New Mystery Adventure by FCEtier Author, Photographer and Blogger

 

AMAZON

I would like to welcome todays guest FCETIER “Chip” author, photographer, and blogger.   He and wife lived on the Gulf Coast in Baton Rouge and Gulf Port, MS, until hurricane Katrina uprooted them.  He moved to the mountains of western North Carolina just west of Asheville. Graduated pharmacy school in 1974. He has sold life insurance and taught and sold Dale Carnegie Courses.  He and his wife are guardian ad litems in their local county.  He is a certified expert witness in pharmacology for district and superior court in Haywood County.  They now live in the valley of Cold Mountain the same one from the movies, with their  four dogs and three cats — all rescues.

1. I know you are an author, photographer, and blogger.  First, tell us a bit about your books, and what inspired them.

The Tourist Killer was my first book. The second was The Presidents Club.

Writing the first book was an adventure made easier by a great editor and a loving muse (two different people.) Since I’m a baby boomer myself, it seemed natural to write about a boomer. A woman boomer in an unlikely profession offers some interesting marketing opportunities.

A character in the first book made a comment about his name that inspired the second book. For details, check  this video interview and fast forward to the 55 second mark.

2. Which book did you enjoy writing most, and why?

The Presidents Club. I love to write dialog and this book features over a dozen characters with speaking roles. It’s fun to get into the role of each different character to write their lines. It’s my Zen moment.

3. Tell us how you evolved from photographer to author.

The folks over at Venture Galleries noticed my photography and invited me to show my work on their site. Regardless of the medium, they ask their artists to blog frequently to support his or her own work.  They enjoyed my blogs so much, they made me an offer that was hard to refuse, “If you write a book, we’ll publish it.”

4. How long have you been a photographer, and what is your inspiration?

Seems like I always had a camera in my hands. I was the pesky cousin at family gathering taking lots of photos. It wasn’t until after the turn of the century that I began a serious interest in black and white photography. My wife’s encouragement and admiration for my work inspired me to pursue selling the images(2007). She was right. I found a niche and a market and invested in better equipment. Now I have a gallery of best sellers. A major influence and inspiration is the work of  Willaim Eggleston

5.How did you get into professional photography?

In the spring of 2007 my work bonus enabled me to afford some top of the line professional photography equipment (Canon) and I got serious about photography.  My first attempt to sell my work was in a consignment shop in Waynesville, NC. When it closed, I moved to another in Waynesville and one in Asheville. Sales continued to grow. Now I have my own retail store/studio in Canton, NC, one mile from Interstate 40 just west of Asheville.

6. When the camera is in your hand what are you aiming for, e.g. just a good shot, a  theme, or atmosphere?

Even when it’s an extemporaneous shot, I immediately begin to visualize the final image — what I want to see in the end. Then I look for that in the viewfinder. I try hard to get the image right in the viewfinder so little post production edits are necessary. I do not use Photoshop. I do not care for images that have been “Photoshopped to death.”

7. How did you get into blogging, and what made you decide to blog?

My first foray into blogging was reviewing books and audio CDs forBlogcritics.org. I reviewed a lot of books and jazz music for BC and several other sites including Examiner.com. Then the opportunity with Venture Galleries came along.

8. How do you select blog topics?

Most of my topics are in some way related to either my photography or my books. A few relate to writing in general or photography tips. I still review books on occasion, but not nearly as often as before. On of my blogs that got a lot of views was on Zen. I wrote about this subject because my main character, a professional assassin, uses Zen in her work, and in her hobby of painting. Also, her grandfather was a motorcycle mechanic (another subtle reference to Zen.)

9. You are a featured blogger on another site featuring you authorship and photography, tell us about that.

Venture Galleries has been established as a new marketing and publishing house that showcases, promotes, and markets the works of talented Indie authors and artists who are building a niche in the marketplace. More info is available HERE.

10. You have actively promoted the “Pay It Forward” blog hop. How did you get involved and what are the rewards?

http://jefishman.com/

J.E. Fishman is the Amazon-bestselling author of three critically acclaimed novels: the science thriller PRIMACY, the wisecracking mystery CADAVER BLUES: A Phuoc Goldberg Fiasco, and the financial thriller THE DARK POOL.

A former Doubleday editor, Fishman also occasionally blogs for The Nervous Breakdown and the Huffington Post. He divides his time between Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and New York City.

Fishman tagged one of my friends in the Venture Galleries Authors Group and he in turn tagged me.

11. How long has it been going on?

It first came to my attention when I was tagged to participate in May 2014.

12. You also involved in a project called “Weekend Writing Warriors,” please tell us about that.

This weekly blog hop was continuation of another, Six Sentence Sunday. When SSS ended, WeWriWa continued the tradition. I found SSS on FaceBook and began my participation there. It gets exposure for my work and challenges with brevity. Writers have to get the attention of readers with only eight sentences. Each week, anywhere from 50 to 75 writers contribute samples of their work from a wide variety of genres.  The founder of the WeWriWa is Teresa Cypher with co-founders Marcia Kuma and Dana Renelt.  It started as a Sunday short sentence group, with six Sundays closed. 13.

13. What is your definition of success, and have you achieved it?

Before the turn of the century, the term, “financial independence” got a lot of talk in business/motivational circles. For me, financial independence was to reach a point in which we spent less than I made. For about fifteen years now, after a divorce and getting married again, I’ve been there. Personal success came when I got married to the right person. Pharmacy fulfills the need for self actualization and photography and writing round out my life with pleasurable hobbies that now make money, too.

14. Final thoughts?

I write for the same reason many readers read — escape. The lure of spending time with my characters brings me back to the keyboard. Some of them I like, some are villains, some are heroes. Each of them has a special attraction and calls to me like the sirens called Ulysses. And still, I long for more writing time.

Check out his first book  AMAZON

 

 

 

 

FCEtier author page on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/fcetier author page on

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/FCEtier/31967382614

Featured blogger here: http://venturegalleries.com/author/frankcetie

Featured artist here:  http://venturegalleries.com/artist/frank-c-etier-artist

View my photography here: http://etier.zenfolio.com/

Connect with me here:

http://www.facebook.com/etier

http://twitter.com/fcetier 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/fcetier