My Guest: JC Cassels - Part 2

Today, part two of my interview with JC Cassels.  She recently published her debut novel, The Black Wing Chronicles: Sovran's Pawn.

Let's jump right in and carry on from where we left off last week.  JC, if you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?

I’d be a space pirate… yeah.

Hell's yeh! How cool is that!!
What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?

Read. Write. Find a writers’ group. Never stop studying storycraft.

Excellent!  Any favourite authors who have inspired you?

I have been inspired by so many of my favorite authors, it’s hard to know where to begin. I guess, I’d have to say Louisa May Alcott – I really related to Jo March as a child, and even more as a young writer trying to make a living. One of the greatest thrills of my life was going to Orchard House, her home in Concord, MA. It felt like a pilgrimage. I will never forget standing in her bedroom, looking at the little desk where she was purported to have written, seeing the flowers her sister May had painted for her, and the owl on the fireplace mantle, also painted by her sister. One fact that inspired me was that as prolific as she was, very little of what Louisa May Alcott wrote was what she actually wanted to write. She wrote to pay the bills. So, I followed her example and wrote whatever anyone would pay me to write, while I worked on what I loved in the dark and in secret until it was ready to show.

What are you reading now?

I just finished Ambasadora by Heidi Ruby Miller – I love the world and the culture she’s created. I find the politics and the impact they have on the lives of the citizens absolutely fascinating.

Have you ever eaten crayons?

I hear they’re pretty tasty with a little Bechamel sauce.

Oh, right...interesting... Anyways, moving along. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A space pirate… yeah.

Okay, I see you're sticking with that. :)  Are you a morning person or an evening person?

I am a sleep-deprived person, fueled by caffeine and chocolate.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

Probably when my dad picked up my manuscript and started reading a steamy scene aloud to my husband. He’d pause at certain moments and look accusingly over his glasses at my husband and me. Honestly, I felt like an adolescent strolling in, looking all rumpled, after curfew. My husband thought it was hilarious.

What is the one thing that your readers don’t know about you?

I have six children, of whom I only incubated half that number. Thanks to one third of the sum total of my children, I have grandchildren, in the amount of two-thirds of my sum total of children… I also hate word problems.

*blink-blink* Uhhh, I think I got that.  Okay, what the worst writing advice you ever received?

Go to college and get your degree as an English Teacher.

Best writing advice you ever received?

Don’t become a teacher.

If you had a super power, what would it be, and what would you call yourself?

I am World Builder the Geek Goddess! I create worlds and the characters who inhabit them!

And would you wear a cape and a mask, or just a mask?

No mask. Just a cape. I have a pretty nifty cape. It looks great with my leopard print platform heels. If Superman and Wonder Woman don’t need a mask, neither do!!

Who is your favourite character in your books?

Blade Devon, hands down. He’s the reason I can’t let go of this ‘verse. I still remember his first appearance on paper and mark it as his birthday:  November 4, 1984. I was madly in love with him from his first lopsided grin.

What’s your favourite food?

Crayons in Bechamel sound pretty tasty to me right now.

*pushes crayons to a safer place*  So, what’s under your bed?

Shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. I LOVE shoes and, like me, my three-year-old daughter is a miniature shoe diva. She likes to take my best heels and clomp through the house in them. My husband has started building in an extra half hour into our departure times just so I have time to track down my shoes. I have taken to hiding my most often worn and favorite pairs of shoes under my bed because she won’t go there… yet.

If your book was made into a movie, who would you have play the characters?

Obviously, Blade could play himself because, well, he’s a holofeature actor (among other things). The female lead… that’s tough. I’m not sure Bo would let just anyone play opposite her man, she’s pretty possessive. I can foresee problems in casting. There would have to be some serious insurance taken out on the actress cast for the part. Maggie Smith, maybe… or Cher... or Dora the Explorer. 

Well, there you have it folks...more or less everything you wanted to know about JC Cassels.  I want to thank her for being such a sport and answering questions most people wouldn't have (but now that I know, I'll have to stash my crayons away if she drops by again).

Now be nice, go click on the links and buy her debut novel The Black Wing Chronicles: Sovran's Pawn.  And don't forget to leave some comments to boost her ego.  We writer's are a delicate bunch.

Cheers!

Links to JC Cassels:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Cassels/131216176902032

Blog http://jccassels.wordpress.com/

Twitter twitter.com/calicoco468

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6523498-jc-cassels

On Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/calicoco

My Guest: JC Cassels - Part 1

Today I have part one of my interview with JC Cassels.  She is such a riot so I had to split my interview into two.  Not only that, coming out April 20, her debut novel from The Black Wing Chronicles: Sovran's Pawn.

