MechMan blog tour: An interview with author L.J. Garland
I’d like to welcome wife/husband writing team L.J. Garland to my blog for their MechMan blog tour. If you didn’t catch the first part of their interview on Backward Momentum, you can find it here.
What are you working on now?
LJG: Actually, we’re working on several other stories. One is a Paranormal Romance about a woman who has to die before she discovers her true love. And one we’re co-authoring with the very talented Debbie Gould. It’s a Paranormal Romance series about a girl who learns she has a family she never knew existed and the implications that follow. We’re also working with Debbie on the next 1Night Stand story of the paratroopers sub-series. This one will tell Bobby’s story. All of these are action-packed romances with stuff blowing up and the hero and heroine in one perilous situation or another. And yes…we love torturing our characters. LOL
Exciting! My TBR list is growing. Can you describe your daily writing routine?
LJG: Between kids and house and editing for epubs, there really is no routine. LOL However, all those ‘distractions’ allow for my subconscious to work out plot issues and also gives me time to write and rewrite the next chapter in my head before I sit down to the computer. Most times I have a really good idea where the scene is going and a good bit of the characters’ dialog as well. Then Jeff and I sit down and rip apart what’s been done. Hack and slash. LOL Somehow it works….
I know all about those distractions. What author(s) have influenced your writing style?
LJG: Stephen King – because he didn’t write horror just for the sake of writing horror, there was a deep, psychological aspect that caused the blood to run cold.
Dean Koontz – because his style of writing drew me. The way he wove his earlier stories was unusual, never in a straight line, which left me wondering how these diverse characters would ever collide.
Suzanne Brockmann – for her high-action stories and her hero’s perspective.
Robert Jordan – for his epic stories.
Thomas Harris – psychologically terrifying.
A great list! Who is your favorite character from any of your books? Can you include an excerpt involving this character?
LJG: That’s tough. Honestly, whoever we’re writing at the time is my favorite character. LOL But from published stories? Hmm, I’d have to say Raven from MechMan. She’s a kick-ass heroine.
“We’ll have to run.” Raven fired across the bay. A Darch tumbled off the platform, his wings crumbling as he fell through the air.
“Yes.” Jex glanced toward her ship. Amber ribbons of fire rained down, pinning them behind a column. “I’ll cover you.”
“Like hell.” She didn’t need anyone risking their life for her. She’d been through that before and didn’t care to repeat it.
“It’s your ship.” He squeezed the wicked golden rod, froze a female Darch skittering across the hangar. Momentum carrying her, she crashed to the floor. Her icy form shattered. “You know start-up procedures, settings, quirks. You can get us out of here faster.”
Damn it. He was right.
“Okay.” She scanned for an opening in enemy fire. “Cover me.”
Raven ran. She fired her plasma gun, adding glowing white balls to his layer of ribbon-fire. Their combined onslaught drove the Darch back and gave her the precious few moments she needed to board her ship.
Scrambling to the bridge, she dove into her seat. With all ship’s functions already routed to the captain’s chair, her fingers flew over the control panels. The engines burst to life. Raven set shields, brought weapons up, and lifted from the hangar floor, rising above the Darch cruisers.
“Eat this, you demon bastards.”
The pulse cannons erupted with a thick fan of fire.
I can understand why she’s your favorite. Do you belong to a critique group or have critique partners? If so, what have you learned from them? How has it affected your writing?
LJG: I belong to Critique Circle online. Wonderful group! Over the years, I’ve had lots of critique partners and each had different things to teach me. It’s an invaluable experience and one I highly recommend. The saying, “Can’t see the forest for the trees” is so true when it comes to our own work. Overall, I believe having critters has made our stories stronger and more vivid. And the most valuable lesson it’s taught is that an author’s words are not gold…it’s the story itself that matters. So, if we need to reword a paragraph or cut an entire chapter, we do it. Course, we won’t lie…sometimes it hurts. LOL But after the story is finished, it’s always better and stronger for it.
I love my CPs, too. I’d be lost without them. What is the best piece of advice you would give to aspiring authors?
LJG: Study the craft and remember writing is a process.
Wonderful advice! Where can my readers find you?
LJG: We can be tracked down at www.lj-garland.com. Or we can be caught at http://www.garland-and-gould.blogspot.com/ where we blog, chat about stuff, and interview other authors. Or, we can be emailed at mail@lj-garland.com – We love hearing from people who have enjoyed our stories.
Where can my readers find your books?
