Joyce T. Strand's Blog, page 3

CHECK IT OUT: New Release OUTSIDE by Natasha S. Brown

NEW RELEASE...On the western highlands of Scotland, a springtime storm pummels the coast while Kristie's brother is out fishing. When he fails to return home, Kristie turns away from her list of chores to search the loch in an effort to ease her pregnant sister-in-law's fears. Instead of finding Domnall, she discovers a naked and battered man washed up on shore and worries he could be a thieving reiver or worse--an Englishman.
When the handsome outsider wakes, he is unable to remember who he is or how he came to be there. Although the feisty and melancholy Kristie isn't keen on him remaining, her young neighbor, Jock, takes to the playful stranger and names Creag after the rocky crags where the loch meets the sea. Not long after the lad speaks of selkies, magical seals who shed their skins to live as humans, Creag dreams he is swimming deep beneath the waves.
Kristie is desperate to keep the farm running for her missing brother while Creag's sleep is filled with strange visions--glimpses that may reveal secrets to his past, but he may soon wish they were only a dream.



**CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+**
TIME OF MYTHS Shapeshifter Sagas {Western European Myths from the Middle Ages}
Widow {13thc. | Black Shuck | England}Scars {10thc. | Fenrir | Iceland}Tides {10thc. | Kraken | Great Britain/Ireland}Outsider {14thc. | Selkie | Scotland}

Available to buy from....Amazon.com   Amazon.co.uk    rebrand.ly/outsider_print " rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Paperback


Also Available

Widow (Time of Myths: Shapeshifter Sagas Book 1) Lady Rayne has few options as a young widow. Either her father will marry her off to a wealthy nobleman--no matter how old and disagreeable he may be, or she will become a nun like her aunt at Grimsford Abbey. The choice is easy: her interest in writing is not supported in the dark halls of her father's home. Rayne eagerly anticipates becoming a scribe and learning the art of illumination and book making. But first she must travel along the treacherous roads of East Anglia.
Far from the confines of Norwich, Rayne hears fables of an enormous ghostly hound called the Black Shuck. She tries to ignore them until she finds herself staring into its expressive brown eyes. With every heartbeat, her chances of reaching Grimsford Abbey disappear. If only she could live to tell the tale.
**CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+**

Available to buy from....Amazon.com   Amazon.co.uk   Barnes and Noble   iBooks   GPlay    Download the novella, Widow, FREE when you subscribe to the author's newsletter- 


Scars (Time of Myths: Shapeshifter Sagas Book 2)

Along the breathtaking and unforgiving coast of Snæland, Ásta’s ancestral farm is plagued with bad luck. The kinless maiden’s turf walls continue to be found damaged, and there aren’t enough farmhands to maintain the property. Claw marks in the dirt revive old memories of the wolf attack that left her scarred, and she begins to fear the whispers are true—that Fenrir, son of Loki and king of the wolves, has come to claim her and her land.
Torin often leaves his uncle’s farm in the southern hills to track and ensnare valuable gyrfalcons. His secret ability to turn into the birds he trains means his falconry skills are unparalleled, earning him precious silver and gold. If the ghosts of his past didn’t haunt him daily, pushing him to numb his senses with drink, Torin might have married by now—as his uncle often reminds him. He knows the time has finally come to find a wife and settle down.
During the Althing, the gathering of the year, Ásta’s ability to maintain her property comes into question while Torin wonders if a woman in jeopardy of losing her farm is really worth the trouble.
**CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+**

Available to buy from....Amazon.com   Amazon.co.uk   Paperback



Tides (Time of Myths: Shapeshifter Sagas Book 3)
It’s Leif’s eighth summer going viking with his father on their ship the Kraken—and he’s had enough. For as long as Leif can remember, his father has claimed to be a descendant of Ægir, god of the sea, and has exploited their shape changing ability—all this to amass enough gold to gain entrance into the ocean god’s halls. Leif hopes that time’s drawing near so he can free himself from Ragna’s domineering shadow.
On the green hills of Éire, Eilish is content learning traditional folk cures from her father until a Finn-Gall raid disturbs the peace. Desperate to protect Eilish from harm, her father cuts her hair and disguises her in his old clothing before she’s ripped from the only home she’s ever known. Sold as a thrall in Duiblinn, she must hide out as a young man on a ship full of barbarians.
Now Eilish, who fears she’ll become Ægir’s next sacrifice, and Leif, who isn’t prepared to stand up against his father’s powerful wrath, must face the tides of change—no matter how ominous they may seem.
**CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+**

Available to buy from....Amazon.com   Amazon.co.uk    Paperback


About the author Natasha was born in Nevada City, California. Being an only child, she resorted to using her imagination while exploring the forest surrounding her home (a nasty habit she hasn’t been able to break). Her natural interest in fantasy ignited when her parents read The Hobbit to her as a youth, and from then on anything seemed possible. Once awarded with a Hershey’s bar ‘the size of a Buick’ in her high school English class for creative writing, her passion and interest in literature has never dimmed.
She now lives in Littleton, Colorado, with her husband, two children, and two dogs.

Find the author on the following sites...
Website   Newsletter   Facebook   Twitter   Google+   YouTube   Goodreads   Amazon author page
Follow the tour




I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.





NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY

Win $25 Paypal CashOpen Worldwide
Ending on Sunday 10th September at 11.59pm EST


Enter Below and Good Luck !!a Rafflecopter giveaway


Are you a book reviewer or book blogger? Join our book tours reviewers team -  Apply Here  x
Current book tours open for sign ups  HERE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Chris Kennedy & Mark Wandrey, Science Fiction Authors

Chris Kennedy, Author
THE REVELATIONS CYCLE:
Book 2:  ASBARAN SOLUTIONS Book 4: THE GOLDEN HORDE

Science Fiction authors Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey teamed up to bring us THE REVELATIONS CYCLE, a series of military science fiction novels. The two authors write what they like to read—real-life characters, rather than bigger than life heroes, and a “fun, imaginative, but credible read” free of messages. Villains we can relate to, but hate.
Chris Kennedy, former naval aviator and elementary school principal, has also written the "Theogony" and "Codex Regius" science fiction trilogies. In addition, he is a publisher and is currently working on his next book, The Progenitors’ War.
Mark Wandrey, whose diverse background he believes contributed to his writing, has also written the Turning Point series, a zombie apocalypse book with a twist and the Earth Song series, five space opera books. Next up is Four Horsemen – Alpha Contracts.
Don't miss the two excerpts following the interview.



