{"id":2700,"date":"2016-07-06T18:04:39","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T18:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/?p=2700"},"modified":"2019-07-10T02:49:52","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T02:49:52","slug":"vodka-vice-collaborative-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/?p=2700","title":{"rendered":"Vodka, Vice & Collaborative Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Angie_Typing_Book_Montage\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two Amazon indie authors, Angela J. Conrad and Kathy Hesser Skrzypczak, have never met face to face. That hasn\u2019t stopped them from leveraging their mutual passion for storytelling to co-write Vodka & Vice, a romantic comedy book series set in New York City.\u00a0 The initial story takes readers into the lives of NYC couple, Naomi Swanson and Bradley Dobrov, as they go from happy lovebirds to heartbroken ex-couple against the backdrop of h<\/em>idden speakeasies, luxury high rises, Russian dance parties and winter blizzards in the Big Apple. \u00a0As a cast of colorful characters gets in the way of them getting back together, the two soon realize that their break-up is no accident. <\/em>\u00a0I found the story a fun, easy read, with characters and situations that were laugh-out-loud entertaining.<\/em><\/p>\n

I belong to the same Facebook writing group as these two wordsmith collaborators, and am delighted to talk to them about writing as a team and what it takes to be part of a creative duo in today\u2019s ever-changing independent publishing world.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"NaomiBradley_ThreeBooks\"<\/p>\n

Q.\u00a0<\/strong> How did your newest series, Vodka & Vice, come about? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie<\/strong>: I\u2019d been on Facebook a few years, to be connected to family and friends.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t promoting my books on blogs or author pages.\u00a0 My illustrator suggested I join a writing group, so in early 2016 I joined Write Life.\u00a0 I\u2019d started a story in the group, with each writer adding a paragraph.\u00a0 It was hilarious, witty, and showed me what other author\u2019s styles blended with mine.\u00a0 In a few months I\u2019d made numerous friends, started three of my own groups, and met Kathy.\u00a0 I was finishing Body Double, Million Dollar Legs<\/em>, and Kathy read it, we talked, I sent her an idea I had for my next series, and somehow we just decided to write a book together.\u00a0 It was a mixture of perfect timing, her NYC knowledge for the story\u2019s location, and complementary styles.<\/p>\n

Q.<\/strong> What has been most surprising aspect of collaborating with another writer on a book?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie<\/strong>: How wonderfully easy it was.\u00a0 I\u2019m in northwest Arkansas and Kathy\u2019s outside NYC.\u00a0 We did everything through email, Dropbox, and inside our co-author Facebook group.<\/p>\n

Kathy:<\/strong>\u00a0 For me, it was the way it sharpened my writing.\u00a0 Once I found Bradley\u2019s voice, the story developed so naturally, it was almost as though it were writing itself.<\/p>\n

Q. What was the process like? How did you two divide up writing responsibilities?\u00a0 What about book promotion? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie<\/strong>: I had the first chapter idea already written.\u00a0 In my last ten books, I\u2019ve written in several characters\u2019 POV, bringing the reader inside each character\u2019s head.\u00a0 So in this one, I started as Naomi, sent it to Kathy and she became Bradley.\u00a0 We used each other\u2019s strengths.\u00a0 I\u2019d already published 22 books\/boxed sets on Amazon.\u00a0 I knew their formatting, rules, could design the front\/back pages, and had an illustrator and a cover designer already in play.\u00a0 Kathy was a professional copywriter and worked on ads in NYC.\u00a0 She writes cleaner, and is a strong editor.\u00a0 Kathy knows the location; she also took the pictures for the interior of the book.<\/p>\n

I write fulltime — usually 12 to 14 hours a day. \u00a0Kathy and I are both character-driven writers.\u00a0 We don\u2019t do a plot and know the ending in advance.\u00a0 We become the characters and they tell the story.\u00a0 It flowed so well, we turned Naomi & Bradley\u2019s story into the series Vodka & Vice and wrote four cliffhangers.<\/p>\n