And GUESS WHAT?  JC was generous enough to include an EBOOK giveaway for one lucky person who comments in today's posting.

Tell us a little about yourself – who you are, what you write, and why you write:

My name is JC Cassels, American by birth, Southerner by the grace of God. There’s a long-standing tradition of writing and storytelling in my family, as in most old Southern families. The four predominant careers in my family have been politician, teacher, entrepreneur or writer. Writing was the only one of those that held any appeal for me. Early in my career I was a freelancer for newspapers and magazines. I write stories about my imaginary friends because it gives us an excuse to continue to hang out. They happen to be space pirates and interstellar men of mystery. Naturally, that makes my genre space opera. I’m a romantic, so I put the boy/girl mushy stuff in there to keep things interesting.

Gotta have a little romance, right?  So, would you ever write in another genre?

Absolutely! I have dabbled in Historical Romance, Thriller, Southern Humor and YA/Mystery. Perhaps someday I will publish them.

 

Do you have a recent release, or, what are you currently working on?

My first novel, SOVRAN’S PAWN, Book One of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES is due out in e-book on April 20. It’s a space opera with some romantic elements. It’s the first in a series of books that tells the story of a power struggle between two Overlords and the star-crossed lovers caught in the middle.

I am also working on a companion series called THE MERCENARY ADVENTURES OF BLADE DEVON which picks up after Book Two of THE BLACK WING CHRONICLES in which Blade leaves his day job to join a team of mercenaries. This series is obviously more swashbuckling action/adventure and less romance. The first book in this series is ARCANA DOUBLE CROSS. This book contains a scene in which Blade holds the blade of a knife clenched between his teeth while he literally swings in to the rescue on a rope, or reasonable facsimile thereof. It will likely be published in the fall.

That sounds so exciting.  And, wow!! I'm just looking at the cover art.

Okay, so what inspired you to start writing?

My school library ran out of books… actually, I ran out of books to read in my school library. We had a small media center and once I blazed through all the fiction, my mother took me to our small local public library and I did the same thing. So, I turned to writing just so I would have something to read that interested me. As a child my reward for good behavior, good grades, compensation for hours in a dentist’s chair, etc., was a new book. I got a LOT of new books. I had the complete Bobbsey Twins series and was well-represented in Nancy Drew.

Finally, where can we find you lurking?

Find me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Cassels/131216176902032

Check out my blog http://jccassels.wordpress.com/

Follow me on Twitter twitter.com/calicoco468

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6523498-jc-cassels

On Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/calicoco

Now here's a little bio on JC...

JC Cassels, a native of Tampa, Florida, traces her lifelong fascination with SF/Adventure to watching Star Trek on a tiny black and white portable television aboard the family boat as a child. The Space Opera trend that followed the release of Star Wars fed an obsessive need for swashbuckling adventure set in deep space. Today, JC feeds that need by writing her own adventures, heavily inspired by 1960's television adventure shows like Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Wild Wild West and fueled by Firefly reruns.

When not writing in her haunted hospital, JC lives with her husband, three children, five dogs, fourteen chickens and a horse in a century-old house in a tiny rural community, and enjoys spending her free time sewing, camping, and heckling theoretical physicists on the Science Channel.

-----

SOVRAN’S PAWN blurb:
BO BARRON is the pawn in two Sovrans’ struggle for power. As the Chief of Barron Clan she commands the Black Wing, a strategic asset crucial to the balance of power in a Commonwealth in contention. That’s the reason she was falsely convicted of treason and sentenced to be executed. Instead of letting her meekly go to her death, Bo’s people risk all-out war by breaking her out and smuggling her into hiding. It’s what they do. They’re pirates at heart.

But if she can’t be killed, she can be manipulated. How? By kidnapping her father. If Bo wants him back she has to take on a false name and steal the schematics for a phase weapon being auctioned off to the Sub-socia at a Five Point tournament.

BLADE DEVON knows all about false names. He has more than his share. As Darien Roarke, he’s a well-known Five-Point player. If Blade is willing to use his alter ego to retrieve those schematics, the Inner Circle is willing to overlook the fact that he’s technically a deserter.

A botched assassination under the guise of a bar brawl leaves Bo blind and Blade wondering if there isn’t more to this job than he was led to believe. Never able to resist playing the hero, Blade tends her injuries and delves deeper into the intrigue only to find this mission isn’t about a weapon at all.

