Norm Applegate interview for Sleepytown Press Newsletter

This interview is in the February Issue of Sleepytown Press

Email Address: Sleepytownpress@yahoo.com

An Interview with Norm Applegate. 
What would you like people to know most about you?

I am the ex-drummer for the Who. Also in my younger years was a stand in for Sean Connery. Okay, I lied... but I want this interview to be really exciting. Hahahahaha...The truth, the older I get the more confused I am about life.

Tell us your latest news?

Just had a grand-daughter born into the family in February; Aubree Lynn Hussey. Can’t believe how I felt after just holding her for a minute, priceless.

Writing news: finishing a sequel to Shockwave, a thriller. Not sure what to call it, maybe “Kill a President,” or “Slices of Violence.” It should by out by May on Amazon. It’s a continuation of my character Jack Dwyer, he’s kind of a Lee Child hero. The title gives it away, a sniper is poised to kill the President with a .50 caliber Barrett rifle, which is a serious weapon by the way.

When and why did you begin writing?

I think a lot of people want to write a book and I was no different. It started when I was traveling through Australia and New Zealand as a hypnotist. This was before the days of email. I wrote a letter to my wife every few days sharing my experiences with her and to keep her close. That made me realized I could do it. Into the Basement was my first novel and now I try to get one novel out per year.

What do you feel are your “three” best writing tips?

Okay don’t tell anyone but these are the tips that have been handed down in secret ceremonies; 1). Develop an outline so you know where you are going.
2). Write the novel before editing.
3). Hire an editor...

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

I do have a mentor; David Hagberg. He writes CIA terrorist novels. He has written over 80 books and his advice is spot on. The Cabal is an excellent example of how to write a novel.

What book are you reading now?

Kind of go through spurts of different genre’s. Just finished “Top Secret America,” by Dana Priest, real scary stuff about what we’ve done to ourselves since 911. Started on “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.”

What are your current projects?

Finishing a thriller novel, writing a comic book based on my first horror novel, “Into the Basement,” and working on an advanced degree on cyber-genetics...oh you are not buying that last part? hahahahahaha

Do you see writing as a career?

Yeah I do. When I first started writing I was thrilled when someone bought one my books. Now I’m collecting a monthly paycheck so the trend keeps going in the right direction every month. I’d like to think that this will become my full-time career when I retire from consulting.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

Not in my latest book. But I should have done a sequel of my first novel;“Into the Basement.” It sells very well particularly on AmazonUK where it’s:

 #1 for graphic>horror and in the top #15 for Fiction>horror>thrillers.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Oh yeah, finding time to write. I travel every week as a consultant and writing on planes is where I do my best work, I’m isolated with no interference.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

I don’t have a favorite author, there is a lot I like, David Hagberg, Lee Child and James Patterson but I’m all over the place with what I read, fiction and non-fiction.

Which of your books is your favorite and why?

It always seems to be the current book I’m working on, although I like the writing style in did for “Shockwave.” It’s a crisp, short staccato style like Lee Child, reads very fast.

Did you learn anything from writing your books and what was it?

I’ve been a musician, mailman, an electrician, truck driver, hypnotists, sales rep, office manager, gym manager and consultant. Writing was the only discipline where I looked at my true feelings and understood a little more of who I am. I call it a cleansing experience.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

An author friend of mine asked for some help. Her question was: how do you market books?

1). Editing! Pay an editor! Quality is important. Here’s the name of the person I used on my last book, SHOCKWAVE. She’s not free...For me she was worth it. I’m going to work with her again on my next book.

Deborah Levinson, she a friend of mine on my Facebook site. She is good.
2). Cover work! check out the cover for Shockwave, my thriller and short story Jumpers. Nice work... Contact James Rone at jameron713@gmail.com tell him I sent you. He’s an art student in Phoenix. 3). Use Amazon...they are the largest book distributor in the world.
Amazon Kindle for ebook. Look up Kindle Direct Publishing.

4). Product Description: I looked at a pile of book descriptions on Amazon. I believe what I’ve done works. I combined what I liked from a number of successful authors. Look up my books on Amazon and you’ll see the description I use. Lots of stuff for people to read...

