A.F. Stewart's Blog, page 107

Coffin Hop Begins: An Interview with Balthazar, Demon Bounty Hunter

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It's official, the Coffin Hop Web Tour starts today!

As part of the Coffin Hop Web Tour, and in the spirit of Halloween, my demon character from the story Victorian Shadows (as seen in the ebook, Killers and Demons) has kindly consented to be interviewed.



Plus one lucky commentator will win a three ebook prize pack (via free Smashwords download coupons) of my books Once Upon a Dark and Eerie..., Killers and Demons, and Ruined City.

All you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment!







Interview with Balthazar, Demon Bounty Hunter:



Welcome Balthazar. Could you tell us a little about yourself?



I would be delighted to regale your readers with a small sample of my life.

I am an ancient Hell-spawned demon living on Earth, engaged primarily in returning escaped fugitives to Hell where they belong. I occasionally do a few side jobs, such as soul reaping or corrupting innocents.

For enjoyment, I kill random people and read quality literature, or partake in a dinner of rare steak and a glass of fine red wine. I find very few creatures can live up to my standards, so I rarely socialize with you pitiable humans or my fellow, lesser demons.





Could you please describe your physical appearance for the readers?



In human form, I am tall and svelte, with dark eyes and straight black hair. I have a wicked smile and a lean build. I believe one should always look one's best, and cut a dashing figure, so I don the latest styles, whatever the century. I prefer dressing in basic black, for the maximum intimidating effect. As a demon, I expect you would find me rather gruesome, all scales, fangs, claws and red eyes.





How did you end up as Hell's bounty hunter?



The previous demon that held my position met an untimely end. It seems he was double-dealing favours to the escapees. When this was brought to the attention of the powers-that-be in Hell, he was removed from his post, in pieces. I was adroit enough to obtain his place.





There was a great deal of interest in Victorian Shadows, the story of your hunt of the thief Sally. Can you tell us a bit of the back-story?



No. I would prefer not to talk of that nasty, annoying woman. That little low-class waif gave me no end of trouble. If I could, I would roast her flesh over Hellfire on a spit.





Obviously some issues there, so on to the next question.  What would you consider your best feature?



There are so many, I would be hard-pressed to choose, but I suppose my exceptional intelligence would be my most astounding trait.





Interesting choice.  And what would be your worst feature?



I deem myself quite flawless, but some others have commented that I do have a temper. Personally I believe that's an asset in my line of work.





Okay then.  Do you have any family?



I was one of several demons spawned by my father, but alas they were all killed in a rather nasty family feud. I personally dispatched six of them, and Father slaughtered the rest. Then I betrayed and murdered him, so I am now happily without family.





I can see how that might be preferable for you.  Do you have any hobbies?



I used to collect skulls, but I tired of that in the 1920's. These days I tend to stick to hunting. There is a lovely array of humans living on the streets that make excellent prey.





Well, that's disturbing.  Are you afraid of anything?



My Master, the grand and feared ruler of Hell. But every denizen in Hell is afraid of Him.





You have lived a very long time. Care to relate any of your more exciting adventures?



My early life was spent mostly in Hell, and your readers might get a bit squeamish about my escapades there. I find humans don't usually enjoy stories about brimstone, torture and damned souls. Your species is very odd that way.

After leaving Hell, I had many fascinating exploits. In between my duties as a bounty hunter, I have been a medieval assassin, worked for the Royal Court of Spain during the Inquisition, and I sailed the seas as a pirate. I enjoyed the pirate life; I once turned a double-crossing scoundrel of a shipmate into the ship's figurehead. When the ship sunk in a storm a year later, he went down to the bottom with it. Such good memories.





Thank you Balthazar, for joining us today. Now I'll leave the readers with a quick peek at your activities from Killers and Demons.





[image error] An excerpt of the story Victorian Shadows (from the book Killers and Demons):



He waited, hidden by familiar darkness. An hour had passed already, but he was patient. He sniffed the air and grinned. The unmistakable scent of his quarry wafted sweetly on the air.



