C.A. Milson's Blog, page 225
May 18, 2015
Interview with Mathieu Cailler, author of Loss Angeles
Hi folks. Today I get to chat with Mathieu Cailler, author of the new book Loss Angeles. Cailler is a writer of prose and poetry. His work has been widely published in national and international literary journals. Before becoming a full-time writer, Cailler was an elementary school teacher in inner-city Los Angeles. “I came to writing in a rather circuitous way. I always penned jokes for stand-up comedy appearances but later realized it wasn’t just comedy that applealed to me, but all writing.” A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, Cailler was awarded the Short Story America Prize for Short Fiction and a Shakespeare Award for Poetry. His chapbook, Clotheslines, was recently published by Red Bird Press. LOSS ANGELES is Cailler’s first full-length book.
Mathieu, thanks for being here today. What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
I love to tell stories. That’s really as simple as it gets. There’s something very pure and honest about telling someone a story. In this day of multitasking, trying to hold someone’s attention with a single story is a challenge that really motivates me.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Kobe Bryant. I’m a big-time Lakers fan. I’ve watched every game this season (which was hard), but I love his work ethic and his acceptance to walk in the shoes of elite company. I also love the way nothing seems to scare him, and he’s up for any challenge. I’ve watched every game of his professional career and have learned a ton about dedication from him. The way to really respect your passion. I’d just like to thank him really.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
LOSS ANGELES is a short-story collection that is loosely bound by the theme of loss and that is set (in some capacity) in L.A. It doesn’t focus on the glitz and glamor of the city, but on the quiet day-to-day pain of its citizens. It’s eclectic, too. Some of the stories are humorous, others painful, but I’ve tried my best to be compassionate to my characters.
Tell us your writing process.
I love getting up and writing. Even after five years of dedicating myself to the craft, I wake up a little nervous to approach the desk. It still scares me. The blank page, the plot, all of it, but I think that’s what I enjoy so much. I was having a conversation with Kali VanBaale, the author of the novel THE SPACE BETWEEN, and she asked me what would happen if I woke up one morning without that fear. I said, “Well, I’d probably stop.” But I don’t see the fear ever going away. It’s a sweet nervousness that I need at this point.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
Now that I look back on it, pretty early. A high-school teacher thought an essay of mine was worthy of being submitted to a local L.A. contest, so she sent it in without me knowing and it won first place (the prize was a Maya Angelou book of poems that still have on my desk). I remember writing in college for the newspaper, and later in a creative writing class, and just telling myself, “Remember, Mat. This doesn’t feel like work. You’re enjoying this. Two hours have passed and you haven’t moved.” Now, every time I get a check from writing, I feel like I’m getting one for breathing.
Tell us about your main character.
Since I’ve written a story collection, I have fifteen (maybe more) main characters. In “Over the Bridge” a teenage girl mourns the loss of her mother; in “One-Night Stand” a Portland native moves to L.A. to pursue his love of stand-up comedy; in “Dark Timber” a boy goes hunting with his father and older brother. Those are just some of the characters that are very dear to me. More dear to me than actual living people.
What are you working on next?
I’m finishing up another short-story collection and a poetry collection (that should be done by summer). I’ve also written a children’s book and will start on a novel this summer.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I can drink caffeine before bed and still fall asleep pretty quickly.
Who are your favorite authors?
Raymond Carver, Richard Yates, Grace Paley, Patricia Highsmith, Richard Bausch, Naguib Mahfouz.
What do you like to do with your free time?
I like to draw and play basketball. I’d like to get into photography too.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
Same process as always really: sit at the desk and edit and sort through the madness.
Where can people find you on the web?
I’ve a public Facebook profile page (which I use the most), an author FB page (facebook.com/writesfromla), a Twitter account (@writesfromla), and a Goodreads page.
Any final thoughts?
Thank you for taking the time to interview me. Deeply grateful. If you’re interested in LOSS ANGELES, please visit shortstoryamerica.com. There, you will receive free shipping. Also, in the special-instructions box, write that you’d like a signed copy and the publisher and I will make it happen. Thanks again.
Title: Loss Angeles
Author: Mathieu Cailler
Publisher: Short Story America Press
Pages: 217
Genre: Short Stories
Format: Hardcover
Set in the glamorous city of Los Angeles, California, LOSS ANGELES skips the shine and celebrity the city is known for and instead dives deeply into the lives of ordinary Angelenos. In each of the fifteen stories in this collection, author Mathieu Cailler examines the private lives of a diverse mix of characters. This collection of stories showcases the rawness of real life, the complexity of navigating personal challenges and internal conflicts, and the ever present possibility of encountering unexpected compassion and empathy.
The stories in LOSS ANGELES uncover the reality that the interiors of people’s lives often have huge holes in them. In the collection, a quiet divorced man, who is still deeply in love with his ex-wife, finally speaks up when his son’s soon-to-be stepfather becomes enraged over a broken birthday gift. A young man visiting his parents for the first time in nine years delays his presence at his family’s Thanksgiving dinner to see an old friend who was influential in his early life. Cailler also goes beyond loss and grief to reveal hidden human kindness in the stories of a widower, who steps out of his melancholy to save the life of a stranger, and an aging bachelor, who becomes a father figure for a wayward young woman.
In “Over the Bridge,” Ella is a teenager learning to manage her grief over the death of her mother and the new life she and her seven-year-old brother have with their father, with whom the children have not lived with since their parents’ divorce. While Ella is receiving weekly counseling at school, she continues to struggle with the changes in her life. When the counselor instructs Ella to write a letter to her father explaining the uncertainty and distance she feels in regard to her relationship with him, Ella complies and writes with the type of honesty that one allows when there is no plan to share what is written. But when Ella finds herself in a frightening situation with a boy at a party after consuming drugs and alcohol, the letter becomes the catalyst for a change in perspective for her father.
