JANINE SPENDLOVE INTERVIEW

Today I’m welcoming Janine Spendlove to my blog with an insightful interview~~~Grab one of her books today!!!

 

 

JANINE K. SPENDLOVE

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Did you always want to be a writer?

No, it’s been a more recent desire over the last 5 years or so. A new “hobby” if you will.

If so, what medium did you start with? Fanfic! Yup, I’m not embarrassed to admit it. Fanfic is a great place for aspiring authors to practice/learn the ropes of writing. My first published work was a couple of non-fiction short stories in the anthology “Supersonic Saints: 2” (under my married name).

What was the inspiration for your book series, War of the Seasons?

I have a full post about why I wrote War of the Seasons here:http://www.ailionora.com/2012/03/26/why-i-wrote-war-of-the-seasons-happy-birthday-will-tk8432/

But in summary, I lost someone very close to me and writing War of the Seasons: The Human helped me deal with my feelings and heal.

Who is your favorite author??

Oh man, that’s hard. I have a couple I really REALLY like. Jane Austen, Orson Scott Card, & Aaron Allston are all up there for sure though.

What is your favorite genre to read and why?

I used to easily be able to say “fantasy!” but so much has changed, especially now that I write fantasy. I love Sci-fi, of course, but also really enjoy non-fiction (history, military history, biographies), military fiction, and of course, the classics.

Do you prefer to be indie published, self-published, or traditional published?? Why?

ALL! I’ve been published all three ways, and they all have their positives and negatives. So it really depends on the project & how much control I want over it.

Did you ever experience a major life changing event that impacted your writing?

Oh yes, as I answered above in why I wrote War of the Seasons.

If you could be any book genre, which one would you choose and why?

You mean me as a person? We’ll I suppose I’d like to be “fantasy,” because then I could fly without an airplane.

Name a song(s) that define(s) you as a writer.

Yet another difficult question & something I also recently posted about on my blog here:http://www.ailionora.com/2012/07/30/playlist-for-war-of-the-seasons-the-half-blood/

But if I have to be pinpointed down on one, I’ll pick an album, Abbey Road, by The Beatles. It’s got it all - action, adventure, silly shenanigans, and even some romance.

If the world was on the edge of extinction, how would you survive?? I wouldn’t worry about myself. I’d make sure my children were taken care of and do what I could to help everyone else after that. Zombie apocalypse, now that’s a different situation...

What advice would you give to other aspiring writers like myself?? Start writing and don’t stop, even if you think it sucks. Keep writing. “Just keep writing, just keep writing...”

What other projects do you have on the horizon??

I’ve got several sci-fi and fantasy anthologies I’ve been asked to contribute stories to that I’m in the process of writing. I’m very excited for them - one is a superhero story, another is a literal “fairy tale”, and the last is short story about one of the characters in my War of the Seasons series.

I’ve also got a novella tentatively titled “A Truth Universally Acknowledged” that should be out this fall. It’s a retelling of Pride and Prejudice set 400 years in the future, in space, between a couple of military pilots. So I suppose it’s a military science fiction romance story.

Lastly (for now), I am also working on the third book in the War of the Seasons series, The Hunter. It should be out at the end of 2013.

Tell us about 5 books that changed your life in some way??

1-The Bible & The Book of Mormon - is it cheating to count these both as one? Well if it is then I’m a cheater. That said, these books are integral to my faith and my life, so yes, definitely life changers.

2-The Chronicles of Narnia - again, I know it’s 7 books, but I view the series as one. These books were the first that truly stirred my imagination, made me daydream, and made me long for a Narnia of my own. To this day whenever I stay in a new room I always peak inside the wardrobe...

3-Huckleberry Finn - A book I’ve read several times over my life (starting when I was 12), and each and every time I learn something new. And it’s also just a great story.

4-Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura - definitely not my favorite Star Wars book. Not even close, but this was my “gateway” book. My uncle Leo gave it to me & I literally stayed up all night reading it. I couldn’t put it down. I was 14 and I could not get enough of Star Wars after this book. I’d always liked Star Wars before reading this, but after reading it I LOVED Star Wars and I was well on my way to a lifelong obsession. The fandom has been so much a part of my life since then, and I can’t imagine my life without it. As far as my favorite Star Wars books? The X-Wing Series, HANDS DOWN no competition!

5-A Message to Garcia - if you haven’t read it, you should. It’s a relatively short essay about young Lieutenant charged with delivering a message to, you guessed it, Garcia. The key point of the story that I took out of it is that in the face of many obstacles he accomplished the mission. He never gave up, he kept going, and though he wasn’t given instructions on how he was to go about it, he accomplished the mission.

If you could time travel, what time period would you go to and why??

Eh, could be I a Caucasian male while I time traveled? Because otherwise I don’t think I care to visit anywhere in the past (except maybe to the early 1960s so I could see the Beatles perform before they got too big. Then of course we’d become BFFs, because that’s how time travel works, right?). All joking aside, as someone with a huge love for history, I’d be very hard for me to pick a single time period, and I’d be too tempted to change/fix things. The Doctor would have his hands full with me as a companion...

And a fun one, what would you do if there was a zombie apocalypse?

It depends on where I am. If I’m near a military base I’m going to throw on my uniform, pick up a rifle, and defend our position/help lead the Marines in our defense against the zombies.

If I’m not anywhere near a military base, well, I’m a pretty fast runner & I can run for miles and miles without rest... All I have to do is stay ahead of the zombie bait behind me.

Feel free to add any social media links you have and anything else you felt I should have added to this interview.

