Phil Giunta's Blog, page 104
July 13, 2012
Book Review: Mr. Monk in Outer Space
When a fast food chain executive is shot three times in his office by a professional hit man, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer of the SFPD calls former partner turned private investigator Adrian Monk. Along with his lovely assistant, Natalie Teeger, Monk arrives on the scene (after outsmarting a revolving door) and reveals that the victim's death had been caused by a heart attack. In other words, the corpse had been desecreated.
This prompts Stottlemeyer's current partner, the quirky and sometimes ditzy Lt. Randy Disher, to form the Special Desecration Unit, placing himself in charge, of course.
The question is, who shot the dead man?
Meanwhile, when Adrian Monk's living room carpet is soiled by a coffee stain that can only be seen with a magnifying glass, the obsessive-compulsive detective orders a new carpet. Since he cannot live in his home until the new carpet is installed, he finds himself staying with his agoraphobic brother, Ambrose. As the two of them rarely speak, it makes for an awkward situation.
Monk is then called to the scene of another shooting murder, this time outside of a convention center. The creator of an long canceled sci-fi TV show called Beyond Earth had been shot in the head while exiting a cab. Security footage revealed the killer to be...Mr. Snork!
As Natalie explains, Snork is one of the lead characters in Beyond Earth. He is a crewmember of the USS Discovery, lost in space after Earth is destroyed. The ship's crew encounters other aliens and helps to form the Confederation of Planets. Snork has pointy ears, an elephant trunk for a nose, and speaks Dratch.
The costumed killer from the security footage is seen running into the nearby convention center. According to Monk, it should be easy to catch the "freak" until he learns that the convention center is hosting a Beyond Earth convention with scores of fans dressed like Mr. Snork and other aliens.
Monk is absolutely appalled at the idea of dressing up like a television character and upon visiting the Beyond Earth convention, is further shocked to learn that his tech writer brother, Ambrose, has penned three reference books about the show!
But how does the murder of a has-been TV executive connect with the desecration of a fast food franchise exec? Only Adrian Monk can answer that question, once he learns to get over his fear of odd numbers, quirky TV show fans, carpet stains, eye patches, revolving doors, and more. More importantly, will he listen to his brother, Ambrose, who might have vital information thanks to his knowledge about Beyond Earth?
Lee Goldberg delivers yet another amusing story of "defective detective" Adrian Monk paired with an hilarious spoof of hardcore pop sci-fi fandom.
Goldberg's brilliant approach of telling the Monk stories using the first person POV of Natalie serves to clarify the concept of Adrian Monk as a flawed, fearful, egotistical, hypocritical, and ultimately sympathetic character. In other words, a human being. More, readers become familiar with what drives Monk to be the "best detective on Earth"...and possibly Beyond!
July 12, 2012
ReDeus: Divine Tales UPDATE II
July 6, 2012
Book Review: Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula
In the middle of a sudden and fierce storm, the Russian schooner Demeter runs aground in Whitby Harbor, England. Immediately after, witnesses state that a large black dog had leapt from the boat and run off into the darkness. The Demeter's dead captain was found with his wrists bound at the wheel beside a set of rosary beads. Two small puncture wounds, nearly an inch apart, were found on his neck.
Such were the facts presented to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson by a local reporter. Intrigued, the pair set off from London to Whitby where they find themselves confronted by the ghostly form of Lucy Westenra, now a vampire, kidnapping children and draining them of blood. Holmes and Watson attempt to trap her late one night but she escapes back to her crypt--only to be killed by a stake driven through the heart. The trap had been set by four men including Professor Abraham Van Helsing,
After an exchange of information with Holmes, Van Helsing warns the famous detective to keep out of his way and do not interfere with his pursuit of Dracula. For it was the Count himself that had fled the Demeter in the form of a wolf.
While Watson is blatantly dismissive of such ludicrous claims, Holmes is suprisingly receptive. The detective even goes so far as to buy a book on vampires, to the good doctor's chagrin. A series of confrontations with Dracula follows, including one resulting from his abduction of Watson's wife, Mary.
