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Our $uccess blog will feature writing, marketing, and publishing tips we continue to learn since writing our 2009 INDIE Finalist workbook $uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book keeping our readers abreast of the everchanging skills required to write, publish and sell a successful book. We will also have guest commentators. Achieving your goals as a writer is what matters. Anything we can do to help you get there is our goal. We welcome your comments and hope you will sign up for our bi-monthly (or whenever we have enough material) newsletter.

Posts Tagged ‘Interview’

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Interview with Susanne E. Wilder, CFE–Author, Chef, Yoga+

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Today you are going to be able to meet Susanne E. Wilder, CFE who currently lives in Perth, Australia. Susanne is one of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association Regional Membership Directors. She is quite talented with a varied background.

Maralyn: Please introduce yourself: provide some background, i.e.where are you from, how did you start writing, is there anything specifically interesting about you? If you had another career first, how/why did you switch to writing?

Susanne: I a Home Economist (Washington State University), Reformed Cordon Bleu chef, nutrition consultant, food stylist for print and film, writer, author of 7 cookbooks, culinary consultant in the food industry, and instructor with three decades of experience in the foodservice and consumer food segments.

I’ve written for newspapers from San Diego to Seattle, Magazines from the U.S. to Australia, International websites and an e-book on sustainability: From Sustainable Garden to Table.

Avocationally, I’m also a Hatha Yoga instructor, as well as a roller-blading, biking, kayaking, and fishing bon vivant! Currently I’m working on new formulas and PR for various organic and healthy Australian food clients as well as a play and murder food mystery series.

Maralyn: What type of writing do you write?

Susanne: All things culinary and adventure travel with a bit of spa reviews tossed in for rejuvenation. Also, after creating 7 cookbooks I am trying my hand at a nonfiction (memoir) – working title: All but Aussie and a murder food mystery play/dinner party.

Maralyn: What can you share with others as to important tips or suggestions for other writers on writing and finding outlets for articles?

Susanne: Chain yourself to your computer—ha! No keep writing and persevering and sending copious query letters out, network and use the Writers Marketplace book. Take classes and more classes, try e-books and writing for various websites. If you can, even write for free, to raise your profile. You may even land a trip to Salsamaggerio Italy to be a judge for the world famous pizza, as I did for PMQ—Pizza Marketing Quarterly.

Here in Perth, Western Australia, we sometimes receive gift boxes, free dinners for all the writers at some fun restaurant and vouchers which is often better than taxable payments. For one magazine, I received a credit with a talented local designer and came away with a retro green flared skirt and bright pink knit coat! They’ve lasted longer than a small fee too.

Here’s a quote I like from Anne Wayman, “Write well and often.”

Maralyn: How did you get started writing?

Susanne: My mother sent me to a creative writing class at age 12 or so, after I won a cake baking contest. I wrote a haiku about material possessions demanding too much time and $ to maintain. I minored in journalism whilst I majored in Home Ec at Washington State University. As a waitress and a sous chef to get through college, it helped me writing restaurant reviews later, as did training at the Cordon Bleu and La Varenne.
Maralyn: Do you also blog or have a website?

Susanne: I’ve had a website for decades, but do need to add more clip links and updates. Purposefully I don’t have a blog or twitter as the computer time can so easily overtake life time. I prefer to write or cook intense and fast and then take time to roller blade, bike, paddle in my surf ski, snorkel, boogie board and or hike in the bush. I use mobile meditation for thinking time too before returning to the article or recipe to further refine. This is why I like adventure travel to rack up the fun points rather than getting on and off some bus.

Maralyn: Do you query for assignments before you write or after the article is done?

Susanne: I ask if they accept free-lance writers or do stories in-house. Next is request editorial guidelines and possible calendar of feature articles. Often I send specific ideas slanted to their publication. I read their magazine front to back to get a feel for it. In addition, I visit newsstands to review which publications I’d like to write for. Then it’s off to the library to research which publisher I hope to land for my murder food mystery series or non-fiction travel memoirs acclimatizing to Australia!

Maralyn: Can you comfortably recommend any publications looking for freelancers?

Susanne: Use that wonderful Writers Marketplace from the library as a reference. Email those you’d like to write for to find out if they use freelancers and how much they pay. It can vary so much.

Maralyn: Are you a freelancer or on staff?

