Author interview

I'm pleased as Punch to be featured on Linda Rae Blair's  blog today. She is an author of the highest caliber with almost two dozen books in her name. Just look at her impressive list of novels! Here's an excerpt. I'm sure you can contact her too !

Linda Rae Blair, Author

AUTHOR INTERVIEW – SIGGY BUCKLEY (Creative Non-Fiction)

Welcome to Siggy Buckley!

 

Tell us about yourself—you know, all that stuff that makes you interesting!

   I was a college adjunct professor for teaching English (being a German native speaker) for years. Then my life took an unexpected turn. My then husband had opted out of the rat race for health and environmental reasons. He was a CPA, and made us emigrate to Ireland from a professional German background to become organic farmers in the sticks of Ireland: for THE GOOD LIFE. It was a challenge and a culture shock for me. This created a crop of misgivings and, unfortunately, our marriage broke up over it. 

 

Where and how to find a new partner in a country where divorce wasn’t even legal yet? I started my own dating agency ‘to skim off the cream’ ─ as a journalist put it in an interview. I became the “Dating Guru” or “Chief Cupid” of Ireland. Enough to write a book about! When the Internet took over the dating scene even in backward little Ireland, I jumped on the cyber highway myself to find that elusive soul-mate. The book is called “Next Time Lucky: How to Find Your Mr. Right”. It is a sassy, sometimes naughty read. Its new edition has an additional chapter with practical dating advice.
 I’m now happily married and live in the USA. Unfortunately, due to chronic pain, I no longer have a day job but a loving husband who brings home the bacon.
I love getting sucked into a gripping book. I used to golf and garden. Now I prefer to have a nice garden and sit and enjoy it. Dancing has also been one of my passions: Disco music, Bee Gees, Motown—I’m giving away my age here! So instead of sweating in the gym, I prefer to have music take me back to the best times in my life- in my own house dancing!

 I wrote extensively for American Chronicles and Opednews on political and environmental topics. Having several blogs and books going in addition at the same time, my writing now concentrates on our travels – home swapping- as well as maintaining a writer’s blog. It gives writers a platform to get noticed.

I’m a proud International member of the National League of American Pen Women. 

What is your genre?

 Creative non-fiction. I figure if I called it memoirs, I’d be in trouble. Not being a celebrity, who knows Siggy Buckley and would be interested in her memories? And I lived through enough material for another book!

What other writer inspires you? Your work?  

 I met an elderly lady on the oncology ward of the Mayo Clinic, where I volunteered at the time. We quickly connected over the writing, and she was very influential in my approach, learning process and she also edited my book. Thanks to her I’m now a member of the National League of American Pen Women –though I’m not even American but still German.

I like a strong female voice. After a long love affair with Joanne Harris’ books (author of “Chocolat”), I now favor Tana French, an Irish whodunit writer.  I know the Irish settings of her so far 4 books well and love the Irishisms she uses. They make me feel like being back home.......

My hub called Siggy’s Omnibus comprises 5 other sites. Unfortunately, it’s not supported by Apple products because it contains flash links.

My new book trailer is fun! .....For more, please go to Linda Rae Blair's website!

Thank you so much, Linda Rae! 

 

 

 

 

 

Professional Interview with Wise Bear Productions

Absolutely loved the chance to appear on another blog talk interview, this time with Quinn Barrett of Wise Bear Productions: http://www.wisebearbooks.com/podcast-siggy-buckley/. If you have some moments to spare, listen in--it may be worth your while if you're looking for some info on dating being single or divorced. I love these podcasts, blabber mouth that I am. A chance to get some background information on my book www.NextTimeLucky.com and me as the author. Quinn, the interviewer, felt that my book as well as my webesites and page on Facebook contain useful information when it comes to dating. Spice up your life with a naughty book.
Happy dating!

Blog Talk Radio Interview

Readers Entertainment Radio with Renee Bernard (5-15-12)

Canned Laughter and Coffee Presents: Siggy Buckley

“Next Time Lucky: Lessons of a Matchmaker” is a refreshing account from this real-life matchmaker and proves that even if you’re a professional in the field, when it comes to matters [...].
http://www.readersentertainment.com/blog/2012/canned-laughter-and-coffee-presents-siggy-buckley/

The Writer's Block Interviews: Siggy Buckley

1)     Describe your journey as an author/writer.

My scribblings started as a diary when I was online dating. Then I met my now husband the 'natural 'way. He encouraged   me to put my encounters into the form of a book. Daredevil that I am, I even wrote it in English which is not my first language, although I have a master's   degree in teaching it.While waiting for my literary agent to sell my manuscript, I discovered my love for blogging. And here I am, consummate   blogger and now self-published author. Needless to say, my agent wasn't   successful. But I'm forging on.

2)     Do you specialize in any particular genre(s)?   

Memoirs which I disguise as a novel. I have a travel blog that I converted into a book: www.Intrepidhomeswappers.blogspot.com which became  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005N0N3CO.   

3)     Who are your favorite authors? How do they inspire your work?

I love thrillers for example by Elizabeth George. Unfortunately I don't have the imagination to pull off a   whodunnit.  Irish writers like female like Nuala O'Faoilan and Sheila O' Flanagan. There I'm waiting (and hoping) for their 'voices' to rub off on me...

4)     Tell us about your most current project. 

The launch of a new blog for writers www.writersgettoether.blogspot.com took a lot of my time over the past 2 months. It's a new platform for  bloggers and writers to get noticed through social media networks. My current brainchild is a book about child abuse that went on in Ireland in the sixties. It is of a similar theme as " The Magdalene Sisters", if  you have seen the movie. I 'm also finishing up book #3 called I Once Had a Farm in Ireland, also autobiographical.