Loren Estleman does an admirable job presenting the tale in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As with all Sherlock Holmes stories, they are told from first person perspective of Dr. Watson. This time, Watson "writes" an introdcution in which he claims that Bram Stoker completely ignored the facts of the case when he deliberately failed to mention Holmes or Watson in his novel.
There are one or two weak chapters in the middle but they provide the service of leading up to a suspenseful climax aboard an American ship, the Baltimore. Van Helsing and the other characters from Bram Stoker's Dracula made cameo appearances for the sole sake of explaining much of Dracula's history and to warn off Holmes. I had hoped for teamwork between Van Helsing and Holmes and was disappointed when the vampire hunter never returned to the story.
All told, it was a quick and enjoyable adventure but one that had potential to be much more.
ReDeus: Divine Tales UPDATE
In an earlier blog post, I talked about new project for which I had been invited to submit a short story. With just over three weeks until the debut of the ReDeus: Divine Tales anthology, I wanted to offer a summary of my story. "There Be In Dreams No War" is a tale based on the Celtic mythology of the Tuatha de Danann, the gods who brought human civilization to Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Following the summary is the ReDeus logo, then a rough sketch of the gorgeous interior artwork by the amazing Carmen Carnero. I hope to post the finished, inked piece shortly.
In 2250 B.C., two divine races battled for dominion over the land known today as Ireland. Weary of oppression at the hands of Fomorian ogres, the benevolent people of the Tuatha de Danann rebelled, led by their king known as the Dagda and the sea god, Manannan.
Yet their victory was not achieved solely by the blade but also with a magical harp known as Uaithne. Among its many amazing powers was the ability to put an enemy to sleep with its song. As the Fomorians fell, their queen Cethleen assassinated the Dagda and stole his harp. Upon discovering that the Uaithne would sing for no one but the Dagda and his harper, Cethlenn cast it into the Irish Sea never to be played again.
Four thousand years later, the gods have returned and Ireland is again divided between them. This time, the Tuatha de Danann find themselves gravely outnumbered and without their mighty king. When the harp is recovered by a diving expedition, the sea god Manannan takes possession. Believing he has found the reincarnation of the Dagda's harper in a New Yorker named Laurie Golden, Manannan brings her to his castle on the Isle of Man on the eve of invasion by the Fomorians.
As Manannan prepares for a showdown with Cethlenn's forces, will the Uaithne sing once more and lead the Tuatha de Danann to victory or will the Fomorians slaughter the last of the benevolent gods?
ReDeus is the creation of award winning writers Robert Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, Paul Kupperberg, and Steve Savile. The premise: What if all of the ancient gods of every Earth culture returned in 2012? Fast forward to 2032. What would life be like in those two decades?
Other contributing writers include Steven H. Wilson, Lawrence Schoen, Allyn Gibson, Dave Galanter and more.
ReDeus will be published by Crazy 8 Press and available in print and eBook in early August 2012. We will have a book launch at Shore Leave 34, an annual SF convention in Hunt Valley, MD.
July 4, 2012
Author Interview: Ash Krafton
Ash Krafton was stalking me. Well, that's an exaggeration but at BaltiCon this past May, I received notice that Ash had suddenly become a fan of mine on Goodreads. I recognized the name and checked the BaltiCon guest list. Sure enough, I was scheduled to share an autograph session with her and Dr. Yoji Kondo (who writes fiction under the pen name, Eric Kotani) later that day.
When I arrived, what I encountered was a beautiful, bubbly blonde bursting with more energy than your average supernova...and a basket full of heart shaped cookies to help promote her new book, Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde. Ash Krafton was the hurricane at the table. No, more like a maelstrom. There may still be a vortex at the Hunt Valley Marriott's foyer in her wake. I'll check when I go back for Shore Leave next month.
That hour was in fact, the most entertaining of the entire convention and I was disappointed to see it end so quickly. It was almost as if Ash and I had known one another forever, so comfortable were we with ribbing each other. I'm glad that Ash was able to join us on this 4th of July to talk about her writing.
