E.G. Stone's Blog, page 18

Author Interview: Raymond Klein

Raymond Klein

We’ll skip the “tell us about yourself” because coming up with something on the spot is, truly, the bane of an author’s existence. So, let’s start with something a little easier! Tell me what you’re working on at the moment.

At the moment I have completed my first novel, The Interstellar Police Force, Book One: The Historic Mission. And in March of this year I self-published it on Amazon. I will be branching off to other platforms shorty. This will be a three book series and book two, The Interstellar Police Force, Book Two: Beauty of Violence, is now about98% completed.

2. In as much detail as you would like, tell me about your book(s) that are already out/on the way.

This Science Fiction-Action-Comedy, set on present day Earth, begins in a far-off galaxy. Prodor Moffit and four other prisoners have escaped to Earth and it’s up to two IPF Agents to find them. But, right off, they are met with problems. The first is that they have limited information on the human race that only goes up to the late 1950’s. The second is that the Agents are alien in appearance, so to complete their covert mission they must replicate themselves into humans. The commander’s replication succeeds, but due to a computer glitch his partner is replicated into a Doberman Pincher. With mid-twentieth century information in hand, the agents successfully land. And with the help of a young Earth girl who unwittingly discovers their true identities, the mission to re-capture Prodor Moffit and the other prisoners is on

3. As far as the writing process goes—including such things as conception of idea all the way through to money in the bank—what is the least favourite bit? (Everyone has one!)

Well, the story actually came to me in a song I heard on the radio while driving. And I do try to read a lot so the writing process came kinda naturally to me. How the dialogue should flow, the pacing, things like that. Being that this is my first novel I haven’t really come across anything yet that is my least favorite thing about the writing process

4. Conversely, what is the bit of the writing process that gets your writery brain grinning?

Having an idea just flow on the paper always makes me grin. There were several paragraphs that I didn’t pre-write ahead of time or even thought about. It just unfolded as I wrote, like I was watching the outcome in a movie playing in my head.

5. If you could steal any author’s ability to improve your own work, who would you steal from and why? (e.g. Tolkien’s language skills, Douglas Adams’ humour, etc.)

It would probably be Dean Koontz. I just like the way he puts a story together. The guy really knows how to build a world into a book that you just can’t put down.

6. Now for some fun! The main character of the book you’re working on (or have recently finished) has kidnapped you for ruining their life. How will you explain that what you’re doing is for the best?

Not sure how to really answer this one. If anything, I gave him a purpose. I gave him a new police investigation to solve. An investigation that takes him and his partner of many years to a new and unknown world to do what they both do best as police officers.

7. You, your main character(s), and the protagonist of the last book you read are playing poker. What are the stakes? Who will win and why?

Ok, I can see this. I’m sitting at a round, green felt covered poker table, chips and discarded cards in the center. Jeff Trent just bet it all and Genghis Khan (the Doberman) calls. Sitting with us is Zoey Drake, the anti-hero from Lisa Unger’s novel The Red Hunter, which I just finished yesterday. She’s thinking that she could upturn the table and karate kick us all into oblivion and run off with the loot. But in reality, Genghis has a full house and wins the pot because he’s the only one who fully understands the game.

8. Let’s face it, writing is hard. What do you think are some traps to avoid in your particular area of expertise? (Whether that be your genre, your knowledge of plot, your character building, your world building, etc.)

I would think you could easily get trapped in your world building. Mine takes place on present day Earth in a town I conjured up. But, I can imagine the difficulties if my story was on a different world.

Anything else you’d like to add? Plots to take over the world, for example. Upcoming release dates, links and things, maybe even your favourite chocolate cake recipe.

Right now it will be awhile before Book Two comes out. But you can find Book One on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YXTFBGT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_T1YADC62FK9HCDP175MZ

And me on Facebook – The Interstellar Police Force and Raymond F. Klein

Book Review: Langley by Poppy Kuroki

Note: This is a free book received through Poppy Kuroki’s Newsletter. The link is at the bottom of this review.

I love books that return to worlds I’ve come to enjoy. Basically, new books in a series that expand on the story or character or just continue from where things left off. Poppy Kuroki’s Langley may not continue from where things left off with Black Diamond, but it expands on what came before, and I do so love her world.

1. Thoughts on the plot

If you’re not familiar with Poppy Kuroki’s world, it follows the members of the Black Diamond organisation, a group of assassins devoted to the goddess of death. They came to join the organisation by different means, each one of them finding their place in this unlikely group. This story follows Langley, a boy raised as a traditional dancer by his father. One day, however, his father is attacked and Langley must determine by whom and how to stop it.

The plot is fairly straightforward, given that this story is firmly in novelette territory at about 75 pages or so. That does not make it any less interesting. Langley’s story is one of family and duty and love and I really enjoyed the twist at the end. Very surprising!

2. Thoughts on the character

Of the Black Diamond members I’ve seen so far, Langley is perhaps the most focused and disciplined. He has a devotion to his craft—dance and performance—and spends hours applying himself to improving his ability and seeking the approval of the master performer, his father. I appreciate the depth of Langley’s character, as well as the arc of a child who prefers to embrace his family legacy instead of turning away from it. That extra bit of character development at the end, with the twist that I can’t talk about because of spoilers, well that really made Langley a character to root for.