The catch is, no one and nothing are what they seem…

------

Well, many thanks to JC for stopping by today for Part 1 of her interview.  Next week, April 23, I'll ask her some fun questions...let's hope she's game enough to answer them!

Now, don't forget about the giveaway so show her some love and leave some flattering comments...she might pick YOU!!  Good luck!!


Winner will be announced next week in Part 2 of her interview.

Cheers!

My Guest: Patrick Stutzman

Who knew I'd meet so many interesting people, simply by signing up to the SFFSat blog event.  What's that?  It's a weekly snippet event called Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday (SFFSat) -- where we unsung writers string together ten sentences of our works, and hope to capture the world with our snappy words and fabulous literary style.

Today, I bring you Patrick Stutzman, fellow speculative fiction writer who has just released his debut novel, Alone On The Edge.  He is also furiously working on the sequel Alone in Paradise.

Patrick was a good sport and let me ask him some of the usual questions...and some, not so run-of-the mill ones.

To kick things off, tell us a little about yourself – who you are, what you write, and why you write:

My name is Patrick Stutzman, online banking support technician by day and author/gamer any other time. I live in Missouri with my wife, two daughters, and a veritable menagerie of pets.

I write primarily science fiction and thrillers, but I write a little fantasy as well.

I have to write! I have so many stories running around in my head, that I have to get them out or my head will explode! In all seriousness, I have been writing since elementary school and have always been a creative sort. I am always coming up with story ideas, and writing is one of the best ways for me to tell those stories to others.

Would you ever write in another genre?

Beside fantasy, I could see myself writing horror. In fact, I have a sci-fi/horror story idea waiting in the wings that takes place in the same universe as my first book.

Do you have a recent release, or, what you’re currently working on?

My recent release, which is also my first novel, is Alone on the Edge, and it is available through Amazon in paperback and for Kindle. The second book of the series, Alone in Paradise, is currently being edited, and the third book titled Alone in the Crowd is currently in production.

Wow, book three already in the works!  There's no stopping you now.

And what inspired you to start writing?

Since I’ve been writing most of my life, it is something that comes naturally to me. What inspired me to start writing in the first place is lost in the dark recesses of my mind. (Don’t go looking for it! It’s a mess in there!)

As for what inspired me to start writing my first novel, it was the retirement of the line of books for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, Saga Edition. I was a freelance game designer for Wizards of the Coast from 2007-2009 working on books and articles for the game line. When I finished my last book in the summer of ‘09, I suspected that Wizards was not going to offer any more assignments, so I decided to keep my writing skills sharp and began work on Alone on the Edge.

If you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?

Lots and lots of World of Warcraft! At least, it would be more than what I’m doing now.

Haha, great answer!  Do you have any favourite authors who have inspired you?

The author who has inspired me the most is J. Michael Straczynski. (For the record, Babylon 5 remains my all-time favorite science fiction TV series.) The quality of his storytelling through the series and other projects he has done gives me so much inspiration.

What are you reading now?

I am currently reading Ambasadora by Heidi Ruby Miller. Lots of good stuff in that book!

 

I've read Ambasadora (as did most people I recently interviewed. Wow, that Heidi Ruby Miller is amazing!!) So, what did you want to be when you grew up?

From the time I was about 6 or 7 until after I finished my junior year in high school, I wanted to be an astronaut. Although most kids have that desire for a short time, it wasn’t a passing craze for me. I wanted to go into space!

Hmm, you left out my question about crayon eating out. I was so sure you'd be game enough to answer it.  Oh well.  Next: Are you a morning person or an evening person?

I started life as a morning person. Then, I turned into an evening person in college. I reverted back to a morning person again several years ago. It seems to be a vicious cycle. Make it stop!

What is the best writing advice you ever received?

Write first, and edit later. This little tidbit came to me from Michael Stackpole, and it makes a lot of sense! Too many first-time writers try to perfect their first chapter before going on to the second, and they spend so much time on it that they eventually lose interest and give up. Write the first chapter and just keep going. After you finish the first draft, then go back and look it over again.

Very good advice.  If you had a super power, what would it be, and what would you call yourself?

This is a difficult one for me, because there are so many that I would want! If I had to choose just one, it would have to be telekinesis. I can do so much with that! I can pick things up, push things away, pull things toward me, push myself off the ground and fly, rip the clothes off my wife… (Um, I should probably stop there.)

