L.E. Doggett's Blog, page 29

Interview # two---Richard Flores IV

I said that I was going to be doing some interviews and as the title of this post says this one is number two.


Richard Flores IV writer of "Broken Trust", "Dissolution Of Peace" and others, plus he is an editor-in chief at Plasma Frequency.

Here is his web site with a full list including short stories. Here

His Barnes and Nobel Page


How many book do you have published? 
I currently have three novels. Dissolution of Peace, Volition Agent, and Broken Trust (published in that order for those keeping score at home). 
Where did the idea for the latest tale come from?  If it’s on your blog, could you repeat it?
Ah, Broken Trust came from a short story. I wanted to write a short story about a survivor from a mass extinction event. The story ultimately ended with the survivor finding a settlement of people.  Well, when I finished the short story, I realized that I really liked the story that wasn't told.  The story of what people did when simply surviving a disaster became rebuilding from one.  And that spiraled into the novel Broken Trust.
 Who is your favorite character in this book?
Oh man, that is a tough one.  I think I will have to go with the same choice that my editor and beta readers picked: Talya.  The funny thing is Talya was supposed to be just a minor character in the novel. Perhaps not even a minor one, but more of a background character. Well, she seemed to find herself more and more prominent. And in the first revision, I really wrote her in as one of the three main characters.  And people seem to love her.
 How long did it take you to write-you mentioned deleted scene on your blog. How many and how large where these scene?
Broken Trust took about a year to write from the first words to the final edits.  Which was way longer than it was supposed to take. But I tend to get sidetracked with running Plasma Frequency and of course that darn day job.
I do recall one scene I cut. It was almost an entire chapter that revolved around one of the minor characters and a certain nameless character (spoilers and all) who had a long conversation about various topics.  Including world affairs and such.  I originally put this scene in to give a broader world view, which the world that this book takes place in is very thought out on a global scale. But, I realized that it dragged the story, and was not really important to the story.  So I sprinkled a bit of that scene into another chapter and a bit more into a later chapter. Thus giving a little bit of insight into the global world, and the plot point, without slowing down the story.  I am happy with that cut.
 Any embarrassing scenes in this book or a previous one? 
This book doesn't really have any scenes that were embarrassing to me. Thought there were a few that were to the characters. But, Dissolution of Peace does have one scene I wish I had cut before print.  Well that is not so true, I still like the scene, but my readers seem to wonder what the point of it was.  It is a scene where one of the main characters walks in on two of the other characters in the middle of a sexual act. I cut a ton of sex from that book, especially with the rewrite of one major plot point, but I kept that one because I thought it was important to the characters' relationship. But, apparently I missed the point with the readers and for that reason I am bit embarrassed by it.  It is always a tough moment for a writer when they miss the mark.
Which scene--without too many spoilers--gave you the most fits? 
So back to Broken Trust, there were a few scenes that gave me trouble. But the toughest one was the climax scenes.  There was a lot of set up to many story lines in this book.  There are several main story lines, there are a few subtle story lines, and there are even a few that are almost hidden until the end.  Well, I wanted to bring those all together for a big climax. And that was a pain in the butt.  Without giving anything away, there were characters who finally were discovering who they are, there were conflicts to be resolved, and there was even a romantic storyline that needed tied up. And to combine war, love, and character discovery into one big climax scene took four rewrites and several editing passes.  In the end, I am absolutely in love with it.
What outfit would you wear, if you were the Main Female Character? 
There are two main female characters in this one. If I was Talya, I would be a tank top and jeans (or running shorts) type of woman. I would prefer comfort over appearance, especially uniforms.  But, I would also understand the practicality of what I am wearing in terms of the job I need to do. So when working, I'd substitute those jeans for cargo pants.
Now Rachel on the other hand, she would be more of T-shirt and pants, or even more girly with like a sundress or something like that. She hasn't really had to adapt her tastes to a collapsed world, and so she still thinks it is important to be well dresses when the occasion calls for it.
Is this book in any way modeled after another published book? 
No, not intentionally anyway.  I haven't read one just like it. And so I think it makes its own mark on the post-apocalyptic realm.  I don't even know that is falls under that category.  Nor is it really a dystopian novel.  So I think it is more along the lines of a story about rebirth.  And for that I think it takes a new spin on the genre.
What other book would you take your Main Character to for a day on the town?
I've talked about Talya, and even a bit about Rachel.  But we've missed Liam.  I think I will take him out on the town for the day.  I think we'd visit a fantasy novel.  For some reason I think Liam would prefer it over a novel of his own genre. And I think I'd take him to one of the books in Emma Newman's The Split Worlds series. Liam and Newman's main character, Cathy, have a lot in common.  They both want to see change and a better life for the people of their world, but they also both don't want to be the one in charge of doing it.  Not that either of them has much choice. 
Who is your favorite writing teacher? A pro writer who also shares how to write or a college teacher? 
Oh, definitely not a college teacher.  I never studied writing formally. I took the path of self study and for that I have to thank Jeffrey A. Carver and Orson Scott Card.  Carver has an excellent website on how to write SF that I spend a long time reading, and rereading.   And Card put out two books that have helped me immensely in how I look at writing.  I think it is fair to say that I got started because of what I read from them.

