Here on Diane Capri Reveals, we’ve featured some of the biggest names in our genre, including my friends and colleagues Lee Child, the father of Rambo, David Morrell, my colleague at the Bar, Steve Berry, the dynamite writing duos Maxine Paetro (and James Patterson), Grant Blackwood (and James Rollins), and more. You can check out those posts by clicking HERE.
Our series on new authors and new voices is winding down. For the past few weeks, by popular demand, we’ve been offering Licensed to Thrill readers a glimpse into authors and books you might not know because the marketplace is crowded and finding good reads is more confusing than it needs to be. So check out our entire Diane Capri Reveals series and see whether you’ve missed a authors and books you’d like to sample for yourself or gifts for your favorite readers. Today, you’re in for a treat.
Ginger Calem’s blog asks, “Who is Ginger Calem, anyway?” You’re probably wondering the same. Lean in and we’ll let you know why Ginger is an author to watch.
Ginger Calem
When Ginger is not at the gym, or tending the home fires and keeping the house natives fed and happy, she writes YA with a pinch of paranormal, a generous sprinkle of humor, and a dollop of sass, she claims. But when we interviewed her, we found out a few things that suggest otherwise. What do you think?
She’s had plenty of real world experience to fuel her writing. After enjoying a career as a globetrotting, professional water skier at parks like Sea World and Six Flags, Ginger is now a Level 1 Certified CrossFit coach and (along with her husband) the owner/head trainer of CrossFit Georgetown. Ginger and her training staff help her clients gain, or re-gain, a level of fitness that allows them to work hard and play hard and look good too. Ginger is the founder of WritersButt, a program that focuses on the mind/body connection for writers through inspiration and tips on fitness and nutrition.
Diane Capri: Sounds exhausting to me. Pass the chocolate, Ginger, and tell us about your novel series while I sit here on my writer’s butt and rest.
Ginger Calem: Okay, but just a short break. It’s a YA series about a very old society of Ninjas who have been laying low but are now ready to become active again, for the greater good … or their version of it. It explores the sometimes sticky question of whether it’s okay to do what is ‘wrong’ in order to do what is ‘right’.
Diane Capri: The means and the ends, hmmmm? You’re kind of stuck on this bottom-side concept, aren’t you? *grins*
Ginger Calem: *laughs* I guess so!
Diane Capri: I know you watch television sometimes and I suspect you’re a closet mystery/suspense/thriller lover. Let’s explore that a bit. One show we both like is Dexter. Justice is the underlying theme in all of my books, so I know why Dexter intrigues me and my readers. What is it about the serial killer Dexter that appeals to you?
Ginger Calem: Its twisted sense of justice and messed up concept of ethics fascinates me. Dexter cuts through the mass of red-tape in society and gets stuff done. Of course this stuff is killing and cutting up bad guys, so it’s complicated, but they totally deserve it. *grins* My most recent TV discovery is PBS’s Sherlock. Wow … it is fabulous. Quick-witted, tight, clean writing and the loveliest, driest humor.
Diane Capri: As I suspected. So confess – you’re a closet mystery writer, aren’t you?
Ginger Calem: Fine. The cat’s out of the bag. I wrote a humorous mystery set in small town Texas, much like my own town. My protagonist has a lot of me in her. Like Grace, I don’t make cupcakes, even for bake sales, I can’t stand sweet tea and I believe a day is not complete without red wine involved. One very big difference is I have never found a dead body stuffed into a BBQ smoker, so there’s that bit of good news!
Diane Capri: You are adventurous, though. Some of your activities, like “tagging,” can get you arrested in American cities. Then you could experience the justice system up close and personal, for sure. What’s this photo all about, hmmm?
Ginger Decorates The Berlin Wall
Ginger Calem: My little piece of history, I guess. I spray painted the Berlin wall before it was destroyed. It seems odd that the only time we see that wall today is in historical photos. But maybe that’s good for me – no evidence remains except this photo you’ve now spread all over the world!
Diane Capri: *grins* We don’t call this series Reveals for nothing! Let’s talk a bit more about your writing as we wind up here. What is one thing that’s surprised you about writing? Come on. … Otherwise, I might have to tell folks that you once water-skiied in a prom dress and a tiara. Oops! Lost my leverage there…
Ginger Calem: That little tidbit was supposed to be just between us, Diane. But, I forgive you. Let’s see, what I love and what does surprise me in my writing is that my characters become more than what they are in my head. They may start as a picture or a voice or even a reaction to a situation that pops into my mind, but once I have them down on the page, they are strong-willed with voices of their own. It’s like I don’t know everything about them but if I give them room to be themselves, they show me so much stuff that I have to race to keep up with them. It’s a lot fun.
