Celtic Whispers Ezine

Octobers Interviews are with

Artist Ron And Sherry Byrum 

Author Annie Kelleher

A warm thank you to all

Answer:  See the attached image.  It gives a pretty good description of us.

CW: What "style" is your artwork?

Ron's reply:  Some have called my work, surreal, fantasy, I say I just paint.  I am a self taught artist and a faux finishing master.  I have never had any art lessons.  My art ability is a gift. 

Sherry's reply:  Definitely fantasy, folk art.

CW: When was it that art became important to you and how did this begin
to manifest itself in your life?

CW: What inspires/motivates you with your artwork?

Ron's reply:  My life experiences, spiritual inspiration, politics, mine and Sherry's relationship and a need to put a part of myself in a visual format.  I find it to be an emotional avenue and a part of me goes into every piece.

Ron's reply:  My life has been anovel of achievements, failures, heartache, suffering, true love, emotional ups and downs, spiritual enlightment and recovery from seemingly hopeless situations.  I am a spiritual being having a human experience and have risen above materialistic hunger to a place of peace and serenity.

Ron's reply:  Absolutely, every piece of art I do, a story could be written.  Emotional experience is in every piece.  I do Halloween Art but it only touches the surface.  I have hundreds of drawings that provoke emotions and illustrate emotions. 

Ron's reply:  I think you caught us in the middle of realizing we are being recognized in the Pagen community.  We strive to create beauty and a positive view, a magickal existence and popularity seems to be sneaking in on us.  We are surprised we have received so much attention.

Sherry' reply:  What Ron said. :)

CW:What motivated you to bring your artwork to the world wide web?

Ron's reply:  Sherry has been selling on Ebay since 1999 when Ebay first began and believed we could sell our art, it leveled the playing field because we couldn't afford the magazine ads although we did run a couple of ads in Folkart Treasures back in the early 90's.

Ron's reply:  I have always admired Dalhart Windberg. I can only hope to one day come close to his ability.  I have also always admired Frank Frazetta.

Sherry's reply:  I admire all the Vintage Postcard artists but especially John Winsch.  Also Maxfield Parrish and Vincent Van Gogh.

CW: Which artist if any inspire you?

Ron's reply:  Expression of ones self can not be judged as good or bad.  It is an expression.  Anger can be a hard splash and peace can be a soft pink blur.  Art is not to be judged but related to.  Each day I sit down to a blank canvas, I know I am going to learn something new today.  I learn as I go.  An advisor at Memphis' Acedemy of art once told me I had a choice.  One to learn what someone else had already done or rely on my natural talent and learn to record what I see and think in a natural way.  My unique vision, perception is translated into a visul format.

Sherry's reply:  Believe in yourself, your talents and your dreams.  Be willing to sacrifice for your art and don't give up.

 Our highlighted author of the month: Annie Kelleher, author of romance and romantic fantasy trilogies and novels.  She describes her novels as "really not being the light and easy reads usually associated with these genres. People tell me I have a vivid imagination (lurid is another word I hear a lot) and my stories are my opportunity to share what I see happening in my head."  In her latest trilogy, she uses celtic mythology to create a world that's shaped in a wholly different way from ours and characters with a totally different world view than that shared by most of the mainstream culture.

  Click The book covers to find the "Silver" trilogy series and more of Anne's Books

Through the Shadowlands: Where the touch of silver was protection, power and peril through battle, blood and sacrifice--only thus could the world be saved….

Or so the bards sing. But at the dawning of the world, Catrione, a gifted Druid, knew only that the realms of Shadowland and Sidhe faced the gravest of danger from the goblin hordes and treacherous mortals.

Now wary allies come together to wreak a spell to avert evil magicks, but the cost will be high. For much is needed to make the Silver Caul, and the songs don't speak of the price demanded. There will be duplicity and deceit, battle and blood and sacrifices--willing and unwilling.

Only through death will the balance of life be preserved. For now…

Click The book covers above to find the "Silver" trilogy series and more of Anne's Books

On To The Interview.................

CW: Tell us a little about Annie. 

A: I am the grandmother in a five generation family that consists of my grandson, my daughter, myself, my mother.  I've worked in every possible milieu - for profit, non-profit, academia and government  - and failed in all of them!!!  I'm a witch. 

CW: What are you reading right now?

A: I am reading a book called Hands Of Light by Julie Motz, because I met her in an airport last month.   

CW: What was a book that most influenced your life — and why? 

