Tag Archives: Author Interview

Miss Matisse Interview- With Published Author Digger Cartwright Question 9

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Miss Matisse: You have thirteen years under your belt already! That’s pretty cool if I do say so myself, because that’s more than most authors can say that they have! What should readers expect to find when they pick up a Digger Cartwright book?

Digger Cartwright: Murder, mystery, intrigue, an engaging story with twists and turns when it comes to most of my books. Conversations on the Bench is the lone example at this point, since it’s motivational and was inspired by actual events. Regardless of what book you read, it’s going to be an interesting and unique storyline. There are going to be a lot of memorable characters. There are going to be a lot of descriptions of the people and the settings. I try to paint a picture so that you as a reader feel like you’re in the story. I want you to be able to see the people and places in your heads. Some of the books you won’t be able to put down. You’re going to want to keep reading to find out what happens. Others, you’re going to want to step back and think about it for a while. In any case, you’re going to get an engaging story and a quality piece of work. None of my books are going to be like the run-of-the-mill books being put out by mainstream authors today.

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Miss Matisse Interview- With Published Author Digger Cartwright Question 8

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Miss Matisse: I will have to check out (Conversations on the Bench) for myself when I can find some extra time to sit down and read! It sounds very interesting… J How long have you been writing?

Digger Cartwright: Many years off and on. I guess I’ve really taken it seriously and been dedicated to writing since 2000. That’s when I sat down and wrote Murder at the Ocean Forest, and I’ve been writing ever since. I tried the traditional means of getting Murder at the Ocean Forest published until I finally decided to self-publish in about 2005.

http://missmatisse.com/diggercartwrightinterview/

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Miss Matisse Interview- With Published Author Digger Cartwright Question 6

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Miss Matisse: This is ALL excellent information and advice you have given to our readers who may be interested in becoming an author, and I’m positive that they will take away a lot from it! Are you currently a published writer? If so, could you elaborate on this a bit…If not, have you ever thought about publishing your books?

Digger Cartwright: When I first started writing, I was one of these authors who had been brainwashed that you have to have an agent to get your book published and be successful. After several years of rejections, hundreds of letters that went unanswered, and getting nowhere, I decided to abandon that failed strategy and self-publish my books. It was probably one of the best decisions I could have made. Since then, I’ve had my team of marketing folks working on different strategies to get word out about each book, interact with the fans and readers, and gain more exposure for me and my work. It’s not easy, but it can work. The entire indie author space has really blossomed as a result of e-books and readers and the internet and social media. Now indie authors can reach just as many readers and potential fans as the traditional publishers. There are tons of marketing options and an abundance of resources for self-published authors. I look at it as another business venture, and I’m in the process of setting up the National Federation of Self-Published Author Entrepreneurs as a resource for indie authors who decide to go the self-published route.

http://missmatisse.com/diggercartwrightinterview/

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Miss Matisse Interview- With Published Author Digger Cartwright Question 5

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Miss Matisse: I’ve realized in the years I’ve done online sales, and writing myself that a degree isn’t always required, and a handful of the authors that actually don’t have degrees are the BEST ones out here! I commend you for pursuing your passion, and those classes that you took have paid off! What would you say is your process when it comes to writing? i.e. How do you normally begin?

Digger Cartwright: It normally starts with an idea. I’ll jot down some notes on paper. Yes, I’m a bit old fashioned when it comes to that. I like to write ideas down on a legal pad or notepad. Sometimes the story comes into focus first and sometimes the characters come into focus for me before I have the entire story in my mind. Sometimes this happens almost overnight and sometimes it takes days, weeks or months. I’ll make a list of the characters and a little description of them including things like how they look, dress, act, and so on. I’ll make an outline of the plot and work out the sequence of events so I have something to follow when I sit down to actually write the manuscript.

I have to make a decision as to what style and tone I want the book to have. Is it going to be fast paced or slow moving and methodical? Is it going to be character driven or story driven? Is it going to be dark? What’s the best style for the genre that it’s in? I have to make all these decisions, then it’s really just a matter of doing the work and putting the words on paper. Sometimes I’ll skip around once I have the outline. I have been known to write the ending first once or twice, and sometimes I’ll just work chronologically from the first event all the way through to the end.

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Miss Matisse Interview- With Published Author Digger Cartwright Question 3

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Miss Matisse: Wow! I’m actually quite shocked at how you can remember everything from the titles of your books that you’ve written, all the way up to which stories have been the favorites amongst your fans, and why they’ve been favorites! Your quality of writing is phenomenal might I add…I’d say our readers are in for a definite treat! Do you have any degrees or formal training in writing?