Diane Capri:That strong-willed thing might come from their creator, I’m guessing. Here you are with Sebastian. What a sweetie! But, seriously, how much did it cost you to get that done to your hair?
Ginger with 100 braid extensions and an admirer!
Ginger Calem: Okay! Break’s over! Hop off your WritersButt and let’s get back to that workout!
Diane Capri: Yikes! Before Ginger kills me with healthy living habits, we hope you enjoyed our chat today. Connect with Ginger at her website: http://gingercalem.wordpress.com/ and on Facebook: AuthorGingerCalem
Now I gotta see a post about the prom dress-tiarra-wearing-Ginger on skis! LOL. Thanks for a great Reveal, Diane!
I have pictures of those times. The green dress was her favorite 😉 That was the summer of 92 and spiral perms were all the rage in San Diego back then.
And let it be known that no prom dress pics will be shared without the permission of the one wearing the tiara! 😉
I’m with you, Lynette! Bring on that prom dress and tiara!!! (Of course, I’m not going to box with Ginger — she’ll whip this writer’s butt!!) 😀
Oh, I’m certain she’d whip my writer’s butt, too. But . . . I’m a writer. . . there are ways . . .Molly? . . . bwa ha ha ha
Awesome interview. Ginger rocks!
Thanks so much, Prudence!
She really does, Pru!!
Fun interview. Thank goodness I don’t watch much television, and have never heard of Dexter. Just reading about it here might give me nightmares. But the ninja series sounds really interesting. As does water skiing in a prom dress…any pictures of that floating around anywhere? 🙂
I need to bookmark Writer’s Butt Wednesdays because I started following the series, but don’t get notifications now. I need the motivation…especially not that winter has arrived. 🙂
I have a post back in June with all the links up to that point. I’ve been meaning to create a separate WritersButt page on my blog for anyone who wants to start at the beginning. But, jump on in there. We have fun.
Dexter is awesome but not for the faint of heart! Thanks for commenting Kristy.
Um, so, Kristy, you’re good with nijas killing us but not Dexter? Hmmmm…not seeing the distinction here! LOL! 😀 Thanks for reading!
Hi, Ginger and Diane! Ginger, I’m happy to learn we share a love of red wine. Diane, you have got to ge tyour hands on the picture of Ginger water-skiing in the prom dress and tiara. Put Jack Reacher on the case.
Fun interview, ladies!
You just just want to me to dig out all the old photos! Greedy!! 😉
Red wine is a must.
Oooooooo!! good plan, Pat!! WHY didn’t I think of Reacher as a weapon!! 😀
Absolutely fantastic interview, ladies! I loved learning more about Ginger, and seeing all those awesome photos of her. 😀
Thanks, Lena. I culled through so many old memories in search of some archived pics. 🙂
Thanks, Lena! Good to see you here. Do come back!
What a hoot you are Ginger. I love the photos. Thanks, Diane for having Ginger on the reveals blog. Fun interview. Now back to my WriterButt work.
Thanks, Judythe. You know, us girls from Texas are true characters. I know you’ve been doing massive house-overhaul, so your writersbutt has been getting a workout. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
Thanks for stopping by, Judythe! Nice to meet you. Do come back!
I love me some Benedict Cumberpatch as Sherlock, too! Although I’ve known Ginger for many years it’s wonderful to see her “revealed” to the world at large on your blog!
Hi Nicole! Benedict Cumberpatch … I mean, with a name like that, a swoon is necessary! 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by.
We uncover the truth here on Licensed to Thrill, Nicole!! Do come back and hold us to it!
Thanks Diane for some revealing of my sister with your great interview. She’s pretty awesome isn’t she?!! I have photo’s of said prom dress and tiara while skiing. Since there were about 4000 people in the audiences for 4-5 shows a day, I’m not the only one 😉
I’m sure I have some photos too. Also of me as Barbara Ann with the larger than life, blond bouffant wig and itsy-bitsy-yellow-polka-dot-bikini!
I have memories of 7 show days where we didn’t even have time to eat. Busy summer!!
I’m actually thinking I could have been one of those audience members, Molly — so maybe I’ve got one of those photos somewhere…….
Oh, oh, I wanna read your mystery, Ginger! A body in a BBQ smoker? Too cool! (Or actually I guess it was probably kinda warm, being in a smoker and all :D). You two are so funny individually. Get you together and what a hoot!
Haha Kassandra. Actually it warm from the Texas heat. Peww!! 😉 Some day that mystery will see the light of day. It’s a fun one.
Thanks for commenting!
Had to be a small body, though, don’t you think Kass? I mean, most of the smokers I’ve seen are not all that big…. 😉
Clearly you have not seen a Texas smoker. You can practically drop an entire bull in those things!
Good to know – next time I have an extra bull by the horns, we can give it a try! 😀
LOL. Even the smokers in Kansas are big enough but I gotta say, I never thought to put the extra bull by the horns into it!!! You ladies crack me up!
