James Allen Willis » Video

Interview: Cathy Mayfield (Writer)

James Allen Willis — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:43:53 +0000

The final video interview I did at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference (MCWC) was on the last morning, Friday. Writer Cathy Mayfield lives a couple of hours from Montrose and has been attending the MCWC since 1997. She talks about why she keeps returning each year and offers her advice for new writers. Thanks for taking time to speak with me on camera Cathy!

Seth Godin and Tom Peters Talk About the Importance of Blogging

James Allen Willis — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:10:32 +0000

Two of the biggest and brightest minds in the world of business (both of them authors), talk about why blogging is vitally important—for everyone! But especially for authors. Seth Godin, once VP of marketing for Yahoo! and author of books like Purple Cow, Permission Marketing and Linchpin sounds off about blogging, as does Tom Peters, once upon a time from McKinsey & Co and the author of business blockbusters including In Search of Excellence. The video is only 1 minute 37 seconds long. Give it a look.

Interview: Mary Sue Seymour (Literary Agent)

James Allen Willis — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:48:54 +0000

While at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference (MCWC), I caught up with Mary Sue Seymour from The Seymour Agency taking a break and rocking on the porch (a favorite hangout during the MCWC). Mary Sue talked about her role at this year’s conference, what type of books she’s looking to sign, the best way to contact her if you have a book proposal and her thoughts about the MCWC. Thanks for chatting with me Mary Sue!

Interview: Bryan Davis (Author)

James Allen Willis — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:21:37 +0000

At the 2010 Montrose Christian Writers Conference (MCWC), I had the pleasure of meeting popular Christian fantasy author Bryan Davis and his lovely wife Susie. In fact, I had dinner with them (we sat at the same table) on the last evening of the conference. It was a treat for me to talk with both Bryan and Susie about writing, how they came to live in Tennessee, home schooling and even Harry Potter. Bryan is the author of the very popular Dragons in our Midst series, as well as Oracles of Fire and Echoes from the Edge, among others.

After dinner, I caught up with Bryan to ask him about the MCWC. This is what he said…

Interview: Joan Esherick (Author, Freelance Writer, Professional Speaker)

James Allen Willis — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:29:30 +0000

I had the good fortune to meet and get to know Joan Esherick at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference (MCWC). Joan is a full-time freelance writer, a professional speaker and published author whose freelance work has appeared in a number of Christian periodicals including: Discipleship Journal, Pray!, Living with Teenagers, Today’s Christian Woman (now Kyria) and MOODY magazines. She’s written or contributed to twenty-five non-fiction books, including OUR MIGHTY FORTRESS: Finding Refuge in God (she gave me a copy!), and has developed curriculum, women’s Bible study material, and small group leader training material. Joan is a member of AWSA (Advanced Writers & Speakers Association), The Author’s Guild, and the Evangelical Press Association.

Joan also loves Labrador Retrievers (she writes an award-winning blog about them), and she’s just fun to be around. Thanks Joan, for taking a few minutes to speak with me about your writing career and about MCWC.

Interview: Elaine W. Miller (author)

James Allen Willis — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:36:28 +0000

I caught up with Elaine Miller at the recent Montrose Christian Writers Conference (MCWC) and asked her about the courses she was teaching, her book and about the MCWC. She’s a great interviewee! In fairness to Elaine, this was an “on the spot” interview and she, like many of us, were getting little sleep. Even so, she gives a great spontaneous interview.

In the interview Elaine credits the MCWC with her start in writing and getting her first book published. Elaine said it was at MCWC she learned about the craft of writing and sold her first article to Salvation Army’s War Cry magazine (that article later became the first chapter in her book Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms).

Interview: Frank Westcott (pastor)

James Allen Willis — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:11:39 +0000

Frank Westcott has been attending the Montrose Christian Writers Conference for years with his wife Beth. Frank is a pastor from Moravia, NY. He’s a great guy! And a talented ventriloquist too.

Interview: Fran Fernandez (author)

James Allen Willis — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:57:55 +0000

I first heard Fran Fernandez speak at last year’s MCWC. Fran was attending this year’s conference and I had the chance to record this interview. She credits the Montrose Christian Writers Conference for the knowledge and inspiration to write and get her first book published: The Best Is Yet to Come: 60 Devotions. She gave me the ultimate gift, a signed copy of her book for my wife Judy. Thanks Fran! (Fran gets bonus points…her publisher, Zondervan, has made her book available in a Kindle version too.)

Interview: Shirley Leonard (author)

James Allen Willis — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:12:56 +0000

Author Shirley Leonard talks about her “second family” at the 2010 Montrose Christian Writers Conference. Shirley’s devotionals have appeared in the The Secret Place, The Quiet Hour, Devotions, and Penned from the Heart. Her stories and articles have been published in Live, Women Alive, and Pennsylvania Magazine. She is a contributing writer for American Window Cleaner Magazine.