Angie Lofthouse's Blog, page 8

One Word Interview with Terry W. Ervin II

Today, I'd like to welcome my long time friend and colleague, Terry W. Ervin II, author of the wonderful First Civilization's Legacy series, which includes. Flank Hawk and Blood Sword. Welcome to the writing chair, Terry!


Zombie apocalypse! What fictional character do you want by your side?
Ash (from Army of Darkness)

Sounds awesome. I'm going to have to check him out!

What character trait do you share with your MC, Krish? (One of my favorites!)
Loyalty

An important quality to possess. I love that about Krish.

Which mythical creature would you most like to be?
Sea Serpent

Very cool. Very mysterious!

What historical figure would you most like to have lunch with?
Winston Churchill

That would be an inspirational lunch!

You're stranded on a desert island. What's your must-have item?
Handaxe 

Very practical indeed. Thanks so much for being here, Terry!

 Terry W. Ervin II is an English and science teacher who enjoys writing fantasy and science fiction.


Terry’s First Civilization’s Legacy Series includes FLANK HAWK and BLOOD SWORD, both released by Gryphonwood Press. He is focused on completing SOUL FORGE, the third novel in the fantasy series.

In addition writing novels, Terry’s short stories have appeared in over a dozen anthologies, magazines and ezines. The genres range from science fiction and mystery to horror and inspirational. Terry’s newest release through Gryphonwood Press, GENRE SHOTGUN, is a collection containing all of his published short stories.

To contact Terry or learn more about his writing endeavors, visit his website at www.ervin-author.com and his blog, Up Around the Corner, at uparoundthecorner.blogspot.com

 

One Word Interview with Jaleta Clegg

Today's One Word Interviewee is science fiction author, Jaleta Clegg. I really enjoy her scifi adventures, The Fall of the Altairan Empire books, as well as her fun and often silly short stories. I'm so looking forward to reading her soon to be released Poisoned Pawn. Welcome to the Writing Chair, Jaleta.  Your house is on fire! What do you grab first? Extinguisher. If fire's too big, kids. That's very practical.  What one trait do you have in common with your MC, Dace? (I love her, by the way.) Impatience. Oh, me too. Me too.  What historical figure would you most like to have lunch with? Leonardo da Vinci. Very interesting. I bet he'd be a fascinating person to chat with. You've been plunked down in the middle of your latest book. Weapon of choice? Giant blast cannon.
Excellent choice. I could use one of those myself.
 We're holding a banquet in honor of your awesomeness. What should we serve for dessert? Chilled Monkey Brains. Hmmm.... I might be a little afraid to try that! Thanks, Jaleta.  
 Jaleta Clegg loves to build worlds from words and then share them with people. She also enjoys burning things, making things blow up, or watching fires and explosions on tv. Her stories range from science fiction adventure to silly horror and pretty much everywhere in between. And please don't ever make her choose between her children and her laptop if her house catches fire.  Find more at http://www.jaletac.com or http://www.altairanempire.com
Poisoned Pawn: Dace and Jasyn have everything they ever wanted - their own trading ship and freedom. Except regulations require a second pilot and the only one available on Viya Station is a little too perfect for Dace's comfort. But his credentials check out and everything seems fine. Until Dace disappears and Jasyn learns the truth.

Looking for something to read?

Here's a bit of good news. My publisher has put the e-book version of Defenders of the Covenant on sale for $4.99! You can get it for your Kindle or your Nook. So, if you've been thinking about reading it, now is a good time to grab it for your e-reader. Walnut Springs also has lots of other great titles on sale right now. Check it out.

Also today is a special book bomb to help out Dave Wolverton (David Farland), who's son Ben was seriously injured in a long boarding accident last week. Dave was one of the authors who first got me into science fiction and fantasy. Check out the details here and buy the books for a great cause!

One Word Interview with Bethany Wiggins

Today's One Word Interviewee is Bethany Wiggins, whose new book Stung was released just yesterday!


You've managed to survive the apocalypse. What civilized item do you miss the most?
Food.

Ah, yes, Wouldn't we all!
 
You're having your favorite author over for dinner. What are you serving?
Takeout!

Smart lady!

If you could become any animal, which one would you be?
Eagle.

How Wonderful! I think I would love that too.

You find yourself set down in your latest book. Which character do you find first?
Jonah Tarsis.

Intriguing. Can't wait to get to know him!

You're performing on Broadway! What show are you in?
Phantom of the Opera.

Good choice!


Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid writer. She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible.

Several years later, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. The rest is history.




Fiona doesn't remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered-her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right wrist-a black oval with five marks on either side-that she doesn't remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. And she's right. When the honeybee population collapsed, a worldwide pandemic occurred and the government tried to bio-engineer a cure. Only the solution was deadlier than the original problem-the vaccination turned people into ferocious, deadly beasts who were branded as a warning to un-vaccinated survivors. Key people needed to rebuild society are protected from disease and beasts inside a fortress-like wall. But Fiona has awakened branded, alone-and on the wrong side of the wall . . .

