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Interview with Tim Waggoner Author of A Strange and Savage Garden 

8/26/2014

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Bio:

Tim Waggoner has published over thirty novels and three short story collections, and his articles on writing have appeared in Writer's Digest and Writer's Journal, among others. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College and in Seton Hill University's Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program. 


Visit him on the web at www.timwagonner.com 





Please keep reading after the interview to find an early review of A Strange and Savage Garden, out from Samhain Publishing October 7th, 2014!


1. A Strange and Savage Garden is a novella that features Johnny Divine, a rather unique character from the mind of Kealan Patrick Burke. Did you enjoy working with your version of Divine in your own world? Were there any major challenges?

Kealan created Johnny Divine as a character to tie together the various novellas that originally appeared in an anthology called Brimstone Turnpike which came out from CD Publications several years back. Kealan developed a description of the character and the old desert gas station where he would encounter the main character of each novella. The only instruction we were given was that Divine should give the character an object that would feature somehow in our stories. We were given the freedom to interpret Divine however we wished. He could be a force for good, for evil, or somewhere in between. I enjoyed coming up with my take on the character, and the only challenge was trying to make sure that he seemed an integral part of my story instead of something tacked on. Hopefully, I succeeded!

2. Lauren is returning home after the death of her father and finding herself fighting for a sense of stability in the process. The reader ends up joining her in a sense, going back and forth between her sense of reality and the little shifts of consciousness, catching the little elements as we go. Were you happy with the way the book turned out? Did it stick to the original story formula you had in mind? 

I was happy with the novella, and I hope readers enjoy it. I like to write with an immersive point of view in order to involve readers as deeply in a story as I can. I also like to make a character’s psychological landscape as much a part of the story as what the character says and does. It helps create an atmosphere of strangeness and skewed reality, which is where true horror comes from.

In terms of writing the story, it turned out the way I outlined it for the most part, but as usual, I made some changes as I wrote it, as improvements to the plot or new ideas occurred to me. An outline is just a guideline for a story – not a blueprint that must be followed exactly.

3. Grandma Madelyn is a strong figure, equal parts firm resolve and manipulation. What inspired her? 

Without giving away any of the story details, Madelyn is the kind of character she is because of her unique abilities. Abilities like hers would be an outgrowth of a superhuman will and a pathological need to make things the way she wants – or maybe needs – them to be. So once I knew what her role in the story was, I was able to work backward and create a character with the sort of personality who could fulfill that role.

4. This is no ordinary town, were you surprised to see the story unfold as it did or did you plan it this way all along?

Everything was planned, although some of the specifics I developed as I actually wrote the scenes. That’s how I usually write, and this novella was no different.

5. Your writing is an interesting blend of dark fantasy and horror elements, often it’s very surreal and dreamlike. Did you always know it would have this tone or did you discover you voice over time? 

When I was in my twenties, I thought it might be interesting to blend horror and fantasy in my writing. I loved horror, but I thought too much of it wasn’t as imaginative as it could be, and I liked fantasy, but much of it followed the same kind of Tolkienesque story patterns, and it too, ultimately, wasn’t very imaginative. So I started working on blending what I found to be the most effective elements of both genres in my writing, and as the years went by, people began responding positively to my surreal dark fiction, so I figured I must’ve done something right. At this point in my career, I’m known for writing these kind of stories (that is, if I’m known for anything at all!).

6. What other writing projects are due out in the coming year? Are there any particular ones you’re excited to see readers react to?

I have a horror novella called The Last Mile coming out from DarkFuse in October. The basic premise is what would humans do to survive in a world where Lovecraft’s Old Ones returned and reclaimed the planet. Also in October, I have a tie-in novel based on the TV series Grimm coming out from Titan Books called Grimm: The Killing Time. In late November, my YA horror novel Dark Art will come out from Nightscape Press. It’s about a troubled teenager whose drawings come to life with devastating results.

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My Review of A Strange and Savage Garden: 


Lauren is going back home to bury her father. After 11 years of living on her own in California its a tough trip and its only going to get tougher as she goes along. You see, when she left a piece of this place went with her in the form of awful nightmares, strange memories of something so awful she thought it was buried deep in her thoughts. Only now, with Grandma Madelyn in her life and memories of that past stirring, nothing truly seems as it appears to be. 

 I first discovered Tim Waggoner with his novel Like Death several years ago and I was very pleased with the dark and dreamlike quality of that novel. I'm happy to have had the pleasure of reading A Strange and Savage Garden and found that same sense of the unusual. Lauren is quite a lot more than she seems to be at first glance and the terrible past she's been running from is far more complex than she realizes. Having essentially run away at the age of 17 she's only come back to make her peace and, with luck, return to the life she created in California. The past is a powerful thing and the weight of her Grandma Madelyn's steady gaze often makes her doubt herself. The strange visions and memories only give that sense on instability more weight and soon she is questioning just what it is that really happened all of those years ago and why. 

I enjoyed A Strange and Savage Garden because it's a great example of how Waggoner's voice is very much his own. We experience Lauren's life in little fits and starts, dreamlike interruptions coloring both her view and our own. We discover the world and its truths gradually until it all comes together in a very vivid conclusion that challenges many aspects of what we were told about Lauren's life and the identity of the people that surround her. Here we find some very strong characters with unusual outlooks, questions about the idea of self, some consideration of how our perception of the past affects us, and the dark fantasy and subtle horror elements I enjoy in Waggoner's work. This is a very enjoyable and surreal novella that was well worth the read!
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Interview with Mark Woods Author of Time of Tides: Collector's Edition

7/23/2014

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Bio: A year ago Mark Woods was just a chef who wrote book reviews, but when horror author, Catt Dahman, persuaded him to write his own stories, she unwittingly created a monster. Since then his short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies to critical acclaim, his debut novella, Time Of Tides, has proved phenomenally popular and he is one of the key authors behind the upcoming, groundbreaking novel, Feral Hearts; a unique and original take on the vampire legend like nothing you have ever seen done before!
Mark is currently working on numerous projects including his first full length novel and several other short novella. He also continues to write his short fiction whilst still doing what he calls 'the day job'.

Mark is an occasional Blogger and full time book geek who writes reviews for such sites as Amazon, Goodreads and Dooyoo when not writing his fiction. 


His Blog, miss muppet are my hamster, can be found here: http://sparkymarky1973.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/markwoodsauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparkymarky1973


Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Woods/e/B00F5ZCMAG

 1. Time of Tides is a Lovecraftian tale set during a cataclysmic flood, where did you draw your inspiration from and how did it become such a gripping tale? 

 When Catt asked for scary fish tales, I decided I wanted to do something different from everyone else. I wanted my work to stand out. Quite simply I started brainstorming, throwing out ideas, but honestly had no idea where it was going. As I started writing, there were numerous times I thought of just giving the whole thing up, but I persevered and what you get now is exactly the way it was supposed to be read.
Someone commented recently on a review that they thought it a shame that the family on the Broads lost communications so quickly; the whole point was I wanted to convey a sense of isolation, and in that sense  I think it worked.


2. You have shorts in a few different anthologies and have had some great success with Time of Tides. When do you think we’ll get to see your first novel and will it focus on similar themes? 

My first full length novel will again be apocalyptic, but this time will concentrate on a zombie theme instead. All my zombie fiction is set in the same universe and this book sets all that up; so you get to see the fall of society at the beginning of an epidemic, followed by several survivors coming together on the rooftop of a small block of flats.
You're probably thinking you've seen all that before, it's been done - but I have a few twists up my sleeve that set it apart from other zombie novels.
Like Tides, it will be heavily character-orientated with as much focus on the survivors as the apocalypse itself. It's sub-title in fact will be 'tales of the survivors' and I promise, it will be a bit less bleak than other stuff I might have written up until now - without losing the sense if doom I think is needed in a true zpoc novel.

3. What sort of work will we be seeing from you in the next few years? Do you write in any other genres besides horror? 

I have a sci-fi short that was previously published that I am working on adapting into a full book, but horror is where my heart is right now.
Catt says she thinks I can write anything, and any challenge she has thrown me I have taken on. 
I like to experiment, but the main focus is the story - if I don't have a story that will fit a particular genre, I can't write for it.
For example, I write erotica under a pen name but I don't think I could ever write chick lit, but then again if inspiration hit me...
What can you expect in the future? Well I have another novella planned that is intended to be the first in a series that I can release in an omnibus edition at some stage, a story about giant false widow spiders, and plenty more short stories as and when I write them.

 4. You’re one of 6 authors who worked together to write Feral Hearts, how did you feel about the project? Was it refreshing to see what other authors came up with for the same premise?

 I loved Feral Hearts. Honestly. At first I didn't know how it was going to work, but with Ed Cardillo's encouragement, I think I came up with one of my most fun pieces yet! Taking one character, inventing him from scratch, and then running with him in someone else's story - well, that was just so much fun! 
For those who want to know what to expect...my contribution was heavily influenced by 30 days of night - except it all happens in one night!

 5. You’ll be joining some of the same authors to work on Lycanthroship, will post-WWII werewolves be much harder than writing about the unlucky modern singles and their run-in with vamps? 

 No, writing that will be no different from anything else I write. I have a story, characters and a plot - the only hard part will be doing some research on post WWII history so that it looks and feels authentic. 
Actually, it will be interesting to see what my other writers, and any fans I might have yet, think of what I have come up with!

6. Time of Tides has come out in a brand new print edition with Wendy Won’t Go and will also have an additional story from you. Could you tell us a little about Dairy of the Dead and how it relates to your novel?


Dairy of the Dead was written quite simply because someone got the title of Romero's diary of the dead wrong and I was like 'Yessss, zombie cows!'
I'd just read an anthology called zombie zoology, and loved the idea of zombie animals and knew I had to write the story.
It was set after my short story, up on the roof, which is since becoming my first full length novel as I go on to expand it. Basically, the whole world has gone to hell in a hand basket and the zombie virus has spread to animals as well as humans. 
More gets explained as to the whys and wherefores in my upcoming novel that is due to be ready for next year.