Mark Wandrey, Author
THE REVELATIONS CYCLE
Book 1: CARTWRIGHT'S CAVALIERS
Book 3:  WINGED HUSSARS Q: I’m always fascinated with the origin of Science Fiction plots, which typically seem so creative. Your five-book (so far) series THE REVELATIONS CYCLE has been described as “military sci-fi, powered armor squaring off against advanced alien technology, and a little bit of skullduggery and cloak and dagger…” How do you conceive of these plots? What inspires them? Do your backgrounds have any influence on plot-creation?
Chris Kennedy: As a former naval aviator, I would have to say that my background plays pretty heavily in influencing my stories, and I am drawn to stories that involve flying, at least a little, whether that is in atmosphere or in space. Regarding THE REVELATIONS CYCLE, though, Mark is the main creator, so I’ll let him take it from here.
Mark Wandrey: I’m inspired greatly by what I consider the golden age of mil-sf, the 60’s and 70’s. Hammer’s Slammers, Starship Troopers, Asimov’s Foundation. I wanted to create a universe with some pretty tight rules, which I believe goes against the current tenants of SF where there are planet-killing energy weapons, super-powerful inertial compensators, and faster-than-light communications. If you’ve read any 4HU (Four Horsemen Universe), you know we have none of those. I believe these tighter rules have actually given us a deeper playground, instead of shallower. Yes, it makes it a little tougher for the writers—you can’t use as much handwavium—but the stories are more colorful and down to earth.
That said, the stories tend to be what I’d like to read, and influenced by what I have read. A lot of times I’ll just create one from whole cloth, and it works, or it doesn’t. The main story line for THE REVELATIONS CYCLE (4 books and 2 anthologies so far) is based around a primary plot I came up with, heavily influenced (and improved) by Chris Kennedy’s input.
Q: I assume that you are both readers of science fiction. Who are your favorite authors? Why? What other genres do you read?
Mark Wandrey: Robert A. Heinlein by a long shot. Behind him, and equal in many ways would be Gregg Bear, Ben Bova, John Varley, Alan Dean Foster, Orson Scott Card (influence for my Earth Song universe), and Larry Correia (for action and fun). I mostly read SF, but I’m also a huge fan of ZA (zombie apocalypse), which influenced me to create my Turning Point series, last year’s Dragon Finalist A Time to Die. I’ve just felt ZA books needed a little realism, and tried to incorporate it into my series.
Chris Kennedy: My favorite authors are David Weber and John Ringo. I love Weber’s space opera and Ringo’s gritty combat. They say that an author is the sum total of every author he/she ever read; if that’s true, you’ll see an awful lot of Weber and Ringo in my writing.
Q: How do you decide who will write which books? Do you review the plot and characters with each other?  Do you have any “will not include” characters or scenes that you’ve agreed never to use?
Chris Kennedy: Mark had almost completed the first book, Cartwright’s Cavaliers, when I agreed to team up with him, so alternating books was an easy way to start since we live in different states. As we’ve written them, we’ve developed a number of support mechanisms, like sharing information on a Google drive and over Facebook, which will help us as we begin to write the next books together. Our next book, The Four Horsemen – Alpha Contracts,will see us together for the first time under the same cover (besides the anthologies), and then the next series, the Omega Wars, will be completely co-written. After that? We’ll see what fans think.
Q: How do you make the stories credible? Do you create rules within the worlds that you build? What will cause a reader to stop reading a science fiction story?
Mark Wandrey: Credible fiction has always been a must for me. The best written books that can’t maintain that necessary edge of believability, and avoid completely shattering your level of disbelief, are not readable to me. I think that’s a number 2 killer for most readers, right after horrible editing, and excessive ‘message fiction.’ Chris and I strive to give our fans a fun, imaginative, but credible read. As credible as giant robots, kaiju, and fusion powered starships can be, anyway.
Q: Speaking of messages, do you find that science fiction enables you to deliver a message or do you write strictly to entertain your readers? What kinds of messages do you want your reader to walk away with?
Chris Kennedy: We made a conscious decision early on that these books would be “message free.” There is too much message fiction and too much in-fighting in all aspects of society at the moment. We wanted a universe where readers could get away from all of that and just enjoy the ride. Based on the series’ reviews, I think we’ve been pretty successful in creating that environment—Mark may have been too modest to mention it, but Cartwright’s Cavaliers is a finalist for the Dragon Award for Military Scifi this year.
Q: What makes an effective villain in science fiction and in THE REVELATIONS CYCLE books specifically? Who is your favorite villain of all time?
Mark Wandrey: The best villains are the ones you can both relate to, and hate at the same time. My favorite is actually two, Darth Maul from The Phantom Menace because he was just a glorious pit bull of a bad guy, and the other is Jenner from The Secret of Nimh. He’s a classic ‘my way is better’ back stage manipulator, but when faced with that grand choice, doesn’t mind getting his hands bloody.
Chris Kennedy: With Revelations and into the next series, we’ve intentionally limited how much the readers know about the villains, and have introduced them, little by little, lending an aura of mystery to them. Now that the readers think they know who the villains really are, they may find out that they don’t know as much as they think they do…
Q: How do you engage your readers to care about your characters? Do you prefer “comic-book super heroes?” or everyday people placed in extraordinary circumstances? If the latter, what gives them the ability to fight off the villains?
Mark Wandrey: I make my characters as real as possible. In  CARTWRIGHT'S CAVALIERS the hero is an overweight teenager who inherits a merc company. He’s also into 20th century pop culture and is a bit of a brony. I’ve caught heat for that, but I’ve also had a huge swell of approval for a ‘non standard’ hero. But you can relate to him, and that makes you care. I don’t like larger than life heroes, they might well be one of those elements you mentioned earlier that ruin a story for me. Since it’s the latter, I’d say the good guy’s ability to win is usually because their cause is just, and they have a firm will and noble heart. Okay, right, sometimes it’s just luck and picking the right friends.
Chris Kennedy: I don’t think any of our main characters have been superheroes—all four have their own failings that they will have to overcome as the series moves forward. Personally, I think that makes them more relatable to readers. That said, one of the characters I wrote has been the least liked of any of the Horsemen, because of his imperfections. I tend to look at it from the other side though—who else has the greatest potential for growth?
Q:  Are you able to use your settings to drive the story or develop your characters? How valuable is the use of humor to create your characters?
Mark Wandrey: The settings are just as useful in character development as situations. I believe that using one and ignoring the other contributes to a 2-dimensional character. Humor can be quite valuable, if the story calls for it. I try to interject at least a little into even the most somber scenes, but sometimes grim is best. So I guess the answer is ‘sometimes.’
Chris Kennedy: You learn a lot more about someone through adversity than you do when the times are good. So far, there’s been a lot of adversity for the Horsemen, which has allowed us to develop the characters and has given readers some good insight into what drives them. As far as humor goes, most people read because they’re looking for some form of escapism from their daily problems; if you don’t have some humor in the story, it won’t be as much “fun” for the readers. I’m a fan of humor.
Q: What’s next for both of you?
Mark Wandrey: Next up is Four Horsemen – Alpha Contracts in the 4HU. For myself, I’ll be relaunching my Earth Song series with the release of Overture, a book I first wrote nearly 20 years ago. It needed updating. After Alpha Contracts comes Omega Wars, and several other standalone books in the 4HU as well such as Peacemaker by Kevin Ikenberry. The skies are the limit just now, and I love this business.
Chris Kennedy: In addition to working with Mark on the 4HU, I am also the publisher for a number of other authors, which keeps me pretty busyQ: What do you both like to do when you’re not writing?
Mark Wandrey: Right now I have a day job as a US Customs Broker. I’m an avid shooter and love to travel. In mid-September, Chris and I are going to New Zealand for a signing tour.
Chris Kennedy: In addition to writing and publishing, I also work as the curriculum manager for enlisted sailors who are learning to maintain the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet fighters. Yeah, that’s a lot, but I have three kids in college, so…I just don’t sleep that much. When I get the time (or make it, more like), I love to play golf and travel. After the book tour of New Zealand this year, we’re setting our sights on the UK for next year’s book tour. I can’t wait!
About Chris KennedyA bestselling Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and publisher, Chris Kennedy is a former naval aviator and elementary school principal. Chris' stories include the "Theogony" and "Codex Regius" science fiction trilogies and stories in the "Four Horsemen" military scifi series.
Chris is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, "Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores." Called "fantastic" and "a great speaker," he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations, and he has published six authors under various imprints of his Chris Kennedy Publishing small press.

Chris lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he manages the curriculum for sailors learning to maintain the Navy's F-18 Hornet. He is the holder of a doctorate in educational leadership and master's degrees in both business and public administration.
About Mark WandreyLocated in rural Tennessee, Mark Wandrey has been creating new worlds since he was old enough to write. After penning countless short stories, he realized novels were his real calling and hasn't looked back since. A lifetime of diverse jobs, extensive travels, and living in most areas of the country have uniquely equipped him with experiences to color his stories in ways many find engaging and thought provoking. 
His current work is the Four Horsemen Universe, centering around the recently released Cartwright's Cavaliers, and coming soon Winged Hussars. The Four Horsemen Universe, 4HU, is full of aliens, mercenaries, and adventure. Placed just a hundred years in the future, humanity finds itself part of a Galactic Union filled with thousands of races, and the only thing we have of value to trade is our time honed ability to kick butt. 
His other series include the Turning Point series, a zombie apocalypse book with a twist. A Time to Die (2016 DragonCon Dragon Award finalist) was released in May 2016, and the soon to be released sequel, A Time to Run. He also has the Earth Song series, five space opera books placed in a future where an orphaned mankind must fight for its very existence in a hostile galaxy. 
About THE REVELATIONS CYCLE Series
Book 1: CARTWRIGHT’S CAVALIERS by Mark Wandrey
Heir to one of the leading “Four Horsemen” mercenary companies, Jim Cartwright is having a bad year. Having failed his high school VOWS tests, he's just learned his mother bankrupted the family company before disappearing, robbing him of his Cavalier birthright. 

But the Horsemen of eras past were smart—they left a legacy of equipment Jim can use to complete the next contract and resurrect the company. It’s up to Jim to find the people he needs to operate the machinery of war, train them, and lead them to victory. If he’s good enough, the company can still be salvaged.
Excerpt from “CARTWRIGHT'S CAVALIERS”
The last two operational tanks were trapped on their chosen path. Faced with destroyed vehicles front and back, they cut sideways to the edge of the dry river bed they’d been moving along and found several large boulders to maneuver around that allowed them to present a hull-down defensive position. Their troopers rallied on that position. It was starting to look like they’d dig in when Phoenix 1 screamed over and strafed them with dual streams of railgun rounds. A split second later, Phoenix 2 followed on a parallel path. Jim was just cheering the air attack when he saw it. The sixth damned tank, and it was a heavy.“I got that last tank,” Jim said over the command net.“Observe and stand by,” Murdock said.“We’ll have these in hand shortly,” Buddha agreed, his transmission interspersed with the thudding of his CASPer firing its magnet accelerator. “We can be there in a few minutes.”Jim examined his battlespace. The tank was massive. It had to be one of the fusion-powered beasts he’d read about. Which meant shields and energy weapons. It was heading down the same gap the APC had taken, so it was heading right towards that APC and Second Squad, and fast.“Shit,” he said.“Jim,” Hargrave said, “we’re in position. What are you doing?”“Leading,” Jim said as he jumped out from the rock wall.
Book 2:  ASBARAN SOLUTIONS  by Chris Kennedy
Nigel Shirazi was first in line for the chairmanship of Asbaran Solutions, one of the prominent “Four Horsemen” mercenary companies. First in line…until his drinking and temper caused him to fail out of college and get disinherited by the family.

Now he leads the life of a playboy. Nigel will have to learn to control himself if he’s going to take the reins of the company, figure out who’s behind the vendetta against Asbaran, and work out a way to stop them. But they’ve taken his sister hostage, and that makes him a very, very angry man!
Planet Moorhouse, Kepler 62 System“This is bullshit,” Sergeant James Wilson said. The tall, dark-haired trooper spat, the betel nut chew making his spittle a bright crimson on the sun-bleached sand.“What’s bullshit?” Private Dave Daniels asked, his pale brows knitting. “This is only my second contract, but it seems like pretty good duty to me. Walk some fence line, guard a mine, and get paid a ton of credits? Seems pretty soft. No one’s trying to kill me, and I can go down to the bar after my shift. Sure, the locals look like anteaters, but they pay well enough so I can afford some of the overpriced beer they’ve imported.”“Naw, that ain’t what I’m talking about, at all,” the sergeant replied. He spat again. “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy not getting shot at as much as anyone. Having actually been hit a couple of times, I may even enjoy it more. What I’m saying is that this whole contract’s fucked up.”“Why’s that?”“Do you see the bird on our crest?” Sergeant Wilson asked, pointing to where the Asbaran Solutions company flag hung limply from the staff in the humid, breezeless air.Private Daniels nodded his head, then wiped the sweat from his eyes the motion caused. “Yeah. There’s a bird with the company’s motto, ‘Kill Aliens. Get Paid.’”“Do you know what kind of bird that is?”“Nope; it looks like some sort of griffin.”The sergeant stopped and glared at the junior enlisted. “Do they not teach unit history at basic any more, or are you just too fucking stupid to remember? It ain’t no damn griffin, boy; it’s a huma bird.”“A huma bird?”“Yeah. It’s a type of bird that never lands; it lives its entire life flying above the clouds where you can never see it.” “Wow, that’s pretty cool. I’ve never heard of a bird like that.”“That’s because it doesn’t exist, you dumbass,” the sergeant said, cuffing the private in the back of the head. “It’s myth-o-logical. The point I’m trying to get through your stupid fucking head is that us Asbaran ain’t for sitting around guarding shit. We’re mobile; we strike from above and crush our enemies. We don’t hang around waiting for them to hit us while we’re sitting on the damned toilet in a guardhouse on some godforsaken planet at the ass-end of the galaxy.” He spat; another red stain marked his passage. “If the Founder could see us now…”“What? What would he do?”“If the Founder could see us now, he’d probably come back and kill every single mother fucker in management. This ain’t how we’re supposed to be used. It don’t play to our strengths…and it just ain’t right!” He sighed. “It ain’t what I signed up for anyway.” He spat again, hitting his first mark dead center. “I signed up to be up there,” he continued, pointing up to the sky.Daniels looked up to where the sergeant pointed and squinted. “Hey, what’s that?” he asked. “There’s something up there.”Sergeant Wilson looked up. A miniature boomerang shape could just be seen, silhouetted against the clear green sky. “Fuck!” he grunted as he broke into a run back toward the shelter. “Incoming!Get under cover now!”He had only covered half the distance to the bunker when he heard the tell-tale shriek of the banshee bombs, and he knew they weren’t going to make it.