“Hit and Stay” is the story of a young married man making the long drive home from an out-of-town business trip. Penn is troubled as he drives his SUV through back roads to avoid the highway traffic. The quiet drive in the warm cocoon of the truck affords Penn the opportunity to reflect on the one-night stand he had with a new employee. As he contemplates how or if he will confess his mistake to his wife, Kimberly, Penn reviews his life with the woman he was once passionately in love with who has grown distant since the death of her mother. During the drive, Penn has an unfortunate accident that breaks the delicate hold he has on his volatile emotional state.
The conflict between familial violence and love is the foundation of “Dark Timber.” Clevie and his older brother, Roy, reluctantly accompany their father on a hunting expedition. Their father, an alcoholic recently released from prison after serving time for beating the boys’ mother, is determined to teach his sons how to hunt for their own food.
The relationship between father and sons is strained. Roy has personal experience with his father’s violent temper, but young Clevie remains hopeful that life with their father will improve. Neither boy is interested in hunting. Clevie is the most reluctant to fire on innocent animals. However, when their father comes face-to-face with a menacing predator, both boys instinctively respond to his pleas for help.
“LOSS ANGELES is a throwback to eclectic short story collections of past years and is only bound by the theme of loss in a very general sense,” Cailler says. “The stories are by turns fragile, tender, and always memorable. The characters in this book are as diverse as the city itself… they all have a story to share, and it was my job to do just that. I don’t believe in being predestined while writing; therefore, some of the stories end with a bit of hope while others reach their coda in a disconcerting fashion.”
Exposing emotions was Cailler’s focus when writing the collection. “I want the reader to relate to the feelings and sentiments expressed in the book. I think loss is the greatest bond we possess as humans, and there isn’t a single person around who hasn’t experienced it. We’ve all lost something dear to us, something profound,” the author says. “I think if a reader comes away from LOSS ANGELES feeling more connected to others and/or him or herself, I’ll have done my job. Whenever I write, I think of Plato’s words: ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.’ That’s something that I hope will resonate with the reader.”
For More Information
Loss Angeles is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Book Excerpt
Penn continued to drive through the night. Snow and gales of wind assailed his SUV as he barreled towards home, his foot steady on the gas, his hands positioned firmly at ten and two. Heat billowed from the vents on the dashboard and moved loose strands of hair on his face. He didn’t want to replay the scenario—the quiet L.A. hotel room, the closed drapes, the underwear on the floor, the moaning, the taste of her lips—but the SUV’s quiet cabin was a hotbed for reflection.
His headlights brushed a green highway sign, indicating that there were eighty-nine miles left on his journey home to Lake Tahoe. With the winter weather, it might take Penn more than two hours, but that was all right. How would he look at Kimberly after what he’d done?
“Don’t marry young,” people had told him a few years ago when he’d passed around the idea of proposing. “You haven’t tested the waters.” Cliché after cliché came at him, and while the marriage advice was stale and up there with “enjoy each day like it’s your last” and “don’t let anyone tell you something’s impossible,” it wasn’t amiss.
Becky had been with the company for a couple months now; there’d been some mild flirting, but Penn just thought that was the way she was, and he flirted back from time to time, knowing that it was just a game. Becky saw the wedding band on his finger; she could put two and two together.
But on this recent trip, Penn and Becky had found themselves at the hotel bar, overlooking the glimmering L.A skyline. There was a meeting early in the morning, and most of the company’s employees had gone to bed. She approached Penn and slid onto the chair next to his. They drank, and their eyes held one another in the empty bar. The piano man played his versions of “So What” and “Stardust,” songs that made people more attractive and made conversations more interesting. The right strap of Becky’s blue dress kept slipping off her freckled shoulder, and she left her smooth skin exposed longer than normal before bringing the strap back up. Her breasts were pressed up and together, and when she crossed her legs, one of her black heels dangled a few inches from her foot, making it seem as though she was already undressing. Penn remembered the way she reached over and touched his right hand.
The worst part was that Penn had only slept with Becky because of the confidence Kimberly had given him. Many times she’d reaffirmed his self-esteem, telling him he was worthy of love, that he was better-looking than he imagined, and that he deserved the best.
Penn believed the burden would be lightened if he told Kimberly, but at the same time, he thought the words might destroy her, and that’s not what he wanted. It’d taken cheating for him to know how much he loved her, but who would believe a line like that?
The tapping of a snare drum leaked out from the speakers, accompanied by the beat of an upright bass and the trill of a clarinet. He lowered the window and let the cold air flow into the sweltering cabin.
Was there a perfect scenario? Penn thought. He let his mind wander. When he got home maybe Kimberly would be crying.
What’s wrong? Penn would say.
I did something terrible, Kimberly would answer.
Kimberly would go on to tell Penn that she’d slept with someone else, that she was sorry, and that it didn’t mean anything. After that, he’d say the same thing. Two wrongs, one right. But even thinking about her sleeping with someone else made him sick. That wasn’t at all what he wanted.
High school sweethearts turned lovers turned husband and wife turned roommates—that’s what they were. Penn found it more and more difficult to make her laugh. Where there’d been kisses, there were now smiles. Where there’d been heat, there was now platitude. Where there’d been love, there was now familiarity.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #writesfromla, Book Tour, Clotheslines, Loss Angeles, Mathieu Cailler, PUYB, Red Bird Press, Short Story America Press, short-story collection, shortstoryamerica.com
May 17, 2015
Book Tour ~ Mothering Through Bipolar by Rebecca Moore
About the Book
Title: Mothering Through Bipolar
Author: Rebecca Moore
Genre: Memoir
Mothering Through Bipolar is Rebecca’s journey of living with Bipolar Disorder while raising a family of seven children. She takes her readers on an adventure through depression, mania, legal issues, relationship problems and other difficulties. Rebecca offers her readers encouragement, comfort and support; always with a message of hope.