Up at Smashwords

Okay, the new file is up at smashwords.com

It may take a few days to get up at the other sites but it will.


So take a look


A story: a real fire fight, a man bent on revenge and he drugs her drink, a pocket universe trap and other adventures.

Oops, missed deadline on my novel "Above My Pay GradeX2"

Just in case anyone is thinking of buying my my book, which was suppose to go live today, you might wait a few days. The book is "Above My Pay GradeX2"  in electric format. 

I thought I uploaded a new file at smashwords.com a few days ago. I found a few things after proofing it and fixed what I saw. But I realized last night that it didn't get sent, or didn't get received. I may have been ready to upload but interrupted so I just thought I sent it, or their system hiccuped, or I somehow interrupted the process. Whatever the case it would be a good idea to wait until the new file is really up. They have it for sure this time. 

Novel excerpt and update on e-publishing it--BOOKMARKS

This update starts with a short excerpt of my novel--the first chapter. I will post another one from the last chapter later. 


It reared up again, and again let out that roar. I think Patty screamed again, but I wasn’t paying that much attention.      I said to myself hurry. Find it. Too many heartbeats later there it was: a connection from the bear back to her brother. I thought that since it was his pet he would have kept a lock on it to be able to call it back to him once it finished its job. I was right. Now, if the bear would only give us enough time to let me do the second part of my plan.     I tried to read the link-the grizzly moved closer. Another step-it went “uff” and stopped. I tried to see why it stopped while at the same time I worked on that connection. That’s almost like trying to figure out the combination to a safe while a guard dog ten times the normal size was chasing after you.     I saw a spike of energy trying to shove its way around the huge animal. I realized it was the second zombie. It still wanted to obey its orders even without an arm.      The bear turned slightly and tried to bat at the zombie. The alley was too narrow for that, but it backed up and grabbed the zombie. The zombie struggled to get away. The bear took a bite out of it, but that had no effect. The bear spat out what it had in its mouth and shook its head. The zombie managed to club the bear hard and break loose, but as it turned to go after us again, the bear moved back and took a swipe at it. The zombie’s head went flying, a second claw ripped open the zombie’s chest. It finally collapsed even though it still tried to move our way for a few seconds. The bear roared its victory and turned back to us.     Patty said, “You better do something.”     “Thanks to the zombie distracting it, I can.”     I called up all my reserves and sent most of what I had left at the bear, at the link between it and her brother. Two long heartbeats later, the bear vanished. I collapsed to the pavement. Translocations were always hard for me to do and this one was a lot harder than usual.      She said, “Are you okay?”     After I nodded, she said, “What did you do?”         In-between breaths I said, “I-sent it-back-to-your brother.”      After few more deep breaths I could feel the course cement under my hands and what I hoped was gum. I tasted what I thought might be blood. I spat it out but couldn’t see anything in the dark. I felt physically cold but emotionally warm. I had won. An angry bear should keep the guy busy for a while, hopefully even take him out if I had sent it right next to him. He had been putting out a lot of energy. Even with his talismans and rituals moving the bear, controlling the zombies, and tracking his sister must have used up a ton of his energy. That meant less to fight the bear off with. Of course, he must have some V controls on the beast, but hopefully he wouldn’t have the time to activate them.     I finally got up and started back down the alleyway. I told Patty she should be safe now, but to not go back to her place.      “Never. He forced me to move in with him and so I have no place to go.”     “Do you have any money?”     “Some in my purse and bank account.”     “First buy some new clothes and get rid-no-give me those clothes and if you don’t mind, let me get your money out of your account.”     She looked puzzled.     “I don’t think he would be able to track your clothes or activity on your account, but we shouldn’t take any chances. Don’t worry I will give it all to you.”     “I should pay you something.”     “I don’t do this for pay.” I didn’t add. There was no amount of money that would make this worth it.     She just nodded.      I took her back to my car. Its an older VW Thing-I call it Buggy-with an older Porsche engine. Someone had painted it yellow with brown trim. Because of its age it has few electronics. Vibration energy tends to not mix well with any thing electrical. Of course there was some electronics even in a car that old, but newer cars have a lot more. Its age somehow gave it some protection. I’ve been told age makes devices more settled and more resistant to change. Most mid level mages drive older cars. Higher level mages know how to protect sensitive electronics. Some even have computers and cell phones.      On the way I kept my eyes, ears and V vision open-I finally had to shut that down since it was giving me a headache-but there was nothing. I drove Patty to a convenience store that I knew carried some T-shirts and shorts. We found a dark place and she quickly changed. I told her to take off everything even underwear and shoes. I had a pair of flip flops for her feet. After that, I burned her clothes-just to make sure there was nothing he marked them with-and drove her to a friend’s place. Darlene knew what I did and helped women escape their abusers, so she wasn’t very surprised. She promised to take care of Patty until she could leave the city. I went home and collapsed in bed without changing.             ###################
       Two days later, after three significant trips, I went to BCH, one of the major hospitals, in Boulder. I had spent the days scurrying news articles looking for one specific report. That takes time without a computer. I can use one if I’m very careful and it has all types of surge protectors, or if my energy levels were way down, but I wasn’t feeling like being careful.     After I found what I wanted I headed out. I snuck around the front desk and used my ability to sense V energy to find the right room.      A man lay on the bed sort of awake. He had been badly clawed by some mysterious bear. The authorities thought one had escaped from the city zoo, but none were missing. It looked like there may have been a couple of small bits taken out of him also. I walked in and made sure he could see me.
     I dropped four sets of necklaces-minus the stones-on him then stepped back and crossed my arms. Two of the necklaces were from the zombies; one was from the guy I blinded.