First, tell us where we can find you online.
I'm splattered all over the Internet Highway. *grin*
Facebook: http://facebook.com/ashkraftonauthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ashkrafton
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/ash_krafton
You’re quite the prolific poet! What themes are most prevalent in your poetry and why?
I like the word prolific--thank you for that. I began writing poetry to help sort out my writer's thought: what's good for my novels, what's not so good. Poetry fulfilled a lot of needs for me. It's my solution for writer's block, it's my happy place when I need to get something untangled from my brain, it's my version of verbal photography, a way to capture a brief image and what that image imprinted on me.
I have a speculative fiction heart and a desperate soul. These kinds of qualities often lead to darker themes in my poetry. I also have a macabre sense of humor so I like the twisted stuff. Darkness is a thing of beauty to me: like a wide-screen TV, it's the black that colors the rest of the world in high definition.
And you’re no slacker on the short fiction side either. Do you write flash fiction or primarily short story length pieces? What are some of your most memorable stories?
I honestly try to make everything flash length but I talk too much. (Don't know if you've noticed that about me.)
As a result, my work falls more in short story length. Memorable stories? I'm fond of "So Long, Warren" (Red Penny Papers ) because I'm very influenced by music…I like "Anamnesis" (Silver Blade) because I REALLY want to develop a novel around it but I'm trying to restrain myself. I also really enjoyed working with the editorial teams of both these publications—Katie and Sue are marvelously talented and they made my work better.
Your debut novel, Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde , was just released from Pink Narcissus Press (March 11, 2012). What inspired this urban fantasy?
As cliché as it sounds, I dreamed the premise. I awoke with the tagline "Saving the world…one damned person at a time" and an idea of who the hero, Marek, was. However, what I originally intended to write was superceded by the story, which had a mind of its own. It turned out well despite my intentions.
I love the paranormal so I view today's abundance of vampire stories as both a blessing and a curse. The curse part, I suppose, is the fact that, although I am first and foremost a reader, I am also a writer—which means I subscribe to the Writer's Mantra: I believe I can do it better than anyone else.
I don't mean I can write Anita Blake better than Laurell K. Hamilton. I don't mean I can write Sookie Stackhouse better than Charlaine Harris. What I do mean is I can best write the story I want to read most of all—and that's what I set out to do every time I open a Word Document.
It's tough to write in a crowded genre but I'm happy exploring the world in my head and talking with the voices that hang out in there. I hope readers find something fresh in my stories and I'm glad to know there are so many people out there who are anxiously waiting for more.
What advice would you give to new writers just starting out?
PERSEVERE.
You started writing because you have a drive to get things down on paper. You must remember to write because you want to write and don't stop because someone tells you to stop—or crits you in the slightest way.
Join a writers community: I highly recommend the forum at Query Tracker. if you are an aspiring novelist who is aiming at publication. Query Tracker is dedicated to writers seeking an agent but the forum has all levels of writers, some agented, some indie published.
And did I say persevere? Because you won't get anywhere if you don't keep going.
What does Ash Krafton do when she isn’t writing?
Laundry. My family changes clothes more often than Cher on tour. It's ridiculous.
I cook, too. I'm a tremendous sucker for ethnic food. Polish, Indian, Spanish, German…not so much French because a) I can't speak French and b) I imagine if I did there would be a lot of spit in the pot. French seems like a highly-salivating language. Even using an over-done French accent at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire one year left me spitted to the point of dehydration.
Oh yeah, I'm a Ren Faire fan, too. *waves to Ima and Marquis*
What can readers expect next from you?
Some short work coming out over the summer—Bete Noire #7 contains my poem "The House Darlingtonia" while editors of the Mad Scientist Journal are preparing "Application of the Scientific Method to Family Management". My story "Tempered" is in Nine #2 and there's a bunch of poetry coming out in various journals soon. I also made short-list at Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine—fingers crossed!