Book 3:  WINGED HUSSARS by Mark Wandrey
For more than a century, Winged Hussars has been the richest of Earth's mercenary companies, as well as the only one to specialize in space warfare. Led by Alexis Cromwell, they have carved out a reputation in the galaxy for being dependable, unflappable, and lethally efficient. Until people began shooting at them everywhere they went.

The Four Horsemen are being hunted, and the Hussar’s future is dark. But there’s one thing Alexis’ enemies didn’t count on—Alexis Cromwell is nobody’s prey.
Book 4: THE GOLDEN HORDE by Chris Kennedy
The slaughter is on! Across the galaxy, Human mercenaries are being ambushed, and an ever-increasing number of companies aren’t returning from their contracts. Someone even appears to be plotting the demise of the premier Four Horsemen companies, and disaster for the other three companies has only been averted by the narrowest of margins.

The fourth horseman is in play, and time is running out to save the Earth and everyone on it!
Book 5:  A FISTFUL OF CREDITS – Anthology edited by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey
Fourteen outstanding authors. Fourteen extraordinary stories. One bestselling universe.

It’s the Twenty-Second Century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: we are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.

Enter the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates Humans from the majority of the other races. Enter a galaxy not only of mercenaries, but also of Peacemakers, bounty hunters, and even a strung out junkie in the way of a hired assassin.

LinksTHE REVELATIONS CYCLE (Four Horsemen) Series Page 
Mark Wandrey
Website Facebook  Amazon Author
Chris Kennedy
Website FacebookAmazon AuthorTwitter: @ChrisKennedy110

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Carl R. Brush, Author

Carl R. Brush, Author
THE SECOND VENDETTA
THE MAXWELL VENDETTA
BONITA
THE YELLOW ROSE - co-author Carl R. Brush writes historical thrillers. His villains are real villains and they are quite scary. Reviewers say, "Great characters, suspense, and thrilling action-packed scenes." He sets his stories in the past because he feels a need to detach his “writing self” from “contemporary turmoil.” But he believes his themes of racism, political corruption, and oppression can be applied to the contemporary world.
Three of his novels—BONITA, THE MAXWELL VENDETTA, and THESECOND VENDETTA—track a fictional family from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s in the San Francisco area. His fourth novel, THE YELLOW ROSE, which he co-wrote with Bob Stewart, is set in Texas during the 1836 Texas Revolution.
Brush lives in Oakland, California with his wife. They love to travel and enjoy their grandchildren. When he’s not traveling, playing with the grandkids, or writing, Brush plays the saxophone with an amateur jazz band. His sequel to BONITA is awaiting publication; and he is working on the sequel to THE SECOND VENDETTA. 
Q: Why do you write historical, as opposed to contemporary, thrillers?
Carl R. Brush: How did you know to ask me the same question I’ve asked myself many times?
I answer me that matters of murder and justice are just as “thrilling” in nineteenth and early twentieth century America as they are today. But that’s a justification not an explanation.
 I live and breathe and function just fine in the twenty-first century, so, why don’t I feel so comfortable about writing there as well? I believe my writing self needs a detachment from contemporary turmoil. It’s more fun for me, for example, to write about people experiencing automobiles as a rather scary novelty than to create a modern car chase.
Furthermore, though I’m in a different time zone, I do explore contemporary issues in my tales. Such “modern” subjects as racism, political corruption, and oppression, fit just fine into a setting a hundred years or more in the past. Amazingly, every “modern” conflict you can name was alive and kicking “back then” as well as today. And it thrills me somehow to write about the folks who lived amidst those conflicts that were long ago and far away, but, paradoxically, are just as alive here and now.  Long answer to a short question, Joyce, I hope your readers stuck with me all the way.
Q: You write historical thrillers with scary villains and brave heroes and also characters based on real people. How do you mix “real” people with “fictional” characters?
Carl R. Brush: Cf. my answer to the first question. Although it’s important to stick to basic biographical facts about a historical character, you start with the notion that he or she was human with all the impulses and fears and hopes that drive anyone alive today. Then you examine the actions they took in their historical situation and ask what that reveals about their character. Hundreds of clues that there await. For example, what sort of person would issue an emancipation proclamation, but wait so long before doing so? What sort of person would spend his whole life promoting and supporting Jim Crow, then turn around and champion the most comprehensive civil rights legislation in history? Neat questions, huh? What better writing prompts?
Q: The three books, BONITA, THE MAXWELL VENDETTA, and THE SECOND VENDETTA are part of a series that tracks a family from the mid 1800s to 1910. Is the story based on a real family? If so, how did you first discover them? If not, how did you create them?
Carl R. Brush: The Maxwell family is essentially my own creation, though they contain elements of my own family’s history. My great-grand parents came across the plains on a wagon train in 1864 just as Andy Maxwells grandparents did. They settled in northern California, though nowhere near the Maxwells’ Circle M. I attended college at Berkeley, just as Andy did. I have a familiarity and affection for both San Francisco and the Sierra Nevada, so setting my story there was a natural inclination.
The similarities, however, pretty much end there. My ancestors were small time farmers rather than big time ranchers, and they had neither great wealth nor political prominence. I wanted a larger canvas than my rather pedestrian family background provided, so I made my protagonist’s father a cattle baron with political influence and ambitions. Thus, it became natural for the story to move back and forth between the Sierra and the city, between the rural and the urban. Plus, for the back story, I could step into history and the founding and formation of California and the American west and all the attendant glory and agony. Lots of fun.
 Q: BONITA has been described as a book “for those who love history from a woman’s perspective.” Why did you decide to write a story about a woman in the 1800s? How were you able to develop her character—was there much research already done, or did you have to piece together your character and her actions? Was she unusual for her time?
Carl R. Brush: Ooh, so many wonderful questions do you ask. I could spend days and days and pages and pages. But relax, I’ll keep it short. Or shortish.
Why  a woman? Well, I like women, especially strong women. I married one, as a matter of fact.
Bonita’s character was in my head before I even began writing. American frontier women don’t get enough attention in either fiction or history even though their role was as influential as that of men.  A quick Google will reveal I’m right about that.
Only someone with Bonita’s impetuous, headstrong personality could conquer the obstacles she faced on her way to becoming an independent female in the mid-nineteenth century. The novel enters her life when she is twelve, when she finds a way to accompany the Rancho Sausalito vaqueros on a night time mission to rope grizzly bears. I didn’t find it difficult to discover where her character gave her both victories and troubles as I developed the story.
Her story did, however, require substantial research because she was born in 1830, when California was a sparsely-settled frontier. The population of San Francisco, née Yerba Buena, was only a couple of hundred in 1842 when the novel’s action begins. The state’s “European” inhabitants were primarily Mexican ranchers and Spanish missionary priests. Bonita’s story, though, follows her through the Mexican-American war, the gold rush, and into the era of California statehood, when the population exploded. I found ways to include her in such prominent bay area families as that of Captain William Richardson and Mariano Vallejo and into contact with a number of other historical figures like John Frémont. Thank the heavens for Google or I’d still be researching rather than writing.
Was she unusual for her time? Yes, but she was not alone. From former slave, civil rights activist, and entrepreneur “Mammy” Pleasant to Lawyer Clara Foltz to architect Julia Morgan, the women who played lead roles in California history is long and amazing.  
I could go on, but . . .
Q: Reviewers praise the mixture of adventure in the past with your ability to “explore racial tensions, discrimination, corruption, and exploitation.” Did you intend to reveal the issues of a particular time period in order to instruct contemporary readers about such issues or did you include them to draw a faithful and complete picture of the time period?
Carl R. Brush: I did not intend to offer 19th century incidents to illuminate modern issues. Not exactly. The issues are right there staring at me. I’ve had a lifelong interest in history, and when historical events merge in theme with modern ones, well it all just happens naturally.
Q: You co-authored THE YELLOW ROSE with Bob Stewart changing your choice of setting from California to Texas. What made you decide to travel to the Lone Star State?
Carl R. Brush: Bob invited me. I resisted. I knew nothing about Texas history beyond “Remember the Alamo!” He was a Texas native who had lived in San Antonio his whole life.  What could I offer to such a project? However, he insisted, and I’m very glad I relented. It was a fresh and exciting world, those few months of the 1836 Texas Revolution. How many of us know that Texas was the only state that was a nation before it was a state? Not to mention the joy of discovering the woman behind the song, “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”
Thanks, Bob, for inviting helping me aboard the train. It was quite a journey, and I miss you.
Q: The use of everyday items and events from the era as back story can help support a story. Do you integrate some of these items to develop a more intriguing plot? How do you choose what to include?
Carl R. Brush: I mentioned above showing peoples’ reaction to the novelty of the automobile. That was a natural item to include because transportation is a crucial matter in every era, and a major change in modes thereof makes for big changes in peoples’ lives. It also helps create plot complications. The horse can do things the auto can’t, and vice versa, so who has one versus who has the other can be pretty entertaining.
Dress is another natural, useful item both for plot and character. For example, Dressing up a “tomboy” like Bonita in an elegant gown with appropriate hairstyle gave her some fits—that damn corset!—but was necessary to advance her transformation into a successful career woman, which was the whole point of the plot at that point.
Q: How useful is humor to create your characters or develop your story?
Carl R. Brush: I’m not a leave-‘em-laughing kind of writer. One-liners elude me. However, I think I create some humor that warms up the story and creates smiles. One such involves that automobile again. The Maxwells faithful and ever-present servant is a Chinese fellow named Ling Chu. He’s traditional in all things, being, for example, an avid practitioner of acupuncture. But guess who introduces the Maxwell family to the automobile despite their resistance. Who lobbies to use it for every trip from the ranch into town? Who takes care of it as if it were a baby? Who becomes the official Circle M chauffeur? Yep. So, doing triple duty, the Model T serves as a character variation for Ling Chu, gives the reader a chuckle, and creates some plot variations.
Q: What’s next and when?
Carl R. Brush: I just completed a sequel to Bonita that takes her to New Orleans to uncover her parents’ background and solidify her claim to her daughter. That’s awaiting publication. I’m now working on a sequel to THE SECOND VENDETTA, so I’m re-immersed in the world of Andy, Many Clouds, and their two “adopted” children.
Q: Tell us about Carl R. Brush. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Carl R. Brush: My world’s a busy and pretty happy place these days. I have six grandkids, four of whom live within a mile. Actually, three of them live within a mile, since one is about to leave for Wesleyan in Connecticut and who knows after that? We see the other two from time to time.
We travel a lot. I have a niece who works for USAID, and we like to follow her to her various international postings. The last one was Jakarta a few months back. What a revelation that was. In addition, we generally go abroad each year to check some country or city off our list.
 My wife is from Louisville, so we visit there a couple of times a year.
I play sax in a little amateur jazz combo.
I read. I walk. I give thanks for my (so far) good health. 
About Carl R. Brush by Carl R. Bush
I’ve been writing since I could write, which is quite a long time now. I grew up and live in Northern California, close to the roots of the people and action of three of my historical thrillers, MAXWELL VENDETTA, and its sequel, THE SECOND VENDETTA, which take place in 1908-10 San Francisco and the high Sierra. The third of the trilogy, BONITA, is set in pre-gold-rush San Francisco. A fourth and fifth in the series are on their way.
For yet another historical tale, THE YELLOW ROSE, I made a literary jump from California to Texas, where my co-author, the late Bob Stewart, dwelled. It’s a tale of the Texas revolution and an imagined affair between Sam Houston and a legendary mulatto woman, Emily West, who is best remembered as The Yellow Rose of Texas.
I live with my wife in Oakland, California, where I enjoy the blessings of nearby children and grandchildren.
About THE SECOND VENDETTA
Not again.
It’s taken Andy Maxwell two years—1908-1910—to help his family recover from the vendetta that nearly killed his mother, burned their Sierra Nevada ranch house, and exhumed some long-buried family secrets—including the fact that his father was black. At last, Andy thinks, he can return to University of California and pursue his history doctorate in peace.
Not so.
First of all, it turns out they don’t want a miscegenated mongrel in the Ph.D. program. Just when he’s enlisted the eminent San Francisco journalist, Ambrose Bierce, to help him attack that problem, it turns out that marauder who started all the trouble in the first place didn’t stay Shanghaied. Michael Yellow Squirrel is back for another try at eliminating every last Maxwell on earth. So much for school.
And then there’s the election.
Reform gubernatorial candidate Hiram Johnson wants him to run for the California legislature and help foil the railroad barons.
And then there are the women.
The debutante beauty and the Arapaho princess.
So, how is Andy Maxwell, going to deal with all these quandaries? The Second Vendetta answers that question and many more with a tale-telling style that pulls readers into the book and doesn’t let them go till they’ve turned the last page, wishing there were more yet to turn.
About THE MAXWELL VENDETTA
Early California, 1908. Andy Maxwell sets out to solve the mystery surrounding the stabbing death of his younger brother outside a San Francisco bar. He’s certain the murder is part of a vendetta against his family, but frustration and suspense mount as he fails to convince authorities that the killing is anything more than the sad consequence of a brawl between a pair of drunks. The police, the U.S. Army, even his mother refuse to entertain the possibility that the killer, Michael Yellow Squirrel, is one of a clan who intends to wipe out the Maxwells and their California Sierra Nevada ranch.
Andy’s quest for the motives and perpetrators behind the scheme carries him from California to Wyoming and deep into his family’s pioneer past and psyche, where he unearths disturbing secrets about, among other matters, his own racial heritage. It also plunges him into a romantic dilemma involving a blonde debutante and an Arapaho princess. Although Andy’s initial purpose is to foil a conspiracy against his family, his journey eventually leads him to question not only his own values, but also those of the frontier that spawned and nourished them.
This historical thriller, theprequel to another gripping historical novel, THE SECOND VENDETTA, is set nearly one hundred years in the past, yet THE MAXWELL VENDETTA embodies themes as contemporary as racism, political corruption, and sexual exploitation. In short, contemporary America mirrored in a novel of early California.
About BONITA
Meet Bonita. Often reckless, often victimized, a deeply spiritual person who transforms herself from a rebellious adolescent into a prominent entrepreneur.

