TIERNEY JAMES

Lipstick & Danger

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Dare to Undercover a Love for Bigfoot

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  Today we meet VJ Schultz
aka Vera Jane Goodin Schultz, a graduate of University of Missouri-Rolla. She has wanted to write books ever since she learned to read. She enjoys
writing in multiple genres including mystery, romance, and fantasy. Together with her
photographer husband John, they live in Missouri with their three spoiled inside
cats, one less-spoiled outside cat, and one happy parakeet. When she isn’t
writing or teaching writing, she takes photos, reads, and does Tai Chi. A member of
Sisters in Crime, VJ is also a founding member of Sleuths’ Ink, a mystery and
suspense writing group, and belongs to Ozarks Romance Authors.  
VJ Schultz

You have the most
interesting characters. Why did you write about Bigfoot?

Thank you.
Creating interesting characters is one of the most fun parts about writing.
That and answering the ‘what-if’ questions. Bigfoot is such a fascinating
topic. Does he or doesn’t he exist. If he did, would he be on a trail in the
Ozarks? And…well, I don’t want to give away the twist in my story now do I?
Who could NOT write about Bigfoot? I have a feeling Bigfoot has more starring
roles in some of my future stories.
You’ve now indie
published several books. Why did you decide to go in that direction rather than
a traditional press?

While I hold
traditional publishing in the highest esteem and do want to be published that
way as well as indie, I’ve long been a dabbler in publishing. During the 1990s
and into the 2000s I published several small periodicals featuring fiction and
poems by authors across the U.S. and beyond. These were Creative Reading,
Hodgepodge Short Stories & Poetry, and The Sunny Edition.
With the
great opportunity afforded writers by the e-book market and POD publishers, why
not take that step? It is fun to be in total control over the layout, cover
illustrations and so on. Well-published author friends were putting their own
works out via the Internet. Amazon struck me as the best vehicle so that is the
way I went. And my paperbacks are through Create Space.
A friend,
who edits professionally, edited my manuscripts. Friends provided the first
reads and great comments. Once the final rewrites were done and the layout as
clean as possible, I took the leap of faith. Death of Bigfoot & Other Tales
hit the Amazon marketplace. So far, I’m glad I went indie.
In a couple of
sentences tell us about each of your books.

Death of Bigfoot & Other Tales is a compilation of my short stories
which are more in the suspense/mystery genre. The book officially holds ten
stories, but I always put in one extra–just because.
Truth or Dare & Other Tales is set up the same way, but covers
more of a horror genre. One reviewer describes the stores as campfire stories.
For those who enjoy zombies, I can promise there is one in this book. A good
chance exists that a future set of short stories will be zombie themed, as I’ve become a fan of The Walking Dead. By the way, those writers are masters of
suspense and the cliffhanger.
Undercover Love & Other Tales is similar with the genre being
romance, in this case sweet romance. What is life without romance?
What is your current
work in progress?

I wish I
could say just one, so I had focus. But I can’t. One novel that I began in
January is entitled Cookie Crumbles and certainly has an element of suspense.
Another romantic suspense novel waits rewriting to update items like phones,
because electronics change so quickly. A publisher wants to see it. A couple
more books of short stories are planned and the stories are already written.
Creating and
indie publishing blank journals, a goal-setting calendar, and an internet
password organizer have sidetracked me from my writing. I enjoy putting
together publications; these are through Create Space, too.
You belong to Sleuths’
Ink, a mystery writing group. How has this advanced you as a writer
?

Being
surrounded by positive, creative individuals who are interested in their craft
inspires me to be a better writer.
So on a more personal
level, if you could travel any place in the world where would it be and why?

At the
moment, I want to go to Alaska. A cruise with land excursions would be perfect.
Perhaps the deepest reason Alaska is on my bucket list is because my father
always wanted to visit that state and never made it. The wilds of Alaska draw
me, but only so far as the path goes. I’m more of a city girl at heart. Who wouldn’t want to see glaciers, whales, mountains and all that comes with a vast
wilderness area? Of course, we will take lots and lots of photos. That is an
occupational hazard as my husband is a professional photographer and gave me
the photo bug.
What kinds of things do
you wish readers to discover in your work?

 It may depend upon the genre as to some of
what I want readers to discover in my work. Most of all I want readers to enjoy
a good tale, good laugh, or a good lesson that may better their day or even
their life.
If you could be any
author, past or present, who would that be and why?

I don’t want
to be any author other than myself. However, there are authors I admire past,
present and I sure hope in the future, too. Some that come to mind are: Charles
Dickens, Claire Cook, Andre Norton, Rex Stout, Dean Koontz–you can see I read
all over the board. I look for a great character, good story, suspense, and
really enjoy a bit of romance and humor.
How can readers reach
you on social media?

Although
keeping my social media platform up to date rates high on my to-do list, it
doesn’t always get done. Yesterday I realized my blog was woefully old, so it
is best if readers sign up to be notified when a new post is up. My addresses
are: http://vjschultz-author.me ; http://verasversion.blogspot.com; www.facebook.com/VJSchultz and https://twitter.com/VJSchultz.
List your books and how
to buy them.

My books are
available on order through Barnes & Noble and on Amazon.
Remember!
Your Simple Solution to Keeping & Organizing Passwords at http://www.amazon.com/Remember-Solution-Organizing-Passwords-Organized/dp/150855594X/
Thank you so
much for hosting me!

0 Responses

  1. I'm from Rolla. The school is now called Missouri Science and Technology. I went there my first year out of high school, but it was not for me so I transferred.

    I've seen your posts on Facebook all the time. It's nice to get an up close and personal view of you, too.

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