 7. JEA is a small press that’s really starting to build, has it been a good experience being a part of that success? Is it difficult to find time for your writing between editing, promoting, your day job and home life? 


 Finding time to write, edit others, work a full time job and deal with family is intense, and don't ask me how I manage it. I find that if I concentrate on editing, my writing gets behind and vice versa so I have to kind of concentrate on one or the other and try and split my limited time as best I can.
J.e.a provided me with the chance to start my career as a published writer and have done nothing but encourage me from the start. For that I owe them the world, and to catt especially because without her, I wouldn't be here where I am right now, no hosey way.
I am hoping along with the press, my name too will become a household name that people know and have heard of. 
I owe them a huge debt of allegiance because, right now, I have never been more happy than to see my work, stuff I have written, in print. 
It is like the best drug, it really is. I still pinch myself every so often in case it is a dream


 8. How do you feel about the work you do as an editor and author at JEA? Where do you see yourself with it after a few years time?


I think I can be a little slow as an editor at times, but that is because I like to be concise and give their work the respect and attention it deserves. If I'm tired, I try not to edit because it is someone else's piece of work and I owe them more than that.
Thankfully, all the authors I have worked with so far appreciate that.
As for my writing, I have seen phenomenal success with time of tides, and the hardest thing for me is accepting that people are buying it, and hopefully, enjoying it!
My goal is to try and become the next James Herbert. An unobtainable goal? Maybe, but you have to aim big or you might as well just go home.
I have lots of ideas, intend to be prolific,and have had lots of people with nothing to gain tell me that my writing shows real promise. In a few years? I'm hoping more people will have heard of me and I have a fan base. 
I don't care about getting rich from my writing, though that would be nice; what I do want is for people to carry on reading what I produce and enjoy it. 
The satisfaction I get from seeing peoples faces when I tell them I am a writer and explain what I have achieved in a year, then seeing them go 'oh wow, that's really exciting' will never ever get boring to me.
I guess I'm just an attention whore at heart. Lol.
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Interview with Catt Dahman Author of the Virgil McClendon series and CEO of JEA

7/8/2014

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Bio: Catt Dahman has been writing for more than 30 years, has taught in public schools, private schools, home school, and college. Her B.S. and M.S. degrees are from Texas A & M. Her areas of study were: Criminal psychology, art, and English. She is a native of North East Texas, has lived all over the US, (and tries to claim Jamaica as a second home) but is currently back in the Fort Worth, Texas area where she lives with her husband, David (a retired Marine), son Nic, cats, a ferret, and dog. She has also been a public speaker, artist, director for a charity, dabbled as a PI, and more. When not working, she enjoys SCUBA diving (PADI), reading, ruining movies for her family by pointing out mistakes, collecting Tarot card sets , playing Legos with her son, and growing herbs. She now writes full time, has zombie series of nine books, short stories, and several books of horror. She is available by e-reader and paperback.



Links: 

Website: http://www.cattd.com/
J Ellington Ashton: http://www.jellingtonashton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CattDahman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cattdahman
Wikipedia: http://zisforzombie.wikia.com/wiki/Z_is_for_Zombie_Wiki
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/cattdahman
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007N5843K
Blog: http://www.cattd.com/catts-blog


1.You’re writing a great serial murderer series about a character named Virgil McLendon, could you tell us a little about the character and what he’s facing in your books?

The Virgil McLendon books have grown. I think they are stand alone books, but Virgil began as a small town deputy (book 1) and was teased a little because of his “weird” ways at looking at crimes. He still solved the crime, because of his quirks and not despite. He thinks of music and logic when he sees a case, and he notices things that don't fit and asks why. And he doesn't know it, because it is way back in the 1970s before law enforcement accepted new techniques, but he uses basic psychology. He listens to people and watches them. He looks for what is out of place and asks why. He never forms a theory but lets the facts stand alone. Because he is so unusual, he goes from deputy, to sheriff, to special agent in the FBI and to then one of the founders of the BAU division, and still doesn't understand why others can't see things just as clearly as he does. My favorite part is when a sheriff asks Virgil if it isn't a little unthinkable to have two serial killers acting in one town at the same time. Virgil is flummoxed. He can't imagine why there wouldn't be! Anyway, he is facing the changes of a country and in crime....

As the series go, we know the characters and sometimes some issues are not resolved. Virgil's entire family is in law enforcement and there are a few family secrets, so besides the legal work, Virgil has a beautiful wife who wants a family and career, friends  who are sometimes in danger, and his own fears of failure.

2. These are based on real serial killer cases, was it difficult doing the research? Was it hard reading into some of the more brutal crimes?

It should be, but I guess I have become  calloused to the cruelty. That said, one case I can't read about is the Adam Walsh murder, that is the one that gets to me, mainly because there is nothing worse than a killer that brags brutal details- it makes me physically ill. I read a lot, I began in criminal investigation, and even did some work as a private investigator, so I think I've seen a lot and learned to turn off the emotion for most cases. That said, I do have issue with the cases never solved or those that are so confusing that I have to pull court records and sift through before I understand them. One such case occurred close to where I live and for years I was torn on whether the person was guilty. I finally wrote about it and let “Virgil” look at it.  I came to a partial conclusion, but not one I feel at peace with. Those cases..the ones where there is doubt...those bother me.

3. Of Blood and Water starts the series and right away you’re tackling some seriously brutal stuff, child murders during the 1970s. Was it difficult to cover that territory or did you feel the subject matter made the book that much more compelling?

That case hurt. After research and writing, I feel the wrong man died for the crime, a guilty man walked free, and I reflected that somewhat in the book. That was supposedly one of the first times that profiling was used, but it was- in my opinion- used without sound experience. It was more that I was using it to fit a scene than allowing the scene to dictate the parameters. It was hard to describe the deaths of the children, and I did try to stay with most facts, but I have done the same for the entire series and it never gets easier. The California Killer was horribly brutal and there was a man who fed victims to alligators...so they are all rough.  I read and research the real cases before twisting them and making them a little more difficult to solve . I do feel the reality makes me stay more honest to the real evil that resides in the killers. While some cases are never really resolved (as opposed to solved), in my books, the killers generally meet a bad end. My good guys win. Mostly. There are a few who will be taken care of in later books...it was just not time to let them be punished yet.

4. Criminal profiling was very new during the era McLendon is utilizing it, was it interesting researching how it worked when it was first used? Is it much different than it is today?

People treat Virgil as if he uses magic. People think it's crazy, that he can tell so much from a crime scene and profile a killer because it just wasn't done back then. Virgil uses more of what we use today...he's way ahead of his time. But people are shocked at his logic. I get a kick out of having Virgil smarter than the others. Because of the changes in the 70s, we saw new things. Back then, it never dawned on us that a killer might be a female or a normal person. We still thought  it had to be a crazed killer or the drifter or the black man. Virgil is aware that it is never the outside element and that mostly, it is someone very much like the victims as far as race and experiences. I have enjoyed allowing the first female and African American FBI agents to work with Virgil and hope that shows the changes of the country and changes in thinking.

5. Book two Of Lions and Lambs focuses on a male serial killer attacking young men and mutilating them, Of Guilt and Innocence takes place at an institute for the criminally insane, Of Lost and Found takes place at a huge house known for disappearances and book five Of Truth and Lies is about a killer who helps McLendon solve a copycat killer’s case. This is a series that covers a lot of ground! Was it hard coming up with great cases to base McLendon’s cases on?

Unfortunately, there are many brutal crimes available to take from. Of Guilt and Innocence is probably the one that doesn't fit because it is almost fully made up and not based on a crime per se. (The people incarcerated there have committed crimes we may be aware of or have heard in urban myths) but it's really about secrets related to Abraham Lincoln and the research I did is solid, but it's almost over the top as far as believability. Yet, the facts are pretty strong to support my “case”.  The stories keep coming because there are so many mysteries out there and I get to combine them with my murder cases. The famed Winchester House appears, but I was able to reinvent it as something far worse. I guess real cases give me a seed, but I take the stories in new ways and tangle them so nothing is ever easy or how it seems.  I wouldn't even say the books are about what they look to be. The first is about family traditions (bad ones). I love to tackle that topic and have done so in several books. The second is is more about people being seen as female, black, gay, whatever...as individuals in a changing world. I have dealt with forced religion and it taking ominous meanings, and more. I think I take social situations...injustices or changes...and show this with mysteries. In a new book, I am delving into rape and blaming the victim instead of the offender, but it looks like a simple murder mystery. I don't think I will ever run out of wrongness to write about. (oh...I have a new tag line???)

6. You’re known for taking risks with your writing and enjoying unusual subject matter, tell us a few of your more interesting stories/books and why you like to seek out the unique.

I probably take far too many risks. I don't set out to, and generally have an idea like...”what if some girls took revenge and then”....and from there it gets weird because I find connections and I let the characters control the action and there is always far worse than what we think. To me, there may be a fin at the surface, but I know that down deep, there will be a school of hungry sharks and probably someone who likes the bloodshed and a horrible back story. But isn't that normal? If we see a lady with a black eye, did she really run into a door? Or is there a terrible story there? I think I am all about the secrets and hidden stories because they are truth. I am one of those truth-seekers. No matter how bad it will be, I like to know. And as Virgil would say, why wouldn't there be all kinds of scary things going on behind the normal? We all once were innocents, but we lost that...maybe with Vietnam.

7. You also took part in a collaborative book called Feral Hearts due out from your publishing house J Ellington Ashton very soon, did you enjoy the project? Is it tougher to work with a mixed group of writers than it is to work alone?

