The Writing Life For Me

Writing from the point of view of an African American... when you're not

2012-01-26T21:11:00.003-05:00

I've been wanting to write a romance idea that occurred to me. I think it would be amazing.

The problem? The main, POV character is African American.

I'm not.

At first I thought, "Okay, that'll work. I've written from a man's point of view, surely it wouldn't be any harder to write from another's woman's, even if she's African American and I'm not."

But then I started to wonder.

I don't want to do a rotten job or be cultural offensive. I'm not a genius, just a writer.

I always enjoy trying to write from under someone else's skin, imagine other people's experiences and viewpoints. But I can't know how well it will turn out, or even IF it will turn out.

Is writing this character something I shouldn't even attempt? Or should I try, and see how it goes?

Any advice for the process (or research I should do), if I do attempt this story?

2012-01-12T17:28:00.000-05:00

I read 69 books in 2011. My disclaimer is that some were re-reads and some weren't very long!

Highlights:

Finished Emma, by Jane Austen. I read it on my Kindle and it was wonderful!

Discovered Jim Butcher's Storm Front and sequels. :D :D

Read The Lady and Her Tiger, by Pat Derby. Intense non-fiction about animal training and animals in film. Fortunately, many things have changed.

Grand Sophy, by Georgette Heyer. I just love reading this famous author of Regency romance! :D I don't know how she can keep surprising me.

Read two new Alexander McCall Smith books. They are like warm chocolate for me. :)

One of my favorite re-reads was a Young Adult book called Lucy the Giant, by Sherri L. Smith. Lucy, a very large-for-her-age Alaskan teenager who lives with her drunken father, finds a new sort of family when she goes to work on a crab fishing boat with people who think she's an adult. But her old life follows her, and to really grow up she has to find a way to face it instead of running again.

Also re-read both beloved Watership Down books, a couple of Diana Wynne Jones fantasies (bliss!), some Jim Kjelgaard dog stories, any number of A. A. Fair mysteries (old but excellent, and very fast-paced!), and Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome's incomparable comedy.

2012-01-02T19:52:00.003-05:00

Recent stories:

Jackson Bluffs (space opera / sci fi / Mars related): http://www.raygunrevival.com/890/

He Gave Me Coal (a Christmas romance, very short): http://www.everydayfiction.com/he-gave-me-coal-by-alice-m-roelke/

For those interested, this is what I wrote in my email announcement for Jackson Bluffs:

My story, Jackson Bluffs, by Alice M. Roelke, is up at Ray Gun Revival. :)

I wrote this story ages ago to go with my other Mars stories, which
were published in the old RGR years ago. I had sent this one to
"Space Westerns," however. They sent me an acceptance after a long
time, but never published it, so eventually I asked for it back.
(They're supposed to be back to publishing sometime next year, but in
the meantime I'm very glad my story found a home at RGR!) :-)

My other Mars stories are:

"Message to Mars" http://www.raygunrevival.com/Published/RGR_0046_2008_09.pdf
"Evergreen and Always"
(a Christmas story)
http://www.raygunrevival.com/Published/RGR_0049_2008_12.pdf
"Sky Voices" http://raygunrevival.com/Published/RGR_0054_2009.pdf
(All three of these are a bit angsty! The current one isn't.)

When I was younger I had a whole Mars-related timeline/universe in my
head and I loved playing with it, though I never seemed to get the BIG
one written! Some of this universe still persists for me and
influences my writing. Though I still don't know if I'll ever write
"the big one!" :)

Anyway, I'm very grateful that my fourth Mars-related story has a home
now, even though it's taken a few years. :)

And, after I talked with my mom about my short Christmas romance, I realized that I might have enough that didn't come through in the story (but that I thought had!), to create a whole novel out of it. And that would be an excellent Christmas present (belated, of course).

In other news, I am REALLY getting frustrated with my S-L-O-W connection and old computer access. I'm about ready to swear off both until I can do better!

In other-other news, I'm really getting somewhere with my Regency romance, "Laurie's Painter." It's over 30,000 words now. I love Regency, never thought I would be able to write it, but am feeling hopeful for this story to work out.

Also, I still can't get Blogger to stop turning my tags and titles into sanskrit, so once again, this entry is without. >:(

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (contains spoilers!)

2011-12-29T19:01:00.010-05:00

Too long.

Too many explosions and slow motion running bits.

Not as funny as the first one.

Awkward scenes with Robert Downey Jr. in drag.

Gratuitous naked Stephen Fry scene. (And I like Stephen Fry: he played Jeeves! But no. Just... NO.)

Sherlock's childhood nickname.

Despite all of this, I enjoyed the movie a lot. Some parts made me want to groan, or I thought were all wrong, but other parts made me laugh out loud.

I enjoy this series reboot of Sherlock Holmes: action-y, fast-paced buddy films that show a more vulnerable and neurotic side of Holmes than many people dare.

I love Jude Law as the perpetually exasperated but still loyal and caring Watson.

I adored the gypsy woman who featured in this film and thought she was so cool!

I loved the way the film used the Falls in the confrontation between Moriarty and Holmes, twisting it and making it its own.

And I loved the ending!

I do think this movie strayed slightly at times from buddy films and into "we hint at more," which I didn't really like. This could just be my interpretation, however, and I was able to ignore those (possible) bits and enjoy the movie as a buddy film. Though sometimes I had to try quite hard.

The teenage girls in the seats behind me giggled when Holmes and Watson "had" to dance together, but I wanted to grind my teeth. It seemed completely historically inaccurate that two men could dance together at a political function and use it as cover to inconspicuously converse and spy! (If anything, they should've been standing on the sidelines drinking punch.)

Obviously there were other historical inaccuracies as well, but mostly they felt like stretching a point to create a steampunk effect, not completely ignoring history.

Would I recommend it? Not unless you liked the first, and in that case, don't hold your expectations quite as high.

For the third film, I certainly hope it won't be longer, even more special-effects oriented, etc. etc.

I predict that, following canon, Watson's wife will have died (natural causes?), and he will be grief-stricken. Holmes reappears, hijinx ensue while they track down and try to avoid being killed by Moran. And explosions. Lots and lots of explosions.

Cheap LED Flashlight

2011-12-20T14:32:00.005-05:00

Free Ebook Contest

"The Space Station Murders," by A. M. Roelke

So, my SF/mystery/buddy story novella "The Space Station Murders," by A.M. Roelke (20,000 words) came out in May this year. I'm allowed to give out several promo copies per year for contests. I haven't done a lot of that so I'd like to catch up now.

I'll give out THREE copies, drawing to be held on Dec. 27. I'll pick who gets it with a random number generator, no favoritism or special answers needed. Just comment and let me know you want a copy. If only three people comment, each will get a copy.

If you win, I'll need your email address so I can send you a copy in one of these three formats:

PDF
EPUB
PRC

*edit* Very sorry! I had said RTF but actually it's PDF. The other available formats are correct. :)

(This is my email address, if you'd rather not post yours publically: amroelke AT gmail.com. You only need to email me if you win! If you'd rather post your email for quicker correspondence, that works as well. It's really up to you.)

I'd suggest, before commenting, that you read the two Amazon.com reviews to see if the story interests you: The Space Station Murders--on Amazon (Reviews here.)

Or read the beginning of the story here: The Space Station Murders--from the publisher (Excerpt here.)

Or, you can read the review that compares me to Robert Heinlein.

P.S. If you're a book reviewer and would rather have a review copy than enter a contest, just contact me about who you are and where you'd post a review. I'd also need you to let me know your email address and which format you'd prefer (of the three I have available).

2011-12-09T14:38:00.009-05:00

News

* MuseItUp just accepted my Young Adult Christian Fantasy story The Girl and the Dragon. :D

* I completed NaNoWriMo 2011:

I didn't get as much written on my latest (romance) project as I wanted to, but I did get something written. Also got through the crucial scene that's held me back from finishing my SF/detective novel for several years now.

* And I have cover art for my YA fantasy romance novel, Watch Over Me:

2011-11-16T01:57:00.005-05:00

Why I love NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo gets you writing. Since the focus is on getting a set number of words, not "perfect prose," you're encouraged to just write and save the editing and self-doubting for later. This is a huge thing for most authors, so any tool to help you do better about getting the words down is a pretty big deal.

NaNoWriMo is for everybody. You can be a published novelist; you can be a fourteen-year-old trying your hand at writing for the first time. Everybody is welcome. I especially like that this applies on the forums, as well. People are busy writing, and the forums are only open part of the year. This leaves less time for any one group of "special" people to take over the forum. Everyone is, literally, welcome!

NaNoWriMo makes November one time of year when it's cool to be a writer. Well, that one's just my opinion, of course. :-) But it's cool to be able to talk about your writing with people who have the same goals and value the same things.

www.nanowrimo.org

YA fantasy romance novel

2011-11-03T14:04:00.005-04:00

image from Lajla Borg Jensen @ RGBStock.com

Watch Over Me, by Alice M. Roelke

On a grasslands world, a hero's daughter falls for a shape shifter -- the one man she can never have.

When a shape-shifter attacks 15-year-old Meri, a mysterious guy named Porse comes to her rescue. He’s also a shape-shifter—the friend of the Meri’s hero, the dead freedom-fighter Balile.

Porse tells Meri that she is really Balile’s daughter, and the current ruler wants her dead. Porse brings her to a town hidden from danger in the midst of the grasslands.

There she grows up, making friends and meeting her only living relative.

She also inherits her father’s blue sword—and falls increasingly in love with Porse, the one man she can never have.

Coming as an ebook from MuseItUp Publications in 2012.

Product Promotion

2011-11-03T12:03:00.003-04:00

Wow!! I received an awesome review for "The Space Station Murders" from Rochelle's Reviews:

http://rochellesreviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/space-station-murders-by-m-roelke.html

She compared me to Heinlein, if you can believe that!! :O

writing updates

2011-10-26T15:57:00.003-04:00

Today:

* Updates to my profile on the NaNo website. (AliceWrites)

* Received edits from my editor for Those With Guns, my SF/action short story that will be published by Muse It Up next year.

* did more writing on my Regency romance!

* working on a post about my YA/fantasy novel that's coming out next year. I found the perfect image to use, but needed to contact the photographer on http://www.rgbstock.com/ first. :)

Recently:

* received two turn down notices, one for a short story, one for a novella

* created a Livejournal account: http://roelke.livejournal.com/ I'm in general more comfortable on this platform, so I hope it will help me do more blogging and promo.

Coming Soon:

* A drawing for a free copy of my SF / Mystery novella, "The Space Station Murders." Stay tuned! :)

Interview with John M. Whalen, author of "Jack Brand"

2011-09-21T21:08:00.006-04:00

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

Fans of westerns and fans of space opera should find Jack Brand of interest. The novel is a blend of both genres, basically being a story with a western plot but set on another planet. Jack Brand, though living in the 22nd Century, and a former US Army Ranger who fought in the Great Terror War, finds himself on a primitive planet that actually resembles Arizona or New Mexico than anything else. The plot concerns his search for his sister, who was kidnapped by Tulon Nomads, a gang of bank robbers. Brand led his tactical squad, which included his sister, into an ambush. He survived but his sister was taken. He spends seven years on this wild, desolate planet searching for her.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

Two things. I like Jack Brand as a character. He’s in the tradition of both the western cowboy hero, and the space western hero, such as Flash Gordon. The novel has a wide scope, so the story takes him from the desert to an underwater city inhabited by strange beings who live in the sea. There is also a love story. Brand meets an adventuress named Christy Jones who pops in and out of the plot, in the usual boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and . . . well I won’t tell if he actually gets her back again. The subplot adds a nice texture to the story, I think.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

It took about 18 months to write. It began as a single short story and was first published on the Pulp and Dagger fiction webzine. Then I subbed it to Raygun Revival and they accepted it. The first story ended with it being revealed that Brand is on a search for his sister. I realized then it was unfinished so I sent in a follow up story, before the first one was published that resolved the main plot point. That got accepted. Then I suggested to the Overlords of Raygun that the story had a lot more potential and asked if they wanted more. Raygun at that time, in what I call its Golden Age, ran serials. One of their serial writers couldn’t meet his deadlines, so I sort of began to fill in for him. I wrote a dozen stories, all chronologically connected to fill the gap between the first and last story. It turned out to be quite a saga. Regarding publishing, Double Edged Publishing, which was behind Raygun was going to publish it, but that fell through when the man running disbanded the company. It hung in limbo as the Overlords tried their best to get the book out but finally, I withdrew it and subbed it to Pill Hill Press. They bought it in a heartbeat. The book came out in a matter of weeks. It’s selling well.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I read a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs in my younger days and am now re-reading him on Kindle, where a lot of his work is now free. He is a classic story teller. No one can deny that the ending of “The Gods of Mars” reveals that Burroughs was some kind of genius when it came to describing action and finding suspenseful plot twists. And I defy anyone to find a better opening sentence than the one that appears in “The Monster Men.” I’m also a fan of Leigh Brackett. I don’t read as much as I used to, but mostly I read the classics and Raymond Chandler.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

Favorite film is “Comanche Station” directed by Budd Boetticher, written by Burt Kennedy and starring Randolph Scott. Next is “The Wild Bunch.” But I like a lot of movies. The Marx Brothers, any Charly Chan flick, Tarzan movies, Samurai, Ingmar Bergman films. Bergman was an inspiration for “Where There Be No Dragons,” a short story I sold to the Tower of Light Webzine. Biggest influence on my writing comes from Stirling Silliphant, who created the “route 66” series on TV back in the sixties. I always wrote stories, from the time I was 10 years old. But Silliphant’s work really made me want to be a writer. “Jack Brand” is dedicated to him.

Can readers contact you?

Sure. Go to www.pillhillpress.com, the publisher’s website. I have a page there and a link to my email. Or just email me at john.whalen8@verizon.net.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Across the desolate planet Tulon moves a solitary figure. Jack Brand, former officer in the Tulon Security Force, is on a search. Seven years ago, he led a tactical squad that included his sister, Terry, into a deadly ambush in the desert. The Wilkersons, a Nomad gang who robbed a Trans-Exxon payroll, wiped out four members of his unit, kidnapped Terry, and left Brand for dead. Brand recovered from his wounds, and swore he would never leave Tulon until he found his sister. Over the course of his search, the ex-lawman travels from desert wasteland to steaming jungles, from a city at the bottom of the sea to a domed city run by alien gangsters. Along the way, Brand meets a gallery of exotic characters, meets the love of his life, and survives the barbaric planet through quick wit, fast reflexes, and the Electro-Pistol holstered to his hip...

Foreword

The book you hold in your hands has been compiled from a series of stories found in various and sundry on-line publications that were in existence in the late 22nd Century. The publisher of this work, after diligent research and study, asserts that the stories, while presented as fiction, actually recount the exploits of an individual who actually lived around the time of the Great Terror War.

Not much is known about Jack Brand other than what is presented in these stories. That he served as an Army Ranger during the War and upon the war’s conclusion traveled to the planet Tulon to work for a paramilitary organization known as the Tulon Central Security Force is, by now, common knowledge. But why he quit the Security Force and roamed the Tulon desert for years has not been known until now. These tales present the true account of a portion of Brand’s life as far as the facts can be determined.

The tales were written under a pseudonym by an unknown author who since has vanished in the mists of time. One of the tales purports to be a true account of one of Brand’s adventures told in his own words. This may be the case, since another of the stories, the last in the book, was written by one of Brand’s acquaintances, a bounty hunter who is said to be the last person to see Brand before he left Tulon and vanished from sight. The author of that story may have set down Brand’s words as he dictated them.

There are authorities who believe that all the stories were written by this individual, one Cody Benson. Whether this is true or not, the editors cannot say. Whatever the case, assembled together for the first time, with careful editing sufficient to provide continuity, we present the story of Jack Brand: The Search.

The Editors

Old Tarzana, Calif. AD 2439

PART ONE

2197: Year One of the Big Shutdown

Tulon Station

“Come on, before they change their minds,” the man said.

The woman looked up at him and then at her Tulon captors. The man had put a laser-sighted electron rifle, three thermo blankets, six pairs of Krylor boots, and a case of Thompson Synth-whiskey down on the table. He was a tall man, lean and hard looking, dressed in a blue tunic, dark grey pants, and knee-high Krylor boots. An electro-pistol was strapped to his leg in a Velcro holster. The Tulons, six of them, dirty, smelling of foul living, and dressed in their customary desert garb, stood nodding their heads, thinking what a good deal they had made.

She got up from the floor where they had kept her chained to the wall. The man took her by the arm and led her out of the hut into the hot desert sunlight. They walked to his Hover-Jeep. He let her open her own door and got in behind the wheel.

The leader of the Tulons and one of his men came out of the hut and stood there looking at them, as he started the vehicle. She was afraid, the way he looked at her. She felt the Jeep lift up and then they were moving. She could not take her eyes off the rear view mirror on her door. She watched the Tulons recede in the distance, praying they did not get into their vehicles and come after them. After what she’d endured the last two weeks, she could not face that again.

Finally satisfied they were not in pursuit, she let out a sigh and sat back in the seat. She looked over at the man who had bartered for her.

“Thank you for getting me out of there,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” the man said, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

“Who are you?”

“Brand, ma’am,” he answered.

“How did you find me?”

“I heard the Tulons had a woman captive,” he said. “They’re usually willing to give up a captive, even a female, in exchange for things they really need.”

She smiled ruefully.

“I guess a woman’s life isn’t worth very much on this planet,” she said.

“No, ma’am,” he said. “Nobody’s life is worth much here anymore. This is an oil-rich planet that made the most of the Earth’s dependency on fossil fuels. But now they’ve found an alternative fuel source back on Earth. The oil fields are shutting down. There’s a feeling of panic in the air. The Tulons have to try to exist anyway they can.”

She looked at him carefully.

“You almost sound sorry for them.”

“They’re victims as much as anybody else. It’s the big corporations that are to blame. First it was the oil companies, now it’s the Digital Atomic conglomerates. Everyone’s at their mercy now.”

“I’m sure it’s not as drastic as you make it sound, Mr. Brand,” the woman said. “They’ll be a gradual transition.”

“They call it the Big Shutdown around here.”

“I’ve heard that term,” she said. “A little melodramatic, isn’t it?”

“Is it?”

“It will take several years to convert completely,” she said. “In the meantime, though the demand for crude oil will diminish, there will still be a need for it for some time to come. This planet and its people will have time to adapt and adjust.”

“Sounds like the kind of propaganda the conglomerates put out.”

“Don’t be so critical, Mr. Brand,” the woman said. “I’m sure, at least, that one of those conglomerates, as you call them, will be grateful to you and make your rescue of me well worth your while. As Senior Vice President of the Interplanetary Development Division of Virtual Fuel, Inc., my company will see you’re handsomely rewarded. They must have posted a reward for my return.”

“I wouldn’t know, ma’am.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“There isn’t much in the way of communication out here,” Brand said.

“Then how did you know I’d been kidnapped?”

“I said, I’d heard they’d taken an Earth woman captive. I didn’t know it was you.”

“And you risked your life without knowing anything about me?”

“I know what the Tulons do to their female captives,” he said. “For a couple of weeks they would have kept you alive for their own satisfaction, but eventually, being short of food, they’d have killed you. I couldn’t let that happen to any Earth woman.”

“I see,” she said. “I thought you knew who I was. I’m Myra Steele. My father is Jessup Steele, CEO of Virtual Fuel.”

“Pleased to know you ma’am,” Brand said. “How did you end up way out here?”