When we meet her as a twelve-year-old in 1843, her future looks idyllic—a privileged life on a hacienda overlooking San Francisco Bay. But her penchant for eavesdropping and her feisty willfulness wreck everything. She learns that she’s not who she’s been told she was. True to her rebellious nature, revealed in the beginning when she sneaks out on a nocturnal adventure to learn how to rope a grizzly bear, Bonita strikes out on her own to discover the truth about her heritage.
Along the way, she becomes immersed in the swirl of historic events that surrounds her—the Mexican-American war, the gold rush, California’s drive for statehood. An intense romance both complicates and enhances the quest. 

Her search and its discoveries create fresh challenges, challenges she meets with the originality and boldness that by that point we’ve come to expect of this extraordinary woman named Bonita.
Check out the extraordinary trailerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktS6O...About THE YELLOW ROSE - Co-author with Bob Stewart
Historically, “yellow rose” was a term for a pretty mulatto woman. Also historically, the original Yellow Rose of Texas was one Emily West, and her story is intertwined in song and legend with the Texas Revolution of 1836. That series of battles, led by Sam Houston, made Texas a republic, its own country, a historical event unique among our fifty states.
THE YELLOW ROSEis set during the revolution and supposes that Emily and Sam not only collaborated in certain incidents that gave the Texans victory, but became romantically involved in the process.
The novel mixes legend with fact. No one knows for sure if our Emily met Sam Houston or if she participated in the revolution at all. On the other hand, no one has proved the contrary. So, THE YELLOW ROSE asks the question: what if. . . .
Here’s a link to a trailer: https://youtu.be/MfW8qLOxgow
Links
Book LinksTHE SECOND VENDETTA  Solstice PublishingAmazon
THE MAXWELL VENDETTA – a prequel to THE SECOND VENDETTASolstice PublishingAmazon
BONITASolstice PublishingAmazon
THE YELLOW ROSESolstice PublishingAmazon
Author LinksWebsite  BlogFacebook GoodreadsTwitter:  Carl R Brush @carlrbrush

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Christine Simolke, Author

Christine Simolke, Author
CHILDREN OF ITALYChristine Simolke joins us again to tell us more about her novel, CHILDREN OF ITALY, based on her family’s immigration to the United States in the early 20th century. In addition to entertaining readers, Simolke believes that historical fiction is a way to help them understand what it was like to live in the past. When writing, she starts with her characters. The plot and setting evolve from what they want. She is working on the sequel to CHILDREN OF ITALY, which starts in 1939 and follows the family's story for several years. 
Simolke is a retired teacher, active in non-profit work in her community, and an avid traveler who lives in North Carolina with her husband.
Q: Your historical fiction novel, CHILDREN OF ITALY, is based on your family’s immigration to the United States. Reviewers say, it has a "Love story, secrets, and even a bit of suspense!" and that it’s “a page turner.” Do you believe that historical fiction is an effective way to teach about the past, and in your case, about immigration?
Christine Simolke:  For those who enjoy fiction, in my opinion, it’s a great way to learn about and understand the people/society/political climate of a past time period. Good writers of historical fiction do a great deal of research to embed their readers in surroundings that reflect the past to help them understand what it was like to live in those times. When writing CHILDREN OF ITALY, I wanted my readers to be immersed in the culture and feelings of an immigrant in America in the 1920’s.
Q: I confess that although I am an avid mystery reader and author, my favorite novel is James Clavell’s historical novel Shogun. It was highly entertaining, and I felt like I was in medieval Japan when I read it. What is your favorite historical novel? Or who is your favorite author?
Christine Simolke:  My favorite recently written historical novel is The Light Between Oceans. My favorite authors of historical fiction are John Steinbeck, the Bronte sisters, and Willa Cather. I agree, Shogun is great!
Q: Reviewers of CHILDREN OF ITALY are eagerly waiting for a follow-on story. Will it bring the reader into today’s world of immigration?
Christine Simolke:  Thanks for including that! The continuation of CHILDREN OF ITALY picks up in 1939 when WWII begins with Nazi Germany’s attack on Poland and the US is still two years away from entering the fighting. It will not venture into today’s world of immigration as it will only cover the course of several years.
Q:  A recent reviewer writes that CHILDREN OF ITALY is “relatable to today’s immigration crisis.” Do you agree? How might an historical fiction book such as yours contribute to understand or help the “immigration crisis?”
Christine Simolke:  I think the immigration issues of the past are much the same as during the mass migration of European immigrants in the early 20th century. Though we are a country full of immigrants and their descendants, those entering our country from other lands face discrimination still today. I think if readers of historical fiction can be reminded of the fact that we are all descended from immigrants, they might better understand recent immigrants and be more likely to treat them with respect instead of viewing them as outsiders.
Q: You have traveled extensively. Does travel help you envision stories? When I travelled, it surprised me to learn more about what it meant to be an American.
Christine Simolke:  Yes, I think that meeting other people and appreciating other cultures is a great inspiration for writing; and I agree with you, it has also shown me that our country, with all of its struggles, is, in my opinion, the greatest place to live. I’m very proud and thankful to be an American.
Q: When you write your stories, what comes first: plot, character, or setting?
Christine Simolke:  Character is my top consideration. I think about what I want my characters to think/feel/dream. The plot and setting evolve from their desires.
Q:  Reviewers tout your characters: “these characters had me hooked from the very beginning” and are “richly developed characters.” Would they have behaved differently in a different setting, i.e., if they had immigrated to Russia, for example? How influential was the setting to the actions of your characters?
Christine Simolke:  The setting of early 20th century America and Italian culture are very central to the story in CHILDREN OF ITALY. The characters are very influenced by the expectations of their families and their place in society. But that being said, I think being an immigrant to any country would have many of the same inherent challenges. I think readers of any nationality could relate to the plight of these immigrants as their feelings of isolation and discrimination are something we’ve all felt in one form or another.
Q: You’ve also written an historical middle grade novel. What can you tell us about it?
Christine Simolke:  My middle grade novel has not been published yet, but it is also about an Italian-American family. It takes place in 1970 and is about the terrorization of one immigrant family by the KKK in a small southern town.
 Q: What will be your next publication? Do you plan to write any contemporary fiction?
Christine Simolke:  I hope to finish my novel that continues the story of the Falconi family of CHILDREN OF ITALY. Whether it will be published or not, I can only hope. I love writing historical fiction and don’t see myself writing contemporary fiction anytime soon.
Q: Tell us about Christine Simolke. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Have you travelled somewhere exciting recently?
Christine Simolke:  I am a retired teacher. I’m active in non-profit work in our community, and I love to read, cook, and exercise at our YMCA. My husband and I haven’t traveled recently, other than to NYC and the North Carolina coast to visit our sons. I am really having fun doing author visits with book clubs who have read CHILDREN OF ITALY. If any of your readers would like to have me do an author visit with their book club, they can contact me at csimolke@charter.net. I will be glad to Skype if they aren’t within driving distance. I really enjoy connecting with readers and other writers.
Thank you so much for the interview!
About Christine Simolke
Christine Simolke is the granddaughter of Italian immigrants. She was inspired by her  grandmother’s life story to write a novel of the immigrant experience. She has traveled to countries all over the world and is thankful that her ancestors chose to settle in the United States. She is a former language arts teacher and currently resides in North Carolina with her husband. They are the parents of two wonderful young men. When she is not writing, she's active in non-profit work.
The idea for her book, CHILDREN OF ITALY was formed many years ago when she wrote a research paper in graduate school based on an interview with her grandmother, Giovanna and stories her great aunt, Evelina told her. Her grandmother and her family immigrated from Italy to America in the 1920's, and Christine and her family were always fascinated by the stories of their voyage to America and their early life in the United States. Their tale of hope, struggle, perseverance and love of family has been an inspiration to all of the generations after them.
About CHILDREN OF ITALY
Against the backdrop of the early 20th century, as millions of immigrants pour through the doors of Ellis Island in search of the American Dream, Italian immigrant, Luigi Falconi, works as a coal miner to carve out what he hopes will be a better life for his family, who remain in Italy. Soon he will be with them again, but a dark cloud threatens to ruin all he has struggled to accomplish. After twelve years apart, his wife, and three daughters leave Italy to join him in America. Luigi looks forward to their arrival with anticipation, but first he must end his affair with the troubled Isolde, who cannot accept that he has never loved her. Luigi is all she has, and she plots to keep him.

