Amanda M. Lyons's Blog: Inner Voices, page 11

Interview with Jim Goforth Author of Plebs

Bio: Jim Goforth is a horror author currently based in Holbrook, Australia. Happily married with two kids and a cat he has been writing tales of horror since the early nineties.
After years of detouring into working with the worldwide extreme metal community and writing reviews for hundreds of bands across the globe with Black Belle Music he has returned to his biggest writing love with first book Plebs published by J. Ellington Ashton Press.
Jim also has a couple of collaborations due out later this year, involving other notable authors, and appears in the heavy metal horror themed anthology Axes of Evil  from Diabolus in Musica, an imprint of Chupa Cabra House.
At present Jim is working on a host of full length novels and a handful of short stories with a variety of ideas for anthologies in the works. 



Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimGoforthHorror
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jim_goforth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7777382.Jim_Goforth
Website: http://jimgoforthhorrorauthor.wordpress.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jim-Goforth/e/B00HXO3FRG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Other: https://www.facebook.com/PlebsHorror
Plebs on Amazon http://smarturl.it/Plebs
Axes of Evil on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Axes-Evil-Heavy-Metal-Anthology-ebook/dp/B00JAQ1F72/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397204394&sr=1-1&keywords=axes+of+evil
J. Ellington Ashton Press http://www.jellingtonashton.com/jim-goforth.html



1) Plebs is an intense thrill-ride of a novel likened to classic grindhouse slashers and it’s earned you quite a few 5 star reviews. What do you think of the response to your first published novel?

I’ve been pretty damn thrilled by the overall response to Plebs so far, the reviews have all been exemplary and there have been some wonderful things said. Having the work likened to some of the names that have been mentioned in various reviews is quite awe-inspiring and extremely flattering. I’m anticipating that a book like this isn’t going to be exactly everybody’s cup of tea and inevitably some folk are going to hate it, and I’d be rather interested to see what sort of negative response would be garnered from someone who didn’t particularly like it. I’m constantly saying that a bad review can generate as much attention, if not more than a good one, but so far it has been awesome feedback as a whole.

2) The plot centers around a band of men looking for a good time and via a group of lovely ladies allowing themselves to run afoul of a group of people called Plebs. Can you tell us a little about them?

Corey Somerset, Lee Hunter and Tim Hayworth are the young men still out celebrating after a friend’s birthday celebrations, making the unwise choice to wander a little further afield than they might have otherwise done if they weren’t under the influence of too much alcohol. They’re basically good guys, just somewhat prone to making bad decisions and not thinking a great deal of how much trouble some of those choices are going to land them in. Various circumstances in each of their lives have led to them being fairly shiftless slackers who lack any real motivation to find purpose; one is an idle rich kid, one is a bullied stoner and the other is a big brash ladiesman.

Their random intoxicated stumblings bring them into the domain of a group of mysterious women who are all fugitives from one thing or another, and who carry a host of killer secrets. These women share the domain in which they reside in an uneasy co-existence with the freakish creatures from which the book takes its name from, the Plebs themselves. Fundamentally, these entities were once upon a time human, now morphed and warped into bloodthirsty subhuman mutants courtesy of the experimentations of a disgraced scientist and through their encounter with the dangerous band of women, the three drunken adventurers come face to face with these horrors.

From then on in, things go to hell in a rush.

3) Unlike some of the old slasher films Plebs is a novel with a solid plot that pulls you along at breakneck speed, according to many reviews the 600 pages fly by. Would you tell us a bit about the writing process for the novel?

Plebs wasn’t actually supposed to turn out as a novel, much less one that clocked 180k words and spanned out to 600 pages. When the original idea occurred I was aiming to write it as a short story, with a similar premise to the events that occur in the first ten chapters or so, albeit probably with less happening than what I ended up with. The more I wrote though, the more I realised there was a whole lot more that was meant to happen with this story, the more I grew fond of building the characters and tossing them into horrendous situations. Ideas kept coming, new characters emerged to stamp their indelible mark on the thing and ultimately it had to become a full length, though even then I didn’t envision how lengthy it was going to be. I used to write all of my stories with trusty old pen and paper, shorts and novels alike, and Plebs was one of those that was entirely written that way, and I’m not talking notebooks, I’m talking pages upon pages of blank A4 printer paper. I have two prior novels which were written in notebooks, but with this one meant to be a short story I figured I would have it wrapped up with a handful of sheets of paper. Wrong. I’d be writing and writing in lunch breaks at work, on the train to and from work and all kinds of things. It was a staggered process and even at the time I was writing it, I wasn’t essentially writing to publish, I was writing to get the story out of my head and down on paper. I wrote it around a host of other things I was doing at the time and it was actually on hiatus unfinished for a while at one stage. It was written from start to finish without jumping between scenes or writing sections out of order, and then of course when it was finally complete I had to type the whole damn thing up from a stack of paper probably comprised of several small forests. I submitted it as a first draft, nothing was changed or altered from the very first write, and I’m pretty happy to say, even after a couple of rounds of edits, there was still very minimal alterations and absolutely nothing which changed the integrity of the story at all.

4) Has the length posed you any problems with editing or sales?

In terms of editing no, there were no problems at all. As I mentioned, the amount of edits required were so minimal that it was no issue going through any suggestions, or minor sentence restructurings or anything of the sort. I was more than impressed with the work done by the brilliant editors who presided over Plebs and have high praise for them. As a general rule I just write and almost never agonise over changing things, scrapping parts or worrying about how the story is coming out as I’m telling it and consequently I might underuse commas or overuse superfluous works. The editing process of Plebs has been more of a benefit to me than anything, it has definitely taught me a few things on honing my craft.

Plebs is certainly selling so I can’t say there are any problems there, though as a first book, I don’t really have anything to measure it by. I have the ability to track sales through Amazon and do so, but I know it’s selling elsewhere in places like Book Depository and Barnes & Noble which I don’t personally have the means to track.