Also, Book Two of the Demimonde is under way…BLOOD RUSH will be published in early 2013 (so hopefully we can share another table at Balticon 47. Muhahaha…you've been warned, Phil).
Phil wonders: Can I handle that again?
I'm proud to say my editors will show Bleeding Hearts at Frankfurt this October. I can swoon just writing it because it's a dream come true.
While I plan to spend the summer working on Book Three of the Demimonde, I am confident I will be distracted, as always, by writing the short stuff. With luck, I can convince someone to print some of it.
Readers can find out more by stopping by my blog for updates and events. I've recently been introduced to the joys on conning (conferencing and coventioning) so hopefully I'll be getting more face-time with new readers soon. At any rate, it keeps me out of the laundry room so it's bound to be a fun time.
Phil knows only too well how much fun I have at conventions so he can vouch for me. J
Phil says: OOOOH, YES I DO!
Thanks for the chat, Phil. I appreciate the chance to talk about my work and I hope to see you sometime soon!
July 3, 2012
ReDeus: The Divine Tales
ReDeus was created by award winning writers Robert Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, Paul Kupperberg, and Steve Saville. The premise: What if all of the ancient gods of every Earth culture returned in 2012...? Fast forward to 2032. What would life be like in those two decades?
ReDeus will be published by Crazy Eight Press and available in print and eBook in early August 2012.
Other contributing writers include Steven H. Wilson, Lawrence Schoen, Allyn Gibson, and Dave Galanter.
Both Bob Greenberger and Paul Kupperberg are former editors at DC Comics. Bob hired on super-talented artist Carmen Carnero to provide cover and interior art and I can tell you from the rough sketches, she does GORGEOUS work.
We will have a book launch at Shore Leave 34, an annual SF convention in Hunt Valley, MD:
More info to come!
June 30, 2012
Book Review: Ben Bova's SATURN
The space habitat Goddard, filled with political exiles, social misfits, scientists, and engineers, is on its way to orbit around Saturn. There, the habitat will become mankind's first offworld colony.
If it can survive the turmoil and drama inherent in the human condition.
Malcolm Eberly had a choice, either spend the rest of his life in a Viennese prison or become the New Morality's watchdog aboard Goddard. Hired on as the manager of human resources, Eberly entertains his own agenda, ignoring the edict of the insidious religious zealots who also happen to be funding the expedition.
Eberly wants control of the habitat and everyone in it. Joining forces with other unsavory types, he suddenly finds himself embroiled in conspiracy, murder, and lies. Eberly has all living quarters and offices bugged, he uses the habitat's chief of security to threaten and coerce, and manipulates everyone and anyone on his way to the top.
Holly Lane is blind too all of this--at first. Joining the habitat project mostly due to her naieve crush on Eberly, Holly soon finds herself the target of Eberly's treachery after she discovers a murder committed by someone in his clique.
Suspicious of Eberly, Holly's older sister Pancho requests the aid of interplanetary stuntman Manuel Gaeta to watch over her. After becoming a media sensation for his stunts on Mars and elsewhere, Gaeta's next objective is to be the first human on Titan. However, the habitat's science director will not have the surface of Saturn's largest moon contaminated.
Enter nanotech expert, Dr. Kris Cardenas. Her very presence on the station rankles the religious types, especially since nanotech is banned on Earth. Dr. Cardenas proposes the use of nanobugs to decontaminate Gaeta's customized space suit before it leaves the airlock. Of course, it isn't long before she's sleeping with the hunky stuntman.
Meanwhile, habitat administrator James Wilmot observes all of this with clinical detachment and reports back to the New Morality HQ in Atlanta. No one but he and his superiors know the true purpose of the habitat.
Unlike the other novels in Ben Bova's Grand Tour series, Saturn is less about science fiction than human relations and political intrigue. About the only SF aspect of the story comes near the end when Gaeta has a change of plans and ends up traversing the rings of Saturn, thereby discovering something completely unexpected about the particles that comprise the rings. We are never treated to an exploration of Titan.
