The Write Spot: Doreen Pendgracs

Welcome to the seventeenth edition of The Write Spot, a bi-weekly author series spotlighting the many and varied places where writers write. My guest this week is Canadian author Doreen Pendgracs, aka 'Doreen the Chocolate Queen' – and, fellow chocolate lovers, if that didn't grab your attention, I don't know what will!

Doreen Pendgracs has been a freelance writer and author since 1993. She has written dozens of articles for numerous periodicals and websites on topics ranging from travel and lifestyle to entrepreneurship, and more. She has co-authored two books: the 1st edition of Frommer's Newfoundland and Labrador, and The Manitoba Book of Everything, a 2008 Canadian bestseller. In 2010, Doreen released her first solo effort: Before You Say Yes … a Guide to the Pleasures and Pitfalls of Volunteer Boards, published by Dundurn Press.

Following the release of her latest title, Chocolatour: A Quest for the World's Best Chocolate – an award-winning chocolate travel book that guides readers to the finest chocolate and chocolate experiences of the world – she became known as 'Doreen the Chocolate Queen'. A tasty title, and one Doreen she says she loves having.

As part of the Chocolatour project, Doreen is forging the new niche of "chocolate travel" or as she like to call it, Chocolatourism. She has travelled around the world in search of remarkable chocolate and chocolate experiences. She loves sharing her research (chocolate samples) with friends and family as focus groups.

Have you ever been slathered in molten chocolate? Doreen has. And she says it’s an incredibly sensual experience that every chocolate lover should take time to enjoy.

When she's not off questing for chocolate, Doreen makes her home in Manitoba with her husband and her writing assistant, Jimmy the cat, who takes far too many sleep breaks.

Welcome, Doreen. Please tell us about your Write Spot.

Because I am a travel writer, I think my writing process is quite different than someone who writes fiction or other types of writing.

My writing usually begins on the road in the form of brief notes I take in mini notebooks that I always have along with me. I take lots of pictures to augment the notes I've taken.

Those notes will eventually turn into blog posts, and then when I'm writing the next volume of my book, the blog posts will be imported and expanded to become chapters or profiles. So, when it comes to writing, it can start halfway around the world, and evolve through different stages until I sit down at my desktop iMac and polish it into pages for the book. (This is a photo of my loft office/writing space in its perfect tidiness, which is not the usual. PC now replaced with a Mac.)

Other than your computer or laptop, what's the one thing you couldn't be without in your Write Spot?

Chocolate, of course!

Of course! (You may be the luckiest writer ever!) 

What are you working on now?

Right now, I am continuing to research volume II of Chocolatour. The working title for that is Chocolatour: A Quest for the World's Best Chocolate Adventures. I learned after blogging and writing the first volume of Chocolatour: A Quest for the World's Best Chocolate, that my readers are most interested in my exotic adventures and not so much in the chocolate. There are several other chocolate bloggers who focus strictly on the chocolate. My focus is on experiential chocolate travel, and my goal is to encourage readers to travel the world for chocolate ecstasy, whether that be in the form of chocolate events, chocolate spas, to indulge in cocoa cuisine, or to eat some of the freshest and most exotic chocolate that you can't get at home because fresh chocolate doesn't travel well.

I hope to have volume II of Chocolatour published by the end of this year, but it may not be until early 2017 as I still have a fair amount of travel ahead to complete the task of showcasing the best of the Americas and the Caribbean.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

My website can be found at chocolatour.net. I'm pretty proud of it, as I just had it professionally designed and relaunched last fall. We combined blog posts from three different sites I'd had over the previous six years: my writer's blog, my travel blog, and my newish Chocolatour site which I'd been using for chocolate events and updates about my book. It had become unmanageable to have 3 different sites and keep them all fresh. I used to have an old static website as well, but have since abandoned that as upkeep was expensive due to the old HTML coding. Now, I work exclusively with WordPress and it's easy to change and update myself—with the help of a terrific web manager whom I've been working with over the past few years.

Because I am continually trying to expand my reach, I am active on many platforms. You'll find me at:

Facebook Author Page: Doreen Pendgracs, Author 

Facebook Page for Volunteerism: Before You Say Yes 

Twitter: @wizardofwords

Instagram: chocolatour

Pinterest: chocolatour

Google+: Doreen Pendgracs

LinkedIn: Doreen Pendgracs

Tumblr: dpendgracs

Goodreads: Doreen Pendgracs 

Thanks for visiting, Doreen. I'm craving a chocolate break – right now! You've got me dreaming of a bit of Chocolatouring, too. That chocolate wrap sounds so very, very decadent! 

For all you chocolate connoisseurs, here are the delectable details:

Chocolatour takes you around the world, in search of the most beautiful, innovative, and delectable chocolate and noteworthy chocolate events.

In this first volume of Chocolatour, author Doreen Pendgracs introduces you to chocolate masters in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and Holland, as well as the UK. She also takes you to cacao growing regions in Peru, Ecuador, and St. Lucia and includes a fascinating chapter on the health benefits of chocolate. Plus a global A-Z Chocolate Lovers' Guide for the chocolate journey of your life.