I loved the story and the process. I loved working with such a talented crew that challenged me. But, that said, it was hard and I would have failed if not for Edward Cardillo. I tend to write myself into corners and blaze my way out; that wasn't workable for this project. Ed saved my bacon and made my work far more reader friendly. It's a great book and very, very unusual with the writers having to work off a single premise, but the other writers were far better at this than I was. In my defense, I am not a short-story writer ( a handful at most) and I am character heavy, so it killed me to have random characters that might do things I didn't expect! I have tons of respect and admiration for the rest who did so well. On the other hand, I am thrilled that Ed and I could collaborate (a nice word for his work to save my butt). And by far, it was harder to write with others; I don't play well in a group. I think I do better when I am sent to the corner alone so I don't bother others. :)

8. Tell us a little about Feral Hearts and what we can expect from your collaboration. What was your favorite part of working on it? Were there any major elements you really liked about it?

Going into FH, I was the weak link because I don't write short stories, don't delve into vampires, and  had never collaborated. Even with that, my fellow authors are so strong that they covered my weaknesses and ran with the character I created. Designing “Jenna” -the OCD saturated nut of the bunch- was more than fun. I had a ball with her, adding little hints and secrets here and there, and giving her a life of her own. I feel like she stands as a strong character and frankly, that's all I do -develop characters and let them run amok. I like how others embraced my little monster, but that shows professionalism in their work. Again, I claim weakness, but the rest and editor Ed Cardillo are what makes FH a strong book. The voices are distinct and the action is solid. I think readers will get a favorite book out of this because of the diversity. They will at least get a shock!

9. Lycanthroship is currently in progress and utilizes some of the same authors as Feral Hearts, could you tell us a little about the premise? What makes the book unique from it’s siblings FH and Fish Tales?

It's (Lycanthroship) a looser type book...as far as the set up....I threw  out a set up and said , “RUN!”. That works for me. FH was more controlled.  One type isn't the better of the two...we get very different results with these and they can't be compared. I think FH with vampires, has some expected rules and twists, but with werewolves like in Lycanthroship, we get turmoil and confusions. Werewolves are just such messy beasts! What is interesting is that the authors don't replicate characters; they go in very different ways than in FH. Again, it shows that the authors are solid writers and not only think outside the box, but see no box at all! Fish Tales is a collection of frightening stories that are related ONLY by water. Lycanthroship and FH are stories set within a defined universe, a time and place in common and the characters interact.

10. As the CEO of JEA you have to make a lot of tough decisions about which authors to pick up. What are the biggest things you look for in an ideal author?

Sometimes, I can “smell” when a book is right. Sometimes, I don't know, but have a feeling. I know for a fact we have passed on several books that were fantastic and if I were to go back in time, I'd grab them. At the time, maybe a word threw me or we had something similar, or I was distracted by something else. I make mistakes. I never know how we decide something isn't right, except that we get a lot of subs and can only take a few. I have taken a few as favors, I admit that. I have taken some before because the pitch and the credentials were amazing. I'm impressed when a sub meets the exact requirements we ask for! 

I took Keith Milstead as an unfinished sub, (that's unheard of) but his voice shocked me. I did ask for a few changes, but the story was rock solid. It's worth waiting for. Andy Bove was an author I asked to sub to us because his pose was virtually perfect. Sometimes I speak to an author and feel a connection and see their wit (Tabitha Baumander).

 There is no ideal author. We have missed a few, but the most ideal ones I know are those with us. They are amazing. Those who want to be with us and who are....those are ideal because they believe. Mark Woods may be the most ideal. He was shy and quiet about his writing, took the swift kick in the rear I gave him, and came out selling like a monster! Anyone can say he is a great writer, but I take notice when I see that someone is and yet that person is humble. Still water runs deep...always has. I see authors boast about sales and waving hands and jumping around, and they generally don't impress me. I think the strongest writers are the ones who let their work say it all.



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Author Interview with Edward P Cardillo Author of the I Am Automaton Books and Odd

7/7/2014

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Bio: Edward P. Cardillo is an author of horror, science fiction, and dark fantasy. His novel I AM AUTOMATON won a Readers' Favorite Award and is the beginning of a series being published by Severed Press. By day Cardillo is a clinical psychologist treating anxiety and fear; by night he concocts tales to terrify his readers...

He enjoys both jobs immensely.


Links: 


http://www.edwardcardillo.com/my-books.html

http://www.amazon.com/Edward-P.-Cardillo/e/B00BOB0F7M/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1


https://www.facebook.com/edward.cardillo

http://www.jellingtonashton.com/edward-p-cardillo.html






1. What was your inspiration for writing Odd Tales of an Old Man? Do you think it relates in any way to your other work such as the Automaton series?  

I’ve been consulting in nursing homes for over a decade, working with the elderly, who I adore. When you work with the elderly, you hear lots of stories—anything from old wives’ tales to urban legends, and even war stories. I’ve worked with veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The World War II vets have some of the most chilling stories. I’m also a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft, Tales From The Crypt, and The Twilight Zone.

Since I love the format of short tall tales and I was so captivated by these tales from individuals who’ve basically shaped our history and our present, I figured: Why not write a book where an elderly man enthralls his grandchildren with chilling morality tales? But I wanted the narrator to be more than a simple Master of Ceremonies, like Rod Serling or the Cryptkeeper. I wanted him to have his own complex backstory that would add richness to the tall tales. Sprinkle in some dysfunctional family dynamics with a touch of mystery about how “fictional” these tales really were, and I had The Odd Tales of an Old Man, a collection of horrific tall tales with backbone and heart.

These tall tales are not focused on shock or gore. Laden with completely original monsters, they are haunting tales meant to creep the reader out. I’ve been told that these tales tend to linger in the mind well after the book is finished.

2. I am Automaton has garnered you some very good reviews and fans. Did you know it would be so successful in the beginning? 

The Odd Tales of an Old Man was the first novel I’ve ever written. While I was shopping it around to literary agents, I continued to write. When I got the idea for I Am Automaton by watching the War on Terror, the use of drones, and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, I knew I had a powerful saga on my hands and an idea that had never been done before.

As a still unpublished author, it was difficult to get noticed. However, I was encouraged by my mother-in-law, Charlene that this was going to be the book that would get me on the playing field. I was advised by a literary agent to submit to contests; that a win for an unpublished manuscript would garner attention. So, I submitted the unpublished manuscript for I Am Automaton (then called “Automaton”) to the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards contest in 2012, a contest that allows unpublished and indie authors to compete with established authors.

When I saw New York Times Best Seller Daniel Silva in one of the categories I entered (Terrorist Thriller), I was a bit intimidated. But, to my surprise, I was named a finalist in that category, eventually winning the Honorable Mention Award as the only unpublished manuscript in the category. Two months later after garnering some interest from a few presses, I happily landed a contract with Severed Press.

I was delighted when I started getting reviews from readers on amazon as well as from critics and bloggers that were very positive and highlighted the originality of the book. Book 2, Kafka Rising, which was entered as an unpublished manuscript before I joined with Severed Press, also won a Readers’ Favorite International Book Award in 2013, this time in the category of Science Fiction. There was a lot of positive buzz on the internet, and I was beginning to pick up fans of the series.

In April 2014 I Am Automaton won Zombie Book of the Month and was inducted into the ZBOTM Club’s Hall of Fame. Sales increased and I was exposed to a whole new group of really cool readers who loved the book and the series.

Charlene, my mother-in-law, was right. I love watching new readers discover the series, and I’m glad that most are entertained by it. I Am Automaton 3: Shadow of the Automaton is in consideration for the finals in 2014’s Readers’ Favorite Contest as a published work.

3. You've said that the villain of I am Automaton 2: Kafka Rising, Kafka, is your favorite in the series. Did he surprise you or was he a character you could predict over the course of writing about him? Was that a good thing or bad thing? 

He was a character that kind of evolved of his own volition, if that’s possible. Kafka wasn’t always a villain, and you can kind of see why he became one under the circumstances. He’s a complex character that kind of developed with the saga, events in both the series and the news shaping his motivations. He’s a wily, fiercely intelligent character who has a very vicious streak in him, but there’s a devotion to his family (one member in particular) that muddies the moral waters with him. I wanted Kafka to elicit mixed emotions in readers, to be that villain that readers kind of root for. He elicited those feelings in me as I crafted his character, and from the feedback I’ve been getting from readers, I think I succeeded.

4.What makes the Automaton books stand out from all of the other zomb-poc fiction out there? Did you set out with a zombie apocalypse idea or did the plot just seem to gravitate in that direction as you wrote? 

This series was very planned out before I wrote. Because there’s a great deal of mystery, plot twists, and red herrings, I had to plot it out first. This, of course, doesn’t mean that I didn’t modify as I went. I think every writer has to.

This series is different from a great deal of the zombie-poc books out there because: 1.)Society is still intact. 2.)The zombies are used as tools in the War on Terror, infantry drones of sorts. (Of course, things don’t go entirely as planned). 3.)These books are not just about zombies. There is a great deal of character development and social commentary/political satire that uses the zombies to comment on the politics, economics, and foreign policy of our times. 4.)It’s a blending of genres: zombie-poc, horror, sci-fi, intrigue, terrorist thriller, military.

5. You have a reputation for tight action, well-built suspense, and intensely well-drawn characters, would you attribute this more to your own development as a writer or the feedback you've had from readers?

This I attribute to my development as a writer. As a reader, there’s nothing I dislike more than reading overwritten, flowery, over-descriptive prose that has a lumbering pace. So, as a writer I vowed to make my prose lean and to-the-point, using more dialogue to move the plot. When I was starting out, I used to read books and essays on various writing techniques. I came across an essay that described “cinematic pacing,” which was basically pacing that to the reader would feel like “real time.” I wanted to attempt that, and I’ve been using it ever since. In fact, I frequently get feedback saying that my books would make good movies. On top of that, when describing an action sequence, I would shorten the paragraphs and simplify sentence structure to add to the effect. I love building suspense, holding the reader hostage on an unpredictable rollercoaster ride.