I suppose the length may be somewhat daunting to some and in this day and age where ebooks are a massive industry, and a 20 page quick read can be published as a standalone work, a giant book may not be a reader’s first choice when there are so many shorts/novellas etc becoming available every day.
On the other side of the coin, there are those people who want to read a big book, who want to be immersed in a story that isn’t over in the blink of an eye, but instead is something where they can become fully involved with the characters and their fates. I love to read epic books that you don’t really want to end and have the ability to hold interest throughout, and I love to write them as well, and it would seem that other people are digging that too.

5) Before you decided to get back to your writing recently you were involved with reviewing and promoting extreme metal bands. Do you think the experience has given your work an interesting edge?  

Most definitely. I’m a massive extreme metal aficionado and being involved with the scenes on a global scale in terms of reviews and interviews and promoting, and putting on gigs and metal shows locally has given me all kinds of interesting insights into a wide array of things. This isn’t confined to mere music itself, but the people who make it, the people who follow it, all sorts of perceptions of human nature and behaviours, some good and of course, some hideous. It is a veritable wealth of fodder for not just horror fiction like I write, but fiction and in fact non-fiction, in general. Some pretty ugly character traits can surface in there as they can in any given scene, which works fine for me, I have some rather ugly characters in my work.

On the upside, I always maintain that horror and metal go hand in hand, and the pair often intersect supremely successfully, the types of metal I most often choose to listen to are the dark varieties, black and death metal. If extreme metal was a fiction genre it would slot easily into horror or dark fiction realms, and vice versa.

Courtesy of the lifelong passion I’ve had for metal which parallels the lifelong obsession I’ve had with horror, I frequently incorporate elements of music into stories, even to some points where the music I love is a key facet, or in fact something a whole written piece may revolve around. Since many have referred to Plebs as a grindhouse/splatterpunk opus, I’ve taken to adopting that as an easy way to describe the way I write, adding in the fact that it is grindhouse horror driven by heavy metal.

6) You've got a story in Axes of Evil: The Heavy Metal Anthology, tell us a little about it and your experience working on it.

The story I have in Axes of Evil was not a story that was specifically written for that particular anthology, it was actually one written quite some time ago, well before I’d even started to write Plebs, but when the idea for the anthology came up I figured this piece Sinister Cavan had the requisite elements to fit the bill there. As with plenty of my writing it is a meld of heavy metal with some horror and so I submitted it and managed to score a spot in exactly the type of metal driven horror I’m stoked to be a part of.

Basically the story revolves around a morals crusader with a history of stamping out mediums (music, film etc) he considers to be evil and corrupting influences attempting to prevent a blasphemous metal band from playing a show in his hometown and the lengths he is prepared to go to when he finds he isn’t able to prevent it, in opposition to many of the things he’s closed down in the past. The underlying theme is primarily revolving around a juxtaposition of what people consider to be evil.

Because it was written a fair few years ago, it possibly isn’t something that can be considered a great representation of where my writing is at today, but in the vein of Axes of Evil it seemed rather appropriate.

It is around the 11k mark and was written very quickly when I had a whole slew of different ideas for short stories and was writing a bunch of them. The beast that eventually became Plebs was also among those seeds of ideas though it didn’t start to come to fruition until a little while later.

7) You also took part in Feral Hearts a cooperative novel with 5 other JEA authors, have you enjoyed collaborating and taking part in anthologies?

The Feral Hearts collab (and the Lycanthroship project as well) was an enormous amount of fun and I’m massively proud of being part of it with five truly excellent authors who are at the top of their game. Each of those involved has brought their own unique touches to the novel and the amount of variety and talent exhibited in this work is phenomenal, and it is something I cannot wait to see unleashed on the world.

Having never been involved with something of this magnitude, or indeed any form of collaboration with other authors I was extremely interested to see how I would work by stepping outside my own usual writing processes and having to adhere to certain guidelines and premises as was the case with these collab projects. I found it very much to my liking, incredibly challenging as well, but so much fun I would be keen to be part of something like it any time at all, the enjoyment I derived from it was immense. I’d never previously considered that I would be the type of author who could thrive in writing to specifics, or collaborating and working to a rule set, but now having done so, I can safely say I loved it.

8) Do you have any other novels or short stories in the works? Tell us a little about your ideas.

I’m almost always working on something, and more often than not it is multiple projects. This is my main method of dealing with anything that resembles writers block striking me, if that happens then I shift from the problem child work to another project and write on that either until I knock it over, or recharge inspiration for the other one.

The chief reason I have myriad things on the go at any one time though is because I’m always being inundated with ideas and concepts to write about, most of them, wildly dissimilar and unable to be all used in one specific story, so I have to get them all out, even if a few have to wait while I work on others.

Right now I am concentrating on one full length novel, after clocking 180k words on another one which I’m going to have to look at making into a couple of books in two parts since even at 180k it is only partially done.

The one I’m investing the majority of my writing time is my first exploration of the oft-travelled route of the undead, albeit with my own interpretation of a few things. Referring back to the remarks about my past experience with extreme metal and passion for the music, this book draws plenty from that since it revolves around various scenes of black and death metal, and a bunch of aficionados and band members who find themselves up to their necks in flesheating undead ghouls. Like Plebs, this book was actually supposed to be a short story which was going to form part of a series of shorts/novellas.

The other book, which is essentially complete if I decide it’s going to have to be two books was one that was always going to be split into two parts (I just didn’t imagine it would expand into such a giant monster in the first part alone). This revolves around a host of disgruntled ex-employees of a quaint rustic little carnival/circus creation who find themselves unceremoniously fired when their good natured old boss abruptly vanishes and is replaced by a sinister soul intent on turning the place into something entirely different. Not content on taking this indignity lying down, these suddenly jobless folk cook up some plans for revenge and discover there is much more to the apparent blueprint to turn their beloved former place of work into a new modern horror park than appears on the surface.

Aside from that I currently have a collection of short stories in with JEA and between writing on the novels I’m always writing an assortment of other novellas/shorts of all kinds of horrific things. I have a series of other music related horror tales I will be getting together at some stage, so when I’m not dedicating writing time to bringing that undead expedition to a conclusion, I’m writing on these.

Interview with Tabitha Baumander Author of Warriors

BIO

Tabitha Baumander is a novelist screenwriter and playwright with five books published and a lot more to come. She is divorced with adult twins and lives in Toronto Canada which she is currently populating with aliens, monsters and fairies. Well, why not.















Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tabitha-Baumand...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TabithaBauma...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tovha

Website: http://tabithabaumander.yolasite.com/




1)      Warriors is about a group of very special warriors who must protect our world from inter-dimensional beasties, Where did the idea come from?

To begin with Pope John Paul had just died. I wondered, as a fantasy writer might, what the death of someone who is supposed to be a very good person would do and where I could take that. The inter-dimensional aspect comes from a desire to stay away from theology as much as possible and ground the villains in a kind of explainable context.

The origin of the warriors oddly enough actually does come from the bible. I’ve used it before in another work.

"There were Nephilim on the earth in those

          days; and also after that, when the sons

          of God came into the daughters of men, and

          they bare children to them, the same became

mighty men which were of old. Men of renown."

That’s from the King James bible genesis. Some people like to think its proof of alien incursion on earth. I started playing with the Nephilim simply because Hollywood was beating the end of the world 666 Antichrist plotline into the ground with a big stick.

These characters are sometimes called Watchers and were been used in a Hollywood movie a few years ago. It was called The Adjustment Bureau.                

2)      You clearly know action and humor, Warriors have it in spades. What are your favorite action scenes in the book?

I’m not very good at naming favorites of anything. I suppose the group of battles around the Vatican at the end is good. Then there’s the very big snake, can’t lose with a very big snake.

3)      Darius and Angela are our leaders, were they inspired by anyone? 

Darius is the leader Angela is a new member and not a leader. She does have a lot of input because that is the stuff she brings to the team. Visually I guess I based Darius on my son. Angela is completely fictional created because that is the sort of person I needed to fill that gap in the story.

4)  It's not all about the warriors, there's also a very strong story about a bishop and his assistant facing off with another bishop and his associate. Neither battle is any less important. How did you keep the pace so strong for both aspects of the plot?

     Someone once told me I was an “instinctual” writer. I don’t think they were intending to be complementary either but they were accurate. For me pacing is about feel. I move through the story and I tend to think “mmmm about time we checked in with this other bit now”.

     On a side note I have a papal conclave in this. It is total fiction in that I have stuff happening that would never happen in a conclave. But I’m hardly the first writer to play games with Vatican protocol.

5) Warriors is an interesting blend of b movie action, humor, romance and a healthy dollop of modern fantasy. How would you describe your books to someone who hasn't given them a look?

Two ways depending on how I feel at the time.

     I take fantasy and action and set it on as real a background as possible. A dragon in middle earth isn’t that remarkable. A dragon in the middle of down town Toronto now THAT is interesting.

     Someone who had read some of my short stories once described me this way. Reading me is like walking through a park along a path. Sooner or later you step off the path and bam the park disappears and you are somewhere else completely.

6) Many of your ideas start out as screenplays. I think there's a good chance that's part of what makes the action and drama so intense in your books. Is it hard to make a script into a full manuscript?

It depends on the story. Several have not got up to normal novel length which I think of as around 80 thousand words. They have ended up as novellas or perhaps I should think of them as books for a YA audience and as such an acceptable length.

     This one did start as a screenplay. I adapted it for two reasons. For one thing I needed a writing project and this was the only one that popped up on my radar. More importantly when I was writing the script a box load of detail wanted to push through onto the page and that simply isn’t permitted in screenplay format.

A script compared to a book is like a skeleton. A director takes it and adds camera stuff. Then the actors take it and “make the words their own” to use actor speak. Then all the other departments that go into making a film add their two cents and you end up with a film. It’s generally not what you were picturing unless you’re really lucky and had input but it’s a film.

     A book is the whole deal and you have control. So, when I wrote this particular script I had to use a lot of restraint to keep all the extra bits out of the mix which I eventually put into the book.

Warriors

Coming Soon from J Ellington Ashton Press

A good man has died a natural death.  In that death he leaves a hole in reality and through that hole come monsters.  Defending reality are people who if the world knew of their existence might be called monsters themselves.  They are far stronger and smarter than any full blood human could be and they exist to fight with monsters.  The problem is this time they might not win because the monsters are getting help.

Check out these other great releases from Tabitha Baumander!

Interview with Kody Boye Author of His Touch of Ice and a review of the book

Author Bio: Born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, Kody Boye began his writing career with the publication of his story [A] Prom Queen’s Revenge at the age of fourteen. Published nearly three-dozen times before going independent at eighteen, Boye has authored numerous works—including the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunriseand the epic fantasy series The Brotherhood Saga. He is represented by Hannah Brown Gordon of the Foundry Literary + Media Agency.
 







Links:
 
Facebook: http://facebook.com/kody.boye
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kodyboye
Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/107542350868675752132/+Kodyboyewrites/posts
Website: http://kodyboye.com




1) What inspired you to write His Touch of Ice?
 
When I initially wrote the story that would eventually become His Touch of Ice some years later, I was responding to an anthology call requesting dark romance stories with supernatural creatures. I'd initially intended to write a vampire story, but wanted to try something different (hence the more sensual aspects of the feedings that take place within the story.)
 
After releasing the completed manuscript online and then abandoning it, I came across it via the torrents seven years later and got to thinking about how a re-envisioned version would be. I'd learned from download counts when it was listed on Smashwords that people were interested, and that they continued to read despite the juvenile writing, so I figured, Why not? Paranormal romance has been big, and given that erotica has surged as of recent, I wanted to see how it'd be received. 

 
2) There are some very strong characters in this book, did they come to you easily or did you have to spend a lot of time crafting them?
 
My characters usually come very naturally to me. Sometimes I give them aspects of myself (Jason's aspirations to become a Literature professor or possibly an English teacher was born out of my false desire to gain approval; Guy became the enigma that everyone loves, but isn't shy about his affections.) Some people (like the villains in the book) were lost even to me, which is why I'm eternally grateful to my editor for helping me shape them into stronger, more three-dimensional characters. Some characters come out fully-formed. Others have to hatch and then develop.

 
3) His Touch of Ice features a few mythological beings, did you have to do much research to write about the Howlers and Kaldr?
 
