Age: Let me answer your question like this: If you want to know how old I am or how much money I make, I will tell you that one number is too high, and the other figure is way too low.

Location:I live in the Ouachita Mountains in a planned community called Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. It is 22,000 acres and I am in the woods so when I look out my floor-to-ceiling office windows, I see trees. Some are 60-foot pines but there are a lot of hardwoods. We get all four seasons so you can imagine that in spring it is dogwood blooming, fall colors in autumn, etc. Location-wise, I am about an hour and ten minutes southwest of Little Rock (le petite Roche).

What are you working on now?
Currently I am teaching my Mediabistro 8-week e-course called Publish That Book: Writing a Nonfiction Book Proposal. In addition to that, I am creating two new websites with Adobe GoLive CS2 (the reason I mention the software, is that the learning curve was a beast). When I tire of that, I move over to the Arkansas Identification News-I am the editor-it is a quarterly and goes out to forensic scientists, law enforcement and corrections officers who all belong to the professional organization International Association for Identification (I am a trained forensic artist and hold a degree in criminal justice.) Then, I somehow got hornswoggled into being chairperson for Murder in Spa City, the first Mystery Writers of America Southwest Chapter and BreakThrough Promotions conference to be held in Arkansas, in Hot Springs, on April 1st.

more after the break

Also, there is a book of mine that needs a publisher so I have some feelers out for All Manner of Entertaining: The Complete Guide to Parties and Events; and my agent has a children's book we are working on about forensic science. Soon, I will have to work on my own author's newsletter called "Soup's On." It is a bi-monthly subscriber-based email issue that goes out to my readers, friends and other writers. In it are author interviews about new books, ideas for promotion or other writing-related stories. To subscribe, send an email to campbell@arkansas.net and put "newsletter" in the subject line.

In April and May I have three conferences to attend: I'll be speaking at Murder in Spa City, then off to New York City for the American Society of Journalists and Authors conference and meeting with friends and colleagues, then, finally, hit a forensic science training seminar later in May.

What's the most helpful thing you've learned about writing?
To become an expert in a topic you are passionate about and keep improving your craft. And although being a specialist and having a platform is good for your career, I think it's nice to try new subjects, to stay fresh. Keep stretching yourself and be persistent with querying. I guess that's the most helpful, then the second most helpful, and . . .

What's been the worst career advice you've ever received?
You know, I'm so type-A, headstrong and lead dog, I really don't take any one person's advice. I figure in this business (of book publishing) you have to pay your dues with a million words, learn to negotiate, network, and keep putting products out there and that is my basic philosophy and hasn't changed since I got wise, just in the past five years. (See me smiling.)

What advice do you have to new writing/freelancing teachers, on how to conduct a good class and get your students' attention?
You have to love to interact and be the mentor. I've never been afraid of giving away "trade secrets" or of having created competition. I think being a mentor to others will serve you and the writing community in a much larger way down the road. Getting a student's attention? Well, I guess I just treat them with respect.