“I was on a private transporter on my way back to Tulon Central to catch a shuttle back to Earth. I was here closing down one of the fuel development sites Virtual acquired from Trans-Exxon last month. The transporter crashed. The pilot was killed. Those savages found me wondering in the desert. I tried to tell them who I was, and that they could collect a lot of money, if they contacted my father. They just laughed. They have no phones, no radios. They said they didn’t care about money. They treated me like a slave. They—”

She suddenly was unable to talk, as the memory of the last two weeks flooded over her. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Best not to talk about it,” Brand said.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, as the Hover-Jeep glided smoothly over the flat, arid landscape. “Where are we going?” she asked, after she’d pulled herself together.

“There’s a relay station not too far away,” he said. “We can stop there. I brought along a change of clothes for you. You can get cleaned up. Then it’s a long trip out of the desert to the Transport Center. You can catch another ship back to Earth.”

“Tulon Station,” Brand said.

She looked through the Hover-Jeep’s dirty windshield and saw a small, silver, dome-shaped building ahead that looked totally abandoned. Brand pulled up in front of it and cut the power. The Jeep sunk down on the sand with a muffled whirring sound and they got out. The sun was still high in the sky, and temperature was close to one hundred Fahrenheit. Brand opened the Jeep’s trunk and lifted out a canvass sack. He tossed it to her.

“There’s a fresh tunic, pants, and some sandals,” he said. “You can go in there and change. There won’t be any water inside, but I brought this.”

He lifted a ten-gallon can out of the back of the vehicle and carried it to the station. He pushed the stainless steel door open, and saw a scorpio-pede skitter out into the sand on its hundred legs. The place was a mess inside. It had once been a café, where oil workers stopped on their way to and from drilling sites. But now all the windows were gone, the tables were overturned, broken dishes lay shattered on the lunch counter. Brand went back into the kitchen and came out carrying a stainless steel pot.

“You can wash in this,” he said, pouring water from the ten-gallon can. “I’ve got food in the Jeep. I’ll bring it.”

A half hour later, she sat at one of the tables, drinking water from a cup and chewing on the Synth-Steak bar Brand had given her. She was dressed in the clothes he brought, which amazingly, fit her perfectly.

“How’d you know my size?” she asked.

“Didn’t,” he replied. “Just lucky.”

She looked over at him, as he sipped water from the tin cup he held in his gnarled hand. She judged he was in his late thirties, maybe older. It was hard to tell. His face was lined and creased, weather beaten, and there were flecks of grey in his dark brown hair.

“Where are you from, Mr. Brand?” she asked.

“Back on Earth, originally from Utah,” he said. “I came here twenty years ago during the big oil boom. Worked for Trans-Exxon.”

“Rigger?”

“Little bit of everything.”

“When was the last time you were home?”

“Never been back,” he said.

Her eyebrows went up in surprise. “Where do you live?” she asked.

“I got a small place out near Leedsville.”

“Must be a harsh existence, living out in this desert.”

“Harsh,” he said, “but clean.”

“But surely you must miss civilization,” she said. “What could possibly keep you here?”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of roaring engines outside. Brand got out of his chair and she followed him to one of the windows. She saw three land rovers. Unlike Brand’s Hover-Jeep, these were old fashioned four wheelers with combustion engines. But like the Hover-Jeep they ran on gas and oil. On Tulon gas was free and there was plenty of it.

Three men got out of the rovers. They were big men, with electro pistols strapped to their legs. They wore denim pants, boots. Two wore tank tops and one wore no shirt at all. All three had scarves tied around their foreheads, Apache style.

“Who are they?” she asked.

“Trouble,” Brand said.

The door opened and the men came into the station. The man with no shirt came in first. He was bald, muscular, and his bright blue eyes looked surprise when they fell on Brand. The other two followed him, and all three stopped when they saw her and Brand standing there. The man with no shirt looked Brand up and down.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. “Brand. I thought that was your Hover-Jeep out there. Fancy running into you. Fancy that.”

“Hello, Dancer,” Brand said. “I might have known it would be you.”

Dancer looked at her now, his eyes devouring her inch by inch. When his eyes finally got to her face, he grinned.

“Ms. Steele,” he said.

He looked back at Brand.

“Should have known you’d beat me to her.”

He looked back at the men behind him.

“Boys, meet Jack Brand,” he said. “Every body just calls him Brand. We go back a long ways. Don’t we, old buddy?”

“That’s right,” Brand said. “But I don’t recall that we were ever buddies.”

“I guess that’s true enough,” Dancer said. “Matter of fact, you were the one mainly responsible for that time I spent in Tulon Prison.”

He turned to the men with him.

“See, Brand here worked for The Tulon Central Security Force,” he said. “Seems somebody made off with a Trans-Exxon payroll, And everybody knows Trans-Exxon owns the security force. They sent ol’ Brand out and he arrested me for it. But I told ‘em I never had nothin’ to do with that robbery.”

“You were found guilty.”

“They never found no money. If I did that job, what I do with the money?”

“There was evidence. Your fingerprints. And the bullet from your gun matched the one found in the payroll guard.”

Dancer grinned.

“Fancy that,” he said. “Well, what’s the use goin’ over all that after all this time? The main thing is that now you got a chance to make it up to me, Brand. A chance to wipe the slate clean.”

“How’s that?”

“Simple,” Dancer said. His eyes shot over to the woman. He grinned. “Just hand her over to us and let us take her in for the reward Virtual Fuel is offering. You do that I might let you walk out of here.”

“Just like that.”

“They’re offering a sizeable amount for this woman,” Dancer said. He started to move to the side and the men behind him spread out on his right and left. “A million Universal-Creds. Seems her old man owns the outfit. He’s so worried about her, price is no object.”

“A million, huh?” Brand said.

“That’s right,” Dancer said, his eyes fixed on the woman. He licked his lips. “Funny thing, too. He’ll pay the million even if it turns out she’s dead. Just wants to know for sure, I guess.”

“I’ll give you one chance,” Brand said. “Turn around and get out of here, while you still can. Don’t make me have to kill you.”

Anything else you’d care to share?

Absolutely. I am thrilled to be able to announce that I have just signed a contract with Science Fiction Trails to write the first novel featuring a new character that I’ve been writing about lately. Mordecai Slate is a monster hunter in the Old West who has been featured in about half a dozen stories published in various print anthologies put out by Pill Hill Press and Science Fiction Trails. There have been three stories published so far and more scheduled to come out later this year and early next. The novel, “Rio Muerto,” will be out Summer 2012. Slate is an interesting character, far different from Jack Brand, but one I’m having fun writing about. He seems to be pretty popular with readers too.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

Buy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Brand-John-M-Whalen/dp/1617060135/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316531580&sr=1-1

Small Business Deal

Landreth Seed Co

2011-09-18T17:14:00.003-04:00

http://www.landrethseeds.com/

The oldest American seed company, that once sold seeds to George Washington, may go out of business. I read an article in the newspaper about it, and looked it up online.

I'm going to buy their catalog to support them, especially after reading this: We could have this catalogue printed overseas, and the printing costs would be 1/4th the costs of printing the catalogue in the United States, but we are not going to take American business overseas.

Senior Dating Services

Peaches In Winter: my first romance novel -- accepted!

2011-09-14T18:12:00.006-04:00

Peaches In Winter

I started a romance novel in 2007. At first I was just writing it for my own fun. I certainly didn't think there was any market for the old fashioned tale I was having fun writing. (It's set in the 1950s.)

I wrote about a grumpy author who gets really depressed in the winter and doesn't like to leave his house, and can't get any writing done during winter.

His publisher hires a secretary, sight-unseen (only requirement being that she's cheerful!), and thus the grumbling Jake meets Betty Ann.

She annoys him on many levels, but he soon finds himself drawn to the cheerful, chattering farm girl who can't even type properly, but somehow brightens his days. She's an amazing cook, and somehow, he finds he can start writing again after all--but only when she's around.

Despite her cheerful nature, Betty is dealing with her own issues, having been jilted by her fiancé, and losing her last job because her boss tried to sexually harass her. Though she works hard to be professional, she finds herself drawn to Jake, and really appreciates how he makes her feel better about being who she is.

The story is definitely a "sweet" or "traditional" romance. I finally came up with the name Peaches In Winter, which I thought fit the season and the fact that the heroine came from a peach farm and it's her favorite fruit.

I wasn't able to finish it for a long time, because I thought I'd better write it as a Christian romance so it might have a market. That was the only market for sweet romances I was aware of at the time. However, it just didn't work for me. The story is about the characters, and too much spiritual content just felt 'off' to me. When I finally took out most of it, leaving in only a couple of things that felt natural to me (i.e., the heroine prays before she eats, or for people she's concerned about), then I was able to finish it this year.

I'm so very happy that I was able to write the story I wanted to tell--an old fashioned story--without trying to change it for what I thought the market would bear. It makes me feel happy inside. I'm so glad I wrote it from my heart instead of trying to conform to either modern or religious 'rules' for romance writing.

The thing I like best about my story is that both my characters have flaws, but I really like them both anyway. As I was writing them, I was rooting for them. The more honestly I tried to show they were both imperfect, the more I liked them both! Maybe it's just me, but if a character is too perfect, it annoys me. But at the same time, I wrote them as people I could like and respect, with their own moral codes.

My story ended up shorter than most print romances. I sent it to my publisher, Muse It Up Publications.

To my surprise (and of course, my pleasure!), they ACCEPTED it!

I can still hardly believe I'm now a romance author, or that the story I started for fun a few years ago will actually be read by other people.

It'll be out next August, as an e-book. It's 33,500 words.

Alexandria Pay Day Loan

Story Acceptance, and British Spam

2011-09-05T18:21:00.008-04:00

I like Ethereal Tales. It's a small magazine published oversea, in Britain. I was so pleased to have my story features in it a couple of years ago. I got a contributor's copy, and boy am I proud of it! It's a lovely little issue.

Unfortunately, Ethereal Tales is going out of business. Their last issue will be published soon. I'm fortunate enough to have been accepted again for the last issue with my story "A Cat's Prerogative."

This is a story I wrote more years ago than I care to count, and edited and tried to rework a lot. I'm pleased to find a home for it, because I'm fond of this short, SF, cat-centered story. (It's also been rejected more times than I care to count!)

Maybe my last edit brought it up to the mark. Maybe I just finally found the right market for it. Either way, it's a special feeling to find a home for one of my 'babies.' (I know, they're probably not supposed to be my babies...but sometimes they are.) :)

On a somewhat different note, Ethereal Tales gave the option of signing up for an email address on their site where readers could contact authors. I signed up, and never heard from one reader. But I have started to get spam forwarded from it pretty regularly.

Perhaps there is something I could do to stop it, but I haven't bothered. Because to be honest, I enjoy it. It's British spam, advertising things like a special trip on the Orient Express. Honestly, it makes me feel more cultured just reading it.

4inkjets Promotions

Missing, Assumed Dead, by Marva Dasef

2011-08-05T19:15:00.003-04:00

Missing, Assumed Dead

Prejudice, murder, insanity, suicide: Every small town has its secrets.

by Marva Dasef

I'm Kameron McBride. Call me Kam. When I earned my degree in Computer Science, and got my first job as a systems analyst at a major software company in Seattle, I figured all I had to do is keep my eyes peeled for Mr. Right. Not that I was in any rush to get married, but I didn't want to miss something good while I was busy building my career.

Just one minor little detail. Well, make that two. Dad died. That just about killed me. He was always my best bud. Mom and I soldiered on, though. Then Mom started feeling bad, really weak. The doctor diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis. She got treatments, but MS doesn't have a cure. So she got weaker and weaker until she couldn't walk around anymore. She went from a cane to a walker to a wheelchair. But she kept herself busy with genealogy. I don't see the appeal myself, but it makes her happy.

Any thoughts of even getting a date went out the door. Don't get me wrong. I love my mom and don't resent a single second of the time I spend taking care of her. After all, she took care of me and sacrificed a lot to get me through college.

Then I got the letter. Talk about weird. Some guy I'd never heard of disappeared seven years ago, and he was declared dead. Strange enough, but even stranger, I was named as the executor of his estate.

I wanted to shuck it off, but Mom told me the man was related to my father. Seventh cousin, twice removed or something like that. She said I had to go. She wanted anything having to do with the family, you know, photos, birth records, stuff like that.

So there I was, driving through the gawdawful foresaken wilds of eastern Oregon, trying to find some bump in the road town called Rosewood. Of course, I got lost. Who wouldn't? Every chunk of scraggly sagebrush looks like the next, and they don't seem big on road signs.

Lucky for me, a Deputy Sheriff found me sitting out in the middle of nowhere. We had a minor little disagreement at first. He wanted to shoot me. But I forgave him for that when I looked into those baby blues. Ahem. Right. Anyway, here's a brief description and excerpt.

Back Cover:

When Kameron McBride receives notice she’s the last living relative of a missing man she’s never even heard of, the last thing she wants to do is head to some half-baked Oregon town to settle his affairs. But since she’s the only one available, she grudgingly agrees.

En route, she runs afoul of a couple of hillbillies and their pickup in an accident that doesn’t seem...accidental. Especially when they keep showing up wherever she goes. Lucky for her, gorgeous Deputy Mitch Caldwell lends her a hand, among other things. Her suspicions increase when the probate Judge tries a little too hard to buy the dead man’s worthless property.

Working on a hunch and trying to avoid the Judge’s henchmen, Kam probes deeper into the town’s secrets and finds almost no one she can trust. With Mitch’s help, she peels away the layers of prejudice, suicide, murder, and insanity. But someone in town doesn’t like her poking around, and when they show their intentions by shooting her through the police chief’s office window, the stakes are raised. Kam must find out what really happened to her dead relative before someone in this backward little town sends her to join him.

And she thought Oregon was going to be boring.

Excerpt:

The sky had turned a deeper blue as the sun continued its trip behind the mountain ridge. The shadows lengthened on the east side of the scraggly shrubs. The faint hum of a car engine drew her eyes southward. “Good, I could use some directions.” But she was alone on an otherwise empty road. Maybe the approaching vehicle held a friendly soul, but it could just as well carry a serial killer.

Using her shirttail as a hot pad, she gingerly took hold of the door handle again and climbed back into the car. Goose bumps rose on her arms when the still blasting air conditioning hit them. She turned on the emergency flashers then opened the glove box, looking for something to use as a weapon. “Ah ha!” Kam pulled out a two-inch canister. “Pepper spray? Crap, just hair spray, but that shit burns eyes. Better than nothing.” She tucked it between her right thigh and the console to hide it from view, her finger ready on the button.

The vehicle grew larger and revealed itself to be a Ford Expedition SUV painted Oregon green. The lights on its roof flashed blue and red for a moment then went off. “A cop. Excellent.” On the other hand, she’d heard of guys who decked out their rides to look like cop cars.

The SUV pulled up behind her and stopped. After a long pause, the door opened. A man in khaki climbed out and walked forward. He stopped behind the car and wrote something, probably the plate number, on a pad. Aviator glasses hid his eyes, but the rest of him looked pretty good. Tall. Well, maybe not too tall. Slim and dark, just how Kam liked them. Watching him approach, she wondered idly how he managed to keep the razor-sharp creases in his uniform in this heat.

When he reached her side window, he gestured for her to roll it down. Kam cracked the window a couple of inches. She noted the badge and the Smokey Bear hat. “I don’t think I was speeding, Officer.”

The man chuckled, showing fine smile lines at the corners of his full mouth. He had great teeth. “No, you weren’t, but I wondered if you might be lost. A lot of people get themselves turned around out here.”

Kam gave him a rueful grin. “Yeah, lost isn’t the half of it. I’m looking for Cork Hill Road.” She hoped he was the real deal, but she sure as hell wasn’t opening her door. Tin badges were easy to buy on eBay.

“License and rental agreement?”

“Sure.” She opened the center console and pulled out the papers with her left hand, then shoved the rental agreement through the two-inch opening. She couldn’t figure out how to extract her license out of her purse without letting go of the spray.

“Your license?”

“Why don’t you just direct me to Cork Hill, or if that’s too hard, how about Rosewood.”

“I’d be happy to, miss, but I really do need to see your license. Paperwork, you understand.”

Kam released a deep breath breath. She stretched her arm across her body trying to reach her purse on the other seat. She grabbed the strap and pulled it toward her. It slipped out of her left hand. She automatically lifted her right to grab it. “Shit!”

Instantly, the officer’s manner changed. The smile disappeared, and he took a step back, pulling his gun from his left-handed holster. “Drop the canister out the window,” he ordered. “Do it now.”

Kam squeaked and threw her hands up. The canister flipped out of her hand and flew at the windshield. It bounced back and landed in her lap. “Now what?”

“Pick it up and push it out the window. Slowly.”

“You already said that.” She picked up the spray with two fingers and dropped it out the window. “Hey, I don’t know if you’re a real policeman. Anyone can play cops and robbers.”

“Please step out of the car. Use only your left hand to unlatch the door and keep your right hand where I can see it.” The barrel of his pistol never wavered from her torso.

“Take it easy. I’m opening the door.” He stood outside the reach of the door’s swing. Kam decided she’d rather fight outside the car, than be shot inside it. She got out with her hands still raised.

“Now move to the rear of the vehicle,” he ordered. When Kam obeyed, he took a step forward, never taking his eyes off her, knelt, and picked up the canister. Straightening, he glanced down at the canister then back to her. The corner of his mouth twitched as he re-holstered his pistol. “Sorry, but…hairspray?” He took off the aviators and smiled.

http://marvadasef.com

Blog: http://mgddasef.blogspot.com

Twitter Handle: @Gurina

MuseItUp Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/Missing-Dasef

MuseItUp Author page: http://tinyurl.com/MIU-MarvaDasef

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZI_8LgOIb4

Interview with Yvonne Anderson, author of "The Story in the Stars"

2011-07-17T15:49:00.003-04:00

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

This story would probably appeal most to fans of soft SF and space adventures (Star Wars) or fantasy (Tolkien), because it's a little bit of both: it's a fantasy played out on the backdrop of space. However, some of my writer friends who never read that sort of thing enjoy it too. Even the romance writers love it--despite the fact that there's no mushy stuff in it.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

I enjoy creating my own little world and being allowed to live in it every waking moment! But that's from my perspective. From the reader's point of view, I think they enjoy visiting that fantasy world with me, meeting some fun characters and seeing familiar personalities reflected in them. But since these characters are in an alien world, you never know what to expect, so there are surprises around every corner. Often, even I'm surprised.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

I wrote the first draft about five years ago. I don't recall how long that took, but probably about a year and a half. I originally wrote it just for my own fun; I had no intention of every showing it to anyone, and I wasn't in any hurry to get it finished. After completing the first draft, though, I realized it was something I wanted to share with the world, and I've revised it several times, trying to make it presentable. Risen Books contracted it in January of this year, which was four and a half to five years after I started.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I like books with depth, that make me think, that raise interesting questions (even if I don’t agree with their premise) or that teach me something I never knew before. I don’t like formulas, I do like surprises. I like subtlety. I like humor. I like stories that resonate in my mind long after I’ve put them down.

Favorites? I have a hard time picking favorites of anything -- colors, foods, authors, books. I enjoy too many things to narrow it down.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

I'm a very boring person and always have been. Probably the most interesting thing in my past is, in the early 1980s my husband and I had a mini-farm and raised enough of everything for our own use and sale that, bottom line, we ate for free. That's not to say it wasn't a lot of work, because it sure was. And there was also a considerable investment. But when we added up the cost and then subtracted the gain at the end of the year, we spent nothing for groceries but toil, sweat and tears. (The tears were mostly from the kids, who told their grandparents we worked them like farmhands. I think they'd have preferred we were rodeo clowns.)