Susanne: I’ve been a free-lance (often for free) writer since I wrote for my high school paper (1970) interviewing singer, Phil Ochs before he killed himself. Then I switched to food and travel for more fun and good cheer.

Maralyn: What’s the most difficult part of your job?

Susanne: Like many writers I must persevere in the face of continued rejections and juggling paying jobs with getting published. I think I now have the balance right with just enough relief (substitute) teaching to support my writing habit.

Maralyn: Please tell us again about your books.
Susanne: I’ve created and published 7 cookbooks and one does it for passion over proceeds. The returns are another level of visibility, credibility and consulting opportunities. And they make good ‘pressies’ (presents in Oz speak).
Maralyn: Where can readers learn more about you?

Today you are going to be able to meet Susanne E. Wilder, CFE who currently lives in Perth, Australia. Susanne is one of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association Regional Membership Directors. She is quite talented with a varied background.
Maralyn: Please introduce yourself: provide some background, i.e.where are you from, how did you start writing, is there anything specifically interesting about you? If you had another career first, how/why did you switch to writing?

Susanne: I a Home Economist (Washington State University), Reformed Cordon Bleu chef, nutrition consultant, food stylist for print and film, writer, author of 7 cookbooks, culinary consultant in the food industry, and instructor with three decades of experience in the foodservice and consumer food segments.

I’ve written for newspapers from San Diego to Seattle, Magazines from the U.S. to Australia, International websites and an e-book on sustainability: From Sustainable Garden to Table.

Avocationally, I’m also a Hatha Yoga instructor, as well as a roller-blading, biking, kayaking, and fishing bon vivant! Currently I’m working on new formulas and PR for various organic and healthy Australian food clients as well as a play and murder food mystery series.

Maralyn: What type of writing do you write?

Susanne: All things culinary and adventure travel with a bit of spa reviews tossed in for rejuvenation. Also, after creating 7 cookbooks I am trying my hand at a nonfiction (memoir) – working title: All but Aussie and a murder food mystery play/dinner party.

Maralyn: What can you share with others as to important tips or suggestions for other writers on writing and finding outlets for articles?

Susanne: Chain yourself to your computer—ha! No keep writing and persevering and sending copious query letters out, network and use the Writers Marketplace book. Take classes and more classes, try e-books and writing for various websites. If you can, even write for free, to raise your profile. You may even land a trip to Salsamaggerio Italy to be a judge for the world famous pizza, as I did for PMQ—Pizza Marketing Quarterly.

Here in Perth, Western Australia, we sometimes receive gift boxes, free dinners for all the writers at some fun restaurant and vouchers which is often better than taxable payments. For one magazine, I received a credit with a talented local designer and came away with a retro green flared skirt and bright pink knit coat! They’ve lasted longer than a small fee too.

Here’s a quote I like from Anne Wayman, “Write well and often.”

Maralyn: How did you get started writing?

Susanne: My mother sent me to a creative writing class at age 12 or so, after I won a cake baking contest. I wrote a haiku about material possessions demanding too much time and $ to maintain. I minored in journalism whilst I majored in Home Ec at Washington State University. As a waitress and a sous chef to get through college, it helped me writing restaurant reviews later, as did training at the Cordon Bleu and La Varenne.
Maralyn: Do you also blog or have a website?

Susanne: I’ve had a website for decades, but do need to add more clip links and updates. Purposefully I don’t have a blog or twitter as the computer time can so easily overtake life time. I prefer to write or cook intense and fast and then take time to roller blade, bike, paddle in my surf ski, snorkel, boogie board and or hike in the bush. I use mobile meditation for thinking time too before returning to the article or recipe to further refine. This is why I like adventure travel to rack up the fun points rather than getting on and off some bus.

Maralyn: Do you query for assignments before you write or after the article is done?

Susanne: I ask if they accept free-lance writers or do stories in-house. Next is request editorial guidelines and possible calendar of feature articles. Often I send specific ideas slanted to their publication. I read their magazine front to back to get a feel for it. In addition, I visit newsstands to review which publications I’d like to write for. Then it’s off to the library to research which publisher I hope to land for my murder food mystery series or non-fiction travel memoirs acclimatizing to Australia!

Maralyn: Can you comfortably recommend any publications looking for freelancers?