While on board the SS Roma as it sails to Ellis Island, Luigi’s eldest daughter, Giovanna, begins a romance with Alessandro, a dashing member of the crew. When he immigrates to America a short time after their voyage, intent on reuniting with her, she and her family have vanished. As the Falconi family struggles to assimilate in America, Alessandro perseveres in his hunt for Giovanna. His search intersects with the bitter Isolde’s efforts to win Luigi back, with heartbreaking and surprising consequences for all of them. 
Links
Purchase Sitesamazon
Barnes and Noble
hawkinspublishinggroup.com 
malaprops.com (Asheville, NC bookstore)
Author SitesBook Trailer:  https://vimeo.com/166875669
 Goodreads:  www.goodreads.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/christine.simolke.1 
Twitter address:  twitter.com/csimolke1

CHECK IT OUT: Love, Murder & Mayhem

AVAILABLE NOW!

About LOVE, MURDER & MAYHEM
Love science fiction stories that all include elements of LOVE, MURDER & MAYHEM?
 
Then welcome to the latest anthology from Crazy 8 Press! This amazing collection from 15 all-star authors will delight you with superheroes and super villains. AIso, off-worlders and space cruisers. We’ve also got private eyes, sleep surrogates, time travelers, aliens and monsters—and one DuckBob!
 
With tales ranging from wild and wacky to dark and gritty to heartbreaking and fun, take the deadly leap with authors Meriah Crawford, Paige Daniels, Peter David, Mary Fan, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, Glenn Hauman Paul Kupperberg, Karissa Laurel, Kelly Meding, Aaron Rosenberg, Hildy Silverman, Lois Spangler, Patrick Thomas, and editor Russ Colchamiro.
 
You’ll never look at LOVE, MURDER & MAYHEM the same way again—and that’s just the way we like it.
About Russ Colchamiro, Editor and Author
Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure, CROSSLINE, the hilarious sci-fi Russ Colchamiro, Editor & Author
LOVE, MURDER & MAYHEMbackpacking comedy series, FINDERS KEEPERS, GENIUS DE MILO, and ASTROPALLOZA, and is editor of the new anthology, LOVE, MURDER & MAYHEM, all with Crazy 8 Press.
Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, and Altered States of the Union, and TV Gods 2. He is now at work on a top-secret project, and a Finders Keepers spin-off.
As a matter of full disclosure, readers should not be surprised if Russ spontaneously teleports in a blast of white light followed by screaming fluorescent color and the feeling of being sucked through a tornado. It’s just how he gets around — windier than the bus, for sure, but much quicker.

LinksAmazon
Goodreads Website Facebook   Twitter   Instagram

document.write('');

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Ruchira Khanna, Author

Ruchira Khann, Author
BREATHING TWO WORLDSRuchira Khann brings us BREATHING TWO WORLDS, a novel about what it’s like to be born in one country but earning a living in another. A reviewer describes her novel, “What a heartfelt story!” The experiences of immigration inspired her to write the story. Her character’s villains are not human—but rather the “thoughts and emotions a person tries to juggle with on a daily basis.”
Khann was a biochemist, then technical writer before turning to fiction. She has written and published two other novels, CHOICES and VOYAGERS INTO THE UNKNOWN as well as a children’s book, THE ADVENTURES OF ALEX AND ANGELO: THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING IGUANA. She is currently working on a fourth novel with the themes of ambition and trauma, and lives in California with her family.

Be sure to check out the excerpt following her interview.

Q: What drove you to select the topic of BREATHING TWO WORLDS? What influenced your writing of it?
Ruchira Khann:BREATHING TWO WORLDS talks about an individual who is born in one country and is making a living in another country. I have tried to pen down the various emotions she breathes in from the two nations that are both dear to her.
Immigration has always been on the cards for many. Thus, inspiring me to write such a novel.
Q: You are a biochemist who decided to write. What drove you to leave your career as a biochemist and become a writer?
Ruchira Khann:I became a technical writer after I quit working in the lab so that I could continue to work from home. While working on the desktop for hours creativity took a turn for which there is no going back….
Q: BREATHING TWO WORLDS is described as literary and/or women’s fiction, not romance. Would you consider it to be cross-genre? Are the themes intertwined?
Ruchira Khann:Absolutely! The themes are intertwined, but the focus is more on the fiction as she is trying to juggle between her foundations and priorities in life.
Q: Reviewers say that BREATHING TWO WORLDS is an “engaging, thought-provoking read.” Did you intend to deliver a “message” and/or educate or influence readers with this novel?
Ruchira Khann:I avoid being preachy in my novels. As far as an author I choose themes that are close to humanity thereafter I allow my readers to read and judge.
Q: Although your novel is about a woman from India, would you consider it to be a universal story? And is it as much about being a woman as it is straddling two cultures? Would you describe your main character as a “modern woman?”
Ruchira Khann:Yes! This story is about any individual who is an immigrant.
Q: Why will readers care about your main character? How will they relate? Did you base your main character on an actual person?
Ruchira Khann:The main character, Neena is a fictional character and is living a dual life with regards to her priorities and culture that she has been brought up in. This story relates to any individual man or woman who is living two cultures.
Q: Does the concept of heroes versus villains apply to BREATHING TWO WORLDS? If so, what are the attributes of a compelling villain?
Ruchira Khann:Heroes and villains are in plenty here :) The only difference is that they are not 'humans' but mostly the thoughts and emotions a person tries to juggle with on a daily basis.
Q: How helpful is humor to develop your characters or tell your story?
Ruchira Khann:Humor is also important to keep the storyline light if it is getting too preachy or has too many twists and turns.
Q: What’s next? Will you continue writing novels? Will you stay in your literary fiction genre?
Ruchira Khann:I am currently working on another novel that is based on a theme of ambition and trauma.
Yes, I shall try to stay focused on my genre although intertwine it with romance, mystery.
Q: Tell us about Ruchira Khanna. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Ruchira Khann:I am a holistic healer having my practice and also associated with the Stanford Healing Partners.
Continue to take freelancing technical writing projects.
About Ruchira Khanna
Ruchira Khanna, a biochemist turned writer, left her homeland of India to study in America, where she obtained her Master’s degree in Biochemistry from SJSU and a degree in Technical Writing from UC Berkeley.
After finishing her studies, Ruchira worked as a biochemist at a Silicon Valley startup for five years. After the birth of her son, Ruchira took a job as a technical writer, so that she could work from home. Soon, she began doing freelance writing work as well.
Her love of writing grew and she started working on her own books. After four years of freelancing, Ruchira published her first book, a fiction novel for adults called CHOICES.
Then came the children’s book THE ADVENTURES OF ALEX AND ANGELO: THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING IGUANA. She got a thumb’s up review from Kirkus Reviews.
In January 2016, she published her second fictional novel VOYAGERS INTO THE UNKNOWN. It talks about the quest for happiness as the heavy hearted tourists who travel miles from different parts of the world to Raj Touristry in Agra, India, return to their respective home with a healed heart. This book talks about their journey!
In BREATHING TWO WORLDS, Ruchira talks about ethnicity and cultures, and helps to strike a balance via a fiction-drama novel as her characters breathe two worlds.
In addition to writing books, she is a holistic healer associated with Stanford Healing Partners and also maintains a blog of daily mantras on Blogspot, called Abracabadra. Ruchira curreAbout BREATHING TWO WORLDS
Neena Arya, a Delhi-born, goes abroad for further studies and decides to settle down there. Determined to be a 'somebody' from a 'nobody' she blends with the Americans via the accent and their mannerisms while having a live-in relationship with her European boyfriend, Adan Somoza.
When illness hits home, Neena rushes to meet her ailing dad. Tragedy strikes and amidst the mingling with relatives and friends, she finds herself suffocated with the two different cultures that she has been breathing since she moved to the United States. How will she strike a balance between both the cultures as she continues to support her widowed mother? Will she be able to do justice to her personal and professional life after the loss?
Amidst the adjusting she bonds with an ally and learns about ties beyond blood. On what grounds will she be able to form an invisible thread that she has longed for since childhood?
BREATHING TWO WORLDS ventures into cultures and ethnicity allowing Neena to ponder upon her foundation and priorities.

"Oh!" the Mom answered, but could not contain her curiosity with one hand holding the hyper toddler and the other on her hip she could not resist, "You two don't look like brother-sister, hmmm. So, what is your relationship?" she inquired with a slight smile in a soft voice but without any inhibition. A handful of seniors sitting in the same room observed all the drama and nodded to each other while their fingers were moving on the Tulsi neck beads.
Neena rolled her eyes and thought to herself, "Jeez! We Indians are always darn inquisitive."Nikhil immediately got up and started walking towards the dining area. This was happening to them for the umpteenth time, and he was now tired of clarifying things. He had lived in this country for half a decade now and still he could never understand the fascination Indians had for marriage and children. 