I can be found online here:

Website: http://www.ailionora.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JanineSpendlove

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanineSpendlove

Blogspot: http://janinekspendlove.blogspot.com/

Livejournal: http://janinespendlove.livejournal.com/

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/janinespendlove/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4936836.Janine_Spendlove

My bio: Janine K. Spendlove is a KC-130 pilot in the United States Marine Corps. Her bestselling first novel, War of the Seasons, Book One: The Human, was published in June 2011 and her next novel, War of the Seasons, Book Two: The Half-blood, was released in June 2012. She’s also had several short stories published in various anthologies. A graduate from Brigham Young University in 1999 with a BA in History Teaching, she is an avid runner, enjoys knitting, playing Beatles tunes on her guitar, and spending time with her family. She resides with her husband and daughter in Washington, DC. She is currently at work on her next novel. Find out more at www.WarOfTheSeasons.com

Thanks for joining me and being a part of my blog!

Thank you so much for the invite & the opportunity. Hope this is what you wanted/needed.

SULAN BLOG TOUR-GUEST POST BY CAMILLE PICOTT

My stop on the Sulan Blog Tour is a guest post of Camille Picott writing as Billy Long, character from Sulan. THANK YOU  VIRTUAL AUTHOR BOOK TOURS FOR INVITING ME ONTO THIS BLOG TOUR

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Grab a bean bag chair and something to drink from the bar.
FILL OUT THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW FOR ENTRY TO WIN 1 ECOPY BOOK OF SULAN-COURTESY OF CAMILLE PICOTT

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Managing Uncle Zed Author Camille Picott writing as Billy Long, a character from Sulan A Guest Post for Heather & Earth’s Book Nook September 24, 2012 Most days, it’s just me and Uncle Zed. Mom only comes home once a month from her job, so it’s up to me to take care of my uncle. He’s a retired mercenary. Before I was born, he was captured by a North Korean corporation and tortured pretty bad. Almost twenty years later, he’s still got PTSD. He has some pretty rough days, but I’ve figured some good ways to keep him calm. 1. Keep track of the land mines Uncle Zed is obsessed with landmines. Luckily, we live on 200 acres in Humboldt County. Zed can go nuts and bury his landmines anywhere he wants on our property. His current favorites are the 76Qs from Anderson Arms. They spray a neural gas that paralyzes its victims for up to thirty minutes. He’s got some of the old fashioned kind that blow up, but after he killed a few deer Zed stopped using them. I made one rule about landmines: Zed is not allowed to bury them unless I’m with him to plot the locations on my tablet. He’s pretty calm most days, so long as he can go out and bury half a dozen of them. 2. Help him stock up on ammunitions Zed has an extreme fear of running out of firearms and being attacked. Once, when Mom was away on a job for two months, I helped Zed install a hidden fallout bunker on our property. (Zed and I have funds that Mom doesn’t know about. I make black technology and he sells it.) Anyway, we cleaned out our account to install the bunker. It was totally worth it. Now we have a place to put all the weapons that Zed buys and Mom never has to know about them. Zed is calm because he has lots of guns and explosives and feels safe, and Mom is happy because Zed is calm. Life is good with the fallout bunker. 3. Trick him into taking his medication Zed always makes excuses for not taking his medication. Usually I just threaten to rat him out to Mom. That usually gets him to take it, but sometimes he’ll spit them out when he thinks I’m not looking. Then I remind him he’s a better shot when he’s had his meds. That always gets the pill down his throat. I know most people wouldn’t approve of the way I manage Uncle Zed. I say, why fix a system that isn’t broken? Zed is pretty happy and calm most days. Sure, every once in a while he’ll have a bad freak-out session. Those are the days he sneaks into the forest in full mercenary gear and spends hours shooting at imaginary attackers. But those days are few and far between. Most days, Zed is happy to hang out in his bunker and polish his guns. On really good days, I hear him singing to himself.

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FIND CAMILLE AT THE FOLLOWING PLACES ON THE WEB

WEBSITE: http://www.camillepicott.com/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/pixiupress

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/camille.picott

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Steven Manchester Guest Post

Today, I’m welcoming Stephen Manchester to my blog for a guest post on his writing process and excerpt of his book, Twelve Months. Grab a bean bag chair and a drink from the bar while you enjoy reading a little bit into Steven Machester.

Steven Manchester is the author of Pressed Pennies, The Unexpected Storm: The Gulf War Legacy and Jacob Evans, as well as several books under the pseudonym, Steven Herberts. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, CNN’s American Morning and BET’s Nightly News. Recently, three of Steven’s short stories were selected “101 Best” for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. When not spending time with his beautiful wife, Paula, or his four children, this Massachusetts author is promoting his works or writing.

To learn more about Steven, visit his website at: www.stevenmanchester.com

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My Writing Process

by Steven Manchester

I suppose I discovered the writing world by accident – or perhaps it discovered me.

I’d just returned home from Operation Desert Storm, and was working as a prison investigator in Massachusetts. Needless to say, there was great negativity in my life at that time. I decided to return to college to finish my degree in Criminal Justice. During one of the classes, the professor talked about police work but nothing else. I finally raised my hand and asked, “The criminal justice system is vast. What about the courts, probation, parole – corrections?” He smiled and told me to see him after class. I thought I’d finally done it! In his office, he explained, “There’s no written material out there on corrections or prisons, except from the slanted perspective of inmates.” He smiled again and dropped the bomb. “If you’re so smart,” he said, “why don’t you write it?”

Nine months later, I dropped the first draft of 6-5; A Different Shade of Blue on his desk. From then on, I was hooked. I was a writer.

