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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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Why is obesity being treated as if it's nothing to be ashamed of ? Because I have as much right to live as anyone else.

7/4/2014

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There has been a lot of talk about body image in the last few years and how much it's really hurting us to try and live up to standards set out by fashion, beauty magazines and society as a whole and since that discussion has opened up so have a whole lot of people with differing viewpoints. One of the bigger points to come out of all of that is just what body acceptance is and how far it can go in  defining beauty, life and society as a whole. More and more women are accepting their larger forms and declaring their right to be beautiful in their own right, regardless of size. Well not everyone agrees with that right and they've been just as vocal in their standpoint both as naysayers and as those who feel that accepting a larger body is wrong because it ignores health concerns and gives people the wrong idea about what should be acceptable. 


 Let me tell you why it's something us plus size folks have needed for a very long time.


It has become a social necessity for obese people to stand up and own their right to be considered a valid part of human life so that they can find happiness in that life, even if they can't be an ideal weight. I think very few people actually understand the level of hatred and ignorance heaped on the obese and how damaging it is to be struggling to have a normal everyday life much less meet society's ideals. We are taught that we are hideous, ugly, stupid, lazy, and worthy of all the hate that comes our way until we reach an ideal weight. The trouble is that it takes a long time to achieve that goal and many of us have health conditions that prevent it from happening at all. As a result we spend a lot of time limiting ourselves because we aren't able to be the ideal size. 


We heap self-hatred on ourselves, don't go on dates, don't ask friends out, don't wear a dress and stay in t-shirts and pants instead, we don't wear make-up or don't go out unless we wear it, feel guilty for eating (even if it's a perfectly normal portion and a healthy salad), we tell our lover that we appreciate that they think we're beautiful but really we know we're not, we can't accept compliments because its just "someone being nice". we don't take our kids to parties because we fear other people think we're there for the food, we don't go out for a walk because we know it means being heckled; bullied; and even sexually harassed for it, we are sexually harassed, we are treated like cattle and have our bodies judged out loud as if we are on auction, we have to listen as men heckle each other about how and if they would "fuck that thing", we have to listen to women dictating how invalid we are as women/men, we have to listen to people dictate if we have the right to live our lives as if we were normal, we second guess every single thing we do based on how others will respond, we tear ourselves apart emotionally; mentally; and even physically. We don't have the right to wear shorts in public, to go swimming, to be pregnant and not get judged for it, even people who have no major health issues, despite their size, face serious harassment and even malpractice from doctors trusted to help them maintain their health!


If we don't accept who we are we can't even begin to work on making ourselves fit our own ideals. Why is obesity being treated as if it's nothing to be ashamed of? Because fat people are still people and we really aren't as stupid, negative, unhealthy, lazy and stereotypical as people think we are and it's about time we stood up and said we have every right to claim our lives, even if we aren't what everybody else thinks we should be. I'll bet plenty of 'too skinny' people could tell you the same thing.

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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 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
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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.




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

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Interview with Tabitha Baumander Author of Warriors

4/13/2014

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BIO


Tabitha Baumander is a novelist screenwriter and playwright with five books published and a lot more to come. She is divorced with adult twins and lives in Toronto Canada which she is currently populating with aliens, monsters and fairies. Well, why not.















Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tabitha-Baumander/e/B00F6GJCZ2

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TabithaBaumanderCanadianWriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tovha

Website: http://tabithabaumander.yolasite.com/




1)      Warriors is about a group of very special warriors who must protect our world from inter-dimensional beasties, Where did the idea come from?

To begin with Pope John Paul had just died. I wondered, as a fantasy writer might, what the death of someone who is supposed to be a very good person would do and where I could take that. The inter-dimensional aspect comes from a desire to stay away from theology as much as possible and ground the villains in a kind of explainable context.

The origin of the warriors oddly enough actually does come from the bible. I’ve used it before in another work.

"There were Nephilim on the earth in those

          days; and also after that, when the sons

          of God came into the daughters of men, and

          they bare children to them, the same became

mighty men which were of old. Men of renown."


That’s from the King James bible genesis. Some people like to think its proof of alien incursion on earth. I started playing with the Nephilim simply because Hollywood was beating the end of the world 666 Antichrist plotline into the ground with a big stick.

These characters are sometimes called Watchers and were been used in a Hollywood movie a few years ago. It was called The Adjustment Bureau.                

2)      You clearly know action and humor, Warriors have it in spades. What are your favorite action scenes in the book?

I’m not very good at naming favorites of anything. I suppose the group of battles around the Vatican at the end is good. Then there’s the very big snake, can’t lose with a very big snake.

3)      Darius and Angela are our leaders, were they inspired by anyone? 

Darius is the leader Angela is a new member and not a leader. She does have a lot of input because that is the stuff she brings to the team. Visually I guess I based Darius on my son. Angela is completely fictional created because that is the sort of person I needed to fill that gap in the story.