Balthazar twisted the top of his cane, muscles tense, as footsteps grew closer. A shadow passed his vision, and in one strike he buried the knife housed in his cane deep in the back of a man. Balthazar stood quietly and watched his victim's lifeblood slowly pool on the cobblestones.



He sighed. "Too easy. He didn't even scream."



Balthazar removed his knife, admiring the line of the steel. He brought the knife to his mouth.



"Now, to find out what I want." He casually licked the blood off the blade, his tongue lapping every drop. As the warm liquid flowed down his throat, the memories of his victim slid into Balthazar's mind, the blood feeding him the facts he needed.



Balthazar grinned. "I am coming for you, my darling Sally."



He slid the knife into the cane and walked away, back into the night.





Now if you please, scroll way, way down to the end of my blog, find the Linky List, close your eyes, make a wish and click on a link to continue the Coffin Hop Web Tour.



You can also check out my side hop, a quiz about the TV show Supernatural, at my other blog, In the Spotlight.  

Celebrate the Villains

Every writer has their favourite characters, the ones they adored creating. For me it is not the heroes to whom I loathe to say farewell, but the villains. Here's a few of my favourite wicked creations:









Henri Forain: One of the vampires from Chronicles of the Undead, he is an unrepentant killer. He is handsome, charming and sophisticated Frenchman, willing to suck the blood out of your veins until you are dead. He fits easily into 17th century English society, spreading death and corruption where his whims take him.











Balthazar: The rakish and ruthless demon bounty hunter from Victorian Shadows, Balthazar is a centuries old killer with a fierce temper who holds a grudge. He has no problem killing enemies, friends of his enemies or innocent bystanders if it gets him what he wants. He will be back for more adventures, including his brief escapade as a pirate.











Fluffy the Clown: Some sort of demonic spirit (he hasn't told me what type yet, and I'm not about to ask) that has a penchant for children's books and toys. A disembodied phantom with a mile long murderous streak, he haunts the Fluffy the Clown storybooks and dolls (hence his name; I'm sure he has another, but again he's not talking). He uses mind manipulation when possessing the books to corrupt others into doing his killing (as seen in Fluffy the Clown and the Mystery Writer) and seems to possess the dolls directly for hands-on mayhem (as in Dear Mom).



Emily Langley: A nasty killer of children who was executed for being a witch. But she didn't let a little thing like death stop her from pursuing her hobby of murder and mayhem. Existing across the ages as a ghostly legend, her spirit, accompanied by her ghost dogs, comes back to wreak bloody vengeance. She was last seen in The Legend of the Haunted Tree killing off a bunch of hapless teenagers on Halloween.



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Rjsh the Night Wraith: This supernatural creature makes his appearance in Ruined City (although not by name) and is an unrepentant killer. He is a carnivore by nature, and his chosen meat is human. He is a hunter and loves to play with his food before devouring it at his leisure (quite often while the food is still alive).







Stories and Books:



Victorian Shadows can be found in the ebook Killers and Demons



Fluffy the Clown and the Mystery Writer can be found in the ebook, Once Upon a Dark and Eerie...



Dear Mom can be found for free on my Goodreads Profile



The Legend of the Haunted Tree can be found in the ebook, Once Upon a Dark and Eerie...





Chronicles of the Undead is my vampire novella



Ruined City is my dark fantasy book



 

And don't forget to check out the Coffin Hop Web Tour, Monday Oct. 24th.

Excerpt of Horror

Another tale of horror is being told today, with an excerpt from my book Once Upon a Dark and Eerie...And don't forget to check out the Coffin Blog Hop, starting Oct 24th.   Once Upon a Dark and Eerie... is going to part of my ebook prize pack giveaway for the Coffin Hop.

So, I offer up for your reading pleasure a story of a werewolf and its hunter: 









Come the Moon





Only the bare bones remained. 



The kill I had left behind me was just like the others.  The body had been chewed clean of the flesh, all the meat that was once a mother of two stripped away and eaten.  Her existence had been reduced to a pile bones with bite marks.



I really hate werewolves.