I was not as satisfied with this story as I'd ben with Jupiter, Mercury, and the multiple Mars books which dealt more with exploration of the planets than with the dark side of humanity. I found the characters' ambitions to be too obvious, too cliche'. Eberly and his cohorts may as well have been mustache twirling villains.
Dr. Bova's books always contain a measure of background political intrigue as the New Morality has infiltrated even the top ranks of the Federal Government. Though when an entire SF novel is dedicated to this, it feels like a cheat. It's almost as if Dr. Bova could not devise a better storyline that actually deals with science and exploration. Nevertheless, I will continue on with the Grand Tour series, hoping for better efforts.
June 24, 2012
About This Writing Stuff...
The French Still Flock to Bookstores by Elaine Sciolino
How Amazon Saved My Life by Jessica Park
What Do We "Owe" New Writers? by Jami Gold
Independent Bookstores Embrace Digital Publishing by The Associated Press
How to Maximize eBook Royalties and Minimize Hassles by Ray Rhamey
CORBS: 5 Letters That Can Keep the Drama on the Page and Out of Your Critique Group by Jan O'Hara
Seth Godin Reinvents Publishing (Again) by Amy Edelman
Why We Reviewers Won't Read Your Self-Published Book by Gav Reads
Dean Wesley Smith's New World of Publishing
Book Pricing from Another Perspective
Making a Living with Your Short Fiction
Insulting Your Writer Friends
June 23, 2012
Scant Blogging
Earlier this week, my publisher and fellow writer, Steve Wilson, and I were included on an invitation from two veteran SF/media tie-in writers to contribute a short story to a new, original fiction series they've created. I cannot give anything away right now, but believe me when I say that this is an honor and an exciting opportunity.
The catch is that all submissions are due on July 10. YIKES! With a FT job and home projects in the works, that's a challenge. I am happy to report that I have outlined the story, crafted my characters, and have already completed 1,060 words of narrative and dialogue.
However, for the next two weeks, this blog will likely go inactive. I need every minute of spare time (ha!) to write. What's more, I need to get it right on the first draft as there is no time for revisions. I have a few days off during the first week of July and I plan to shut out the world and write like mad.
I will keep everyone posted as to whether my story is accepted or not.
Thanks!
Phil
June 19, 2012
Author Interview: Donna Galanti
It's nice to interview a local writer once in awhile. I came to know about Donna Galanti from her posts on the Yahoo forums for the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group and Jonathan Maberry's Writers Coffeehouse Online. What I learned about Donna since then has totally blown me away. Learn more about this lovely, talented lady below as she celebrates the release of her debut novel, A Human Element.
According to your bio, you “dreamed of being a writer at seven years old”. In fact, many writers begin at an early age. Tell us about the first story you ever wrote.
The first one I recall and still have, is from when I was 10. It was an 18-page story called One by One They Disappear. A murder tale of a man who killed everyone around his home in an isolated, rural community. He bulldozed down their houses to create his dream of always having a buffalo range. He spared one girl as he had always wanted a daughter, and so she could help him raise the buffalo. She is brainwashed by him but eventually gets loose and braves the wilderness to turn him in. Yes, I’ve been writing dark stuff since I was a kid!
I served…uh, I mean, spent six years in Catholic school myself so I have to ask. What kind of “evil tricks” did you play on the nuns?
Sorry to hear that! LOL. Well, the funny thing is–I am not Catholic. I got in trouble in public school so my parents sent me to a private Catholic girls academy to get me in line. Didn’t work! We used to give the nuns titles like Wheelchair Nun, Library Nun, Typewriter Nun. I was known to steal the library key and lock the Library Nun in. She could be seen banging on the library glass doors to be let out. Once a friend and I skipped Mass to unscrew the wheelchair ramp and we hid it in the bathroom. The Wheelchair Nun couldn’t get to her next science class to teach until the ramp was located. Genius, right?
Were there any truly memorable images you took as a photographer for the Navy? Do you plan to use your experiences with the military in any future writing projects?
