S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 80
July 8, 2016
The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Natalie Wright and C. W. Hawes
Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Natalie Wright and C. W. Hawes.
Natalie WrightNatalie WrightNatalie is the author of H.A.L.F., a science fiction series, and The Akasha Chronicles, a young adult fantasy trilogy. She lives in the high desert of Tucson, Arizona with her husband, teen daughter, and two young cats.
Natalie spends her time writing, reading, hanging out on social media, and meeting readers and fans at festivals and comic cons throughout the western United States. She likes to walk in the high desert, snorkel in warm waters, travel, and share excellent food and conversation with family and friends. She was raised an Ohio farm girl, lives in the desert Southwest, and dreams of living in a big city high rise.
Natalie's books:
The Makers (H.A.L.F., Book 2) Dedicated webpage
The Deep Beneath (H.A.L.F., Book 1)
Emily’s Heart (Akasha Chronicles, Book 3)
Natalie's Links:
Website/Blog Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Instagram Goodreads
C.W. HawesC. W. HawesC.W. Hawes is an author and award winning poet. His interests are wide ranging and this is reflected in both the genres and the contents of his books. Among his works are the post-apocalyptic The Rocheport Saga, the Justinia Wright, PI series of mystery novels, the Lady Dru Drummond Dieselpunk/alternative history novels, Rand Hart and the Pajama Putsch Dieselpunk/alternative history novella, and the horror tales Do One Thing For Me, Metamorphosis, Ancient History, and What the Next Day Brings.
Among C.W.’s many interests are a love for fine food, tea, music (classical, swing, folk, and ‘50s and ‘60s pop), philosophy and mythology, art and architecture, books, history, nature, writing instruments (especially fountain pens and dip pens), airships, and steam power technology. All of these find a place in his writing.
C.W. was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and has made his home in Minneapolis, MN for the past 45 years, where he currently lives with his wife and cat. He was employed by Hennepin County in Minnesota, where he worked in human services. He retired in 2015.
C.W.'s Books:
Ancient History
Freedom’s Freehold (The Rocheport Saga #6)
What the Next Day Brings
C. W.'s Links:
Website/Blog Facebook Twitter
From today's show: Turning Asteroids into Spaceships.
Listen to today's show at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.
July 6, 2016
Alphabetism
I was thinking about my post on ageism that I did a while back as part of the 30-day blogging challenge (that I'm doing in approximately 30 weeks) and I said:[P]eople, no matter their sex, race, or age should be judged on their individual abilities, not on attributes they have no control over (such as sex, race, and age).But I forgot one type of discrimination that is pervasive and insidious in our society. And that is what I call "alphabetism."
What is alphabetism? It is discrimination based on the spelling of your name.
For example: one day in the military they kept everyone in my unit late to get flu shots. Since we couldn't all get shots at once, they fed us into the clinic in small groups. How did they determine who got to go first (and get it over with and be dismissed)? By the spelling of our last names in alphabetical order. And since my last name starts with a "T" which is rather late in the alphabet, I was one of the last people to go.
Many times having your name latter in the alphabet means you wait longer. In grade school one teacher assigned seats by last name. Then when it was time for lunch, we all filed out in the same order. So, of course, I was close to last.
We must fight the scourge of alphabetism.
July 4, 2016
Happy Independence Day
Happy Independence Day to all my readers in the United States. While we enjoy picnics and fireworks, let's not forget what we are celebrating: the formation of the first truly representative democracy the world had ever known.
July 1, 2016
The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Chayil Champion and Loren Molloy
Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome Chayil Champion and Loren Molloy.
Chayil ChampionChayil ChampionChayil Champion is a graduate of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida where he double-majored in both English and Journalism while competing as a two-sport athlete in both football and track. After graduating from UM in 1998, Champion received his masters and doctorate degrees in education from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He embarked on a career in education as an English teacher and vice principal in South Florida’s Dade County and West Palm Beach County public school systems respectively before moving to Los Angeles, California in 2009.
