Robert
Stone is a very private man and never gives interviews. For that reason there is always speculation
surrounding him. Who is he? How did he get to be so successful? Is he a business or Mafia man? However, just for you, just this once, he has
agreed to accompany Brooke Stiles and will answer a couple of pre-determined
questions.
I
was invited to the offices of Vassago Corp in Washington, DC. In a boardroom with floor to ceiling windows
and a view over the White House to die for, I met with Mr Stone, Ms
Stiles. I was introduced to Mack and
Travis who, although in the room, were not to take part in the interview. I have to say, this group of people, Ms
Stiles included, made for a formidable team.
Mr Stone was as imposing and intimidating as I expected him to be. He has a stillness, he doesn’t
even blink, that makes it hard to read him.
He exhibits no body language at all.
I imagine a therapist would have a field day with him. He gives nothing away yet I found myself
inexplicably drawn to him. I expect Ms
Stiles is used to this reaction, she simply gave me a secret smile. It is obvious to anyone having met this
couple that there is a connection between the two of them and at times I felt I
was intruding in something I knew I wasn’t invited to, but unsure of what it
was.
In
contrast, Ms Stiles was open and friendly, I was invited to use her first name
and I got a sense of someone with huge inner strength and courage. However, when I asked personal questions
about her and Mr Stone’s relationship, I noticed a very slight flick of
her eyes in his direction. At first I
wondered if she was deferring to him, checking for permission but as time went
on, it seemed these looks were more to reassure him.
PH:
“I appreciate that
you are both a very private couple and I would like to thank you for agreeing
to this interview with me. Can I start
by asking, Brooke, how do you find living in the US and how does it differ from
London?”
Ms
Stiles: “To be honest, it’s not too different, although I find
the people here, in Washington, a little more friendly. Once they hear my accent they want to
chat. I do find it strange to drive on
the wrong side the road though! I miss
certain things from home, there are some of my favourite foods that are hard to
find here but other than that, this feels like home now.”
PH:
“I understand that
you and Mr Stone now live together. How
would you answer the critics that say you have not only snared the elusive Mr
Stone but done it rather quickly.”
Mr Stone:
“She doesn’t.”
PH:
“I’m sorry?
I don’t understand your answer.”
Mr Stone:
“She doesn’t answer
these so called critics, she doesn’t have to answer to anyone. It’s no-one’s fucking business and I’m not an
animal, Miss Hogan, I haven’t been ‘snared’.”
PH:
“I apologise, my
question was poorly worded, I didn’t mean to cause offence.”
Ms Stilse:
“It’s
okay Patricia, no offence taken. Things
have moved fast between us and I imagine people are curious. I’m blown away by how fast our
relationship has grown myself. All I can
say is when you’ve met the one, you know it, so what’s the point in hanging around.”
I
have to say at this point I felt uneasy, I had offended Mr Stone and as he
leant forwards very slightly to give his answer, my reaction was to move
away. Perhaps it’s the dark
eyes but there is something quite scary about him. I continued with my questions.
PH:
“Mr Stone, you are
a very successful businessman and yet you shy away from any publicity. May I ask why?”
Mr Stone: “I don’t
believe being successful means you have to court publicity. I work hard, I employ a lot of people who I
expect to also work hard. I don’t
need publicity to help me succeed in doing that.”
PH:
“So, it’s
not because you have one too many skeletons in your closet?”
Mr Stone:
“There are
skeletons in everybody’s closet, Miss Hogan, yours included. I don’t court publicity because I have no
need to be in the public eye. There are
far more important things that the press should focus on. Are you aware, Miss Hogan, of the thousands
of homeless children on the streets of DC?
Perhaps that’s where your attention should be, not who I
happen to be dating.”
I
noticed Brooke place her hand on Mr Stone’s arm and this had an immediate calming
effect on him. He leant back into his
chair and I realised I had pushed my luck and continued with my prepared
questions to Brooke.