 Regarding character development, it certainly helps that I’m a clinical psychologist. I try to create real, living, breathing characters that are realistically complex and multi-faceted. Most individuals on this planet are not purely good or evil. It depends on the circumstances, and most people are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. Sprinkle in some realistic quirks, mannerisms, and idiosyncrasies and you have full characters.

As a psychologist, I also know how people tend to present. Nothing bugs me more than characters in a book who present inconsistently or inappropriately to a given situation. I do my best to keep it real.

6. You also have some short fiction in collections like Midnight Remains. Do you prefer full-length novels or shorts?

I actually enjoy both. I love the efficiency of short stories in quickly establishing character and plot while bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion. However, I love the free range of a novel. This is where you really can construct a true character-driven narrative, because you have the time and space to really walk around in their shoes and get a feel for who they are. 

7. You're working on two collaborative books for JEA, Feral Hearts and Lycanthroship, is it tough switching between your editor and author's caps to work on such books? Do you try and keep a tight grip on your base plot idea or enjoy the ride of letting it run and seeing where it goes with other authors?

Both. In Feral Hearts, on which I am the editor as well as contributing author, I was able to come up with the basic skeleton for the story. I left the characters and the “rules” for the vampires up to each individual author and their style. Being editor is both rewarding and stressful. The reward is that you get tremendous control over the direction and feel of the novel. I’m VERY OCD when it comes to quality control. I use beta testers to flag major flaws and inconsistencies. I’m super particular about lean, well-paced prose as well as proper grammar (I blame that on Catholic school).

However, as editor, there’s lots of pressure to get the book as perfect and shiny as possible. There’re little inconsistencies (names, places, wardrobe, positions of things, spellings) and typos that need to be caught through close examination and fixed. No one wants to get nailed on a review because there were too many errors. I also want each author’s contribution to be the best it can be while respecting his/her style and vision; however, I’m not afraid to give honest, constructive feedback either.

8. Feral Hearts is due out very soon. Can you tell us a little about it, the process of completing it with the other authors at JEA and proofing it for release?

The road to getting Feral Hearts complete was a long and sometimes convoluted one. I came up with the idea last October to do a collaborative vampire novel with different, alternative endings. We began with one lineup of authors that didn’t quite pan out, and the project was shelved for a bit. Then I recruited the current lineup, and this has been the magic recipe. I tend to take a psychological approach (surprise, surprise) that focuses on the creepy. Amanda, you took a dark fantasy approach, likening the vampires to succubi. Michael Fisher, besides designing the brilliant cover, took a no-nonsense action-packed approach. Jim Goforth drafted an epic-scale ending. Mark Woods used humor and his inimitably easy-going, easy-to-read flow to add to the fun. Catt Dahman actually combined forces with me (a collaboration within a collaboration) to contribute a speculative ending that is quite unsettling.

As far as the process…basically, I came up with the framework of a singles tour in a fictional town in Italy where the tourists encounter a strip club run by Russian vampire prostitutes. I asked each author to introduce a character with a complex background regarding romantic relationships. Then I tied all of the characters together in the middle, when they meet on the tour and encounter the vampires. The behavior of a couple of characters triggers an undead attack on the tour, and all hell breaks loose as the cruel, vicious vampires manipulate and exploit the characters’ issues with relationships. Then each author, including each character already established, drafts his/her own ending as he/she sees fit.

This is not your tween’s vampire tale. It’s scary, gory, erotic, and haunting—the way vampires should be. There are no tragic villains here. You feel no sympathy for these vampires. They’re pure evil. The head vampire was inspired by a recurrent nightmare I was plagued with for a couple of months. My wife said I was running in my sleep and crying out for help, but when I woke up, I was unable to remember the nightmare. I willed myself repeatedly to remember the dream, and one night…

…I remembered.

It’s currently in the final stages of being proofed. There’ll be a July release, but my OCD is unwilling to let me rush it. When rushing, editing turns into skimming, and that’s when errors slip through. This is a particularly long work at 108,000 words or so, so I want to put my best effort into shining it up.

9. Have you had a good experience collaborating with other authors and utilizing beta readers?

I’ve had a blast collaborating with you, Jim, Michael (a.k.a. “Fish”), Mark, and Catt. I loved the brainstorming sessions and bouncing around of ideas in a safe, fun, supportive environment, which is something that happens all the time at J. Ellington Ashton Press.

I always use beta testers. ALWAYS. It’s a crucial part of the quality control process. I need that outsider perspective, and I’ve been blessed with beta testers who are brutally honest and have no regard for my feelings whatsoever. You want to address issues BEFORE they come up in reviews, costing you good publicity.

10. What sort of projects do you have in progress or soon to be completed? 

I’m currently finishing up Feral Hearts, I’m about 2/3 of the way through a zombie novel for Severed Press, and we’re knee-deep in the middle of Lycanthroship.


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Author Interview with Essel Pratt Author of Final Reverie

7/2/2014

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Bio: 
Essel Pratt has spent his life exploring his imagination and dreams. As a Husband and a Father, he doesn't always have as much time to write as he would like. However, his mind is always plotting out his next story and manipulating the plot. Someday he hopes to quit the 9-5 grind and focus on writing full time.

Currently, Essel is building his catalog by contributing to various anthologies as he works on his first novel. He also contributes to www.nerdzy.com and www.infendo.com on an (almost) daily basis. He can also be heard as a co-host on Infendo Radio.

Essel focuses his writings on mostly Horror/Sci-Fi, however is known to add a bit of other genres into his writings as well.



Links

amazon.com/author/esselpratt

Esselpratt.blogspot.com

Facebook.com/esselprattwriting

@EsselPratt

http://www.pinterest.com/EsselPratt/



1. Final Reverie is a great YA fantasy about two boys happening onto a very big adventure. What inspired you to write it? 


Originally, Final Reverie (published by J. Ellington Ashton Press) started out as a short story titled “Brothers”.  It was initially created for an anthology called Hero’s Best Friend: An Anthology of Animal Companions. The characters in the story really stuck with me and I used them to outline a full novel that told more of story.  I submitted the outline as my second to last assignment with the Institute of Children’s Literature and then wrote the first three chapters for the final assignment.  The characters were inspired by my animals and other sources.  My two huskies created tons of inspiration for Chij. Franklyn was a combination of people that I know in form, name, and personality.

2. Were there any major inspirations for it? 


Other than the anthology call for the original short story, a large inspiration came from my younger days playing video games like Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Warrior, etc.  Although I am predominantly a horror writer, Fantasy and Adventure are passions of mine as well.  I think that Final Reverie is sort of a call back to the earlier games. Simplistic in its adventure, but more complicated when you read deeply into it.

3. Could you tell us a bit about the world in which Chij and Franklyn live? 


Chij and Franklyn are children of a world that has been reclaimed by magic that Mother Earth has released upon the Earth.  In the past, a world similar to the one we live in flourished. There was no magic other than illusion and technology reigned supreme.  However, through the mistake of one man, warheads were released and the end of the world was upon us. Mother Nature released her magic to save herself and the innocent lives that lived upon her flesh.  That magic created the world that Chij and Franklyn live in.  There are still relics of the computer ruled past, but they are mostly unknown to the boys.  With the good magic that has set upon the earth, the evil equivalent has also emerged, opting to collect in the formation of our main antagonist, Nafets.

4. What do you think happens for Chij after he and Franklyn finish their trip?


Chij was distraught and alone for the first time.  His communication was not what it was prior, yet his mind was just as sharp.  I think that he went out into the world to do some soul searching while still attempting to be the heroic traveler that he once was.  I think that he found success in his own rite.  Maybe his journey will be told in a novella or novelette.

5. How about their other companions they met along the way? Are their lives changed for having been a part of Final Reverie?


I think that they have.  Beals finds a new friendship, and becomes a little sister to the boys in the short time she is with them.  Doman, De’ahn, Konalecia, and Timothy are able to see their past lead to victory (We might see more of them in the second book, which takes place prior to Final Reverie).  Atrin finds out that he is not as grandiose as he once thought, although he has the potential to be quite powerful.

6. Who is your favorite character? What made them so interesting to write?


I think that my favorite character is Chij.  There is a lot of complexity to him.  He is still young and likes to have fun, yet he feels the need to be the more serious of the two.  Him and Franklyn have been through the same life experiences, yet Chij doesn’t seem to hide behind a façade of youth, but accepts that he is part of a grander plan.

7. What do you hope readers will take away from reading Final Reverie? How did you feel about writing it? Were any scenes very important to you as you worked on it? 


I hope that the underlying theme of conservation of the earth and lesser reliance on technology will be realized.  Writing Final Reverie, I did not start out by creating a “save the earth” type book.  It just sort of happened in the final product.  However, there is a greater theme of friendship and teamwork.  Although Chij and Franklyn are the main characters, they could not have accomplished their feats without the help and inspiration of others.  

Writing Final Reverie was a fantastic experience.  It went through many revisions, additions, and deletions.  It quickly became a labor of love for me, especially the final scene.  There is so much emotion in the scene that I might have shed a tear when writing it.  Of the entire book, it was my favorite.

8. Will there be any other books about this world? If so what do you think they will be about? 


I am hoping to start the second book soon, which will tell the journeys of Doman, De’ahn, Timothy, and Konalecia.  Rabin will also play a much larger role in the book.  Once it is complete, I hope to write a third that focuses on Rabin and Nafets, starting prior to the return of magic.  I chose to write the story in reverse in order to introduce characters a little at a time.  Although we know how Final Reverie ends, the story leading up to it is just as emotional and full of adventure, and I think it deserves to be told.

9. You also write horror, do you often write fantasy as well? 


“Brothers”, the beginnings of Final Reverie, was my first real fantasy piece.  I have some ideas for other fantasy stories, and am deciding to write short stories or plot full novels.

