An interview with Ann B. Keller, Screenwriter, Novelist, and Singer.
Hello and welcome to 10 Quick Questions with Dave, I am you host Dave Tallman and today I have the privilege of chatting with Ann B. Keller, Screenwriter, Singer, and Author. I hope you enjoy getting to know Ann as much as I did.
ME:
First of all Ann thank you for doing the interview with me today.
Now let’s get started shall we?
I read over your Bio on your page on Review A Book and I noted that you have been writing novels and screenplays for forty years, wow, that is amazing. Which do you find easier to write, Screen Plays or Novels? And you also mentioned that you auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Could you explain what that was like?
ABK:
I really enjoy writing novels, because I can describe the characters’ thoughts and feelings, as well as their clothing and surroundings. A screenplay is mostly dialogue. It requires a talented director to bring the story to life on the silver screen.
In answer to the second part of your question, I was asked to audition for the Metropolitan Opera, but my parents refused to let me try out. I was only seventeen. Who knows how my life would have changed had I taken that trip! I weep over that missed opportunity to this day. Still, if I were singing before audiences all over the United States, I certainly wouldn’t have found the time to write. So, perhaps, the Almighty knows best after all.
ME:
Your first novel was published by PublishAmerica, is that a self publishing firm?
ABK:
PublishAmerica is a large, nationwide publisher.
Having your book published by them is a great opportunity for a new writer to get his/her work published with little, if no, cost. All advertising and promotion is up to the author, however, so he/she must realize that from the outset. It’s a lot of hard work, but well worth the effort.
ME:
What are your feelings on the whole self publishing phenomenon? Do you think that a writer who self publishes has a chance at being picked up by a major label?
ABK:
There is always a chance, otherwise most independent authors wouldn’t bother at all! Some major labels have specifically set aside some of their efforts to locating and promoting new authors, too. That is only a small percentage of us, however, so we publish on our own or through small presses until we are “discovered.”
ME:
How many Novels do you currently have out?
ABK:
Currently, I have published four novels, although I have many more waiting in the wings.
Vortex of Revelation was my first novel. It’s an exciting disaster/action book about the second coming of Christ, with a paranormal plot twist. People really seem to like it. My second novel was Trevor’s Love, a contemporary romance about a rich, powerful executive and his temporary assistant, whose life styles and viewpoints conflict as they come to terms with their growing love for each other.
I’ve just re-published my third novel, BRIGGEN, through Lulu Publishing. BRIGGEN is the first book of a science fiction/fantasy trilogy about a brawny warrior king, an old, cantankerous wizard, a huge, fire-breathing dragon called Ephereon, an evil sorceress and a beautiful princess named Telana. This book achieved numerous 5-Star Reviews on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Many who have read it have said they haven’t seen this much action since Star Wars! That’s high praise, I think.
My most recent novel is a western, entitled The Devil’s Crescent. This book is about a range war in post-Civil War Texas. I really enjoyed researching the gun running operations out of Southern ports into Texas after the War Between the States and the conflict with Mexico that continued for decades in this area of the country.
ME:
In your novels, who are your main characters? And do use the same cast in more than one?
ABK:
Oh, my.
My characters are as diverse as a lovely maiden is from a dragon, a wizard from a bounty hunter, and a paranormal expert is from an executive type. Although most of my published works have featured different characters so far, the BRIGGEN trilogy will, of course, utilize quite a few of the same main characters as I continue the saga of this warrior king and his family.
Outside of the hero and heroine in each book, I usually add a comic element, a tragic figure and a character who seems, at least on the surface, beyond reproach. Learning the truth, however, is part of the reader’s marvelous journey.
ME:
Have you ever created a character that you initially intended to be a minor player and done a rewrite because that character grew within the story?
ABK:
Yes. In fact, I have such a character in my new novel, The Devil’s Crescent.
At first, I thought that the hired hand would be a very minor character, but I fell in love with the irascible old coot and didn’t want to let him go! So, he stole a few scenes instead.
ME:
When you are working on a novel do you use a time-line or outlines to help you track the progress of your plot?
ABK:
Actually, no.
When I was younger, I attempted to appease my professors and utilize an outline, but I found that very confining. The scenes became too structured and boring and the dialogue sounded forced, as I wrestled with the story, dragging it behind me as I labored to the next point in my outline.
Never again.
ME:
What kind of process do you use when creating a character, do you make a complete background Bio or just “wing it”?
ABK:
I do keep a few notes in a spiral notebook for each character’s appearance, manner of speaking and other important details.
I really needed this in some of my longer novels, just to ensure consistency throughout the book.
ME:
How many hours do think you have put into your novels, and do you write at a specific time each day?
ABK:
I could not begin to count the days, much less the hours.
I write every day, usually in the early morning. During the week, I begin my day at 4:00 a.m., when my mind is still fresh and the house is quiet. I put on some classical music or a movie soundtrack and, for the next two hours, allow my imagination to take me wherever it will.
On the weekends, I pour it on. When the spirit moves me, I can easily crank out a good thirty to fifty pages in a weekend - definitely up to Barbara Cartland’s speed - generating one first draft of a novel per month.
ME:
I’ll end with my standard final question and that is, what is next for you? Where would you like to be as a writer in say three years, five years and beyond?
ABK:
That’s easy. I’d like to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey! After that momentous appearance, I’d really like to see at least one of my novels turned into a good movie, one that everyone from children to adults could enjoy.