As for a name, this comes from the time when I and a few others created ourselves as superheroes for a Champions RPG. I called myself Psion, because my focus was on psionics (telekinesis, telepathy, and teleportation, to be precise).

Cool name!! So, who is your favourite character in other people’s books?

At this point, I would have to say Sigrid Novak from The Girls from Alcyone. I have always loved strong, independent women.

Yeh, that Sigrid is awesome!!  What’s your favourite food?

I don’t have one particular food that I would call my favorite, but my first choice for cuisine would be Italian. Spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, fettuccine all sounds good to me! I also include pizza in this grouping.

What group did you hang out with in school?

I was pretty much a loner in school, so I didn’t really hang out with anyone. I was involved in band and acting, but I never had a strong connection with anyone in particular.

What’s under your bed?

You don’t want to know. I don’t want to know!

Now, fun question... If your book was made into a movie, who would you have play the characters?

If Alone on the Edge was ever made into a movie, Anna Foster would be played by Natasha Wicks, the former UFC Octagon girl, model, and actor. I have always envisioned Natasha as Anna ever since a coworker showed a picture of her to me while I was writing the book. She fits the description of the character perfectly. (And, she is aware of this fact.)

Ryan McIlheny would be played by Ian Somerhalder, best known for his role in The Vampire Diaries. He wasn’t my first choice, but my editor suggested him. Frankly, I agree with her selection.

In my mind, the voice of the computer is being done by Douglas Rain, best known for providing the voice of HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010.

 

And finally, where can we find you online?

My writer website, which also has a link to my blog, can be found at http://novels.swtft.com. Hopefully, I will be customizing that even more to www.patrickstutzman.com, but that hasn’t happened yet.

I can also be found on Twitter (@patrickstutzman), Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn, and Goodreads.

Well, there you have it.  I'd like to thank Patrick for stopping by today and putting up with my nosy questions. Now show him some love and leave some ego-boosting comments!!

Cheers! 

My Guest: Laurel Kriegler

My journey into the literary world has offered me many opportunities to stumble across things.  One of them is the diminutive, but near-culty favourite Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday (SFFSat) blog event -- where we unsung writers string together ten sentences of our works, and hope to capture the world with our snappy words and literary style.  By signing up, I have come across a collection of new writers in speculative fiction, as well as made new writer friends.  One of them is Laurel Kriegler, who is also the founder for SFFSat.

Laurel and I decided to give ourselves a boost and have a little interview.  You can check out my interview over at her blogsite, The Quarzite Columns.  So, here we go with a few intrusive questions I had for her...

So, Laurel, tell us a little about yourself – who you are, what you write, and why you write:

Well, I’m a South African gal who now lives in the UK, having moved here just over three years ago for the second time. I grew up reading any and every book that caught my fancy, though fantasy and science fiction were the top attractions. It was my escape from loneliness. I currently work as a receptionist at a local college, and spend my spare time chatting to friends, reading, writing or generally being online.

I write Science Fiction as a rule, although I’ve been known to write a poem or two when the mood strikes, and there’s even a fantasy story lurking around in there.

I write because there are stories in my head waiting to be told. Now if only I could be disciplined enough to polish them up so that others can read them...

Having sampled some of your work, I'd say, yes! What's taking so long! I want more.

Right, back to the questions.  Would you ever write in another genre?

Never say never, right? I doubt I’d stray too far from scifi and fantasy, as they are the genres that I know best. But who knows.

Do you have a recent release, or, what you’re currently working on?

I haven’t released anything yet, but I am hoping to release a short story, currently tagged ‘Am I Dreaming?’ sometime in the next couple of weeks. Another shortish story, ‘Rebirth’, is also begging for release, but I need to work on a couple of sections of it before I can do so.

What inspired you to start writing?

I had an idea for a story about a young lady who is cryogenically frozen, and then woken up in the future. She does not know who she is. The story tells of her encounter with the dystopic society of the time, and the megalomaniac ruler of the planet, Maltheus, who she eventually befriends. Their relationship later enables her to topple him from power, restoring equality and hope. For a long time I didn’t write anything, until I was challenged by a friend to just ‘start’. Fatal attraction comes to mind! If only I could just get the words down fast enough to keep up with the Muse...

Sounds very interesting! Can't wait to read it.  So, if you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?

Reading, without a doubt.

What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?

Start! And don’t stop. But only if you can handle the crazy.

Do you have any favourite authors who have inspired you?

Isaac Asimov, David Eddings and Anne McCaffrey were my main reads when I was growing up, so I guess they would be my ultimate inspirations.