I had been tracking this particular werewolf for three lunar cycles, being witness to his killing spree, with nine dead bodies left like a trail of bloody breadcrumbs.  I watched the aftermath of his murderous rampage, as the families of his victims learned the worst truth.   I said prayers for wives, husbands, brothers, and daughters and beheld all the tragedy and the sorrow.   Pain and guilt were becoming very familiar.

I had been hunting werewolves and beings like them a long time, but this one...this one was special, personal.  I needed to make sure I could end the hunt.  If I couldn't, I wasn't certain I could live with the consequences.  I pulled every skill out of my bag of tricks, but until tonight I had always been one step behind.  The beast had made a mistake and left a trail.  I might have missed saving his latest victim, but I had finally traced his lair.



Tonight I was my chance to kill the beast and put an end to this misery.



The creature had retreated to an old abandoned shed at the edge of the woods he had made his killing ground.  It was some old storage hut, paint peeling, one side dented, with every window broken.  I was downwind so he couldn't smell me, looking for a decent way to sneak in, but there wasn't one; he would know I was coming.  I'd get one shot at him before he tore me to shreds.

I loaded the rifle before I went in for the kill, with a full clip of custom-made silver bullets.  I set up in a good vantage point, took a deep breath and waited; he would come for me as soon as he caught my scent.

It didn't take long.  A few minutes, and I had a raging hungry werewolf lunging full force across the ground, intent on killing me.  I could see the red eyes through the scope, the slavering jaws, hear those animal howls.  I pulled the trigger, once twice, three times.

The bullets hit home, tearing straight into the brain, pulsing the silver poison into his system.  The beast went down, twitching, convulsing and then it was still.  I walked over to the body, rifle ready, but it was dead.  Jack was dead.

I wanted to cry, looking at him, that bleeding, monstrous corpse I once knew as a laughing, fearless human.  We had hunted together, stalked the predators, those things that go bump in the night, the nightmares most people believe are just pretend.  But that was when he was human, before one of those things turned him.

That was when he was still my husband.







Where you can find Once Upon a Dark and Eerie...



SmashwordsNookKoboSonyApple iStore

Introducing Coffin Hop

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Turn On the Lights and Hide Under the Covers! 

The Coffin Hop Starts Soon!



This Blog Hop Horror Fest starts Oct. 24th and runs until Oct 31st, with scares aplenty.  I've signed up for this bouncy blog tour and until the end of the month you will be bombarded with all things horror and Halloween!















 

  A sneak peek at some of my goodies:



I will celebrate some of the villains I've created for my readers
I'll  post excerpts from  my books
The character from Victorian Shadows, the demon Balthazar, stops by for an interview (This will be the actual Oct 24th Coffin Hop post)
Author Coral Russell stops by for an interview and to talk about her paranormal/horror books
Gordon Kessler, author of the horror thriller Jezebel, guest blogs for Halloween




For today's offering, I give you an excerpt from my new book, Ruined City.  While not a horror book (it's more of a dark fantasy) this particular sample will curl your toes (I hope):



Excerpt from Ruined City:



I sniff the air.  The wind is ripe with the stink of human scent and I follow the smell.  I meld into the night's shadows and slither along the streets.

I see them through the darkness, walking, laughing, touching.  It is disgusting.  I will enjoy killing this repulsive pair.

I pace them, stalking.  I growl to unnerve them.  They stop, afraid, and I step into the light so they might see me.

The female shrieks and the male yells and then they run.  Silly, silly humans, do they not know I like to give chase.  I even give them a generous head start to be fair.

The man is quick, faster than the woman; he manages to get inside a structure before I catch them.  He leaves the female outside pounding and grasping at the door and yanking at the latch.  She is shouting to be let in, but it is too late.

I pry her fingers from the wood and toss her into the street where I snap the bones in her legs so she cannot run. I adore her cries of pain and the mask of agony on her face.  I leap on top of her body and she beats at me with a futile flailing of her tiny fists.

"Get away from me!  Get away!"  Her foolish shrieks whet my appetite, and I slice through her yielding skin with my claws.  I drip her warm blood on my tongue; she tastes good. I slice a fleshy piece of her arm as she screeches and cries.  I chew slowly, to enjoy my first taste of her meat.