3. Favourite part

That twist that I can’t talk about because of spoilers. Well done!

4. Critique

My only critique is that I would have liked more. This book was so well done and I love this world and could happily spend hours there, so am always a bit disappointed when the story ends.

Overall, Langley was another stunning instalment of the Black Diamond series and I would highly recommend it and all the other books to anyone looking for a story that breaks from the unexpected and makes you feel.

Find the book: https://www.poppykuroki.com/shop

Book Review: Scales by Alexzander Christion

Scales is the second book in Alexzander Christion’s By The Hand of Dragons series, a dark adult fantasy series about a young dragon named Shefa and his quest to become the best lord and protector of Fuumashion he can. Of course, many things are going to stand in his way, including the very animals themselves, potential allies, and others.

1. Thoughts on the plot

Now, just a note. I have not read these books in chronological order. I read them in the order of publication, which means I read AlinGuard (book 3), then Rook (book 1), then Blood of the Lunacorn (sort of an in between novella), then Saber, and finally Scales. So I will admit to being a little lost when it came to where this book came in on the story line. There were characters I had to place again, and I had to remember just where our young dragon was on his journey. And, given that there has been more than a year between my last read of this series, it took me a minute to figure out what was going on. (Don’t be like me, read them in order.)

Once I did figure out what was going on, however, everything began to fit together, mesh in a way that I see but rarely in books this complex and intricate. The plot of these novels is always singular. It seems like events that have nothing to do with one another happen in succession, until you reach a critical point and everything falls together, creating a plot that just works, in the slightly magical way that a Rube-Goldberg machine of epic proportions just works.

2. Thoughts on the characters

See note above regarding my reading order. And again, once I figured out where our characters were in this journey, they fit much more than before. Shefa is, as always, a character to enjoy reading. Neither a hero nor a villain, he is merely dragon: not to be trifled with. His goals do not always make sense on the surface, and he is most certainly learning about himself, his world, and his own limitations. Surrounded by his Crown Jewels, which are equally fascinating to read, the characters are like a symphony of what might happen when given such power.

3. Favourite part

My favourite part of this book (and all these books, frankly) is the prose. It is purple, have no doubt, but it makes sense, and it is beautiful, and it is sometimes profound. How something so intense and dark can be so myriad and stunning is an art I appreciate very much.

4. Critique

My only critique is to do with my brain, the things I had forgotten and didn’t remember from previous books, and the fact that I really should have read these in a slightly more logical order. Ah, well. I sorted it out eventually.

Overall, Scales is another example of a great work of dark fantasy with elements of grimdark and shining magic, exceptional prose, and a story that will take you on a wild ride. A great book.

Author Interview: Bruno Martin Soares

All-focus

Bruno Martins Soares

1. We’ll skip the “tell us about yourself” because coming up with something on the spot is, truly, the bane of an author’s existence. So, let’s start with something a little easier! Tell me what you’re working on at the moment.

I’m working on a psychological thriller/horror story called INSIGHT. For once, it’s a stand-alone, a small book, but will probably be one of the best things I ever wrote. Emotional and strong. I don’t have the pitch fine-tuned yet, but it will be something like this: ‘Strange things begin to happen to Matt, a recent widower: his 10-year-old son develops supernatural powers, apparitions of his dead wife become frequent, and he is being followed by a suspicious man. When his son is kidnapped, he dives into a spiral of events of supernatural and/or sci-fi origin. He’ll have to do the unimaginable to save his family.’

2. In as much detail as you would like, tell me about your book(s) that are already out/on the way.

It’s a two-part post-apocalyptic novel with a few twists. It’s called LAURA AND THE SHADOW KING. The first volume is out now and the second will come before the end of the year. The title is purposefully deceiving – Laura is a little girl fleeing in the middle of the chaos that emerges after a deadly pandemic; but the Shadow King is not a supernatural being. It’s JJ ‘King’ Berger, the lieutenant leading the Shadow Team, a multinational SF team operating in devastated Southern Portugal and Spain. An invading army has come from the East and is pursuing Laura and her mother, who are very special people (won’t tell you why, but it involves superpowers). Berger and his team will have to face all kinds of trouble to save them.

3. As far as the writing process goes—including such things as conception of idea all the way through to money in the bank—what is the least favourite bit? (Everyone has one!) Hate re-writing. I sometimes take a long time preparing and writing, just so I have to do the least re-writing possible. In the past, I used to avoid it all that I could, but now I accept it as part of the process, still, it annoys me to have to do it. So I prepare and prepare, plan, structure, go through the scenes over and over, before I write. Which is sometimes frustrating. Still, I usually don’t have to re-write that much.

4. Conversely, what is the bit of the writing process that gets your writery brain grinning? Dialogues. Love dialogues. I love action scenes and when I get in the rhythm, I really drool over them. But if I must choose just one, dialogues are the thing. I love playing with the relationships and the dynamics between the characters.

5. If you could steal any author’s ability to improve your own work, who would you steal from and why? (e.g. Tolkien’s language skills, Douglas Adams’ humour, etc.)Ooo! I wish you had asked this one before the previous question!! I would definitely steal George R.R. Martin’s plot talent. The way the guy foreshadows and carefully grooms you over time and then completely destroys you or sends you to the sky is awesome! I love playing with details and create plotlines and storylines that will surprise you later, as they cross and cross. I love it when I can surprise my readers with clever solutions, but Martin is way better than I am. I’d love to have his talent for the thing.