         
  A couple of commas might be missing, but I know I put them in, which means some disappeared again---         And this is the only place in the novel with zombies. 

Now to the update.  Thought I would do an update on my E-novel Above My Pay GradeX2. As reported last time it’s done and I have uploaded it to both smashwords.com and CreateSpace.com. I set it for pre-order so it’s not up at every site yet. Not until the 18th. But it is up at Smashwords and Barnes and Noble. E-book version that is. Hard copy will be coming.       Speaking of that. CreateSpace has some great ways to proof the book before making a final go decision. I bought a hard copy of the book “Eleven something including taxes and shipping”. They got it to me a few days before the predicted date. It’s a complete copy of the book, which means I can see what it looks like “live”. I think it looks good.      So I went over it, decided the table of contents sample they suggested looked funny so I redid it. I also found a few things per chapter that needed fixing or changing. A couple misspelled words, but also funny looking sentences and an extra word or three. I probably didn’t catch everything, but it’s in a lot better shape along those lines than it was. Not that it was terrible--unless I missed a whole lot of what they call nitpicks. I also changed a few sentences to make them sound stronger or clearer. So hopefully the writing will be a touch better too.       All of the changes meant that I needed to redo the file for Smashwords too. The table of contents for that format was already okay, so I skipped that part. I uploaded it yesterday and so far it looks like it’s okay. It should be since it’s basically the same file with the same format as I uploaded already, but things happen. 
     So far 9 people have download the free 16% at smashwords. They would have gotten the version of that 16% with a couple of nitpicks, but hopefully it won’t matter. 
   The final hardcopy price is a bit much, but to sell it at Barnes and Noble, and other such sites, I had to make it a higher price. CreateSpace has a minimum price they calculate. If I cut out those sites I could make it four to five dollars cheaper. But it is 500 and some pages in a Tradeback size. I know those do tend to be a bit expensive. Evidently Amazon has a habit of discounting many of their books--even those by long time pros. So it’s possible-probable-they will end up selling this one for two to three dollars cheaper than any where else. That is what convinced me to go with the higher price. 
So smashwords is doing a final check and so is CreateSpace. So everything looks good for it going live next Monday Aug 18 ’14. It will be up at at least 8 different sites, some of which I have never heard of but a couple are from other countries so that would make sense. That includes Europe and I believe India. I don’t know how well American Urban Fantasy goes over in India, but I do know another India writer who has sold some of his books in other counties so it’s possible that I could sell a few books through those markets. 
So now we wait. I wait to see how well it goes and you wait to read it.  :)  Hopefully that last anyway.