The Howlers are no different from Werewolves, nor are the Sanguine to the Vampires. I decided early on that I wanted to keep the 'traditional' monsters locked in their 'traditional' aspects (though I did maintain an infection-based transference of power to their human thrall/victim.) The Kaldr were born out of my fascination with Norse mythology. The 'Nordic Mountain Man' mythos was intriguing to me, but I wanted to expand upon the idea of men and women who lived in frigid climates and create something supernatural. In that regard, I first had to create them as supernatural creatures, then give them a reason to be placed outside of Europe. I did a lot of research on Viking conquest in conjunction with certain parts of blossoming Norway. Because of that, I gave the creature a name I felt suiting for their species. Svell means Ice in old Norse, as Kaldr means Cold. So, effectively, the Svell Kaldr are The Ice Cold. A few other words come up throughout the novel, but all can be pinpointed back to Nordic language.

 
4) Why did you choose to set it in Texas?

I set the story in Texas because I got tired of seeing the same-old vampires in California thing (which is ironic considering I set the story in California when I initially wrote it.) After moving to Austin, and living here for almost four years, I decided to pay tribute to the state and city that liberated me from religious fundamentalism by setting the story here. The geographical settings are something to behold. Long, winding roads, some of them lined with beautiful fields of flowers and blue bonnets; apple orchards that stretch as far as the eye can see; areas where there are absolutely nothing at all. Few people tend to recognize the scope of this state (or that you can fit parts of Europe in it several times over.)

 
5) How hard was it to go back and rewrite the original story?
 
I maintained only the skeletons of the original novel His Touch is of Ice, but even then they were broken and repurposed to suit the needs of the story. My juvenile aspirations as both a writer and person really affected the story in terms of scope and depth. I didn't know anything about the area it took place in, I gave vague impressions for plot points that should have been connected, and the nature of the Kaldr was so transparent I could've taken them out. I was barely fifteen and had no concept of the world. So, for that, I decided to keep only the basics. It kept my trajectory clear and didn't hinder me from creating a new universe.  
 
6) Do you think you might write sequels to it or is the open ending meant to be as it is?
 
The open ending is meant to be exactly that. I wanted to be able to end the come to a halt where it still felt satisfying, yet at the same time left me in a position to where I could easily continue in a second novel should I ever get the inkling. So far, I don't have plans to continue. I'm not even sure what happens beyond that point Review:


His Touch of Ice is the story of Jason a former college student who's been down on his luck ever since he was kicked out after being falsely accused of plagiarism by another student. Tired, anxious and alone he spends time in chat rooms seeking a connection. On a whim he meets up with a man he's sure will turn out to be just another jerk and finds that there's a lot more to Guy Winters than he had at first bargained for. Despite his better judgement he follows tall, handsome and intriguing back to his place. Going home afterwards turns out to be less than appealing, especially when it turns out the eviction notice and belated rent payment have finally come to bite him. 

Guy , who's turned out to be a very mysterious but seemingly trustworthy hook up offers to let him stay at his place and Jason soon takes him up on it. Things are fine for a while but one evening a break in changes that and the pair finds themselves on the run. It seems Guy is more than he at first appears and Jason was right to be uncertain. Lost in a world he doesn't understand Jason is quickly swallowed up in Guy's world, swept along in a battle he may not be able to handle.

His Touch of Ice is a surprisingly quick read and a very satisfying one at that. Boye's characters are very likeable and we instantly relate to Jason's life and concerns. It's been a while since I got into a PNR book and this one is a fresh new take on the usual PNR tropes. I really liked what he did here with the Kaldr (distant relatives of the ice giants in norse mythology) and Howlers (a different take on werewolves)who are enemies battling it out in Texas. Fans of m/m romance and erotica will enjoy this book immensely and find a lot to interest them. 

There are a few typos and certain elements might do well with some fleshing out, but I found these things did little to distract from the plot. I'm hoping we'll get to see a bit more about this world and it's characters as many elements of the book leave it open for at least one more story. Boye has a lot to offer his readers and I for one will be seeking out other books from this author.  


Four Stars  ****

Writing Process Blog Chain Hop – Four Questions, Four Answers

Many thanks to Gisela Hausmann  for tagging me in this blog chain hop on March 30.

Gisela Hausmann is the author of nine books, including award-winning "Naked Determination, 41 Stories About Overcoming Fear". Her first book "Vienna - Aerial Panorama" was selected as a gift for President Clinton, when he visited her hometown Vienna.

These days Gisela writes funny life skills books, telling her adventures and pointing out what pivotal approaches helped her to succeed. Born to be an adventurer, Gisela has also co-piloted small planes, produced movies, and globe-trotted almost 100,000 kilometers.  She now lives with her cats Artemis and Yin-Yang in Greenville, SC.

Blog               http://nakeddetermination.blogspot.com

Amazon       http://www.amazon.com/Gisela-Hausmann...

Google+      https://plus.google.com/1031712861109...

FB                http://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-D...




1. What am I working on?


I'm currently working on a short horror collection called Apocrypha with my brother Robert, we hope to be submitting that in a month or so. There's some really great stories in it and I'm hoping people like it. Feral Hearts (a collaborative novel with several other authors at JEA) and the re-release of Eyes Like Blue Fire are also on the agenda this year. I have some other novel I'll be working on completing as well such as the sequel to ELBF. Cool Green Waters and othe titles like Jodie, Other Dangers and The Farm. Plenty to work on between those and the editing work. There could always be other projects along the way as well.


 2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

I think of my writing as literary horror. I want you to care about the characters, as much as I want you to be scared by the elements of the story I also want you to be moved, to remember it for that. I can also throw in elements from other stories, little snatches of fantasy, sci-fi and other bits that make things a little different.

3. Why do I write what I do?

I don't think I'd be me if I didn't write and horror has always fascinated me, gotten my imagination going. My imagination brought me here and it's gotten me through a lot too. I'm working through a lot of things with my books and stories, little moments where things went wrong. It helps me get through them and I like to think it can help others as well. Mainly I love to write and fear often overpowered me for many reasons. 