10. Do you have other books or stories in print? 


Currently, besides Final Reverie, I have stories published in twenty other books.  Recently, I won third place in Blood Reign Lit’s anthology story of the year, Silent Scream.  I also won editor’s choice in JWK Fiction’s We Are Dust and Shadow.  Other stories are included in Horror and Mystery LLC’s Mardis Gras Murders and NightScape Press’s Blood Type: An Anthology of Vampire SF on the Cutting Edge. I also edited a collection of poems and short stories written by teenagers and young adults that have experienced emotional stigmas throughout their lives.  The book, Misunderstood, serves as an outlet to let others in similar situations that they are not alone.


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Author Interview with William Bove  Author of Once Upon a Grave

6/30/2014

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1. Once Upon a Grave is set during the Depression era, was it a challenge to get the setting and atmosphere right for the story? Tell us a little about the experience.

 For the most part it was not that hard at all for me to provide the setting for the area. There were a few specific things that I had to do a little research on and recall from memory. One of the things being the way the characters would talk-the words they would use and the manner in which they would string sentences together. It had to be "common" enough for the kind of people the vampires were trying to reflect that they were and I had to catch myself at times to be sure I was not using modern terms or phraseology. Another thing was how to sustain the freshness of the blood by a few days and then I remembered the "ice houses". They were shacks or areas of cellars where meat or other goods would be set atop heaps or many blocks of ice. Just to keep things chilled a while longer.

 2. Tell us a little about the vampires in your book. What makes them monsters and what makes their story important?

 There is no better judgement with the vampires. No better nature to appeal to. All is animal and primal, feeding on the very element that is most primal to us. That very thing touches something very old and uncharted in all of us. The deepest parts that know only hunger and hunt. Even the very way the vampires move is entirely unlike the way we as human beings move. In all these things there is a powerful outcry of danger that is wrapped in the curious temptation of power, shadow, and seduction. 

Their story is important because they are monsters and monstrous. They are a return to why the night is something to be afraid but everything in you wants to go out into it anyway. Because curiosity and passion for the unknown rule over reason and one's own better judgement. There is no holding back either. Everything they do and are is raw and naked for all to taste, enjoy, or be afraid of.

3. Your writing rides the line between romance, horror and erotica. What led you to this blend and how do you make it work? 

 Ha ha ha ha. Now that would be telling which I am not ready to do with you. I will say, however, that the Gothic Romantic period in history and especially in literature is my absolute favorite and I truly love everything about it as I love living and being alive. 

4. What’s the most important thing you want readers to take away from Once Upon a Grave? 

A love for horror and vampires and to have a great time and be entertained. Also to be affected. Whether it is being moved or changed by having encountered me. That and the urge and craving to read more of me in the future. =)

5.How do vampires teach us about death and life?
 Death is a transitional stage and that we can carry on beyond the finality of what we think death to be. That death will never tell us no. Life is to be savored, craved, and enjoyed with a juicy and messy passion and abandon.

6. Do you have any other works in progress? If so, tell us a little about them. 

 Yes I do. I am working on the next two books in the "Once Upon A Grave" trilogy as well as many anthology submissions. Also further submissions into the online horror magazine I write for, called "Purgatory Magazine" under Thomas Smith, who is fantastic. There is a submission I am going to be finishing up as well for a werewolf anthology.

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Links: 


JEA: http://www.jellingtonashton.com/william-bove.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/William-Bove/e/B00J1PCRRO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7432217.William_Bove

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Page-of-William-Bove/149223795196447

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Interview with Chenoa and Keith Egawa Illustrators and Author of Tani's Search for the Heart

5/6/2014

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Bio: 
Keith and Chenoa Egawa are a brother and sister writing and illustrating team of Lummi and S'Klallam Indian ancestry. Keith is a published novelist with experience in education reform and social work. His extensive work with families has provided him with both inspiration and insight into his subject matter. In addition to literary readings for adult audiences, Keith has conducted writing workshops for Native youth throughout the US. Chenoa has worked as a professional illustrator, international indigenous human rights advocate, actor, and is a traditional ceremonial leader, storyteller and singer. She was a fellowship recipient from the Institute of Current World Affairs, and traveled throughout Central and South America facilitating communication between indigenous peoples to protect and preserve traditions, languages, and homelands. Chenoa has also worked in the public school system to create programs that teach Native American culture and history, empowering Native youth, and inspiring a broader appreciation for the wealth of traditional knowledge from the First Peoples, to benefit all people of today’s world.


Links: 


website: http://tanissearchfortheheart.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tanis-Search-for-the-Heart/165646770257012

The making  of Tani’s Search for the Heart: http://vimeo.com/67577618



1) Where did the idea for Tani's Search for the Heart come from?

Keith:


I was working for a non-profit social services program for urban Native Americans in the 90’s. At the time I was working on my novel Madchild Running. The lead children’s counselor asked if I’d write a short play for the kids in the children’s talking circle to read/perform. The kids were receiving counseling for sexual/physical abuse and neglect. So the original purpose of the story was to instill such messages as: you can heal and get beyond bad things; the importance of disclosing the abuse to an adult you can trust; there are good people in the world that will protect you; finding strengths in friendships, etc. The characteristics of the animals embodied these sentiments. At that time, Chenoa and I decided that we’d like to turn it into a children’s book and adjust the messages to make them more far-reaching and not specific to abuse. I began re-writing and Chenoa began illustrating, but finishing the book fell by the wayside. Then, last year, I finally decided it deserved to be completed and we went to work making the book. The general idea was to show the relevance of traditional values in contemporary life. Such as: honoring one’s gifts; the importance of family and ancestors (the teachings of previous generations); respect for oneself, others and the world around us, e.g. the environment; and doing the right thing for oneself and one’s community, regardless of the challenges.


Chenoa:

I can remember when I was a little girl.  Our family would often go visit our great grandmother who lived on the Lummi reservation.  She was born at Jamestown S’Klallam in 1886.  During our visits, she would share many wonderful stories with us about her life.  There was a lot of magic in these stories that reflected the connection people had to the spirit of the land, elements, plants and animals.  When you think about how life has changed in this region, and in most parts of the world over the last 100 plus years, you can imagine how there was definitely another way of seeing, understanding and interacting with the world around you.  Much of life was directly connected to nature, especially in indigenous cultures.  For Coast Salish people of the Northwest, life was intimately tied to the land and waterways, and still is.  Salmon, and other fish, shellfish, deer, roots, plants, etc. made up the primary diet.  People knew how to read the signs that are always present in nature and being reflected back to us continuously, if and when we are aware.  People understood those signs and lived by them as part of their knowledge base and way of life. 

The fast paced world we live in today has a whole different array of stresses and strains that come with living in a modern technological reality.  In many ways, it inhibits our connection to the natural world that supports our life in each moment.  Some children I have worked with have never left the city before.  They have never had the chance to walk in the woods or on the beach. 

For me, as a child I always wished that I could have lived in an earlier time.  Not from a place of ignorance, thinking that everything was perfect back then.  I know there were many hardships in the past and different challenges to be faced. However, the magic of our great grandmother’s stories stayed with me all these years and allowed me to search my own heart and live in a way that has shown me that all of this magic and deep connection is still very much alive and present for us if we want it.  In Tani’s Search for the Heart, we wanted to include important teachings such as our relationship to animals; the support we receive from nature; the way nature listens to us; the guidance that is always there for us from our ancestors; the importance of a loving family and healthy relationships.  All these aspects that formed a part of our lives are included in our story.


2) How did you select the animals that Tani meets over the course of the book?

Keith: 


Originally all the characters were animals commonly seen in traditional Native American stories. But as I worked on the story I decided to incorporate creatures that are not typically used – or never used.  I’ve studied animals since I was a little kid, so I chose a few that are favorites of mine; specifically the pacific giant salamander, the fisher, pacific spiny lumpsuckers and the stubby squid. These are all regional animals that I’m sure most people aren’t familiar with. So I thought it’d be nice for kids to learn about animals they might otherwise never hear of. Although there are physically powerful and majestic animals in the story, such as eagle and bear, I wanted to show the value of small creatures that people might otherwise wrongly view as insignificant or incapable of playing an important role, such as the stubby squid, spiny lumpsuckers and pacific giant salamander.   


Chenoa:

Keith selected the animals.


3) Can you tell us a little bit more about the Stick Indian and his legend?

Keith:


 I actually haven’t heard traditional legends and stories with the stick Indian in them. There probably are actual stories that include the stick Indian, but my knowledge of him is from accounts of sightings, as opposed to fictional legends. Kind of like Bigfoot in this regard. For example, Chenoa and I did a presentation for grade school kids at the Muckleshoot reservation, and we asked the kids if they’ve ever heard of the Stick Indian. About 75% of the class raised their hands, and then proceeded to talk about seeing a stick Indian, hearing one outside their windows at night, or telling stories their parents told them about encountering one.  From what I gather, the stick Indian isn’t described as good or bad. He is just another part of the natural, or spiritual, world. My sense is that he’s used to keep kids from disobeying their parents, particularly in regard to going out alone at night – similar to the legend of the Wild Man of the Woods or Basket Woman (who collects and eats children). In Tani’s story the Stick Indian plays an active, or more involved, positive role because, like the animals in the story, he recognizes the special gift within Tani. He knows the role she will play in the preservation of the wilds (his world). So he makes his presence known in a non-typical way.


Chenoa:

The Stick Indian is a well-known part of the story of Coast Salish people.  There is an awareness of his existence and a respect for him as well.  The Stick Indian is part of the natural world.  A spirit, a being of the forest.  I love the way he is integrated into our story. Despite our differences, or OUR unique ways of living, we all need to work together to preserve and protect the sacredness, health and well-being of all life.  As humans we have a voice, but even those who communicate in different ways can conspire to work together on behalf of what is right and true.  Every culture on the earth has their stories, languages and teachings.  I think they are all important.  They remind us of how much knowledge, wisdom and experience every culture has, and how those parts are important to the whole. 


4)The art style is wonderful! How did you choose the tone and style you used for your book?