Neena was confused at first because it was unlike Nikhil to be so rude. On the contrary, sometimes Neena referred to him on lessons in patience but today it was different. But then she didn’t have a choice; she felt it was rude to walk away from the young mother leaving the conversation unanswered. Moreover given Indian mentality in all possibility, she might even follow them till she had a convincing answer to her question. 
Links
Amazon Website Blog

document.write('');

SPECIAL FEATURE: The Mystery of a Sleuth

Joyce T. Strand, Author
The Jillian Hillcrest Mysteries (3)
The Bryn Bancroft Mysteries (3)
The Judge's Story
The Reporter's StoryHow do you start to write a novel? Do you begin with a plot, a character, a genre? What comes first?

I started to write mystery novels in 2009. I selected the genre based on my love of reading all types of mysteries or suspense thrillers--noir, spy, cozy, hard-boiled, contemporary, historical. The only type of mystery I didn't like was true crime--too many loose ends!

After agonizing for a year about what should come first, I realized that for me, the character not only was first but would drive the plot.

 As I get ready to publish my ninth novel in November, I'm reminded of my process in the following discussion, which has steered me through the penning of my eight published mysteries. 


“Every man [and woman] at the bottom of his [her] heart believes that he [she] is a born detective.” John Buchan [bracketed additions mine!]
My path to writing a mystery began with choosing my character—the sleuth who would be the hero and solve the crime.
As an ardent reader of mysteries, I have many favorites—Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch, a police detective who doesn’t always play by the rules but usually gets the guilty one. I immediately connect to almost all of John Grisham’s crime-fighting lawyers who fight for the
rights of their clients. Kathy Reichs whose background as a forensics anthropologist resulted in the Temperance Brennan series that pulls me into the bone-analysis process for unearthing the guilty party.

 I enjoy reading how Patricia Cornwell’s Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner, figures it out even while she is threatened by culprits. And I’ll never forget the orchids grown by the rotund Nero Wolf created by Rex Stout as he and his assistant Archie manage to solve an intricate mystery without Wolf leaving his house.
 But how could I—a public relations executive with a thirty-year background of writing biotech and high tech articles and speaking to the public on behalf of my Silicon Valley companies—how could I possibly write about crimes from the perspective of any expert? I didn’t have Michael Connelly’s crime reporter background, nor John Grisham’s lawyer training or practice.
But, I proceeded with John Buchan’s theory that we all believe we are born detectives. Therefore, anyone can be a detective. Beginning with my first novel, I determined that I would exploit my own background to feature a credible and interesting amateur sleuth.
I found many examples of other authors who have produced outstanding mysteries without depending on skilled crime scene investigative skills. British author Dick Francis relied on his experience as a jockey, and his non-detective characters encountered criminals and plenty of crimes to solve around the horse racing industry. Mary Higgins Clark creates everyday protagonists, whose crime-fighting varies with her settings, and they certainly find evil-doers. Nora Roberts manages to mix crime and romance and also uses settings to vary the plot. Even Nancy Drew was an amateur who as a teenager managed to solve crimes.
So, you guessed it, my first amateur sleuth, Jillian Hillcrest, was a public relations expert at a biotech company in Silicon Valley. In my first three novels, she got involved and solved crimes inspired by real California cases. My next three contemporary mysteries featured her boss, a financial executive turned winemaker. After all, I know about wine. I drink it all the time.
My next mystery, scheduled for release in November 2017, will feature an out-of-work young woman who has been somewhat marooned in the unincorporated small town of Ramona, California when she breaks up with her fiancé. I currently live in Ramona and have selected it as the setting, because it is unique in so many ways—it’s a contradiction of rural roads and ranches surrounded by scenic mountain views peopled with cowboys on horses, and peppered with vineyards, wineries, and a growing artist community—all less than 35 miles from downtown San Diego.
My newest contemporary character, Emily Lazarro, is also a contrast of characteristics—she tries to please everyone, which thwarts her desire to be independent. But in the same way that I learned about the community, so does Emily. And despite running into difficulties and even a murder—or two—Emily also grows into her sleuth’s role.
As with all my amateur sleuths, various events draw Emily into the need to solve a crime. But I can’t tell you any more, or that would be a spoiler. But just know that Emily is at the center of it all.

Links
Joyce T Strand Amazon Author page
Webpage
Facebook
Goodreads 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Russ Colchamiro, Author

Russ Colchamiro, Author
CROSSLINE
FINDERS KEEPERS
GENIUS DE MILO
ASTROPALOOZARuss Colchamiro strives to write books that his readers “can’t wait to finish.” Readers of his science fiction novel, CROSSLINE, say the book is“a good old fashioned yarn with just the right touch of action, humor and a few nice twists thrown in.” Colchamiro is drawn to science fiction because of the scope and breadth it gives to his imagination. He approaches his characters in depth to understand their motivations. Although he focuses on giving the reader a “fun ride”, he also offers thin layers of his own beliefs.
Colchamiro has also written the Finders Keepers sci-fi comedy series, including, FINDERS KEEPERS, GENIUS DE MILO, and ASTROPALOOZA. He is a contributing editor to a new science-fiction anthology, LOVE, MURDER AND MAYHEM, which he plans to release in July. He currently lives in New Jersey with his family, including his twin children (girl and boy.)
Q: What draws you to write science fiction?
Russ Colchamiro:Regardless of the genre, my goal is to write a great, compelling story that readers can’t wait to finish, so the fundamentals always need to be there—plot, characters, pacing, etc. Given that, science fiction allows me to dream as big as I want, or take the characters—and thus the readers—on a journey that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Within these wild pulp adventures, I like to juxtapose the big, epic questions (What does it all mean? Is life itself random? Is there a grand design? Where do I fit in?) with the ‘smaller’ struggles of everyday life.
So even though the characters may be on some kind of intergalactic quest, or in a ‘foreign’ land (that happens to exist in another quadrant of time and space), the struggles they face are all too human. Love, guilt, fear, joy, passion, loyalty, family, sex, desire, and so on. And if they happen to be facing off against a galactic threat, all the better. When you sit down to read, I want the edges of each page to melt away.  Q: Reviewers say that in CROSSLINE your “Characters felt like people I knew from my own life.” When writing science fiction, how do your approach your characters? Are they bigger-than-life resembling super-heroes? Or are they, as reviewers suggest, “people I knew?”
Russ Colchamiro: My process is to climb inside the hearts and minds of every character I write, whether they are the protagonists, antagonists, or supporting players, and do my best to understand their motivations, so that I can deliver intimate character studies within the grand adventure. Whether ‘everyday people’ or more flamboyant personalities (my cast of players include lots of both) I want each one—male, female, young, old—to feel real and grounded within the confines of the narrative … quirks, contradictions, and all, even down to their speech patterns and cadence. Some characters are loosely based on people I know (or knew), others are amalgams, with the rest pure invention, reflecting various elements of my own personality.
Q: Reviewers also say CROSSLINE is a “Solid blending of science fiction and satire” and “Just the right touch of action, humor and a few nice twists thrown in. It never takes itself too seriously while still grabbing you by the shirt.” How useful was humor to tell your story?
Russ Colchamiro: Humor appears in all of my novels. It’s a natural element of my writing style. But there’s a distinction between sprinkling humor within the narrative, and writing an all-out comedy, which I have certainly done with the FINDERS KEEPERS trilogy. CROSSLINE has its humorous moments for sure, but it’s not a comedy, per se. It’s action/adventure/mystery, with my usual time-bending shenanigans and humor woven in.
Q: Did you write CROSSLINE primarily to entertain your readers or did you embed a few messages or themes along the way?
Russ Colchamiro: Both. I approach each book with a sense of fun, wonder, and adventure, with my hope that readers will come away feeling like they were taken on a wild, unforgettable ride. But underneath the surface of the pulpy SciFi tale I embed elements that are important to me and shape my own worldview—philosophy, history, mysticism, mythology, meditation, and transcendentalism. These elements are prevalent in my novels. But nothing too preachy. I want the readers to have a blast!
Q: How did you create credibility for readers as they explored parallel universes, time travel, and an altered Earth?
Russ Colchamiro: As long as you explain the ‘rules’ of each of these worlds, and stay consistent within them, the credibility is there. I try to include enough details and world building so that readers can say, “ah, okay, I get where I am and how this all works. I’m good.” If that happens, the narrative and characters are free to go wherever the story takes them.
Q: Does the concept of “hero versus villain” apply to CROSSLINE? What makes a compelling villain?
Russ Colchamiro: My novels tend to be far less about ‘hero versus villain’ and more about the hero’s journey. In CROSSLINE, our ‘hero’ Marcus Powell is testing experimental warp thrusters, when (for reasons I won’t spoil here) he’s forced through a wormhole and into a parallel Earth, drawn into a battle he may actually have been destined for all along. He desperately wants to get back to his wife and young daughter, but the needs of the characters he meets on the ‘other Earth’ overtly conflict with his desire to get home.
Meanwhile, on our Earth, 90-year-old Harlan “Buddy” Rheams Jr.—the CEO of the private space corporation that launched Powell’s flight—may or may not have Powell’s best interests in mind.
There are some villainous characters in CROSSLINE for sure, and others more heroic, but I’m far more interested in characters that come to question their motivations, navigate the often confusing and ambiguous choices they face, then have to make decisions, and live with the consequences.
Q: How do you use your settings or worlds to propel the story?  Do they help to evolve your characters?
Russ Colchamiro: Both instinctively and by design I write each story like a mystery. Reveal, conceal, reveal again. Investigate, falter, discover, investigate again. The worlds in some cases are additional characters, with the journey to and from those worlds essential to the narrative.
The characters often find themselves unexpectedly thrust into new environments, having to discover and navigate them. Then—on their ‘heroes journey’ so richly described by Joseph Campbell in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”—by hook or by crook figure out how, when, and why they really need or want to get back home, and if that’s even possible. And even if they do make it back, it’s unlikely they’ll be the same as when they left. That’s certainly the case with CROSSLINE.
Powell’s emersion in the ‘other Earth’ tests him in ways he never even considered. Most of the other characters also get their own arcs. Among others, Powell gets involved with a trigger happy rebel leader who reminds him of his wife, a pot-smoking shaman, a crafty pie-maker, and a weary solider who hates his guts. Some pass those tests. Some fail. Some do both.
Q: What’s next? Will we see more science fiction novels from you?
Russ Colchamiro: Yes! In July I’ll be launching LOVE, MURDER & MAYEHM, a science fiction-themed anthology from Crazy 8 Press, with 15 authors in total. I serve as the editor, and am contributing a story of my own. Each story contains at least one element of love or romance, at least one murder, and lots of mayhem, all in various, unrelated settings.
We have superhero and supervillain stories. We have artificial intelligence, off-world, and space cruiser stories. We also have dream surrogates, private eyes, an aliens vs. monsters showdown, and one DuckBob!
Some tales are wacky, some darker, and others pure fun. Mine is a private eye tale, with the PI—Angelica Hardwicke—written in that classic Sam Spade style, pinstripe suit, fedora, and all. I’m diving pretty deep into the mystery arena these days as both a reader and an author, so this collection was loads of fun to pull together. 
Q: Tell us about Russ Colchamiro. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Russ Colchamiro: Ha. I’m a New York City transplant now living in northern New Jersey, married with twins—my ninjas, a boy and a girl, nearly seven. So between my family, my crazy dog Simon, my books, and my full-time day job as a real estate media specialist in NYC, it doesn’t leave room for much else! But I’m a lifelong baseball junkie, and gobble up fiction in whatever form I can, whenever I can. I’m actually watching The Flash on Netflix with my kids. They absolutely love it. Oh, yeah. Occasionally I sleep!
About Russ Colchamiro
Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure, CROSSLINE, the hilarious sci-fi backpacking comedy series, FINDERS KEEPERS, GENIUS DE MILO, and ASTROPALOOZA, and is editor of the new anthology, Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.
Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, and Altered States of the Union, and TV Gods 2. He is now at work on a top-secret project, and a Finders Keepers spin-off.
As a matter of full disclosure, readers should not be surprised if Russ spontaneously teleports in a blast of white light followed by screaming fluorescent color and the feeling of being sucked through a tornado. It’s just how he gets around — windier than the bus, for sure, but much quicker.
About CROSSLINE
In the spirit of Firefly, Flash Gordon, Stargate, and Escape from New York...