 4. How does my writing process work?

I get an idea-and they can come from anything, just crazy ideas- and then I write it down thinking over how to go about it for a long while before I sit down and try to write it out. I get a good bit of it down and if it's a good first draft I let it rest for a bit before i come back to it. If not I keep working on it trying to make it better before polishing it up and filling it out a bit more. After a lot of work and
 read through I submit it an let my editors tell me if there's anything else that needs finished. 




                                                                   Susan Simone


Susan is a writer and artist by day, a child and pet wrangler by night, and occasional crazy person on the weekends. She lives in a place where new hybrid cars, beat up farm trucks, and Amish horse and buggies meet in fast food parking lots for coffee.
Susan grew up in central Wisconsin, only to move to rural Ohio in adulthood. She's a country girl through and through with progressive and optimistic ideas of nation and society. A heathen by faith and major sci-fi fan she is an eclectic person and welcomes as much diversity into her life as she can to feed her fertile imagination. She lives by the motto, "Let your freak flag fly!"
Susan is the author of "Silent Heart", "Under A Twisted Moon", "Morning Song", and other titles forthcoming. Susan also has her one and only zombie short in the JEA anthology "All That Remains".   In addition she has published articles on the Yahoo! Contributor Network in a wide variety of subjects such as the validity of deity in the American government and the use of easy to find herbs.
Susan is the Executive Editor with J. Ellington Ashton Press as well as a graphic design student at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division.  She does a large portion of the cover art with JEA and has worked with businesses in the past for logo creation and event announcements. 


Website: http://susansimone.weebly.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6941373.Susan_Simone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanSimoneFanPage
JEA: http://www.jellingtonashton.com/index.html


                                                         

Interview with Michael Fisher Author of the Upcoming DC's Dead

Bio:
Michael Fisher, Fish to his friends and family, has worn many hats in his long life including US Navy Hospital Corpsman, club DJ, security specialist, psychiatric technician, painter, and currently, father, Mason, author and tattooer, not necessarily in that order. He has a love of hats and ugly Hawaian shirts. He also bears a passing resemblance to Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski. His work has been previously published in The Tall Book of Zombie Shorts from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Anthologies as well as winning Honorable Mention for Short Story of the Year 2013 for The Return of the Devil Fly in the Midnight Remains anthology from J. Ellington Ashton Press. His first novel, DCs Dead will be coming out from JEA Press in 2014. He is also an editor with JEA Press




Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelFisherAuthor

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Fisher/e/B00JARA3CE/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_4

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7808408.Michael_Fisher

JEA: http://www.jellingtonashton.com/michael-fisher.html




1) DCs Dead started out as a story you hit a block on, has it become more of a nostalgia trip now that you’ve been able to complete it or a learning tool that helped you get back into writing? Both? 

DCs Dead was the beginning to a long road that, I hope, will continue stretching into my old age.
I would definitely say that it qualifies as both. It is very much a nostalgia trip because the people in it are not only friends that I have not seen in over a decade, but also a time and place that I hold very dear. This was before that world change for America as it was pre-9/11, an era when we still had our illusion of safety. A time when people were more trusting and accepting, when soon after, the entire populace became paranoid of strangers while, simultaneously, welcoming of those that were like them. 
It was also a learning tool. When I started writing it, I knew very little about writing and story structure outside what we were taught in school. For this reason, the version of DCs Dead that appeared in the Tall Book of Zombie Shorts is quite different from the final version. That ten year block was quite frustrating. I think part of the reason that I gave up for so long was I felt that no one would ever see it and that I really had no reason to continue it. It started as a way to fill time during very slow days when I wasn’t making much money. It turns out that all it took was someone reading it and seeing potential, however rough it was. When I was told that it was good and needed to be finished, it spurred my imagination into action and now, a year or so later, it won’t stop. 

2) Do you think the many hats you’ve worn over the years have better prepared you for being an author, artist and editor now than you were when you first started writing? 

I think my varied experiences have helped my writing all around. I have seen many different areas of this nation and encountered so many different types of people in all walks of life. These experiences have given me seeds from which my story elements can sprout. Most of those experiences happened in my twenties. Now that I am well into my forties, it can look back on them both fondly as well as giving them a critical appraisal. There are so many things I have done that I look back on them and ask myself, “Were you an idiot or something?” They say that hindsight is 20/20, but it can also be hilarious.
In my almost twenty year career as a tattoo artist, I have seen more than my share of odd people and heard their stories. Add that on top of eight years working as a psychiatric tech, I am never surprised by the colorful eccentricities this world contains.

3) All of your current and upcoming releases have been in the horror genre, do you think you might write in other genres later on or is horror your primary interest as a writer? 

I have a deep love of the horror genre that goes all the way back to my earliest memories. I have vague recollections of watching the Bela Lugosi Dracula with my mother when I was four years old, then running around the playground at Montessori the next day, pretending to be Dracula. Needless to say, the nuns that ran the school were not happy about a tiny blond boy chasing the girls, screaming “I vant to suck your blood!” My parents were not restrictive at all when it came to scary movies. I saw Dawn of the Dead in ’78when I was eight years old, only a year after falling in love with Star Wars, and Phantasm and Alien in ’79, which were the last two movies to give me nightmares as a child. So, back to the main question, yes, I do plan to work in other genres. A novel I am currently working on has more in common with shows like CSI and all the other alphabet shows (CSI, SVU, NCIS, XYZ) than they do with Nightmare on Elm Street. While they are genres ones that may have some aspect of fear, I will always return to my old lover, the scary story. 

4) Has becoming an editor changed the way you look at your own work and the work of others? 

Sadly, I think I was invited to become and editor because I was already spotting issue with other author’s writing. Sometimes, it would be simple things like typos that made it past other editors. Other times, I would find error where the original author did not do thorough enough research. I sincerely hope that when author’s get my recommendations, they do not get offended by them. I try to make suggestions without changing the author’s voice. 
I am my worst critic when I am editing my own works. I have had many occasions where I found something that flowed well in a later part of the story, but realized it hadn’t been mentioned or explored earlier in the story so I would have to go back and figure out where it belonged and expound upon it. 
There was a case where I found a consistent misspelling of a creature from the Cthulhu Mythos in a story. As an HP Lovecraft nut, I knew the spelling, while not a proper English word, looked wrong. So I went back and consulted the original author’s spelling and saw it was something as simple as an E replacing an O. Most of the readers likely would not have noticed, but I felt that it should be changed, both out of respect to the original writer as well to make the story fit well into the established Mythos, something the die-hard fans would immediately recognize.