One Word Interview with J. Lloyd Morgan

Today's One Word Interview comes from author J. Lloyd Morgan. Welcome to the writing chair!

You're stranded on a desert island. What's your must-have item?  
Solar-powered-Kindle

Good choice! Not much to do besides read, huh?

You've been plunked into your latest book. Weapon of choice?
My wits. 

You'd triumph for sure!

Which historical figure would you most want to have lunch with?  
Jesus. 

Wow. Just think of the questions you could ask. Awesome. (In every sense.)

You're characters are coming over for dinner. What are you serving?  
Humble pie.

*snickers* We all need a little of that.

What fictional world would you most like to live in?  
My brain.

Now, that sounds interesting!

Thanks, J. Lloyd!


Author J. Lloyd Morgan is an award winning author and television director.  He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Communications and a minor in English. He is currently working on his Masters degree in Creative Writing. Morgan has lived all over the United States, but now resides in North Carolina with his wife and four daughters. Aside from writing, Morgan is an avid reader. He’s also a huge fan of baseball and enjoys listening to progressive rock.

He is the author of the anthology of short stories, observations and insights called “The Night the Port-A-Potty Burned Down and Other Stories” His published short stories include “Howler King,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” “The Reluctant Wanderer” and award-winning “The Doughnut.”

His next novel, “The Mirror of the Soul”, was written in conjunction with international recording artist Chris de Burgh and is scheduled for release in April of 2013.

Enthusiasm!

I've been participating in a writing challenge this month. I challenged myself to write a hundred pages in the March. Not an easy task! Last week I failed miserably. I wrote only nine pages! I felt bad at failing yet again, but I decided to keep trying. I figured if I could write five every day (except Sunday), I could still make the goal.

You know what? I have totally shocked myself by writing five pages every day this week! Yesterday, I did it in spite of the fact that I didn't start at all until about 10:30pm. And I still got to bed before midnight! It feels like some sort of miracle. Like I'm Peter walking on the water and any minute I'm going to start doubting I can write five pages a day, and I'll start sinking. But no. I can do this. I have faith.

A couple things I think have made a difference for me this week. The first is that when I sit down to write, I leave my iPad in another room. This has made a HUGE difference.

Second, I have been working on the enthusiasm side of Rachel Aaron's writing triangle. Not only my enthusiasm for writing itself, but my enthusiasm for the scenes I am writing. Take yesterday. I had come to a new scene and I wasn't sure exactly where I wanted to go. I kept trying to make the character fit into the plan I had made for him. Wasn't working. Finally, I just let my imagination wander. What else might he do? I hit on a possibility that took him in the exact opposite direction I intended. It totally worked. I was excited about it. And bingo! I got my five pages in just over an hour.

I think we all need to write what we are excited about. What we can get enthusiastic over. Because, after all, if we don't love it, neither will anyone else!

Here's hoping for some more enthusiasm today!

One Word Interview with Ashley Lavering

The subject of today's One Word Interview is Ashley Lavering, author of Curse of the Beast and Star Cursed. Welcome, Ashley!

You've been chased into a dark alley by someone who wants to kill you. Which of your characters do you want by your side?
Beast. Nothing like a snarling werewolf to make someone turn tail and run.

Good choice! A snarling werewolf is always a big help in these situations.

We're holding a banquet in honor of your awesomeness. What do we serve for dessert?
Raspberry sorbet garnished with fresh berries. Yum!

Oh, that sounds delicious.

If you could have lunch with any historical figure, who would it be?
Ruth from the Bible. She is just an amazingly strong person.

That would be an interesting meal, wouldn't it? I'd love to meet her too.

You've been plunked down in a fairy tale. Which character are you?
Belle. She gets an awesome garden, library, and eventually a prince.

Oh, yes. Me too!

You're performing on Broadway! What show are you in?
Phantom of the Opera. I have loved that one since I was little.

Good one! I've never seen it. I'll have to do something about that.




A nomad at heart, Ashley Lavering currently claims Nevada as my home. She has a wonderful husband and two young children that put up with her “writing time.” When she’s not pondering a spell that will magically calm the ferocious winds that plague the air around her, you can find her, with notepad in hand, frantically jotting down ideas in those short moments between caring for her girls and working full time at the Elko Institute for Academic Achievement.