Hotdog pilot Marcus Powell has been selected to test Taurus Enterprises' Crossline prototype craft and its newly developed warp thrusters, which, if successful, will revolutionize space travel as we know it. 

But during his jaunt across the stars, Powell is forced into a parallel universe -- including a parallel Earth -- where he finds himself at the center of an epic battle he may have been destined for all along. 

Meanwhile, back home, reclusive oil tycoon and Taurus CEO Buddy Rheams Jr. -- who sent Powell on that very mission -- has a mysterious past and a secret agenda, one that could prevent Powell from ever making it back to his wife and little girl. 

From author Russ Colchamiro, CROSSLINE is a psychedelic, action-packed romp across time, space, and dimension that asks the question: once you cross the line, can you ever really go back?
Links
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram   Goodreads  *  Amazon  *  Barnes & Noble
Other Books by Russ Colchamiro                                                 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Stephen Jared, Author and Actor

Stephen Jared, Actor and Author
NEED MORE ROADStephen Jared’s newest novel, NEED MORE ROAD, offers what Jared describes as his own “temperament” on a “classic subject”—a bank heist turned into romance. He uses the setting of the 1950s in Barstow, Calif. to support his plot and develop his characters. Reviewers applaud his “insight into human nature” and add that his books are “dramatic, adventuresome, and infused with real emotion.”
In addition to writing novels that include adventure stories set in the 1930s and 1940s, Jared is also an actor and has appeared in movies such as He's Just Not That Into You, and on television series such as iCarly andCriminal Minds. He is currently Associate Producer of a documentary on the illustrator Richard Amsel. And he is busy writing his next adventure story and plans to release it the end of the year.
Q: Would you characterize your newest book, NEED MORE ROAD, as a romance or suspense novel? What drew you to write this story?
Stephen Jared: A million bank heist stories have been told. So, once I had the idea, I began thinking of it like how a painter might approach a still life or landscape. There’s only one reason to paint such a thing, and that’s to express one’s own temperament through a classic subject. As such, it evolved into an eccentric romance. It starts with suspense surrounding a crime but, for me, it’s more interesting to see where the characters go from there. Without a doubt, there’s some genre-bending going on. I saw that as a good thing but some readers have been thrown by it.  
Q: I know you’ve written many novels set in the first half of the 20thcentury. What draws you to this time period? Would NEED MORE ROAD have been a different story if set in present-day rather than in the 1950s?
Stephen Jared: Some writers capture their own era so beautifully. Fitzgerald and Hemingway leap to mind. I’m not that smart. I’m confused by our modern world. I can’t get enough of a handle on it to write about it. When I look back to an earlier era, however, objectivity and generalizations become easier. As example, NEED MORE ROAD is set in the 1950s, and I gave a lot of thought to why the 1950s was a car culture. Obviously, people had more money after the war, but that doesn’t answer why people would drive to a restaurant and have dinner brought to them in their cars. People were cruising and drag racing. Teenagers were getting cars and parking while on dates. People were going to Drive-Ins and watching films in their cars. I wondered if there was a lot of anxiety and restless energy after the war, and maybe cars helped alleviate some of that. You could put things behind you faster behind the wheel of a car. Some of these ideas found their way into NEED MORE ROAD . The distance from iconic elements of an era maybe gives my mind some room to think.    
Q: A reviewer says of your protagonist, Eddie, that you’ve created “a poignant character study of a lonely man living in quiet desperation.” Is NEED MORE ROAD more about your characters, particularly Eddie, than about the plot?
Stephen Jared: I think the book’s success or failure pivots on the degree to which readers find Eddie engaging. What appealed to me was this guy who has always lived vicariously through fictional characters, now he’s almost fifty, meets someone, and feels he’s plunged into a different world, and it’s a world he wants to stay in. In order to continue, he takes a massive risk. Reality proves hard, fraught with dangers. Reality lands every punch and it’s brutal. But only in reality can Eddie lose the loneliness that’s plagued him his whole life. The plot ended up driven very much by what I wanted to express through the character.  
Q: Do you consider Eddie a hero? Why or why not?
Stephen Jared: He’s dysfunctional. He’s cowardly. He’s an unhappy guy. Constantly questioning everything. When he pulls his head out of the cinema long enough to see himself as he really is he goes so far as to involve himself in a crime with hopes of becoming someone new. Of course, people can’t change overnight, but in going down a different road he finds strength he didn’t have before. He gains some satisfaction. He actually begins living a life not so different from the fictional characters he used to envy on the silver screen. It’s hard to change your life, to leave everything you know behind. Eddie does a heroic thing. But, no, he’s not a hero at all. 
Q: Why did you set NEED MORE ROAD in Barstow, Calif.? Does this location support your plot or help develop characters?
Stephen Jared: 1950s Barstow was small. It was a place people passed through without paying much attention to it. It lacked glamor. It lacked significance, and it was surrounded by nothing but desert. I felt it offered a reflection of Eddie Howard, the main character.
Q: Reviewers hint that NEED MORE ROAD is different from your other books, which are more hard-boiled pulp fiction.  Do you agree?  (Please do not divulge the end of your story to respond to this question.)
Stephen Jared: I see it as an extension of what I was doing with the last one, THE BRUTAL ILLUSION, which was something more introspective. I love hard-hitting noirs and adventures, but if you remain really true to the form the stories risk becoming nothing more than homage. I think you have to offer something different. I think uniqueness is found in self-expression; you just have to be careful about becoming overly self-indulgent. 
Q: How helpful is humor at developing your characters or plot?
Stephen Jared: Humor is a plus. I think especially so if you’re working with a melancholic character like Eddie. You have to lighten things up here and there.
Q: As an actor, can you apply aspects of script-writing to writing a novel, e.g., scene development, dialogue-based, showing rather than telling?
Stephen Jared: Both require some similar skills. I don’t think one is easier than the other but the function of each demands a very different discipline. A script is more like an architect’s blueprint for a house. The readers of a script are fellow craftsmen. A novel isn’t assigned dozens of interpretive artists to jump on board and move it through a long process before it hits the marketplace. It begins and ends with the written word.
Q: What’s next?
Stephen Jared: I’m currently at work on another Jack Hunter adventure. I hope to get it out in the Fall.
Q: What have you been doing recently in addition to writing?
Stephen Jared:  I’m Associate Producer of a documentary on the illustrator Richard Amsel. It’s a film by Adam McDaniel, and there’s probably no one better suited to be making a film about Amsel. It’s been great to be supporting him however I can. I’m also still acting. I recently did an episode of The Young and The Restless, which aired a couple of weeks ago.
About Stephen Jared
Stephen Jared grew up in a small Ohio town in the late 1970s/early 1980s. He was at the cinema every weekend. When considering what he might do as an adult he only had one idea: he wanted to work in movies. In the summer of 1989 he moved to Los Angeles. He was twenty-one years old. Since then, he’s appeared as an actor in movies such as He's Just Not That Into You, and on television series such as iCarly andCriminal Minds.
In 2010, he wrote JACK AND THE JUNGLE LION, a novel inspired by 1930s Hollywood. Having received much critical praise, Solstice Publishing began releasing his work, starting with TEN-A-WEEK STEALE, hailed as a “fantastic work in the tradition of the old pulp/noir masters.”  THE ELEPHANTS OF SHANGHAI continued on from where JACK AND THE JUNGLE LION left off, and went on to take Second Place at the 2013 Hollywood Book Festival. 2014 saw the release of THE BRUTAL ILLUSION, considered by many to be his best work.   
While remaining busy as both author and actor, Stephen is also Associate Producer of an upcoming documentary about movie poster legend Richard Amsel who created classic illustrations for Flash Gordon and Raiders of the Lost Ark, among others, in the late 1970s/early 1980s. 
About NEED MORE ROAD
Eddie lives a life of uncommon routine. At nearly fifty-years-old, he’s only ever lived in one house. Bored with his bank job, he spends evenings at the movies where he lives vicariously through Rock Hudson and Robert Mitchum. With one screen in town he often sees the same picture repeatedly. He finds Hollywood fantasies infinitely more enticing than reality. Late one Friday, a woman walks into the bank. Her name is Mary Rose, and she looks like Marilyn Monroe. Her father came into money and the two are looking to settle in a small town. Infatuated, Eddie breaks from routines and spends time with her. While she couldn't be sweeter, her father is different. He has a roughness about him, an edge. This becomes especially clear when he requests Eddie's help with a bank heist. Mary Rose’s interest in Eddie was only to lure him into helping her father. Eddie understands this now. Walking away is the obvious move. He knows it’s the right thing to do. Yet her attention and affection and beauty have made him feel alive for the first time. All he has to do is unlock a door.
Links
AmazonWebsiteFacebookGoodReadsTwitter...@stephen_jared