5) Feral Hearts was a collaborative effort; do you think you’ll pursue more projects like it in the future?
 
I had a hell of a lot of fun with Feral Hearts, just letting go and running with the character of Barry the Needle. I think I will wait to see how it is received before diving headfirst into another one though, as I have quite a few other projects I am working on. Of course, that is what I say now but I have a hard time saying, “No.” You can ask my wife. 

6) The novel length version of DC’s Dead and Feral Hearts are due to come out later this year, do you have any other works in progress?

I am working on a story that is currently titled It Always Bites You in the End which is the police procedural/murder mystery with a supernatural element. It should easily be my second novel. I have a short story I am writing to submit to the upcoming heavy metal horror anthology Axes of Evil II. I hope it will be accepted as well. I also have another zombie story in the very early stages, this one set on a cargo freighter en route to South America from Miami. As it passes through the Caribbean, it gets more than it could want. I also have a short story that I wrote for a specific anthology, and was passed on, which I am currently reworking in hopes it can get released later this year or early next year. Finally, I have my ongoing editing work for J. Ellington Ashton Press, just trying to help us release the best stories we can.

Interview with Michael Kanuckel Author of Agent White

Author Bio: 
Michael Kanuckel lives in a small rural town in the middle of Ohio with his two sons. He has been writing since he was in kindergarten, and always knew that he wanted to be an author. He has published short stories in various science fiction and fantasy magazines. He's the author of Winter's Heart, Small Matters, Grunge Childe, Agent White, Quatro and the upcoming  Trollbreaker.







Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Kanucke...

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelkanuc...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelKanuckel

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...



1) Most of your books are set in a classic fantasy world, was it tough getting into the noir tone of Agent White? 


   Not really. I’ve always loved the old pulp fiction detective stuff, like Mickey Spillane and his ilk, and there was a real revival of that when I was a teen, with Sin City and other graphic fiction. I just moved that into my world.

2) Ezra is a strong noir character facing some unusual truths about his world. What do you like about him and his story?   


 What I like the most about Ezra is that he’s a no-nonsense kind of guy. He says what he means and does what he says. Even when faced with the fantastic, he never really loses his head. He’s goes into it with his same old attitude: how do I fix what’s wrong here?

3) Are there any scenes that you admire from the book? 


  I was really proud of the sequence that shows Ezra getting his first glimpse at the world behind his world. I also really liked his scenes with “Stillfield” Liam Connelly, who is a pool hustler, and the old man Owen, who draws him into this business in the first place. And there’s a character named Denthel Halfhill who I really enjoy. Really, I had a lot of fun with the whole thing.

4) Like Winter’s Heart Agent White is populated with great characters, do they come to you fully realized or do you feel that you’ve crafted them? Who’s your favorite? 


  Characters develop as the story develops. At first they just are characters- templates that you moved around on a soundstage. But then they begin to take on flesh, and a history, and characteristics that make them who they are. Then they aren’t characters- they’re people. I think my favorite character in Agent White (besides Ezra Beckitt) would have to be Boggle the gnome. He was just a lot of fun.

5) Your books are set in the same world but in differing ages, what age is Agent White set in? 


 Agent White is set in the Third Age, which is basically like our own near future. Vondellius is a place very much like our own country- the flavors of everything are just a little different, just enough that if you were there you would feel a bit strange.

6) Do things always play out the way you expect with your books or are there some big surprises as you go along?


  No, things never go the way I think they will- especially with this book. I had no real idea how I was going to end it until I got there myself.

Author Interview with Daniel J Williams author of Legend of Mace

Author Bio: 

Daniel J Williams grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. Some of his favorite activities as a kid included scaring the bejesus out of kids on Halloween, terrorizing neighbors playing doorbell-ditch, and excelling in the ultimate sport of Dodgeball. He somehow managed to score a business degree and wasted years toiling in the business world, writing technical sheets and marketing materials.

He finally realized what was missing in his life: Zombies! Spending several years working on his breakthrough novel, Mace of the Apocalypse, he then couldn't help himself and penned three more novels with the same characters in a continuation of the story.

The Mace of the Apocalypse series spans the beginning of a zombie outbreak in San Francisco to its ultimate conclusion in San Antonio, TX. It can be purchased through Amazon.com.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=520407433

http://www.amazon.com/Daniel-J-Williams/e/B007EGMHHM

http://danieljwilliamsauthor.com/


1) Mace is a powerful character, when did he first come to mind and what were you thinking about him in those early days?

I really wanted to develop Mace into a strong yet complex and somewhat flawed character. I didn’t want him to have all the answers and be the perfect leader. I wanted him to struggle with the enormity of the situation and work his way through all the obstacles he would face. I kept thinking about the type of people that would best survive an apocalyptic event, and they would first of all need to be tough. The bounty hunter role fit perfectly with the type of personality he needed to possess. His troubled background and street smarts would help keep them all alive, but his search for redemption and spiritual questioning would keep him humble enough to make him a sympathetic character. I wanted you to root for him throughout the entire series. His relationship with Jade was also key to bringing a depth to his character that would otherwise be lacking.

2) Did Mace and the other characters like Jade surprise you as you went along?

I find the writing process absolutely fascinating and magical. You can have all these ideas of how things will develop, how characters will grow, and then poof, it all changes as you put pen to paper and the writing process takes place. I had a lot of fun developing Jade, especially in the second book when I wanted her to take on a stronger role. The last book was the most difficult to write, as the characters went through profound changes that impacted everyone around them. That also made it the most fun to write in a lot of ways. I knew it needed to tie everything together and make the series complete, and for the most part I believe I succeeded.

3) Did you always know that Mace would be affected by the virus that brought on this chain of events?