Kathy:\u00a0 <\/strong>I would have never had the courage to publish on Amazon without Angie\u2019s expertise.\u00a0 Every step of the way, she had advice and methods she had used before that led to her previously successful books.\u00a0 Originally, we had planned on releasing the first book in around five months, but the chapters flowed so easily, we were able to finish the entire four volumes in a little less than that.<\/p>\n

Q. I felt that you both were very much “in tune” from a voice perspective. I couldn’t tell that two different people wrote this book. Did one of you gravitate to the voice of one of the characters more than another?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie:<\/strong> Thanks, several readers remarked on that and it\u2019s wonderful that the story flows and there are no breaks or different styles to interfere with the story.\u00a0 For both of us, it\u2019s all about the story.\u00a0 I think Kathy had the harder job being a cocky, gorgeous Russian male.\u00a0 She did it superbly.<\/p>\n

Kathy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Ha!\u00a0 I completely disagree.\u00a0 Angie had it harder because her character was a strong and passionate woman.\u00a0 She actually had to delve into the complexities of female thought and emotion.\u00a0 And she did it beautifully.\u00a0 All I had to do was be a guy, which is as easy as I\u2019ve always suspected it is.
\n Q. What I liked about Naomi & Bradley besides the story line and sexual chemistry, is the lively dialogue and pacing of this story. Any real-life people that you based these characters on? If you got an option for the story to be adapted to film, who would you envision playing Naomi and who would play Bradley?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie:<\/strong> Not for me.\u00a0 All my characters develop inside my head before I actually start typing.\u00a0 I give them dimensions, a past, a personality, maybe even an elevator phobia, I want them to be real people.\u00a0 We used the same models for our four covers, and we studied hundreds of other photos picking those four.\u00a0 Their faces are so ingrained inside me that I guess I\u2019d hope they could act, because to me, they are the real Naomi & Bradley.<\/p>\n

Kathy:\u00a0 <\/strong>Great question!\u00a0 Angie wrote the first chapter and sent it to me, so that\u2019s when I met them both, already formed.\u00a0 Some of the other characters who introduced themselves to me during the writing process do have elements of people I\u2019ve known, but not one of them is a straight up homage.<\/p>\n

Q. What did you learn about yourselves from this experience?\u00a0 Would you do it again?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie:<\/strong> As an author, my main focus is to give the reader what they want, and we asked at the end of the book, if they would enjoy more of Naomi & Bradley.\u00a0 If they want more, Kathy and I agreed to continue.\u00a0 We already have ideas for the secondary characters.<\/p>\n

Kathy:\u00a0 <\/strong>I learned that I don\u2019t have to sit and labor over each and every word.\u00a0 I was writing \u201cserious\u201d stuff that felt laborious.\u00a0 Writing with Angie felt more spontaneous.\u00a0 Also, when you know someone you respect is waiting on your chapter so she can move on to hers, it really lights a fire under your desk chair.\u00a0 No procrastinating!<\/p>\n

Q. Any advice for other writers who might want to team up on a novel?\u00a0 Is it best to establish yourself on your own first before collaborating with another writer, or does it matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie:<\/strong> I don\u2019t think it matters, but it doesn\u2019t hurt to have a following first, know Amazon\u2019s twists and turns.\u00a0 Join a writing group, make friends with other authors, write a short story together, and see how you mesh.<\/p>\n

Kathy:\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0I agree.\u00a0 I knew from writing our improvisational stories that Angie and I would work well together.\u00a0 I had a little trepidation at first because I\u2019ve never thought of writing with another person.\u00a0 When I worked in advertising, occasionally my art director would come up with the headline or I would create the visual, but I wrote all my copy alone.\u00a0 I think you have to have respect for your partner\u2019s opinions and writing style, which we certainly do.<\/p>\n