PH:
“What will you do
with your time now, Brooke?”
Ms
Stiles: “Once my permits are organised I’ll be
looking for a job. Back home I was in
marketing so I hope to find something similar here. I don’t suppose it will be easy, I understand
the job market in the US is in a similar condition to back home, what with the
recession and all.”
PH:
“Perhaps you’ll
be arranging a wedding as well?”
Ms
Stiles: “I don’t
know about that just yet. I imagine the
critics you spoke of earlier would have a wonderful time with that news.”
PH:
“Mr Stone, are you
finding the recession has affected your property developments? I understand you are about to start a build
in Manhattan.”
Mr Stone:
“The
recession has affect many businesses throughout the US, fortunately, Vassago
hasn’t been as affected as others and yes, we will shortly be starting a
project in Lower Manhattan. A complex of
apartments and high end boutiques.”
PH:
“It came to light some
time ago that Vassago had an association with a Mr Luca Gioletti in New
York. Isn’t his
father in prison for racketeering?”
Mr Stone:
“Vassago has
associations with many people, Miss Hogan, Mr Gioletti being one of them. He is a businessman who owns many
companies. Vassago have used his
construction company on previous projects.
As for his father, I’m sure you don’t need for me to answer that question,
you’ll
be able to look it up and, Miss Hogan, whatever you are alluding to, be
careful.”
I
noticed Travis look at his watch, my time was up, my interview being terminated
before I’d finished my list of questions.
However, glancing at Travis and Mack and the thunderous looks they were
giving me, I decided to call it a day.
PH:
“Thank you both for
your time and once again, Mr Stone, I apologise if my questions offended.”
I’m
now back at my own office and having transcribed the interview I sit and read
it. It dawns on me that this very
private couple are still very private. I
have nothing really. I’ve
gained no more of an insight into Robert Stone than anyone else has with their
speculation and I was sitting in front of the man! So, what to do? Shall I present my ‘non interview’ to
my editor or do what others have done and speculate.
Instead,
to flesh out the page with the word count I need to submit I thought I might
tell you a little about how it felt to conduct this ‘non interview’. There is no doubt Robert Stone is an enigma. He commanded the room, silently. I can totally understand why people want to
know all there is to know about Robert Stone.
I thought back to when we stood to say our good byes. Mr Stone rose, buttoned his suit jacket and
held out his hand to help Brooke from her chair. I watched Mr Stone place his hand around the
back of Ms Stiles neck, under her hair and whisper something in her ear. His whole demeanour changed. All of a sudden he wasn’t the
scary, cold, still businessman. I got a
very fleeting glimpse of the man, Brooke Stiles, and only Brooke Stiles, knows.
With just one nod of the head towards me, he left the room and I swear, the air
changed with it. I felt my shoulders
sag, the tension I had not realised I held there, being released.
Would
I interview him again? You know what,
probably not. I think, sometimes, things
are best left unsaid, people are best left alone. Should anyone ever be able to truly interview
Robert Stone, I imagine it would be like opening Pandora’s Box.
~ About the Author ~
Tracie Podger currently lives in Kent, UK with her husband and a rather obnoxious cat called George. She is a Padi Scuba Diving Instructor who has a passion for writing. Tracie has been so fortunate to have dived some of the wonderful oceans of the world where she can indulge in another hobby, underwater photography. She likes getting up close and personal with sharks.
Connect with the Author: Twitter | Facebook | Website | Goodreads
10
Food Items that I wished I could eat without gaining a pound
What a great question! Top
of the list has to be chocolate, I’m
not a chocoholic but I do have a sweet tooth.