6. Now for some fun! The main character of the book you’re working on (or have recently finished) has kidnapped you for ruining their life. How will you explain that what you’re doing is for the best? Oh, I really can’t tell you that. Suffice to say that if he keeps the faith in me, he’ll be alright.

7. You, your main character(s), and the protagonist of the last book you read are playing poker. What are the stakes? Who will win and why?

Probably the fate of the world. But I would win the game with Geralt of Rivia. He’s just too honest. And JJ Berger, the Shadow King, is simply folding most of the time – he keeps playing, but he doesn’t care enough – as long as Laura is okay, he’s okay.

8. Let’s face it, writing is hard. What do you think are some traps to avoid in your particular area of expertise? (Whether that be your genre, your knowledge of plot, your character building, your world building, etc.)

You usually can’t avoid them, but be ready for the following phenomena: 1) The Emotional Link – if you’re doing the right things, you’re really involved with your characters; and if you are putting them through horrible things, you will feel it in your bones. So be ready to suffer. 2) The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Syndrome – If you’re doing things right, your characters will probably want to follow their own ways from time to time. If your characters are realistic enough, they’ll develop a personality. That will get you and your story in trouble. Get used to that and work around it. 3) The Caesura Effect – for years I didn’t know if it was a real thing, but more and more authors tell me it is. I call it the Caesura Effect. It happens when you’re approaching the end of your novel. It becomes harder and harder to finish, to just sit down and write. It’s like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. But don’t panic. Finish the damn thing. If you have to re-write the last 50 pages, you’ll have time to do that later. But don’t stop.

9. Anything else you’d like to add? Plots to take over the world, for example. Upcoming release dates, links and things, maybe even your favourite chocolate cake recipe. Sure. I was born, raised and live in Lisbon, Portugal. If you don’t know it, you have to come by. I think it’s one of the most beautiful, peaceful and friendly countries in the world and the food is one of the greatest culinary secrets you’ll find. I have many stories in my mind, many of which happen here. LAURA AND THE SHADOW KING happens in the Madeira Island, the Porto Santo Island, Lisbon, and Alentejo. All beautiful places to visit. So, here’s my challenge: pick up my book, get on a plane and check out those places. I’ll bet you’ll be surprised.

Book Review: Her Dark Soul by Isra Sravenheart

Isra Sravnheart’s Her Dark Soul is the first in a series of stories about the witch Lady Isra of the Dark and her descent into the depths of magic and evil.

1. Thoughts on the plot

Fairy tales are tricky things for me. On the one hand, they are classic stories that undergird so much of modern story telling that I can’t help but love them. On the other hand, the original form (think Grimm’s Fairy tales) is sometimes tricky to really enjoy because the stories move so quickly, sometimes leaving out character details. I love retellings of these original stories because they often go into so much detail. This book very much follows the original style of fairy tale. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that; it’s a very valid style, but it is not my favourite. As such, the plot felt a little…stiff.

The plot follows Lady Isra on her journey into darkness. She kills a dragon, casts spells of invisibility, tortures trespassers, and the like, There is not a lot of character development, and most of the story is important plot points but little more than that. It was exactly what you would expect of a traditional fairy tale (if about a villain) and in that regard it was well done. I just prefer a bit more detail.

2. Thoughts on the characters

Lady Isra as the main character was described—many times over—as being wicked, or doing wicked things. And, frankly, that was the biggest character development in the book. This is, again, very on par with original-style fairy tales. They are concerned more with events than with the people doing the events, except in very broad strokes. Perfectly acceptable, only I wish there was a little more character development, or at least a bit more backstory to explain why she became evil. 

Also, the other characters in the story often just appear out of nowhere. This is again very much in style, but if the character is to serve as more than a plot point, it helps to have a bit more backstory and development.

3. Favourite part

I don’t really have a favourite part of the book. I thought it was good, and I generally like reading stories about villains, but the original style fairy tale aspect of this book sort of threw me off.

4. Critique

Again, I don’t really have a critique for this book except that I didn’t care for the style. However, that’s a personal opinion, as it’s a very valid style and beloved by many people.

Overall, I think this book was good for the type of book that it is. It was coherent, events moved properly and the characters behaved according to their archetypes. Just because I don’t love fairy tales in their original style, and much prefer retellings, doesn’t mean this is a bad book. It’s just not my preferred style. A good book.

Book Review: Golem by PD Alleva

Horror novels are tricky things to get right. It’s difficult to provide a jump-scare when reading, but if you have too much gore or violence or any of that, you can desensitise the reader. Getting the perfect amount of fear, disgust, horor, is an artform. One that I think PD Alleva manages quite well in Golem.

1. Thoughts on the plot

This book follows John Ashton, circa 1951, who was recently promoted to detective and given a case of a missing child to investigate. His only lead is socialite Alena Francon, who has been in Bellevue sanatorium for years. She tells him the story of a statue she brought to life, a demonic force trying to infiltrate the world, using children as hosts for its army. Ashton must investigate, but it’s hard to believe someone who has been locked up in a psychiatric facility.