 

For more on the participants in Coffin Hop scroll down to the bottom of this blog and check out the official  list.

Storyteller: Guest Author Sheila Deeth

Please welcome author Sheila Deeth to the blog today.  She is currently on a blog tour for her new book, Flower Child, and she's stopping by today to talk about her books and writing.  Take it away Sheila...





I Tell Stories.



I used to tell children's stories in church and called them children's sermons. But I tell stories for littler kids too, with pictures; and big kids' stories, with words; and grown-up stories, short and long and all points in-between; and they're all stories. One day I tried to call myself a writer and the first question anyone asked me was, of course,



What do you write?



An answer that covers every possible age-group and genre might not be quite what the questioner's looking for. So I looked at the books I've had "properly" published (as opposed to published by myself). I've got three ebooks out with Gypsy Shadow, and tried to decide what genre they'd fit into.



It wasn't easy. My books don't seem to have an awful lot in common. Refracted's set in the future, except it's the past, and the present, and all points in between. Perhaps it's sci-fi. Time-travel? Something like that. Meanwhile Black Widow's firmly set in the past—except it's a slightly altered past where sorceresses can reinvent themselves and Holy Grails can change the world. My new ebook, Flower Child, is set in the present, except… Well, except it's a present where a mother grieving her miscarriage can develop a relationship with her unborn child. Maybe that word "except" is the common factor.



Actually, my books do have some things in common. They're all speculative, in that they all tell about things we can't analyze or hope to understand. They're all spiritual too, in that they're linked by Biblical symbols and hints of stories from the Bible. They're all fiction—well, obviously. And they all involve some element of someone searching for identity.



In fact, I suspect most of my writing, as well as my search for a genre, has identity issues. I'm not quite sure what that says about me. But at least I have an answer to the question now.



What do you write?



I write spiritual speculative fiction and other things too…







You can find the "other things" as well as the Gypsy Shadow books on my websites:



http://sheiladeeth.weebly.com/



http://www.sheiladeeth.com/



Or find links to all my pages at http://about.me/sheiladeeth.







About Flower Child:

When Megan miscarries her first pregnancy it feels like the end of everything; instead it's the start of a curious relationship between the grieving mother and an unborn child who hovers somewhere between ghost and angel. Angela, Megan's "little angel," has character and dreams all her own, friends who may or may not be real angels, and a little brother who brings hope to her mother's world. But Angela's dream-world has a secret and one day Angela might learn how to be real.



Where to find Flower Child:



On Gypsy Shadow's site: http://gypsyshadow.com/SheilaDeeth.html#Flower



On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Flower-Child-ebook/dp/B005PGMT4O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317398482&sr=8-1



On Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91467





About the Author:



Sheila Deeth grew up in the UK and has a Bachelors and Masters in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. Now living in the States with her husband and sons, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, telling stories, running a local writers' group, and meeting her neighbors' dogs on the green.



Sheila describes herself as a Mongrel Christian Mathematician. Her short stories, book reviews and articles can be found in VoiceCatcher 4, Murder on the Wind, Poetic Monthly, Nights and Weekends, the Shine Journal and Joyful Online. Besides her Gypsy Shadow ebooks, Sheila has several self-published works available from Amazon and Lulu, and a full-length novel under contract to come out next year.



You can find all the stops on her Flower Child Blour Tour Here:

http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com/2011/09/flower-child-blog-tour.html

Interview with author Gail M Baugniet

Today, please welcome Gail M Baugniet, author of the FOR EVERY ACTION There Are Consequences.  She is on a blog tour, and has stopped by to share  tidbits about her writing and her book, the first novel in the Pepper Bibeau mystery series.





1. Why don't you begin by sharing a little about yourself.



In my earlier years, I lived in the cold northern states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. Now that I can stay "thawed-out" year round in Hawaii, I find myself traveling to cool spots like Anchorage in May and Green Bay in September.

It is possible I have a disproportionate fondness for the research phase of my writing. I just spent two weeks in my home state of Wisconsin gathering information for my second novel. I had an opportunity to discuss specific topics with a police investigator and visited several interesting locations that play key roles in the story. I also took plenty of colorful photographs that will aid me in writing more detailed descriptions of select scenes.