Art and science have always been her yin and yang. Throughout her college career, she shifted between the two, but in the end, graduated with a Bachelors of Mathematics and Science from the University of Wyoming.
Charging into adventures and discovering something new has always been a passion of Ashley's, but as a teenager she used to run screaming from a reading or writing assignment. Looking back, the irony isn’t lost on her. Now you can’t catch her without a book in hand or without an open word document. Every time a new idea pops into her mind her heart races and her hands twitch to write it. In that moment, she has her writer's high and prays it will sustain her through thousands of hours of revision.
Connect with Ashley!
Facebook    Twitter   Amazon  Goodreads




**2012 Whitney Award Nominee** Seventeen-year-old Tayla Jonas longs for a simple life, but an ancient curse forces a werewolf to hunt her, to claim what is his. Will Tayla be strong enough to survive the Curse of the Beast? Or will it consume her like so many before? Find out in the first installment of this unique retelling of Beauty and the Beast. A dark shadow stalks the night, watching her—waiting to claim what is his.
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Goodreads page

 



  Tangled in a web of wills, Tayla must risk everything to break the Curse of the Beast. With failure and possible death looming overhead, Tayla will do anything to find true love. But will one moon cycle be long enough to conquer her wolf and remain human? Or will she become a permanent member of Beast’s pack? Find out in the second installment in the Curse of the Beast series.
Goodreads page

Quittin' Time

Yeah, you read that right.

A couple of days ago, something happened (which I will not go into) that upset me. It was a like a small stone landing on my large unsteady pile of doubt and insecurity, and it caused a landslide that destroyed everything in its path.

So yesterday, I quit writing.

Oh my goodness. I got so much done! I cleaned up and organized my little boy's bedroom. I washed like four loads of laundry and got them all folded and put away too. Parts of my house that haven't been cleaned in ages are now clean. I played my guitar. I took my kids shopping for a few things they needed. Oh the free time! The lack of stress and guilt! I could totally run for PTA President. Or take up scrapbooking. Or run a marathon or something.

Except by the time I went to bed (at a decent hour, no less!), I had a little, painful sliver of desire to curl up in my beanbag with my notebook.

So, today I will start again. Or maybe tomorrow. Or next week. But sometime soon I will start writing again.

Because I must. 
Still, the landslide did a whole lot of damage and I'm going to have to find a way to repair it. Any suggestions you have are welcome. I am trying not to dwell on the small stone that started it. I know it's just a little rock, but at the moment it feels like a ten ton boulder in my heart. I know I'll need some time to heal. I won't call yesterday a day off or a short break because in my heart and mind, I really did quit. It was a kind of therapeutic.

Now, I guess I'm ready for a fresh start.

You Might Be a Writer...

I posted this question on Facebook and got some terrific responses.

You might be a writer if...

Ink stains are a common laundry problem. San Fransisco is not the first thing you think of when you hear the initials SF.You have discussions with people no one else can see.If, right in the middle of a conversation, you interrupt to say, "Oooh, that would make a good plot!"You wonder if your latest project is a YA Paranormal Romance or an NA Dark Urban Fantasy. Or is it an Alternate History/Time Travel Steampunk novel?People come up to you with this wary look (like you might be crazed) and ask, "Sooo, are you still writing?"You can predict the next line or conflict in just about every TV show/movie you watch.You don’t meet new friends, you meet potential characters. You stay in bed 15 minutes longer so you can come up with the details of your dream and arrange them into a novel synopsis.People ask you how many books you've sold.You'd rather stay at home and play with your imaginary friends than go to a party with real people.You don't understand it when people tell you they would love to write a book but don't have time.You see words as toys and the blank page as a playground.You're surprised to find out that your best friends are imaginary.You've ever said, "The main character in my book was just saying the same thing..."You look at the 2 am note you scribbled after dreaming a perfect idea for a new book and you can't read your writing.You take forever to compose and edit your emails and Facebook posts.You stop to massage your hands and realize it's time to prepare dinner--and you're still in your pajamas. (BTW, this only got two revisions.)If you don't like the ending of a movie or book and rewrite the ending in your head to please yourself.You love to finish sentences with a fill in the blank at the end.You overhear every conversation around you, and take notes.You wake up at night to write down inspirationsIf your characters send you birthday cards.Or you make birthday cards for your characters.
Feel free to add your own in the comments!

One word Interview with Diann Thornley Read

Today, I'm starting something new which I hope to make a regular feature on the blog.

One word interviews! In which I give an author a series of questions they must answer in one word (or so). Sounds fun, huh?

My first victim, er, guest is sci-fi author Diann Thornley Read! I read Diann's military science fiction novels, The Sergey Chronichles, many years ago when I first started writing, and I loved them. Now Diann is re-releasing those novels with beautiful new covers. So to celebrate I'm doing my first ever one word interview. Here goes!

Stranded on a tropical island! What's your one must-have item?
My laptop.

Good choice! (An internet connection might be nice too.)

You are having your favorite author over for dinner. What are you serving?
Maple-Glazed baby back ribs

Oh, that sounds so yummy! 