I do love a burger, especially after a night out and a little too much
wine. Got to add fish and chips since I’m British, covered in salt and my
favourite, HP Fruity Sauce. You’ll find tubs of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream hidden in the freezer. Hidden so the nephews can’t get their paws on it. I like to snack on houmous and since there is
a low calorie version, I guess it’s
not as healthy as I imagine it to be. I
have to have butter, no fake, chemically made spread allowed in my house! And to go with that butter, bagels. I’m
partial to a piece or two of cheesecake, any flavour will do and to wash it all
down, a large glass of wine. No wine in
the house, then Limoncello!
Random
facts about me
I
have a Y shaped scar on my right palm. I
fell over a dog and skidded, palms first, into a pile of broken bottles. I think I was 6 or 7 years old at the
time.
I’m
a Padi Scuba Diving Instructor and have been diving for years. Although I don’t teach so much nowadays, I still enjoy
that thrill of seeing the look on someone’s face when they get in the sea for the
first time and see some of the most amazing things.
I
have two tattoos with another one in the planning. As a birthday present to myself some years
ago, I had a dragon tattooed on my lower back.
I chose a dragon because they symbolise strength and courage and at that
time in my life I really needed to find both.
On my stomach, and this one was a mistake, I have a whaleshark. It’s the first whaleshark I was able to
photograph whilst diving in the Maldives.
I took the photo to the tattoo parlour and had it inked onto my
skin. It’s not a great tattoo and will soon be
covered over! I don’t regret
the tattoo, I just wish I’d thought about placing it somewhere else.
I’m
really into underwater photography, not that I’m an expert at it. Sharks are one of my most favourite things to
snap. I just wish fish would learn to
pose, it’s hard work chasing them around to get a good shot!
I
love Italian food. In fact I love all
things Italy. I’ve been
fortunate to visit many times and love nothing better than renting a house in
the middle of nowhere and soaking up the culture, the food and importantly, the
wine.
My
mother’s family are Maltese. They
left Malta and settled in Gibraltar a couple of generations ago. My father’s family are Irish (we think). Hubby calls me Tazmanian after the devil
because I have a bit of a fiery temper, I think it’s just the
mix of genes.
Finding
your Voice
I
write as I believe my characters speak, that’s not always going to be grammatically
correct and I always write in first person.
I tried third person but I hated it.
I find first person harder, you can only let the reader know what the
character sees, feels, hears or does and nothing more. I am guilty of ‘author jumping on the page’ in Fallen Angel, Part I. I wrote that “Brooke missed a look.....” She can’t
tell you, the reader, what she missed because she didn’t see it
in the first place! I hope I haven’t
made that mistake again. First person is
also hard when it comes to description of the character. I believe it’s a cop out to have your character
stand in front of a mirror and remark how lovely her long black hair was, how
sparkly her blue eyes were! Do we do
that for real? I look in the mirror and
think, “shit, I need to
get my hair dyed” or “another wrinkle” and that’s
all. So, how do you ‘find’ your voice? It’s always been there, everyone has a
unique style but I do think it’s important to always try to develop your voice,
make it more unique so it stands out, especially if you write a very popular
genre.
Ten
Bookish Pet Peeves
I’ve
been looking forward to compiling this list...
1.
There is no part of my anatomy called a sex. I cringe when I see this word used to
describe a part of a woman’s body. I
recently read a book where ‘girly
bits’ were also referred to as a ‘box’. I’m
yet to decide which is the worse!
2.
A cliff hanger when there is no mention of
when I can expect the follow up book!
3.
Finding out the last ten or twenty pages of
a book I don’t want to end are either author’s acknowledgments, notes or the first
chapter of another book.
4.
Errors in timelines. I’ll give you an example from a book I
just reviewed. The main character was
born in 1980, he has a daughter he was unaware of about to celebrate her 21st
birthday!
5.
Changes of point of view within the same
chapter. This bugs me because I think it’s
not only confusing to the reader but looks untidy!
6. Spelling errors on the first page! At least let me get into the story somewhat,
I won’t notice them if I’m engrossed.
7.