Very cool.  So, what are you reading now?

Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest, and Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I never had a clue. I’ve never been driven by ambition. Maybe being a character in one of the books I was reading?

Now for some even nosier questions.  Are you a morning person or an evening person?

I wouldn’t say that I was either particularly, but I’m definitely not NOT one of them. That said, I don’t need anything for get-up-and-go in the mornings.

Where's your favourite place in the world?

Somewhere next to a mountain stream – and mountains round about are necessary to the image.

Who is your favourite character in your books?

The Helpie from The Contract. Con/Ner are meddlesome brats who sticks their tentacles where they don’t belong. I’ve always loved their scene. (And if you’re wondering about my use of multiples, you’ll understand when you read about Con/Ner.)

Who is your favourite character in other people’s books?

Man oh man, are you asking me a tough question. Pulling a name out of a hat ... I love Belgarion of The Belgariad and The Mallorean series’s, by David Eddings. He’s just awesome, and has a great cast of supporting characters who teach him all sorts about life in general. But scratch a bit more, and you’ll find that there’s a load of characters hot on Belgarion’s heels.

What’s your favourite food?

Pasta – so long as what’s with it is vegetarian.

What group did you hang out with in school?

I didn’t. If any, it was the people in the books I read.

What your favourite quote or saying?

Don’t worry.

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

That just has to be my all-time favourite song – Amazing Grace.

And finally, and most importantly, where can we find you online?

Facebook - Laurel C Kriegler

Twitter - laurelckriegler

Blog - The Quarzite Columns

I'd like to thank Laurel for stopping by today and putting up with my nosy questions.  Feel free to click over to her site so you can see how she puts my under the grill.

Cheers! 

My Guest - Cary Caffrey

Today I have with me Cary Caffrey who wrote The Girls from Alcyone.

Cary is one of the writer's who you discover and wonder where they've been all this time.  No doubt, honing their skills and waiting for the right moment to reveal themselves like a sneaky little ninja.

I asked Cary some intrusive questions and he was game enough to answer them.

So, the prerequisite questions: Tell us a little about yourself – who you are, what you write, and why you write:

My name's Cary. I'm *this* tall, and I like long walks in the beach on rainy days. I like to write on the beach too, but not when it's raining.

I have a deep love of old-school Science-Fiction. The downside of vintage sci-fi is definitely the lack of interesting women characters though. I'm also amazed there aren't more women featured in Science-Fiction today! Science Fiction still seems very male-dominated to me. So, it was really my own desperation for adventurous stories featuring strong and interesting women that definitely led me to writing The Girls From Alcyone.

Would you ever write in another genre?

I have! I spent most of my writing career writing comedy, horror and suspense-thrillers (mostly screenplays). But I'm much happier now that I'm back writing Science Fiction. It's definitely what I'm best at and most comfortable with.

And you do it well!  Do you have a recent release, or, what are you currently working on? 
My only release is my science-fiction novel The Girls From Alcyone. I'm completely thrilled (and baffled) by how well it's doing. I'm currently working on the sequels. I also seem to be writing three TGfA sequels simultaneously; Vengeance, Inquisition and the finale, Empress. The (working) title of the fourth book might be considered a spoiler. Doh.

What cool titles!  So, what inspired you to start writing?

Reading! (Is that a boring answer?). I think anyone who writes better have a love of books. Although...! I read a really fascinating article recently - it was all about a new generation of writers that don't read books. Gah! Unbelievable!

It was a totally interesting article. I wish I'd saved the url. Writers who don't read! It's amazing. It reminded me so much of when I was back in University studying film-writing. I met so many students then who would turn their noses up to TV - and even a lot of movies! I used to wonder, how the hell can you want to write movies if you're not a mass-consumer (and fan!) of the genre? Kind of like writers who don't get out and live a little! You gotta' live life if you want to write about it, right.

You're right, that is unbelievable.  That takes me to my next question.  What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?

Become obsessive about your genre. Study it. Embrace it. Analyze it. Devour it!

After that, the absolute most important advice is: Trust Your Gut! Listen to your gut! When you write something, everyone around you will suddenly become an expert and a master critic. Advice is easy. People are eager to toss their opinions around. I think it's a dangerous game for a writer to start seeking out opinions and advice (especially if you're just looking for reassurance or praise).

Your inner-critic does a great job telling you what you need to know. You just need to be willing to listen to it.

Listen to your gut! Trust the gut.

Very good advice.  What did you want to be when you grew up?

A writer! Who knew!