Susanne: Use that wonderful Writers Marketplace from the library as a reference. Email those you’d like to write for to find out if they use freelancers and how much they pay. It can vary so much.

Maralyn: Are you a freelancer or on staff?

Susanne: I’ve been a free-lance (often for free) writer since I wrote for my high school paper (1970) interviewing singer, Phil Ochs before he killed himself. Then I switched to food and travel for more fun and good cheer.

Maralyn: What’s the most difficult part of your job?

Susanne: Like many writers I must persevere in the face of continued rejections and juggling paying jobs with getting published. I think I now have the balance right with just enough relief (substitute) teaching to support my writing habit.

Maralyn: Please tell us again about your books.
Susanne: I’ve created and published 7 cookbooks and one does it for passion over proceeds. The returns are another level of visibility, credibility and consulting opportunities. And they make good ‘pressies’ (presents in Oz speak).
Maralyn: Where can readers learn more about you?

www.fstnfrsh.com (Any constructive criticism welcome)

www.ifwtwa.org Regional Director of WA and Indonesia

www.forallevents.com Foodie Guru (hey, that’s what he calls me)

0407 649 437

52 Bates Rd Perth WA 6018

Upside down under in the most remote city in the world

Susanne:
www.fstnfrsh.com (Any constructive criticism welcome)

Regional Director of WA and Indonesia for IFWTWA

www.forallevents.com Foodie Guru (hey, that’s what he calls me)

0407 649 437

52 Bates Rd Perth WA 6018

Upside down under in the most remote city in the world.

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Susanne. We hope to feature one of her recipes soon on Where and What in the World.

If any of you would like to be interviewed, please let me know.

Maralyn D. Hill, President
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success With Writing Where & What in the World
Member: Society of Professional Journalists

Finalist in the Writing and Publishing category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, ”$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book,”

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Posted in Books, Interviews, Writing | 3 Comments »

Interview with Traveler and Travel Blogger, Ed Reynolds

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

As it happens, I have known Ed Reynolds since Jr. High School in Westport, Ct. I will not say how long ago that was. Even then, we both shared a love for travel, classic cars, and the open road. I felt that Ed would be an interesting individual to interview. He has many passions besides travel, such as flying airplanes, computer science, and old cars. He still has the 1952 MG we used to take to the beach.

Brenda: Ed, I know you recently traveled to Iraq. Tell me why you went and your impressions. For example, were there any surprises, negative or positive?

Ed: Why did I go?  Because I had never been and the opportunity presented itself in early 2009.  The Iraq Ministry of Tourism announced they were ready for foreign visitors to tour their country. They re-established a relationship with a UK Tour Agency that had conducted tours for over 20 years before the War. The first group of tourists safely toured the country, in March 2009.  Advantage Travel and Tours, Poway, CA, arranged to be the first US Tour Agency to conduct a tour in the fall of 2009.  They contacted
their regular customers and signed up a group that had traveled together to unusual destinations in the past. I was one of those that signed up to go.

Surprises:
We flew via Istanbul, Turkey, to Baghdad, arriving just at daybreak. The first surprise was the elaborate security surrounding the Baghdad International Airport.  It took us eight hours to process through Customs and Immigration and be cleared to leave the airport.

The second big surprise was we saw no US Troops around.

The third surprise was our hotel.  It was a former Sheraton and we could see that at one time it was a beautiful place to stay. But the sanctions after the first Gulf War and then the second Gulf War had made it difficult to maintain.  As an example, only one of six elevators was in operation and several floors were not in use.

A fourth surprise was the security provided by the Ministry of Tourism for our protection.  We were treated like VIPs with two plainclothes armed
guards, plus English speaking guides from the Ministry.  On our travel between cities, we had armed escort vehicles front and rear from either the
Iraqi Police or Military.

Impressions:
Driving around Baghdad, we could see what a magnificent city it once was. However, many stores were closed and trash piles were in the streets. Blast barricades and check points slowed traffic around the city, yet there were large crowds of people shopping and numerous cars on the roads.

When we drove to Erbil in the Kurdistan state to the north, we found the highway to be excellent. We saw a lot of new villas under partial construction along the way, but not a lot of activity finishing them.


Erbil was a vast contrast to Baghdad. It had well lit stores, neon signs, and wide clean boulevards.  It was similar to the cities in Iran and other Middle East cities.