The plot was far more intricate than I expected, in the best of ways. We got to see both Ashton’s investigation and Alena’s push towards incarnating Golem and what happened afterwards. The different perspectives on everything was fascinating, with different visceral reactions to the situations Golem put them in. There was not a great deal of suspense in this story, except in the ways that the characters reacted to things, but the novel did manage to evoke feelings of fear, disgust, pain—all the cornerstones of a good horror novel—at nearly every turn.

2. Thoughts on the characters

I really liked both primary characters in this story for entirely different reasons. Ashton, because he has a certain amount of cleverness that takes him far, but is tempered by his suspension of belief about the truth of the matter. Alena, on the other hand, is fully open to the truth and her unrelenting statement of the truth leaves her in a precarious situation with the rest of society. Both are capable characters, and both are fascinating to read.

3. Favourite part

The setting of this book was great to read. I have rarely read a horror novel set in a historical time, and this one was as realistic as if I were living it myself.

4. Critique

I don’t really have a critique for this novel as far as characters and prose and such go, and the plot was quite good. I did have a question regarding the golem mythos, as I was taught ages back that golems were creatures of protection, raised from clay and created with the name of God in their mouths. I have not seen a situation where the golems turn on their creators, but my knowledge of Jewish lore is minimal at best. So it’s not really a critique, but more of a question. Otherwise, this book was very well done.

Overall, Golem is a novel that delves into the world of lurid desires, myths come to life and overlooking the things that stand right before you. A great book.

Author Interview: Robert G. Williscroft

Robert G. Williscroft—author of Slingshot, the book under consideration. (See the summary below.)

1. We’ll skip the “tell us about yourself” because coming up with something on the spot is, truly, the bane of an author’s existence. So, let’s start with something a little easier! Tell me what you’re working on at the moment.

I am halfway through the Second Oort Chronicle: Federation—To the Stars. This is the second of three planned novels in The Oort Chronicles. The first, Icicle—A Tensor Matrix, was published in 2020. Here is a blurb for Icicle:

Braxton Thorpe has discovered a threat to the entire Solar System, but he has a problem: he’s dead.

Frozen at death, he awakens to find himself uploaded into an electronic matrix. Exploring beyond the matrix and the larger GlobalNet, he discovers the Oort, a distributed electronic entity older than humanity, with an unnerving secret: aliens wiped out nearly all life on Earth once, and are coming back to do it again.

The mathematical entity that is Thorpe has to find a way to convince humans of the threat, and in time to do something about it. But how, and what?

If you’ve read Niven’s A World Out of Time or Taylor’s We Are Legion, the opening of Icicle will only seem familiar. Buckle up for a wild ride; you ain’t seen nothing. 

Here is a blurb for Federation (to be released later this year):

The Oort Federation has consolidated its governance throughout the Solar System. Phoenix, under Braxton Thorpe (the Icicle), is a Solar System powerhouse controlling portals and non-portal travel everywhere. Ogden Enterprises, under Daphne O’Bryan and Kimberly Deveraux, controls human upload activity. Udachny, under Isidor Orlov, controls Solar System criminal activities while independently developing FTL, portal system, and human upload technology. Masin Arcah and Adrhun Gloalorn, survivors from the Asterian attack on the Solar System, choose sides—Arcah with Phoenix and Gloalorn with Udachny.

Thorpe and Orlov race to complete the first true FTL starship; their immediate goal is the Aster star system, the origin of the attack on the Solar System described in Icicle. Thorpe intends to establish cooperation between humans and Asterians. Orlov seeks to exploit the Asterians.

When the expeditions arrive in the Aster star system, Phoenix establishes a relationship with Arcah’s homeworld, Rogan, a planet operating as a wide-open, virtually no-government society. Orlov commences exploiting Gloalorn’s homeworld, Frohlic, ruled by the Boss, heading a many-thousand-year-old, planet-wide bureaucracy. Over time, bureaucratic Frohlic overwhelms Orlov, whereas Thorpe and the Roganians advance Phoenix stardrive technology and construct a large-scale starship for a planned expedition to explore the Galaxy and beyond.

2. In as much detail as you would like, tell me about your book(s) that are already out/on the way.

NOTE: All my books are featured on my book website: https://RobertWilliscroft.com

The Mac McDowell Missions:

Operation Ivy Bells (2019): A super-secret, off-the-books spy organization; a security-clearance starting at Top Secret and going up from there; an attack by giant squid during a thousand-foot dive while breathing an exotic gas; a cat’s whisker escape from death during a three-day decompression – and that’s just the first two chapters of Operation Ivy Bells, before the action really gets underway. 
    In a fast-paced, personal narrative, J.R. “Mac” MacDowell details a breathtaking series of events during a super-secret intelligence gathering operation at the height of the Cold War. Riding the nuclear submarine Halibut, Mac and his saturation diving team surreptitiously enter the Soviet-controlled Sea of Okhotsk on a proof-of-concept mission. They install a tap on an underwater communications cable at 400 feet, and narrowly escape death when a storm snaps Halibut’s anchor cables. They retrieve missile parts from a Soviet missile-test splash-zone, getting caught in a sonar-web set by the crafty skipper of an old Soviet diesel submarine. Mac’s divers temporarily disable the sub, and Halibut escapes to Guam, dogged by the sub Skipper.
​     Having proved the concept, they return in a Halibut outfitted with skids so she can sit on the bottom to attach a 12-thousand-pound pod to the cable for future retrieval. In the missile splash-zone, they lock in deadly underwater combat with Soviet divers. With the free world at stake, they capture one and kill the rest. Halibut’s submariners and saturation divers finally return home without ever publicly revealing their crucial contribution to winning the Cold War, receiving an unpublicized Presidential Unit Citation.