Author Bio
Rebecca Moore has been diagnosed with everything from Postpartum Depression to Bipolar Disorder. Rebecca enjoys writing about surviving her journey through mental health and likes to help others who have been there as well. She is a strong Mental Health Advocate for parents living with mental illness. Rebecca is also the CEO of her nonprofit organization, Bipolar Parenting Foundation. She also runs a column on PsychCentral called Bipolar Parenting. Rebecca lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband and seven children.
“We must break down the wall of shame society has built for us” – Rebecca Moore in Mothering Through Bipolar
Links
Buy Mothering Through Bipolar:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #authorRmoore, Book Tour, Enchanted book promotions, memoir, Mothering Through Bipolar, Rebecca Moore
May 16, 2015
Book Release ~ Dino Hunt by Max Davine
About The Book
Title: Dino Hunt
Author: Max Davine
Publisher: ASJ Publishing
Release: April 11, 2015
Blurb:
Jimmy Reeves is a down on his luck wildlife wrangler, his career once saw him traveling the globe, working on relocation programs and starring in documentary films. Now, he and his business partner Paul Franciscus are lucky if they can get a gig wrangling bulls in Arizona. Until one day, when they receive a massive advance payment from a mysterious company based in Florida. In return, they are to do what once brought them glory the world over; trap and relocated endangered animals. Little do they know they’re not going to the Everglades to trap alligators, they’re going through time and space to rescue great, big dinosaurs!
But others have come to pillage the Cretaceous world for it’s natural resources, and to enslave and exploit the prehistoric inhabitants. They are ruthless, they are well equipped, and they will stop at nothing. It’s up to unwitting Reeves to make a stand not just for the dinosaurs, but to save his own life, teaming up with an alluring paleontologist and a helicopter pilot nicknamed “Crash” to save the land of the forgotten from human annihilation.
Available on Kindle and in Print.
Goodreads
About The Author
Born in a suburb of Frankston, Victoria, in 1989, Max Davine grew up in Melbourne’s inner eastern suburbs, with the first ten years lived in a house which also accommodated his parents, sister, uncle and grandparents on his mother’s side. Simply put; he was never short of hearing good story’s. Having studied acting for three years with Peter Kalos at the Melbourne Actor’s Lab, Davine returned to his lifelong pursuit of writing with a new, sensitive touch and keen ear for language demonstrated in his two previous works; “Terra Domina” in 2012, and “Angel Valence” in 2013, both published by ASJ Publishing.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: Dino Hunt, dinosaurs, environmentalist, Max Davine, prehistoric, tyrannosaurus
May 15, 2015
Interview with Dallas Sutherland, author of The Thinking (The Landline Chronicles)
About the Book
Title: The Thinking (The Landland Chronicles #2)
Author: Dallas Sutherland
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
LANDLAND BECOMES ITS OWN SAVIOUR …
The Greying snakes across Bigriver towards Landland … all the lands are in turmoil. Meah combines her power of thinking with the magical Book of Colours, and joins the Bigriverland army to fight the horrid Firbog. Faith, Hope, and Charity, the white many-headed-winged-thing, returns. Auntie Beryl has become the evil Queen Berilbog– she must be stopped. Many-headed-winged-things soar high over battle-fields, three-humped-beasts-of-war go on the rampage, and, from out of the mists of the greying, slithering Homunculi goad them on.
Meah’s magical plans are not what Landland needs– Firbog hordes swarm across a dried up Bigriver into Landland, cutting their way through The Scented Forest, all the way up to the tip of Mount Beacon.
Chaos reigns supreme, Landland writes its own story … but the story is all wrong. Meah looks for a way to escape. Will she find her father, The Biggo, again? Can they win their way home– should they leave Landland and all their friends in the clutches of Auntie Beryl, the Grey Lady?
Author Bio
Over the last twenty-five years, the Author has exhibited a creative bent across a range of industries including graphic design, fine arts, and trompe l’oeil murals. He has lectured in fine arts and studied Art History, Literature, Adult Education, and Creative Writing. Works include play scripts and short stories. The Greying is his first published novella, with further books planned as part of the fantasy series. He draws inspiration from myth, legend, and fairy tales.
He lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia with his partner Kerri, and daughter Ruby.
Links
Website
Goodreads
Blog
Kindle ebook
Book Two (Print) (40% Discount code: JFFFB85D)
Book One (Print) (40% Discount code: JFFFB85D)
Giveaway
Win 10 series of 3 Landland Chronicles character/map posters, five signed books and five eBooks. Go here to participate: https://dallasws.wordpress.com/books-1-and-2/
Book Excerpt
‘What is it Captain? Why are they stopping?’ Meah asked.
‘I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it’s not going to be pleasant.
A singing, sighing sound cut through the air, and Meah stood helpless as the ground around the Elvish kicked up.
‘It’s a hornet! A javelin squad with a machine javelin.’ Captain Bobb said, ‘Really nasty.’
A second hail of javelins splintered the ground around the Elvish, and then he was down. The Firbog came on at a trot down the hill towards him.
Meah stared in horror, desperate for something to help. It was like watching an old movie; the sun-lit patch of ground became a screen, surrounded by the thick cinematic fog of the greying.
The Elvish picked himself up and continued to run with a loping gait. Closer and closer to the river he came. His last mad dash for freedom erupted on-screen in full motion to the chilling sound of a three-humped-beast-of-war. Laughing like a hyena, it emerged from out of the greying at stage right, and thundered across the screen at a gallop. The Homunculus rider goaded the beast on with a whip and a lash towards the Elvish.
‘We’ve got to do something!’ Meah screamed.
At a signal from Captain Bobb the VDF let loose their crossbows. The missiles fell short, hissing and plopping into the water. The Captain dropped the magniscope and reached for his longbow.
The great splayed hooves of the three-humped-beast-of-war hammered at the turf, making a ga-thumping sound which echoed across the water.