2. How did you become interested in writing?



I have always enjoyed reading mysteries. When I was nine, I wrote a mystery novel that never went public. Over the years, I composed poetry for personal enjoyment as well as Japanese haiku to describe some of the photographs I took around Hawaii. After researching my family's genealogy and compiling family newsletters for ten years, I decided to write my first mystery novel as an adult. Writing proved to be a relaxing and emotionally rewarding activity for me.





3. Can you tell us about your book, FOR EVERY ACTION There Are Consequences?



Yes, the story opens with a cut-and-dried homicide case that has insurance investigator Pepper Bibeau clearing up loose ends on the subsequent life insurance claim. But her routine questions set off a chain of events that lead to the murder of a close friend.

Police are already stretched to the breaking point with the city's escalating crises when the detective most determined to solve her friend's murder is ordered off the case for personal reasons.

Pepper continues to piece together information until she is attacked and winds up in a hospital for observation. Mounting evidence indicates widespread drug dealings and she is eventually forced to consider members of her support team as suspects.

The book is in print at https://www.createspace.com/3536116

It is also available in print at Amazon.com, in Kindle format and as an ebook at Smashwords.com





4. You're planning a sequel to your book, FOR EVERY ACTION There Are Consequences. Did you always intend to write a mystery series or did your character Pepper Bibeau inspire you to continue her story?



Before I finished the first draft of FOR EVERY ACTION, I used my computer genealogy program to create a family of characters for my protagonist, Pepper Bibeau. I wanted to write a mystery series featuring Pepper as an insurance investigator whose cases sometimes involve murder. Once I established her career choice and a"family" for her, I felt confident that the series could expand and remain interesting.





5. Why did you decide to write in the Mystery/Crime genre?



There was never a conscious decision to write in the specific genre of mystery/crime fiction, it was more an inherent given. My father introduced me to Dashiell Hammett novels and my mother enjoyed reading Agatha Christie mysteries. I enjoy reading all the subgenres, including suspense, thriller, and police procedurals. Writing mysteries was a natural extension of reading them.





6. Can you tell us about your writing process? Where do your ideas originate? Do you have a certain writing routine?



The first draft of my manuscript is more a narrative outline of the main plot with a description of protagonist Pepper Bibeau's current insurance investigation. Then I construct a story around and through this plot, fitting the story lines together and bringing everything full circle.

My ideas come from articles I've read about an unusual topic, one that doesn't normally come up in cocktail-party small talk. The idea for the opening chapter of my first novel, FOR EVERY ACTION There Are Consequences, was sparked by a newspaper article I read about an elderly man who repeatedly stabbed his wife.

To complete the first draft of FOR EVERY ACTION, I wrote for four hours every week day evening. Since then, I have no set pattern for writing. I am usually reading or writing. And I do assign myself general goals to complete a first draft and accomplish each step required to publish a final manuscript.





7. What is your greatest challenge as a writer?



When I awake in the morning, there are many ideas and plans floating around in my head. It is tempting to continue a mental construction of these thoughts rather than acting upon them. The difficult part is to write down the information, then sort it out and apply it toward a set goal. I guess this is just a roundabout way of saying my greatest challenge as a writer is to write.





8. What sort of research do you do for your books?



As I mentioned earlier, I love the research part of writing a novel. I visit the town library of the story's setting to print copies of newspaper articles and weather reports for the dates involved. I also drive around in the town and countryside where events occur within the novel. For detailed medical information and back story, I read relevant books and search the Internet or encyclopedia for specific topics. Though all the events within my stories are strictly fiction, I choose locations where I once lived or vacationed. Of course, any mention of food is strictly from first-hand knowledge.





9. Who has inspired you as an author?



My family has always encouraged me in whatever choices I make. Now that I have found my niche writing novels, no one could be more pleased and supportive than they are.





10. What's next for you?



My focus is on marketing my first novel and completing the second novel in my Pepper Bibeau mystery series. I also have a good start on what I call my genealogical novel, several short stories based on the lives of my ancestors that flow into a cohesive tale, inspired by Susan Vreeland's Girl in Hyacinth Blue.