4)  It's not all about the warriors, there's also a very strong story about a bishop and his assistant facing off with another bishop and his associate. Neither battle is any less important. How did you keep the pace so strong for both aspects of the plot?

     Someone once told me I was an “instinctual” writer. I don’t think they were intending to be complementary either but they were accurate. For me pacing is about feel. I move through the story and I tend to think “mmmm about time we checked in with this other bit now”.

     On a side note I have a papal conclave in this. It is total fiction in that I have stuff happening that would never happen in a conclave. But I’m hardly the first writer to play games with Vatican protocol.


5) Warriors is an interesting blend of b movie action, humor, romance and a healthy dollop of modern fantasy. How would you describe your books to someone who hasn't given them a look?

Two ways depending on how I feel at the time.

     I take fantasy and action and set it on as real a background as possible. A dragon in middle earth isn’t that remarkable. A dragon in the middle of down town Toronto now THAT is interesting.

     Someone who had read some of my short stories once described me this way. Reading me is like walking through a park along a path. Sooner or later you step off the path and bam the park disappears and you are somewhere else completely.


6) Many of your ideas start out as screenplays. I think there's a good chance that's part of what makes the action and drama so intense in your books. Is it hard to make a script into a full manuscript?

It depends on the story. Several have not got up to normal novel length which I think of as around 80 thousand words. They have ended up as novellas or perhaps I should think of them as books for a YA audience and as such an acceptable length.

     This one did start as a screenplay. I adapted it for two reasons. For one thing I needed a writing project and this was the only one that popped up on my radar. More importantly when I was writing the script a box load of detail wanted to push through onto the page and that simply isn’t permitted in screenplay format.

A script compared to a book is like a skeleton. A director takes it and adds camera stuff. Then the actors take it and “make the words their own” to use actor speak. Then all the other departments that go into making a film add their two cents and you end up with a film. It’s generally not what you were picturing unless you’re really lucky and had input but it’s a film.

     A book is the whole deal and you have control. So, when I wrote this particular script I had to use a lot of restraint to keep all the extra bits out of the mix which I eventually put into the book.



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Warriors

Coming Soon from J Ellington Ashton Press

A good man has died a natural death.  In that death he leaves a hole in reality and through that hole come monsters.  Defending reality are people who if the world knew of their existence might be called monsters themselves.  They are far stronger and smarter than any full blood human could be and they exist to fight with monsters.  The problem is this time they might not win because the monsters are getting help.



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Check out these other great releases from Tabitha Baumander!

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March 27th, 2014

3/27/2014

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AUTHOR BIO:
Born and bred in the West Midlands, Martin writes under the pen name of Peter Martin. Against Her Will is his debut novel, and is the story of one young woman's fight to lead a normal life after a horrific rape.
Martin's interests lie mainly in crime, suspense and thrillers. His favorite authors are diverse, including Robert Goddard, R J Ellory, Kate Mosse,Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Diane Chamberlain, Harper Lee,Wilbur Smith.
For more info martinperks.weebly.com


LINKS:
WEBSITE: hpps://martinperks.weebly.com
AMAZON LINK : http://bookShow.me/B00D50BFGK
FACEBOOK: hpps://facebook.com mart.perks
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/pmartinauthor
GOOD READS : https://www.goodreads.com/Martinperks


1) What inspired you to write Against Her Will? 

I've always felt strongly about how rape affects women, and how few of these women ever report these crimes to the police. Of those reported, many never come to trial and if they do conviction rates are low. Therefore I wanted to write a book from the victim's perspective, to give an idea what she has to go through, and show how it can destroy lives.
 
2) Is it challenging to promote a book with tough subject matter?


Yes, it can be challenging, but I believe in my characters and the subject matter. It has been difficult to promote, but I feel if people read the book, they will see I have written the book in a sensitive and compassionate way that highlights what a woman has to go through and how it can affect and blight their lives forever.

 
3) Do you feel Donna is a character who reacts realistically to her plight?

Donna had problems before she was attacked. She found it difficult to deal with the way she looks, having been pushed into the spotlight from an early age, against her wishes. Having overcome this in later life, the rape became a catalyst that brought all her other problems back to the fore again.
 

4)  Do you feel that books which tackle this issue in the way you have will bring light to women facing the same struggles after an attack?

I hope so. More women need to be strong to bring these men to justice. They must be made to realise these attacks will not be tolerated and only way to do that is for more women to come forward. I feel the sentences should be longer to ensure for certain they will be deterred from committing these acts. At present these people will only spend a short amount of time in jail, in comparison with the victim, who may not ever fully recover from what has happened to her.
 
5) Do you feel that women who deal with issues related to assault both sexual and/or physical get enough care and understanding after such traumatic events?

