there somewhere…

What if the dream never gets broken? Now I have questions…Thank you, Sherry, for talking to us! Let’s move on to another author on our blitz tour! Stay tuned!