You can find Gail M Baugniet at her blogsite: http://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com/



And you can check out her entire blog tour schedule here:  http://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com/2011/10/cherries-jubilee-day-2.html

Review of No Money Marketing: All You Need is Like by Angela Yuriko Smith

My Book Review of No Money Marketing: All You Need is Like:



No Money Marketing: All You Need is Like by Angela Yuriko Smith is one author's view on how to promote your book, culled from her own experiences publicizing her own novel, End of Mae. The approach she uses offers some appealing and creative avenues to book marketing.



The first part of the book is devoted to marketing techniques the author used in the virtual world of Second Life. Now I don't belong to that Second Life, although I have heard of it, and I always assumed it was more of a recreational website. After reading I find myself quite convinced of its marketing potential for authors; any writer on Second Life (or thinking of joining) should avail themselves of Ms. Smith's helpful suggestions. The remainder of No Money Marketing: All You Need is Like is geared towards more traditional marketing sites such as Facebook, but even here the author has some individual ideas of where and how to promote your book.



I especially appreciated the fact the author backs up her suggestions with specific information on how her marketing techniques affected her sales and book visibility. So many marketing suggestions tell you that they will boost sales, without the details.



Overall, I found the book had good ideas, written in an easy style and I can recommended it to any author looking for ways to get their books noticed.



Available on:

Smashwords

Amazon Kindle

Madcap Fun: A Review of Doodling by Jonathan Gould

My Book Review of Doodling:





Doodling by Jonathan Gould is absurd, quirky, breezy, fun and a total delight to read. It is also a witty little metaphor for today's social climate, without being preachy or heavy-handed. The book makes some subtle observations while maintaining its air of entertainment.



The book begins with Neville Lansdowne falling off the world. Literally. After the shock wears off he sets out exploring a nearby asteroid field, and finds out he's not the only one who fell. From there his adventures just commence.



The premise of Doodling is unusual, surreal and not the least bit scientific, but from the moment you begin reading, the book enchants with its style. It weaves an alluring charm with its eccentric farce that amuses and captivates. Odd characters and fantastic situations abound, flit through your imagination with verve, before settling around you in a warm, clever cosiness. I couldn't help but imagine this book as a wonderful animated film.



Doodling is a thoroughly pleasing book and I highly recommend it.



Amazon Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Doodling-ebook/dp/B004KSQVCO/

Smashwords Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/41101?ref=scribe77

Dark Shades of Cyberpunk: My Review of Shadow of a Dead Star

Book Review of Shadow of a Dead Star by Michael Shean:





Shadow of a Dead Star by Michael Shean is grungy, slightly nihilistic, fabulously enigmatic cyberpunk at its best, painted in the hues fashioned by Philip K. Dick. The world inside the pages is screaming neon, ad driven, nanotech chic laid over top a seedy underbelly of dissipation.



The novel begins with Agent Thomas Walken investigating the arrival of contraband tech into the futuristic city of Seattle, just another corrupt excess imported from a place called Wonderland. But this routine bust turns into a something else, a blood-soaked conspiracy that turns Walken into a fugitive looking for elusive answers to a very sinister problem.



The author knows how to build a futuristic world, and some of the best passages in the book are the way he describes the landscape and surroundings in which the characters live and breathe; he vividly creates a Seattle fallen through a cyber-tech rabbit hole. And the inhabitants that dwell among the distorted spires are brought to life with equal skill, showing a darker side of humanity, with their flaws and self-interest on display. Even the protagonist has a murky, bitter side that unfolds as he plummets into the mystery he is trying to unravel.



It is that mystery that is at the center of a well-written, complex, multi-layered plot that peels away with suspense and tension, drawing the reader ever further into its web. I thought I knew where the book was headed until the finale took a sudden turn, morphing from the body of the story, and twisting everything that went before into an enigmatic question. While I suspect some readers may find the conclusion disconcerting, I thought it was an interesting and bold choice. It may not have been the ending I wanted as a reader, but I think it fit with the overall tone of the book and it does leave you thinking.



Shadow of a Dead Star is a fascinating book, and a definite recommend.