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

Ha! I don't pick favorites, remember? But in this case, it's not because I enjoy so many things -- fact is, I don't much care for movies or TV. In fact, I don't even know how to operate a TV anymore, they've gotten so complicated. But when pressed to choose a favorite, I usually say the original TV miniseries "Lonesome Dove."

Can readers contact you?

You can find me at my blog, www.YsWords.com, or email me: yvonneanderson @ fastmail.fm (leave out the spaces from the email address, of course).

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

I was alive in all those decades, and my hair always made me cringe. Still does, in fact. With three cowlicks, it does what it pleases no matter how I try to make it behave. Shaving it off might be a solution, but I don't want to look like a Cephargian pirate.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Blurb:

The inhabitants of the planet Gannah are known as bloodthirsty savages who once tried to conquer the galaxy. Now a plague has ravaged the planet and only one survivor remains, a young woman named Dassa.

Pik, the doctor from the League of Planets assigned to her case, hates everything Gannahan and wishes every last one of its people had died. Bereft of everything she’s ever known, Dassa clings to her God and the story he has written in the stars. He has given her an assignment: to return to Gannah and replenish it with a new race of people. But she must first overcome the prejudice of the entire galaxy and recruit her de facto enemy, Pik, to help her.

Brief excerpt (1st page):

Dassa trudged through the Ayin Forest across a crusted snow, her weary steps fueled by the nearness of her goal. Soon, she told herself. Soon this will all be over.

On much of the planet Gannah, winter was drab as an old faded photo, but the foliage in Ayin boasted the colors of a prism and the trees kept their leaves until spring, when the new growth pushed them aside. The frosty forest pulsed with color as Dassa quickened her pace despite her exhaustion and the steepness of the slope.

Labored breath billowing like smoke from a puffing firedrake, she crested the ridge and cast her gaze into the valley below.

A warm rush of delight coursed through her weary body. There it was. Home, the comforting outlines of the domed green roof barely discernable through the trees. Revived by the sight, she hastened down the hill across the sun-spangled snow.

She smiled as the round, two-storied house came into view. It was no mansion, like her childhood home. It couldn’t compare to any of the seven provincial palaces from which her father, the toqeph, reigned as the ruler of all Gannah. But she could think of nowhere she'd rather live than in this yellow stone cottage at the edge of the forest with her husband, Rosh, and their two boys.

Nor could she imagine a more perfect late-winter's day. Gannah's volatile temper was unusually mild that afternoon, with the sun smiling down from an azure sky and breezes caressing with a mother's gentleness. And today, this most beautiful of days, she, Atarah Hadassah Hagah Natsach, would finish her quest and be made Nasi.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

BUY THE BOOK HERE:

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Stars-Gateway-Gannah-ebook/dp/B0052UJ9PA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1306699168&sr=1-1

Interview of A. M. Roelke, author of "The Space Station Murders"

2011-05-26T16:49:00.004-04:00

Today we are interviewing...that's right: me. A. M. Roelke, author of "The Space Station Murders."

Yes, I'm interviewing...myself...!!

*pauses for gasps of shock and horror*

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

You might like my book if you’d enjoy a quick read that combines mystery in a SF setting with humor, drama, and buddy elements.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

I like that it’s a buddy story. I also like that it deals with the inner things the main character is dealing with, even though the story is pretty fast paced. (Well, it’s only 20,000 words. It has to move quickly to get the whole story in.)

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

I think it was about a month or less. It took much longer to edit, as I went over it a number of times. Eventually I sent it to the new publisher, MuseItUp Publications, which had accepted Terri Main’s mystery/SF book, Dark Side of the Moon, and they accepted it!

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I like mysteries a lot. Obviously I also like science fiction—and more rarely, fantasy. I like lots of different sorts of books, including YA and some nonfiction, but somehow it trips me up trying to pick favorites—because there’s so much I seem to leave out if I have to pick favorites.

In mystery I love hardboiled works like those by Raymond Chandler, as well as cozy mysteries. I’m always finding new authors I like, but I still like most of my old favorites, too—such as the book I loved as a child, The Runaway Robot, by Lester del Rey. And I love Diana Wynne Jones’ children’s fantasy books. I’m really sad that she’s gone now and will never publish more.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

I’m really rather dull. But once I sang karaoke to a song that I’d never heard the whole way through. It happened at an amusement park, and there was almost no one watching. I picked “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and only realized partway through that I’d never heard the song all the way through before, and so didn’t know which ways to sing the later notes.

My brother and I also sang a duet, and that worked much better, as we knew the whole song. I’m not sure I’d have been brave enough to attempt either song, if it had been more crowded or I’d been in a less silly mood.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

Right now I’m into CI-5: The Professionals. I also like Starsky and Hutch, and Life on Mars (the American version—haven’t seen the British one), and enjoyed the short-lived Raines a few years ago. My favorite currently airing shows are Psych and White Collar. I’m also looking forward to the return of Rizzoli and Isles. All of these favorites mystery shows, you may notice!

My favorite movies are Frequency, Casablanca, and It’s A Wonderful Life. :D I also like The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, and Arsenic and Old Lace.

Can readers contact you?

Yes. :)

EMAIL: AliceRoelke *AT* gmail.com

On Facebook: http://on.fb.me/avHvJ0

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

Not really. I used to wear a really long ponytail, but I didn’t like it. Everyone used to say to me, “No! You can’t cut your hair!!” But I finally put my foot down and got my hair cut, and I found myself much more confident and comfortable once I did.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

tag:

“A grieving ex-cop. A crowded space station. A killer on the loose.”

blurb:

Herb Molloy went so far downhill after his partner died that he’s now an ex-cop living under one of the space station’s artificial beautification bridges.

Into his barely getting by life comes trouble and friendship. Trouble in the form of murders on the space station—his fellow homeless people targeted, picked off one by one. Friendship in the form of station newbie Zack Ives, who doesn’t know enough to look after himself yet... and who wants to investigate the murders.

Herb reluctantly agrees to help him, and the two step into danger’s path to solve... The Space Station Murders.

Mini Excerpt:

“You seen any papers since you got here?”

The kid shook his head, a blank look on his face. “Too busy and didn’t have the money.”

“Well, let me give you a clue, then. Somebody’s been offing homeless people, and if you’re not careful, you could be next.” He watched the kid’s eyes widen. “Don’t hang around alone. Stay in travelled areas, avoid dark alleys. That’s usually where the bodies are found.”

“Bodies?! How many has he killed?”

“Five.”

“Five!”

“The cops are working on it. But it’s always a dark spot, usually near a trash heap and a busted light, so the victims won’t be found till morning.” He cocked a finger at the kid. “Do your job-hunting in the open and get back here before dark. This is a safe spot.”

“Yeah, I know. They told me—that lady, Dolores?—she says there’s an ex-cop here. Says he keeps them safe. I bet it’s that old guy with the harmonica.”

Herb smiled to himself. “Look after yourself, kid.” He got up and started towards town.

You can read a longer excerpt on the publisher’s page, here: http://bit.ly/dmHnj0

Or download a sample for the Kindle, here: http://amzn.to/ixmMMu

Anything else you’d care to share?

Yeah. My dad teasingly said my story is “Mickey Spillane in space,” but I think he’s wrong! Sure, the main character is tough (sometimes too tough for his own good), but I don’t really think he’s really Mickey Spillane-like.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

You are SO welcome!! :P

~A. M. Roelke~ "The Space Station Murders" http://amzn.to/ixmMMu

SF / Mystery novella ~NOW AVAILABLE! ~ http://bit.ly/dmHnj0

Writing credits: http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/avHvJ0

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Interview with Travis Perry & Mike Lynch, authors of The Crystal Portal

2011-05-05T18:01:00.003-04:00

Please join me today for an interview of Travis Perry & Mike Lynch, authors of The Crystal Portal.

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

TP: Well, I’d like to think this story will have universal appeal, but I did have a certain type of reader in mind—a young enthusiastic fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy, who is open to Christian message in a story—a stereotypical Chronicles of Narnia reader. That’s the kind of person I was from perhaps age 12 through 20…well, I’m over twice twenty anymore, but as a matter of fact I still am that sort of person.

ML: I think Travis pretty much hit the demographic we're shooting for. The only thing I would disagree with him is that a person without a Christian background wouldn't like the story. Yes, there are those elements in the book, but it's not an in-your-face kind of thing. This is a fun adventure story that takes the reader on an exciting journey of discovery into a crystal world, filled with all sorts of interesting characters. I believe people with all kinds of background will find something to enjoy in it.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

TP: Other than it blows my mind that it’s actually in print? Hmmm, it’s hard to say. I think I like my characters more than anything else. I’ve thought about them for so long that they seem like real people to me, especially Zachariah, Lehkahn, 9.06, and Agata.

ML: Piggy-backing on what Travis said, it comes down to the characters for me. The mark of a good story is that the main characters all come from very different backgrounds, but they also have very distinct personalities. Sometimes they are able to overcome their differences, other times they are the source of their problems. Whenever you have compelling characters, which I believe is the foundation of The Crystal Portal, it always makes for an engaging story in my opinion.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

ML: Since Travis is the one who actually wrote The Crystal Portal, I'll give this one to him.

TP: I started the story back in 2006. About a third of it I wrote in a few months, but then I got stuck in a big way and didn’t know how to move forward. I kept writing bits and pieces, but progress was painfully slow until 2009, when I realized my problem with the story was I was focusing mainly on the actions of the heroes and not paying enough attention to the villain, Sargon, and his plans. Once I started thinking of the plot in terms of the villain’s actions, the rest of the writing went pretty quickly after that.

At the beginning of 2010, once the story was finished, I realized the writing was not doing a good enough job of matching the way I’d imagined the tale to be. I had self-edited, but it wasn’t good enough. So I looked for a co-author to help me get it into shape.

Mike Lynch volunteered for the job. It took us about a year of e-mailing back and forth (plenty of life events interrupting in the meantime) for us to finish. I’ll let Mike talk about finding a publisher.

ML: Okay, I'm back. After Travis and I finished retooling the entire story, we wanted to send it to some people we know who are authors themselves. I have published a few books of my own, and I have found that you always need an objective pair of eyes to help you point out problems in the story we may have missed, things like inconsistencies in the narrative, extraneous elements that really need to go, or sentences that need tightening. One of the people I sent a copy of the manuscript to was Grace Bridges. She absolutely loved the story, and offered to publish it on the spot. I had forgotten that she started her own publishing company, Splashdown Books, a couple of years back, and thought it was perfect for her audience. I was utterly amazed at how easy this was. In my previous publishing efforts, I was accustomed to months and months of rejection letters, working on re-writes, and slowly accepting the possibility we may never find a publisher for the book. I am happy to say this wasn't the case for us.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

TP: I enjoy reading history, science fiction, and fantasy more than anything else, probably in that order. As I get older I’m more and more interested in classic works of all kinds—within the last year or two I read a collection of writings about Socrates, some John Milton, and Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. I think all these works have in common a window into people who think and act in a way fundamentally different from the way I am—I find that fascinating.

Growing up my favorite authors were “the big three” of classic Science Fiction, Heinlein, Asimov, and Clarke. I still read those guys from time to time. Citizen of the Galaxy was my favorite Heinlein novel. To a lesser extent I enjoyed Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and I have a strong desire to have the effect as a writer that C.S. Lewis had.

ML: This might surprise you to hear, but I was not much of a reader growing up. Movies and television were more my genres of choice. Since I am a visual learner, I have always been drawn towards that medium. With that said, I would have to say my favorite writer of all time is Rod Serling when he did The Twilight Zone. The stories he told were very compelling, especially when he took the hot button issues of his day and masked them under the guise of science fiction. The original Star Trek series did the same thing in some episodes.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

ML: I've actually lived a pretty mundane life, not many exciting stories to tell. I learned how to ride a unicycle when I was in high school. I was also placed under arrest for camping on private property, but nothing came of it except a warning from the police officer never to do that again. I haven't. When I was on a missions trip in the former republic of Yugoslavia, I almost drowned. It was my fault for going out too far from the beach and exhausted myself swimming back. If a couple of people didn't pull me out, I wouldn't have made it. A friend of mine is producing a movie through Warner Brothers, and I was able to go onto the movie lot a few weeks back watch a pre-screening of the film. One the actors I got to meet was Stephen Baldwin. Other than that, just the usual boring life stuff. Travis, on the other hand, has experienced some things most of us could never imagine.

TP: From most people’s point of view I’ve had a pretty colorful past. I’ve lived in a log cabin, been trampled by horses and was dragged on my face with a foot caught in a stirrup, lost a finger in a childhood woodcutting accident, witnessed first-hand a gruesome firearms accident (my sister survived), been in dozens of smaller accidents, including an extremely hard landing on my fifth jump at US Army Airborne school (was on crutches for months), was the lead witness at a murder trial, have deployed to United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and now Afghanistan as an Army Reservist, have hunkered down in a bunker under rocket fire, was arrested due to a clerical error and thrown into the Denver county jail for twelve hours, interrupted a church robbery, used a gun to stop a man from beating his wife (she was a neighbor screaming at the top of her lungs and the police didn’t show up until long after I did), have calmly defended my faith before an abusive college professor, helped capture a man wanted for interstate drug trafficking, am a proud father of six, and I speak at least a little of eight or nine languages—depending on if something counts as a language or a dialect.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

TP: The Lord of the Rings movies are some of my favorite movies, but Apollo 13 is another I’d say I adored. My favorite TV series was Star Trek Deep Space 9, even though some of the episodes I admit were not very good. My favorite characters in the series were all Bajoran or Cardassian and I really enjoyed the interactions between these two races.

ML: I'm actually something of a movie buff, and have so many favorites. It would be impossible for me to narrow down the field below fifty. For TV, I would say the original Star Trek, Lost, Babylon 5, The Twilight Zone, Speed Racer and Gilligan's Island.

Can readers contact you?

TP: Sure. tt_perry@hotmail.com.

ML: My e-mail address is: lynchm@esuhsd.org

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

TP: In the early 80’s I had a bowl cut and my hair was thick—it was pretty close to the “Dorothy Hamill” look. Wouldn’t want to return to that…

ML: My hair was pretty bushy when I was in high school, but hey, it was back in the 80s. Everyone wore their hair on the long side then. Now, I keep it pretty short, but not quite at the level as Travis'.

Is there anything else you’d like your prospective readers to know? (If not, I’ll just delete this question.)

TP: I hope to make a whole series of “Portal” books. The next one I’d like to call “The Dragon Portal.”

ML: As I mentioned before, I have some other novels I've written. If anyone is curious about those, the best place to check them out is on my website (www.mikelynchbooks.com).

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Blurb:

A time-travelling warrior elf on a manhunt for an evil genius.

A state-of-the-art robot from New Los Angeles.

And a carpenter's son from first-century Israel.

Entering the Portal, they join forces with a princess of the Sapphire Monarchy

to defy their power-mad adversary.

Excerpt:

"This is how it should be," Sargon said, a sinister grin pushing against the corners of this mouth. "How it should have been from the beginning, just you and me." He extended his arm holding the canterole and passed it in front of the portal. A bolt of lightning shot out of the arched opening and struck Lehkahn in the chest.

Zachariah jumped back when the bolt blinded him momentarily, as though all the energy of the sun and been released in a single, massive burst. "Lehkahn!" he called out at the same instant. When no answer came, his fear seized control of him and he dropped down to the ground, his face planted against the stony surface. If Sargon had any intention of finishing him off, he would at least make it as difficult as possible.

It didn't take long for his eyes to re-adjust to the dark. Between his panic-fueled breaths, his eyes darted about, looking for any sign of movement. A dozen cubits away from him, he watched as the Lord of Balal lowered the now-glowing canterole to eye level. His piercing glare was illuminated by the shining blue gemstone as it crackled with power. A look of satisfaction spilled out of his gaze, one that brought a chill to Zachariah.

“This place is pulsing with power,” he said to no one in particular. "Can you feel it?" The Lord of Balal then raised his hand again, and from the portal lightning leapt forth once more toward Lehkahn.

He had dropped to his knees after the last jolt, but recovered just in time and thrust his golden sword forward. The blade somehow absorbed the dazzling bolt of power, though Lehkahn still cried out in pain—maybe from the earlier wound to the chest.

Sargon stood above him, triumphant. “There has always been just one possible outcome to the conflict that has defined us for so long. It is the only one there will ever be." He raised the canterole a third time, as if to strike.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

Thank you for giving us chance to share our story with you and those who follow your website.

LINKS TO BUY THE BOOK:

Splashdown Books: http://www.splashdownbooks.com/crystalportal.html

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/46747

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Portal-Travis-Perry/dp/0986451789/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301774113&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Crystal-Portal/Travis-Perry/e/9780986451782/?itm=1&USRI=travis+perry

Cheapest Flights

Me and My Heart

2011-04-27T14:26:00.001-04:00

So the doctor told me I have a mild heart condition that should cause me no concern whatsoever: ‘mitral valve prolapse.’ There are some symptoms associated with it, and often none whatsoever. Many people have it and are never diagnosed. It’s usually not dangerous. Stress can make the symptoms worse.

There is occasional chest pain and a scary heart-thumping involved in it from time to time for me. I never knew the name or that there was a name—I thought everyone had that sort of thing—but it used to be much worse when I was younger. (Occasional dizziness when I stood up, and fairly common scary heart thumping moments.) That was back before I gave up caffeine, and stopped eating sugar and chocolate most of the time. From what I’m reading on the subject, stopping those items definitely helped lessen my symptoms.

Anyway I’ve been thinking about this MVP, because my chest has been hurting and pounding recently. I think it’s been the emotional stress, plus possibly the heat. (It got hot here very quickly, early in the year, and the heat is not easy for me.)

I sort of feel dumb for thinking about it, because my sister DOES have a serious heart condition, and here I am thinking and feeling concerned about this mild thing that I have.

But I can’t feel how she feels. I can only feel how I feel. And when my chest starts to hurt or pound a lot now, instead of just dismissing it and feeling annoyed, complaining a little and taking some aspirin if it hurts badly enough, I think about what it means—a heart condition—and I feel... vulnerable. Frightened.

Yesterday my chest hurt for most of the day. Just last week, my heart was pounding rapidly because of the stressful time I was having. I could barely seem to calm it down all day.

It just...makes me think, you know? To think about how emotional pain triggers physical pain for me, so often. I’ve never really thought about it in those terms, but it’s true. When my chest starts to ache a lot, there’s usually an emotional reason mixed in with whatever is physically going on. In the same way, crying both emotionally and physically hurts me. It doesn’t seem to affect everyone that way, but it does me. Both are reasons that I avoid watching disturbing news stories or emotionally intense movies whenever possible. For me, both hurt. Both take a physical toll.

I want to do what the doctor said and not worry about this mild heart condition. I also want to be even more careful about chocolate, because the last time I had some, just recently, my chest ached for days afterwards, and now that I’ve put it together that that’s the reason why, I don’t think it’ll be worth it to me anymore to eat chocolate, even once in awhile.

I even see a few repercussions in my writing. People who’ve critiqued my work sometimes tell me that I use descriptions of hearts pounding in distress too often. And I know that in my reading and writing, things to do with the heart, a feeling of vulnerability in the heart, always resonate with me for some reason. I guess maybe now I know why. My body knew something I didn’t know; that vulnerability was something I identified with.

And I wrote about hearts pounding scarily in distress because I experienced it.

I wrote...from my heart.

Nutritious Food

Interview of L. S. King, author of Deuces Wild: Beginners' Luck

2011-04-20T15:48:00.004-04:00

Please join me today for an interview of L. S. King, author of Deuces Wild: Beginners' Luck.