5)     How did you choose your publisher? Describe that process.

Not having been successful with my agent,  I couldn't sit back and decided to self-publish. From all the possible choices, I picked Createspace because they have a good reputation, deliver quality books, and you have no costs upfront.

6)     How do you promote your work? What strategies have been the most successful? 

I rely on creating an internet presence on various blogs and websites as well as social networking. I'm also a member of the National League of American Pen Women.

7)     What else have you written/published?

I wrote a lot of articles for www.opednews.com and  www.americanchronicle.com under my maiden name, Ursula Siebert; an eBook called Intrepid Homeswappers: Secrets to Successful Home Swapping (How to   save thousands on your next vacation) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005N0N3CO; plus a blog that goes with the website of my novel Next Time Lucky called www.Nexttimelucky.blogspot.com where I give up-to-date dating advice. Another subject close to my heart is related to everything organic and green since my days on an Irish organic farm  www.Inandoutofireland.blogspot.com.


8)     What do you plan to accomplish in 2012? 

Sell a lot of books; finish book #3; establish myself in my new role as blog talk hostess together with Angelica Harris on "Monday Lunch Hour" http://www.blogtalkradio.com/angelicaharris

9)     What advice would you give to budding writers?

Write about what you know and don't give up the day job.


10)   What is your definition of success as a writer? 

To get the response here that I was used to (as a matchmaker) in Ireland : "Yes, I've heard about you!" Even from the former Prime Minister (Taoiseach).


Author Bio:  Former matchmaker par excellence - or Dating Guru as the Irish media liked to call me- I was born in Germany. Having achieved a Masters Degree in English, I got married, had two children and then emigrated to Ireland with my family for the GOOD LIFE.

Involuntary life on an Irish farm produced a crop of misgivings and the break-up of our marriage. Single again, I launched a dating service in Dublin which eventually planted the seeds for this novel. I'm now happily married and live in the USA.

Next Time Lucky  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Next-Time-Lucky/245003752184595?ref=ts

https://twitter.com/#!/Hernibs

www.writersgettogether.blogspot.com

Posted by Raychelle Muhammad at 12:00 AM

Yet another New Year's Resolution

I recently spent a week in a Migraine Clinic. On admittance, I was asked for my goal of the day. A nurse was going to write it on a whiteboard in my room. Stunned, I thought that was obvious: To be pain-free.

To have a goal is one thing but how to get there is quite another. But like the Chinese saying goes:”Every journey begins with the first step.”

You know what I’m getting at if you’re single and reading this. You have tried for a while on your own or the help of well-meaning friends –if you’re lucky-to find that elusive person. Now you’re curious to get some advice from a pro who has occupied herself with matters of the heart for years. At this time of year you read a lot of about New Year’s Resolutions. Everybody seems to be setting them. Have you? Did you set yourself goals for 2012 in other areas of your life? How about your love department?

The goal is obvious: Find a partner in crime (marriage, loving relationship, live –in lover whatever your target may be; someone to wake up with and spend time with, someone to hold your hand for a while, someone to walk hand in hand with. Like with every goal setting you need a step-by-step plan how to get there. And sometimes it’s baby steps you have to make.

With gazillion self help books out there reaching from “Dating for Dummies” to “How to Catch a man and Keep him “you certainly have enough material available to start a proper research into the subject matter to get you on your way. Maybe you have done that already?

In my forties I was in your shoes and faced the same predicament. I was divorced, in a foreign country and had two teenage children which slightly complicated the matter. I don’t want you to do what I did and buy a matchmaking company in order to get access to as many available candidates as possible; or, as journalist phrased it to my utter embarrassment –and that of my children-“To skim the milk of the cream.”

Yeah, in a way that’s what I wanted in spite of the huge price tag attached to it. But at the time there were very few alternatives for separated or divorced-I like to call them recycled- people in Ireland. Ireland had only just legally gotten the divorce in 1996.

You on the other hand have all these agencies out there to be of your assistance - online or personal. (Yes, the personal ones or matchmakers still exist if you prefer one to one personalized service, if a bit more expensive). The choice is yours.

I had fun running the agency, dealing with people, meeting nice clients, learning about life, myself and my own expectations from life. At the same time, I made money and “Combined business with pleasure” as another cheeky reporter put it. You can do the same when signing up with any of these agencies or several if you must. You will learn about yourself not just about the potential partners. You will grow through the experience, it will make you stronger, a more determined, experienced, savvy person, not a more frustrated one, I hope. You may have to do baby-steps, self-scrutiny being one of them. No, that’s a bigger one.

A motto that I learned from one of my older clients should guide you on this journey or quest: the 3 Ls “Living, Laughter and Loving.”

If you want to read more of this expert’s advice, get my book Next Time Lucky or what this space.

Get a free copy of my book

If you're interested in a free copy of my book Next Time Lucky: Lessons of a Matchmaker, you may want to check this out.It also shows the first chapter to give you an idea. Read it and see for yourself whether you like it.
I also want to mention my Facebook page of the book. Comments and questions welcome! happy dating! And my involvement in a blog radio show as of 12 Dec. called Monday Lunch Hour. From now on, I'll be co-hosting with Angelica Harris who has been interviewing authors and other inspirational people for a couple of years about their lives and how they overcame obstacles and adverse situations. Tune in at 12 noon or listen to it any time because it will be available as a podcast afterwards.