5). Price...the ebook price for a new book is $2.99 your older stuff $0.99. However you might consider starting at the $0.99 price point. I know it’s cheap but that seems to be the market, check out authors on Amazon not the big names, the indie authors. HEADS-UP - This may be shifting. Some authors are raising their ebook price to find the sweet spot, the right number of sales at the maximum price to generate the most profit. Remember, at $2.99 on Amazon you get 70%. At $0.99 it’s only 35%.

6). Go to Smashwords and format your ebook yourself from their guidelines. They have the best outline for formatting an ebook and publish on Smashwords. That gets your book into Apple’s iPad, B&N. Sony. Diesel and Kobo...

7). Start a blog, use Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and any other sites you have time to post stuff on. ...that was a lot of stuff...hope it helps.

I live in Sarasota, and I write thrillers, horror and paranormal books. My Into the Basement, novel is about abduction, torture and murder. I also wrote Blood Bar, which is about vampires and a different kind of club. Into the Spell, is a hypnosis paranormal thriller, you know, the dark side of the occult.

My latest vampire book is First To Die, an adventure not for vegetarians. It’s a bit more violent and juicy than my other books, but there is a sliver of breathing room. Expect a lot of violence, knives, pain, carve in, carve out. My Kim Bennett is a bent woman.

Last year I released my first thriller: Shockwave (see below). A sequel will be out by May.

I’m also a Mac Fanatic. Smooth Jazz enthusiast. Drummer. Horror Movie Fan.

Check out two of Norm’s Books:


Into the Basement (THIS BOOK IS FOR ADULTS!)

In San Francisco, women are disappearing. Three detectives pull Kim Bennett into the game. The hunt for a killer. She goes missing!

This is a raw dark story of sadistic people tha pits Kim’s physical and mental agility against one of the fastest rising crimes in America, sexual slavery.

Shockwave

Jack Dwyer is observant. Sitting at Starbucks he watches a van come to a stop. A nervous guy gets out, looks around, seems strange. Dwyer watches him. The guy crosses the street. Dwyer realizes the guy’s staring at a pretty woman, Kelly Paul. Dwyer makes eye contact with her. Dwyer looks left, right, reacts, moves fast, pushes her down, saves her but the bomb explodes. People are killed. She goes missing and Dwyer is the suspect.

Attention writers: 100 Words for Facial Expressions

Here's an excellent list of names to explain to your readers what you are saying about someone's facial expression. How many times to you use the same words? Well, spice it up, keep it interesting:

1. Absent: preoccupied 2. Agonized: as if in pain or tormented 3. Alluring: attractive, in the sense of arousing desire 4. Appealing: attractive, in the sense of encouraging goodwill and/or interest 5. Beatific: see blissful 6. Bilious: ill-natured 7. Black: angry or sad, or see hostile 8. Bleak: see grim and hopeless 9. Blinking: surprise, or lack of concern 10. Blissful: showing a state of happiness or divine contentment 11. Blithe: carefree, lighthearted, or heedlessly indifferent 12. Brooding: see anxious and gloomy 13. Bug eyed: frightened or surprised 14. Chagrined: humiliated or disappointed 15. Cheeky: cocky, insolent 16. Cheerless: sad 17. Choleric: hot-tempered, irate 18. Coy: flirtily playful, or evasive 19. Crestfallen: see despondent 20. Darkly: with depressed or malevolent feelings 21. Deadpan: expressionless, to conceal emotion or heighten humor 22. Dejected: see despondent 23. Derisive: see sardonic 24. Despondent: depressed or discouraged 25. Doleful: sad or afflicted 26. Dour: stern or obstinate; see also despondent 27. Downcast: see despondent 28. Dreamy: distracted by daydreaming or fantasizing 29. Ecstatic: delighted or entranced 30. Etched: see fixed 31. Faint: cowardly, weak, or barely perceptible 32. Fixed: concentrated or immobile 33. Furtive: stealthy 34. Gazing: staring intently 35. Glancing: staring briefly as if curious but evasive 36. Glaring: see hostile 37. Glazed: expressionless due to fatigue or confusion 38. Gloomy: see despondent and sullen 39. Glowering: annoyed or angry 40. Glowing: see radiant 41. Grim: see despondent; also, fatalistic or pessimistic 42. Grave: serious, expressing emotion due to loss or sadness 43. Haunted: frightened, worried, or guilty 44. Hopeless: depressed by a lack of encouragement or optimism 45. Hostile: aggressively angry, intimidating, or resistant 46. Hunted: tense as if worried about pursuit 47. Impassive: see deadpan 48. Inscrutable: mysterious, unreadable 49. Jeering: insulting or mocking 50. Languid: lazy or weak 51. Leering: see meaningful; also, sexually suggestive 52. Meaningful: to convey an implicit connotation or shared secret 53. Mild: easygoing 54. Mischievous: annoyingly or maliciously playful 55. Moody: see sullen 56. Pained: affected with discomfort or pain 57. Pallid: see wan 58. Peering: with curiosity or suspicion 59. Peeved: annoyed 60. Petulant: see cheeky and peeved 61. Pitying: sympathetic 62. Pleading: seeking apology or assistance 63. Pouting: see sullen 64. Quizzical: questioning or confused 65. Radiant: bright, happy 66. Roguish: see mischievous 67. Sanguine: bloodthirsty, confident 68. Sardonic: mocking 69. Scornful: contemptuous or mocking 70. Scowling: displeased or threatening 71. Searching: curious or suspicious 72. Set: see fixed 73. Shamefaced: ashamed or bashful 74. Slack-jawed: dumbfounded or surprised 75. Sly: cunning; see also furtive and mischievous 76. Snarling: surly 77. Sneering: see scornful 78. Somber: see grave 79. Sour: unpleasant 80. Stolid: inexpressive 81. Straight-faced: see deadpan 82. Sulky: see sullen 83. Sullen: resentful 84. Taunting: see jeering 85. Taut: high-strung 86. Tense: see taut 87. Tight: see pained and taut 88. Unblinking: see fixed 89. Vacant: blank or stupid looking 90. Veiled: see inscrutable 91. Wan: pale, sickly; see also faint 92. Wary: cautious or cunning 93. Wide eyed: frightened or surprised 94. Wild eyed: excited, frightened, or stressful 95. Wistful: yearning or sadly thoughtful 96. Withering: devastating; see also wrathful 97. Woeful: full of grief or lamentation 98. Wolfish: see leering and mischievous 99. Wrathful: indignant or vengeful 100. Wry: twisted or crooked to express cleverness or a dark or ironic feeling Author Norm Applegate: Into the Basement Shockwave

Best concert, book and movies of 2011

Since the year is over. Thought I would share my views on 2011 with respect to music concerts, books and film.

Concerts:

            This year I was lucky enough to see Eric Clapton at the MGM in Vegas. Jeff Beck at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Rod Stewart in Vegas at the Forum and Andrea Bocelli in Tampa.

Winner for best concert – Jeff Beck.

            An incredible performer at age 66 emits high energy and is considered one of the best guitarists in the world. Beck is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds; (Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page). He also formed The Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart and Beck, Bogert & Appice. Interestingly he does not use a pick but instead gets incredible sounds from his fingers and the vibrato bar on his Fender Stratocaster. Curious fact: Jimmy Page played bass for a short time with Jeff Beck in the Yardbirds.

Winner for best book – Top Secret America: The rise of the new American security state. Dana Priest and William Arkin.

            Both authors are relentless reporters. Priest has won two Pulitzer Prizes for her work. In this book they uncover the explosive growth of America’s secret world since 9/11, it’s staggering. The waste, redundancy and domestic surveillance steps the government is taking is scary. The novel focuses on the Pentagon’s secret army that has killed more terrorists than the rest of the US forces combined. After 9/11 Congress gave a blank check to America’s secret security agencies with no public accountability. We worry about the government checking our email…oh it’s much worse than that. All the money, in the hundreds of billions and over 800,000 employees doing “Top-Secret,” work and guess who they’re focusing on next??? Us…!

Winner for best movie – Martyrs

            Okay, this is not a new movie (2008) but new for me. I saw it this year, heard about it for a while and it is the best horror to come out in years.

            This is a disturbing movie!!!!!

It’s a French film written and directed by Pascal Laugier. It is being ranked as one of the scariest movies ever made. The last 30 minutes is gruesome, some say the most intense ever filmed. It’s not the bloodiest but it’s intense. The reason why the torture is happening is so unexpected…it’s brilliant.