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

Deuces Wild has often been described as a western in space. It has action, adventure, some campiness, and a few very serious, even uncomfortable, moments. Mostly, it's lots of fun.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

The interaction between the two main characters. They're so opposite, which was part of the story premise. And, personally, I enjoy watching Slap trying to find ways to irritate Tristan. Despite the tragedies in his life, he's still got some zest left.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

The book was written as a proof-of-concept, published month-by-month as a serial novel, so I had a monthly deadline for each chapter to write and edit. The entire story was published in over a year-and-a-half's time.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I love all sorts of books, but my favorites are SF and westerns, which is one reason I wanted to merge the two genres in this story. Trying to list my favorite authors would make this a very long list, so I'll go with my most-read (in alphabetical order): Lois McMaster-Bujold, Agatha Christie, Zane Grey, R. A. Heinlein, and Anne McCaffrey.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

Rodeo? No. But I did do clown ministry for a time. I was a mute, auguste clown. I've also taught karate, driven a school bus, and worked at a radio station.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

That varies on mood. At this exact moment, it's a toss-up between Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog and Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV mini-series). Oh, and GalaxyQuest.

Can readers contact you?

Most certainly! http://loriendil.com/contact.php

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

Hm, not personally. My hair in general makes me cringe. I don't have some bad hair days; every day is a bad hair day!

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

All Slap ever wanted was his ranch and family. The gangster Lyssel destroyed all that, leaving only charred remains. Tristan wanted nothing; he had no expectations from life and trusted no one.

The cowboy and space pirate discover they are hunted by a common enemy: Lyssel. Able only to trust each other against this gangster and his mob, the two are forced to work together. But how can two such total opposites ever make their alliance work?

Excerpt:

Raucous laughter, human and alien body odors combining in the heat, and the smell of stale liquor assaulted Slap's senses as he walked through the open door of the Rocket Wash Bar. Paint flaked from the adobe walls. Off-world aliens aside, it wasn't that different from home.

Pack over his shoulder, he picked his way through the crowd, looking for a table. The few empty chairs didn't seem good choices considering the glares from those seated nearby.

Slap muscled through to the bar and after calling twice to get the barkeep's attention, he banged a hand on the counter. Two eyestalks swiveled to stare at him. Slap gaped for a second before saying, "Something to eat. And a drink. Anything."

The bartender turned around, his mouth twisting as he spoke. "Ten quel. Cash. No credchits."

Cash! Slap gulped and fumbled in his vest. If a meal and drink cost that much, what would a room cost? He put the money on the bar and glanced around as the bartender turned to the wall tap. A motion on his right caught his attention but something told him not to move his head or look down. Cutting his eyes, he saw a hand sliding a thin stim-blade out of a sheath sewn cleverly into a black vest.

Brago's Bands, what was this guy up to? A glass thunked the counter in front of Slap, and he wrapped his hand around the handle, while keeping attuned to the man next to him. He felt a slight tug at the pack on his left shoulder—a thief trying to steal? Without thinking, Slap swung around, and his glass impacted with a face. The 'thief' hit the floor, a needlegun clattering out of his hand. What the—?He stared at the unconscious man for a split second, but the sounds of a fight behind him made him turn. The man in the black vest thrust his stim-blade into a man's gut. The attacker screamed in agony. Black Vest then kicked a second—right into Slap's chest.

Slap threw an arm around the man's throat and tightened. As he waited for the struggling man to pass out, he watched in awe as Black Vest continued to fight two more men. He looked like a dancer—leaping, spinning, kicking. Before long his opponents all lay on the floor.

Slap realized the man in his arms had gone limp and dropped him. Black Vest turned, regarded the two men at Slap's feet, and gazed up with coal black eyes. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

People crowded closer, gawking at the bodies and muttering. Black Vest's gaze darted about as he sheathed the deadly knife. "I think we'd better leave."

Slap agreed and followed him outside. The night air felt fresh and cool. "Why were they all fighting you?"

"Quiet. We have to get away from here. Come on."

Slap shrugged his pack higher on his shoulder as he rolled his eyes, then followed Black Vest through the narrow streets. As hot as the days could get, the nights got cold, and Slap found himself shivering in his sleeveless vest as he peered ahead at the dark shape of his companion. Once he stumbled over a body in an alley and got a mumbled snarl as the person woke.

Finally they entered the gate of an inn. Slap blinked at the faux torches glowing at each side of the arch. Wouldn't real fire be cheaper? But then most of the lighting he'd seen hadn't been natural. He shrugged. City ways.

They took a flight of curved stairs to the left of the courtyard, barely illuminated by sconces dimly flickering with—yep, artificial light. Slap's hand ran along the rough-plastered wall to keep his bearings as they ascended. Once inside a small room, the man closed the door and turned the light on low. He faced Slap. "Now we can talk."

"Why were those men trying to kill you?"

"They were assassins." He ran a hand through his hair. "I think."

"Assassins? Who in the world are you that assassins would want to kill you?"

"Never mind." He walked to the bed and grabbed a small satchel from the foot of it. "By jumping in to help me you might have made yourself a target." He straightened and stared at Slap. "I'd advise you to get as far away from here as possible. Jump planet if you can."

"Jump planet? Brago's Bands, I don't even have money for a place to sleep, or food"—he thought with regret of the liquor lost when his glass hit the one assassin's face—"much less enough money to get a ticket off this rock."

The man eyed him for a few moments. "I can help with that. But right now, let's see if we can get something to eat." He rummaged in the bag and pulled out a small item. He pocketed it in his vest, but Slap didn't see what it was. The man headed for the door. "There's a boarding house not far away that has a decent cook."

"What's wrong with this one?"

"It's known I took a room here. Too dangerous. Let's go."

Slap wasn't going to argue at the mention of food.

Here's my website: http://loriendil.com/

and a link to buy the e-book: http://bit.ly/DeucesWild_BL

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

Thank you!

Interview of Kerry Nietz, author of the DarkTrench Saga

2011-04-14T16:19:00.009-04:00

Please join me today for an interview of Kerry Nietz, author of the DarkTrench Saga.

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

"Cool" should be the subtitle of these books. They have robots, spaceships, bald implanted debuggers, future societies, the struggle for freedom, high-tech mysteries, and a bit of cyber romance. In addition they explore contemporary issues in an interesting and unique way.

Really there is something for everyone. A Star Curiously Singing has over forty positive reviews on Amazon, and every one of them has a distinct reason for why they liked it.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

The thing I like to hear most about my stories is that they’re unique. It is my favorite compliment. Sure they have elements that have been used in other stories, but I try real hard to use them in new and unexpected ways. To keep the reader guessing.

Plus my books are written in first person present tense. That in and of itself is unique. I’ve had people tell me their brain had to adjust a bit before they “got it” and then they were hooked. I think that’s appropriate for a story about a future man with an implant in his head, don’t you? :)

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

The first book in the series, A Star Curiously Singing, took me five months to write initially, but almost another year to get it to publishable form. During that time it grew 30,000 words and had a new beginning and ending added. There were also a number of months-long pauses in there while I waited for input from my always swamped editor and publisher.

During one of those pauses I started work on the second book, The Superlative Stream. I got about four months into it before I had to put it down to finish the first book. Then I picked it up again (in October of 2009) and finished the first draft three months later. It was published in April of 2010, so the first four months of that year was spent revising and editing.

With the third book I worked essentially nonstop for eleven months. I just (at the end of February 2011) sent what I think is a solid first draft to my publisher. It’ll probably be a month or so before he gets to it. Then, who knows? I’m hoping to have it ready for release next fall, though.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I'm pretty flexible, really. I read anything from science fiction to thriller to mystery to biography to you-name-it. In fact there have been periods of my life when I've forced myself to sample different authors and genres...specifically those that are considered classics. I like to study books and figure out what makes them work.

Science fiction is a heavy favorite, though. I was an early C.S. Lewis fan. Edgar Rice Burroughs and Ray Bradbury became friends in high school. Tolkien came later—in college—as did Isaac Asimov and others. I have a really long list of favorite authors. Some of them show up in my current trilogy. As swear words.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

I consider myself a refugee of the software industry. I spent more than a decade of my life flipping bits—first as one of the principal developers of a database product called FoxPro for the now mythical Fox Software, and then as one of Bill Gates's minions at Microsoft.

I’m a husband, a father of three, a technophile, and a movie buff. I have three published books: a memoir entitled FoxTales: Behind the Scenes at Fox Software and then the two novels from the DarkTrench Saga: A Star Curiously Singing and The Superlative Stream.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

I have many favorite movies. My top three are probably the original Star Wars, the original Alien and the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. All epic films.

Current “must watch” TV shows are Smallville and Clone Wars, though I was a regular watcher of both Lost and the Sci-fi channel’s Battlestar Galactica when those were on. Fringe is fun too.

Can readers contact you?

Absolutely. There’s a contact form on my website, http://www.kerrynietz.com/

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

Yeah, my hair prior to college was always just combed straight. I guess I kept all my imagination on the inside back then. Or I was lazy.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

A Star Curiously Singing is a speculative Christian novel with a decidedly cyberpunk feel. It takes place in a future hundreds of years from now, where much of the world is living under sharia (meaning Islamic) law. It is dualistic society, where average people live on the streets in near-squalor and the powerful ride above them in cable-car-like conveyances. This latter group is shrouded in high tech, to the point of needing specialized debuggers to handle their machines. That's where my protagonist comes in. Sandfly is a debugger who's summoned to solve the mystery of why a bot malfunctioned. The unusual circumstance? The bot has been to space. Deep space. Something about the trip made it malfunction.

The Superlative Stream is the second book in the DarkTrench Saga series. At the end of A Star Curiously Singing, a couple of the characters were headed off into deep space, so this book follows their story. There was evidence to suggest that some supernatural force other than what the characters have known is out there . . . waiting. So, ultimately the quest of The Superlative Stream is to find the True God of the heavens. I think it is a very unique and enjoyable story, with a lot of unexpected twists. I hope it surprises people.

Samples of both are available at my publisher’s website.

ASCS is here: http://www.marcherlordpress.com/books/a_star_curiously_singing.html

TSS is here: http://www.marcherlordpress.com/books/the_superlative_stream.html

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your series! :)

Alienware Computer

Interview of Ann Margaret Lewis, author of "Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes"

2011-04-08T22:46:00.004-04:00

Please join me today for an interview of Ann Margaret Lewis, author of Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. Thank you for being on my blog, and agreeing to answer some questions. :)

Thank you for having me!

Please tell prospective readers briefly what your story is about.

Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of three stories (novellas) that tell “untold tales” from the Sherlock Holmes canon. “Untold tales” are stories that Dr. Watson mentions, but never details for us. With this book, Watson alluded to three Church-related cases, two of which deal directly with the Pope of his time, Pope Leo XIII. I thought I’d tie them all together in one neat little package. =)

What’s your favorite thing about your book?

I loved writing the pope. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love writing Holmes no matter what. But I discovered what a terrific character Pope Leo was, and he was a joy to put on paper. His voice was just so noble, sweet and gentle I fell in love with him….in a platonic, fatherly sense, of course.

Do you consider this a religious book? Or a book with some religious elements? Do readers have to be Catholic to enjoy it?

This is a book with religious settings and characters, and you definitely do not have to be Catholic to enjoy it. I’ve had many friends read it who are not religious at all, and they liked it. One such friend gave me the honor of reading it twice—and he doesn’t even like pastiches! So that was a good sign.

Did you find it hard writing Sherlock Holmes as a character? Did you have to do a lot of research?

I did a good deal of research, and I liked using primary sources if possible. Especially when it comes to writing Pope Leo. The difficulty in writing Holmes is imitating the voice of Watson telling the story. If I don’t have that right, I can convince no one that it is really Watson and really a Holmes story. So that had to be done correctly otherwise the book would fail. That and avoiding anachronism were my two biggest concerns.

How long did it take to write your book? How about to edit the story and find your publisher?

It took me a year writing on and off to finish this book. That process was extended by the fact that I had another book idea in the middle of writing this one – so I took off and wrote that. Then I came back to this one and finished it. After that, it took me two more years to find someone to publish it. Books sometimes do take a while to be born, I’m afraid.

Do you have any advice to writers of Sherlockiana? (I ask this question from personal interest!) :)

If you’re doing a pastiche, read and re-read the canon। Scrutinize your words, and how you form your sentences. Spend a lot of time getting the language right, or you will convince no one that this is a Holmes story. I did pretty exhaustive work and I still have things that don’t work. Don’t rush through that part of the writing. Also, study Doyle’s story structure. If you change the formula, at least know why you are changing it or your audience will not accept it.

How did you discover Sherlock Holmes?

When I was in high school I read through all of my mother’s Agatha Christie’s and I really wanted to read more mysteries. They seemed to involve me more than any other reading I’d done. My mom suggested picking up Hound of the Baskervilles and I was hooked. Thanks, Mom!

What did you think of the recent adaptations (the movie, and the BBC TV show “Sherlock”)? If you didn’t like them, are there any adaptations you do like?

I was pleasantly surprised by the BBC Sherlock. I was ready to not like it—but wanted to like it—and I did. I think Mr. Cumberhatch is a perfect Sherlock, and I do adore his Dr. Watson (but I’m a softie for Watson). It makes me crazy that they only made three episodes. The cliffhanger about sent me…well…over the edge! I also loved Jeremy Brett, Holmes, too, and my (other) favorite Dr. Watson was David Burke. In fact, when I write Watson that’s whose voice I hear and whose face I see in my head.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

I am a classical singer (soprano), and I’m singing with the chorus of the Indianapolis Opera in La Traviata this Spring. On top of that I’m teaching high school composition, directing a school play, writing another novel and raising a 7-year-old boy. Thank goodness I have my husband’s help or I’d be locked away in a looney bin.

Can readers contact you? Absolutely! They can contact me through my website: http://www.holmeschurchmysteries.com/

Is there anything else you’d like your prospective readers to know about you or the book?

That I hope they have a blast reading it. That’s why I wrote it.

Please share a brief excerpt from your book. You bet. You can read an excerpt from the first story on my web site: http://holmeschurchmysteries.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=57

Links: To buy the book: http://www.wessexpress.com/

http://www.wessexpress.com/html/vatican.html

(Amazon is having problems for some reason…)

Computer Coupon

Interview with Stoney M. Setzer, author of Zero Hour

2011-03-29T22:28:00.003-04:00

Please join me today for an interview of Stoney M. Setzer, author of Zero Hour.

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

In the foreword, I talk about how the speculative-fiction genre is kept afloat by millions of people and how it stands to reason that at least some of them are probably Christians. I’m a Christian, and I’ve always loved stuff like The Twilight Zone, old sci-fi movies, and so on. So, I’ve written spec-fic that is Christian, without the objectionable content that often finds its way into more mainstream spec-fic.

So basically, if you want to read Twilight Zone-like stories that come from a Christian worldview and that are “clean” in terms of content, Zero Hour is for you.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

One of my favorites themes is the idea of everyday people finding themselves in unusual situations, which was a staple of The Twilight Zone. As you read the 15 stories in this book, you’ll find that theme shows up quite a bit.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

That’s sort of hard to say, since it’s a collection of short stories. I can tell you that most of the individual stories probably took less than a week or two once I got my idea finalized. My publisher approached me about the book after he had already published several of my stories over a span of 2 or 3 years.

As for finding a publisher, I had already “met” Lyndon Perry through a writers’ group on Yahoo. I had been contributing stories to his ezine, Residential Aliens, for a while when we first started talking about a book. So, that part was actually pretty easy, since he already knew my work. In fact, roughly half of the stories were first published in Residential Aliens. So, a big thank-you to him for believing in my work.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I figure that you should write what you like to read, so my favorite would be suspenseful stories. This can be sci-fi related, straight mysteries, whatever, just as long as there’s a strong element of suspense. Of course, I also like other things--Christian living, sports-related books, humor, etc.

As for particular authors, my top four would be (in no particular order): Tim Downs, Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, and CS Lewis.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

Do I have to narrow it down to just one? lol Well, the original Twilight Zone series is of course going to be high on the list, since it’s been such a big influence on my work. I could say the same for most of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies, especially “The Birds,” “Psycho,” and “Spellbound.”

Beyond that, I’m a huge fan of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (especially the “Joel” episodes), Fringe, Smallville, Human Target, and the WWE shows (which had an influence on “The Alabama Hammer” story). As for movies, my tastes are all over the place--Star Wars, Young Frankenstein, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Signs…too many to list, really.

Can readers contact you?

Sure, if they want to! My email address is puddleglum5999@yahoo.com.

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

For a while I did a “buzz cut” just because I wanted something easy to take care of, and once I actually had my barber shave my head until it was almost completely bald. Unfortunately, my head isn’t shaped right to carry off the “cueball” look….

Is there anything else you’d like your prospective readers to know? (If not, I’ll just delete this question.)

I’ve recently finished a novel, Dead Man Running, which is currently in the proofreading/editing stage. It’s more of a straight (not spec-fic) suspense thriller, but I come at it with the same Christian worldview as I did in Zero Hour. Hopefully you will be seeing that soon.

I’d also like to give some credit to my good friend Michael Jarrell, who provided the illustrations for this book. The cover art is actually a photo of a grandfather clock that my Granddaddy actually built himself. Of course, there was a little Photoshop done to the picture, an alteration to fit the title that will be immediately obvious.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Author Stoney M. Setzer brings together 15 short stories in this new anthology from ResAliens Press. If you enjoy Twilight Zone-like mysteries served up with a spiritual twist, this debut collection of speculative fiction is just for you. (from the back cover)

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

Thank you for taking the time to interview me!

EXCERPT FROM “ZERO HOUR,” BY STONEY M. SETZER

AS TAKEN FROM THE SHORT STORY,

“DOOMSDAY FALLS ON A TUESDAY THIS YEAR”

They stared back at Harold as if they found him amusing. “Do not be alarmed, Earthman,” the older said. “Your eyes do not deceive you.”

Harold was struck by the irony of the directive. Two aliens open his bedroom window and let themselves in, and he wasn‘t supposed to be alarmed? “Who are you? What do you want?”

“Your city has been selected as the first site on Earth for colonization. Unfortunately, code stipulates that we must select one member of your race with whom to share our intentions so that he may tell his fellows. We have chosen you.”

Harold's jaw dropped. “Why me?”

“If we chose a herald that people would believe, they might mount a resistance, and code stipulates that we cannot colonize where there is active, informed resistance.”

“But if none heed your warnings, then we proceed as planned,” the younger chimed in. “That‘s why we chose you. Based on your history, no one will believe you.”

You can buy the book here:

https://www.createspace.com/3497099

Home Shopping

Interview of R. L. Copple, author of Reality's Dawn

2011-03-21T14:41:00.006-04:00

Please join me today for an interview of R. L. Copple, author of Reality's Dawn.

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

Young Adult and Adult fantasy lovers, with a twist of fairy tale, humor, horror, and romance. And while the characters are Christian as are the themes consistent with that worldview, readers who don't mind values shared by many religions being illustrated without getting preachy about it, would enjoy this as well.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

There are so many that it's hard to pick just one. But if there is one aspect of it I find most interesting, I think it is Sisko's inner journey itself. He starts off as a naïve and trusting fourteen-year-old, but the gift he's been given and how people treat him over time start to change him, allowing pride to creep in. It illustrates the danger of weilding power without being corrupted by it. A constant issue for those who become popular and gather large followings. But even more than that, God's mercy in dealing with him through that journey.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

Well, this book is actually an expansion of a previous published novella titled Infinite Realities, published by Double-Edged Publishing back in November 2007. That book consisted of five short stories that leap-frogged over several years between stories, spanning Sisko's life from fourteen until he was twenty-five.