Until then, I shall continue to sing and to write, reaching out to so many within the sound of my voice. Perhaps, if I am lucky, I shall leave a little of myself behind for the ages.
ME:
First of all Ann thank you for doing the interview with me today.
Now let’s get started shall we?
I read over your Bio on your page on Review A Book and I noted that you have been writing novels and screenplays for forty years, wow, that is amazing. Which do you find easier to write, Screen Plays or Novels? And you also mentioned that you auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Could you explain what that was like?
ABK:
I really enjoy writing novels, because I can describe the characters’ thoughts and feelings, as well as their clothing and surroundings. A screenplay is mostly dialogue. It requires a talented director to bring the story to life on the silver screen.
In answer to the second part of your question, I was asked to audition for the Metropolitan Opera, but my parents refused to let me try out. I was only seventeen. Who knows how my life would have changed had I taken that trip! I weep over that missed opportunity to this day. Still, if I were singing before audiences all over the United States, I certainly wouldn’t have found the time to write. So, perhaps, the Almighty knows best after all.
ME:
Your first novel was published by PublishAmerica, is that a self publishing firm?
ABK:
PublishAmerica is a large, nationwide publisher.
Having your book published by them is a great opportunity for a new writer to get his/her work published with little, if no, cost. All advertising and promotion is up to the author, however, so he/she must realize that from the outset. It’s a lot of hard work, but well worth the effort.
ME:
What are your feelings on the whole self publishing phenomenon? Do you think that a writer who self publishes has a chance at being picked up by a major label?
ABK:
There is always a chance, otherwise most independent authors wouldn’t bother at all! Some major labels have specifically set aside some of their efforts to locating and promoting new authors, too. That is only a small percentage of us, however, so we publish on our own or through small presses until we are “discovered.”
ME:
How many Novels do you currently have out?
ABK:
Currently, I have published four novels, although I have many more waiting in the wings.
Vortex of Revelation was my first novel. It’s an exciting disaster/action book about the second coming of Christ, with a paranormal plot twist. People really seem to like it. My second novel was Trevor’s Love, a contemporary romance about a rich, powerful executive and his temporary assistant, whose life styles and viewpoints conflict as they come to terms with their growing love for each other.
I’ve just re-published my third novel, BRIGGEN, through Lulu Publishing. BRIGGEN is the first book of a science fiction/fantasy trilogy about a brawny warrior king, an old, cantankerous wizard, a huge, fire-breathing dragon called Ephereon, an evil sorceress and a beautiful princess named Telana. This book achieved numerous 5-Star Reviews on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Many who have read it have said they haven’t seen this much action since Star Wars! That’s high praise, I think.
My most recent novel is a western, entitled The Devil’s Crescent. This book is about a range war in post-Civil War Texas. I really enjoyed researching the gun running operations out of Southern ports into Texas after the War Between the States and the conflict with Mexico that continued for decades in this area of the country.
ME:
In your novels, who are your main characters? And do use the same cast in more than one?
ABK:
Oh, my.
My characters are as diverse as a lovely maiden is from a dragon, a wizard from a bounty hunter, and a paranormal expert is from an executive type. Although most of my published works have featured different characters so far, the BRIGGEN trilogy will, of course, utilize quite a few of the same main characters as I continue the saga of this warrior king and his family.
Outside of the hero and heroine in each book, I usually add a comic element, a tragic figure and a character who seems, at least on the surface, beyond reproach. Learning the truth, however, is part of the reader’s marvelous journey.
ME:
Have you ever created a character that you initially intended to be a minor player and done a rewrite because that character grew within the story?
ABK:
Yes. In fact, I have such a character in my new novel, The Devil’s Crescent.
At first, I thought that the hired hand would be a very minor character, but I fell in love with the irascible old coot and didn’t want to let him go! So, he stole a few scenes instead.
ME:
When you are working on a novel do you use a time-line or outlines to help you track the progress of your plot?
ABK:
Actually, no.
When I was younger, I attempted to appease my professors and utilize an outline, but I found that very confining. The scenes became too structured and boring and the dialogue sounded forced, as I wrestled with the story, dragging it behind me as I labored to the next point in my outline.
Never again.
ME:
What kind of process do you use when creating a character, do you make a complete background Bio or just “wing it”?
ABK:
I do keep a few notes in a spiral notebook for each character’s appearance, manner of speaking and other important details.
I really needed this in some of my longer novels, just to ensure consistency throughout the book.
ME:
How many hours do think you have put into your novels, and do you write at a specific time each day?
ABK:
I could not begin to count the days, much less the hours.
I write every day, usually in the early morning. During the week, I begin my day at 4:00 a.m., when my mind is still fresh and the house is quiet. I put on some classical music or a movie soundtrack and, for the next two hours, allow my imagination to take me wherever it will.
On the weekends, I pour it on. When the spirit moves me, I can easily crank out a good thirty to fifty pages in a weekend - definitely up to Barbara Cartland’s speed - generating one first draft of a novel per month.
ME:
I’ll end with my standard final question and that is, what is next for you? Where would you like to be as a writer in say three years, five years and beyond?
ABK:
That’s easy. I’d like to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey! After that momentous appearance, I’d really like to see at least one of my novels turned into a good movie, one that everyone from children to adults could enjoy.
Until then, I shall continue to sing and to write, reaching out to so many within the sound of my voice. Perhaps, if I am lucky, I shall leave a little of myself behind for the ages.
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