As a side note here’s a few of my favorite Netflix streaming movies:

            Let the Right One In

            Frontiers

    The Horde

    Them

    Creep

    Isolation

    High Lane

    Deathwatch

Norm Applegate author of:

Shockwave

Amazon

7 Sentence Structures

Sentence structure can be categorized into seven patterns: one simple, three compound, two complex, and one compound-complex. Here are examples of each pattern with accompanying formulas, all to help you think of how to craft sentences in a greater variety of syntax:

1. Simple sentence (independent clause): “I went for a walk.”
(An independent clause is set of words that includes a subject and a predicate. It can be a sentence or part of one. A dependent, or subordinate, clause is one that cannot stand on its own but provides additional information to supplement an independent clause.)
2. Compound sentence, IC+CC+IC (independent clause plus coordinating conjunction plus independent clause): “I went for a walk, and I was soothed by the gentle night air.”
(Coordinating conjunctions are words that link one independent clause to another to form a compound sentence. These words can be recalled with the mnemonic FANBOYS and include for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.)
3. Compound sentence, IC+S+IC (independent clause plus semicolon plus independent clause): “I went for a walk; I was soothed by the gentle night air.”
4. Compound sentence, IC+AC+IC (independent clause plus adverbial conjunction plus independent clause): “I went for a walk; consequently, I was soothed by the gentle night air.”
(Adverbial conjunctions are adverbs that serve, when following a semicolon, to link independent clauses. They include consequently, however, moreover, nevertheless, therefore, and thus.)
5. Complex sentence, DM+C+IC (dependent marker plus clause plus independent clause): “Because I hoped to be soothed by the gentle night air, I went for a walk.”
(Dependent markers are words that provide a relative context for a subordinate clause. They include after,although, as, “as if,” because, before, if, since, though, until, when, where, whether, and while.)
6. Complex sentence, RP+C (relative pronoun plus clause): “Whatever doubts I had about taking a walk dissipated when I was soothed by the gentle night air.”
(Relative pronouns are pronouns that relate a subordinate clause to the noun it modifies. They include who,whom, whose, whoever, whosoever, whomever, which, what, whatever, and sometimes that.)
7. Compound-complex sentence, DC+IC+CC+IC (dependent clause plus independent clause plus coordinating conjunction plus independent clause): “As I headed out for a walk, my doubts about doing so dissipated, and I was soothed by the gentle night air.”
There are, of course, many variations to these patterns; even a simple sentence, for instance, can begin with the object in the example converted to the subject of another simple sentence: “A walk was my next order of business.”

---

Norm Applegate author of:
Shockwave

Do you go with a small publisher or self-publish?

An author friend of mine asked for some help. Her question was: do I go with a small publisher or self-publish? For me it’s self-pub but read my thoughts…

Don't pay a publisher any money! Everything they can do; you can do.

1). Editing! Pay an editor! Quality is important. Here's the name of the person I used on my last book, SHOCKWAVE. She's not free...For me she was worth it. I'm going to work with her again on my next book.

Deborah Levinson, she a friend of mine on my Facebook site. She is good.

Norm's Facebook 

2). Cover work! check out the cover for Shockwave, my thriller and short story Jumpers. Nice work...

Contact James Rone at jameron713@gmail.com tell him I sent you. He's an art student in Phoenix.

3). Use Amazon...they are the largest book distributor in the world.

Amazon Kindle for ebook. Look up Kindle Direct Publishing.

Amazon's Createspace for paperbacks. Here's the facts...1% of my sales are from paperback. Yes, it true...it all about ebooks now. I self publish on Createspace so I have paperbacks to give away.

4). Product Description: I looked at a pile of book descriptions on Amazon. I believe what I’ve done works. I combined what I liked from a number of successful authors. Look up my books on Amazon and you'll see the description I use. Lots of stuff for people to read...

5). Price…the ebook price for a new book is $2.99 your older stuff $0.99. However you might consider starting at the $0.99 price point. I know it's cheap but that seems to be the market, check out authors on Amazon not the big names, the indie authors. HEADS-UP - This may be shifting. Some authors are raising their ebook price to find the sweet spot, the right number of sales at the maximum price to generate the most profit. Remember, at $2.99 on Amazon you get 70%. At $0.99 it’s only 35%.

6). Go to Smashwords and format your ebook yourself from their guidelines. They have the best outline for formatting an ebook and publish on Smashwords. That gets your book into Apple's iPad, B&N. Sony. Diesel and Kobo...

7). Start a blog, use Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and any other sites you have time to post stuff on.

...that was a lot of stuff...hope it helps.

all the best

Norm

Shockwave

Into the Basement