I wish I could say yes, but that just wrote itself towards the end of the third book. It took me a while to figure out where I wanted to take the story after that. There were different options I played with, but in the end I was happy with the direction of the story and his character. As I said, the fourth book was the most difficult to write, mainly because I found it hard to put these characters through all those emotions. I really cared for and about them.

4) Do you feel that the whole series played out as you’d expected when you started or did it become a series of surprises that took you down new paths as you went?

It originally just started out as a short story, so the whole series played itself out during the writing process. Each book was its own challenge, and I decided to pursue each book with only a general idea of the direction it would take.

5) Was it hard keeping up the intense pace through all four books? 


The hardest part was actually slowing things down enough to put some heart and character development into the story. I love ripping into an action scene and just letting it go. It is a major adrenaline rush in its own way.

6) Your fans are a dedicated and very invested group, how do you think they’ll be affected by the close of their favorite series? 


 I hope they are happy with the ending. To be honest, I was a bit nervous how the final book would be received, since it really is a different story. From those who’ve left reviews, the response has been very positive. As far as the series being over, I’ve heard requests for more, which is very flattering. All I can say is maybe. I don’t want to put anything out there about a sequel and then have to rush to finish. If I do write another one, I’d like to take my time and thoroughly develop the storyline. I have played around with some ideas and I think it could work well, but I have another story I need to pursue first.

7) Are you glad to have completed your journey with Mace and the others or is it sort of bittersweet?


Oh, it’s very bittersweet. It was hard saying goodbye to these characters and this story. It’s like saying goodbye to family members. I still think about them.

8) Where do you think you’ll be going with your writing now that Mace is completed?


 I have a very ambitious project on the table right now. Once I start it, it will be all-consuming for a while. This next book will be an epic time-travel tale and is going to take some serious research to pull off successfully.

March 27th, 2014

AUTHOR BIO:
Born and bred in the West Midlands, Martin writes under the pen name of Peter Martin. Against Her Will is his debut novel, and is the story of one young woman's fight to lead a normal life after a horrific rape.
Martin's interests lie mainly in crime, suspense and thrillers. His favorite authors are diverse, including Robert Goddard, R J Ellory, Kate Mosse,Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Diane Chamberlain, Harper Lee,Wilbur Smith.
For more info martinperks.weebly.com

LINKS:
WEBSITE: hpps://martinperks.weebly.com
AMAZON LINK : http://bookShow.me/B00D50BFGK
FACEBOOK: hpps://facebook.com mart.perks
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/pmartinauthor
GOOD READS : https://www.goodreads.com/Martinperks


1) What inspired you to write Against Her Will? 

I've always felt strongly about how rape affects women, and how few of these women ever report these crimes to the police. Of those reported, many never come to trial and if they do conviction rates are low. Therefore I wanted to write a book from the victim's perspective, to give an idea what she has to go through, and show how it can destroy lives.
 
2) Is it challenging to promote a book with tough subject matter?

Yes, it can be challenging, but I believe in my characters and the subject matter. It has been difficult to promote, but I feel if people read the book, they will see I have written the book in a sensitive and compassionate way that highlights what a woman has to go through and how it can affect and blight their lives forever.
 
3) Do you feel Donna is a character who reacts realistically to her plight?

Donna had problems before she was attacked. She found it difficult to deal with the way she looks, having been pushed into the spotlight from an early age, against her wishes. Having overcome this in later life, the rape became a catalyst that brought all her other problems back to the fore again.
 
4)  Do you feel that books which tackle this issue in the way you have will bring light to women facing the same struggles after an attack?

I hope so. More women need to be strong to bring these men to justice. They must be made to realise these attacks will not be tolerated and only way to do that is for more women to come forward. I feel the sentences should be longer to ensure for certain they will be deterred from committing these acts. At present these people will only spend a short amount of time in jail, in comparison with the victim, who may not ever fully recover from what has happened to her.
 
5) Do you feel that women who deal with issues related to assault both sexual and/or physical get enough care and understanding after such traumatic events?

No, I don’t. Whilst I agree that the police in the main do deal with these crimes in a sympathetic way, what victims have to go through at trials, can be as difficult as the crime itself. There is always the feeling that the victim asked for it, by the way she dresses or acts.

6) Do you think you'll keep writing suspense novels of this type or will you tackle other subjects as you continue writing? 

I will continue to write novels like this if I feel strongly about a subject as in this novel. My next novel is about a young boy who runs away from home and goes missing, and how it affects his family.

Author Interview with Cassandra L. Shaw Author of Grave Robber for Hire

Website: www.cassandralshaw.com and www.twystedwriter.com. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cassandralshawauthor

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/cassandralshaw

 Check out Grave Robber for Hire here: http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Robber-Hi...

Cassandra’s Bio

Cassandra L Shaw was a child of passion who prayed she was secretly Dr. Dolittle. She loved all animals and bugs with a fierce devotion that has carried into her writing. Most of her stories be they paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, or suspense have humorous roles for her character’s pets. These pets are often named after her own beloved dogs, cats, horses, goats, chickens, ducks and birds. Tina, Tit Tit, Bones, Willow, Falcor, and Asha are already in her first book, and there will be more, she’s pinky promised her pets immortality so they will have it!

With a passion for fashion, Cassandra’s fun quirky female characters like to wear Goth one day, fifties dresses the next, or imaginary witch capes and wands. Her hot, muscled male characters wear tight clothes to best show off their … err … attributes. 

Hey, what's a hero and romantic lead if he isn’t hot??

If you don’t like having a giggle while Cassandra's heroes and heroines fight evil and other bad guys, discover themselves, eat well, and enjoy a good taste of life, lust, and love then Cassandra’s stories aren’t for you.

At home on her small farm in Queensland Australia, demons, monsters, aliens, futuristic worlds, sexy men, and hot sex scenes nestle happily amongst the housework Cassandra pretends doesn’t need doing.

Cobwebs are soooooo chic, her family think so too. HONEST.


1)  Grave Robber for Hire has a very unique twist on the usual urban fantasy/PNR tropes, what makes this story stand out in your mind?

I think it’s the mix of genres, Urban fantasy, paranormal, horror, mystery, that has a some sexual heat and humor. It’s also not full of shifters, weres, or vampires.

