Meet the Wolf.....Jamieson Wolf.

Starting on January 15th - January 28th, 2007, my friend Jamieson Wolf is having his first ever Virtual Book Tour! He's promoting his book of short stories, GARDEN CITY!
But what IS a Virtual Book Tour?
A virtual book tour is simply touring “blogs” instead of bookstores. It's a wonderful way to gain exposure for your book without leaving the comfort of your home. Each blog will feature an interview with Jamieson. Jamieson has asked me if I would feature him on my blog and just because I think he kicks ass fer the lord, I said sure!!!!

Here is a list of other blogs Jamieson has visited during his tour.

Over The Hill Chick with Dorothy Thompson Tour Stop: http://www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com
Kaleido Souls with Joyce A Anthony Tour Stop: http://kaleidosouls.info/Blog.html
Reading Rucker with Linda L RuckerTour Stop: http://readingrucker.blogspot.com/
Sometimes the Dragon Wins with Sandy LenderTour Stop: http://todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com/
Greetings from the Polebarn with Laura CrawfordTour Stop: http://greetingsfromthepolebarn.blogspot.com
Theresa Chaze Wiccan Writer with Theresa ChazeTour Stop: http://theresachaze.blogspot.com/
You can also visit his blog http://jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com, for more information.

I have been reading Jamieson's writing for years and I think the guy's got a lot of talent. He is super creative, has a lot of great ideas and knows how to keep a reader interested and wanting more. He is also very dedicated to his writing and you can tell that he absolutely enjoys writing his stories. I will post some links for you to sign up to be on his mailing list to recieve the various serial novels that he writes.

Here is my interview with Jamieson Wolf:

Erin: Hey Jamieson, since many of my 'blog fans' don't know you, could you please introduce yourself?

Jamieson: Well hello there, my name is Jamieson Wolf and I'm addicted to chocolate...oh, sorry, wrong meeting...I'm a writer living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. How long have we known each other for, Erin? Must be six or seven years at least. And to think we bonded over Bjork music..ah, those were the days.

Erin: Ya it has been about that long. Jamieson and I were, and still are obsessed with Bjork and her music and that's how we became friends in Ottawa. Sweet! So Jamieson, how long have you been writing?

Jamieson: Ever since I could put a pen to paper, I guess. Seriously writing, though? Pursuing it as a career? I'd have to say that it's been at least ten years.

Erin: Cool, I really think you're on the right track. You have such great ideas and ways to promote yourself it seems you're always starting up a new project or working on new things. I admire that about you. I always wonder where you get your ideas. What inspires you to write Jamieson?

Jamieson: I get inspiration from anywhere. From conversations I hear to people/strangers who talk to me on the bus to things that just pop into my head. I'm working on a novel right now where the main character, a woman named Abigail, just kind of popped in and wouldn't leave until I put her down on paper. So sometimes *I* don't even know where I get my ideas from.
But inspiration can come from anywhere. You just have to be open to it and keep your eyes and ears open; it can come at any time. That's something I've learned along the way.

Erin: That's great, there's so much happening around us I think that is a neat way to get ideas for your writing. I know you've submitted your writing to publishers and have had many stories and poems published online, but how do you stay positive and focused if you recieve a rejection letter for something you have submitted?

Jamieson: I remind myself that I'm writing for me, that it doesn't matter that he/she doesn't get it. Then I think of all those publishers who turned down Harry Potter and are just kicking themselves now. That makes me feel better.

Just because a publisher rejects your work doesn't mean it isn't any good. *I* know my writing is good, damn good and I just have to wait for the right publisher to click with my work. It's all trial and error.

It IS a bit of a piss off to get a rejection letter. But it's like anything else; you just nod, try to smile and solider on forward. No one said the life of a writer is an easy one.

Erin: Great attitude :) So what are you the most proud of, or what is your favorite piece that you have written?

Jamieson: It's one of my children's books, The Ghost Mirror. It's the story of Mave Mallory, a young girl who doesn't know that she is the last Witch. It had been my dream to write a dark children's tale and I finally did when I wrote The Ghost Mirror. It was the one story where I could see what happened from the beginning all the way to the end. Usually I have no idea whats going to happen once I start something, but with The Ghost Mirror, everything was clear as a bell.

I love going over it again and falling back into Mave's world. Once I have a bit more time and I'm not working on so much, I'm going to continue work on the sequel, The Silver Glass; but that won't be for a while yet.

Erin: Nice, I haven't read that one yet so I am curious to find out what it's all about! I have been reading your serial novels over the past few years and I absolutely love them. Which one is your favorite and the most fun to write? Why have you chosen to write them as serial novels?

Jamieson: I have to pick a favorite? Sheesh, that's a toughie. If I had to pick a favorite, I'd have to say Hope Falls. It was the first time I had tried something outside of the fantasy genre, something new and different. It was also something that I had never tried before, writing a daily email soap opera. The characters were new to me, the story lines tangled and convoluted. I had never had so much fun! Which probably explains why I've gone on to write three more soap novels.

Why serials? I'll let you in on a little secret: I don't like writing novels. I find it tedious and boring and it's hard for me to sustain a love for my characters all the way through a novel without wanting to end it with: And they all died, the end.

This has a lot to do with my love for the short story genre, something that is hugely overlooked; I LOVE short stories. You can make a point in a few pages where a novel is a few hundred. But, with the techniques of writing a serial novel, I've now become a novelist. Odd, don't you think, for me who loves reading novels but doesn't much care for the writing of them.

With serial novels, I only have a vague idea of where the story is going to go, what the characters are like and what's going to happen. It's exciting for me to discover new elements of the story along with my readers. It makes it more challenging.

The fact that there are others out there reading my novels keeps me writing too. When someone is waiting for something, you don't want to keep them waiting. :)

Erin: I don't know where you find the time to do all of this writing but you somehow manage to keep coming up with great stuff! So you have a new novel out now, "Garden City" where can we get a copy? Do you have a blog or website where it can be found?

Jamieson: You can order a copy of Garden City, my anthology of short stories, at my web site: http://jamiesonwolf.tripod.com/

I also run my own newsletter called The Wolf where you can get free writing tips, info on everything I'm writing and what writing courses I'm teaching. You can find my newsletter here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jamieson_Wolf/

I also run my own blog called I AM THE HUNTER. There, I comment almost daily on life, books I'm reading, books I'm writing, etc. You can find my blog here:
http://www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com/

As a matter of interest, I'm also teaching a course called The Muse. It teaches aspiring writers to find inspiration. You can find more info out about the course at The Long Story Short School of Writing: http://www.lsswritingschool.com/

Erin: Do you have any other published work we should know about?

Jamieson: Aside from GARDEN CITY I've written the novels ELECTRIC PINK and ELECTRIC BLUE and the nonfiction book WATCHING THE ROSE BLOOM. All of these books are available through my web site as well!

Thanks for having me at your blog Erin! I've really enjoyed my stay! I'm also available all day for questions about publishing and writing, should anyone have any!

Cheers!

Jamieson