by S.A. Stolinsky
Publishing Date: November
1st 2016
Publisher: Fiery Seas
Publishing
Genre: Suspense
BLURB
Payback is a powerful thing...
Actor and bartender, Tyler West
experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games. Determined to
change his life, he enters the World Series of Poker. His life is suddenly
turned upside down when the Russian mafia fronts him 1.5 million dollars to
play at the tables. And then...he loses…
Now on the ride of his life, deceit
and deception are his key to uncovering the truth. He must recoup the money,
but will it come at a price? Can he stay alive long enough or will his time run
out?
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/cc3b8xb7sl8
MY INTERVIEW WITH
S.A. STOLINSKY
How would you describe you style of writing
to someone that has never read your work?
I’m hoping that my style is simplistic,
easy to read, and economic. I like the
way Robert Parker wrote. Economically. He
always said he didn’t waste too much time with language, and quoted Harold
Pinter as the great compressionist. I
also write about the people I’ve met, the things I’ve experienced. I’m a forensic psychologist, so the people I
interview have quirky and unusual ways of thinking. When I was doing comedy, the idea was to turn
simple things into crazy, out of whack things that would make people sit up and
go, “whoa, I didn’t see that coming.”
I try to say a lot with the fewest
words I can. And like John Irving, someone who’s work I love, I do write the
last chapter first so that I can see where I’m going. I also have recently started writing the most
pivotal scene that will be in the book, first so that I can visually see the
“arc” of the character, how he or she changes and what makes him or her change.
I construct a careful
outline of the story, chapter by chapter, and see everything. When you do that,
you see the “inciting incident” and you see how someone’s backstory will
influence how he or she reacts to the current situation. An outline forces you to flesh out the whole
story. So that's the way I write.
The character always
comes first with me, even though I have a good idea of what the plot will
be. I have to know someone and really
understand what would turn their life upside-down, and then construct a plot
that will turn their lives upside-down.
Once I know that, I know I’ve got a great hook that can really grab the
reader.
What mindset or routine do you feel the need
to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project
or just free writing)?
I write
every day, 7 days a week. I get lazy
like right now. I’m in the midst of
finishing the second book in the Counterfeit series and I’m trying to get
through the middle of it. For some
reason, I want more to happen. I usually
get up at 8:30 in the morning, have breakfast with my husband and then write
for the entire morning. I’ll have lunch
with him and then go to the show. I get
enthused by reading something I love like Mikey Spillane. His language and plots and character foibles
can really get me going.
Do you take your character prep to heart? Do
you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do
you people watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character
during story creation?
I have already “People-watched” in
order to get the backstory of my character and I most certainly take him or her
to heart. The character usually grows
due to the circumstances of my plot and will build on his or her own sense of
self-worth and empowerment.
Have you found yourself bonding with any
particular character? If so which one(s)?
I’m not that old, but from the time I
was an actress in the middle 70s, I liked a character I called, “Mrs.
Heffleby.” She was a crusty old woman
(at least 50 years older than I was at that time) and I remember my acting
coach, Jack Garfein, telling me to work on that character. I think she shows up in some guise or other
in every piece I write. She’s always “the Greek chorus” commenting on what’s
going on and how it’s disturbing her peace, busting her serenity. I just love that character. In HOT SHOT, my newest comedy/mystery, she’s
a madam.
Do you have a character that you have been
working on that you can't wait to put to paper?
I pretty much get them on paper. But I
would love to put someone like a Sally Ride, the late astronaut into a book
about perseverance, love, commitment and self-reliance. I’d love to put her in a situation where she
connected to the simple-minded man and worked through a really difficult time
with him. When the guy finds out who she
is, he feels blessed and special.
Have you ever felt that there was something
inside of you that you couldn't control? If so what? If no what spurs you to
reach for the unexperienced?
I have terrible ADHD. I have very little ability to delay
gratification and that causes terrible havoc with me. When I studied with famed coach, Stella Adler,
she told me it would take me longer to accomplish what I wanted because I had
no patience. She was right about that,
but I did persevere.
Author Info
Stefanie Stolinsky, Ph.D. is a
licensed psychologist and forensic psychologist with a private practice in
Beverly Hills, California. She
specializes in trauma, adults
sexually, physically and emotionally abused as children, and PTSD. She is an
international speaker and has taught training seminars in overcoming the
aftereffects of child abuse. She has also taught licensing examinations to
candidates for both marriage, family and child counseling and for the
psychology licenses.
She began her career as an actress in
motion pictures, television and stage and created a unique therapy combining
acting exercises with psychodynamic psychotherapy to help survivors of all
kinds of trauma overcome the aftereffects of abuse. The first edition of
"ACT IT OUT" was a top seller for over nine years. A second edition
of the popular book was launched in April of this year and is available on
Praeclarus Press, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
She is also the author of several
award-winning short stories including her newest short story anthology, DATE
NIGHT, and numerous comedy mystery. Dr. Stolinsky lives with her husband in Los
Angeles.
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