Great interview! Ginger, you’re already such a sexy and intriguing lady, and now, thanks to Diane, we’ve got even more goods on you! And good luck with your writing. The idea of ancient ninjas sounds like a great premise for a series.
Hi Roy! You are far to flattering but I’ll take it. haha! I can’t wait to share my ninjas with everyone. I’m so exited about this book series and am putting a lot of myself into it. They are a lot of fun and yet they face some serious ethical questions.
Hope you and Alicia are doing well. I appreciate you stopping by. Hugs to both of you.
Thanks for dancing by, Roy! Do come back!
I’m a WritersButt disciple and have my kids trained to know what is Ginger-approved and Not-Ginger-approved (which is not to say that we’ve given up all our bad habits, but when we know we’re being naughty we’ll laugh and say, um, I don’t think this is Ginger-approved…) I think the next reveal has to be waterskiing in the prom dress and tiara, Ginger. And I’m anxious to see both the ninja series and the Texas mystery on my shelf!
Linda, you are cracking me up. You could start a WWGD — What would Ginger do? 😉
I can hardly wait for Ninja Chick ~and~ Hell and Tarnation to be on shelves too, and in Kindles, Nooks, iPads and the like. 🙂
Thanks for the support! Don’t forget, I’m ‘watching you’. O-O
Sounds like a bumper sticker to me, Linda! Thanks for reading and do come back to see us!
Okay, so the overwhelming need here is for people to see Ginger in a prom dress. So I’m going to take a different approach — cos I love a good mystery *ggl* — and ask what it was, exactly, that Ginger wrote or drew on the Berlin Wall. And wha— oh, crap. I just got hit by the story fairy…. lol!
Thanks, Diane for giving us a rare glimpse into the lady behind Writer’s Butt!
Jen! I always feel like saying your name with an exclamation point. 😉
Oooh, on the wall. Well, you can maybe see in the picture in red that I wrote my mom and sister’s names with a heart. (Molly and Jackie). I remember I wrote the required Ginger Thompson Was Here! Also, I see in red on the wall a guy doing a gainer (back flip on skis over the ramp) so signify our ski show. Not sure what else. Probably blocked it out because surely it’s incriminating.
Now … send me the idea for that story. We can write it together. *s*
my name with an exclamation point? Excellent. It has always been my goal to be the “Norm!” of the internet.
story idea is percolating. you can’t rush the muse, you know.
Jen – now Ginger’s given us a full confession, we’ve got leverage, right?? 😀
*bwahahaha* leverage, indeed. And so the plan begins…
Oh, Ginger, I see how it is. You’ve been keeping secrets from us. 🙂 Fabulous interview and a terrific blog! (And I’ve read ‘Tarnation’ – it’s awesome. So is ‘Killer Shot’ – ask her about the chihuahua lady.) I believe I am President and Founder of the Ginger Calem Fan Club, in case anyone else wanted to join her adoring public.
You are cracking me up. Look at all the secrets and past stories y’all are dredging up. I haven’t though of Chihuahua Lady (Melva!!) is so long. Lord, she was a hoot. Now I have to find that scene and reread it.
Thank you, Julie, for being awesome and for being the President of my fan club. I’ve feeling very appreciated and loved.
Hi, Julie! Thanks for reading — and as the Prez of Ginger’s fan club, I’ll bet you know some secrets, hmmmmm? C’mon! Spill!!
How exciting that you visited the Berlin Wall just before it came down, Ginger. I just met a cousin who was raised in east Berlin and was there when the wall came down. Amazing!
It was pretty cool. We went through Checkpoint Charlie. I hid some money ‘on my body’ when we came back through, because I’m a rebel that way. Seeing guards walk around with machine guns was wild! When the showed all the footage of the wall coming down, I kept looking for ‘my part’. Of course I never saw it but it was fun to know it was possible.
Great interview, ladies and fabulous photos, Ginger. I have one with dozens of tiny braids and hair extensions from circa 1995 🙂 Fun times!
Thanks, Angela. I believe this was summer of ’92. 🙂
I’m finally catching up with the Reveals I missed, and I’ve been looking forward to reading more about the amazing Ginger. The ninja series sounds great! And I’d love to see of pic of water skiing in that prom dress, too! Love the braids!
Great Reveal, Diane. I love your, “Pass the chocolate, Ginger” line!
Thanks, Lynn. You’re so awesome! I cracked up at Diane’s ‘pass the chocolate, Ginger’ too. Kills me! As if I’m going to share my chocolate!!
I will be on a quest to find some good skiing prom-dress pics. They’re around here someplace.
Appreciate the comment.
good reveal, Ladies. tiara and water skis? my brain needs more information about that image.