Keith: 


Chenoa may have more to say about this. For me the choice of illustrations is kind of like the process of writing, in that I don’t put a lot of forethought or outlining into it. Not a lot of planning. The illustrations I did were more the result of feelings. Meaning, as I wrote the story I’d naturally envision a particular image within the text and start drawing. Chenoa and I neglected to sign our respective illustrations in the book, but we each did about half of them.


Chenoa:

I, like Keith, ‘see’ the images as the story is told.  All good stories give the reader the ability to see, feel and be a part of the story.  It was really fun to work on all the illustrations and one by one share them together as the story opened up.  Keith and I get along so well that it was easy to simply trust each other, talk about ideas and then just sit down and let the images come in.  Very fun!

There are actually two phases of drawings.  The pencil drawings are from the earlier story Keith began years ago.  I drew the pencil drawings for that one early on.  Some of the animal characters were the same in the original story, and the little girl of course was the main character, being guided and advised by the animals, as those were the friends in her life she could completely trust. 

As we picked up the story again to create Tani’s Search for the Heart,” we both started a new round of colored pencil and pastel drawings.  As Keith said, we each contributed half of the illustrations.  Bringing in the color was great.  For myself, I know that my style with the color was much more free, and it represents the growth and change I have gone through in my own life to let go of being a perfectionist and trust myself as opening to what wants to be created through me.


5) Are there any authors or books that inspire you today that you read as children?

Keith: 


That question’s always a tough one for me. There are many stories/books that I’ve liked and been affected by, but I have a hard time deciding when/if a particular book actually served as an inspiration.  Sorry – I think my answer to that one is always kind of disappointing. My mom told me that I loved Where the Wild Things Are as a little kid. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings (decades before the movies) are my first memory of being really affected by books.


Chenoa:

I remember Where the Wild Things Are too.  One of my memories about it, funny as it is, was the introduction to the word, ‘companion.’  I think they spoke of the ‘traveling companions!’  I had never heard that word before!  I liked all the books that had magical characters, and books about children with special gifts that could hear and see the unseen.  One story I loved was Children of Morrow.  That was one of my favorites when I was probably in the 3rd or 4th grade.  I loved Charlotte's Web and actually got to help my 4th grade teacher read it to the class.  I liked A Bargain for Francis and read that one to Keith when he was a little guy.  My brother, sister and I loved many of the Hans Christian Anderson Fairytales too.  I don’t remember having any Native children’s books as a child.  I don’t think many were available at that time.  It is definitely a good thing to have many stories from different cultures available for all children today. 


6) What other projects do you think you will work on together and individually? Tell us a little about where you'd like to go from here.

Keith:


We’ve been talking through a couple ideas. We realize that Tani’s Search is a long story with a lot of text. But I felt strongly about it being as long and full as it is, in order to tell the story I set out to tell. We believe Tani’s Search has messages that are now more important than ever for young people to be aware of and think about. So I envisioned this book being read to kids by adults. So that the themes could then be discussed, e.g. environmental degradation and the fact that human beings have no choice but to change the direction we’re headed, in terms of pollution, loss of natural resources, exponential extinction of species, etc.  However, we plan on doing a much shorter picture book that’s accessible to younger children. A more typical type children’s book with a couple sentences accompanying the illustrations on each page. We also have an idea for a book based on a dream our older sister (her name is Tani) had about her son (our nephew). The book will be about a little boy who’s brought into the world by whales.  

On a related topic, I’m on the home stretch of another novel for adults called Last Screams of Tabitha. The book reflects the state of modern society (or aspects of it), and people who are formed by childhoods of injustice and forced to live in survival mode from an early age on. As my fiction for adults is very dark and focuses on things adults have done wrong to each other and the planet, Tani’s Search, and future children’s books, is an opportunity to explore the more hopeful side – the opportunities children have to correct the mistakes of adults. 



Chenoa:

Yes, we have some ideas for other children’s books as Keith mentioned.  I love focusing on messages of cultural diversity and teachings, hope, positive mindset, working together, acceptance, tolerance, appreciation, gratitude, overcoming obstacles, recognizing the beauty of life, letting each child know they are special, and that their unique gifts are important to express and feel good about.  I’m excited about the coming book on the child of the whales!!  The book based on my sister’s dream will tie in the significance of names, oral tradition, extended family and of course lots of magic!  It is a story that lives in our hearts through our family and is just waiting to be shared!

7) You're both very involved in helping kids to grow and have opportunities. What would you like to tell children both as aspiring storytellers and explorers of the world around us?

Keith: 


I’d tell them some depressing and frightening things, along with a genuine – and maybe a little desperate -- attempt to be encouraging. We can’t avoid the fact that kids of today will face challenges that none of the adult generations have faced, specifically in regard to the manifestations of human greed, over-consumption, and the irreversible effects our behavior has had on the world. When I was a kid people talked about large-scale catastrophes we might face in the future, if we didn’t change.  Now they are a very obvious reality. When I was a kid they talked about how some day we may only see polar bears in zoos or in books (among many other animals). Now that will likely be true within the next 20 years. When I was a kid, people talked about the hazards of clear-cutting, the burning of fossil fuels and what it would do to the atmosphere, etc. etc. But now we’ve actually reached the point at which people will not have a choice as to whether or not we make the necessary sacrifices. The world we knew will simply not be there anymore. 


We’ve literally devastated some of the most numerous species of fish in the ocean. The scientific community has concluded that if we don’t phase out the burning of coal within the next couple of decades, the atmospheric damage will be catastrophic. But our use of coal has actually increased since the global community of scientists calculated and announced this terrifying conclusion. I realize that this may not be exactly how I’d communicate these subjects to little kids, but the reality is they will have to face these truths, regardless of how upsetting it may be. Because they will be living it. The message, or advice, I’d offer is that they need to think for themselves. Learn what they can from adults, but apply what they know to be right and wrong to everything they learn and do. In other words, be true to ones’ self and be aware of the impact your life and behavior has on the world and others. Do not be directed by irrelevant values such as accumulating material wealth as the sole reason for existence. 


 Specific to storytelling, I would encourage children to experience people and the world, and to represent the truth of what they see within their writing/storytelling. I would tell them to share their unique views and their truth in a manner that will teach others, creating awareness of important realities that others may otherwise not be aware of.  One of the ever present mantras adults have repeated over the generations is that children are the future. But collectively adults have not lived in a way that truly ensures a positive future for children. Young people will need to do this for themselves.  Upcoming generations must find the courage to choose a more difficult road when they know it’s the right thing to do. 

Chenoa:

Children come in to the world open, curious and excited to learn and discover.  They want to know about everything and everyone. They know what is right and wrong, because they feel it in their heart.  They are not born with prejudice and judgment.  They are authentic and say what they feel from a place of honesty and fearlessness.  We learn about prejudice, judgment and fear too quickly the first time someone mistreats us or when we are in danger.  Then begins the process of blocking off the heart to protect it from others, from the hardships in life. 

I like to encourage children and all people to remember their true nature, that we are all storytellers and that we all have stories to tell and that all stories are important.  I also like to encourage children to embrace their uniqueness, to stay open to the miracles of life in each and every moment, to explore, to stay curious, to follow their hearts and what makes them happy. I want them to feel good about themselves, to learn about happiness, to be kind and respectful.  I like to talk with them about things they might not be aware of and how much there is to discover in their lives.  And I always let them know to follow their heart, to trust themselves and their feelings.  I want them to appreciate the differences we each have from person to person and from culture to culture so that they can begin to understand that diversity is wealth and beauty. 

 

8) How has it been to work with your sibling on this book? Has it been a learning experience?

Keith: 


Our family is very close. Chenoa and I had a great time working on this together. We conduct presentations to students together, and that has been particularly fun. Chenoa has unique talents and viewpoints that make the experience much more enriching for the kids. It has been a learning experience, in regard to struggling to get the word out about our book. But actually creating the book together was a very natural fit. We spent many hours sitting at a table together drawing and discussing our ideas. We share a similar vision, and having life-experience in common made the process fun and very easy. 


Chenoa:

Keith and I work together so easily.  As my brother said, our family is so close, supportive, loyal, encouraging and loving to one another.  It is one of the greatest things to create something you are proud of to share with others in a positive way, and to be doing that with someone you love so much.  We are looking forward to the next projects!

We have been learning a lot about the challenges of self-publishing and marketing.  It is definitely a lot of work.  I am hoping that the right people come along to recognize the value of the story we have created and want to help support the distribution to all the children who’s lives will be inspired by Tani’s Search for the Heart.


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Interview with Sharon L. Higa

4/28/2014

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Bio: At six years old, Sharon L. Higa became obsessed with the supernatural, compliments of an older cousin who fascinated her with stories of hauntings and horror.  Travelling the world with her family, the fascination grew, resulting in creating and telling her own stories. She wrote intermittently for a number of years, but it was after she and her husband moved to East Tennessee that her family and friends convinced her to write and publish her works. She is a newly published author with one novella, ‘The Dam’ and two novels, ‘Number 6’ and ‘Rose & Steel’., as well as four short stories in the Anthology ‘Midnight Remains’,  all published by JEA Press. She also has one short story in an anthology, ‘Mental Ward: Echoes of the Past’ with Sirens Call Publications – with many more stories bubbling on the mental burners.  She now writes full time. She resides with ten cats, one dog and Mark, her patient and loving husband of twenty two years.



Links: 

Website: http://www.leapingunicornliterary.com/
JEA: http://www.jellingtonashton.com/sharon-higa.html
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7303130.Sharon_L_Higa
Twitter: https://twitter.com/elf126


1) Your Debut novel #6 is a murder mystery and revenge tale revolving around a woman who is murdered. Can you tell us a bit about the book and why you wrote it?


I wrote #6 after hearing about an actual murder which occured over thirty years ago when I was living in California. A nurse was kidnapped by two men who then drove her out to the Los Angeles National Forest, took turns raping her then slit her throat. The girl' body wasn't found for one year, but it actually was another year later before the men were caught committing a totally different crime. The younger of the two men confessed to her killing, implicating his partner as well. He said the reason he was confessing was because 1he kept seeing her everywhere he looked and he couldn't handle it anymore. The lawyers, police and media put it down to a guilty conscience, but there was always the thought in the back of my mind that she could have been truly haunting him. And that's how the idea for #6 was born.