Q. As of this writing, have you two met in person? Any plans to?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie:<\/strong> We\u2019ve never met in person, and have no plans to right now.\u00a0 We are far apart in geography, but in spirit we are joined.\u00a0 We\u2019ve talked on the phone and daily in our group.\u00a0 We speak through our characters and a funny thing, when I\u2019m Naomi and Bradley is with another woman, I actually found myself getting angry, even jealous.\u00a0 It was super to be so into a story.<\/p>\n

Kathy:\u00a0 <\/strong>Although I would be delighted to meet Angie in person, I don\u2019t feel I need to in order to continue our partnership.\u00a0 We already know each other\u2019s strengths very well and of course the writing speaks for itself.\u00a0 She makes me a better writer.<\/p>\n

Q. What’s next for you two either individually or as a writing team?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie:<\/strong> If we don\u2019t continue with the series, we can always begin another one after a short \"FinalBook_BradleyNaomi\"break.\u00a0 All options are open.\u00a0 We\u2019re also both working on other books.\u00a0 I\u2019m usually working on two at once, overlapping.\u00a0 As I waited for Kathy\u2019s chapter, I\u2019d work on my next book, Gillian, Go Away.\u00a0 Oh, and book 4, Bradley & Naomi \u2026What\u2019s True<\/em> will be released in early July.<\/p>\n

Kathy:\u00a0 <\/strong>I have another completed novel and I\u2019m in the process of querying publishers right now.\u00a0 So much \u2018hurry up and wait\u2019 that it was wonderful to be able to create and produce work in the interim.\u00a0 I had started a third novel just before meeting Angie.\u00a0 It\u2019s a paranormal novel about all the ghosts trapped in a single building in Gettysburg, PA, and their relationships to each other and to the physical world around them, titled \u201cThe Corporeals.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m also working on a script for an animated film.\u00a0 Of course, all this will come after I put \u201cBradley & Naomi\u2026What\u2019s True\u201d to bed.<\/p>\n

Check out the first three books in Vodka & Vice at these links:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B01F6BXGV2<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B01F7GH5TA<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B01GQV96JW<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About the Authors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Angela J. Conrad<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"AngelaConrad\"Angie writes fiction full-time, creating characters \u201cwho live colorful lives, people who often need redemption, and one more chance while facing pivotal moments in their lives.\u201d She has published 18 books, four novellas, and boxed sets, and over 125 short stories on Amazon, internet sites, and news magazines.\u00a0 Her books have been downloaded in thirteen countries totaling over 9.8 million pages in the last eighteen months.<\/p>\n

She considers full-time fiction writing another great adventure. She has crossed the US and Canada alone, taken extreme chances in the stock market, bet often in casinos, and yet balanced it with serious jobs in managerial finance.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m kind of an adrenaline junkie,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Connect with Angie on her Amazon page:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/author\/angelajconradaceshigh11<\/a>, or on Facebook:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/authorangelajconrad<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kathleen Hesser Skrzypczak<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"KathySkrzypczak\"Kathy was born and raised in Pine Grove, PA.\u00a0 A small town girl with big city dreams, she moved to New York City with two-hundred dollars in her pocket and a degree in English Literature from Gettysburg College to pursue a career in advertising.\u00a0 After winning awards for clients like Penthouse Magazine, Tanqueray Gin, and Johnnie Walker Black Scotch, she left the glamorous life of the city to live in New Jersey with her husband and raise her three awesome kids.\u00a0 Her most recent success was publishing a popular blog about a family RV trip to Nova Scotia.\u00a0 Her latest adventure is a romantic comedy book series she’s co-authoring with accomplished Amazon author, Angela J. Conrad.\u00a0 When she’s not writing, Kathleen loves to dance, sing, and cook, sometimes all at the same time.<\/p>\n

Connect with Kathy on her Amazon page: amazon.com\/author\/kathleenhesserwriter, or on Facebook:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/authorskrzypczak\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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