The first story was written in the summer of 2006, "Steamy Realities," and ran in the Sword Review that December. By the time it had ran in the magazine, I had written three more of the stories, and they were all accepted to run as a series in the Sword Review. Bill Snodgrass, the publihser of DEP and the magazine, wanted to put those stories into a book, and I wrote one more story later that fall that he added to the book, to make a total of five. That fifth story, the second chapter in the book, was never serialized, and so has only appeared in Infinite Realities.

Among the reviews and comments I received on that book, people wanted more of the story. These five short stories simply weren't enough. So I'd had it in my mind for some time that I wanted to eventually go back and write some more stories for that book and fill it out more.

Last summer I thought I had a publisher lined up to print the third and final book in this trilogy, and I remembered my desire to fill out this book. I figured if it was going to happen, it needed to be now. So in late August of 2010, I decided I would add ten more short stories to the original five. I had written one the previous Christmas as a "Christmas gift" to my readers on my blog, so I had nine more to write.

During the months of September and October of 2010, I wrote nine more short stories, which greatly added to not only Sisko's characterization, but also his friends Josh and Seth. I kept thinking during that time that the idea well would dry up and I would get bogged down, but as I finished each story, a cool idea would arise in my mind for the next one. It kept going that way until I finished.

And while having the restrictions of the two novels that are sequels to this having already been written, not to mention a spin off novel, it gave me the opporuntity to tell stories that explain more why things are as they are in the later novels.

For instance, one of my favorite stories in this book involves how Joel, a key character in the next novel, became involved with Sisko and his future family. He is such a fun character to write. I think that's why I've kept him returning in all these books.

I finished writing those a day before National Novel Writing Month started, and I dove into the second novel of the second series. I think that's why I struggled through last year's NaNoWriMo, I was already heading toward burn out going into it. I barely crossed the 50K line before November ended.

After November's fun was over, I edited the stories in December and sent it to my current publisher, Splashdown Books. The owner of it had written a positive review on the novella, so I had a hunch she would like these new stories, and I was right. We signed a contract toward the end of January and she decided to fast track this book. So on this one it has all happened rather quickly. Started writing in September 2010, book comes out in February 2011: six months.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

My favorite is both space opera and fantasy, which I guess is why I write mostly those two types. I like the pacing to not drag, not get bogged down with a lot of details and introspection. I like a plot that surprises me while being internally coherent, and characters that are well drawn and interesting.

Most of the authors I've read, like Asmov, Heinlein, Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and their like go counter to a quick pace sometimes. However, my favorite has to be "The Runaway Robot" by Lester Del Ray, though that was ghost written so he didn't actually write it. But that book has two of the things I most enjoy about a book: an unusual world and life (in this case, living on a moon and going to Mars) and humor/fun! It was also the book that introduced me to science fiction as a pre-teen, and my reading habbits have never been the same since.

To me, the most important thing a book needs to be, in one way or another, is "fun." Call it being entertaining, keeping you on the edge of your seat, however the author does it. What I want to say when I read the last page and close the book is, "Wow, that was fun. I enjoyed that." The Runaway Robot was just that, extremely fun, even for adults.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

No rodeo clowns. I was an ordained minister. I guess that's close to a rodeo clown. (Just kidding, folks!) As a teen I jumped my bike over trash cans, imitating Evil Kenival. As a college-age young adult trying to impress my future wife, I tried to jump my 1966 Chevy Malibu over a small ditch and ended up hitting a tree. For some reason she still married me. Ah, memories.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

I used to watch sitcoms. Home Improvements and the Cosby Show were a couple of my favs. I used to watch Star Trek the Next Generation religiously in the 80s. But few sitcoms really interest me these days, and I don't end up watching a lot of TV. Mostly I'll watch American Idol and America's Got Talent primarily to spend time with my wife and kids. But usually I'm at my computer rather than the TV. I've always got some writing work to do.

My favorite movies will probably tell you all you need to know about me. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Airplane (spoof), George of the Jungle, and Rat Race. Not that I don't have others that I've liked, but I guess I enjoy a good laugh more than anything. Which is why I keep putting humor in most of my stories.

Can readers contact you?

I have a contact form on my website: http://www.rlcopple.com/contact.php

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

I certainly had a 70s look as a teen. Don't know that would make me cringe. What probably came closest to that was my perms in the 80s. When I started losing hair with each perm, that made me cringe and I stopped doing that. Now I have very little hair on top to do much with. So it just sits up there, trying to look like it belongs.

Is there anything else you’d like your prospective readers to know?

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

From the chapter "History's Perspective"

I placed my card on the table. "Ah ha! My king trumps your joker."

Jake, my sandy-haired, ten-year-old brother, stared at his cards. A smile grew on his face. "But not this." He slapped a card on the table.

An ace. An ace added to any card above ten created a combo, but alone meant nothing.

He put his remaining cards on the table. "Blow up. I win."

I fingered my cards for a moment. "I don't think I have any cards to counter." I sat the them down. "You win." I shook his hand. "Congratulations, brother. Ready for another?"

He started to speak but a knock echoed from the door.

"Sisko, would you get that?" my mother yelled from the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am." I rose and opened the door.

A clean-shaven man carrying a five-year-old girl stood before me. "Is this the home of Sisko?"

I glanced back at Jake sitting at the table before nodding. "Can I help you?"

He held out the girl. Her short, brown hair swung under his hands. "This is my daughter. She is crippled and can't work. She'll live in poverty her whole life. Can you help her?"

I recalled Jake used to be crippled before I entered the steam house. It granted me the ring by which I could help others. I checked, and I felt God wanted me to help her.

I placed my hand on the girl's legs. "Father, please make these legs whole and strong."

The feet that dangled from his arms straightened. The man slipped her feet first to the porch and gingerly let her put weight on them. A grin grew on the girl's face as she bounced on her toes, and then took a step.

She flung herself upon me and hugged tight. "Thank you, Sisko."

The man couldn't hide his joy. "If I could, I would give you all I possessed."

I smiled at the rejoicing; my favorite part of using this gift. "I couldn't accept any gifts if you did offer them. But can you tell me something?"

The man fixed his eyes upon me. "Anything."

"Where are you from, and how did you hear about me?"

"We're from Siloth, and I heard about you from a circus that passed through town a few months ago. Upon confirming the reports, I decided to seek you out. And am I glad I did." He held his daughter close as she stood by his side.

"Do you have a place to stay? And food?"

"Yes. We've been living on the road for the last month traveling here. We don't want to be a burden to anyone. You've done enough. Thank you so much."

I smiled. "You're most welcome. Have a good trip back."

He and his daughter hugged me again, then they turned and left, his daughter skipping down the road ahead of him.

My mother entered the room, wiping her hands on a towel as I shut the door. "Who was that?"

"Another person who needed healing."

She stared at the door. "They're the third ones this week. As many as came in a whole year before. You're getting known, son. The number will grow, I dare say."

"This one was from Siloth. About a month's journey to get here, he said."

"At this rate, we'll need to rent an office for you."

I laughed. "I've already heard rumors that I'm putting the doctor out of business."

She gave me a half smile. "What I really need from the great Sisko, the healer, is to go to the market and get me some fresh tomatoes. You think you can handle that with your busy schedule?"

I shook my head. "Mother. I'm not that famous."

"But you will be." She held out her hand. "Here's the money to buy them."

I pocketed the coins. "I'll be right back."

She nodded and returned to the kitchen. I told Jake I'd return soon for the next hand and then headed out the door.

I strolled into the center of town and circled the church as I dodged people and the occasional wagon. I entered Reol's small market. Mostly they sold produce, as many took the non-perishable items to Holoroth across the mountains.

I spotted Josh staring at some cucumbers and sneaked up behind him. "Looking for a fat wand you can eat?"

He jumped before turning around. "Sisko. It's never smart to sneak up on a wizard, you know. I could have turned you into something horrible."

"You're more dangerous when you think you know what you're doing."

He bopped me on the head. "Not funny."

I patted him on the back. "Only for you. So did your mother send you here to get something?"

"My mother? No way."

"Let me guess. You grew bored of casting spells and decided to entertain yourself with vegetables."

He grunted. "Not even close. I'm filling Milore's shopping list."

"Oh, I see. My mother sent me for some tomatoes." I spotted them. "And there are some. I'll see you later."

"Very well. But don't bother running to me next time you need some magical help. You obviously don't appreciate it." Josh thrust his nose into the air.

I laughed then headed to the tomatoes. I purchased three ripe ones and returned to the house. As I opened the door, I felt an unsettling knot in my gut grow.

"Mother? Jake?" No one answered. I entered the kitchen and placed the tomatoes on the counter. Then I noticed a note. I picked it up and read.

Sisko, if you wish to see your father, mother, and brother alive again, come one mile down the road leading to Siloest and leave your ring on the stump you find there. Come alone, or they die. You have til sundown.

Thank you for your time, Rick, and best of luck with your book! :)

Buy the book:

On Amazon.com, or at http://www.splashdownbooks.com/reality.html

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Interview with Kimberli Renee’ Campbell, author of "The Sword of Light: Shayia's Adventures - Book One"

2011-03-15T16:54:00.005-04:00

Please join me today for an interview of Kimberli Renee’ Campbell, author of The Sword of Light: Shayia's Adventures - Book One.

Who do you think would like your book?

I believe children that enjoy fantasy will like my book. It is a lot shorter than Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings, but the story is just as fun and full of adventure. The target age is 9-12, but it is a story for all ages. I’ve been told that some families have used it for a bedtime story.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

Hmm...tough question. I'd say my favorite thing is how the Word of God appears on the blade of the sword.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

The book was published in 2008. I believe I began writing it in 2005.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I LOVE to read Christian romance stories. Not the gushy kind. I don't have a favorite book, but enjoy reading Terri Blackstock, Donita K. Paul, and Ted Dekker. (I like monster and deadly virus type books as long as they're clean and have romance.)

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

I was a rodeo clown for a few years...just kidding. I actually did a lot of acting for my church. As a little girl, I always wanted to take dance, but never did. When I was 41, I finally took lessons - ballet, tap, and hip hop. And yes, I was the oldest student. :) Believe it or not, I still get stopped in the store by people that had seen me in a recital.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

I am a fan of the old TV shows - Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Emergency.

Can readers contact you?
www.theswordoflight.com,

www.hiswriter.blogspot.com

I am also on Facebook and Twitter.

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

I had a tower high Afro. I have gone back to an Afro, but it's only a one story. :)

Have you received any feedback from The Sword of Light?

Yes, I have. A Sunday school class used my book for their Bible study. They wrote me letters of what they learned. It really blessed me to know that the story the Lord asked me to write is drawing people closer to Him. It is also humbling.

What's next for you?

The second book in the series will be released in May/June. It is called - Redemption: Shayia's Adventures - Book Two. I am currently working on the third book. The Lord has not given me a title for it yet.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

The Sword of Light is not about an ordinary sword. The sword Shayia wields was crafted by his father's hands following the instructions of the Creator. Shayia's unique sword draws its power from the Sacred Book. When the dark force that killed his father once again returns to threaten the peaceful village of Sedona, Shayia must face his sworn enemy - the sorcerer, Izahrik and the evil Draga he commands. Armed with his father's magnificent sword, he sets out on a journey that will change him forever. Will revenge and hatred consume him, or will Shayia learn the secret to true victory?

Excerpt from - The Sword of Light: Shayia's Adventures - Book One

Ennus helped Shayia to his feet and down the stairs, each step a chore. By the time they reached the bottom, Shayia wanted to lie down in the foyer and sleep.

“Are you all right?” His grandfather’s concern comforted him. “Maybe you should return to your room.”

“I’ll be fine.” Shayia closed his eyes, took a small breath and forced a smile. Inside, he felt like throwing up.

The two made their way to the king’s private dining hall where King Tolvin awaited their arrival. The room’s dark wood gave it a cozy touch. A long, mahogany table with at least eighteen long-back chairs sat in the center of the room. Two fire pits built into the walls kept it toasty warm during the winter. King Tolvin and his council stood to welcome their guest.

“Come,” the king said in welcome, extending his powerful hand. King Tolvin was by far the strongest man in Sedona, an enormous man, standing well over six feet tall. As with all Sedona men the king wore his dust-brown hair, with a touch of silver streaks, pulled back into a braid. His light brown eyes and pleasant smile helped his appearance not seem so overwhelming. Shayia recalled how close the king and his father had been. They had been best friends.

Weakly, Shayia made his way to the king and tried to bow. Stabbing pain from his cracked ribs made it impossible.

Steadying Shayia with his powerful hands, King Tolvin examined him.

“You still do not look well,” the king stated. “It would be wise for you to return to you room. Are you hungry?”

“Just thirsty, Your Majesty. Thank you.”

The king called for his servant. “Please escort Shayia, son of Master Tay, to his room. Make sure to leave him fresh water as well.” King Tolvin rested his arm around the servant’s shoulder as if they were good friends. “Thank you, Rowin.”

He gave him a pat on the back. The reflection of the candles danced in his eyes, making them sparkle.

Shayia marveled at the way King Tolvin treated everyone with respect, including his servants.

“You shall remain here for several days. Your grandfather and I have much to discuss. If there is anything you request, Shayia, son of Master Tay, please let me know,” the king said.

Shayia lowered his head in respect and thanks. Then, with Rowin’s assistance, he proceeded toward the door.

“Oh, Shayia!” the king shouted as they reached the door. “You will be pleased to know Princess Leora shall be returning tomorrow!” King Tolvin’s joy beamed. “It will be great to see her again, no?”

No! It will NOT be great to see her. I would rather be beaten by a thousand Jolons than have to see a spoiled, lazy, shallow…

“Shayia!” his grandfather called. “Did you not hear the king?”

The hidden rebuke in his grandfather’s voice rang loud and clear. His grandfather was well aware of his feelings for Princess Leora.

“I apologize, Your Majesty,” said Shayia. “It will...it will definitely be something to see Princess Leora again.”

Avoiding his grandfather’s glare, Shayia bid everyone good night.

Shayia gave up finding a comfortable position. He wished he were back in his own room, sleeping in his own bed. The thought of seeing Princess Leora again made his head and stomach hurt.

They were around five the last time he’d seen her. King Tolvin sent her to her aunt’s after the Great War.

Shayia closed his eyes and cringed when the image of her face popped into his head. How can a handsome king and queen have such a hideous-looking daughter?

He recalled how her teeth protruded from her mouth like a rabbit. On a good day, she resembled a cat being dragged from the river. Being pale and scrawny was not her worst feature; her whiny, bossy attitude topped it off. The high and mighty Princess Leora ordered people around like they were her personal slaves. What would she be like now at fifteen? Would she still have the rabbit teeth? The vision made Shayia shudder.

Eventually sleep came with the dream of tying sheets together and escaping out the window.

Where can people buy your book?

They can purchase it from the book's website (above), Amazon, or request from a local bookstore.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

Thank you for allowing me to share about my book and my Afro. :)

Boston Equalens

Interview of Stephen R. Wilson, author of The Gifted: Book 1: In the Beginning

2011-03-08T01:35:00.005-05:00

Please join me today for an interview of Stephen R. Wilson, author of The Gifted: Book 1: In the Beginning.

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

People who enjoy general science-fiction, and especially superhero stories, will be interested in The Gifted. The series is probably geared mostly toward young adults as the heroes in the story are teenagers for the bulk of the story, but I’ve had middle-aged folk and even seniors who have told me how much they liked it. I will say that it’s not really a children’s story as there are some pretty mature things happening in the book that probably aren’t appropriate for most kids. I address everything from a Christian perspective, but even with that, there are just some things in there that kids don’t need to be reading about yet.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

Haha. I like a lot of things about it. I guess I’m biased that way. But I think my favorite aspect of the story is how it all comes together in the end. Each chapter focuses on one character or one family group and tells their part of the story. At first, the reader isn’t really sure where it’s all going or what these different characters have to do with one another. But as the story goes on, the characters begin making connections with one another, little by little, until, in the final chapter, everything merges together, setting the scene for the rest of the series.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

Hmm. I’ve had a lot of the key ideas floating around in my head and in my notebooks for fifteen years or more. I’d say once I finally sat down to write it, it probably took me about two years, just working on it here and there. It took a couple of months to edit it and get it to its final form, but then I decided not to seek a publisher for it. I wanted to experiment with self-publishing.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I love reading sci-fi and fantasy stories, especially Christian work in those genres. My favorite book of all time, though, is probably The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I really enjoy John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway. Of course I have to say C.S. Lewis for his Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth saga. On the secular fantasy side, I was really impressed with Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time series.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

Well, I do have a lot of interesting stories and I’ve actually put most of them in The Gifted: In the Beginning and subsequent books in one form or another. One of the most fun parts of writing the book was adapting stories from my own childhood and adolescence and finding ways to use them in the book. I tell the real stories behind the stories in the book as a feature on my website for anyone who’s interested.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

My favorite TV show right now is Fringe. Going back a couple of years, I was really enjoying Heroes and The Sarah Conner Chronicles before they were taken off the air.

Can readers contact you?

Yeah, definitely. My website has my contact info and is a great place for people to start. http://TheGiftedBookSeries.webs.com

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

I had long hair, down to my shoulders, when I was in high school and college.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Back cover blurb -

Aliens. Vigilante Ninjas. Mad scientists. Hard-nosed detectives. Super-heroes. God.

An alien ship has crash-landed on Earth, setting off a new wave of drug addiction and world war in its wake, while the sole survivor of the wreckage vows revenge against the god-like authorities of his home planet. At the same time, the new president of the GenRes Company is obsessed with living up to his father’s medical success and has just discovered how to transform normal children into Genetically Altered super-humans. Who will control these children? The scientist, the alien, and a couple of ambitious criminals are all eager to keep them for their own use. But Someone else has entirely different plans for them. Follow as each development merges together and a new breed of adolescent superheroes rises to the forefront in The Gifted: In the Beginning.

PROLOGUE

The Planet Anduris.

47th day of the month of Holine

in the Anduran year 4572.

Magus was running for his life down the crowded market street of Hos-H’iyra. His long black hair was matted to his head with sweat and everyone was hurrying to get as far out of his way as possible. They knew what was coming next.

Suddenly, one of Zeus-31’s lightning bolts slashed down and charred the ground behind Magus. The ground buckled under the impact and Magus cursed in frustration and fear, fighting to keep his balance. Keep running, he told himself. Just keep running. You can do this.

The current Lighting-Wielder – Adelphos Palamara was his name, Zeus just his Ayviline title – was still far enough behind to throw off his accuracy a bit, but that wouldn’t last long. In flight, the Zeuses were almost as fast as the Hermes. Fortunately, the Swift-Foot was no longer a threat. Magus’ partner had killed the most recent Hermes only an hour before and the Ayvil had not yet chosen a replacement.

About thirty yards in front of him, Magus saw a Geyr ship with steam billowing out from beneath it, signaling that it was about to take off. The rear cargo door was just beginning its automatic descent. If he kept running, Magus might be able to slide in before the door lowered completely. Like all Andurians, he hated the idea of space travel, but this was his only chance of escape and he was determined to take it.

He ran, dove, and rolled into the ship just in time to hear the door’s pneumatic lock hiss into place. A moment later and he felt the ship’s thrusters rumbling beneath him as the whole craft shot vertically into the sky. Even if Zeus had seen him run in here, he was too late to stop it now.