Captain Bobb took careful aim and let his arrow fly. It shot straight and true, hitting the homunculus in the side of the neck. The beast, now riderless, continued its mad gallop across the screen and on into the fog on the other side.
The little Elvish half fell and half dived into the river and tried to swim across.
‘He’ll never make it, the crosscurrent’s too strong,’ Captain Bobb said.
The Elvish struck out towards the middle of the river. He made it about half way across before the current caught hold.
The Firbog reached the bank and set up the hornet again. Javelin bolts peppered the water around the swimmer.
Captain Bobb took careful aim with the longbow and picked off two of the attackers. Soon the Elvish was out of range of the Firbog. The current continued to drag him down river.
Meah’s only thought was of rescue, and in an instant she was barefoot and dressed only in her fibrepillar underclothes. Without a backwards glance she leapt into the river and stuck out towards the Elvish. He was still in the middle of the river but drifting downstream away from her.
INTERVIEW
Dallas, What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
I’d like to be able to say that I leap out of bed to write, but that’s maybe for the future. I leap out of bed to help other people. I facilitate support for people with severe and persistent mental illness. That means, I link them in to whatever they need within the community, and walk with them as they move forward with their lives. Then, I step back and make sure everything keeps on working for them. In that sense, it makes for a very rewarding journey each day, and of course everyone is different, we all need to work on different areas of our lives.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Massacio: he was a famous Early Renaissance painter, and probably the first one to accurately utilise the new found theory and principles of perspective. I’ve always been an artist, so I would liked to have been there and watch him paint using this. It was an exciting time for artists, with knowledge of perspective having been reinvented after it was lost way back in Ancient Roman times.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
The Thinking follows on from book one: The Greying. It’s a dual-world chronotope, fantasy quest. Actually, it’s a pastiche of the fantasy genre and uses elements of parody and metafiction to heighten the interplay between characters and readers. That was my original intention, but I also wanted the story to be a true fantasy quest, and here I was influenced by Celtic myth and legend, and also faerie tales. Here’s another thing you might want to look at: antonomasia.
Essentially, Meah, our 13 year old protagonist, uses some strange artistic powers to help save Landland from the ravages of the greying, which is a blanketing mist seeking to sap the colour out of everything. Meah takes flight on Faith, Hope, and Charity, the many-headed-winged-thing, to battle against her Aunty Beryl who has also been transported to Landland. Auntie Beryl is now Queen Berilbog, and she commands legions of Firbog soldiers. They are a hairy dog-like race. Queen Berilbog wants to use the greying to take over all the lands. Meah and her father, The Biggo, try all manner of things to stop the Firbog moving forward, but Landland itself, begins to write its own story, and chaos reigns supreme. Meah must decide whether to leave or stay and fight.
The story will continue in the third book of the series. This will probably be called The Telling.
Tell us your writing process
Initially, I just begin with a basic idea, a scene, a character or two. Then I get to a point where I might need to do some research, read more for inspiration and to find the right underpinning elements, and work out a basic plot, which I don’t religiously stick to. I do let the characters take the lead when they need to, or rather in this case, the meta-fiction begins to take its own course. When I come back to write again, I go over and redraft and edit what I have already written. It helps to get back into the right mindset before I write more of the story. So, in the end I’m left with a book that is already fairly well edited and has also been through a lot of redrafting.
What has and has not worked for you that you can share with aspiring & upcoming authors?
I think that too much social networking tends not to reach my target readers, who are middle-grade readers, but I do this anyway, because you never know. Approaching mainstream publishers takes too long and there are not many who will take unsolicited manuscripts. Don’t keep sending that ms off again and again. If you have faith in your writing abilities, then go straight for the jugular. So, I can say that small independent publishers are out there, and easy to work with. They will still market your books and promote the author, just like mainstream publishers do. Studying the craft of writing is an important thing to do. I’ve studied literature, children’s literature, and creative writing. This will help authors comprehend literary concepts and theories which can provide good underpinning for writing.
Creating an author platform online is also something to do. It can be fairly cost free if you do this right. This includes blogging, website, Twitter, GooglePlus etc. It all helps to get your message out.
I’m not saying I’ve got it right, yet.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
It began when I was studying literature and writing essays about literary works. I also had the chance to produce some creative work which was well received, so I thought I might just be able to do something with it. As a child, I always loved to write stories at school, so I guess it comes from there as well.
Tell us about your main character
Meah is a 13 year old girl who is not only on a quest to save Landland, but futhermore, she is searching for ‘Self’. She is strong-willed, resourceful, and finds the determination to succeed. Naturally, she is equipped with some magical gifts and helpers along the way.
What are you working on next?
I’ll be working on the third book in the series next. I’ve also had another book recently published: You’ve Got Bunyip in Ya! This novella draws on Australian Aboriginal myth and legend.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
Well, I can say that I’ve worked as an artist: painter, sculptor, arts lecturer, muralist, and graphic designer. I use these skills to create the book covers and the interior illustrations. I’ve designed some posters which will be prizes in The Thinking promotional giveaway.
Who are your favourite authors?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Juliet Marillier, Tim Winton, Jo Nesbo, Roald Dahl, Paul Jennings. These spring to mind, but there are a lot more. I usually have favourite books rather than authors.
What do you like to do with your free time?
Free time? What’s that? Just kidding. House renovations, gardening, family things.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
When The Landland Chronicles series is all done, I’d like to focus on a contemporary literary piece of writing. I’m not sure what this will be about, but I suppose it will be set in Australia as that is where I live.
Any final thoughts?
I’m looking forward to getting back into writing, now I’ve done the promotional thing.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #dalkerri, author interview, Book Excerpt, Book Tour, Dallas Sutherland, Enchanted book promotions, metafiction, The Greying, The Landline Chronicles, The Thinking, writing tips
Interview with Mikey Campling author of Trespass
About the Book
Title: Trespass
Author: Mikey Campling
Genre: Science Fiction / Fantasy
Publisher: Booktrope
Three stories, separated by five thousand years, united by one deadly secret:
Somewhere, sometime, the stone is waiting.