 2) It’s been called a brutal tale because of some of the darker elements related to both Ida Moreno’s (the main character) death and the crimes she is involved with trying to solve to catch the killer. Do you agree or is it just what the tale needs to be? 


The tale is brutal because the crime committed against Ida is brutal. This is what the tale needs in order to carry out the dark theme throughout the story. I don't like gore or sadism for 'window dressing' - I believe it needs to apply to the story and carry the plot otherwise it has no place being in there. Then you are simply relying on shock to carry the reader to the end and that does not always work.



 3) Do you often write dark horror fiction or is it one of a few different genres you like to work in?


I like to work with horror, thrillers, mysteries, dark comedy, and fantasy/action. I'm definitely not a girly-girl - give me a good action, adventure or ultimate horror and I'm as happy as a clam! To quote from the horror specialist Stephen King, "Write what you know" is my guide - and I guess I know through life experiences these genres very well!



 4) Rose and Steel is your newest book and features an investigative agency that utilizes supernatural powers to solve their cases. Do they all share the same powers or are there a few different types in the company?


Each one of my characters all share the ability to transform into wolves, but they also have talents of their own as well. Shane, our main character, can read minds as well as send messages telepathically; Travis, our youngest and most timid of the group has the ability to become invisible and is very adept at medical aid which is discovered in book two (yes, I have a second book prepped!) and the others have special gifts as well. The key to the story is that they can combine each one of these gifts and help solve every case they are given.



 5) The main story revolves around a series of crimes that leave children abandoned without any clear cause and human traffickers that are taking children. Was it a difficult subject for you to tackle? 


That was the interesting thing about this story. It basically wrote itself. The 'children' who are abandoned (my 6 gifted characters) is explained using another fact of history - that many times children who were considered by some societies to be mentally deficient/insane or adults too old or sick to benefit the society would be abandoned in desolate areas to basically die. This story gives the fact a little twist which inevitably encompasses the major case they end up working on.



 6) What other projects do you have in progress or due to come out soon? Tell us a little bit about them.



I have my own anthology of 13 short stories coming out soon. The title is "Horrors & Occupational Hazards" and - as you can guess from the title - each little story revolves around a regular job that has a 'twist'. The style, my wonderful editor, Mark Woods says, is very 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'. I am also collaborating on a novella whose title is 'Z-REGEN (Zombie Regeneration Project)' which is not really your typical zombie story. It is about a CDC researcher who is looking for a cure to the 'Zombiefication Plague' which has hit the planet in the year 2031. I'm also working on a dark comedy novel called 'One Night in the Eternity Of......' -about an Asian vampire with narcolepsy. Not to mention the little shorties I'm coming up with on the side. I guess my plate is pretty full at this time! I would truly be lying if I didn't say I'm lovin' every minute of it!
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Interview With Susan Simone Author of Morning Song

4/25/2014

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Bio: Susan is a writer and artist by day, a child and pet wrangler by night, and occasional crazy person on the weekends. She lives in a place where new hybrid cars, beat up farm trucks, and Amish horse and buggies meet in fast food parking lots for coffee.

Susan grew up in central Wisconsin, only to move to rural Ohio in adulthood. She's a country girl through and through with progressive and optimistic ideas of nation and society. A heathen by faith and major sci-fi fan she is an eclectic person and welcomes as much diversity into her life as she can to feed her fertile imagination. She lives by the motto, "Let your freak flag fly!"

Susan is the author of "Silent Heart", "Under A Twisted Moon", "Morning Song", and other titles forthcoming. Susan also has her one and only zombie short in the JEA anthology "All That Remains".   In addition she has published articles on the Yahoo! Contributor Network in a wide variety of subjects such as the validity of deity in the American government and the use of easy to find herbs.

Susan is the Executive Editor with J. Ellington Ashton Press as well as a graphic design student at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division.  She does a large portion of the cover art with JEA and has worked with businesses in the past for logo creation and event announcements.


Links: 


Website: http://susansimone.weebly.com/
Yahoo Contributor Network: http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1652160/susan_simone.html
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941373.Susan_Simone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanSimoneFanPage
Publisher: http://www.jellingtonashton.com/index.html

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1)    Morning Song is a great story about a wise woman and hedge witch facing her fears and owning her strengths to find that life has a great deal in store for her and the strange man she meets near the beginning of the book. What inspired Morning Song? 

It started with a name.  I know that sounds odd.  I wanted to write a BBW heroine and started thinking about how that would work.  There was this idea of calling her Morning.  It was almost surreal.  With that one thought I could see her in my head so clearly.  I was actually the biggest snob picking a model for the cover because I knew what Morna (Morning) looked like to me.  I started with the opening scene and that was the last part of that book I wrote consciously.  The rest just poured out.  It was as if Morna and Arrick existed in another realm or dimension and they were simply telling me their tale. 

Yes, writers really are that insane.  We have to explain all those extra voices somehow.

2)    Was it difficult writing a post-apocalyptic fantasy romance and handling the midwifery and herbal magic Morna uses in the book?

Post apocalyptic was harder because I’m not used to it.  I had to think how the country would be broken up.  What parts were important?  I had this very clear idea of music.  As a singer myself, I’ve picked up all kinds of folk music, madrigals, classics, contemporary.  I played with this idea of what music would stand the test of time and turn into folk songs over the years.  The music I chose was not a prediction, but more of a secondary idea of getting people to listen to the music and understand how it enhanced the scene.

Midwifery and herbals were much easier.  They are subjects I have a fascination with.  I do have some midwife skills, but I am not currently licensed because of the direct entry laws.  The state I live in won’t let me apprentice under a midwife, I have to have an RN to practice which is another eight years of school.  However, I still love it and I’m one of those very annoying people who hand out random unasked for advice when around pregnant women. Lol

I do the same with Herbs. “Oh you’re sick?  Try this, this, this and this, but watch out for that, and only use this at this time of day.” That is only an amateur study for me, though.  I ascribe to the American Indian belief that everything we need to live happy, healthy lives, and dispel illness grows somewhere on the planet.  With doctors and scientists help we need to use it.

3)    Under a Twisted Moon also deals with a heroine discovering herself and growing stronger for it. In this case she learns the part of herself she hid was really her strength. Do you feel that many women find themselves in a position where other people cause them to fear their strengths?

That’s a deep question.  I think any *person* of any gender or orientation who finds themselves in an abusive situation, regardless of the abuser or type of abuse, is there *because* their fears have been berated and their strengths twisted to weaknesses.

Some of Amelie’s experiences with Rick were based on things I lived through.  I kept that under wraps for a long time, and even came up with politically correct answers to the inevitable questions.  In a way, watching Amelie survive and thrive opened the door to a lot of conversations we need to have as a culture.  Yes, we all know abuse is bad.  We all know abuse comes in many forms and can sneak up on you, but until you’ve lived it, it’s very hard to understand how you got there. 

The worst thing I hear is, “Why does she/he stay?”  I want to shake people when I hear it.  Fear.  Fear of the abuser’s reactions.  Fear that all the things they told you to keep you down were really true.  A very real fear of society taking over the abuse and victimizing you when you just want to live in peace.  Fear of being alone because you’ve been beaten down so hard you won’t ever have a normal relationship with anyone ever again, like an abused animal is never normal again. 

“Why does he/she put up with it?”  Because it’s not clear.  Before you all scream at me, listen for a moment.  It sneaks up on you.  The line of the initial abuse is blurred.  You can’t see it clearly from the inside. It doesn’t start with violence.  It starts with an unreasonable argument.  A personality disorder.  A little niggling in the back of your head that makes you wonder if they really were being that manipulative or if they were having a bad day.  Then there are more bad days.  A lost job, or a fight with a friend.  Oh of course they’re having a bad day.  They don’t mean it.  Pushing away your friends and family, slowly one by one.  Life is really hard right now.  He/she needs me.  The line is blurred and by the time you realize it’s been crossed you’re so far over you start to believe all the lies you’ve ever been told.  You worry about staying for the sake of kids, forgetting that by allowing it you’re teaching them that it’s normal or okay.  Eventually you find yourself alone; facing things that you know may end your life.

4)    You write about strong female characters that are grounded in the real world. Do you think this gives your book a leg up on books that feature women in more unrealistic or unhealthy fantasy relationships?

I think that was on accident.  I’m always interested in the psychology of it.  Why do people do what they do?  How do people get into these situations?  But that’s on behavior alone.  I do think it important to reflect women and men who are real, flawed.  I pick characters because their flaws are interesting to me.  I can’t stand the perfect blond bombshell types, or the overdone hardcore, but really sensitive and sweet deep down types.  Everyone is a jumble of all that.  No one is perfect, and society’s ideas of how genders should act or what they look like is nothing but a construct created thousands of years ago by a few that were insecure with their own image so they had to spout their way was the only right way. (That was *not* a religious diatribe, btw.)

5)     You write about some tough subjects in your books, how do you approach these? Catharsis or characterization?

Courage?  For me and many other writers, the characters are like living people with their own separate lives.  I don’t control them.  I’ve had several die or get into relationships completely without my approval.  I write the hard stuff instead of glossing over because I am honoring them and all the living people that have survived the same things.  It’s a disservice to cut it out or gloss over because it’s ugly or makes me cry.  In reality my characters may be fictional, but real people, myself included, live these things.  There are no tasteful cutaways, or suspenseful music.  The world did not stop moving just because your life as you knew it is forever changed.  If we are to grow as a society, *that’s* what needs to be known.  That’s what needs to be said.