E-novel  at smashwords.com
Above Pay Grade at Barnes and Noble

Oh, I made some bookmarks if anyone is interested. They have a one half discount code at smashwords--which makes it three something. If anyone is interested I can send some; 1 to 12 bookmarks if you want to hand them out for me. However I will need your snail mail address to send them.  

About my Pages, with a couple of changes.

        I partially redid my blog. Rearranged where the page buttons are and added two pages. One is for my books--two story sets and “Above My Pay GradeX2” a full 98,000 word-or so-Urban Fantasy novel, at the moment. I will be adding links to that page, but right now the links are in my still visible blog post talking about the books. 
I also added a page titled “Rod’s tales”. I have mentioned them before in some of my updates. I have 14 to 18 stories about a young mage named Rod. My idea was to do a bunch of twitter stories, but that lasted only about three or four stories. Some of them turned out to be over four thousand words. Some, though, are around 500 words. A couple 200 to 400 words. I hope to do a couple more of those. Anyway, I plan to post the stories on my blog and when I get enough--22 to 25--to publish them in an E-book. And what I really want to do is to send them out to people via E-mail. Only problem with that is I need E-mail addresses. If anyone is interested they can send me theirs. No, not twitter, because most are way too long for that and I would have to split them up in many, many pieces.  I plan to split some of the longer ones into halves and thirds, but not into twenty + pieces.  :)   I will be putting up a new story, or section of one, twice a month and send them out on E-mail. 
I said Rod is a young mage. He has things to learn, but he is tough and knows how to fight already. So some adventures will be dangerous and deadly, while others will be light hearted and he uses smarts to get rid of gnomes and other types of creatures. 

The first three really short ones will be going up in a day or so.

And even though I haven’t added a new story to my story page I will be. Right now it will be one new story and soon a second. How often I add some is up in the air right now, but it will be more than I have in the past year. 
Finally I have a my worlds page too. I have already added some stuff about the Vibration world of NA and plan to add my steampunk Special Ops world very soon. 
I noticed that some people have already looked at the worlds page which surprised me. Only a couple of looked over the books one though. And over the last year or so almost a hundred people have looked over my story page. Could be the same few hoping I will add a new story. Well, I will.  :) 
That’s it for now so enjoy yourself and come back once a month or so. And don’t forget--if you desire the Rod tales--to send me your e-mail addresses. LDWriter2@comcast.net.  Please put Rod tales in the header. 

Writing for me-and about me

I could say a lot about writing, but basically I love it. I have many ideas--they come from pictures, from lines in other books, titles of other books, how I would do a certain plot, and sometimes they just pop into my head.

Too many ideas to write them all with a full time job.

I'm a blue-collar worker with a family of a wife and one 26 year old autistic daughter.

Recently I have put together two story sets as E-books-one is Science Fiction and one is fantasy. And more recently I put up a full E-novel. A Urban Fantasy tale.

A picture and more details about me will be forth coming, as I find a good pic and have more time.

My Turn---Above My Pay GradeX2

Some of you will have seen this announcement already, but I add something here and some readers will not have seen it.

First:  The tale is Urban Fantasy and deals with someone who has some skill in manipulating matter and energy.

Second: My E-novel--the one I have talked about for over two years--is now listed on smashwords.com and Barnes and Noble web site.  Plus a few other places. It is a pre-order and will be listed on other sites as it becomes live  Aug 18.   On the B&N site however no cover pic of yet even though you can pre-order it.

 The novel has had two other titles during the time I have talked about it. First was "New Mage On The Block". I started with that one thinking my MC would be a new member of a group of Mages, but it didn't quite work out that way as I wrote it.  Next title "Two Struggles" dealt with the fact that my MC-  NA by name-has two different battles to fight throughout the novel. One is the bad guy and his traps and the other was inside her--in her heart dealing with much of her emotional baggage.



Third:   So here is the shorter blurb from Smashwords to explain more about the story.


My name is NA. I can change matter and energy; so far I've used it to help fight mythical creatures and help women escape from their abusers. Now I find myself in a situation totally above my pay grade. Someone had the bright idea I could stop a very bad event from happening--after I survive a mother grizzly, a griffin, a nest of ghosts, deadly plants, a man wanting revenge, and inner conflicts.