I’d written a lot at my job (report writing), but it all started with my college professor’s challenge. Perhaps because of my age and experience, I understood right away that writing is a craft that takes time to evolve; to mature, so I spent the next several years PRACTICING my chosen craft. Under the pen name, Steven Herberts, I wrote in every venue of print I could get my name in: newspaper, magazine, etc. I also penned two collections of poetry, and wrote drafts for two more books. After five solid years of writing, I finally believed that I’d found my voice; MY STYLE – and was ready to contact an agent.

The greatest challenge for me has been time. First and foremost, I am a dad and my children come first. After that, there are other responsibilities that need my attention. Yet, my passion to write has constantly gnawed at my soul. To overcome the obstacle of time, I made writing a priority over watching TV and sometimes even sleeping. Once my family is taken care of and the world closes its eyes, I’m up for a few more hours each day – chasing my dreams on paper.

It has taken thousands of words, hundreds of pages, before I finally identified with a particular genre. I decided that my voice was a more sensitive one: a male perspective to a female audience. My new novel, Twelve Months, is evidence of that.

Twelve Months synopsis:

Don DiMarco has a very good life – a family he loves, a comfortable lifestyle, passions and interests that keep him amused. He also thought he had time, but that turned out not to be the case. Faced with news that might have immediately felled most, Don now wonders if he has time enough. Time enough to show his wife the romance he didn’t always lavish on her. Time enough to live out his most ambitious fantasies. Time enough to close the circle on some of his most aching unresolved relationships. Summoning an inner strength he barely realized he possessed, Don sets off to prove that twelve months is time enough to live a life in full.
A glorious celebration of each and every moment that we’re given here on Earth, as well as the eternal bonds that we all share, Twelve Months is a stirring testament to the power of the human spirit.

Early Reviews include:

"Move over, Nicholas Sparks! Steven Manchester's Twelve Months is a book that will stay with you long after you've read the last page. It will make you want to live better and love more. Steven Manchester is my new favorite author!" – Susan Farr-Fahncke, Author & Editor, 2theheart.com

“Steven Manchester doesn’t just write books; he authors life lesson plans. Twelve Months is a powerful work of fiction." – Heather Froeschl, Reviewer, Quilldipper.com

“Twelve Months is a story that acts as a medicine for the desperate mind and is definitely worth the read.” – Liana Metal, Book Reviewer, Rambles.net / Midwestbookreview.com

Now that I have nearly two decades of writing and getting published under my belt, I enjoy trying to help new writers break in. My advice is always the same:

• Be true to yourself, always.
• Write constantly.
• Keep the faith!!!
• And NEVER, EVER, EVER quit. Most people in this industry would agree that more than talent or skill or even luck, perseverance is the one trait that will always get the job done.
• Knock on every door you can, and keep knocking. I promise that eventually someone will open and the warmth you feel on your face will more than validate every hour spent alone in the darkness.

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Twelve Months excerpt

Though there were empty tables up front, Vic escorted Bella and me to a darkened back room where no one else was seated. The table sat in the center of the room and was very nicely decorated. I could tell by Bella's face that it seemed peculiar to her. As we took our seats, Vic lit a candle. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

Bella started to question it, but I shrugged it off. “There must have been reservations for the other tables up front?” I suggested.

She nodded, and then noticed a man seated on a stool a few tables over. He was holding a guitar and squinting at some sheet music.

He looked over and smiled. “I hope you guys don’t mind, but I’m trying out tonight for a weekend gig at this place.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Bella said, with no idea Gary had already landed the job.

“Not a problem,” I added, acting as though I’d never spoken to the man. And through an acoustic set of love ballads, Gary was just as convincing.

Bella had no idea but the order had already been carefully spelled out – drinks first, Pinot Grigio for her; beer for me, and the itinerary would begin. Vic approached with both drinks on a small round tray. “Appetizers tonight?” he asked.

I smiled. “Why don’t we start with an order of little necks in garlic and oil?”

Vic nodded once and headed for the kitchen, while Gary swooned, “You say it best when you say nothing at all…”

Bella leaned into my ear and whispered, “How did he know I wanted white wine?”

I was into my second shrug when Vic returned to the table with a gorgeous arrangement of long stem red roses. Without a word, he placed them in front of Bella and rotated the vase until the card faced her. “Your appetizer should be out in a few minutes,” he said and strutted away again.

Gary was already on his second number when Bella plucked the card from the arrangement. It read: “Bella, I love you, forever – Don.” She looked up to find the entire restaurant staring at us.

“And always will,” I whispered when she leaned over and kissed me.

After the steaming appetizer and another round of drinks, Vic placed a silver platter before my glowing wife. It held a scrolled sheet of parchment secured by red ribbon. She looked up at him, but he never let on. She glanced over at me. “What…”

“Open it,” I said, while Gary strummed away in the background.

She did. It was the one thing she'd always wanted from me, but had never gotten – until now.

Moments of Destiny

From the moment I met you,

I knew there was a fire between us

that even hard, driving rain could never put out.

From the moment we spoke,0

I knew I’d spent my entire life

in search of your deep and passionate love.

From the moment we kissed,

I knew my heart was no longer mine

and I’d finally found my future.

From the moment we laughed,

I knew there would never be enough time

to share all the things I needed to share with you.

From the moment we danced,

I knew, at last, what the phrase ‘better half’ meant

and surrendered to your gentle touch.

From the moment we walked hand-in-hand,

I knew I’d discovered my partner

and that my dreams were suddenly within reach.

From the moment we lay together,

I knew I’d made it to heaven

and thanked God for blessing me with you.

From the moment you agreed to be my wife,

I knew my journey was now worth taking,

through days of sunshine –

or nights of hard, driving rain.

