http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2015/02/nbtm-tour-grace-revealed-memoir-by-greg.html
Greg will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
Author Interview
1. Woohoo! You are a published author. Describe a strong character trait you possess, good or bad, and how it helped you become a published author. I am extremely intuitive and deeply in touch with the inner workings of the creative well. This truly helped in pursuing writing Grace Revealed.
2. Sometimes an author begins writing a story before they are aware of its genre. Did you choose your genre, or did it choose you? It chose me. Because I felt led to explore my Polish family’s past and their incredibly rich survival story of the 1940s, the decision was really made for me. That coupled with my own serendipitous life made for very interesting storytelling.
3. The plot thickens, or does it? Which one are you, a pantser or a plotter? I am both, actually.
4. Fear 101: As writers it is our duty to make our characters face their fears. Have you ever included one of your own fears in a storyline? Yes. Many times. I think many writers do.
5. Fear 102: Yes, deadlines are terrifying. Have you conquered the juggling act between writing and the rest of your life? What do you do when it feels like the balls are dropping all around you? I try to get out of my own way as much as possible. So much of the messiness of life lies in the “reaction” to it.
6. Switch positions with one of your main characters in a scene. What is the outcome, disaster or divine intervention? I would say … so many things would be vastly different. I am strong, but I doubt I would be able to say, like my grandmother in the book, keep it all together and save the family. Perhaps I am wrong however, I marvel at her grit.
7. Where is your favorite place to write? Add that one comfort food that you can’t do without. A coffeehouse with lattes and biscotti.
8. Writing inspirations? Tom Robbins, David Sedaris, Carrie Fisher, Jonathan Franzen, Tennessee Williams, Caroline Myss
9. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them? As a journalist, I typically ask all my interviewees the same last question. I have asked Franzen, Sedaris and Myss the question: What’s the most interesting thing you have learned about yourself lately?
10. I’ve gone mad – why don’t you come with me? Some people just don’t understand us writers. Name a quirky, writer-thing you do that friends wish you didn’t. Ruminate on the inner workings of my soul, The Universe and signs from above. Seems to drive a bunch of people crazy. But what the heck… it’ll give them something to write about.
Grace Revealed: A Memoir
by Greg Archer
“Powerful, touching and heartfelt.”—The Huffington Post
Excerpt:
It all began with a broken picture frame and actor Ewan McGregor. But not at the same time. And a photograph of Ewan McGregor was not even in the picture frame. Nor did the Hollywood hotshot have anything to do with breaking it.
Allow me to explain …
It was the Fall of 2010 … which is the perfect way to begin a story, but for me, it really could be taken quite literally.
One morning, I walked into my third-floor office of the weekly magazine at which I was the editor in Santa Cruz, California. To my surprise, the double picture frame housing two different black-and-white photos of my Polish family lay face up on my desk and the glass from the frames broken, the remnants arranged in a clumsy collection of jagged shards right there atop of it.
My Polish grandmother’s disenchanted eyes stared up at me with haunting concern from one of those photos and her tightly drawn lips refused her powdered, solemn face to soften. Next to her lay a group portrait of my grandmother, my aunt, my three uncles, and my mother, all at various ages in their youth, sitting on a bench outdoors in Tanzania, Africa, during the 1940s.
I sat down behind my desk and quickly assessed the situation, glancing at the top shelf on the wall nearly three feet away. The picture frame typically resided there and during the course of any given week, I would peer up at those photos more times than I could accurately assess and ruminate—on my family’s strength, their will, how World War II affected them. At times, these deep thoughts temporarily assisted me in avoiding a life-long habit I had yet to fully overcome: Mood Swinging.
I would not necessarily call myself bipolar.
Emotional? Of course. But bipolar. No. (Not yet.)
Author Bio and Links:
GREG ARCHER
Author, Journalist, Cultural Moderator, More …
GREG ARCHER is an author, cultural moderator, award-winning journalist, television host and motivational speaker. His latest book, GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR, goes from glitz to the Gulags as the popular entertainment reporter takes a step back from Hollywood to explore his Polish family’s mesmerizing tale surviving Joseph Stalin’s mass deportation of Poles during the 1940s. What he uncovers along the way fuels his mission to not only expose the nearly forgotten odyssey that befell nearly 2 million Poles 75 years ago, but to also expose the ripple effects that remain today.
**** GREG ARCHER’s work covering agents of change, history, travel and the entertainment industry have appeared in The Huffington Post, Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Examiner, The Advocate, Bust, Palm Springs Life, VIA Magazine, Jetset Extra and on variety of cable television outlets. A four-time recipient of the Best Writer Award in a popular San Francisco Bay Area Readers’ Poll, he shines the light on change agents near and far, and other under-reported issues in society. His splits his time between his hometown of Chicago, and Palm Springs.
WEB: www.gregarcher.com
GRACE REVEALED: A MEMOIR SITE: www.graverevealedbook.com
GRACE REVEALED / FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grace-Revealed-A-Memoir/835500373138365?ref=hl
BOOK TRAILERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbxpaZiDod4
TWITTER @Greg_Archer
Thank you for hosting
Enjoyed your comments. The excerpt was such a tease. I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on. I loved it.
A big thanks for paving the way to pass through this unique portal. It’s good to be here. I look forward to connecting more with your readers. Have a stellar day! If you folks wanted a deeper glimpse into the book, which is kind of a Polish ‘Eat Pray Love’ take a peek at the book trailer below. Many thanks.
Greg, thanks for this insight into your family’s experience. It is inspiring. I often look at my old family photos and wonder what kind of life they led 50 or 100 years ago. Maybe one day I’ll explore.
It’s a pleasure to have you here. Congrats on your book release!
Thank you…. and YES. Do explore your family’s past if you feel led to do that. It’s a fascinating and rich ride to do so. We recently had a book event in San Francisco (last night actually) and it was interesting to hear people connect with the idea of exploring their family’s past…. and ask: Who am I? Where did I come from? What happened before me?
Many thanks
ONWARD …
I enjoyed the excerpt, thank you.
Where is your favorite place to write?
Oddly— STARBUCKS. I must give them the equivalent of a car payment each month. It’s insane. But I also love solitude too… It just depends on where the creative drive is taking me. For me, it’s just important to write. If I don’t, I tend to swing from one moody vine to the next. 🙂
Great author interview. I love hearing your thoughts
nice interview
I liked reading the book excerpt, great interview.
Enjoyed reading your interview, thank you!
Enjoyed the interview.
sounds like a great book! Thanks for the giveaway.