Terrified and unable to move from the upward force, Magus lay on the floor, struggling to take a breath. The ship soon leveled off somewhere above Anduris’ atmosphere and Magus exhaled in relief. He was still catching his breath when, a moment later, he was suddenly flung backward into the door. The Geyrs in the cockpit had obviously changed which thrusters they were firing and were now steering the ship forward.

His face and body stuck against the door, Magus fought to turn his head back toward the front of the ship. Large metallic refrigeration units covered most of the floor. Thankfully, they were strapped down. Otherwise, Magus would have been crushed by them if they had slid backward against the door like he had.

Now that he had a moment to think, he wondered what he had gotten himself into. We’re going to the Geyr homeworld. There aren’t any Andurians on the Geyr homeworld. I’ll be noticed and caught immediately.

Magus tried to think, to plan his next move, but the cargo hold became cooler and cooler. Soon the coldness of the metal door on his back became unbearable. He didn’t know what was happening, didn’t know that space was so devoid of heat. How can the Geyrs stand this?

The Planet Earth.

25th day of the month of May

in the terrestrial year 2063.

Magus woke up slowly. Every part of his body was stiff, his mind sluggish. How long had he slept – no, not slept – been frozen? There was no way for him to tell. But at least it was warmer now and he was alive. Had they reached the Geyr homeworld? What would he do when they started unloading the ship? They would surely find him. And then what? Take him back to Anduris and hand him over to Athena-13 for sentencing? He wouldn’t go back. He’d fight the Geyrs here, if he had to, no matter how many there were. He’d rather die than be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

Suddenly the ship plummeted, descending, and Magus braced himself against the door. Then it hovered. Magus cautiously pushed off the door, stretched, working each joint in turn, and lumbered forward. He was wobbly, but what could he do? Any moment, the Geyrs were going to land the ship and open the back hatch and find him, so it was now or never.

But they didn’t land. Instead, the ship jumped back up and Magus had to catch himself on one of the refrigeration units. Already, the cold of space was spreading again. If he froze again, he would die. He knew it. He had to do something now.

He reached into his robe, pulled a jagged knife from his belt and, pulling himself along from cargo strap to cargo strap, finally made it to the cockpit door and opened it.

The Geyrs spun around in their chairs, shocked to see him. They were ‘greenies’, young ones, but recognition had crossed their skinny faces. They knew who he was.

The first Geyr was dead before the other two could even stand.

Soon, the bodies of the three greenies lay crumpled at Magus’ feet, their wounds trickling blood as their long, oval, empty, black eyes stared up at him out of their bulbous heads. Ugly suckers! Magus thought, panting. At least they were easy to kill.

The other two Geyrs had tried to fight back, but everyone knew that Geyrs weren’t much for violence, especially not the young ones. It was only when a Geyr’s skin began to fade from the bright green into the light gray of adulthood that they gained any strength at all and that still was not enough to contend against a full-grown Andurian.

Sweating under his dirty robe, Magus walked over and stared down at the alien control panel. He had no idea what all the levers and meters and touchpads in front of him were for. He plopped down into one of the seats, the one with the most buttons in front of it, and stared some more.

After a second, he jumped back up, walked over to one of the round windows and peered out. All he could see was the black of space. He knew that they had been close to the surface a few moments ago, had felt the disc-shaped ship shoot back up and then suddenly level off again. He didn’t think it was moving now, though. Where am I? he thought in frustration.

He went back to the controls, willing for some sort of inspiration to leap up out of them. C’mon! Think! he urged himself. You’ve come this far! You’ve gotta be able to do this!

He even glanced down at the dead body of the alien closest to him, hoping to gain some clue from him, but it was useless. He turned back to the control panel and cursed again. Nothing was labeled. There were no instruction charts hanging on the wall. He was a scientist, but not a Geyr pilot. He had never even been inside one of these things before.

How long? he thought. How long is this ship just gonna float up here? Until the power runs out? Until the fuel runs out? I’ll starve or die of thirst first. Or the Geyrs’ll send another ship looking for this one.

“I can’t stay here!” he roared and slammed his fist down on the panel. He regretted it immediately. He looked around, warily waiting for something to change. What did I just hit?

Thankfully, nothing happened and he began to relax again. He sucked in a deep breath, forced himself to sit down calmly in the chair, and blew out again. Okay. I have no idea what does what, but I can’t just sit here. So let’s experiment a little, shall we? Gingerly, he stretched his hand toward a lever, gripped it, his sweaty, clammy hand closing on the cold metal, and inched it back closer to himself.

Twenty minutes later, after a few more brave ‘experiments’, the space-craft came down. Fast. It hurtled silently through the atmosphere and plunged swiftly through the cozy, warm dark of night, toward Earth’s surface below.

Inside the ship, the man who was ‘flying’ it, frantically pushed buttons and pulled and pushed levers. I can’t stop it! he thought. I can’t stop it! And then, throwing up his hands, he burst into laughter – nervous, giving up, come-what-may laughter – and leaned forward in his chair to meet the land below.

The people of the Chinese countryside could see the smoke from the crash for miles around and Chinese Coalition Air Defense teams were sent out from bases in both Ining and Urumchi cities. But before anyone arrived, a lone survivor crawled out of a side hatch and limped away into the night.

ONE

Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’

2063. May 25th.

As the Geyr ship crashed in China, Lucy Davis, lying in the plain white bed at Mercy First Hospital in Base City, screamed in pain as she gave birth to her first child, a daughter. The three ‘greenies’ had stayed just long enough to make sure that Lucy’s baby, soon to be named Gretchen, would be born safely before they took off again. The others of their race would have been very glad to hear their good report.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

The Gifted: Book 1: In the Beginning is available in e-book and paperback formats from http://TheGiftedBookSeries.webs.com, Amazon.com, and other online booksellers.

AnnTaylorLoft

Interview with Greg Mitchell, author of "The Strange Man"

2011-02-24T17:24:00.003-05:00

Please join me today for an interview of Greg Mitchell, author of The Strange Man.

Thanks for having me!

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

Much to the chagrin of “high literary” types, I tell people this is a book for “movie people”. My background is in screenwriting and I’m a “movie guy”, so the book is really designed to play out like a movie in your head. Very fast, very exciting. I’d like to think that anyone who enjoys scary stories and fun, personable characters will gravitate towards The Strange Man. It’s a very unapologetic book—I don’t apologize for sharing my Christian faith, and I don’t apologize for all my gruesome monsters :) I’m passionate about both!

What is your favorite thing about your story?

I love the characters. I’ve grown up with these guys in my head and I love moving about in their monster-filled world and living in it for awhile. It’s kind of like a second childhood as I’ve dumped all the things that I love into this series. It’s just a chance to relive my boyhood dreams.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

I’ve said this so much people will think I’m a broken record, but I’ve been writing The Strange Man for over ten years. It started as an unproduced screenplay, then I wrote it in novel form. I had an agent for awhile and we pitched it to about a dozen different places and I got the age-old “not right for us” line. In 2007, determined to prove myself, I self-published the book through a POD company, but I wanted it to get a wider audience. I “pulled it off the shelves”, as it were, expanded it and shopped it around again. Suddenly, people were interested and the problem became finding the right publisher. After many sleepless nights, I finally settled with Realms Fiction and I’ve been happy so far—especially happy that now we can move on to the other two books in The Coming Evil Trilogy!

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

I actually read a lot of Star Wars “tie-in” novels. I know some people might not consider those “real books”, but there’s something really interesting about how the Star Wars “Expanded Universe” has evolved over the last thirty years. All these different writers with different voices are adding to this single continuity begun in the original movies, respecting each other’s work and building on this fictional universe. It’s constantly amazing to me.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

Ask me a couple years ago and I would have said my favorite TV show was Supernatural, hands down, but that show seems to have plateaued in its storytelling, sad to say. I still enjoy it, but it’s sort of a letdown—I don’t think they take enough risks anymore. Honestly, the show that’s really got me excited every week is Vampire Diaries. That’s got more twists and turns in a single episode—sometimes before the first commercial break—than some series have in a whole year. It comes back to the characters—they’re constantly changing in unexpected ways and the story just grows and grows. It’s an incredible pace and I’m not sure how long the creators will be able to keep it up, but I’ll be there to find out.

As for movies, I love the Back to the Future Trilogy, and I love the fun monster movies from the ‘80s—The Monster Squad being a major inspiration to me. I love the Rocky series, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies—especially the second two, Harry Potter (both the films and the books). I just like series, in general. I like stories that take many installments to tell and I like to see characters evolve over the course of time. Apart from that, I’m also a crazy fan of John Carpenter’s movies. There’s a certain sublime quality to them—I feel very relaxed and comfortable watching his movies. The cinematography, the music. They instantly put me in a happy mood.

Can readers contact you?

They can find me at my blog—www.thecomingevil.blogspot.com

Is there anything else you’d like your prospective readers to know?

I hope everyone checks out the blog. The story doesn’t end with The Strange Man—aside from the trilogy in the works, I’ve also written a number of short stories that “fill out” the lives of the main characters, and I’m looking to write many more. New adventures, new insights—and all totally free! It’s my ode to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. They’re designed to be rewarding to those who have read The Strange Man, but they also don’t give anything away in case you haven’t read the novel yet.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Here’s what it says on the back cover!

Dras Weldon lives in a world of horror movies and comic books. Twenty-two and unemployed, he is content to hide in the shadow of adolescence with a faith that he professes but rarely puts into action.

But when a demonic stranger arrives and begins threatening his friends, Dras is drawn into a battle that forces him to choose which side he is on. In a race against the clock, he must not only fight these evil forces but also somehow convince his best friend, Rosalyn, to join him--before she is lost forever.

Engaging and darkly humorous, The Strange Man is the first act of a trilogy that depicts a world where monsters are real and simple men and women must overcome their doubts and fears in order to stand against the unspeakable creatures of the night.

Realms has also provided a link to read a PDF of the prologue for free. Here’s the link:

http://www.charismahouse.com/images/stories/pdfs/thestrangeman.pdf

Thank you for your time, and best of luck with your book! :)

Thanks!

The book is available in stores or you can order direct from Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Strange-Man-Coming-Evil-Book/dp/1616381949/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283736797&sr=1-2

Cash Loan Bad Credit

Interview of Joe Chiappetta, author of "Star Chosen"

2011-02-22T01:18:00.010-05:00

Please join me today for an interview of Joe Chiappetta, author of Star Chosen.

Who do you think would like your book?

People who love classic science fiction will appreciate this book most. Also, those who follow Jesus will also easily appreciate this story, because it's basically like what if Star Trek consisted of a crew of Christians. However, most non-Christians should be drawn into the story as well, since it has a lot of futuristic action and clean space opera drama. As Christian sci-fi goes, it's not very preachy. Rather the emphasis is on the personal righteousness of the characters, and how they fall short. That said, anyone aggressively persecuting Christians will most likely hate this book, because the allegories are embedded in the story.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

The relationships--it's really a story about a futuristic, yet down-to-earth group of teens and their parents fighting to stay together despite all sorts of intergalactic adversity.

Do you remember how long it took you to write?

It took just over five years to write. I kept rewriting it and having people provide input all along the way. My crew of editors and proof readers was a mix of non-Christians, Christians, sci-fi fans and non-sci-fi fans from a spread of life stages (ages 20 to 60). Basically everything they advised along the way has been added into the story, so it seems to have a very wide appeal. I self-published it in 2010.

What is your favorite type of book to read?

Aside from the Bible, I like science fiction and comic books--but the content needs to be clean.

Do you have any favorite books or authors? Hands down, it has to be "The Gods of Mars" and the sequel, "The Warlord of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs. After that, I would say "Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra" by CS Lewis.

Anything interesting in your past you'd care to share?

Before I became a Christian in 1998, I was world renowned (for reals) in the comics community for a series called Silly Daddy. However, once I started introducing Christian concepts into my comics, I pretty much lost the majority of my fans. Since then I've built a base back up and turned Silly Daddy into an all-ages family comic, but it is amazing how many people wanted nothing to do with me after I started representing Jesus.

Also noteworthy, but in a bad way, I verbally persecuted the church with much bitterness prior to becoming a follower of Jesus. I used that experience in the Star Chosen story, because the believers in that plot are quite the segregated minority.

What's your favorite movie or TV show?

Nacho Libre--most people miss all the deep spiritual character lessons in this hilarious wrestling movie about perseverance. After that it would be the Star Wars series, with "Empire Strikes Back" as a high point. As for TV, Stargate Universe is top notch sci-fi. The lessons on leadership and loyalty are most memorable.

Can readers contact you?

Absolutely. All my contact info is listed at http://joechiappetta.blogspot.com

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

In the early 80s I think a few times I went to a barber and got feathered hair. No, I'm not proud of this.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Synopsis: Silly Daddy dares to write apocalyptic science fiction for the whole family! Think "Star Trek" meets the Bible. Deleting history was just the beginning. Blast off with STAR CHOSEN, a space opera of post-biblical proportions! After war, heartbreak, attacks to your faith, and the erasure of all history and culture, whose side will you fight on: the Proud... or the Chosen? In a time yet to come, the high-tech Faith War threatens to destroy all religions across the universe. One small yet bold group, known as "the Chosen," survives, but will they rebuild, or be torn to space dust across a cold universe? Xeric Award winner and Ignatz Award nominee Joe Chiappetta crafts a science fiction epic of 67,000 words: Star Chosen.

Star Chosen Excerpt:

Chapter 5: Wipeout Like Never Before

Tharquinn Thane, an aspiring teenage scientist, sat typing by the window of his mother's high-rise condo. He was an average looking youth of medium height with big, wavy hair, "but not too wavy," his mother would add.

The wall adjacent to the Thane's kitchen had a number of Tharquinn's school science awards and also a hologram displaying promotional images from some of his most widely distributed theories and hypotheses. His "Virtual Reality without a Hangover" poster holographically faded into "Object Opacity Technology for Living Organisms," then "Magnetic Implants for Life," and so on, in a continuous loop of self-promotional scientific wall decoration.

The condo unit, currently overlooking the Chicago River, was set at "shuffle." This made the whole living unit physically rotate, albeit slowly, upwards and then downwards, along with a trail of other condo units. Such buildings looked somewhat like square Ferris wheels. For those who could afford this living luxury, it was promoted as a room with an ever-changing view, ideal for creative types, the adventurous, and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Combined with object opacity technology (OO Tech), which Tharquinn always set at transparent for his outer walls, this made for a spectacular living experience.

"Tharquinn, dinner is almost ready," his mother Jane called to him from the hallway. "Are you slouching again? That's bad for your back, you know. Anyway, this afternoon I met some of those 'Advocate' folks. I accidentally dropped my 3D camera down a sewer, and while I was all in a flutter, a family came up to me. The man, who was rather tall, said, 'I'm Shamus. This is my wife Sarah and our daughter Reyna. You go on and enjoy some girl talk while I go and fish out that gizmo for you, young lady. I don't believe in luck, but if I did, I would tell you that you are very lucky because I am a fisherman of sorts.'"

Jane suspected that her son wasn't listening, so she spoke louder; "Can you believe that, Tharquinn? The fisherman called me 'young lady.' Isn't that nice? So, Shamus pops open an old sewer grid and jumps in. He reaches around in the muck, bare hands mind you, and finds my camera. Now all the while his wife and daughter are talking to me about some sort of book club or something. They weren't even watching Shamus splashing around in the underbelly of Chicago. Their focus was on me. They were trying to invite me to attend their book club. The daughter, Reyna, was very cute. I think you'd like her: just your type, with long brown hair and thick eyebrows. Next term, she'll be enrolling in the science academy. You may even have a class together."

As Tharquinn's mother poured her son some soy milk, she continued talking, "Anyway, Reyna gave me an invitation to that book club. It's a handwritten note on a leaf. Can you believe it, a leaf? I kind of felt sorry for them. They can't even afford electronic paper. The girl does have nice handwriting, though. Penmanship--now that's a lost art."

"Moreover, the funny thing about this book club is that, apparently, they only talk about one book: something called the 1F8thFile. The wife even beamed me a copy over to my wrist computer and said that I had to read it and then study it with her for some sort of life-changing experience. Those people were so nice, honey. A little odd, but maybe I should read their book sometime. Tharquinn, are you even listening? Anyway, dinner is ready."

"Okay, Mom, I'll be right there," said Tharquinn, "but just give me one more minute. As soon as I finish this closing sentence, my latest hypothesis will be totally finished."

"You didn't even hear my story," replied Jane with a whine, "but I'll cut you some slack because it's not every day that my son finishes his next great masterpiece. It's about time. You've been working on that thing for, what, the whole year?"

Just as Tharquinn finished saying "not quite," an unexpected wave of sparkles crackled its way through the entire building. The air outdoors was infiltrated with sparkles as well. In every direction, the world looked to be suddenly decorated with wireless holiday lights. The sparkles lingered for a few moments and then moved onward, expanding out with ever-increasing radius from their humble beginnings at the fiery circle in central Illinois.

"What was that? Did you see that?" whispered Jane. "It's outside too. Wait. Why am I whispering?"

"Because this is freaky," mumbled Tharquinn. "It was... everywhere, but now the sea of sparkles seems to have passed through us and left us behind, like a giant wave of migrating fireflies."

"Hey," Jane added, "your hologram stopped working. And where's the hypothesis you were finishing on screen?"

Tharquinn's eyes glared at his computer monitor with extreme concern. He tapped away at his keyboard, but with undesirable results. "It's gone? No! That can't be. Computer, retrieve most recent hypothesis file. Computer, acknowledge. Computer?"

The computer gave no response at first, but then made a most dreadful sound. The generic factory default start-up jingle played, followed by the familiar default introduction: "Hello, I'm your new computer. Give me a name, followed by a few commands of your choice and let MycroMak, the universal leader in software, do the rest because we do data best."

Tharquinn hadn't named his computer when he first got it, and he certainly wasn't about to name it now. Consistent with the surveys, the majority of males tended not to name their computers, while most women tended to name their computers.

Tharquinn frantically typed away at the keys to do a manual search on his unnamed computer, this time looking for any scientific files, next for any narrative files. "No. This can't be happening. This doesn't happen anymore! Mom, everything I've ever written since... well, since I was a little kid, and every book I've ever collected, they're all gone! Our whole library, and my life's work... it's all gone. Computer, open hypothesis file 'Virtual Magnetic Skates.'"

"I'm sorry," said the computer calmly, "but that file does not exist. You can create it if you'd like. But as your new computer, don't you want to give me a name first? MycroMak computers are fully customizable for all your..."

"No. No! Computer, your name is just 'Computer!'" shouted Tharquinn. "Now search backups and sub-backups. Search remote locations as well. Search other computers and the Internet. Display all narrative files, book files, and any other text files written by Tharquinn Thane."

"No Tharquinn Thane narrative files, book files, or any other text files are found," said the computer.

Tharquinn's mind was racing. "How could this be?" he thought. "Why would anyone wipe out only my work and my collection, and how is that even possible?"

His mother responded, "Maybe it wasn't just your work. Maybe everybody's work was wiped out by those little sparkle things."

Tharquinn followed up with another command: "Computer, search for any narrative files written by anyone, anywhere in any media, on any hardware."

The computer replied, after a few moments of bleeping: "I'm sorry: none found."

Tharquinn slumped deeper in his chair during dinner while Jane pondered aloud, "Can you have a book club without any books? I guess I won't be reading that 1F8thFile after all." As Jane said this, she tossed the handwritten invitation to the Advocates' book club toward the recycling bin. However, she missed the bin and the leaf landed on Tharquinn's foot.

Tharquinn picked up the invitation and said, "I think I'm going to check out this book club, Mom. If a whole group is devoted to one book, maybe they'll figure out a way to restore their lost data, and then mine."