As her watering eyes read the final verse, the musician stopped playing, the restaurant went silent and I went down to one knee. I opened the ring box. “Isabella,” I said, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my wife…again?”

She never hesitated and dove into my arms. For a while, we just hugged.

“I love you so much,” she cried into my shoulder.

“I know,” I said. “But…”

She pushed away from me and looked into my eyes. “But what?”

“But I need your answer?” I said, grinning.

“Yes…the answer is YES!” she gasped and jumped back into my arms.

The crowd shared a collective sigh, and everyone was clapping when Bella and I returned to reality. It took a few moments before each table returned to its own conversation and half-eaten meals.

Chuckling, I introduced my beautiful wife to Gary, the musician. As they shook hands, Gary admitted, “I was so nervous.”

I bought the man a beer when Vic delivered two previously ordered dinners to our table. Though Bella couldn’t touch hers, I ate and listened to Gary fill the room with a soothing melody. By the time the chocolate covered strawberries arrived for dessert, Bella was emotionally spent. She grabbed me once more for a kiss. “This has been the perfect night,” she whispered.

“And for all these years…you’ve been the perfect wife, my dear.”

As we left the restaurant, another round of applause carried us to the front door. I opened it for my new fiancé – only to discover a white stretch limousine idling at the curb. She quickly turned to me. “It’s not over?”

I shook my head. “It’ll never be over for us.” As we made our way to the limo, waves of nausea threatened to drown me. This is Bella’s perfect night, I told myself, our perfect night. Whatever you do…do not throw up now!

Melissa Hudson Author Interview

Today,  I’m welcoming Melissa Hudson for an author interview.

She is the author of Lessons in the Dark and Bloodless.

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MELISSA HUDSON

What/who inspired you to become a writer??

I began writing when I was on maternity leave - I had always wanted to write but until Hannah was born I’d always worked full-time and never seemed to find the opportunity. When several magazines accepted the stories I had written I gained the confidence to begin work on a book.

Do you have a favorite genre of book that you like to read/write? If so, why??

I love to read all sorts of books but my favourite genre is crime fiction as I love intrigue and a fast pace.

What helping aids do you use to focus when you write? Music?? Nature???

When I’m stuck for words I usually go for a walk in the local woods - I find this an enormous help and usually so many ideas come to me that I can’t wait to get back and note them all down before I forget them all.

What character(s) of your book(s) do you relate to the most??

I think I relate to Narelle the most. She is a foster carer and after the initial panic when a new placement arrives, she begins to relax and her love for the children takes over everything else.

What words of wisdom would you like to share with aspiring writers like myself? Never take no for an answer!

How do you visualize your stories?? In pictures?? Conversations? Dreams?

Some of the stories I have written have arisen from dreams though mostly I visualise them, particularly in the bath!

What are your writing goals for the next 5 years??

I’d like to write a sequel to both Lessons in the Dark and Bloodless. I have the story arcs plotted for both. Now all I have to do is find the time!

How long did it take you to write ?? What/who inspired these books??

It took 1 year to write Lessons in the Dark. I was inspired to write it following the end of a long-term placement. I looked after two siblings for two years. They were tiny when they arrived and I grew to love them dearly. When they left me I was heartbroken. I wanted to find a positive way of dealing with all the emotion and also wanted to create something to show them, when they’re older, how special they were (and are) to me.

Lessons in the Dark is based on the time I spent with them and the relationship I built with their birth mother.

If you could have dinner with someone dead or alive, famous or not famous, who would it be and why??

There are so many! It would be so difficult to choose. Jesus - I’d have so many questions to ask him. Madeleine McCann - I have just finished reading the book by her mother and it left me feeling extremely sad for all of them. Guy Fawkes - to find out what really happened.

What made you decide to jump on the E-book trade?? And how do you feel about it??

I have had several non-fiction books published traditionally but after lots of interest and encouragement from several agents, couldn’t make that final hurdle of gaining a deal with a traditional publisher for my novels.

I’m pleased I went for the E-books, although it’s all new to me and I’m still learning how to market myself.

If you found yourself on a deserted island, what 10 things would you take and why?

As long as I had my children and my toothbrush I wouldn’t worry about anything else. I love their company and they keep me buoyed up so that’s all I would need.

How do you write your books?? Are you by the seat of your pants writer or do you plot out your books in advance??

I plot everything in advance, a condensed version. I then split into chapter and jot down basic notes for each with locations etc. I prefer to work with a notepad and pen for the early stages, I find thoughts come to me easier this way.

And last by not least, if you could time travel what period of the history of future would you go to??

I think I would go back to the fifties or sixties, to a time when you could leave your front door open and children played in the street.

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Feel free to any other interesting tidbits about yourself :) Please include your social media links.

www.melissahudson.co.uk

BOOK BLOGGER APPRECIATION WEEK

I’m a little behind on this post because I had a funeral to attend this week.  We had a blogger interview swap for Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

 

Here is my interview swap buddy:

Sharonda at Salacious Reads (www.salaciousreads.com)

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Sharonda at Salacious Reads (www.salaciousreads.com)

Hello Sharonda and nice to meet you!!! Here are your interview questions. Glad to connect in the blogosphere. ~~~Heather

Name your TOP TEN favorite authors

JR Ward

Natasha Blackthorne

Kresley Cole

Patricia Briggs

Gena Showalter

Phillipa Gregory

Mitch Albom

Steven King

Jim Butcher

Sherrilyn Kenyon

If you could be any book genre, which one would you choose and why?

I would be erotica…why because I like to feel sexy and I like to read sexy stories.

What are your pet peeves as a blogger?