Trespass combines gritty, edgy modern-day action with a thrilling adventure across time. Discovered over 5,000 years ago, the Darkeningstone affects everyone who finds it.
Jake was too smart to believe the rumours about Scaderstone Pit, but now he’s in more danger than he could ever have imagined.
In 1939, as World War II looms, the lives of two men will be changed forever.
Over 5,000 years ago, a hermit will keep the stone a secret. But someone is watching him – someone with murder in his heart.
When it finds you, what will you see when you look into The Darkeningstone?
Author Bio
Mikey grew up in North Yorkshire, but he refuses to be classified according to Northern stereotypes, which is just the sort of bloody-minded attitude you’d expect from a Yorkshireman. During his first day at school, he discovered the wondrous world that is The Book Corner, and he has never really left it.
He now lives in Devon, on the edge of the wilds of Dartmoor, with his wife, two children, and a black Labrador called Lottie who will only bark when she’s asleep. And lots and lots of books.
You can find out more on Mikey’s website: mikeycampling.com
You can also get two free books, free audio stories and free artwork by joining his mailing list at: mikeycampling.com/giveaway
Links
http://mikeycampling.com/
Amazon
B&N
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Google
INTERVIEW
Tell us about you
I grew up in North Yorkshire, near the North York Moors, and that must have had some influence on me. We Yorkshiremen tend to be fairly stubborn and straight talking, and we like to think that we get stuck in and make a good job of things. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about writing, it’s that you need a damn good work ethic. I spend a lot of time rewriting, editing and polishing. And then, when one book is finished, you pick up a blank sheet of paper and start all over again. That might put some people off writing, but I love it.
I now live in Devon, on the edge of the wilds of Dartmoor, with my wife, two children, and a black Labrador called Lottie who, for some reason, can only bark when she’s asleep.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
Although it may sound a bit twee, I can honestly say that my family are my greatest inspiration. I spent several years as a stay at home dad, and while it was harder work than many people might think, it was a wonderful opportunity to play a full role in my children’s journey through life. Even now, although the kids are much older, we still make time to be together as a family every day.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
I’m torn here between choosing a great scientist or a wonderful writer. I think I’ll settle on Charles Dickens. He had such tremendous energy and drive that I’m sure a day in his company would be a roller coaster ride. I’d love to tag along to one of his famous readings. He didn’t just know how to write, he knew how to put on a show and how to thrill an audience. If I had to pick someone living, I’d quite like to go on an expedition with Ray Mears. I find his survival skills quite fascinating and I’d love him to show me how some of our earliest ancestors lived and thrived with only basic materials and their own skill. We’d have to go somewhere nice though – I draw the line at tropical jungles full of snakes and bugs.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
I don’t want to drop any spoilers so I’ll try and give a flavour. The Darkeningstone books have interconnecting stories that take place over several different time zones at once and they span 5,000 years. I began by asking myself a simple question: What if my mobile phone rang, but there was no caller? What if I’d strayed too close to a mysterious energy source? I like the idea that some places feel mysterious and powerful – they seem to resonate through time. I’m fascinated by the dramatic events of history but also by people’s daily lives. I like to try and imagine what it must have been like to live in those times. I started to wonder about the lives of people 5,000 years ago. Their lives were shaped by the basic forces of nature. They must’ve lived, worked and thought in ways we find hard to imagine. But what if there was some sort of portal – a doorway that could offer a glimpse into those distant times? And if a modern day person had that experience, how would they react? What would be the ramifications throughout history? And so the Darkeningstone was born.
Tell us your writing process
I started out by writing longhand but now I only use pen and paper for notes and planning. There’s quite a lot of planning for the Darkeningstone books as I have to make sure that all the timelines connect properly and that I don’t cheat the reader. They aren’t easy books to write but hey, that’s what I’m here for. I don’t mind putting the work in, so long as the finished story is fast-paced, richly complex and absorbing.
I do some outlining but the way I really love to write is just to let the story flow. I know it isn’t a fashionable view, but to me, if I over-plan, it kills some of the fun. I like to discover the characters as the story unfolds. And as the characters come to life, they shape the story. I like to think of us going on a journey together. I write on a PC using either Word or Scrivener, and I write whenever I can. I like to get up early on weekends so I can write in peace while everyone else is having a lie in. When the first draft is complete, I go back over it and rewrite it and rewrite it until it’s as good as I can make it. It’s not fair on the reader to rush the process. I’m not churning out off the shelf stories here, I’m crafting something that I hope will stand the test of time. Did I succeed in that? I’ll let you judge for yourselves.
Do you have any advice on what has and has not worked for you that you can share with aspiring & upcoming authors?
This is hard to answer because the situation seems to change by the week. What didn’t work was launching work that wasn’t as good as it could be. I made that rookie mistake and it’s my only regret in my publishing journey. I’d advise every writer to hire a professional editor. If you can’t afford one, then wait until you can, but never launch a book that isn’t ready.
I’ve had some success with making a book permafree. I wrote a novella as an add-on story to the Darkeningstone novels. It was quite hard to slot a new set of timelines into the existing stories without dropping spoilers or confusing readers, but I think that the book Breaking Ground, is a nice addition to the other books. It adds a layer of extra detail to the existing books, it’s a quick read, and it gives people a taste of my work for free. And all it cost me was time and effort.
My advice is simple – keep writing. The more material you have to promote, the easier it becomes. I’d also advise writers to get going with their email list. Giving away work is a good way to attract readers and that can be combined with Facebook adverts to attract attention (check out Mark Dawson’s free video course – he can explain this better than I can). I use Mailpoet (a WordPress plugin) to manage my newsletters and I recommend it. I send the emails via Mandrill (a free service from Mailchimp).