"Besides," thought Tharquinn, "in the company of a very cute girl who is just my type, what have I got to lose?"

End of excerpt.

Alice, Thanks so much for taking the time to do this.

Joe Chiappetta

Thank you, Joe, and best of luck with your book! :)

Star Chosen ordering info: http://joechiappetta.blogspot.com/2010/03/buy-book-now-star-chosen-science.html

ISP Internet Access

Interview with Steve Seitz, author of "Sherlock Holmes and the Plague of Dracula"

2011-02-18T01:29:00.007-05:00

Please join me today for an interview of Steve Seitz, author of "Sherlock Holmes and the Plague of Dracula."

Thank you for being on my blog, and agreeing to answer some questions. :)

Please tell prospective readers briefly what your story is about.

I took Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and converted it into a Sherlock Holmes story as if it had been written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I also take the opportunity to tell what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls and during the Great Hiatus.

What’s your favorite thing about your story?

I believe I did a little more justice to Watson, and I tried to give Mina Murray her due. She is the smartest character in "Dracula."

Did you find it hard writing Sherlock Holmes as a character? Did you have to do a lot of research?

Answer to the first question: No. I've known Holmes and Watson for more than 40 years. To the second, yes, absolutely. Research is vital if you're going to get the period correct. The readers won't believe your story otherwise.

How long did it take to write your book? How about to edit the story and find your publisher?

The book started as a hobby in high school, but I kept pecking away at it until I discovered I had something like 300 pages. I reworked it into a manageable manuscript, hired Jeanne Cavelos to give it a merciless workover (Jeanne is one of the best editors in the business), and turned to two friends who have their own publishing company. Otherwise, I would probably still be circulating the manuscript.

Do you have any advice to writers of Sherlockiana? (I ask this question from personal interest!) :)

First and foremost, do the research. I must have consulted 200 sources, and I have my own Bradshaw. Second, keep the Canon handy to make sure you have the voice and Victorian-era usage down properly.

How did you discover Sherlock Holmes?

I was a high school freshman and, instead of doing my homework in the library when I was supposed to, browsed the stacks for something interesting and found "The Hound of the Baskervilles." I took it home and finished at about 3 a.m. I've been hooked since.

What did you think of the recent adaptations (the movie, and the BBC TV show “Sherlock”)? If you didn’t like them, are there any adaptations you do like?

I enjoyed both. Downey's Holmes has Canonical support, and it's a refreshing view of Holmes. I enjoy the new BBC series, as well. Nobody complained when Basil Rathbone's Holmes jumped ahead by almost 50 years.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

I am a journalist, happily, so there's a lot to share. I am also my paper's film critic. In that regard, I've interviewed everyone from Jerry Lewis, James Whitmore and James Earl Jones to Matt Lewis ("Neville Longbottom") from the Harry Potter films. I have also interviewed a cast member from every "Star Trek" series, including Marina Sirtis, who shared her memories of Jeremy Brett with me. (Her first appearance as an actress was in the Brett series.)

Can readers contact you?

Best way: unclebertnh@yahoo.com, which is pretty much my Holmesian address.

Is there anything else you’d like your prospective readers to know about you or the book?

Mountainside Press is unwilling to keep the book in distribution, but you can get it directly from them, or download it on Amazon Kindle.

Please share a brief excerpt from your book.

(Warning for readers: This is scary!)

In this scene, Holmes and Watson are spending a night in Castle Dracula. Watson has narrowly escaped an encounter with the Weird Sisters, but Holmes is not so fortunate:

The women hissed like cats and shied away as if blinded by a flash. I found strength to hold the icon up and then, down the hall, a door opened. Sherlock Holmes emerged from his bath, clad only in his dressing-gown.

"Holmes!" I cried. "Run! They killed Harker!"

A harsh silvery laugh greeted my sally. The women passed me swiftly and attacked Holmes, shoving him into his room and slamming the door. I heard the lock snap, and groaned; Holmes had the keyring. Inside I heard harsh, crystalline laughter, and thought of what cats must feel on capturing a sparrow.

You know well Holmes' indifference to the charms of the fairer sex, but from the lascivious sounds from behind the door, I could tell he was succumbing. I heard no resistance.

I pounded on the door and bellowed.

"Your crucifix! Holmes, the crucifix!"

More laughter, some frightening sounds of struggle, and then soft murmuring and soon, silence.

Had I been thinking clearly, I would have gone to the woodshed and returned with an axe. But bloody images of what they were doing to Holmes filled my head, and I became a crazed man.

That's when I remembered the south window. If there were handholds for one room, there must be for others. I raced upstairs, to the room above Holmes'. I whipped the window open and a pale yellow beam filled the space, a cold breeze blowing in.

Looking down, there were handholds, unless they were shadowy illusions of the moonlight. Thinking of the horrid fate even now befalling my closest friend, I tentatively dipped a toe to the first hold. It slid in smoothly. I lowered myself to my full body length. Another toehold, then a handhold. The chilly breeze frayed my face as I groped in the shadows, and the castle's stone was rough and mocking as I held my cheek to it, not daring to look down.

Thick, dark clouds blotted the moon. My light vanished, and the breeze became a chilly wind, numbing my face, my fingers, and my sense of touch.

Gingerly now, I found another handhold, another toehold. My foot slipped once and I cried out, but I did not fall. Another step, and then another. Two bats flitted by and seemed to be circling me, waiting for a mistake. They came uncomfortably close and I stopped moving, hoping they would go away.

By now, I could hear the sounds from Holmes' open window more clearly. A cold steady rain began to fall, which was a mixed blessing. Soon I would not be able to feel my fingers at all, but my presence would be harder to detect. Hard droplets pricked my face.

"Please. You must be sated by now," Holmes said in a soft, pleading voice.

"It's been so long, Englisch," said one of the women, and I heard a weak whimper from Holmes. "That child was barely enough, and the Count has abandoned us."

"If we are greedy tonight, then it might be a long time until our next opportunity," said another. "And the other one is still loose."

More chilling laughter.

I almost fell again when I put my foot to what I thought was a toehold and connected with air. The window!

***

Links to buy the book:

Here's the Kindle link:

http://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Plague-Dracula-ebook/dp/B002AKJYMI/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1297868018&sr=1-1

Direct from Mountainside:

http://www.mountainsidepress.com/mystery.html

Online Dating

books~!!

2011-02-16T01:16:00.009-05:00

I have a book-review blog [http://theluminousrabbit.blogspot.com], but I haven't posted on it in, let's see, five months. So I thought I'd just talk about book here today.

My dad is reading Moby Dick. Moby. Dick. I am intimidated by Moby Dick. I borrowed it from the library months ago, and couldn't get very far into it. (I thought, because I like sea stories, I'd give it a try. Now I think I'll give it a try someday in the future--maybe when my dad finishes it.)

I love the Patrick O'Brian sea stories, although I haven't read them all yet. I am always interested in finding new sea stories to read, although many of them don't appeal to me as much as O'Brian's Maturin and Aubrey books.

My dad is reading lots of long, difficult books lately. He read a gigantic nonfiction book about Bonhoeffer. Then he read Frankenstein, 1984, and Dracula (unabridged).

Lately I'm reading mostly thin mysteries. And just this weekend, I finished the first Dresden Files book, by Jim Butcher. I ended up loving it, and I want to read the rest of the series. I'm fairly picky about fantasy, so I'm surprised I liked it so much. Maybe it's the P.I. element. The narrator is very likeable.

I think the longest fiction book I ever read was The Brothers Karamazov, or else Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

Mississippi ISP Services

Interview with Terri Main, author of Dark Side of the Moon

2011-02-14T15:16:00.007-05:00

Please join me today for an interview of Terri Main, author of Dark Side of the Moon.

Who do you think would like your book? (Or alternately: Please tell prospective readers why they’d like your book.)

This book is a different kind of book. It’s a cozy mystery set in a small town with a history professor pressed into service to help solve the crime. Of course, the “small town” is an underground habitat on the moon made to look like a small town. The clues, the politics, the technology and don’t forget the gravity make this a classic science fiction novel as well. So, mystery fans and science fiction fans both should find something to like in this novel.

What is your favorite thing about your story?

That’s an interesting question. I hadn’t thought much about it. I have to say it’s the interplay between the two main characters. They are both struggling with issues from their pasts. These struggles spill over into their working relationships leading both to conflict and healing. Of course, I also like the puzzle making. And then there is the careful extrapolation of current science to future technology.

Do you remember how long it took you to write? How about to edit and find a publisher?

It took a month to write the first draft. Then three years working off and on to edit it. This was a National Novel Writing Month novel. The idea being to write 50,000 words in a month. I did about 75,000. Then it sort of languished for awhile. Finally, I went over it and got it into some sort of shape. Didn’t really think I would find a publisher because of the cross-genre thing, but then I saw Muse It Up looking for stories and saying they “love cozies” so I figured why not try them. I spent about a month of intensive editing and tightening up the story and sent it off.

I was thrilled, and a little surprised to have my first novel picked up by the first place I sent it.

What is your favorite type of book to read? Do you have any favorite books or authors?

Well, in terms of fiction, I love classic science fiction (Asimov, Simak, Clarke, Bradbury, Silverberg, etc.) and cozy mysteries like Hercule Poirot, The Cat Who series, and Sherlock Holmes. In nonfiction, I like history and science books.

Anything interesting in your past you’d care to share? Like have you ever worked as a rodeo clown, for instance? :)

Not much interesting about me I’m afraid. I live vicariously through my characters. I have however been fortunate to often be on the leading edge of trends. For instance, back in the 70’s I helped produce Christian Rock concerts sometimes having to push my way past picketing pastors who thought all Rock was of the Devil. Then in the 90’s I began building websites. Now, I’m taking our school newspaper online and writing novels that come out initially as ebooks.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

I guess, the Law and Order, CSI and Star Trek franchises were among my favorites. Having a psych degree, I also like Criminal Minds.

Can readers contact you?

Sure they can email me at webservant2003@yahoo.com They can also “like” us at http://www.facebook.com/darksidenovel

If you were alive in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc., did you have any hairstyles that now make you cringe?

Not really. My hair has always been pretty straight, unadorned and boring. Okay, at one I got a big curly blonde wig. But the less said about that the better.

Please share a synopsis or blurb, and a brief excerpt from your book.

Blurb:

When history professor and former FBI profiler moved to the moon, she was ready to start a new, quieter life teaching at Armstrong university. However, she isn’t there long before Juan McAlister, astromechanics professor and lunar independence activist is murdered. The local “security counselors” have never had to deal with a murder so they call in Carolyn and Michael Cheravik, a blunt, often offensive, former Dallas homicide detective and criminology professor, to solve the crime. However, a simple murder investigation becomes a race against time to stop a terrorist attack against earth.

Excerpt:

The death of Juan McAlister made news on two planets, an orbiting space habitat, and of course, the Moon. His death did not make news because he was a celebrity, a politician, or a captain of industry. No, the death of Professor Juan McAlister, late of Armstrong University, made the news simply because he was a murder victim—the first murder victim on the moon in over seventy-five years of human habitation on that barren rock trapped in Earth’s orbit. On Earth, they were shocked and fascinated. On the Moon, we were shocked and embarrassed. We thought indignities such as murder only happened on our flawed mother planet. They never occurred in our more civilized community. Today, every vid-screen in the solar system told us we were wrong.

I was not watching the news. I stood where I swore I would never stand again—at a crime scene staring at a dead body. This dead body was different. All those others were bodies of strangers. This dead body was my colleague, a sometime adversary, and a friend.

I was twenty years and 384,000 kilometers away from the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico; yet, here I stood scanning my friend’s office trying once again to do the unthinkable— think like a killer.

I came to the Moon to move forward, but my advance turned into retreat, and my paradise, purgatory.

You can buy Terri's book here:

Muse It Up http://www.tinyurl.com/darksidenovel

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004L

Thank you for your time, Terri, and best of luck with your book! :)

fortune cookies~

2011-02-05T16:53:00.000-05:00

Today I went out to eat at a lovely Chinese buffet.
This was what my fortune cookie said:

"He who knows he has enough is rich."

(Are you saying I ate too much??) ;)

The following belonged to the other people who were with
me. (These are exact quotes!)

"The food here taste so good, even a cave man likes it." (LOL!!!)

"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
unseen."

"Fate will find a way."

"Give yourself some peace and quite for at least a few hours."

Hey, I want some peace and "quite," too! ;)

Here's hoping you have peace and "quite" today, as well! :-)

~Alice

PA Dutch Pickled Eggs

2011-02-01T02:39:00.000-05:00

This is my grandmother's recipe for "Red Beet Eggs."

It's an authentic Pennsylvania Dutch

food, that I think anyone could learn to

just love. And it's easy to make, too.

I think you would really enjoy these "Red Beet Eggs."

=========
PA Dutch Pickled Eggs

Drain juice from 1 can sliced small

whole red beets, and combine with 1

cup vinegar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and

1 Tsp. salt. Bring to boil and pour over

beets and 6 hard cooked eggs. Let

stand overnight.

Slice lengthwise to serve.

Optional: If desired, a stick of cinnamon

and 3 or 4 cloves may be added.

=========

Now, I follow that recipe up to a point. I

always make a double batch (12 eggs),

but I only use a little sugar (if any). I add

Stevia for sweetener, and a little honey.

You can use something else for the

sweetener, whatever you're

comfortable with.

The eggs turn a nice pink/ purple color.

If you let them sit long enough, they change color all the way through
the white of the egg, and even into the yellow. (However, they're tasty
after 24 hours. You don't have to wait longer to eat them.)

Sometimes for this recipe, I use fresh beets, or extra vinegar. Last
time, I used ground cinnamon since I didn't have any sticks of cinnamon,
and it turned out fine. I added pepper as well, and it didn't hurt
anything. I may experiment more in the future.

Anyway, this is extremely tasty treat, authentic Pennsylvania Dutch
cooking, and very pretty to look at. It's low calorie (since it's made
from just eggs and beets), and doesn't have any gluten in it, so I can
eat as much as I want.

The eggs and beets both change flavor when pickled, and improve
immensely, I think. You might think eggs and beets don't sound good
together, but I can assure you, in this recipe, they truly are!

take care,
Alice

a blog award!

2011-01-28T18:06:00.001-05:00

Wow!!! I can hardly believe it. I got an award!!

Check out this post to read about it:

http://www.heatherhavenstories.com/heathers_blog_this_and_that

I am really shocked and flattered!!

Ants in the Bathroom

2011-01-26T19:57:00.000-05:00

There are ants
in the bathroom
living off the toothpaste
Times are tough
for everyone

A day when no kid would be afraid

2011-01-19T03:07:00.001-05:00

A few years ago, I had to use the bathroom while I was shopping for clothes at K-Mart. As I was washing my hands, two little girls came into the bathroom, close together and nervous. They looked at me, and I could see they were afraid!

Now, I'm not a very intimidating person most of the time. But I was an adult, and they were probably nine and seven, or thereabouts. (They looked like sisters.) It made me so sad that these two little African-American girls were afraid of me.

I left as quickly as I could so they wouldn't have to be afraid.

We teach kids to be careful of strangers, and what else can you do in this world? But I hate to see kids afraid....

I don't remember if I found any good clothes on that trip, but I do remember the looks on those little girls' faces. It makes me ache, those frightened children.

When I remember this, and it makes me sad. And I wish for a day no kid would have to be afraid.

Today I am reading Ray Bradbury...

2011-01-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

...and remembering why I loved short stories in the first place, and why
I wanted to write them.

*happy sigh*

~A. M. Roelke~

My pumpkin pie disaster

2010-12-29T17:26:00.000-05:00

So, I like to make pumpkin pie. My family won't
eat it unless it's made from canned pumpkin, but
I like it made with fresh pumpkin. It tends to taste
a little bit different from canned, but I don't mind
that.

Well, this year it turned out terrible. I boiled the
pieces of "neck pumpkin" until they were soft, and
then mashed them up and made a pie. (It never
smells very nice while it's boiling. It smells rather
like squash. LOL)

Anyway. I made a pie that looked and tasted
lovely, and lacked the ingredients in normal pie
(wheat, sugar) that I can't eat. It tasted great--
but it was stringy. Sooo stringy. Gag-reflex
stringy.

I had to throw it away. I wasn't even able to eat
half of it. What a waste! It actually had a good
flavor.

Maybe if I'd forced the pumpkin pulp through
a strainer, I could have gotten all the strings out
and it would have turned out perfect....

Live and learn....

But till next Fall, I'll be using canned pumpkin
for pumpkin pies.

~Alice~

Ready for Christmas.... :)

2010-12-21T18:23:00.000-05:00

I'm ready for Christmas! :-) This year I sent out some cards (a first for me), and streamlined my present-buying (also a first).

In the writing department, I sent out my novel submission for _Watch Over Me_ to Muse It Up Publications. I finally had it ready to send and didn't want to wait till after Christmas.

I also finally updated my website (http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/) to reflect the fact that I'm having a novella published next May, and show off the lovely cover art that Delilah K. Stephans (http://www.delilahkstephans.com) made for me!!

I feel accomplished. That's nice for a change! :)

I've made some plans for next year already, but I'll have to try not to get carried away with it. Making too many plans can become counterproductive for me.

Oh, and in the reading department, I'm enjoying Daily Science Fiction. (http://dailysciencefiction.com/) They send emails every day with a short science fiction or fantasy story. Some days I ignore them, other days I get pulled into reading them. They keep them short and readable, which is nice for a quick break. I'm impressed with the quality of the ones I've read so far.

~A.M. Roelke~

I'm interviewed!!

2010-12-10T21:18:00.000-05:00

Hey! I've been interviewed!!

Check out Sameena's blog for the evidence. (Also contains an excerpt from my story.)

http://sameenassphere.wordpress.com/guest-author-blogs/a-m-roelke-2/

~Alice~

2010-11-14T14:50:00.001-05:00

http://www.nanowrimo.org/NanowrimoUtils/LiveParticipant/719776.png

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/719776

Sherlock

2010-11-12T01:59:00.000-05:00

I really loved SHERLOCK and cannot believe they had only three episodes
for a season. And then to make us wait so long to find out what
happens...!!!!

~Alice M. Roelke~ "The Space Station Murders"
sf / mystery novella, coming May 2011 http://bit.ly/dmHnj0
My writing blog: http://thewritinglifeforme.blogspot.com/
Writing credits: http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/avHvJ0

I'm on NaNoWriMo

2010-11-06T22:29:00.001-04:00

AliceWrites, that's me. :-)

http://www.nanowrimo.org/widget/LiveSupporter/719776.png

http://www.nanowrimo.org///eng/user/719776

I don't know if I'll win. I've got a lot going on this month....

SF poem: Field Trip

2010-11-06T22:01:00.001-04:00

Field Trip,
by Alice M. Roelke

One perfect summer
sunlight-dappled farm
unexpected picnicker
with bottle of wine
sitting
in the middle
of nowhere
in a field
remembers the past
watches the little girl she
was
playing and running
and watching
the woman she will become
sitting in the grass
reliving her past

the length of signatures

2010-10-29T01:01:00.000-04:00

How long is too long, for an email signature?

I keep changing it, but this is my current sig, at five
lines long:

In my primary email address, my service provider allows
me five lines only for a signature. I've seen sigs that were
much longer, and ones much shorter. Right now, I'm
using all five lines. But is that too much? Too little?

I'd love some input, if you have any thoughts on the
subject of signature length. :)

You could tell me what you do, and how it works for
you...?