My pet peeves…hmmm. I have to say my biggest one is when people can’t understand that bloggers have a life outside of blogging. So when I can’t get to something in the time frame giving…it’s not because I didn’t choose not to, something just came up. Or in general life intervened.

What is your favorite blog post??

My favorite post…my Review of Natasha Blackthorne’s Midsummers Sin.

http://www.salaciousreads.com/2012/08/review-midsummers-sin-by-natasha.html

She loved it…said that my review left her speechless. That was so wonderful to read. I’m always happy when a author comments on my review.

What genres won’t you read??

I’ll pretty much read anything. I’m not a fan of non-fiction though.

NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:

Name a song(s) that define(s) you as a blogger.

Janet Jackson’s Feedback.

If the world was on the edge of extinction, how would you survive??

Food, books & red wine…lol!

Tell us about 5 books that changed your life in some way??

I can only really think of one & that was The Alchemist. It was just a moving story..made me think that even when you don’t have much, life perseveres & you have to just deal with it and move on.

If you could time travel, what time period would you go to and why??

Probably the regency period..loved the dresses and the romance. Yeah I’m a hopeless romantic.

And a fun one, what would you do if there was a zombie apocalypse?

Run! Run! Run…although I would probably die. don’t get me wrong, I’m a survivor. But Zombies?

Feel free to add any social media links you have and anything else you felt I should have added to this interview.

Blog Link www.salaciousreads.com

Twitter - @SexxyBlogger - https://twitter.com/SexxyBlogger

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5363967-sharonda-sexxyblogger

Thanks for joining me in the interview swap and being a part of my blog!

BRYAN YOUNG INTERVIEW

Today I’m welcoming Bryan Young to my blog with an insightful interview. Please pull up a chair and grab something from the bar.

BRYAN YOUNG INTERVIEW

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Book Blurb:

Operation: Montauk is a time-traveling science fiction novel patterned after the pulp-adventure stories of the 1920s and 1930s.

Lost in time after a failed attempt to kill Hitler before his rise to power, World War II soldier Cpl. Jack Mallory finds himself stranded, his whole team killed, nearly 100 Million years off course. Together with a group of other wayward time travelers, Mallory has to fight to survive in a hostile environment swarming with dinosaurs. Desperate to find a way home, the community of lost travelers searches for any solution that might send them all home and unlock the secret that shipwrecked them on the shores of time...

But the jungle holds a secret from Mallory's future-past...

...and it's out to kill them all!

What inspired you to become a writer??

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My inspiration to become a writer started very early. I was winning writing contests in elementary school, but that first great spark came with a creative writing class in 8th grade, followed by a few years of journalism in the following years. I sold my first short story between my junior and senior year in high school and things have been escalating from there. It’s been simply a need for as long as I can remember.

What character(s) of your book(s) do you most relate to??

You know, in Operation: Montauk, I think the character I might relate most to is Richmond. He’s in a potentially lethal situations and he approaches them all with such child-like wonder. He’s inquisitive and curious and he just has a great voice. In a lot of bad situations I’ve been in, I’ve always tried to find the silver linings, perhaps not with as much wonder as Richmond, but it’s something I aspire to.

How do you visualize your stories? By dreams? Inner monologue with your characters, dreams, etc.?

I visualize my stories like they’re movies. I love movies and I love books that mimic the structure of movies. In fact, the first time I decided I could write a book, it was after binging on Graham Greene novels. That guy knows how to pack a movie into a couple of hundred pages. That’s why my books will rarely go past that 50-70,000 word mark. I just think in movies. Sometimes things come to me in dreams, often they just come out of me asking questions. What would this be if things were like that? What would that over there look like with this attached to it? etc...

What is your writing ritual? Music?? Silence? Meditation?

I find I do my best writing in the mornings. I used to be one of those guys that would write all night, but I work to hard with my brain during the day, so I need to get up even earlier and give my best work to myself instead of clients or employers or anyone else. I usually get to my local coffee shop at about 6 when they open and spend 2 or 3 hours there. I’m usually not bombarded with emails at that point of the day, either, so it’s easier to remain free of distractions.

And the coffee helps.

What inspired you to write Operation: Montauk?

Montauk came out of a lot of things. The first was that I had an idea for how time travel could work that I found to be very original. I kept pitching it to writer friends and I’d get the same reaction. It was something along the lines of, “Huh. That’s really cool, actually. I’ve never thought about thinking about it like that.”

So, I had that spine to it, but I didn’t have any meat to put on those bones for a while.

One night, as I was reading a bedtime story to my son I realized that I should be writing a story I could be reading to him that he’d like. Since we were quite enjoying the John Carter of Mars books, I tried to figure out why. Mainly, it was that the action was breathless and every chapter ended on a cliffhanger that made us want to keep going. Then, it was easy to look around and fit together the pieces of things my son and I loved seeing in books and movies. Dinosaurs, World War II soldiers, Nazis, scientists, monkeys, etc.

Then I went off like a shot. The first draft came out very quickly and the revisions came almost just as easy.

If you could be a book genre? Which one would you choose and why??

If I could choose a book genre to be by myself? I think I’d be the sort of historical romance fiction that guys like Hemingway and Graham Greene used to write. Even Fitzgerald to an extent. I love the feeling of pursuing the perfect woman, only to find she’s flawed and the hero’s flawed and things go awry, and sometimes a war gets in the way... Things like that. What genre do they call that? That’s what I’d like to be. Romantic, action packed, and well-written.

What knowledge do you want to share with aspiring authors like myself??

Keep writing. I know that seems simple, but if you’re writing every day, then you’re a writer.