6)    Under a Twisted Moon is a very strong empowerment piece about owning your strengths and coming out of a place where things had been very bleak. In a very real way while one of the male leads helps her to start out on her path to self-discovery it is she who must stand up and take up the reigns of her own life. Is this a message you hope will help others to do so for themselves?

Absolutely.  No one can walk your path.  It is entirely unique to you.  Sometimes you need a little love or a loving kick in the rear, but you still have to be the one to stand up and be counted. 

7)    While there are some very involving dramatic pieces there are also lots of humorous and endearing ones too. Was it difficult to write humor into Silent Heart, Under a Twisted Moon and Morning Song or does it come naturally to you and your stories?

I’m one of those dorks that laughs at her own jokes.  I’m even snickering as I write this.  The humor is very organic.  I’ve noticed my dialogue follows my moods.  The jokes, the tough conversations, the arguments reflect what I was feeling at that time.  Sometimes I’m slap happy and everything in the world is hilarious.  I’m also a horrible smart ass, and I think my own natural voice comes out a lot.  The things I really want to say but often just laugh to myself about, or the things I wish I said at the time.

8)    Silent Heart was your first book and you’re currently at work on a new cover for it(See the new cover for Silent Heart and Under a Twisted Moon below). Is it hard to go back and try to think of a new way to represent your books after they’ve been in print?

Sometimes, covers make me want to cry. Lol  When I did the original cover for Silent Heart, I was new to graphic design and still had a lot to learn.  It was not a good cover.  So right now I’m revamping a few covers, Silent Heart among them.

I had this perfect image in my head.  Red and golds.  This layout involving a band of color over top of a pivotal scene in the book in which Paige, a talented artist, takes back some of her power by doing this charcoal drawing on leather of her love.  I even managed to make the perfect model for Stone look like it was a charcoal drawing.  I was so proud of it.  Thought it was great, (I still love the hell out of that image).  I showed it off for feedback, which is very important for any work of art.  Survey said?  No.  It was a cool image, but just didn’t work.  It didn’t peak anyone’s interest to read the book.  Well fudge.

So I slept on it and tried something else the next day. That finally worked.  I grudgingly admit it’s a better cover.  It fits the genre, but stands out from the crowd, which is what you want.  That kind of redo and version after version is really normal for cover art.  Never settle for the first thing an artist shows you.  Push them and get something great.

9)    You’ve been a cover artist and executive editor at JEA for a long while now. You’ve even trained a few interns and earned an award for the cover of A Fish to Die For in the 2013 Predators and Editors competition. Do you feel like you’ve learned a lot since you first started out?

Yes.  Each cover is learning something new.  Finding this tool I hadn’t used in quite that way before.  A new layout or idea.  It’s amazing to take a concept from an author’s mind and turn into a picture for all to see.  I love seeing how excited they get.  I even love the tough ones that make me go through 10 versions before it’s right.  The end result is always amazing.  Every once in a while, something will happen, a new thought from one of my classes, a certain request I’m unfamiliar with, and it’s like someone flipped a switch and my work is never the same after, always moving forward.

10) In recent months you’ve also branched out from providing covers for JEA to becoming a freelance cover artist for other writers. What kind of services do you offer and how can people reach you to ask about their projects?

The best way to contact me is through my website.  I have a contact form on the artwork page.  I offer original design and full rights to the author.  In other words I won’t get angry at you down the road and say you can’t use my art anymore.  I also do something new that I want to make industry standard.  I provide the client with documentation of where the images used on their cover came from.  There is so much image plagiarism out there it’s rather insane.  Covers on some sites are lawsuits waiting to happen.  I’ve personally had to replace covers done by so called “professional” artists because they used a video game screen shot or stole one small part, like a hand, from a major piece of art and blew it up, both of which are illegal. I want to put out such a high standard that it forces authors to demand it from others and other artists to adhere to it.

11) Will you stick to the romance genre or do you think there are some other genres you’d like to explore?

I never intend any specific genre.  I just write where the story takes me, following along in its wake attempting to capture the important parts.  I get an idea in my head and I run with it.  Sometimes that’s romance and sometimes not.  I’ll figure out the classification when I’m done.  I’m the same way with length.  I don’t believe in word lengths based on popular books in the genre.  I just write until the story is told.  Sometimes that’s longer, sometimes shorter.  If I need to flesh something out, I’ll worry about that later.

12) Do you have anything in progress you’d like share?

I have this one I call, Kiss of Luck.  It’s a dystopian society with alien mind control and young adults, still teens really, that want out and stage daring escapes.  I’m kind of careful with my ideas.  I know more than one person that has had ideas stolen.  Kiss of Luck, is a special one for me.  I dreamed it one night, start to finish, the entire plot line.  I’m just filling in details as I go, but it’s going to be really cool.

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Interview with Samuel Reese Author of the Upcoming Immolation

4/20/2014

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Bio: 


 Samuel Reese is 32, married and has 2 dogs and a cat who live with him in Tennessee. He loves reading, writing,  music., horror movies and stories, sci-fi/fantasy, philosophy, world religions, and anything that is dark. 

Reese writes fantasy and horror. His style has been likened to Stephen King with the snarkiness of David Sedaris and Lovecraft utilizing Neil Gaiman's imagination. Immolation is his first book.


Links: 

Author Blog: http://samueladamreese.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Reese-Author-and-Adventurer/140116649427941?ref=hl




1) Immolation is the story of a girl who discovers she can wield pyrokenesis, where did the idea come from?

I honestly can’t remember where the idea for the pyrokinesis came from. It’s likely influenced by all the comic books I read as a kid and young adult combined with a fascination I’ve always held towards fire in general. Fire is a destructive force that also cleanses and purifies when wielded properly. I wanted to tell the story of a girl who was abused and mistreated by those who should have protected her, and the idea of Lydia came from there and sort of grew into this monster if you will. Stephen King says that when he writes, he feels like the driver of a car and that the characters are the navigators telling him where to go. I write like that, and once Lydia started telling her story through me, the pyrokinesis just sort of became part of who she was.

2) Lydia is no Charlie McGee, can you tell us a little bit about her powers and the darkness that causes them to awaken?

As stated above, Lydia is pyrokinetic which means she has the ability to control fire with her mind. She can shape it into creatures of flame, wield it as a weapon, envelop herself within a cocoon of it, and even cause herself to levitate by using her own thermals. Think the Human Torch and you have a decent idea, except that she has to have fire present, not just yell “FLAME ON!” and hope for the best. The powers come from a family curse that was placed on a distant relative during the American Civil War. Every woman on her father’s side of the family has had the ability to control fire, though not every one of them used it. The ability itself only manifests under extreme circumstances, and is a catalyst for revenge for those who feel they have been wronged. Unfortunately, most of them find that revenge ends up with results far different than originally envisioned.

3) The story is a powerful one about a victim facing their abuser and the darkness that inspired the abuse. What did you want to say to readers about those facing these sort of situations and the choice between embodying that darkness and choosing to forgive?


First off, I wanted to tell a decent story. But I won’t sit here and lie by saying I didn’t have some kind of an agenda. The story of Lydia is unfortunately the story of too many people-male and female-who are abused and neglected by those who are supposed to be their shelter and protector. Many of these people don’t feel as if they have a way out and wind up either becoming abusers themselves, taking their own lives, or simply not living their own lives. Lydia has the ability to destroy all those who have ever harmed her, and the power is seductive. But I want my readers to understand that many times the greatest revenge is being a better person than your tormentors and that forgiveness is not always about the ones that have wronged you, but rather about beginning the healing process internally. The only one who can begin to heal yourself is yourself, and oftentimes forgiveness is the first step towards healing. 
I also hoped to show through Frank, Lydia’s father, that those who abuse are often battling their own demons as well. It’s easy to see abusive people as monsters who deserve a bullet to the head and a shallow grave, but human beings tend to be much more complex than that.

4) There's some really beautiful imagery in Immolation, even in some of the darker sequences. Are there any scenes you're fond of from the book? What makes it stand out to you. 

My favorite scenes to write are the ones with Lydia and Michael and the ones where Lydia goes to her happy place with various figures from literature. I really like the simple scenes, the ones that make her seem like a normal girl just trying to make sense of the world. Visually though, I think my favorite scene is a tie between the very first time she uses her powers and the final confrontation with her father.

5) How do you feel about going from indie publishing to being an author at a traditional publishing house J Ellington Ashton Press?

I’m pretty excited honestly. It feels good to know that someone other than my mom, my wife, and my best friend think I have potential. Being a writer is a lonely and oftentimes disheartening thing, because writers write alone and tend to think everything they do sucks cheese through a straw. To know that people who have no real reason to tell me my work is good actually tell me that not only boosts my own self-esteem, but it inspires me to write more. It’s difficult to be self-motivated. Having people tell you, “Hey, we like this and we want to publish it” goes a long way towards making you feel like you might actually have something that resembles talent.

6) Could you tell us a little about other projects you might be working on or some ideas that you were thinking of starting?

I write like I read: Too many things at a time. Currently, I’m working on a young adult story about Dwarves and a human prince with a friend of mine. I’m also working on a haunted house novel (my absolute favorite horror genre), a crazed story about a guy who meets an imp and his mute muse and sets off to stop Loki and Lucifer from doing something pretty awful alongside his dead grandmother, Odin, Thor, and Tyr. Titania and Oberon get thrown in there as well, along with Frigga, Sif, a few of Frigga’s handmaidens, and some other people from various mythologies. I lovingly refer to it as Neil Gaiman with a meth problem. I’m also working on a collection of short stories that take place in Sherman’s March, Georgia, the fictional town that Lydia resides in. There’s also another YA book that I’m co-authoring with a lady about twin girls, a prophecy, and demons. It’s kind of like “Twilight” with demons, but hopefully better written and less romantic. Other than that, not too much, but you never know what I’ll wind up running into.



Picture

Immolation is coming soon from J Ellington Ashton Press. Here's an early look at the cover!
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    Amanda M Lyons

    Ms. Lyons is an author of fantasy, horror, and an avid reader of all genres.

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