Digger Cartwright: I do not. I had a lot of practice diagramming sentences in school when I was a kid, so it really helped with grammar and sentence structure. I always had a fondness for literature, so I took a good deal of literature classes in college and that required a good deal of writing. Aside from that, I’ve really just had to pick it up along the way. As I mentioned before, I was always a prolific reader, so I picked up a lot in terms of style and technique from other writers over the years.

http://missmatisse.com/diggercartwrightinterview/

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Miss Matisse Interview- With Published Author Digger Cartwright Question 2

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Miss Matisse: That is so interesting! I like the fact that you’ve read stories and have thought about how you could make them better, plus the fact that you really delve deep and get creative which I highly respect! Creativity is something that comes naturally to certain people and this is what leads me to my next question… What would you say has inspired/motivated you to do what you do in everyday life both personally and professionally?

Digger Cartwright: I want to do the best job I can at whatever I do. I really enjoy what I do in terms of business and writing, so perhaps it’s self gratification that motivates me along with a desire to give back to worthwhile causes and bring some entertainment to others’ lives. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of a job well done. I work hard to make each book I write something interesting and unique that the readers can enjoy.

Of course, some people like some of my books better than others. A lot of readers really dislike Murder at the Ocean Forest; they find it long and drawn out and difficult to read. It was done that way deliberately. Some readers like the fast pace of The Versailles Conspiracy. A lot of people don’t like the ending of The House of Dark Shadows. Surprisingly, most people like The Maywarings: A Game of Chance, in part I think because there aren’t many westerns anymore.

Overwhelmingly, Conversations on the Bench has been most readers’ favorite. There’s something in that book that everyone can relate to.

At the end of the day, whether they love a particular book or hate it, they agree that it’s well written and reflective of my desire to produce quality books. I could turn out ten books a year that are all crap or marginal or I can produce one or two per year that are outstanding. To me quality is more important than quantity. It’s really satisfying that readers appreciate the hard work that goes into each of my books to paint a picture for the reader of the setting and the people. If I can bring a smile to someone’s face or help them escape from the reality of everyday life for a little while by getting lost in one of my books, I think I’ve done something special for them.

Perhaps more important than this is the ability to give back and help causes that are near and dear to my heart. When you’ve been fortunate in life to enjoy a degree of success, it’s always good to give back. I’m always trying to find ways to help charities and promote their work. If my business and writing enable me to make a contribution to a local no-kill shelter that saves a homeless animal and feeds it and cares for it until it finds a forever home, I’ve made a difference.

http://missmatisse.com/diggercartwrightinterview/

 

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Miss Matisse Interview- With Published Author Digger Cartwright Question 1

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Miss Matisse: Hello Digger, so…first things first, what an awesome name you have! Would you mind telling our readers a little about yourself and how you became a writer?

Digger Cartwright: I’m a businessman and entrepreneur first, and in the process of starting and running businesses I’ve had to do a great deal of writing over the years. Predominantly, it’s been in the form of business plans or research reports or articles for trade publications. Over the years I also did a lot of letter writing to politicians to give my commentaries on issues effecting America, business or the economy. I’ve done a lot of writing of commentaries for think tanks, like ThinkingOutsideTheBoxe.com, but it’s more along the lines of presenting a case and offering interpretations and solutions.

I think what really got me started writing was that I didn’t like the ending of a particular book so I set about to write the ending that I liked. There were some short stories along the way and teleplays before I decided to make the plunge into my first novel. I actually wrote The Versailles Conspiracy first as a quasi screenplay/novel. After that I didn’t do much for a couple of years until I got the idea for Murder at the Ocean Forest, which became the first novel I actually published.

I’ve always been very creative, ever since I was a child, and I’ve liked to be the storyteller at times, so perhaps there’s always been the writer in me. I’ve always been an avid reader, so there has always been part of me that said I can do that or I can write a better story than that. Some say I have a flair for dramatics. So overall, writing is a good fit for me. I’ll let the readers be the judge of that.