You've just been plunked down in the middle of your current WIP. Weapon of choice?
Rohrspachen-55 Javelin fighter

Oh, yeah. A fighter jet. Give me one of those too! 

If you could have lunch with any one historical figure, who would it be?
Captain Moroni

Sweet! I'll bet that would be an interesting lunch.  You could talk military tactics all afternoon!

Oh, no! The house is on fire! First thing you grab?
The cats!

Lucky kitties! Thanks so much for being my first one word interview victim, Diann. Now here is more about Diann and her books.





Originally from northern Utah, Diann Thornley wrote her first story at the age of five and never stopped writing. She taught herself to type—with two fingers—on her father’s ancient manual typewriter at the age of six because it was faster than pushing a pencil. After winning a statewide writing contest, junior high division, at the age of fourteen, she began her first novel, which was based on the Arthurian legends. This endeavor filled most of her high school years and freshman year of college, until a handful of friends introduced her to science fiction by “kidnapping” her to go see an obscure little movie called Star Wars. The rest, as they say, is history. Ganwold’s Child , first book of the The Sergey Chronicles , took seven years to complete, due to completing college and entering the U.S. Air Force. Following a year-long tour of duty in the Republic of Korea, Diann finished Ganwold’s Child while stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. Echoes of Issel and Dominion’s Reach , the second and third books in the Sergey trilogy, were also written in Ohio.Diann transitioned into the Air Force Reserves following Desert Storm, but her military career spanned 23 years and included deployments to Bosnia and Iraq. In December 2000 she married Jon Read, NASA rocket scientist and martial artist, and moved to Texas. Diann retired from the Air Force in June 2009 to return to her writing career and spend more time with Jon.Check out Diann’s website, find her on Facebook follow her blog, “Hero Journeys,” and on Twitter, and find her books on Amazon. Diann is also on Goodreads.


The Sergey Chronicles
When Tor Books originally published this trilogy in the late 1990s it was called The Saga of the Unified Worlds. It would have been more accurate to call it The Sergey Chronicles because it is, more than anything else, the story of one warrior family—Admiral Lujan Ansellic Sergey, his combat surgeon wife Captain Darcie Dartmuth, and their teenage son, Tristan Sergey—who become caught at the fulcrum of interstellar politics and the demands of their military duty. Wrenched apart and scattered across the galaxy by the brutalities of war, they face captivity, torture, coercion, and epic space battles to be reunited. Only then do their most devastating challenges begin. Having been separated by decades of time as well as lightyears of distance, each of them must confront his or her internal demons to make their family truly whole again, and to defeat a new and more insidious threat to their civilization. Between deadly special operations missions and scenes of deep-cover political intrigue runs a thread that proves how much one family can accomplish with patience, forgiveness, trust, dedication, and unity of purpose. The Sergey Chronicles are all available on Kindle and will be available on Nook in early March.
“In the past, when I considered important women writers of military science fiction, three names have stood out most prominently: C.J. Cherryh, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Elizabeth Moon. Now I will add Diann Thornley [Read] to my list. With each novel, it becomes more and more evident just how important she has become to this field.” (Dave Wolverton, NYT best-selling author of The Courtship of Princess Leia and, as David Farland, The Runelords series.)
 

The Seventh ShamanOnly Akuleh can see ghosts of the past that warn of the future. But he must want to see.Akuleh’s mother died giving birth to him.His Chanter father died when Akuleh was twelve, struck by lightning as he performed the Storm Stilling Chant. Only three months ago, Akuleh watched in horror, too far away to prevent it, as a younger brother died in an accident.Now his abusive stepmother is calling him Death Bringer.  Machitew.  The Evil-Hearted One. “Is that the prophecy in my Birth Chant?” Akuleh wonders. If it is, he can’t stay. He must leave before anyone else he cares about is killed.In Running from the Gods: Wanderer , 16-year-old Akuleh (aka Ku) leaves his desert home and shamanic way of life on the violent planet Tempest to defy the meanest Instructor Pilot in the known universe, challenge older rivals who have no qualms about killing to earn the Distinguished Graduate medal, and win the heart of the green-eyed beauty Derry MaCalder, from the distant world Ardonar. But can he outrun his people’s gods, the Ancients, and escape the prophecy in his Birth Chant?In Running from the Gods: Warrior , Ku advances from pilot training to a fighter squadron and is shoved into the harsh realities of war. The shadow of Machitew, the Death Bringer, looms over him as combat losses mount around him. Then Ku is shot down over occupied territory and wounded. Between evading cannibalistic enemy troops and assisting a pair of refugees, Ku receives a vision that reveals the meaning of the prophecy in his Birth Chant and changes everything, not only for himself but for Derry, too. Running from the Gods is currently in the revision process, with an anticipated release in early 2014. The first draft of the third book in the series, Shaman Rising , is also well under way.