Operation Ice Breaker (2020): A super-secret, off-the-books submarine operation during the Cold War. In a fast-paced, personal narrative, J.R. “Mac” MacDowell details a breathtaking series of events during a super-secret acoustic array laying operation under the Arctic ice pack at the height of the Cold War. Riding the nuclear submarine USS Teuthis, Mac and his saturation diving team surreptitiously enter the frozen Arctic waters to place two Top Secret SOSUS arrays on the seafloor under the ice pack. They face a giant Camaneroceras (thought to be long extinct), polar bears, Greenland sharks, Orcas, and other hungry marine critters. They are dogged by a high-performance new Soviet nuclear submarine that is determined to prevent Teuthis from laying the arrays.
​     Mac and his team find themselves in an under-ice, hand-to-hand battle with Soviet divers that results in the surreptitious capture of one of the Soviet subs inside U.S. territorial waters.

Operation Arctic Sting (to be released in Jun 2021): While Mac McDowell is with his sweetheart, Kate, in Kodiak, Alaska, they are attacked by a Soviet sleeper cell and nearly killed because of Mac’s involvement in the take-over of the stranded Soviet Alfa sub off Pt. Barrow, Alaska. Mac and his team return to the stricken Alfa on the nuclear sub USS Teuthis. Using the DSRV Mystic, they board and assume control of the Soviet sub. For the next 31 days, they drive the nearly automated sub through the Arctic ice pack, harassed by Soviet subs whose mission is to retake or sink the Alfa. With a non-functional reactor, they are forced to recharge the Alfa’s batteries daily while submerged under the ice pack, using divers from Teuthis. They confront determined Soviet sub skippers, Soviet Spetsnaz divers, hostile marine life—Orcas, Polar Bears, Greenland Sharks, and a harsh Arctic winter under the ice pack.

Their survival depends on overcoming all these obstacles, and making it out alive is not guaranteed.

Operation White Out (2021): Background info: In the mid-to-late-1980s, Taiwan, the ROC (Republic of China), was transitioning from a strong-man government to representative democracy. Taiwan was also building up its military, and in particular, was looking to build a small fleet of submarines. Japan, India, Holland, and even South Korea got into the act. It’s only recently that we, the US, paved the way for Taiwan building its own small sub fleet. Who is to say, however, whether a lot has been going on behind the scenes. Furthermore, because the PRC (People’s Republic of China—the Chicoms) became such an international threat (and bully), Taiwan has lost a lot of international support, including ours (officially). Taiwan has had nuclear reactors since 1953. The Taiwanese are fully capable of building a nuclear sub. In fact, they have been so since the late 1970s. Taiwan’s greatest liability is a shortage of oil. It gets its oil from the Middle East and some from Africa, but oil in Taiwan is in short supply.

Preliminary plot summary: Mac and USS Teuthis are assigned to lay SOSUS arrays off the coast of Antarctica, looking into the Atlantic and Pacific. Part of this task requires installation of a mountain-top relay tower. Mac and his team accomplish this and experience a full, Antarctic white-out (hence, the title). During one array’s emplacement, they discover a Taiwanese underwater facility on the ocean bottom at accessible depth under the permanent ice shelf. The automated facility is pumping subsurface oil into a temporary underwater storage facility. Large fully automated underwater (submarine) tankers receive oil from the storage facility for underwater transport back to Taiwan. Mac and his team explore the facility, discovering its Taiwan connection. While they are there, a PDRK sub (or Chicom or Soviet) appears with the intent of usurping the facility for their own use. Mac and Teuthis prevent this and then are directed to accompany the tanker back to Taiwan, surreptitiously. During the transit, they are dogged by a couple of Soviet subs as Chicom allies, DPRK submarine activity, and even Chicom subs.

Political complications of the claimed overlapping Antarctic territorial “wedges,” the Antarctic Treaty, the US South Pole Base, and the Soviet bases in each of the claimed territories paint a canvas where much can happen. I would want to keep things within known historical parameters, but who really knows what has happened behind the scenes and under the ice?

The Starchild Trilogy :

Slingshot (2018): Slingshot is a love story – about a man, a woman, another man, another woman, some gender bending…and a machine, the largest ever built.

     Slingshot is a mystery – about a missing aviatrix, a conspiracy, a true-believer. Slingshot is an adventure – about following a dream, the ocean-deep, outer space.
    Slingshot is about constructing the first space launch-loop stretching 2,600 km between Baker and Jarvis Islands in the Equatorial Pacific. It’s about high finance, intrigue, unlimited ambition, heroism, fanaticism, betrayal…and about opening space to the common person.
    With a cast of 69, Slingshot takes you from Seattle’s world financial district, to the ocean bottom at 5,000 feet off Baker Island, to the edge of space 80 km above. You play with dolphins and battle sharks. You fly and sail and dive, you work and play and love across the vast panorama of an Equatorial Pacific being put to leash to serve humanity’s surge into outer space.
    While its accurate science and precise engineering will appeal to hard science-fiction buffs, Slingshot’s major focus is the grand journey, the opening of outer space to the common person by men and women who loom larger than life as they work, play, and love.