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember. When I went to visit my first school at the age of four, everyone thought they’d lost me, but I was sitting quietly in the book corner. I’d never seen anywhere so magical, and some might say, when they see my huge and sprawling collection of books, that I’ve never really left it. My first efforts at story writing, outside of school work, was to try and create my own versions of Kipling’s Just So Stories in an exercise book. I’m sure my versions weren’t very original but I remember the thrill of conjuring stories from my imagination.
Tell us about your main character
My main character in Trespass is a teenage boy called Jake. He begins the story as a fairly typical, disenchanted teenager, but we soon learn that, like all real people, he’s a complex character trying to come to terms with growing up, his relationships with his estranged parents, the importance of friendships – there’s even a hint at a potential romance. We also discover how he reacts when confronted with real danger and the threat of terrible violence. Jake has to grow up very fast indeed and leave his childhood behind him.
What are you working on next?
The next Darkeningstone novel. I’m currently nearing the end of the first rewrite. Its working title is Outcast although that may change before publication, and like Trespass, it’s a full-length novel. You’ll meet some of your favourite Darkeningstone characters in this book, but there are lots of new ones to encounter, and many unexpected twists and turns. The last thing I’d want to do is trot out a ho-hum book just to fill the series – that would be cheating the readers. The book has to bring new life, new characters and new situations into play.
There may be a fourth Darkeningstone book in the future. I originally planned to write a trilogy, but although Outcast will be the third book in the series, Breaking Ground is only a novella and I may want to explore the possibilities of the Darkeningstone in greater depth. I also have a collection of darkly suspenseful short stories coming out in summer 2015 called A Dark Assortment. After that, who knows? I have so many other great ideas for completely different books rattling around in my head that anything could happen. Watch this space folks.
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I’m a pretty keen cook so we eat well in our house and I’ve almost banished the takeaways from our table. I’m not a puritan about it, I’ve just got to the point where I look at premade food in the supermarket and think I could do better myself. We also have a couple of allotments where we grow our own fruit and veg. I even brew my own wine, and though my winemaking efforts are a bit haphazard, the end result usually turns out to be pretty strong.
Who are your favorite authors?
I read very widely so this is difficult. I do have a few books on permanent standby duty by my bed: The Complete Works of Saki, Vintage Thurber by James Thurber, and The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Those are all books I can dip into when I’m between novels. I like to read classics such as Dickens and Thomas Hardy, but I’m also a fan of modern writers, e.g. Hugh Howey’s Wool Trilogy. I like Iain Banks for his sheer originality, but I’ll happily read children’s authors such as Michael Morpurgo and David Almond. Douglas Adams has had a massive effect on my teenage years, so I must mention the Hitch Hikers’ Guide to the Galaxy books. It’s a terrible thing that Douglas Adams died so young – he was such an original voice and I’m sure he would’ve gone on to share more of his wonderful ideas with us all.
I could go on all day. Let’s get a coffee and a slice of cake and talk about books – what could be better?
What do you like to do with your free time?
I do enjoy my daily walks with Lottie, our black Labrador. I complain when it’s pouring with rain and the fields are awash with mud, but it does me good to get outside and recharge my creative batteries. A walk is always good, but it’s more fun when we take Lottie along. I also have a weakness for browsing through second-hand bookshops, though I’ve been trying to limit my paperback purchases since I also started reading on my Kindle.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
After the next Darkeningstone book, I’d like to go back to a dystopian sci-fi book that I’ve been working on in the background. It’s set in a future where people live in isolated pockets on high ground (I won’t tell you why) and of course, there are conflicts and adventures to be had whenever people are forced into living together.
Any final thoughts?
I feel very privileged when someone takes the time to read my work. And if someone makes the extra effort and leaves a review or contacts me in some way, then I feel honoured by their attention. We all lead busy lives and have many calls on our time, so when someone invests their time in reading my work, I can’t tell you how much that means to me. And as for lovely reviews – well, they’re better than riches. A nice review or comment on twitter will always make my day. So while you’re here, reading this interview, please accept my thanks for your time. Basically, you rock.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #mikeycampling, Book Tour, Darkeningstone series, Enchanted book promotions, Fiction, Interviews, Mikey Campling, Trespass, Writers, writing tips
May 14, 2015
Interview With Erika Mitchell
Hi folks. Today I get to chat with Erika Mitchell. If you are a follower of my blog, you will have seen the recent book release post back on May 5.
Erika, thanks for being here today. Please tell us about you
I’m the survivor of an author mother and amateur spy father. My childhood was an eclectic mix of pickpocketing lessons infused with insistence of perfect grammar. We’d unwind as a family with reruns of MacGyver and Get Smart, with frequent James Bond marathons when the mood struck. It’s really no surprise at all that I turned out to be an espionage author!
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
I lost my father to cancer five years ago. He was only fifty one years old. As I was standing over his hospital bed, holding his hand and watching his body give out, I realized a long life is not a given. It wasn’t for him, and it isn’t for me, either. I’m not saying I live every day to the fullest, because I don’t think anyone can really sustain that long term, but I try not to waste time. Life is too short not to walk in the rain with your kids, or to write stories that don’t make you happy.
If you could hang out with one famous person for one day, who would it be and why?
Joss Whedon. I’d just want to shadow him at work, talk over story ideas and universes with him, and have lunch and drinks with his actor friends. Yeah, I think breakfast with the Avengers, followed by lunch with the Dollhouse cast, drinks with the cast of Serenity, and then dinner with Joss and his writer family would be just about the perfect day. I wouldn’t even talk, I’d just soak in all that brilliance.
What’s the story behind your latest book?