The archaeological sites we visited were worth the trip, especially Babylon.

The main negative we observed during our trip was the strong friction between Shites, Sunnis, and Kurds. It leads us to believe that a unified country is going to be hard to achieve. It is the same friction that existed between Northerners and Southerners, Christians and Jews, blacks and whites, and
straights and gays that has existed in our country’s history.

Brenda: I’m curious, how many countries have you been to?

Ed: I have been to 131 of the 192 UN Countries; 372 places (out of 872) on the “Most Traveled People” list (www.Mosttraveledpeople.com); and 197 destinations (out of 321) on the “Traveler’s Century Club” list
(http://www.travelerscenturyclub.org/).

Brenda:  Tell me about your next adventure…where and when?

Ed: My next adventure is in the reservation phase with Advantage Travel and Tours. Many of the same folks from the Iraq tour are involved. In November, we are scheduled to visit the less traveled to countries in north and central Africa, such as Mauritania, Western Sahara, Algeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, and Ethiopia.  Obtaining visas and coordinating flight schedules between the countries have posed challenges.  There are no or limited flights between many of the countries.

Most travel is from Europe to each country for businessmen and the locals going on vacation to visit Europe. So unless you want to keep flying back to Paris on expensive flights, it is difficult to find flights between the countries.

Brenda: I know you keep a journal and write a blog. How can we read it?”

Ed: It is at: http://edreynoldsjr.blogspot.com/

Here is the recipe you asked about.

Dawa Cocktail from Ed Reynold’s blog:
I had now visited all the recommended sites in Nairobi and was ready for the last adventure: Dinner at Kenya’s most famous restaurant, Carnivore
and its Samba Saloon. Carnivore has a large barbecue pit, where real swords of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and farmed game meat are cooked. Then they are brought to your table and pieces are sliced off for your eating pleasure.

I was early for my reservation, so I sat in the bar where they served me a Dawa (a mixture of Vodka and honey with a lot of ice cubes). They provided a
short stick, about as big around as a stubby pencil. Using this, I was supposed to keep stirring the honey until it was fully dissolved. By that time, the ice had melted, so I ended up with a sweet vodka and water in a short tumbler.

At the bar, I met Brian Allen, a young American doctor. He was completing his residency as an anesthesiologist at a Kenya Hospital that has an exchange program with Vanderbilt University. It was Brian’s last night in Kenya and the Carnivore was recommended as a must visit before he left the country.


Since we both were scheduled to dine alone, we asked to be seated at the same table. Brian was good company.

The meal started with a carrot and mint soup and a
circular tray holding various condiments. We could use these with the offerings, like mint sauce for the lamb.

On top of the tray was a flag in a stand. When we  had our fill of meat, we were supposed to remove the flag to signal that we were ready for dessert.

The meat was prepared like a Brazilian Chiaroscuro, except instead of a BBQ spit, the meat is cooked and taken to the tables on swords. The waiter sliced off as much as we wanted. They served lamb, rump steak, pork, turkey, ostrich meatballs, and chicken.

It was very interesting and after one and one-half hours, we removed the flag and had pineapple pie with ice cream for dessert.

Contact details:

Ed Reynolds, Jr.

Blog:http://edreynoldsjr.blogspot.com/

Ed_ReynoldsJr@MSN.com
Home/Office:  818-884-4013
Cell: 818-421-8946
Home Fax: 818-884-2025

Thank you Ed for your interesting interview and cocktail recipe.

Brenda C. Hill
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success With Writing
Where and What in the World

Finalist in the Writing and Publishing category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards,”$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book.”

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Posted in Interviews, Travel | 1 Comment »

Interview with Beth Blair

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Today you’ll get a chance to meet Beth Blair. We both have several things in common besides our love of travel and writing. Beth was a flight attendant. I was a stewardess—that shows how long ago it was. We also have both explored the Salsa Trail in Arizona.

Maralyn: Beth, would you please introduce yourself: provide some background, how did you start writing, is there anything specifically interesting about you? If you had another career first, how/why did you switch to writing?

Beth: I grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and went to high school in Dallas, Texas. Shortly after graduating my family moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado and I followed. I knew I wanted to work for the airlines and eventually began my career as a flight attendant. Since then, I’ve lived all over the United States. I spent most of my twenties in the sky and absolutely loved the job, but after getting married and becoming a mother I knew it was time to switch careers. I had been dabbling in writing for sometime and decided to pursue freelance writing.