Flicking between American English and
British English - Now, I write on an Apple Mac and I can’t change
the spell check from American to British.
I download my work to a USB stick, plug it in another computer with
windows, copy it all then spell check. A
royal pain in the backside but necessary.
One day I’ll pop into the Apple shop and ask them if it’s
possible to change the spell check.
8.
When the language used doesn’t suit the
age of the character.
9.
When something is overly described. I like to think for myself, imagine what the
room looked like or what the roses smelt like.
I don’t always need showing, sometimes, telling is okay.
10.
When a book is so good, it emotionally
affects me for days after!
How
to network online to promote your book
People
buy into people. I’m a big
believer that you should use social media to sell yourself in the first
instance. If people like you, they are
more likely to investigate your work. I
prefer to have all my social media under my name, not my books. If I have a facebook page or web site per
book, that’s a lot to manage. Fair
enough to buy domain names but have it all lead to the one place. Why? I
want followers to see all the work I do, not just the one book. There might be something else they’re
interested in. Be friendly and
entertaining and be professional. I
belonged to a site owned by a major publishing house where a writer could put
up their work for fellow authors to review and critique. On the forum a discussion started about drug
taking. I left a comment wondering what
would happen should any of these authors ‘hit the big time’.
Do you want silly or even illegal comments/activities to come and bite
you on the backside one day?
Networking
online should be a massive part of an authors marketing strategy and if, like
me, you’re not familiar with the etiquette or workings of twitter,
pinterest, instagram and all that, grab your son/daughter/grandchild/godchild
and ask them! I’m still
learning and there are plenty of fellow authors willing to give advice.
My
tips for twitter - If someone follows me I believe it polite to at least thank
them. I don’t like an
automated, computer generated response.
I think it’s important to have an equal mix of promoting
your book and talking about yourself.
Reply to tweets you have found interesting, it’s a good
way of connecting with people.
My
tips for facebook - I’ve found pictures do far better than large blocks
of text in terms of the amount of people who will view it. I try to keep general chat fairy short. But I will post excerpts from my books. Sadly facebook has become a crafty
corporation. It’s not
always the case that all of your followers get to see all of your posts. I will
often ‘boost’ a post which costs a relatively small
amount of money but increases the amount of people that will get to see your
post. Check out other authors pages, see
how they’ve done it. And like your
favourite authors, your favourite bloggers pages. Lastly, be active, comment regularly, keep up
to date.
Tips
for finding a publicist
I
found the wonderful Literati Author Services after they were recommended by a
blogger. I had previously trawled the
internet and even approached a couple who didn’t respond! Obviously I checked out their website and was
pleased to see how straight forward everything was. You can opt for a publicity package or go a
la carte! I then looked at my favourite
bloggers websites. I checked out the
quality of the promotional posts and how many bloggers were on the tour - this
gave me an idea of how many bloggers were on Literati’s
books. Most important though, I emailed
and received a prompt response despite being in two different countries. Before committing, I also looked at who else
used Literarti, once I found one of my favourite authors used their services,
my mind was made up.
10
things I learnt when writing my books
1.
It’s can be an isolating experience. I wrote Fallen Angel, Parts I, II and Robert’s
Story back to back. I wrote seven days a
week and other than ‘comfort
and coffee breaks’ wrote from the minute I got up until bed
time. I don’t
necessarily recommend this but I had a story just busting to get out of my head
and this was my way of doing it. What it
does mean though is that no-one saw or heard from me during that time. I surfaced sometime in the summer, still with
my winter coat on (code for hairy legs) and blinking in the sunlight ha ha
2.
Editing is heartbreaking at first. When you write The End it is, in fact, just
the beginning. The painful task of
tearing your work apart starts and it can be brutal at first.
3.
Killing off one of your characters is like
losing a limb. As a story develops, as
characters develop I found one or two had became redundant. They got the chop, their grave is a pile of
paper on the cutting room floor and I cried and mourned and grieved. It gets easier though, I promise.