I worked for Fleet Intelligence Pacific in Pearl Harbor (in the building with no windows) and mostly processed aerial film of military bases and allied/enemy camps around the world. I also took photos of command ceremonies on the base. However, most of my amazing photos come from the Hawaiian Islands when I lived there. The rugged and lush beauty is breathtaking. It looks like such a violent landscape frozen in time amongst a tropical backdrop. I don’t plan to use my military experience in upcoming projects. However, Ben Fieldstone, in A Human Element is a photographer in the Navy on Oahu like I was. Except he gets into a wee bit of trouble with the Marines and locals there. See an excerpt about that here: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/a-human-element-excerpt-can-ben-be-saved/
OK, so you’ve published your first novel. Awesome! What inspired the story in A Human Element (Echelon Press, March 2012)?
This is where I like to think of some fantastic reason, but I have none. Something spoke through me to tell this story. It came to me in a vision fifteen years ago. I wrote the entire synopsis on a notepad driving to work one day. I shelved it for thirteen years and was inspired to pursue it after my mother died. She was the first to hear the story and my biggest champion. She would have wanted me to pursue my dream of being a writer and this was the story that led to that.
What attracts you to the paranormal?
I am fascinated by the power of the brain and how little we use. We are not even close to tapping our potential of brainpower. Writing in the paranormal allows me to tap into the “what if”. What if we possessed the power to do the unbelievable? Like telepathy, telekinesis. And what if we could use those powers to heal – or to kill? Some people like to imagine that aliens would have such powers, as eluded to in A Human Element, but what if it was inside us all along and we just had to tap into it?
What can readers expect next from you?
I’m looking to publish a middle grade adventure novel I just finished, that I hope is the first in a series. And I’m working on the sequel to A Human Element–A Hidden Element. It’s much grittier. In this book a family’s son is taken by the same unearthly evil that brutalized them fifteen years ago. In a race to find their son's kidnapper, they discover his horrifying mission that binds them all together. They must sacrifice all again to defeat a new terrifying enemy–an enemy that wants to rule the world, with their son as his heir. (There will be a third and final book, too, called A Healing Element.)
Your bio also indicated that you love 80s movies. I’m a product of that decade myself so I’m curious, what are some of your favorites?
Ooh, you had to get me started! I am always saying to my husband “Why can’t they make movies like the 80s movies anymore?” I have too many to list, but here we go…Dirty Dancing, License To Drive, A Christmas Story, Three Men and a Baby, E.T., The Empire Strikes Back, Stand By Me, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Porky’s, Working Girl, War Games, When Harry Met Sally, Romancing The Stone, and Fright Night. No remakes please!
What does Donna Galanti do when she isn’t writing?
I love to bicycle. My husband and I belonged to a bike club and did many long distance charity rides at one time. Since having our son, it’s hard for both of us to train to do that so I let him have the club fun. Kayaking, hiking, and taking historical day trips are my next favorite things. And being alone. I love to be alone. I grew up an only child on a mountaintop with only the woods and my dogs for friends, so go figure! And reading.
BIO:
Donna Galanti is the author of the paranormal suspense novel A HUMAN ELEMENT (Echelon Press). Donna has a B.A. in English and a background in marketing. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Horror Writers Association, The Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, and Pennwriters. She lives with her family in an old farmhouse in PA with lots of nooks, fireplaces, and stinkbugs. Visit her at: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/
About A HUMAN ELEMENT:
One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next. Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite–her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his and she has two choices–redeem him or kill him.
Reviewers are saying…
“A HUMAN ELEMENT is an elegant and haunting first novel. Unrelenting, devious but full of heart. Highly recommended.” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of DEAD OF NIGHT
“A thrilling ride full of believable characters, a terrifying villain, an epic battle for survival, and a love worth killing for. A page-turner filled with fascinating twists and turns!” – Marie Lamba, author of WHAT I MEANT and DRAWN.
Connect with Donna here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DonnaGalanti
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DonnaGalantiAuthor
Blog: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/
Purchase A HUMAN ELEMENT here:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/dg-the-Kindle
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/dg-he-Nook