And there’s no such thing as writer’s block. If you’re struggling with a story, move on to a different one until you figure out how to get past your road block. It will loosen up if you let it, just don’t be afraid to distract yourself with another writing project, a screenplay, another book, a short story, something...

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 5 things would you bring and why??

I’ll assume that food, water, and shelter are taken care of, otherwise this would be a very boring list. There are a few things I just can’t get along without.

First: My family. If I have to suffer on a desert island, they need to be there, too. Maybe it’s because I’m answering these questions at a time where I haven’t really seen my kids this month because we’ve all been travelling in different directions, but I would have a hard time going without them. Does that count? I think so.

Second: Notebooks. I do so much writing in my notebook that I’d go insane if I didn’t. It’s how I work out stories, it’s how I talk to myself without getting committed, it’s where I write first drafts.

Third: Pens. How could I write in the notebook without pens?

Fourth: Books. I need to read. I need to read a lot. If I had to pick some books, it would be an entire shelf of books from my house (one of far too many), but it would be the one with all of my Vonnegut, Hemingway, Greene, and...well... My Destroyers. Warren Murphy’s Destroyer series is a hell of a guilty pleasure of mine. Always has been.

Five: Star Wars. Those six movies are so good, I couldn’t live without them.

What other books do you have to write or be written in the horizon??

I’ve got two manuscripts finished right now, actually, and I’m about 15k words into a third. One is at an agency right now (fingers crossed), the other hasn’t been seen by another set of eyes on this Earth. The one I’m writing is something like... A steampunk Farewell to Arms...?

It’s a lot of fun.

If you could have dinner with anyone alive or dead? Who would it be and why??

That is a tough question. But I’ll give you an answer: I’ll take either of the Roosevelts. Franklin or Teddy. Those two were larger than life and you could feel their concern for people in every speech they gave and in every word they spoke. They were brilliant, caring, and inspiring personalities.

Either that or George Lucas. Though Mark Twain would be good. Or Kurt Vonnegut...

This question has too many possibilities and is hurting my brain.

If you could time travel, what time period would you go to and why??

World War II. I have, since I was a little child, obsessed with the era of the greatest generation. For the world, the stakes had never been higher.

How do you write your books?? By the seat of your pants? Or is it plotted out in advance??

Some of both. I’ll come up with the idea, beginning, middle, and end. Then I’ll plot a few of the major points and scenes I really want to write. Then, once the beginning is crystallized, I’ll start working. I try to plot meticulously at least a major event or two ahead of where I’m writing. It keeps it spontaneous and “seat of my pants” but also maintains structure.

Here is a twist... a sentence 5 words or less, what comes to your mind first??

...Kenobi, you’re my only hope.

Feel free to add any information that you feel I left out here. Please include your social media links.

My social media links

www.facebook.com/bryanyoungauthor

www.twitter.com/swankmotron

SHE WULF BLOG TOUR-GUEST POST BY SHERYL STEINES

Please enjoy this guest post by Sheryl Steines, author of the action-packed urban fantasy, She Wulf. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $550 in Amazon gift cards, 5 autographed copies of She Wulf, and 5 copies of its companion, The Day of First Sun.

Time Travel? Yes, I think so!

A guest by Sheryl Steines

  If you could go anywhere, meet any person, in any period of time, where would you go, what would you do, who would you meet? I know this is all hypothetical, but hey, I write in the pretend--in the fantasy. So suspend your disbelief, and come play with me for a moment. Not such an easy question to answer, is it? One option would be to go and meet someone long dead--perhaps Elvis circa 1959 makes your heart swoon. Would you take the opportunity to meet a favorite entertainer, or maybe you want your trip to count for something meaningful? But what if you made a change, saved a life, corrected a wrong, how would your alterations affect the future? An interesting notion, don’t you think? As I wrote She Wulf, my time travel adventure, I developed the idea of changing the past and how that might lead to the future you are trying to change. Maybe our interference might just be a self-fulfilling prophecy. That’s when The Terminator movie struck me as so relevant and important in how I shaped my ideas of time travel. For those who don’t know, The Terminator is a science fiction adventure where machines take over the world. The machines are human like cyborgs, ruled by an artificial intelligence program called Skynet, whose sole mission is to annihilate humanity. In opposition, the resistance was created by John Connor and they are winning the war. In an effort to prevent the resistance from being founded, the cyborgs send back one of their own, to murder John’s mother Sarah, before he’s born. To protect her and ensure he is even conceived, he sends back one of his soldiers (his father), to protect her. Got all that. So finally to my point, and I realize this all imaginary and takes place on celluloid but really, had the cyborgs never sent back the terminator, John Connor never would have sent back his father and he wouldn’t have been born. But what can you expect from a bunch of cyborgs anyway? For me, in She Wulf, you couldn’t just decide one day to go to the past unless you found yourself there when the past was actually the present. Huh? Picture it this way. It’s 2012 and you want to go to the past, let’s say to the year 1900. You can’t go unless during the year 1900, you actually showed up. I know, it’s all theory, but that’s how it happened when Annie Pearce finds herself falling through a time portal, back to eleventh century England. She understands the concept of time travel, of altering the past and how it can affect the future which makes her reluctant to get involved. But she realizes that she had already been there, in the year 1075, had already altered time and whatever she touched or changed or created, was meant to be touched, changed or created. So still think time travel is cool? I know sometimes we’d like a do-over, the ability to change a decision, to not have to live through pain and despair. But sometimes, these things make us who we are. Each experience shapes us, each tear, each laugh, adds to our self. We gain something. All those things that I’ve experienced, including the loss of a child, made me who I am. Without that, could I have written She Wulf? So time travel--can you see it? What if it was real and I could look at it from a purely joyful perspective, without those darned consequences hanging over my head. Maybe an afternoon with Elvis would be fun.   As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the She Wulf eBook edition is just 99 cents this week--and so is the price of its companion, The Day of First Sun. What’s more, by purchasing either of these fantastic books at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $550 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win! To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of She Wulf for just 99 cents
2. Purchase your copy of Day of First Sun for just 99 cents
3. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity
4. Visit today’s featured social media event