Bai Tide is the kind of spy book I’ve always wanted to read but never been able to find. When I wrote it, I set out to create a story that was the novel equivalent of a Michael Bay movie: A fast-moving plot with lots of explosions. As much as I love Jason Bourne and James Bond, they’re quite dour, aren’t they? I wanted to write a spy who’s human, a guy who’s at the beginning of his career. I wanted him to make mistakes, and react to the realities of his job. I think I succeeded, I’d definitely go grab a beer with CIA case officer Bai Hsu!
Tell us your writing process.
I come up with the beginning of the story, and then just kind of start writing. I never know how a story is going to end when I start it, I just kind of make a mess and then write down what happens.
When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
Like I said, my mother was a writer so I almost think I was born a writer! It’s in my genes. I’ve always expressed myself best through the written word. I didn’t realize I wanted to tell stories for a living until I was out of college, though. I wrote a novel on a lark and was surprised to find I quite enjoyed it.
Tell us about your main character:
Bai Hsu is a CIA case officer. Most people think of spies as CIA agents, when actually the agents are the ones who supply information to the CIA! A case officer is what most people would think of as a “field agent,” they’re the CIA employees out in the field keeping an ear to the ground. Bai is relatively new to the job and he’s finding his second assignment much more difficult than his first one was (You can read about his first assignment in my first book, Blood Money). Bai is second generation Chinese, the only child of very ambitious parents who are not really on board with his life choices. He’s tall, terribly intelligent, and sarcastic. He has a law degree from Stanford, but knew early on in his life that he wasn’t cut out for a suit-and-tie life. He’s a good person who got into working for the CIA for the right reasons, though the nature of his work will necessarily take a toll on him the longer he does it.
What are you working on next?
The second book in this series, Take the Bai Road. Bai Tide takes Bai to North Korea, and Take the Bai Road will take Bai to the drug cartels of Mexico. I had to brush up on my Spanish swear words to write that one!
Do you have any special/extraordinary talents?
I’m a decent clarinet player, and I’m quite good at soothing fussy babies and anxious animals. I’m a pretty decent bowler, a surprisingly good ping pong player, and I can unpack and organize a kitchen like no one’s business.
Who are your favorite authors?
Jim Butcher, Jonathan Kellerman, Lisa Gardner, Robert Dugoni, Jon Land, Aaron Elkins…I could go on and on.
What do you like to do with your free time?
I don’t have much of that! I enjoy spending time with horses, taking my kids on adventures, trying new restaurants with my husband, learning how to play pool, practicing my marksmanship at the gun range, drinking coffee on the beach, eating chocolate, exercising at the gym, and baking. I’m an excellent baker.
Tell us about your plans for upcoming books.
Book two of this series, Take the Bai Road, will take Bai to Mexico, book three, Bai Treason, will plunge him into the civil unrest in Ukraine, and I think book four will take place in China but I haven’t decided yet! The first three books of the series have been written, however.
Where can people find you on the web?
I’m everywhere! I’m on Twitter (@ParsingNonsense), Facebook (/erikamitchellbooks), my blog (www.parsingnonsense.com), and my author website (www.erika-mitchell.com). I love meeting new online friends!
Filed under: Interviews Tagged: #ParsingNonsense, Bai Tide, Bai Treason, Erika Mitchell, Take the Bai Road
Book Release ~ Right Of Way by Marc Douglas
Title: Right Of Way
Author: Marc Douglas
Available as Pre-order on Kindle
Published by ASJ Publishing
Third book in the SLINGSHOT series. A new relationship is developed between planets and life forms.
Pre-order your copy now on Kindle.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #scifi, colonization, dystopian, Ebook release, new book, new book release, Right Of Way, sci-fi
May 12, 2015
Permanent Spring Showers by Scott D. Southard
Permanent Spring Showers
by Scott D. Southard
AUTHOR BIO
Scott D. Southard is the author of A Jane Austen Daydream, Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, My Problem With Doors, Megan, 3 Days in Rome and Me Stuff in addition to his latest release, Permanent Spring Showers. His eclectic writing has also found its way into radio, as Scott was the creator of the radio comedy series The Dante Experience. The production was honored with the Golden Headset Award for Best MultiCast Audio and the Silver Ogle Award for Best Fantasy Audio Production. Scott received his Master’s in writing from the University of Southern California. Scott can be found on the internet via his writing blog “The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard” where he writes on topics ranging from writing, art, books, TV, writing, parenting, life, movies, and writing. He even shares original fiction on the site. His blog can be found at http://sdsouthard.com. Scott is also the fiction book reviewer for WKAR’s daily radio show Current State.
Get your copy of Permanent Spring Showers from the following online retailers
GIVEAWAY
Scott D. Southard will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
BOOK BLURB
Professor Rebecca Stanley-Wilson is having a very bad season. The ramifications of one torrid evening with one of the great upcoming painters of his generation, will not only be felt across her life but over the entire art world. Sexy, funny, and very surprising, Permanent Spring Showers is the tale of one very memorable springtime and how it impacts a group of unique artists and dreamers. From the the hopeful Olympian with the failing marriage to the writer who is creating a new literary movement (through outright manipulation) to the romantic wondering what he did wrong to drive away the love of his life, each tale walks the line between reality and fantasy. And waiting at the end of the line is a very important painting… and possibly the revolver used in the Lincoln Assassination.
Excerpt
“You’re going to be fine, aren’t you, Steve?” A male voice with a British accent said behind me as I scanned the restaurant for the person I once considered my soulmate.
“Like warm applesauce,” I mumbled in reply, not bothering to turn around and face Vince.
Vince is my age and has a resumé an arm’s length long, painter, poet, performance artist, etc.; and he looks the part for all of those roles, from his black trench coat with the collar up to the tight shirt with an obscure artistic expression on it to the jeans with the holes that are a little too perfect. He has black hair, blue eyes, and from what every girl tells me, he is frightfully handsome. Hanging out with him can make a person feel like a pre-destined wingman, chosen by a maker never to be the center of attention. Oh, by coincidence, I met Vince at the creative writing course I mentioned earlier. He spent the entire time correcting the teacher and even once he stood on his desk screaming about romantic literature (I still don’t understand half of what he said), the whole class was sure he came in drunk that day, but he might’ve been acting. There is a lot of acting around Vince. Did I mention he’s pretending to be British right now? And no, I don’t mean RIGHT now, I mean for the last four months right now.