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What tips do you have for young aspiring writers? Interview by learnfreemarketing

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Writing takes a lot of hard work, patience, and dedication. Most of the time, writing is a labor of love, it’s a passion. You don’t get noticed overnight, and if you’re in it to get rich and famous, you’re probably going to be disappointed. You shouldn’t be writing because you think it’s going to make you rich and famous. You should be writing because you enjoy it and it’s a personally rewarding experience for you and it may bring joy and entertainment to others. If you end up getting rich and famous, good for you. I’m certainly not trying to be discouraging, but the fact is a lot of writers never get recognized, never get an agent, and never get published by a major publishing house. If you’re serious about writing, make sure you have a good story to tell. Make sure your manuscript is professionally edited and polished. You can’t throw something together haphazardly and say it’s ready to be published. You’ve got to make sure that your final product, your final manuscript, is the best that it can be. It can’t just be good. It has to be great. There’s a lot of competition out there. I think there will be something like 2 million books published this year. You’ve got to make sure yours is exceptional if you want to be successful. Then you have to decide if you want to go the traditional route of trying to find an agent to get your book published by a major publishing house or if you want to self-publish. There are pros and cons to both. A lot of people have made a decent living through self-publishing. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and really want to take charge of marketing your own work, you might be a candidate for self-publishing. Here again, nothing happens overnight. You’ll need to be patient. You’ll need to be dedicated and disciplined. And don’t get discouraged if you’re not as successful as you hoped or if you get turned down by agents or publishers. If you believe in yourself, keep working on it. When you get bucked off the horse, you’ve got to get back in the saddle and keep at it. The same goes for writing. If you believe in yourself and your work, keep going. Write more and more. The more you write, the better you’re going to get at it. Listen to criticism; it can be helpful. You may want to take some classes or workshops to help improve your skills. But if you’re an aspiring writer, you need to be aware of the challenges, you need to believe in yourself, and you need to be patient.

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As an author of several mystery novels, what motivated you to shift gears with your latest project and write an inspirational book? Interview by “With Five Questions”

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Actually, it wasn’t my idea to write my latest book, Conversations on the Bench. I was asked if I would be interested in writing a book about Sebastian, the central figure of this novel. What really motivated me to undertake the project was Sebastian himself and the story he had to tell. I only met him in person at a symposium hosted by the think tank that he had been instrumental in establishing. Over the next couple days I got to know him and his colleague, and I realized that he had a very fascinating perspective on life that was really the result of his own unique set of life experiences. The more I learned from my few conversations with Sebastian at that symposium and the more I subsequently learned from Robbie, the founder of the think tank, the more motivated I got about writing this inspirational book. It was clear to me that Sebastian’s story needed to be told. He had such a huge personality that you couldn’t help but like the guy, and I think everyone did. Everyone that I talked to had something good to say about Sebastian or had some story to tell about him and how he had impacted their life. He was always very positive and encouraging, and he was always there for his friends. He was just a remarkable individual and the more I got to hear his story, the more inspired I was. And ultimately, this entire project, Sebastian’s story, has really had a very big impact on my life, just as Sebastian himself had a big impact on the lives of people who knew him.

http://withfivequestions.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-digger-cartwright-author.html

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Could you tell us a little bit about the real life friendship that inspired Conversations on the Bench? Interview by “With Five Questions”

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Robbie was a young college student when he met Sebastian in the mid-1990s. They met while both working at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Robbie was a full-time student studying finance, business, economics, etc. and worked full time. Sebastian had an educational background in economics and worked two jobs–tax investigator by day and hotel reservationist by night. They would spend hours talking about everything going on in their worlds and the world at large. And thus began a lifelong friendship. After Robbie graduated from college, Sebastian had some very poignant words of wisdom and anecdotes to share to help the young college grad get through some tough times. Robbie ended up starting his own successful business at about the same time that Sebastian was forced to retire due to health issues. That gave them the opportunity to spend a lot of time together, Sebastian mentoring Robbie and giving him encouragement, and Robbie integrating Sebastian in the business as much as possible.

They ended up starting a think tank, Thinking Outside the Boxe, to share their writings about any topic they could debate as well as their economic commentaries and research. As Sebastian’s health declined, Robbie was there to offer support and encouragement, just as Sebastian had been there for him. These two guys had this great brotherly relationship. Robbie even referred to Sebastian on many occasions as the brother he never had. And I think Sebastian liked that and really thought of Robbie as his little brother. He was there for Robbie to give him advice on women, relationships, business, whatever, and all the advice came from Sebastian’s own experiences. It’s the type of friendship that very few people are lucky enough to find in this life. It’s really just a heartwarming and truly inspirational friendship that I have recounted in Conversations on the Bench.

http://withfivequestions.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-digger-cartwright-author.html

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