LJG: On the Fringes – Kindle
Cadence Interrupted – Kindle / Ebook
MechMan – Paperback / Kindle / Ebook
Dreamspell Revenge – Paperback / Kindle / Ebook
Dead or Alive – Kindle / Ebook
Sins of the Mind – Kindle / Ebook
Thank you so much, Laura and Jeff! All the best!
MechMan blurb:
Raven is on a suicide mission. Jex is a biomech on a mission to save humanity. They discover their mutual passion to destroy the enemy isn’t their only desire.
A war against the Darch has raged for years, and humanity is on the verge of extinction. Scientists have created biomechs to supplement as warriors, but it’s just a temporary fix on what appears an insurmountable problem. One desperate scientist injects JXS241, a biomech warrior, with what he hopes is the solution for mankind’s survival. But the biomech is captured by the enemy.
Raven Nirvanni survives on the fringes of a shattered culture. While on a self-imposed suicide mission to annihilate an enemy destroyer, she encounters the imprisoned biomech. Deciding the fate of humanity far outweighs the destruction of a single ship, she recues him and decides to ensure he reaches his destination.
With the enemy anticipating their every move, Raven is completely taken aback when she realizes she’s falling for JXS241. But can she really love a machine? And if so, can he reciprocate?
MechMan Excerpt:
The needle slid between the third and fourth vertebrae in his neck. A flash of heat shot through him. More pressure was exerted to penetrate the synthetic cartilage of his neurospine. Accessing his internal response center, he raised the pain threshold, but not so high he couldn’t monitor the procedure. Immobile, he waited for it to be finished.
“Done.” The doctor stepped back. “JXS241, system check?”
“No change,” he said, and reset his pain threshold. “As you said, Doctor Mechins. Just a pinch.”
“Good.” The doctor made a note on his techpad. “There are three biomechs just outside the lab, waiting to escort you and the information I implanted into your neurospine to the planet Altaiga.”
“Give me a ship, doctor. I’ll get myself to Altaiga.” Taking three biomechs away from the war to act as escort was a waste of resources.
“The information you carry is critical to the war effort.” Dr. Mechins tapped the techpad. “You’ll take the escort.”
JXS241 rose from his chair. The decision was illogical, but sometimes humans determined situations based on feelings rather than sound military strategy. He yanked a black shirt over his head and shrugged into his military-issue jacket.
The science lab shook, equipment toppled, and assorted paraphernalia crashed to the floor. Alarms barked to life, an alert that the base was under attack. Dr. Mechins’ reserved manner morphed to terror. His gaze rolled toward the ceiling.
“They’ve discovered us.” He grabbed JXS241’s arm, dragged him to the lab door. “You’ve got to get out of here. Take the other biomechs, commandeer a ship, and get to Altaiga. The fate of humanity may very well depend on you.”
JXS241 stepped through the doorway. Three heavily armed escorts awaited him. One shoved a pulse rifle into his hands. He grasped the familiar weapon, glanced at it, and toggled the setting to kill.
“Wait.” The doctor clutched his shoulder. “You may notice some changes—”
The lab exploded. Hot twisted metal and glass missiled through the air, spiking everything in its path. A rush of heat shoved Dr. Mechins against JXS241, and they tumbled into the outer hallway.
Hands grabbed the biomech, lifted him to his feet, and propelled him away from the lab. On the floor lay the doctor, ripped metal and shards of glass jutting from his back, blood pooling beneath him.
“Medic required at lab, level seven,” the tallest biomech said into his com-band. His gaze shifted from the doctor to JXS241. “In line, soldier. Primary objective is to obtain a ship and fly out.”
JXS241 moved behind the other biomechs, and they hastened to the hangar where pilots scrambled to their fighters.
Scattered throughout the bay, sparks of light appeared and stretched into beings. Six-and-a-half to seven-foot men and women materialized. Graced with flaxen hair, and beatific smiles, immense gossamer wings protruded from their backs. With a serene facade they surveyed the hangar.
The enemy had arrived.
Author Bio:
L.J. Garland is a husband-wife writing team who has thrived within their own romance for over 20 years. One of their favorite things to do is get into a hot bubble bath and brainstorm story ideas. Amid their long list of hobbies and interests, two activities stand above the rest. They are both licensed helicopter pilots with hundreds of hours of flight time, and they practice with a variety of weaponry from long bows to high-powered combat rifles. This, along with years of military experience, gives their books a heightened sense of reality. They enjoy their life together in a house filled with love, laughter, and adventure along with their three cats, whistling guinea pig, and three boisterous sons—who conspire to ensure there’s never a dull moment. They love hearing from readers who’ve enjoyed their stories at mail@lj-garland.com.