The Starchild Compact (2018): The Starchild Compact is an adventure of heroic proportions, commencing on a planet 500 lightyears distant, arriving here just a few years from now, and ending up in the far distant expanses of the Universe.

    Is Saturn’s moon Iapetus an artifact? To find out, Jon Stock takes his international exploration team on a 1.4 billion km journey to Saturn, but will Jihadist stowaway Saeed Ismail succeed in sabotaging the mission? On Iapetus, Jon Stock and his team meet the Founders. Where are they from? How did they get here? How will they impact Earth and the Solar System? 

    Will the Founder’s presence signal the end of humanity, or will it pave the way for a joint push to the distant reaches of the Galaxy?

    The Starchild Compact is hard SciFi reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke or James P. Hogan, with a geopolitical twist worthy of Tom Clancy or Clive Cussler.

The Iapetus Federation (2018): Following the dramatic events in The Starchild Compact, the starship Starchild departs on a 185-year interstellar journey. Meanwhile, the Iapetus Federation in cooperation with the Founders, descendants of the people who originally constructed Iapetus, expands to include the Mirs Complex at L-4, the Lunar Complex, a new habitat being constructed at L-5, the growing Mars settlements, and several asteroids including Daphne and Ceres.
    On Earth, America turns away from its world leadership position to focus on internal matters and the idea of an all-inclusive, multicultural society. Saeed Esmail, the stowaway Jihadist who played a significant role in The Starchild Compact, becomes the guiding prophet of a new form of Islam that quickly dominates the vanquished Persian Caliphate territories, and threatens the rest of the planet. Aided by Founder Asshur, the besieged Israelis reluctantly forge a new homeland on Mars, while the United States balkanizes into a half-dozen smaller units dominated by the Lone Star Conservancy under the leadership of Texan Sam Houston, who had earlier established the Lone Star Settlement on Mars.
    Science does not stand still. Founder researchers develop a longevity treatment that has the potential to extend human life indefinitely. The Starchild Institute, headed by former U.S. President Marc Bowles, develops advanced spacecraft, and a new form of transportation based on artificial wormholes. As the global Jihad on Earth heats up, most of the planet falls under the domination of Saeed Esmail, with only the Lone Star Conservancy, Columbia Freehold, Australia, and New Zealand left as independent territories. The Institute opens evacuation portals between Earth and Iapetus to rescue as many people as possible.
    While Earth sinks into medieval barbarism, the focus of human activity shifts from Earth to the Iapetus Federation as humans settle virtually every potentially habitable spot in the Solar System and begin planning for expansion into the rest of the Galaxy.

The Daedalus Files (Takes place in the Starchild Trilogy universe, but is otherwise stand-alone)

The Daedalus Files (2020): Can you drop from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with just a hardshell wingsuit? Navy SEAL Derek “Tiger” Baily and his SEALS Winged Insertion Command (SWIC) develop an experimental Gryphon hardshell wingsuit that can do just that. Eventually, when the presidential front-runner is seized by pirates for ransom, Baily’s 6-man SWIC team must hurtle around the world, staging critical re-entry for a rescue, challenged to solve life-or-death problems with only seconds to spare. Can they survive? Will they effect the rescue? Join Tiger Baily through all four adventures in sci-fi master Robert G. Williscroft’s Daedalus series, now collected for the first time as The Daedalus Files: SEALS Winged Insertion Command (SWIC).

Starman Jones: A Relativity Birthday Present (2017): A Relativity Birthday Present is the first story in the captivating, educational and beautifully illustrated Starman Jones Series designed to give young readers an intuitive grasp of esoteric scientific concepts like Relativity. It teaches young readers about one of the amazing effects of Relativity.

Starman Jones and Spacepup are anxious to take Baby Billy on their adventurous trips from star to star in their starship, Willywinder. Billy, unfortunately, is too young, so Starman Jones devises a trip to the star Alpha Centauri. During the journey he and Spacepup will travel so fast that time slows down for them on Willywinder, while time progresses normally back on Earth for Baby Billy.

Ultimately, Starman Jones and Spacepup return to Earth nine years later on Billy’s ninth birthday, but they have hardly aged at all. Billy has caught up with them, and can now accompany them on future star trips. It is the best birthday present Billy has ever had — a relativity birthday present.

The Chicken Little Agenda: A scientist takes on the distortions and outright lies foisted on the public! Dr. Robert G. Williscroft firmly establishes that the sky is not falling. By using scientific research and solid reasoning, he explains some of the most disturbing problems facing our nation including global warming, the safety of nuclear power, the politics of education, and the oxymoron of government efficiency. With a clear message, he discerns what is true from what is merely Chicken Little gibberish.

3. As far as the writing process goes—including such things as conception of idea all the way through to money in the bank—what is the least favourite bit? (Everyone has one!)

The editing.

4. Conversely, what is the bit of the writing process that gets your writery brain grinning?

The research AND the writing itself.

5. If you could steal any author’s ability to improve your own work, who would you steal from and why? (e.g. Tolkien’s language skills, Douglas Adams’ humour, etc.)