A native from Evanston, Illinois, a suburb that borders Chicago’s north side, Champion developed a love for writing at a young age which carried well into his adult years. After penning his first book in 2009 upon his arrival to Los Angeles, Champion has gone on to write five more books, which include the Young Adult fiction novels, Affiliated and Going Pro, both from The Lost Souls literary series. Champion also wrote Exiting The Wilderness and But He Said He Was A Christian, two nonfiction Christian self-help books. Majesties of Canaan: The Goliath Project is a Young Adult, super hero novel. It is the first book of many within the Majesties of Canaan Superhero Series and the second book of The Dark Spores Series where Champion has partnered with best-selling authors Keshawn Dodds and Braxton Cosby to form the new superhero universe and to collaboratively pen the upcoming superhero novel Infinity 7 due in early 2017.
Outside of his love for writing, Champion, runs his own education consulting company in Los Angeles where he continues to teach and tutor students. In his free time, Champion focuses on fitness as he is a gym rat, frequents movies, and enjoys spending time with his daughter Vanessa.
Chayil's Books:
Majesties of Canaan: The Goliath Project
Affiliated
Going Pro
Chayil's Links:
Website/Blog
Loren MolloyLoren MolloyLoren Molloy won her first award in 2005 for Best Young Poet. This was the catalyst to the creation of her first published book Black Dreams and Shattered Illusions. Loren has been writing books ever since. When Loren isn't writing or researching for her next novel she spends time watching Horror movies, walking outdoors in her beautiful home state of New York, and interacting with others through her social media accounts.
Loren's Books:
The Very Devil, Herself
Black Dreams Shattered Illusions
Where did all the Dragons Go
Loren's Links:
Website/Blog
Goodreads
From Today's Program: Chemists Know When You're Scared
Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT or in archive here.
June 29, 2016
Three Pet Peeves
And we're back with the 30 day blogging challenge that I'm doing once per week.Today's topic: three pet peeves.
Only three?
Okay, here goes:
Number one: slow drivers. The driver who is doing five miles an hour (or more) under the speed limit for no apparent reason. Sometimes in the left lane. Sometimes passing a truck so no one can get around them. Just the other day I was in a hurry and I got caught behind a pickup truck doing 25 mph in a 35 mph zone. To top it off, he made the green light but I didn't. If he'd been going at least the speed limit, we both could have made it.
Number two: Blatantly bad grammar in writing. You see this all over Facebook: "to" instead of "too"; "your" (or "ur") instead of "you're"; confusing "their," "there," and "they're." Typos I can understand (I do it all the time) but just not apparently caring is what drives me nuts.
Number three: Confusing "bring" and "take." This one drives me so nuts I did a blog post on it. Basically, if you're going you're taking, if you're coming, you're bringing. As I grew up in Idaho, no one got this wrong. I moved to Washington State and everybody gets it wrong.
So what are your pet peeves?
June 24, 2016
The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Co-writers Jack Keely and Briar Lee Mitchell
Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome co-writers Jack Keely and Briar Lee Mitchell.
Jack KeelyJack KeelySome claim that Jack Keely is the son of a celebrated spiritualist. Others insist that he grew up in the wagons of a traveling carnival. In any case, he has always been an aficionado of the arcane, the peculiar, and the eccentric. He spent four years exploring the haunts of H.P. Lovecraft in the historic city of Providence while obtaining his degree in illustration from Rhode Island School of Dsign. After an additional two years of study at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Keely began a long and checkered career illustrating dozens of books, including the best-selling "Grossology" series by Sylvia Branzei. He recently completed the cover art and interior illustrations for The Whistlebrass Horror, a tale he co-authored with Briar Lee Mitchell. The duo is currently at work on a sequel, The Whistlebrass Stormwatcher. Jack Keely is said to spend most of his time behind the chained gates of the Keely family manse. Although the moldering old house appears to be abandoned, a light can often be seen at night in the library windows. On such evenings, if their hearing is supernaturally acute, passersby are likely to hear the rhythmic thwack of a typewriter or the scratch of a pen across a sheet of drawing paper.