4.
It is vital to have proof readers or beta
readers, someone else to read through your book. You become word blind and someone else will
pick up an error or a phrase that just doesn’t sound right no matter how many times
you have read your book.
5.
You
won’t necessarily get the support you think you deserve from
everyone. I found my immediate family
were brilliant but a few friends found it hard to be supportive and for the
strangest reasons. One didn’t
want to read my book in case she didn’t like it and was worried about upsetting
me. Because another isn’t a book
person I could see her eyes glaze over every time I told her about my
characters or my writing. At first this
upset me but I soon realised my book isn’t for all and not everyone is as much
of a book nerd as I am.
6.
It’s bloody hard work! Writing your actual story is just one small
part of the whole process, especially if you opt to become an indie
author. There are so many decisions to
make and lots of fingers crossed moments too.
7.
Writing is addictive! I’m lucky to have an iPhone and iPad and
the notes app is regularly used. I’ll
wake in the middle of the night with just a line of something in my head. If I don’t write it down, I’ll forget
by the morning. I have so many ideas for
new books and I have to be really disciplined in making sure I don’t
keep starting new projects before I’ve finished the last.
8.
It’s not the healthiest occupation. I find myself sitting all day at the kitchen
table with coffee and chocolate as my companions.
9.
I discovered a new me. Writing changed me, I’ve become
more observant of the people around me, the places I visit. I’m always on the look out for a new
character or setting.
10.
Writing help heal me. Sounds dramatic and perhaps I was always
destined to be an actress but I suffered
a crippling depression and writing help me cope. It gives me an escape when life gets a little
tough. I use writing as my medication
now.
How
did I create the chemistry between Robert and Brooke
This
was hard because I wrote from Brooke’s point of view and she didn’t
understand what was happening between her and Robert. What I wanted to portray was an instant
connection and a feeling of knowing.
Have you ever had where you’ve met someone and know that you’ve
met them before but can’t think where or when. This is what I wanted for Brooke. I wanted for both of them to see each other
for the first time and be absolutely sure that they had to see each
other again. Something pulled them
together, a need they both have that only the other can fulfil. I think the discovering of why each felt this
way makes its own chemistry. Of course
there is sexual attraction but it goes deeper than that for Brooke and Robert,
they have a primal need for each other and we are still discovering why.
10
Things that bring a smile to my face
Family
is important to me. I don’t have my
own kids so my niece, nephews, God and guide children are my brood. Guidechildren, are the same as Godchildren
except we didn’t need a church to make it official. Not always, but these people will bring a
smile to my face.
When
someone likes my book. When a complete
stranger gets in touch and says that they have enjoyed my writing, I beam from
ear to ear!
Summer. I hate the winter, I get the winter blues so
the minute the sun comes out, it cheers me up.
The
sound of the sea. Any time of the year,
I love to sit on a beach and just listen to that sound. It’s the most soothing thing for me and
puts me in a really good place.
Sharks. I love sharks, I love to photograph
sharks. And on the very odd occasion I
get a good shot, I’ll have a have a grin like a Cheshire cat.
Acts
of random kindness. I’m a big
believer in paying it forward. I make a
point of doing something nice to a stranger every day. It might just be bidding a good morning or
helping a mother with her pram but I hope that if I’m in need,
someone will be around to help.
Good
books. I love to flick that last page
over and just sit, smile, wipe a tear or two and contemplate.
When
I was sad and one of my dogs would put their head on my lap and just look as if
they knew I needed comfort, that used to cheer me up, make me smile.
My
husband. Of course, like any
relationship we argue sometimes but he is one of the funniest people I
know. He can be so silly that I’m
in stitches. He has a brilliant sense of
comedy and timing.
Scuba
Diving. I love to be under the water, to
listen to my own breathing and heart beat.
And when I see the most wonderful critters, things land lovers would
never see, I smile.
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