No, I don’t. Whilst I agree that the police in the main do deal with these crimes in a sympathetic way, what victims have to go through at trials, can be as difficult as the crime itself. There is always the feeling that the victim asked for it, by the way she dresses or acts.

6) Do you think you'll keep writing suspense novels of this type or will you tackle other subjects as you continue writing? 

I will continue to write novels like this if I feel strongly about a subject as in this novel. My next novel is about a young boy who runs away from home and goes missing, and how it affects his family.



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Eyes Like Blue Fire: New Cover and Upcoming Re-release

2/6/2014

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Now that I have a new home in JEA, I've become an editor there and Wendy Won't Go has made its way onto Kindle I think it's time I announce the re-release of my first book Eyes Like Blue Fire!  I don't have a definitive release date yet (we're editing it up and making sure you get a great copy of the book) but I am proud to present the lovely new cover made for me by Marla Ringling Rhysen. I'm so happy to have a cover that really seems to catch some of the atmosphere of the book! This scene is where Katja first walks up on Raven in the cemetery and anyone who's read the book will know that is a very pivotal scene. I hope you all like it and that you agree about it fitting my novel :) Please feel free to tell me what you think and keep an eye out for its release in the coming months!

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Under  Twisted Moon Will be Free January 18th!!!!!

1/16/2014

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On of my favorite authors is having a free day for her novel Under a Twisted Moon this Saturday  January 18th! It's a really great PNR/Urban Fantasy novel and I hope you'll take a look! Here's my review of it if you want an idea of what it's about: 


Under a Twisted Moon by Susan Simone
4 of 5 stars
Recommended for: fans of Rose Madder, werewolves, drama and romance
Read from May 17 to 26, 2013 — I own a copy, read count: 1

Amelie is trapped in more ways than one. 

A long time ago when she was a young girl she was forced to hide away a part of herself that she did not yet understand. She changed to make her parents happy and for a time things stopped being so hard. Eventually she grew up and now she's the wife of Rick McConnell a soldier in a secret branch of the military. It's a life she knows and understands, she loves being a teacher and while things aren't always the best she thinks she's got a handle on her life.

Nothing is out of the ordinary until the day that one of her students gets lost in the woods and the part of herself she thought she'd left in her past comes back. 

Hounded by the police, reporters and her abusive husband Amelie feels like everything is falling apart. She never wanted for the monster inside her to ever get out again and now all of the things she thought were so simple are becoming far more complex. What will she do to adapt?

Amelie is a heroine that grows over the course of her ordeal. After years of abuse she's learned a rhythm that can help her avoid her husband's wrath and when it can't the ways that she can deal with the least amount of punishment. When her past is revealed however, it becomes harder and harder to hide from what she is and what she must do to have a life. She must begin to see her inner strengths and accept that she can change the place where she's been held prisoner all these years. While she's aided by some unexpected allies it is SHE who must make the changes she needs in her life. 

Under a Twisted Moon is my favorite book by Simone so far because it manages to do so much with it's 490 pages. Amelie could easily have been another PNR heroine or hallmark lady of tragedy. Instead she's a real person dealing with very real problems and not all of them were generated by her husband.This sense of realism offers you a chance to see into an abusive relationship and how it destroys both people from the inside out, especially when the root of that relationship is founded in two different pasts. We never know if Rick's abusive personality comes from his top secret military service but it does seem to have increased as the violence of that role has escalated. Amelie is in a relationship with Rick because he was an escape from her abusive parents but we often seek out that same sort of relationship when we try to set out on our own. 

Amelie is confronted by the monster within. A part of herself that was villianized by her parents and hidden away by Amelie to stop their abuse. This inner monster then becomes Amelie's salvation when she finds that it's one of the many things that could have offered her strength if she had held on to it instead of locking it away. The monster then is really her freedom, her sense of independence and confidence. Her parents push this side of her away and effectively neuter her spirit, making her a victim who can then be victimized by her spouse when he comes along. The cycle of abuse not only makes people into victims of the abuser it sets the scene for other abusers to take on that same role for the victim and later the potential children born of that relationship.

Amelie's inner monster is at first broken and flawed, it has been marred by her abuse and because of this she fears it as much for the pain it causes her to address it. Over time and with the guidance of others she is able to repair the abuse and it's revealed that it was the way she chose to mangle and hide away the monster that made it hurt her. 

Real life victims of abuse face the same sort of flawed outlook and rationalization for their staying in the relationship. They see the parts of themselves that could be their strengths as weaknesses, things to be avoided and buried inside, they become damaged for lack of that element of their spirit and only they can bring it back to the surface and reassemble it in a healthy way. 

Clearly Simone's message here is that abuse can only crush a spirit if it is unwilling to see the strengths hidden within and wield them to gain back control of self. Amelie was always strong she only needed to see it.


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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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