About She Wulf: Annie is sent through an ancient time portal with only a prophecy to guide her; she struggles with a new destiny as she tries to figure out a way to destroy an un-killable demon and return home. Get it on Amazon. About The Day of First Sun: A vampire, a rogue wizard and an army of soulless zombies are par for the course for Annie Pearce and Bobby “Cham” Chamsky of the Wizard’s Guard. But when the non-magical princess, Amelie of Amborix, is murdered by magical means, a deeper plot unfolds. Get it on Amazon.

  About the author: Behind the wheel of her ’66 Mustang Convertible, Sheryl is a constant surprise, using her sense of humor and relatable style make her books something everyone can enjoy. Visit Sheryl on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.


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DEATH ON A LONG SHIP BLOG TOUR- GUEST POST BY MARSALI TAYLOR

Death on a Longship by Marsali Taylor

Guest Post

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Our Viking heritage is all around us, says Marsali Taylor, author of the Shetland-set detective novel: Death on a Longship.

The Vikings ruled Shetland for over five hundred years, from their arrival in the north around 735 to the hand-over to the Scots in 1468, and their influence is everywhere you go in modern Shetland.

Look at the names on a map! Aith, or Eid, my own village, is old Norse for 'isthmus' - it occupies the land between two bays. Brae, where Death on a Longship is set, means 'broad' - it's a wide inlet. When my heroine, Cass, guides her replica longship into the Hams of Roe, she reflects that, 'This would be my big test as skipper, to bring the ship in to shore without an engine, just as the Vikings had done, and in this place too. Hams came from the old Norse ‘hamar’, a landing place. I liked that idea.' Roe (from the same Viking word as the Scots Gaelic 'ruaidh'), means 'red' - the island of Muckle Roe is the big, red island.

 The Vikings didn't just leave the place names. They also left their language, and in spite of the 500 years of Scottish overlords that came after them, the Shetland dialect is still scattered with the words they spoke. In the last paragraph, I had to think for words like 'bay' and 'inlet' instead of the word that came naturally: voe, a long sea inlet. There are words for strength of wind: a grain o wind, a flan, a stour, a flying gale. There are two words for you; if you were speaking formally, you'd use the English 'you', but with a friend, you'd say 'thee' and 'thou', except that as 'th' is pronounced 'd' in Shetland, 'dee' or 'du': 'Noo dan, boy, foo's du? Is dee midder aboot?' ('Now then, boy, how are you? Is your mother about?') - and notice the grammar, foo is du? (how is you?) instead of the English how are you?

  Older Shetlanders insist that if they talk broad dialect in Norway (where Vikings are originally from), they have no difficulty making themselves understood.  Before the Vikings came, the Pictish Shetlanders lived in round houses. The later traditional crofthouse is long and low, with the house, barn (for hay) and byre (for animals) all in a straight line, just like the Viking house excavated at Jarlshof. They used to say, too, that there were no remains of Viking houses in Shetland - well, not where archaeologists could get at them, for canny Shetlanders weren't going to waste a good trodden floor and stones to hand. When the old crofthouse was past living in, they re-built on the same site. The Viking foundations are there, all right, but they're still being used!

 The Vikings were sailors, first and foremost. When my heroine, Cass, launches her restored longship, she marvels at their boatbuilding skills: 'Ah, they were seamen, those long-dead Vikings. She breasted the waves as if she was rejoicing in the sea. We raised the yard, and the ochre and red striped cotton sail billowed out, caught the wind, and Stormfugl rose with it, the helm suddenly lightening. I looked forward at the milky horizon, at the great curve of sail above me, and sent up a thanksgiving for the day.' Go to Shetland's museum, in Lerwick, or better still, to any country regatta, and you'll see Viking boats: double-ended yoals, rowed by six men, or the light-weight flyers called Shetland Models, crewed by three, and some still with the single sail hanging from a horizontal yard, just as on a Viking ship. Even the everyday rowing skiffs are double-ended.

  Like their ancestors, the Shetlanders used the sea as transport. It wasn't a barrier, it was a road. Look again at a map of the North Sea that puts Shetland in its proper place. Before cars took over, we were the centre of the northern trading universe. Those Vikings who built their house at Jarlshof were fish traders, selling provisions to the ships going on to Faroe, Iceland, Greenland, America - we know this because of the size and quantity of fish 'lug bones' found. Later, in medieval times, Shetland was the centre of the Hanseatic League, trading between north Germany, Norway, Denmark. The Dutch fishing vessels filled the muddy bay of Lerwick so thickly that you would walk across them to the island of Bressay, a mile away.

 Later still came the whaling vessels, on their way to Jan Mayen island for seals, then to Baffin Bay. While the women worked the laand, Shetland men went to sea from March to September, to earn cash to pay their rent. In the two world wars, more Shetland men were lost, proportionately, than from any other county in Britain, mostly as merchant seamen. Don't under-estimate the little old man in his cap and boiler suit; in his days with 'the Merchant service' he's probably seen more foreign lands than you've ever dreamed of!  And the people themselves, have they kept that Viking look? Well, yes, many have. I was in Yell recently, north of Mainland, where the Scots word 'tatties' (potatoes) comes out as the Norwegian-sounding 'tauties', and the man taking the money on the ferry could have come straight from a Viking ship: not very tall, but broad-shouldered, with red-gold hair, worn long, and a magnificent red beard. Tall, fair girls are rarer, but you still see them. If you asked a Shetlander which he felt closer to, the Norwegians or the Scots, there'd be no hesitation about the answer:

 'The Scots were interlopers. The Norskies, they're our cousins.'