Michael Shean's Website:  http://michael-shean.com/wordpress/

Interview with Lin Sten, author of Mine

Yet another author joins us today, Lin Sten, who's latest book is the science fiction novel, Mine.





Interview with Lin Sten:



Why don't you begin by sharing a little about yourself.



Intellectually I sense human civilization is being propelled toward an apocalypse based on humanity's delusional mass psychology, the risks of technological advance, and Earth's environmental limits. Emotionally and physically I tend to ignore that possibility, and to simply enjoy each day for the miracle that it is. Usually I enjoy swimming and bodysurfing in the Pacific Ocean, but for the last two weeks there have been several shark sightings up and down the coast; because I'm a vegetarian, I would get really mad if I were eaten.





How long have you been writing?



I have been writing for several decades.





Can you tell us about your latest book, Mine?



The idea of our solar system attracting extraterrestrials—helpful or antagonistic—has intrigued me for as long as I can remember. While it is a common theme in science fiction, and there is certainly nothing new either about an insane person believing himself to be an extraterrestrial, my angle on this long-standing theme seemed original enough and like it could be a great deal of fun. Too, there is the intriguing SETI silence, which increases the likelihood that any soft-spoken claimant to interstellar spurs is actually a charlatan. On the other hand, even down-to-Earth politicians (such as Ronald Regan) have imagined the possible beneficial human attitude adjustment that an extraterrestrial threat to Earth might provide. So here we have a simply expressed question about our universe, one that almost everyone can understand, and yet any reality might yet emerge. What more fertile ground could there be!





What is it about the science fiction genre that you find interesting?



Science fiction allows an expansion of the spectrum of environments—technological, biological, and natural physical—within which to set a story, or about whom to write it.





Can you tell us about your writing process? Where do your ideas originate? Do you have a certain writing routine?



As an example of my writing process, the story for Mine evolved over the period of about one week, resulting in a chapter-by-chapter outline, after which I spent six months writing a treatment. (I also always write a treatment before I write a screenplay.) Then I spent about a year writing a readable draft of the novel; using my outline, I wrote the chapters in whatever order they seemed to emerge or gel. After that it took another year to finish the necessary research and the editorial process. As to the general question of where my ideas originate, I do not know, but there are always more of them than I have time to deal with and they seem to choose me rather than I them.





What is your greatest challenge as a writer?



I find it difficult to find enough time to read.





You've penned some historical writing as well as science fiction. What kind of research have you done for your books?



For my unpublished series of four historical novels set in the ancient Mediterranean, a sense of the amount of research I did can best be suggested by the number of books I purchased: 22.





You also write poetry. Do you find that enhances your ability to write fiction?



My poetry tends to be more purely romantic than my fiction. Also, it speaks more directly and with more immediacy to the sense of the miracle that encompasses us here on Earth. For me, each raindrop is a miracle. When I write a novel, I experience each of my characters, but they do not experience me; however, in my poetry, mine is the only voice. On the other hand, something I have never done, but could do, is to write a poem from the standpoint of one of my characters as a way of understanding that character better.





Who has inspired you as a writer?



The list is very long, and it includes many beings who are not authors, and some who are not human. In summary, I should mention that I always have on my desk a volume of the The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; the last important book that I read was Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portobello. On the other hand, there was a time when the library did not contain enough science fiction books to fill my need—Verne, Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, McCaffrey, etc. Of course, who has not been inspired by Albert Einstein? I have also been inspired by many different animals, rocks, raindrops, rivers, lakes, trees, and celestial objects and events, not to mention incredible films (Gone With the Wind, The Cranes are Flying (Russian), Chariots of Fire, Les Enfants du Paradis, Pelle the Conqueror (Danish), Die Hard, Luther, Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini, The Mission, and many others). Even though your question was only about "who," I guess it is equally important that even the falling of a leaf—being the miracle that it is—can inspire me.





What's next for you?

Right now the marketing of Mine is uppermost in my mind. Nonetheless, I have a zillion stories waiting in the queue.



Anita, thank you for these questions. They have made me reflect on myself—my goals, philosophy, and appreciation for what we have.