Maralyn: What type of writing do you focus on, food, wine or travel or all three?

Beth: I concentrate on travel, safety and lifestyle but I love to cover food and wine. As a matter of fact, I’ve found a fun way to combine travel and culinary writing: regional culinary trails. I’ve explored Arizona’s Salsa Trail in Arizona, Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail in and the Seafood Sensation Trail in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I find culinary trails are a wonderful way to get personal with the locals, learn about the region’s culture and history and enjoy delicious food.

Maralyn: What an you share with others as to important tips or suggestions for other writers on writing and finding outlets for articles?

Beth: I recommend writers tap into their experiences and passion. Being able to prove you have a deep understanding or experience in a subject can be to your benefit. For example, if someone wants to break into travel writing, but they haven’t traveled much they can look at their background and get creative. Perhaps they have experience working on classic cars. If this is the case, they can query an editor about classic car shows across the country or a quilter could write about Quilt Barns. Topics are endless once you engage your life experiences.

Maralyn: How did you get started writing and blogging?

Beth: I’m the perfect example of someone who used my expertise and interests to develop my writing career. Writing about travel came natural, as do travel safety topics since that is what I’ve been trained in. After having children, my writing naturally progressed to family travel. The blogging came after I had been writing for some time. I joined forces with other mother-travel writers.

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Maralyn: How often do you blog?

On my personal blog, BethBlair.com I update once or twice a week. The content is mostly photos and topics that are dear to me. It’s definitely my personal outlet.

As for travel blogging, I share TheVacationGals.com and TheSpaGals.com with two other travel writers whom I have known for years. We try and update as frequently as we can. I usually end up posting once or twice a week. A group blog is a terrific way to share the workload and keep a blog lively without the stress of feeling the need to post daily.

Maralyn: What has been the most effective means of gaining traffic/followers?

Beth: We enjoy using social media, especially Twitter and Facebook to generate traffic, but building our content has really made an impact on our numbers. If you write for your audience you won’t be disappointed.

Maralyn: If you also write articles, do you query for assignments before you write or after the article is done?

Beth: When I was first getting started I wrote the article or story first. That process worked out great because it gave me the opportunity to collect clips and paychecks. Today I don’t have the time to write an article without guaranteed placement. If I’m trying to break into a new market I do query, but luckily I’ve advanced to the point that editors approach me with assignments.

Maralyn: Do you go to food, wine or travel writers or blog conferences?

Beth: I have attended Travel Media Showcase a couple of times and find that conference to be a wonderful opportunity to learn about new destinations and meet likeminded people. I also enjoy writing and blogging conferences. Most recently I attended the first Minnesota Blogger Conference in St. Paul and in November I’m speaking at I_Blog Conference in Iowa. My subject is: Pitch From Your Passion: Get Paid to Write About What You Love.

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Maralyn: What is your approach to research?

Beth: I love research and being able to prove my findings. However, I also base quite a bit of my writings off of personal experience.

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Maralyn: Do you use social networking to promote your blog? If so, which ones work best for you?

Beth: Twitter is my first choice for social networking. It’s such a quick and easy way to communicate. Linkedin has also proved beneficial for me. I have acquired assignments because an editor searched for personal my background and I popped up. Reporters have also found me because they were looking for quotes from someone with my expertise.

Maralyn: Have you considered writing a book? If so, could you tell us about the subject and any titles you may have already?

Beth: I’ve contributed to more than a dozen books and anthologies including the Chicken Soup series. I would love to write a book of my own. When I do, it will certainly have a travel theme.

Maralyn: Where can readers learn more about you?

Website: http://bethblair.com

Twitter: @BethBlair

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bethblair

Thank you for sharing Beth. It is always interesting to learn about other writers and gain insight into their tips and suggestions.

If any of the writers reading this would like to be interviewed, please contact me at MDHill@NoraLyn.com.

Maralyn D. Hill, President
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association
Books By Hills Success With Writing Where & What in the World
Member: Society of Professional Journalists

Finalist in the Writing and Publishing category of the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, ”$uccess, Your Path to a Successful Book,”

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Posted in Interviews, Travel | No Comments »

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