~Alice~

Poem: Apollo

2010-10-25T15:41:00.001-04:00

A few years ago, I tried to write some poems, mostly sf/f related.
Unfortunately, I've never been the best at poems. For one thing,
I was always confused by forms--and which syllables had stresses.
When I write poetry, I just write what sounds good to me. Anyway,
I was never able to sell any of them. I ran across them recently, and
I still like them, though. Here's one now. -Alice :)

Apollo
by Alice M. Roelke

Accumulation
of our hopes fears dreams
rockets raced to the moon
metaphorically red white and blue
show of strength, national pride
daydreams made real

Men stood on dry seas
watched the earth rise
On angel's wings, rocket wings
you seemed to carry all our hopes, dreams
took our hearts into space
American flag on extraterrestrial soil
Show of peace
hope for future days

For a brief decade
We painted a bull's-eye on the moon, and flew.

<<<>>>

query sent...!

2010-10-24T00:34:00.000-04:00

Today I send a query to Penguin.
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/aboutus/#question11

And picked out which story I'm going to send to this anthology:
http://www.deadrobotssociety.com/anthology

It was a very productive writing day! :D

Also, I bought a long necked pumpkin. They are perfect for pies. :)

writing & acceptance

2010-10-21T17:59:00.000-04:00

All of my writing life, I've thought that the next success,
I'd find a feeling of confidence about my writing. If I ever
got a story accepted. If I ever got more accepted, or
"enough" accepted. Then, if I ever got a longer story
accepted.

After each stage, it's never worked. Writing doesn't
bring me the feeling of acceptance or being worthy or
valuable that I want.

But, I still love it. I still write 'for me.' I write because
I can't not write. I write because it helps me stay sane.
I write because I'm a writer.

But, when I look for that feeling, of finally being
"worthy" in my writing--I'm disappointed.

Alice

Book Fair Fun

2010-10-16T20:37:00.000-04:00

Today my mother and I went to visit the tail end
of the York book and Paper Fair:

www.yorkbookandpaper.com

It was lots of fun. I talked to three people and
bought a few books (although nothing expensive).

My mother offered to buy me a Sherlock Holmes-
themed book, but I resisted temptation. (I'm a big
fan, but it comes in waves, and I didn't want her
wasting money on something I might not read
for six months or more.)

I talked to author Danielle Ackley-McPhail
http://www.sidhenadaire.com/

She was quite nice, and had a fancy hat! It looked
really cool, and I more than ever believe the advice
I once read about how authors should wear a "funny
hat." (Well, her hat wasn't 'funny,' it was actually
really cool-looking....)

And I bought a Donald Lam and Bertha Cool mystery
by A. A. Fair for three dollars from a nice bookseller
who said he wished he'd brought along more of them,
A very kind bookselling woman, whom I unfortunately
didn't catch the name of, helped me pick out some
cheap westerns.

(I've been in the mood since discovering humorous 60s
western-themed TV series, "Alias Smith and Jones," about
two ex-criminals trying to go straight, and the troubles
they manage to get into.)

I also looked at some old photographs, but didn't buy
any. It feels like such a splurge, and faintly creepy,
since I didn't know the people and they are now dead.
I still like old photographs, but haven't quite flipped the
switch and become a collector.

I also saw the York Emporium guy there, although I
didn't talk to him today.

www.theyorkemporium.com

I'm not sure what it would be like to attend such a thing
as either a bookseller, or an author, but it was quite fun as a
reader. :-)

~Alice M. Roelke~ The Space Station Murders, May 2011
My writing blog: http://thewritinglifeforme.blogspot.com/
My publisher: http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/
Book review blog: http://theluminousrabbit.blogspot.com/
Writing credits: http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/

Update 10-14-10

2010-10-14T22:38:00.000-04:00

* I made my writing goal last month, with 33,000 words. :-)

* I am very glad Ray Gun Revival (http://www.raygunrevival.com/)
has good things in store...even if they aren't sharing details so far.
;-)
[http://www.raygunrevival.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=3518]

* My family's dog died. :-( She was a very good dog, a beautiful
Golden Retriever. I'll miss her....

* I'm already starting to worry about Christmas. :-( It's too soon!!!

My Cover Art

2010-09-29T18:35:00.003-04:00

THIS IS MY COMPLETED COVER ART FOR MY NOVELLA COMING OUT IN 2011~~!!!!! :D Yes, I was shouting...it's hard to talk quietly about something so exciting. *blushes*

Here's a link:

http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/2010/09/space-station-murders-cover.html

And...have I mentioned that this is really exciting??? :-D

A City in Space

2010-09-08T16:24:00.001-04:00

Perhaps in the future, space stations will be like cities in space….

The cosmopolitan future of life in space is one that many people have envisioned. It’s fascinating to think of regular people living regular lives in a different world—planet, spaceship, or space station. I think it’s especially fun to imagine an outer space place not controlled (or visited) only by the elite—government organizations and highly trained astronauts—but experienced by regular people like us.

If such a thing were true, it’s very likely we’d have many of the same problems that Earth cities do—crime, homelessness, poverty.

In an ideal, Star Trek space station like the one seen on Deep Space 9, we have a happy future where most people lead good lives. In a grungy future station, like “Babylon 5,” we have idealism and alien cultures mixed with grinding poverty, political refugees, clashing religions, powder keg politics, and plenty of crime.

In comparing the two, I think Babylon 5 has the more realistic view. It talks about more aspects of human reality—poverty, religion, politics, wars. But Deep Space 9’s hopeful future is a siren call for us to aim for, like a future model of the International Space Station, where ideally everyone will get along and work together for peace. (That was the purpose of Babylon 5, too—it just faced more challenges generally than did the station in the Star Trek universe.)

My latest story, “The Space Station Murders,” is set on a space station where grinding poverty and homelessness abound, where jobs are scarce and murders are going unsolved. It’s a ‘city in space’ with a veneer of respectability, without graffiti, and with beautification projects like public benches and artificial streams with bridges over them… but at night, homeless people fight over the benches and sleep under the bridges, and sometimes freeze to death when the heat gets turned down to save money.

All our fictional ideas about space stations are just models, of course. And I hope a real space station would be better than the one I imagined.

What would a real ‘city in space’ be like? One thing is for certain. We take our problems with us—even to the stars.

<<<>>>

keeping on...

2010-09-08T16:16:00.005-04:00

I wish there was an easy way to reply to comments on blogger, like there is on LJ! I suppose you could just comment after the first comment?? (Yes, I've been on blogger for years but still don't have it completely figured out....)

My status bar now:

10000 / 30000 words. 33% done!

(If I keep going like this, I'll surpass my goal. Yay! Now if only some of what I write turns out to be any good. :P)

progress

2010-09-07T00:50:00.000-04:00

I would like to write 30,000 words this month.

Here I am so far:

5000 / 30000 words. 17% done!

yo ho ho, writing's fun for me...not?

2010-09-07T00:29:00.006-04:00

In retrospect, my blog's title is not the best.

For one thing, it makes it sound as though this writer thing is a bouncy, 'yo ho ho, let's-have-fun' journey. Of course writing is fun, at its best. But not all of the journey is fun. Some days you feel like a hack, can't bear to face the keyboard, and know you'll never have another story accepted.

Or maybe that's just me.

Right now, I'm trying to get together the promo stuff my publisher needs. I hope it doesn't all stink.

I got out an orphaned project this week and have been working on it. I'm really excited. I think I can finish it, if it doesn't have to fit the artificial rules I had for it previously--word count, market, etc. If I just follow where the story wants to go--and it's a really fun one for me--then I can almost certainly finish it. I'm really happy about that. :D

The truth is I have to force myself to share any personal information whatsoever online. But what else is a blog for? So here are three personal things I'm forcing myself to share:

I'm finally starting to feel physically better. Thank goodness.

I'm in worry mode. I hate that.

I'm trying to make decisions regarding my writing. And it's hard.

take care~

Alice

~Alice M. Roelke~ The Space Station Murders, May 2011

My writing blog: http://thewritinglifeforme.blogspot.com/

My publisher: http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/

Book review blog: http://theluminousrabbit.blogspot.com/

Writing credits: http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/

My Publisher

2010-09-05T00:46:00.003-04:00

I wanted to be published for so long—not just with short stories, but with “a real book.” And now I’m going to be. Well, my “real book” is a science fiction mystery e-book that's 20,000 words long. But still.

There’s something special about knowing my story has a home, and I have a publisher who not only treats people kindly, is patient, and provides lots of marketing help, but also has made it clear that I’m welcome to send more stuff whenever I want—or not. I’ve been waiting for now—being cautious with my time and energy, making sure I don’t bite off more than I can chew. But I keep thinking of things I want to send them, or write for them.

For me, there’s a very different feeling about sending something out when you know the publisher is not going to scorn you, where even a rejection will be personal and appropriate—with editor’s notes, no less! It makes me feel like someone in the publishing industry actually…cares.

I don’t want to become overly Muse-dependent. I know some of my works might not fit there, and I need to pursue publishing elsewhere, too. But it is so comfortable to feel this way.

I have lots to learn and much to experience in the publishing process, even if my story is ‘only’ a 20,000 word novella. But I’m looking forward to it, and I hope I don’t let my publisher down.

“My publisher.” I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that.

Well, if you’re a bit jealous, (and I’m really not trying to make anyone jealous, just tasting this good feeling), you can always check out my publisher, Muse It Up Publishing, and see what you think. Maybe you have (or can write) something that fits their guidelines.

Maybe soon you’ll be able to say “my publisher” too. :)

~Alice M. Roelke~ The Space Station Murders, May 2011

My writing blog: http://thewritinglifeforme.blogspot.com/

My publisher: http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/

Book review blog: http://theluminousrabbit.blogspot.com/

Writing credits: http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/

wow!

2010-09-04T18:04:00.000-04:00

Fred Warren mentioned me in his amazing interview with Marcher Lord Press.

http://bit.ly/dwl3mU
or
http://www.wherethemapends.com/Interviews/current_interview.htm

I'm still blushing. Thanks, Fred! :D

~Alice M. Roelke~
"The Space Station Murders," coming May 2011
My publisher: http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/
Book review blog: http://theluminousrabbit.blogspot.com/
Writing credits: http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/

Aydin

2010-09-04T17:37:00.001-04:00

The newest line from my publisher is in the Muse It Young division,
meaning books for kids. It's called "Aydin," after the deceased child of
one of our members. It was a tragedy for the family, and Lea wanted to
memorialize the young life of Aydin in a line of books about special
children.

Because my sister has Down Syndrome, that's something that strikes close to home for me…special children.

The books don't have to be about handicapped children, however. You can write a story about any child making a difference. These books should be fiction, and they're aimed towards children. (Guidelines for it and all the Muse It Young books are here:
http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/index.php?option=com_content&view=a
rticle&id=102&Itemid=93.)

I don't know yet if I'll be able write about someone like my sister. Sometimes the things that you're closest to are hardest to write about.

~Alice M. Roelke~
"The Space Station Murders," coming May 2011
My publisher: http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/
Book review blog: http://theluminousrabbit.blogspot.com/
Writing credits: http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/

win free ebooks from my publisher :)

2010-09-04T02:00:00.006-04:00

If you're interested in e-books, or my new publisher, Muse It Up Publishing, here's your chance to find out more. You could join the Readers' Yahoo group for MIUP. They'll be raffling e-books every month, on the first (beginning in October).

The rules are "participate and you can win." Well, it sounds simple. Here's the link if you're interested:

http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/MusePub_Readers/

There are other prizes, like a grand prize of a year's worth of ebooks. You can read more here, on the MIUP blog:
http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/2010/09/goodies-for-readers.html

P.S. My e-book won't be released until next year, so you can't win that yet. I'm sure you were all *dying* to read it! ;)

-Alice M.

my book review blog :)

2010-09-03T18:17:00.002-04:00

I've started updating my book review blog again. So far, it has one follower (my mother). I started it in 2008, and didn't update again until just last month.

They're just short reviews, about a variety of different kinds of books. (I thought I'd be able to stick to a theme when I started, but so far I haven't.)

Anyway, here's the link, for those who are interested:

http://theluminousrabbit.blogspot.com/

This is a test

2010-08-27T16:04:00.000-04:00

...to see if I can still post by sending an email. :)

I need to get back to this blog. I've allowed it to languish for far too
long.

Well, let's see if this works first, and then I can decide how to proceed
with getting back into blogging.

Publishing news~! :D

2010-07-31T16:30:00.002-04:00

I'm going to have a 20,000 word e-novella published in May 2011!!

It's a science fiction story called "The Space Station Murders."

Here is my 'tag:'

An ex-cop on a space station struggles to overcome alcoholism and the death of his partner. Against his better judgement, he befriends a station newbie, and the two begin to investigate the murder of their fellow homeless space station residents.

I'm being published with Muse It Up Publishing, an upcoming epublisher. I never thought my story would be accepted.

Here is my author page.

ch-ch-ch-changes...

2010-07-11T23:18:00.002-04:00

I have not posted here in so long. Sooooo long...

Well, I have some good news, but I'm going to put that in a separate post.

I could promise I will start updating more regularly. I hope I will, but I'm not positive.

I have, however, updated my web page with my writing credits. I think it looks much nicer this way.

http://sites.google.com/site/aliceroelke/home

And in sad news, Ray Gun Revival is going to be briefly closing its doors, and then reopening at a new address, as a non-paying market. :(

NaNo

2009-11-30T18:47:00.000-05:00

Well, I did it. I wrote over 100,000 words in one month.
And not one word of it is going to be submitted to a
publisher. Anyway, that's the plan. :)

I'm glad to have my hobby back. Trying to make writing
pay seemed to add too much stress. For now, I am
just glad to have my hobby back.

Will I never submit a story again? Of course I will! I
just need to find new ways to think about it, so I don't
stress over editors and editing and submitting and
trying to make money at this thing I happen to love doing.

Now if I can just get the site to validate what I wrote...
Then again, it probably shouldn't matter. I know I did it.
That's all that should matter.

NaNo '09

2009-11-01T19:23:00.001-05:00

Well, I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year--my first year ever. :) I'm a
Rebel--which means I'm not writing on one long project this month.
Basically I'm going to write 50,000 words of whatever. I'm hoping to get
some work done on a stalled novel (or two?), though.

I'm excited about this, and I think it will be good for my writing. :)

I suppose I should be doing that now, instead of blogging!

*Peace*
~Alice~

trying to get back to work

2009-08-07T18:48:00.000-04:00

Today I started editing on my YA Christian fantasy novel. I just did a
little bit. It was pretty hard, but at least I got started!!

I've also done some writing recently. Nothing on my 'important' stories.
They will have to wait until I am feeling a little more confident. But
it's been nice to do some writing, nonetheless.

I recently edited a short story of mine. It needs a little more work,
and then I have to find a market for it--somewhere that publishes sci-fi,
and preferably not Ray Gun Revival. I've sent too many stories there
recently, probably because I'm so comfortable there.

Writing Updates

2009-07-11T00:50:00.002-04:00

I've received two acceptances since I last wrote. My story "Sky Voices" will appear (eventually) in Ray Gun Revival. My story "Phoenix" will appear (eventually) in Mindflights.

I've also had a novel turned down. That threw me for a loop and I haven't been doing a lot of writing things right now. To be honest, I don't think I'd care very much if I never had to look at that novel again. Yeah. I got pretty burnt out working on it, and then it wasn't even worth it. There's more to the story than that, my usual angsty stuff. I'm not going into it.

I'm just starting to get involved in a little writing, and a little editing again. It's hard to muster much enthusiasm right now. But a good thing can come from this, I hope. Maybe I will stop writing and editing with a view of pleasing others, and just try to get my stories to please myself--at least for now.

Story Published

2009-04-13T14:17:00.001-04:00

My short story, "The Literary Hollow," has been accepted at Ethereal
Tales, http://www.etherealtales.co.uk/.

If you go there, and click on "Sneaky Peeks," you can read the first few
words of it. It will be in the third magazine issue, the one coming out
this month.

It is pleasant to have a story published in a British magazine. I will
receive a free copy of the magazine as payment, and I'm looking forward
to checking it out. :)

~Alice~
http://aliceroelke.googlepages.com/home

a Snoopy rejection

2009-03-11T00:48:00.001-04:00

It finally happened to me.

You know that Snoopy cartoon where the editors send him a rejection slip,
and he didn't even send them anything? (I think he writes back,
rejecting their rejection slip. Anyway, it's funny. Haha.)

I got one today.

I searched my records, and I have no record of sending that story to that
magazine. I suppose I could've I sent it to them before 2005. They
apologized to a delayed reply, and said the magazine recently changed
management. Maybe I sent it in 2004, got a rejection, and now I'm
getting another one because the records got messed up somehow?

Huh. Still scratching my head over this one.

~Alice~
http://aliceroelke.googlepages.com/home

Cyndere's Midnight, by Jeffrey Overstreet

2009-02-18T17:51:00.003-05:00

Cyndere's Midnight, by Jeffrey Overstreet

Sequel to Auralia's Colors

This lush fantasy novel may be disorienting to those, like me, who haven't yet read the first book.

However, the characters feel real, the world fully-developed. Things aren't always explained, so you have to learn as you go.

Thick, lush prose and interesting and vivid characters make this book feel like an experience, a step into another world, instead of just a novel.

It's a long book with small print, and it's confusing in spots. Nevertheless, this story has the feel of greatness about it. The author writes well. If it sometimes seems too convoluted, it may be because I don't understand the world yet. I can always come back to it after I've digested the first in the series.

In all, it’s a beautiful book. I have the feeling it easily become a classic to many, along with the rest of "The Auralia Thread" series.

I can only applaud the hard work, talent, and skill that went into creating this story’s universe.

Amazon.com link

Alice in Alice Land

2009-01-30T21:54:00.001-05:00

There's a show, UGLY BETTY, which I mostly can't stand anymore.

On one episode, someone told the main character, Betty, that she lived in
"Betty Land," where everything was about her all the time. (Or something
like that; it's been awhile.)

Sometimes I feel like I live in "Alice Land," where everything is about
me. I don't want to do that, don't want to be selfish and self-preoccupied.
The fact remains, sometimes I am. What else matters so much in a
person's life, except the things that affect that person?

Writing can be a way to get out of one's self, I think.

Or perhaps it is the most self-indulgent time of all, I don't know.
Worrying about writing, thinking about writing -- that can be pretty
self-indulgent, for me, anyway.

But it seems to me that writing itself takes you out of yourself almost
completely. When you're writing, the things that matter most are the
characters and their problems, and not you at all.

The Pink Umbrella

2009-01-28T01:37:00.001-05:00

"Mom, how do authors pick titles for their books?" I asked my mother.

I don't know how old I was, but certainly pre-teen.

She tried to explain to me this ephemeral process. (Which frankly I
don't even quite understand today, now that I am an author. Well, if I
did, I'd always be able to pick good titles, wouldn't I?)

My blank stares must have told her I wasn't getting it. So she tried to
give me an example.

"Sometimes authors picks titles from something that shows up in their
stories. Like 'The Pink Umbrella.' An author might name a story that if
a pink umbrella shows up in their story, and means something important."

This explanation left me more confused than ever.

"The Pink Umbrella?" How could that be a title... or mean anything at
all?

I understand titles a little better now, and the weird way they get
picked, or not picked. But in some part of my brain, 'The Pink Umbrella'
still means 'that weird process by which titles get picked.'

Then... the other week... I ran across an old Detective Book Club
compilation.

One of the titles in it? "The Pink Umbrella," by one Frances Cramer, c)
1943.

O...kay.

The weird illustration from my childhood is now alive and well.

Maybe I'll read it and find out just how "The Pink Umbrella" could be a
good title for a book.

Maybe not. I might just let the mystery live on.

~Alice~