Buy the book: Chocolatour | Amazon.com 

Click here to Tweet This Post!

Permalink: The Write Spot: Chocolate Queen Doreen Pendgracs

About The Write Spot:
I've always been fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes. Whether it's backstage photos from my favourite play, a peek into the kitchen where a chef is working her culinary magic, or simply a glimpse through an uncurtained window into a stranger's private world, there's an undeniable thrill of discovery, a sense of secrets shared. It's no surprise, then, that I'm immensely curious about where other writers do their work. I've blogged about it before in this post about my own 'write spot' and so enjoyed the comments, I was inspired to launch a regular feature here at stillpoint. Watch for The Write Spot every other Wednesday and join me as I discover the many and varied places where writers write.

stillpoint is the blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington

The Write Spot: Susan McNicoll

Welcome to the tenth edition of The Write Spot, a bi-weekly author series spotlighting the many and varied places where writers write. My guest this week is Canadian author Susan McNicoll. Susan's love of words and history has been the main focus of her writing career, which began as a reporter for the Ottawa Journal in the 1970s. I've asked Susan to tell us, in her own words, how her writing journey began.

"Out of university, I was directionless (and certainly not a writer in any form) so I decided to work for a year and then spend four months travelling through Europe with the belief that somehow by my return I would have the answer. I have always been psychic and one night in the top bunk of a youth hostel bed I woke up startled at 3:00 am with a burning fever, drenched in sweat, and the knowledge I was a writer – was a writer, not going to become one. Within a month of my return to Canada I was a reporter at a major newspaper."

Above all else, Susan considers herself a storyteller, whether in non-fiction, fiction or a mix of both. She is the author of The Opening Act – Canadian Theatre History 1945-1953, Jack the Ripper, British Columbia Murders, Ontario Murders, Toronto Murders and the recent Gangster Women and Sam Giancana.  Susan currently lives in Vancouver, Canada with her gorgeous cat Jay, named for her beloved Toronto Blue Jays.

Susan McNicoll's Write Spot

Very pretty! (Both your muse, and your fireplace view.) What makes this the perfect "Write Spot" for you?

It is hard to put into words. I don't like to feel constrained or boxed in. My desk is part of a large open living room/hallway and kitchen area with lots of windows. This allows me to breathe emotionally which seems to inspire creativity. In addition, both the fireplace and blue lights bring a sense of peace.

Other than your computer or laptop, what's the one thing you couldn't be without in your 'Write Spot'?

Jay, my cat and my muse. (He's just nine weeks old in the photo to the left.) Without Jay, my Write Spot feels empty. He looks after me and seems to know when I should take a break (of course this could also be because he wants attention!). He sits tall on the table, reaches over and pats me on the shoulder or arm, repeatedly, with increasing intensity, until I get up. 

Other than Jay, a cup of tea is essential, made only with tea leaves, not bags thank you.

Jay was such an adorable kitten, and he's matured into a fine, handsome cat. I can see why you love having him around. 

What are you working on now?

Arcturus Publishing Ltd. in the United Kingdom has recently published two eBooks (also to be published as paperbacks in the spring of 2016). The first, Gangster Women, tells the stories of the women who rode alongside the gangsters of the early 1930s. You can read an excerpt here: Gangster Women.  The second, Sam Giancana, is about the Sicilian-American mobster who ruled the roost in Chicago through the 1940’s-60’s. Read an excerpt here: Sam Giancana.

Fascinating windows into criminal history, Susan! Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Please come and visit me at www.susanmcnicoll.com. You can read excerpts from all of my books. There are also my blogs on various subjects such as Chronic Pain and Depression plus stories from my past. For lighter fare, my cat Jay also has his own blog, Jay's Stories!

You can also follow me on Twitter @SusanMcnicoll

When I first became interested in the women who chose to ride alongside the gangsters of the early 1930s, I was hoping to find one underlying psychological reason for their choices. It turned out to be more complicated than that. Gangster molls often greatly loved, had children with and sometimes married their men. Some also died with them. They were a product of the desperation rising from the Great Depression. As the exploits of gangsters were chronicled, attention was also focused on their women as the press described them in detail, from clothes to hair style. The public couldn't get enough.

Susan's books are available now from most eBook retailers, including:

Kindle: Gangster Women  |  Sam Giancana

Kobo:  Gangster Women  |  Sam Giancana

Permalink to this post:  The Write Spot: Susan McNicoll

About The Write Spot:

I've always been fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes. Whether it's backstage photos from my favourite play, a peek into the kitchen where a chef is working her culinary magic, or simply a glimpse through an uncurtained window into a stranger's private world, there's an undeniable thrill of discovery, a sense of secrets shared. It's no surprise, then, that I'm immensely curious about where other writers do their work. I've blogged about it before in this post about my own 'write spot'  and so enjoyed the comments, I was inspired to launch a regular feature here at stillpoint. Watch for The Write Spot every other Wednesday and join me as I discover the many and varied places where writers write.

stillpoint is the blog of Canadian author Cheryl Cooke Harrington