Here is the its page on Smashwords.com 


Here is the page on BN.


At the same time I redid the covers for my two story sets and cleaned the stories some. 

Fantasy set

SF set  



Here is a pic of "Above My Pay GradeX2"

An interview with Meredith Mansfield E-author of five books.

A while back I decided to do some interviews with published writers. Meredith Mansfield is the first one. She has out five books which she listed below in response to the first question. THE SHAMAN’S CURSE is the latest. 


Her web site is here and you can find the various locations to get her books there  Info about her on her About Page
I sent her ten questions and this is how she answered them.


How many book do you have? Published? Five BLOOD WILL TELL& BLOOD IS THICKER (Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy)FIRE AND EARTH(YA Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery)THE BARD'S GIFT(YA Historical Fantasy)THE SHAMAN'S CURSE (Epic Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery)That doesn't count CHIMERIA OMNIBUS (which is both BLOOD WILL TELL and BLOOD IS THICKER) or several short stories ("Heart of Oak", "Becoming Lioness", "The Music Box", and "Wyreth's Flame")Where did the idea for this tale come from? I believe it’s on your blog, but could you repeat it?Actually, THE SHAMAN'S CURSE goes back so far that I can't really remember the original inspiration. I've been toying with this world and parts of this story since college. (And that's longer ago than I'm going to admit to here.)Who is your favorite character in this book?Unfair. That's like asking which is your favorite child. How long did it take you to write? You mentioned deleted scene on your blog. How many and how large where these scenes?That depends how you count. I think the first draft took about six months, but that doesn't count revisions, coming back to it several times over the last six years, or the abortive attempt to recast it as either middle grade or young adult. Let's just say this one has been cooking longer than most.Well, the "cuts" file for this book, where I keep deleted bits or scenes, is over 16,000 words long, but that may not be the best indication. I'm quite sure there were other things deleted that aren't in there. (They are preserved in other places, though. It would just take longer to actually find them.) Looking through it, I think I cut six whole chapters. (Some of which will reappear later in the series or as stand-alone short stories.)Any embrasasssing scenes in this book or a previous one? Not any more if I've done my job in the editing. J Actually, depending on what you mean by "embarrassing", I just don't write those scenes. I get things rolling and then draw the curtain and come back in the morning.Which scene--without too many spoilers--gave you the most fits? Hmm. I don't really remember any of them giving me fits. Some came easier than others, of course. I think Veleus was the hardest character for me to get a handle on, so possibly his early scenes. What outfit would you wear, if you were the Main Female Character? Well, that would depend on where she was, to some extent. Day-to-day, Thekila wears either a tunic (with laces going well down the front) and trousers or a dress that's very like an extra-long tunic. In either case, there'd likely be a band of embroidery around the hem of the tunic. Being Valson, she prefers bright colors. 
Is this book in any way modeled after another published book? No.What other book world would you take your Main Character to for a day on the town?Well, Vatar is already the most well-traveled person probably in this whole world. But he's really most comfortable with wide open spaces around him. Even when he's in the city, he tends to prefer to be on the outskirts rather than within the city walls. Oh, and he hates large bodies of water or really anything with waves. Who is your favorite writing teacher? A pro writer who also shares how to writer workshops, or a collage teacher Or?I just completed one of David Farland's online writing classes that was very interesting. 

Flying Eagle: Seven Fantasy Stories E-File

Okay, here is the same book on Smashwords. Of course it’s a E-file there. I just redid the cover, and even though I hadn’t planned it, the cover pic does apply to one story in the seven stories--plus one bonus. 
I decided it could be better to use a different cover than the one at CreateSpace. 
I had to upload the story file again and it hasn’t been vetted by a real person yet, so I don’t know if you were to buy it if you would get the new file or the one before it. The new one is in better shape and some of the stories a little bit better than the previous files. I’m not sure how long it will take to vet it. Three days or a week, but in any case it should still be okay for Smashwords. 
I really do believe there are some good stories in it, a couple are just for fun, but over all nice tales. 


E-stories

Flying Eagle: Seven Fantasy Stories

Okay, my fantasy story set is up at Amazon, in case anyone wants to read some fantasy tales in the flesh one might say.  The cover is so-so but my novel cover will be pro.


Stories