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Death on a Longship Blurb

When she talks her way into a job skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film, Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived - even though it means returning home to the Shetland Islands, a place she hasn't set foot on since she ran away as a teenager to pursue her dreams of sailing. When a dead woman turns up on the boat’s deck, Cass, her past and her family come under suspicion from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Macrae.

Cass must call on all her local knowledge of Shetland, the wisdom gained from years of sailing, and her glamorous, French opera singer mother to clear herself and her family of suspicion - and to catch the killer before Cass becomes the next victim.

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Giveaway Info
 Marsali is giving away THREE prizes; a copy of Death on a Longship at each blog stop on her tour, a 1^st place grand prize giveaway at the end of the tour of some silver Viking-inspired jewelry from the Shetland Islands, and a 2^nd place $15 Amazon gift card.

 1) To win a book: leave a comment on this blog post to be entered to win a book (open internationally for ebook or the US, UK, and Canada for a print book). Be sure to leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you’re the lucky winner. This giveaway ends five days after the post goes live.
2) To win Viking-inspired Jewelry OR a $15 Amazon gift card: Click the link to go to the contest’s website and enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post. A first and second place lucky winner will be selected on October 1st. First place person gets to choose which grand prize he/she wants. The second place person gets the remaining grand prize. Open to every country.

  Here’s the contest’s website >

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  Marsali’s Bio

 Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland’s scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland’s distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.

Links

 Amazon
Goodreads
Facebook
Pinterest
Attica Books
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THE DIRTY STREETS OF HEAVEN BY TAD WILLIAMS VIDEO /BOOK REVIEW

THE DIRTY STREETS OF HEAVEN BY TAD WILLIAMS

VIDEO AND WRITTEN REVIEW

The dirty streets of heaven

By Tad Williams

BUY HERE NOW ON AMAZON

This was an Advanced Reader’s Copy given to me by the author.

Amazon Blurb:

Bobby Dollar is an angel—a real one. He knows a lot about sin, and not just in his professional capacity as an advocate for souls caught between Heaven and Hell. Bobby’s wrestling with a few deadly sins of his own—pride, anger, even lust.

But his problems aren’t all his fault. Bobby can’t entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he’s not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new kid that Heaven has dropped into their midst, a trainee angel who asks too many questions. And he sure as hell doesn’t trust the achingly gorgeous Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth.

When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing, catching both Heaven and Hell by surprise, things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. End-of-the-world bad. Beast of Revelations bad. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby’s going to need all the friends he can get—in Heaven, on Earth, or anywhere else he can find them.

You’ve never met an angel like Bobby Dollar. And you’ve never read anything like The Dirty Streets of Heaven.

Brace yourself—the afterlife is weirder than you ever believed.

My favorite character:

It would have to be Bobby Dollar. His human qualities shine through his angelic soul. I also like Countess of Cold Hands because she really does show that the lines can blur and you can find yourself in the grey area between.

My thoughts:

          This is a Rip-Roaring Trip through the fields of Heaven with a quick detour across Purgatory back to the gritty side-streets of Earth. Tad Williams still remains one of my favorite authors and he doesn’t disappoint with this foray into urban fantasy. The first thing I was surprised at was the number of pages in this book. Not the typical Williams storyline but still had the descriptive elements that I’ve come to enjoy. It’s these exact elements that really help me jump into the story and get to know the people inside. Bobby Dollar is one of the characters you wish you could have a drink in a pub with and really listen to what he has to say. The human qualities are really striking and mask the fact that he really is an Angel.

The take on Heaven and Hell and everything in between was mind-bending and I especially liked Hell’s Prosecutors.

All is not what it seems and this is a common theme throughout the whole story.

Dollar is always on the run from the next baddie or Hell-beast while somehow invoking human emotions and concepts such as love, doubt, and passion. He can’t seem to get a break from demons, hellbeasts, angels, or spirits, makes you really feel for the guy and root for the underdog.

There are a lot of otherworldly visitors and that never ceases to fascinate me. Everything you thought was real is turned upside down, inside out and sideways. When you think you get an answer, another question pops up.

I would recommend this to urban fantasy fans. There are action scenes, love scenes, and surreal moments. It is what I always look for in a book and sometimes have difficulty finding. It really is a complicated case of Good vs Evil and you begin to wonder whose side you are on. The grey area between doesn’t seem so wrong.

I give this book 5 fairies for the complex array of supernatural elements, human emotions, and action packed scenes that keep you turning the pages and running through the book with Bobby Dollar.

Some of my favorite Dollar quotes:

“Outward appearances only seem to be important to earthbound types like me, staggering around in meat bodies all the time, living mostly in three dimensions.”

“There is no greater bliss than ignorance.”

“I called them bosses or employers, but unless you’re in the mob or an army under fire your bosses can’t usually kill you when they get pissed at you, and no other bosses but mine and my opponents’ can have your soul jerked out of your body and sent to the deepest fiery pits to suffer for eternity. Unless you work for Wal-Mart.”

“Jude is like one of those favorite books where you find something new every time you open it.”

“Either way, by the time the preliminaries ended a whole lot of nothing had been said, but the massive ballroom stank with the odor of violent subtext.”

 FIND TAD WILLIAMS HERE!!