And he's witty, too.  Hee-hee.  So, are you a morning person or an evening person?

When I was still playing music I was, by necessity, a night owl; in bed by 4am, up at noon. I always knew I was a morning person though. I love the sunrise, and I love the quiet of being up before everyone else. It's my favorite time of day. Now that I'm retired from rock & roll it's great being able to get up at six again. Love it! (great time to write too!).

How cool is that?  You were in a rock and roll band!  Okay, share with us one thing that your readers don’t know about you?

My middle name - but I'll never tell.

Well, you can't just leave it hanging there.  Tsk-tsk!  Still not telling, right?  Ah well...moving along.  What is worst writing advice you ever received?

"You can't do that."

Mercifully, I never took that advice. I urge others to do the same.

Best writing advice you ever received?

Never show an unfinished draft to anyone. In fact, never even tell anyone you're writing - friends especially. Why? Well, friends tend to look at you with a sort of pitiful, sympathetic look when you tell them you're writing (oh, you poor, deluded, dear...). Writing is something those people do, after all. You know, the geniuses, the literati. Not us normals.

I didn't tell a soul I was writing my first novel until I was done my second draft. I think that helped tremendously. I also think that's why writing this next one is so much more difficult. Now, everyone's asking me about it all the time! lol. It's very distracting. There's also more pressure.

Admittedly, I did the same because I couldn't stand the reaction people gave me.  So, who is your favourite character in your books?

Definitely Sigrid (the main character). She wasn't the main character in the first draft of TGfA, but from the moment I introduced her to the story I knew I had something special. As soon as I met her I knew I had to toss everything out and start over, telling her story instead. I wanted to know everything about her.

I just love how steadfast she is, how loyal she is to her friends. She'll dive into any situation regardless of the dangers or threats to her person. If something needs doing, she's going to do it.

She is, most definitely, an amazing character.  Love her!!  What group did you hang out with in school?

This was the (gasp) 70's. And I hung out with the punk-rock/Rocky-Horror girls. Lots of fun listening to music, and dressing up for nights out at the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Rocky Horror Picture Show!! Yay!!  Sorry...okay...  What are you passionate about these days?

Politics. I find we're living in an increasingly hostile world. As someone who grew up reading Sci-Fi, I (naively) thought the world would be a better place by now. But we've gone backwards in so many ways. Now, it seems more and more people are trying to protect their own, looking out only for themselves. Our social safetynets are being eroded by corporatism and the rise of a new plutocracy.

Socialism, environmentalism, feminism, secularism; these were not dirty words when I was a kid, they were progressive movements. But there's been such a push-back by rightwing social-conservatives in the last generation. It's very depressing for us progressive and socially-minded types.

Blech!

Indeed.  If your book was made into a movie, who would you have play the characters?

I'd get a younger Kristen Bell to play Sigrid! She'd rock. She can still play Sigrid in TGfA, The Next Generation.

Where can we find you online?

Easy! carycaffrey.com

Well, there you have it folks.  Cary, thanks for being a sport and sitting in the hot seat today.  And as luck would have it, we exchanged roles today and you'll find me over at his site being grilled.  Check it out here.

Cheers!
Now show him some love and leave some nice, ego-boosting comments.

New Interview at Long and Short Reviews

Stop by Long and Short Reviews today for my latest interview.  Have a chuckle at my expense.

Cheers!

And, Yet Another Interview!

When it rains, it pours!  The same can be said for interviews (does that sound cheeky?)  But it's true.  Yet another interview has gone live within days of the last interview.  Residential Aliens interviewed me (ages ago) and asked some interesting questions, for both me as an Artist, as well as a Writer.  They also wanted to see some of the "doodles" I've done recently.  You can check out the interview HERE.

PS: Glad to be back from my holidays!  And now, time to dive into work.

Another Interview and Fabulous Review

So, my holiday has ended.  Two weeks of blissful oblivion - just what I needed.  Now, I'm ready and rearing to get back into things.

To kick things off, I was recently interviewed by a fellow Champagne Books writer, Julie Eberhart Painter.  Find out my real name, as Julie "grilled" me with intrusive questions.  Click on over to Champagne Books Blog to find out more.

Earlier, The Master Key was reviewed by Laura Hogg from Travel The Ages.  She had some generous words to describe her thoughts on the book.  Thank you Laura!  Check it out HERE!!

Interviewed by a SF Adventurer

Just a quickie to let you know that I've been interviewed by AR Norris, fellow SFR writer and space adventurer.  A few weeks ago, you'll remember I interviewed her, and now, I take my place in the hot seat.  Stop by her blog, Adventures of a Sci-Fi Writer, and check it out.