Briar Lee MitchellBriar Lee Mitchell“Write what you know” is the classic advice given to authors. Briar Lee Mitchell definitely seems to adhere to that maxim. The polar setting for Briar’s "Walking on Mars" serial echoes her experiences in the world’s coldest climate as a guest at McMurdo Base in Antarctica. Warming up on Andros Island in the Bahamas helped her set the scene for Dark Lights. She and her dive partners were offered $100 rewards from the Navy base there should any of them find a live torpedo out on the reefs. The Big Ass Shark author recently donned a wet suit to climb into a shark cage in the northern Pacific. Then Briar and her stalwart search and rescue dog, Thor, patrolled the Georgia woods and succeeded in helping the police locate and recover a missing person. The experience will no doubt fuel her future fiction. When not engaging in her edgier pastimes, Briar creates digital paintings for a diverse list of clients ranging from Warner Bros. to the U.S. Air Force. Her work has been featured in films, video games, and exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. She also spends a lot of time floating in her Florida pool watching clouds drift by and imagining mayhem.
Their Books:
Whistlebrass Horror
Apparitions
Whistlebrass Storm Watcher (coming October)
Their Links:
Jack's Website
Briar's Website
Briar's Facebook
From Today's Show: Europa May Have Enough Energy to Support Life.
Listen to today's show at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.
June 23, 2016
Red Hot Summer Author Giveaway
It's time for the Red Hot Summer Author Giveaway with $150 cash prize and hundreds of others including lots of books!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 22, 2016
My Life in Seven Years
Back the the 30-day blogging challenge that I'm doing in about 30 weeks.Today's topic is "My Life in Seven Years."
This is interesting. Seven years from now I'll be 62 years old (the year will be be 2023) getting close to my 63rd birthday.
I don't see how much will have changed by then unless my writing career really takes off and people start buying my books in droves. I'll still be living in the same town, most likely, I'll still be doing freelance work, probably, and I might even still be living in the same house. I like my life as it is right now, and I don't want it to change, much. I wish I would lose some weight and be more healthy. But that may not happen. Of course, if I don't lose some weight and get healthy, I may no live seven more years.
But will I have a flying car in 2023? Or just one that drives itself (how boring)? Will my children be helping me with my contact lens computer/phone/television ("No, dad, blink once to select, twice to open the options menu!"). It will be interesting to see where technology will be in 2023. If the robots haven't all killed us by then.
June 18, 2016
Spring into Books Giveaway Almost Over
It's not too late! You can still enter the Spring into Books giveaway with a top prize of $180 cash.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
June 17, 2016
The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Cris Pasqueralle and Chana Keefer
Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina, we are please to welcome Cris Pasqueralle and Chana Keefer.
Cris PasqueralleCris PasqueralleAuthor Cris Pasqueralle is a retired NYC police officer who has always dreamed of publishing a novel. His love of fantasy fiction was inspired by his daughters and led to the fulfillment of his dream with The Destiny Trilogy. Cris lives on Long Island NY with his wife and two daughters.
Cris's Books:Destiny Revealed
Paths of Destiny
Cris's Links:
Chana KeeferChana KeeferChana Keefer is wife of one, mother of four, and best selling author of four. Though raised in Texas, she and her family reside in southern California with several reptiles and a spoiled Siberian Husky who reminds her how to savor every moment. Chana earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism but decided she really wasn’t that fond of the news. Also, many moons ago, she worked as a model, actress & voice talent. Chana brakes for old barns, hot chocolate chip cookies, classic movies and mind-boggling storm clouds. Her dream vacation is to explore New Zealand on horseback with her family… with Peter Jackson as their personal guide.
Chana's Books:The Fall (The Rapha Chronicles: Book 1)
Servant of the King: Memoir of Modern Apostle Kemper Crabb
One Night with a Rock Star
Chana's Links:
Website
Blog
From Today's Show: Lasers for Interstellar Travel Could Have Other Uses.
Listen to today's show at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.