Robert A. Heinlein for his story-telling ability and his wordsmithing

6. Now for some fun! The main character of the book you’re working on (or have recently finished) has kidnapped you for ruining their life. How will you explain that what you’re doing is for the best?

What do you mean, “ruined your life”? Because of my stories about you, you are famous and respected in every circle that matters to you and even some you don’t care about. You get free drinks in every O-Club, and admirals rise to their feet when you enter a room. So give me a break—“ruined your life”!

7. You, your main character(s), and the protagonist of the last book you read are playing poker. What are the stakes? Who will win and why?

Table stakes (traditional poker, not this Texas hold ’em stuff). I will win big because I understand how my characters think. As for the protagonist of the Matt Helm novel I read last week, Matt is too easily turned by a pretty face or a nice female superstructure. I would make sure a comely waitress serves drinks, and I would take him to the cleaners.

8. Let’s face it, writing is hard. What do you think are some traps to avoid in your particular area of expertise? (Whether that be your genre, your knowledge of plot, your character building, your world building, etc.)

We’re talking primarily about a series of novels. When writing the first, it is important to think ahead so you don’t cause difficulty later when you try to remain consistent, novel to novel in the series.

9. Anything else you’d like to add? Plots to take over the world, for example. Upcoming release dates, links and things, maybe even your favourite chocolate cake recipe.

My SciFi is hard science fiction.This means I must remain true to physics and modern science and engineering in general, even when I project into the future. Things like FTL and portals need to be justified so that they seem reasonable within the story context.

I write my Cold War thrillers about submarine and deep-diving espionage out of my own personal experience. Here, I must remain true to what actually happened, keeping the historical and political elements in mind. I am careful not to introduce technology that did not exist until several years after the story took place.

Book website:https://RoberftWilliscroft.com

Personal website: https://argee.net

Email: rgw@RobertWilliscroft.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.williscroft

Parler: https://parler.com/#/user/RGWilliscroft

Gab: https://gab.com/RWilliscroft

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RGWilliscroft

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/argee/

Blog: https://thrawnrickle.com/

Publisher: https://freshinkgroup.com/author/robertwilliscroft/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-G-Williscroft/e/B001JP52AS

Here is a short bio: Retired submarine officer, deep-sea and saturation diver, scientist, author, and lifelong adventurer. Spent 22 months underwater, a year in the equatorial Pacific, three years in the Arctic ice pack, and a year at the Geographic South Pole. Degrees in Marine Physics and Meteorology, and a doctorate for developing a system to protect SCUBA divers in contaminated water. A prolific author of non-fiction, Cold War thrillers, and hard science fiction. Lives in Centennial, Colorado, with his family.

Author Interview: CF Welburn

CF WELBURN. Everyone calls me Dave. Sorry, that was the template. Everyone calls me, Craig.

1. We’ll skip the “tell us about yourself” because coming up with something on the spot is, truly, the bane of an author’s existence. So, let’s start with something a little easier! Tell me what you’re working on at the moment.

I’ve just released/am releasing my first grimdark book on Oct 5th! It’s got axes and swans and snow and lots of blood and swearing. I’d best describe it as a revenge meets chosen-one mashup… with a nordic/fairytale twist.

2. In as much detail as you would like, tell me about your book(s) that are already out/on the way. 

My main series the Ashen Levels is epic/dark fantasy. It has subtle elements of gamelit in that the magic system was based around gaming mechanics. You do not have to be a gamer to enjoy it, though. In fact I nearly always think of it as being epic fantasy. If you like strange races, unpredictable plotlines, mystery and lots of conniving characters, you might like this…

My new book is called I Shall Return with Winter (ISRWW – for future reference!), and as I said above, it’s an epic, grimdark, revenge, chosen-one tale and looking to be book 1 of a series…

I’ve also written a couple of novellas, called the Linguist (think Poe), and Toybox (think Black Mirror).

3. As far as the writing process goes—including such things as conception of idea all the way through to money in the bank—what is the least favourite bit? (Everyone has one!)

Marketing has always been my achilles heel… I like to think that over the six years I’ve been self-publishing I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks, but I still feel like a fish out of water.

4. Conversely, what is the bit of the writing process that gets your writery brain grinning?

I enjoy most stages of the writing process. I love a good rough draft. I’m usually stumbling with my characters and as shocked and surprised as they are… But I like the satisfaction of going back, tightening it up, layering it and making it look like I knew what I was doing all along!

5. If you could steal any author’s ability to improve your own work, who would you steal from and why? (e.g. Tolkien’s language skills, Douglas Adams’ humour, etc.)

JK Rowling’s ability to buy a private island.

6. Now for some fun! The main character of the book you’re working on (or have recently finished) has kidnapped you for ruining their life. How will you explain that what you’re doing is for the best? 

I’d probably blackmail him. I’m writing a sequel, you know. Things could either go very well, or very badly for you. By the way, you’re paying for the drinks, right? 

7. You, your main character(s), and the protagonist of the last book you read are playing poker. What are the stakes? Who will win and why?

Well, I would lose, for sure. I love Poker, but things never quite go the way I intend. Oben, form ISRWW might win, if it was in the prophecy that he do so. Despite what he wants/tries to change, his fate is always just beyond his control… The last book I read was Og-Grim-Dog. Yeah, a three-headed ogre has to win. They could come up with ingenious bluffs, arguing with each other.