Cheers!

My Guest - Holly Hunt

Yesterday, we got a taste of the Devil.  Well, we got to meet Lucifer from Holly Hunt's upcoming March release of Devil's Wife, a Paranormal Romance book (or Urban Fantasy as its sometimes called).  Today, we meet Holly herself as she shares a little bit about herself, as well as some insight into how she came up with the story.

Holly Hunt

TKT: So, Holly, tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got started writing, your influences, etc.

HH: Well, where to start! I'm Australian, I'll be 21 a month after The Devil's Wife is released (my first book!). I live with my aunt and uncle, who have a small property in rural New South Wales. We have horses, sheep, dogs, rabbits, snakes, birds and all manner of rodent dwelling within our borders.

A view from outside Holly's window...nice!

I started writing when I was 15. I was reading one of my favourite books and decided I could end it better. So I started writing, and 180,000 words and 1 ½ years later, had a huge book finished and ready for reading (or so I thought). My school librarian, whom I was great friends with, took it and read it, and edited it for me. I've never seen so much red pen in my life!

But I took all that red pen as a challenge, and went back and changed all the things she suggested. Later on, my deputy-principal got in on the act and insisted on reading the story, which had since been split into three 100,000-word books, with a fourth on the way. It was quite a confidence bolster, all that red pen. It meant they were taking me seriously.

Where most authors will start listing authors as their influences, I don't believe that's where my influences lie. I believe I was influenced by the need to tell the best story in the world. I wanted to create fantastical worlds that I could vanish into and away from my life for just a while. I couldn't find these things in book form, so I set out to make them. But there are some authors, such as Garth Nix or Traci Harding, who showed me the way to doing that, and whom I read when I run out of ideas. 

TKT: That is absolutely amazing!  And look where you are now.  Okay, Urban Fantasy is your genre (or Paranormal). For those that don’t know, what exactly is considered urban fantasy?

HH: Urban fantasy is exactly what it says. You take a fantasy element—like a dragon, a werewolf, a brownie—and insert it into an urban (city) setting. Think of it like the Harry Potter universe, where the muggle and wizard worlds combine (such as King's Cross). The wizards are going to stick out, but they're also going to spend their time doing their best not to stick out, while running their own lives.

Vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, angels (fallen or no) and demons seem to be the characters of choice in urban fantasy. They're human enough to blend in, but not-human enough to make the revelation of their existence one of those "shockhorror" events.

TKT: How did you come up with the story, I mean, the Devil? Really?

HH: I was 16, I think, and minding my grandmother's house over the Easter break. I'd bought a small hard-cover notebook from the shop next to my high school and was watching television (the History Channel – so typical of me). There was a special going on about the old catacombs of Rome, where Christians hid in the early days of Christianity, before the Emperors took up the religion. I just remember this one shot of a catacomb painted with the devil, and I remember thinking to myself "Well, that's their point of view. What about his?" and from there, the story was born. I wrote the first draft, originally titled Lucifer's Life in a day, which only ended up being about 7,000 words. 

Catacombs of Rome

I set it down for a couple of years, graduated high school, and was unpacking from my move to university when I came across the notebook. I sat down in the middle of unpacking (who hasn't done that?) and started to read it. I thought it was pretty good, for a first draft, but it was too short, and there wasn't enough action. So I sat down and started rewriting. I managed to write out 25,000 words in just over a day, really getting into it. All in all, I wrote it in about 2 weeks, during my breaks between classes at uni.

Despite that small writing time frame, I did research into the bible and such pieces for information. I'd already started rewriting the Bible in an Australian 'translation' and I was half-way through Genesis, so I knew some of the story, but I'd forgotten most of it (you can read the Holly Bible (as it's called) at http://www.freewebs.com/rhythempoets/genesis/mybible.htm )

I wrote the story as the losing side's version of the battle, which is what it was meant to be. I was actually astounded by how well Lucifer's version of the Fall fit in with the Bible's version of events. Going to church as a kid must have been good for something, after all. 

TKT: Oh wow...you rewrote the Bible!  Impressive. Now, how did you manage to get “into character” or into his head? Tell us a little bit about it.

HH: The Devil's Wife tagline is,

"Sit down and open your mind. Everyone knows 'Devil' means 'Darkness' and 'God' means 'Light'.