A: Im not sure theres a single book, but the play "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder had a profound affect on me at a fairly young age.  I think it showed me something about life.  I was just old enough to understand, and young enough to appreciate. 

CW: Are there any authors (living or dead) that you would name as influences?

A: Tolkien, CS Lewis, Madeline Lengle, Ursula Le Guin, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, John Irving, Rita Mae Brown , Anya Seton, Margaret Mitchell, Shakespeare, William Blake, The Brontes... wow... this is a long list!

CW: How long have you been writing and what is your favorite style? 

A: Ive been writing since I could read - but I would have to say that I have only been writing professionally since 1990.  My favorite style seems to be paranormal - I haven't written much of anything else!

CW: Do you see yourself as any of your characters in your books?

A: I am all of the characters in my books. 

CW: Several of your books are mythology based. What type of research did you do, if any to prepare for these? 

A: I read incessantly about everything.  Ancient myths are a large part of my own spiritual practice as well.   For example in my "Silver Books", I incorporate not only ancient celtic mythologies, but I also describe magical practices of the sort I engage in myself. 

CW: Could you give us a quick run down on your books? 

A: My books are mostly fun to read, i hope, and offer the reader the chance to become wholly immersed in the fantasy. 

Although four of my books (a once and future love, love's labyrinth, the ghost and katie coyle, and the highwayman) are considered romances, and the rest romantic fantasy (daughter of prophecy, children of enchantment, the misbegotten king, the knight, the harp & the maiden, silver's edge, silver's bane, silver's lure).  My stories aren't really the light and easy reads usually associated with these genres.  People tell me I have a vivid imagination (lurid is another word i hear a lot) and my stories are my opportunity to share what I "see" happening in my head.  For example, love's labyrinth was my chance to really wallow in what it would be like to meet Shakespeare and live in elizabethan England.  In my latest trilogy, I used celtic mythology to create a world that's shaped in a wholly different way from ours and characters with a totally different world view than that shared by most of the mainstream culture, at least.  In silver's edge, for example, when one of the main characters crosses the border from this world into faerie, not in order to save her father's life, but to save his spirit from languishing forever among the sidhe.  This is just one of the subtle differences that adds up to create the feeling for the reader that she is definitely not in kansas! 

Right now I have a book under submission (keeping fingers crossed - all happy thoughts welcomed) and about four or five ideas for other stories in various stages of development.  I may do nanowrimo - the national write a novel in a month challenge - just to get myself into the flow of one.  However, I'm working on a new non-fiction book, tentatively titled Eating... the Angel Way: the rainbow route to health and harmony.  I'm very excited not only because non-fiction is very new to me but also because this book will be based on a series of channeled messages that I have received over the course of the last two years directly from the Angels.  I know this may sound strange, but not only has my health improved but my intutive and psychic abilities have improved as well, and so, when the Angels directed me to share this information, I realized eventually the easiest way to do this was as a book. So this is a brand new direction for me and i'm a little scared, as well as thrilled. 

The other kind of writing i do every day is blog and I invite all readers to visit me at Writers and Witches and Words, oh my! (http://anniekelleher.blogspot.com) or The Cranky Crone (http://thecrankycrone333.blogspot.com).  The first blog is where I write about my life as a writer,  a Witch, a mom, a grandmother and a wife, and the other is where i write about the things that make me... well... cranky.  so please come and say hello!

CW: Where are you spiritually and do you think this influences your writing? 

A: As I said, I am a practicing witch and neopagan. I was raised Catholic and was a member of the Episcopoal church for 15 years.  I don't feel I've rejected mainstream belief so much as outgrown it.  I characterize my spirituality as feminist, geo-centric and pantheistic.  My beliefs and my experiences with the supernatural infuse my writing. 

CW: What types of "writing challanges" have you experienced? 

A: I've experienced writer's block, rejection, loss of a publisher, loss of an agent.... you name it... i've faced it!  My first manuscript was rejected over 90 times before I found an agent.  I've had contracts cancel, lines re-organized on me, agents lose interest.  I've even had to read some terrible reviews.  Those are the hardest thing to cope with of all, I think. 

CW: In closing, Any last words or advice for aspiring writers? 

A: Don't quit. 

Thank you Annie for taking the time to do this interview!  Annie also can be found blogging ~  I invite all readers to visit me at Writers and Witches and Words, Oh My! (http://anniekelleher.blogspot.com) or The Cranky Crone (http://thecrankycrone333.blogspot.com).