Getting to Know You: The RMFW Member Q&A Project

The Getting to Know You Project is intended to introduce RMFW members with short responses to three questions, a photo, and a few social media links if available. If you would like to participate in the project for future months, please email Pat Stoltey at blog@rmfw.org

F.P. (Frank) Dorchak

Website/blog: Runnin Off at the Mouth: https://fpdorchak.wordpress.com/ Reality Check: https://fpdorchakrealitycheck.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.dorchakiii
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fpdorchak
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/805034.F_P_Dorchak

1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?

I write gritty paranormal fiction. My novels are not monster-based fiction, but fiction that attempts to give a different spin on life…about everyday people who have “the weird” enter their lives. I portray a different perspective to what may actually be going on in the background of our lives. My older short stories have some monster-based stories (werewolves, cephalopods, shelves, clowns…), but in my newer work those are more like my novels: ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances that forever change their lives.

I write organically at oh-dark-thirty in my home office…no outlines. I do “reverse-outline”…I break out the beats of the story and create an outline from that. Manipulate as needed. Write a couple more drafts, read it out loud…give it to my up-and-coming proof reader/editor, Mandy Pratt. Input course corrections…read it again—go Indie. Try to convince wife I still exist. Begin the crazy again.

2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?

I’ve jumped out of an airplane a couple times. From altitude. Oh, yeah…with a parachute.

3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?

For a daily activity, weightlifting and cardio. It’s quite cathartic to “release the beast” in the weight room. But I love getting out and away…expanding my horizons and experiencing new places and things and concepts! Exempli gratia, I’d recently experienced floating and cryotherapy.

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Carolyn Fritz

Website: Bewitching Hips http://bewitchinghips.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolyn.fritz.3
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bewitchinghips

1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?

I write mostly fantasy and steampunk fantasy. I also do some sci-fi. I like bringing inanimate objects to life and seeing what they do. I’ve always loved fantasy books, so writing it comes naturally. I write when I can, in short bursts after work, and longer on the weekends if I’m lucky, in a shared office with my fiance and the “help” of my cat, Sif.

2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?

I am a professional belly dancer, and have been dancing and performing for fifteen years. I started lessons on a dare and fell in love during my first class. I’ve performed mostly at fan conventions, including StarFest and MileHi Con, as well as at night clubs and weddings. I have an entire spare bedroom devoted to nothing but costumes and accessories for dance and cosplay.

3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?

I absolutely love gardening. The feel of dirt in my hands, caring for the plants, and reaping the harvest in the fall is amazing. If I’m not careful, I can get lost in the garden, only coming back to reality when the sunburn sets in!

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Rainey Hall

1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?

I love to write thrillers—mixed with mystery, personified prose, similes, metaphors… You name it, I’ll toss it in; sort of how I make quick breads. I put words on paper anytime and anywhere I can. I believe writing, besides an outlet for my imagination, helps me process things I’ve learned, experienced, and witnessed.

2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?

Only one?
I park cars better backing than driving forward.
I love to play with my grandnephew and grandniece. Just the other day, Colt was flipping pretend food at me. And I caught everything in my mouth—except once. Boy howdy, that was a mess.
I’ll help, but I don’t like branding cattle.
My pen name is L. Treloar.

3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?

Only one?
Reading, cooking, photography, teaching, gardening, target practicing, training my cat to retrieve, HORSES, and animals in general. Cross-country skiing and deep sea fishing are pretty cool too.

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Nathan Lowell

Website/blog: http://nathanlowell.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathan.o.lowell
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nlowell
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1048167.Nathan_Lowell

1. We know the who (that’s you), so will you give us the what, why, when, where, and how you write?

I mostly write science fiction. I started reading it as soon as I was old enough to pick out the little rocket stickers on the spines in the elementary school library. Later, my Aunt Pat used to bring shopping bags full of paperbacks to the house and a lot of them were Ace Doubles. I’m a full-time writer, and a binge pantser. I spend almost all my time in a dark corner of my basement. I can write a novel in a month, but it can take half a year for it to percolate to the surface.

2. What is one fun thing few RMFW members know about you?

I used to be a fashion reporter for a style magazine in Second Life. I mostly wrote reviews of clubs and interviews with designers.

3. What is your most favorite non-writing activity, the one that gives you the greatest joy?

Cooking. I love food and preparing it.

Thanks to Frank, Carolyn, Rainey, and Nathan for vounteering. If you’d like to participate, for future months, contact me (Pat Stoltey) at blog@rmfw.org