The paranormal/fantasy elements arise from the heroine’s (Angel) gifts and where that takes her in the story. Although Urban Fantasy often has a dark side, in Grave Robber for Hire the horror is balanced with a main character (Angel) who is innately good and funny.

Angel runs a rescue farm and has a thing for wearing clothes in themes, one day goth, the next 1950’s pin up. Other humor elements is one of her Horses, Tina, who is an ex trick horse and full of attitude.


2)     What inspired Angel Myers and her gifts?

 
 I pictured Angel when I was half asleep standing with a shovel in her hand next to a half dug out grave. Behind her stood Viggo her guardian angel. From there I worked on how she could have become a Grave Robber and where that could take a girl who’s not careful.

3)     How much world building went into the series? 

Not a huge amount as it is set in contemporary times in a real area. Near Cooroy in Queensland, Australia. The main world building is more her home, her farm, and Streak her 1938 hotted up jaguar car.

4)Do you need to do research to work on the parts set in the past?

I did have to do some.  Mostly making sure I had the correct terms for items she saw, clothing and some of the colors schemes used in rooms in that time period.

5)     I notice many PNR and Urban Fantasy series feature literary re-imaginings of the author or someone they know in life. Would you say this is true with your book? 

I think all fiction hold some of the author or people the author knows in some way.  I love animals so I’ve imbued Angel with the same love.  I live in the country on a small farm as does Angel.  And I would love to have a hotted up old car.   Otherwise, I think her personality is cross between about ten people I’ve met over the years. I’ve taken their more outrageous sides and created a blend, which was fun.

6)     What do you see happening in future installments of the Grave Robber series? 

Angel discovers why the evil creatures want the Rembrandt she now possesses, and that there are more objects the world of evil want for power. This becomes a main element over the series as Angel must stop evil finding the objects they desire.

She’ll discover what she really is, what Tyreal (the hero sidekick) is, and there will be role changes between other characters. She’ll also learn to share her life and find love and gets to save souls—including her twin brother’s. So there’ll be a lot more fun, more horror, a growing mystery and quest, and she’ll find love.  And I can’t wait to write them.   

Author Interview with Dusty Lynn Holloway Author of Dragon Dreams

Dusty lives in California with her two children. She loves exploring, and hopes one day to learn to fly a plane, try on night-vision goggles just for the fun of it, and float in a room with zero gravity. Not necessarily in that order. 

You can find out more about Dusty Lynn Holloway and The Chronicles of Shadow and Light at the links below: 

https://www.facebook.com/Cerralys
http://www.amazon.com/Dusty-Lynn-Holloway/e/B005OXV66A/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1395434412&sr=1-2-ent

1) Dragon Dreams is a book in your series The Chronicles of Shadow and Light, what inspired your series and this book in particular?

I've always enjoyed writing, but never really seriously considered writing a book until several years ago. I thought about what I loved, what interested me, and I went from there. In my mind, I saw the prologue to Dragon Dreams very clearly. I felt Auri's emotions as she ran onto the plains of fire, and I felt Nachal's sense of helplessness. That scene, was so vibrant and real to me, that I built the rest of the books around it. 

2) In your series there are humans, elves, dwarves, and shape-shifting dragons Was it difficult building a
world for your characters to inhabit?

Certain parts were more difficult to get down than others. For instance, in El`dell, the land of the elves, I could see the island very clearly in my mind, but making it come alive on the page was much more difficult. As far as the characters, I would say that the characters have been the most clear to me. In a sense, I built the world around the characters, rather than the characters around the world. 

3) Tell me a little about your central protagonist and his plight. How does it affect his world
that he's had these dreams?

Nachal has had an unusual upbringing. To be brought up to inherit a crown is daunting enough, but to be brought up to inherit the dragon crown is something else entirely. His whole life has been built around these dragons, and around Cerralys, the Dragon-King in particular. Not only has he been raised to inherit the crown, but he's also been taught and honed by the most elite dragons in existence to be a commander in what the dragon's have believed for two decades to be the coming final battle between dragon-kind. I think to understand why the dreams effect him so deeply, you first have to know those things about him. To put it bluntly, his world is shattered by these dreams. I don't want to spoil things too much, but Obsidian, the leader of the Rebel's, figures prominently in the dreams he continues to have about Auri. Her life is in danger. Very real danger. And if that wasn't enough, through the course of time, as he continues to have these dreams, he comes to care deeply for her. He comes to love her. The dreams haunt him. Prodded to action by his foster father Cerralys, he sets out to find her and protect her from what he knows is coming. 

4) What sets your world apart from other fantasy series?

I can probably say without hesitation that what sets my series apart is the emotion of the characters. Reading this book, you literally come to feel what the characters are feeling. They spring to life on the pages. As Nachal is trying to find Auri, you feel his sense of time closing in around him, suffocating him. As Auri sees El`dell for the first time, you feel her sense of wonder and frustration that she could have had such beauty in her life all along, but didn't. The emotions, whether they are turbulent and wild, or confused and wary, are felt. For some this might not be their cup of tea, but for me, it makes the characters and story more real. I want Nachal to find Auri. I want them to find a way to survive. I feel their pain and their triumphs both, and every time, even as the person who wrote it, it sucks me back in until I feel like I'm a part of the story again. 

5) I see there are two books in the series thus far, do you know how many there will be when you've completed it?

I'd always planned it as a three part series. Dragon Dreams is the first, followed by Dragon Ties, and currently I'm working on the last and final book, Dragon Light. 


 6) Would you say it's harder to write and promote fantasy fiction in the indie market? How has your experience been so far?

I actually think that fantasy is an exploding genre right now, and has been for some time. I think, as an author and a reader, there is something so . . . intoxicating about reading or writing something that has no limits. You're not forced into a box. You're free to let your imagination carry you to the next story, and the next. As a matter of fact, my other project right now is a time-travel romance set in the 1800's. Again, fantasy. :) I just can't seem to get enough of it. I tried writing other things, but again and again I'm pulled back to the fantasy genre. For me, it's a world without limits. Anything can happen, and that's a heady feeling.