8. Let’s face it, writing is hard. What do you think are some traps to avoid in your particular area of expertise? (Whether that be your genre, your knowledge of plot, your character building, your world building, etc.)

Time for me has always been one of the most difficult things to manage. I am quite organised, but on the slow side and have so many hobbies and projects waiting on the sidelines… The last year has been hectic with a new addition to the family, but now my son has finally started nursery, I’m hoping to take advantage of the mornings!

9. Anything else you’d like to add? Plots to take over the world, for example. Upcoming release dates, links and things, maybe even your favourite chocolate cake recipe. 

Thanks for your time!

My new book (ISRWW) is out oct 5th and will be on sale for 5 days. If you are quick you can snap it up here for less than a cheap coffee: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...

If you are interested in my current and upcoming projects you can sign up here for infrequent and sporadic emails.
www.cfwelburn.com

Book Review: The Second Star by Alma Alexander

Travel amongst the stars is a highly talked of topic in these times. That our future may lie “out there” somewhere is a source of great hope and great terror. I love reading stories that explore this knife’s edge dichotomy, and The Second Star by Alma Alexander is one of the best examples of the consequences—and miracles—of star travel that I have seen.

1. Thoughts on the plot

This book follows Dr. Stella Froud, who is called in to help in the matter of the recently recovered crew of the Parada, a ship that went to the stars with near-FTL technology nearly two-hundred years ago. Barely aged thanks to the technology, the crew of six may have come back, but their personalities are fractured in pieces. Stella, with the help of Jesuit Father Philip Carter, must determine whether the crew’s fracture precludes all future star travel, and whether the crew can ever return to the society that remembers them as heros.

This story is a deeply psychological book. It explores depths of the mind that most people don’t even know existed, and it does so beautifully, without bogging the reader down with unnecessary jargon. It is also a deeply exciting book, with terse interpersonal politics, search and rescue situations, and questioning authority in a startling way. I cannot say much more than that except that the plot, and the twist at the end, were captivating and stunning and un-put-downable.

2. Thoughts on the characters

Psychological explorations—and explorations of space, for that matter—in books can go one of two ways, I find. One: the depth of mind (or space) is explored in such a way that is extremely profound, but done in such a way that the characters feel flat and unrelatable. Two: there is no way not to relate to the characters because they are human made manifest in words. This book was definitely the latter. Stella, as the main character, displayed a proportionately large emotional range, with a depth that was almost like talking with an actual person. The other characters, from Father Philip to the crew of the Parada, however, had the exact same depth, even if we weren’t reading the story from their perspective. I have only seen such characterisation but rarely and every time it takes my breath away.

3. Favourite part

I could wax on about the plot twist (sans spoilers, of course) or the characterisation, or the prose, or any of it, but really, I have to say, my favourite bit was the cat. Never forgotten. Details like that make a book.

4. Critique

Frankly, I haven’t got a critique for this book because it was just so good.

Overall, The Second Star is one of my favourite books of the year. Perhaps of all time. It scours the depths of the human mind at the same time that it opens up new horizons amongst the stars, leaving us standing in the wake of profundity and starstuff. An excellent read.

Book Review: I Shall Return With Winter by CF Welburn

Any time a favourite author’s book crosses my desk, I can’t help but read it. And, thus far, with CF Welburn’s work, I have never been disappointed. Nor was I with I Shall Return With Winter.

1. Thoughts on the plot

This book follows Oben, a farmer from Edale, whose village is attacked by northerners known as Skalgs. He goes north to exact revenge, but the north holds many enemies and they are not entirely what they seem. Prophecy speaks of a Conduit that will deliver Edale to them, and now Oben must prove the prophecy wrong while also attempting to take his revenge and not lose himself in the process.

This book is a large-scale dark fantasy. I would edge it close to the epic fantasy genre, but primarily stick it with dark fantasy. And oh, my, what a fantasy it was! This book is great on plot. Just when I think I had a handle on what the world had in store for Oben, something new came and added an extra twist, an extra knot. It made the plot intricate and entertaining, something to puzzle through while desperately rooting for Oben. 

2. Thoughts on the character

I’ve never read a story where a character gets captured by enemies, only to become their agent of prophecy. It is very similar to being plucked out of your ordinary life to become a chosen one, but not quite. That difference was slight, but it really solidified the story and made Oben that much more interesting. At the beginning, he is a character that is certain to be swiftly overwhelmed by circumstances. Yet, he never gives in, his determination to see his wrongs righted subsuming everything until there is only will remaining. He has the sort of grit that I want in a main character, with enough of a soft side squirrelled away to make me actually care about him instead of just root for him. And how he is at the end of the book? I can say little, for fear of spoilers, but it was perfect.

3. Favourite part

As stated just prior, the ending was my favourite part. The twist on the prophecy, the aftermath…sublime.

4. Critique

My only critique is that the bit with the aubergines was a bit rushed and didn’t quite make sense with the rest of the story. However, that’s a minor situation and it was really not a big deal at all.

Overall, I Shall Return With Winter is a stunning dark fantasy, with characters to root for, a plot that keeps you thinking and prose that draws you in and doesn’t let you go until you finish the story. An excellent book.