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Chioma Nnani, Author, Publisher

Chioma Nnani, Author
BECAUSE HOME IS
FOREVER THERE FOR YOUWelcome back Chioma Nnani who brings us her second book, BECAUSE HOME IS, “a collection of short stories about finding home, going home, and being home.” Previously, she told us about her novel, FOREVER THERE FOR YOU, a coming-of-age, chick lit, modern romance, contemporary fiction book. She wrote the short stories in BECAUSE HOME IS because she wanted to explore why people run to and away from something—and the concept of home helps answer the question.
In addition to writing, Nnani also started her own publishing house to give herself more control over her own books and also to help “internationalize” African authors’ works for publication. She holds multiple degrees, including a law degree, and has won many awards for her writing. She definitely plans to continue writing and is working on more short stories, her second novel, and a trilogy targeted at teenagers which she plans to release this summer. Given her schedule, her most prized past-time is “sleeping.”
Don't miss the excerpt from BECAUSE HOME IS following the interview.
Q: What drove you to write short stories about BECAUSE HOME IS? Were your experiences with your own home particularly meaningful?
Chioma Nnani: I read a novel a long time ago by Faye Kellerman, in which one of the characters – a police officer – said that everyone is either running away from or towards something. But over time, it dawned on me that people run because they are uncomfortable. Discomfort can come in different ways. You stop running when you have peace. Home is where you have peace.
Q: How do you define “home?” I frequently think of Robert Frost’s definition: "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." Would that definition fall within your descriptions or experiences?
Chioma Nnani: Home is a person, place or thing where you can be naked and unashamed. You don't have to run any more when you get home. There are various routes to home because it's different for many people and it takes different lengths of time for everyone to get there. But when you get there, you're there. Safe. You can be challenged or kept on your toes, but you're safe. Home and dry.
Q: Do you believe that the experience of “home” contributes to a positive approach to life? Or do negative people also have a “home” they can relate to? Does even the most heinous criminal comprehend the concept of home?
Chioma Nnani: Hmm … I'd like to think that the contributions of home are always positive and this is bearing in mind that 'positive' is a subjective term. However, there are people who will cover for even the most heinous criminal. And as uncomfortable as that sounds, even they have a home of some sort.
Q: Do you write that home is a concept of the future for people, i.e., it is what we search for? Or is home where we’re from? Both?
Chioma Nnani: I find it tends to be one or the other. Sometimes, you're looking for or you think you're looking for something and there are times when it's right in front of you. Or you find that you're enough.
Q: What would restrict or amplify the meaning of home: wealth, freedom, environment?
Chioma Nnani: Freedom. Freedom in every sense; you can't beat freedom. A place, relationship or job where you have no freedom is a jail cell; that's not home.
Q: You have also published a novel, FOREVER THERE FOR YOU, and have won numerous writing awards, earned an LLB degree, and founded The Fearless Storyteller House Emporium Ltd., a publishing company. How do you carve out time to write? Do you have a routine?
Chioma Nnani: (laughing) The company is actually a media and publishing company, so the publishing bit is literally just one department. There's a department that works with entrepreneurs and SMEs, providing done-for-you services to enable them focus on their real business. And there's another department that focuses on screen, stage and audio productions. Another whose remit is online and offline training.
So, I do have a bit of a routine. I work with 90-day plans and each entry on the plan is a specific goal with a definite completion date. So, there are four for this year. We're in March so I'm working my way through the first one and it's going pretty well. It helps me with accountability and discipline, because it's not just about writing down “X must be completed by so-and-so date”. There's also a column in which I write something like “B is the repercussion if X is not completed by the specified date.”
I take a look at the plan twice a week to be sure of where I am and what it is I need to be doing, or even what part of the company needs immediate attention. Many of my blog posts and social media posts are scheduled, so I don't have to live on my social media accounts or on my blogazine. I am very brutal with my time; I don't even attend events or stuff that I don't want or have to.
Q: When would you choose to write a short story over a novel? Is it topic- or plot-related? Or does one require more character development?
Chioma Nnani: Oh gosh, I think a short story takes a level of discipline and bravery that's different from a novel. With a short story, you have it at the back of mind that you've only got so many words to play with. It's not a novel, you don't have the luxury of 80,000 words or whatever. I mean with BECAUSE HOME IS… each story is 5,000 words and having to condense everything – plot, flow, character, climax, everything – in a way that still leaves an impact and is a complete story in itself; it's not hard, it's just different.
Q: What drove you to create your own publishing company?
Chioma Nnani: I wanted more creative control and I like a challenge. And I wanted to help other aspiring authors across Africa who didn't know where to turn. It's one thing to have a company agree to take on your work. It's another thing for the company to respect your work and not strip it of its essence. Many of my authors tell purely Afro-centric stories and it does mean a lot to them to have a publisher who gets where they are coming from and can tweak their voice for an international audience without compromising them.
Q: What writing project are you currently working on? What can we expect to see next: another novel or more short stories?
Chioma Nnani: More short stories. I am actually working on my second full-length novel and a collaborative autobiography. But before those come out, there are three books (a trilogy) aimed at teenagers to be released this summer.
Q: What have you been doing to relax lately, assuming you have time?
Chioma Nnani: Sleep!
About Chioma Nnani
Chioma Nnani is an award-winning storyteller, as well as a two-time UK BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) Award nominee, in the 'Best Author' category. Chioma was a 2016 DIVAS OF COLOUR finalist (in the category of “Diva Author”), a 2016 CREATIVE AFRICAN Awards finalist (in the category of “Best Fiction Writer”), and was named “One of 100 Most Influential Creatives” in 2016 by C.Hub Magazine. She holds a Law (LLB) degree from the University of Kent and a Postgraduate Certificate in Food Law (De Montfort University, Leicester). She is the founder of THE FEARLESS STORYTELLER HOUSE EMPORIUM LTD, and runs the “Memo From A Fearless Storyteller” blogazine at www.fearlessstoryteller.com for which she won the 2016 BEFFTA (Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts) Award for “Blog of the Year”.
BECAUSE HOME IS … is her second book.
About BECAUSE HOME IS
Some say that "Everyone is running from, or towards something". But you run till you get 'home'.
Everyone wants to go home. You run till you get 'home'. Because 'home' is that person, thing, or place where you can be naked and unashamed.
BECAUSE HOME IS... is a collection of short stories about finding home, going home, and being home.
Excerpt
They first met in his office. Victor ran a diagnostics outfit in one of the plushest areas of the Nigerian capital – a clinic you went to if you wanted people who knew what they were doing. She had come seeking a second opinion with regard to a blood test she had taken somewhere else. From the second he laid eyes on Patricia Ezekwe, Victor Cobham thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He knew her by reputation; Trisha was the industrious young woman behind a lifestyle brand whose products were sweeping through the African continent like wildfire. Stories of her intelligence preceded her. She looked as good as she sounded; her voice was like music to his ears and the stories of her intelligence preceded her. From what he had heard, brands paid her to mention them on social media. He didn't even understand how that worked, but it seemed to work well for her. She was one of the richest, most eligible spinsters in Abuja. Her honesty was refreshing; if she didn't think something was a good fit for her brand, she would refuse to touch it. She expected the same of the staff employed across the businesses that made up Trisha's Emporium – there was a website through which she sold clothes and other fashion items, sourced from upcoming African designers; a luxury concierge shopping service for the super-wealthy looking into specific pieces of real estate all over the world; and a healthy eating mini-empire, which was responsible for the creation and marketing of cakes, smoothies, fruit drinks, cereals and alkaline water. That was how Trisha managed to have women of different classes, ages and financial standing falling over her – she had at least one product or service aimed at them.
It turned out she had been right to seek a second opinion on her blood test; the previous laboratory results had been flawed due to what turned out to be a clerical error. Victor felt an immense rush of relief, when he told her what she needed to know. Asking her out, hadn't been as easy. There were so many reasons for her not to want him. His last girlfriend had said as much, which was part of the reason that she had become an ex. He didn't even like remembering her. So sour was the taste she had left in his mouth. Yet, there were a lot of things about Trisha that made him feel inadequate.
Victor was one of the most eligible bachelors in the city, but he didn't see himself that way. He was consumed with work and didn't really have time to date. It didn't help that there weren't very many prospects for him to date. The ones who were actually available seemed incapable of holding a conversation. Oh, they were physically beautiful, but they tended to fall short in the brains department; there appeared to be some sort of competition among women to see who could be the least intelligent. It was like it was a badge of honour or something. But it was obvious that Trisha had not received that memo. What was all the more frustrating was that there was no way she would be interested in him.
Trisha found it frustrating, too. She thought she felt vibes that told her that this guy liked her. Yet, he confused her. He wouldn't get too close to her, always acted like he was afraid of touching her. In the end, she was the one who asked him out.
It was something he savoured, jut as much as their kisses. He also enjoyed talking to her and being with her. She was very energetic, and she had a heart of gold. When he told her that he had liaised with some ophthalmologists to quietly give out cataract operations to people who could not afford them, Trisha was dumbfounded. She just did not understand why he was so quiet about it. True, he was telling her but there was no media coverage whatsoever. It took Trisha the next three months to learn a lot of things about him – that he was intelligent and dedicated, kind and thoughtful. She also discovered that she was in love with him.
He told her he loved her. So, the next turn of events shocked her. One day they were talking about the future, the next, she received an email from him saying that he didn't think it wasn't a good idea for them to continue their relationship! When she tried to call him, he ignored her calls. As he did all the text messages she sent. He didn't explain. That was when she got really angry and shot back with a truly scathing email. How dare he do this to her? To them? But his reply had been a curt “Leave me alone.” That really burned. There was no way she was going to his house or office. If he didn't want to be with her, fine!
Links
BECAUSE HOME IS... is available for sale on  Amazon ,  Smashwords ,  Kobo , Apple , Barnes and Noble (Nook), and Okadabooks.
Author Links Facebook ,  Twitter ,  LinkedIn ,  YouTube ,  Instagram  Amazon Author, Goodreads