“Applesauce?” His accent rising a little in confusion.
I didn’t bother to say anything more to him because I had found her; and, shit, she still looked like a fallen angel.
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: 3 Days in Rome, A Jane Austen Daydream, Amazon Gift Card, BN Gift Card, Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, Megan, My Problem With Doors, Permanent Spring Showers, Rafflecopter giveaway, Scott D. Southard, The Dante Experience, The Musings & Artful Blunders of Scott D. Southard
Book Tour ~ Empath by S. Usher Evans
About the Book
Title: Empath
Author: S. Usher Evans
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Lauren Dailey is in break-up hell.
Stuck between moving on and letting go, she puts on a brave face while crying herself to sleep at night. But when a mysterious voice promises escape from her sadness, she is suddenly transported to a new world. And in this place, the slightest touch pulls her out of her tortured emotions into the mind of another – an empath.
The villagers – sweet Aerona and her mischievous twins, wise Siors, and hunky Cefin – welcome her and the blessings her empath powers bring. But this world is not without its dangers. The Anghenfil, a fire-breathing monster, has haunted the village for decades, and has a taste for empaths. And that mysterious voice promising escape from sadness? It’s sounding more like a whisper tinged with smoke and embers.
Can Lauren keep the monsters in the mountain and in her head at bay? Or will she succumb to the darkness like the empath before her…
Author Bio
S. Usher Evans
S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado. Born in a small, suburban town in northwest Florida, she was seventeen before she realized that not all beach sand is white. From a young age, she has always been a long-winded individual, first verbally (to the chagrin of her ever-loving parents) and then eventually channeled into the many novels that dotted her Windows 98 computer in the early 2000’s. After high school, she got the hell outta dodge and went to school near the nation’s capital, where she somehow landed jobs at National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and the British Broadcasting Corporation, capping off her educational career with delivering the commencement address to 20,000 of her closest friends. She determined she’d goofed off long enough with that television nonsense and got a “real job” as an IT consultant. Yet she continued to write, developing 20 page standard operating procedures and then coming home to write novels about bounty hunters, teenage magic users, and other nonsense. After a severe quarter life crisis at age 27, she decided to finally get a move on and share those novels with the world in hopes that she will never have to write another SOP again.
Links
http://www.susherevans.com
http://www.twitter.com/s_usherevans
http://www.facebook.com/susherevans
http://www.goodreads.com/susherevans
Buy Links:
Amazon (US)
B&N
iTunes
Smashwords
Giveaway
Win an eBook copy of “Empath” per tour stop and a print copy during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Book Excerpt
“There,” Cefin said, pointing to a pile of rocks that leaned against the side of the mountain. “That is where I found you.”
“I was under there?” Lauren breathed. It was obviously a cave-in, and the boulders were thick and heavy. If any of them had fallen in the wrong place, she would have been crushed.
It was a miracle she wasn’t crushed.
She approached the pile and saw where Cefin must have dug her out. Seeing the size of the rocks, knowing how close she had come to not getting out, she felt a little sorry for being so angry with him. Although he was being an jerk right now, she wasn’t sure she ever thanked him for saving her life.
“Hey,” Lauren said, tossing him a sideways glance. “Thanks for saving me.”
“Just hurry up,” he huffed, pulling his spear off of his back. “The Anghenfil could be in any one of these caves.”
“The right response is ‘you’re welcome’…” She walked up to the pile and began pushing aside any of the rocks she could, looking for anything strange. She tossed a fist-sized stone behind her and gasped.
“There’s a cave here!” she called to Cefin, who was standing with his spear in his hand and not helping her whatsoever.
She sniffed and began tugging at a big rock, hoping that if she could move it a little bit, it would dislodge other ones, creating a larger hole, one that she could slip through. With a heave, she pushed with all of her might and it broke free, tumbling down into the blackness and taking Lauren with it.
She landed in a heap in the dark, cool cave, coughing up dust and other particles. A small halo of light formed a circle on the ground, but didn’t offer any other illumination in the cave. Pushing herself to her feet, she walked over to the hole and peered out, spying Cefin standing at attention.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
“Hurry up,” Cefin snapped, his eyes glued to the skies.
“Yeah, yeah,” Lauren rolled her eyes, disappearing into the darkness.
She stumbled around for a moment, feeling at the floor with her feet for anything that would give her a clue as to how she got here. Maybe she just needed to walk to the end of the cave and she’d wake up back in her own bed. She kicked the ground until she found the wall of the cave, placing her hands on the chilly stone to guide her. She kept to the wall, planting her feet firmly with every step to keep her balance.
Her foot caught on something and she fell, but not onto the hard ground, onto something firm…
And scaly.
In the darkness, a gigantic red eye opened.
She gasped, fear gripping her as she scrambled for the small pinhole in the distance that was the edge of the cave. “CEFIN!” she screamed, her voice echoing in the cave.
The monster was moving, and Lauren saw a flash of bright fire, illuminating the black body the size of an elephant.
She screamed and ran faster, hating herself for ever coming up here. She flung herself at the small hole, wriggling out as fast as she could. Cefin’s spear was out, concern on his face.
“Lauren, quiet down, you’ll wake the—”
“TOO LATE!” she screamed, pulling herself out of the cave and running past him as fast as her feet could carry her. “RUN!”
Filed under: Guest Authors Tagged: #s_usherevans, Book Tour, Empath, Enchanted book promotions, Guest Authors, Rafflecopter giveaway, S. Usher Evans