"But history is always written by the winning side."

which tells you a lot about the story. It's not Lucifer who says that line (The line actually came from a deleted scene, much like the reference that gave the book its title) but it gives you the tone of the book. If you're taking the side of the loser, in any event, it's that much easier to put yourself in their shoes, rather than that of the winner. At least, I think so.

In The Devil's Wife, there are seven narrators altogether (Lucifer, his girl Clarissa, her cat Aspen, Lucifer's first wife Sera, Clarissa's best friend Jaselyn, God and the Archangel Michael) and I found that Lucifer was the easiest to write, because he's the one you most want to hug and tell it's alright while he protects you from the world. There was just something about him that tugged at my heartstrings and demanded I tell his story.

TKT: What is your writing ritual like? Hee-hee, okay, so you write a story about the Devil, so that’s put all sorts of stuff in my head.

HH: Hee-hee, no nothing like that. Most of the time I spend half of my day staring out of the window, or browsing the internet. But when I run out of movies, or the internet gets boring, then I start raking my brains for an opening line of a new story, or for the next line of the story I'm in the middle of. Usually the lines come screaming out of my mind, demanding to be written, so I put fingers to keyboard and start listening to the characters' voices, willing to be swept away on a fantastical adventure.

TKT: As all writers will find and have gone through (or are about to go through) the long and arduous process of submissions and rejections and queries…tell us a little about your journey. Any advice for the many talented writers out there still out of range from the radar?

HH: Straight away, I offer my advice: Treat it as a challenge. It might seem that you'll never get there, but if you treat the rejections as a challenge and don't let them weigh you down, then you'll keep trying, and you'll only get published if you keep trying. 

I took my first rejection as a challenge. Like with the red pen of the editor, I took the rejections as a challenge. I actually had a goal of being able to paper a wall of my room with them before I got my first acceptance. Each subsequent rejection got me towards my goal, rather than knocking me away from it. I have a couple of folders in my filing cabinet filled with rejection slips, only one or two being personal, instead of form letters. There's almost enough there to paper a wall, but I'm still going to keep going and get that wall papered in rejections. I have plenty more stories either submitted or almost ready to go, so I know I can get there, given the publishing industry's accommodating nature with rejections.

The Reject Wall

TKT: That's great advice! But back to the book now...What’s your favourite part about the book?

HH:  I think it's funny that Devil's Wife is being released on my best friend's birthday. Just sayin'...

Oh, wow that's hard. It actually depends on what mood I'm in, what part is my favourite. If you want action, I think the opening scene, where Clarissa is introduced, is the best. If you like 'Uh huh!' moments, then Sera's chapter is probably the best one.

But I think the scene in the kitchen, were Lucifer and Clarissa are dancing along to her iPod, is the most perfect, up-beat scene in the book. Lucifer is trying to convince Clarissa to stop being nervous around him, and he's appalled at the way she's butchering the onions for their dinner. So he leads her into a dance around the kitchen, both of them singing along to Waltzing Matilda, and taking friendly jabs at each other for their bad dancing or singing.

These are my favourite lines of the scene, I think:

"Your singing really is terrible," Clarissa laughed as I spun her again.

"Maybe," I allowed with a grin, "but it's got you relaxing."

Clarissa laughed and spun back into my arms. "And you managed to get me dancing."

"As graceful as a butterfly," I said with a laugh. "You haven't trod on my foot once."

With an innocent expression on her face, she stood on my right foot as hard as she could. 

I laughed. "That's my girl!"

  

TKT: Oh, sounds good...what were they making?  Okay, one final question: What's next for Holly?

HH: Hopefully a long nap, heehee. 
 
Nah, I have another book, Blood Moon (a story about werewolves who bring around a world-wide apocalypse), contracted for release at Wild Child Publishing, but the release date for that hasn't been set yet. But we're working on it.

But while I'm waiting on that, I'm writing a couple of books and rewriting another (multi-tasking :) ). Dragons, vampires, gods and Elementals. You've just got to love the freedom that writing under the Fantasy banner offers you.

But after all that, it's really back into the submissions game again. Lucky I've got a tonne of books all ready (or on the last pages of a rewrite) to go, and some wall to be filled with rejection slips. Have to do something to keep me busy.

Thanks Holly for being such a sport and putting up with all these intrusive questions.  I know being a writer and talking about yourself is the pretty hard since you'd much rather talk about your characters instead.

And for another reminder, Holly is giving away a PDF copy of the Devil's Wife.  All you have to do is post a comment or a question at the end.  Be sure to leave you contact email so Holly can contact you if you win.  Good luck folks and thanks for stopping by.