Author Spotlight: Interview with Bob Nailor

1. Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline:

Title: Three Steps: The Journeys of Ayrold
Genre: Fantasy
Tagline: What do you do when your fantasies are actually your reality and three steps separate them?


2. How did you come up with the title of your book or series? 


The title actually went through several variations that weren't anywhere near the final.  Then one day the idea of three steps came to mind and when the hero's name was changed from Elric to Ayrold, suddenly the title worked.


3. Who is your favorite character from your book and why?


Arthur Dunne because I used memories and impressions of my grandfather to create the character.  My grandfather was born in Dublin, Ireland and with the twinkle in his eye, he always reminded me of a leprechaun and the tales he told me have lived inside all these years. I was eleven when he passed away.


4. How about your least favorite character?  What makes them less appealing to you?


Brelyn is my least favorite character only because he is an elf and I have always thought of them as nice and well, he wasn't.  Somehow I really feel Brelyn needed to see a shrink more so than Harry Corsi did.


5. If you could change ONE thing about your novel, what would it be?  Why?


One thing?  After it was in print I thought of many things to change such as possibly making it a tad darker and expanding the battle scene somehow.  As to why?  Everyone loves to be scared and making the story darker would give the reader that extra little heart pulse.  And we all love a good battle scene, even Tolkien created an epic battle.


6. Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:


First, Three Steps could become a series since I have a couple of ideas for other adventures involving Ayrold, Arienne, Soth and Melyorn.  Second, I did an immense amount of research and much of the magic within the book is based on Wiccan methodologies and known properties of ingredients used, such as for the far-seeing segment.  Third, "Burl-me-up" definitely made my leprechauns unique and is based on a trip where I saw a huge 25-30 ft leprechaun at some location between Washington, DC and NW Ohio.


7. Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?


I am a gourmet chef and have won a few awards for my culinary skills and have taught over 50 boys (via the Boy Scouts) how to cook.


8. How can we contact you or find out more about your books?


I attempt to keep my author web page as current as possible so you can always know what I'm up to at www.bobnailor.com and see what books I'm in or have out.  You can also check out this link that will take you directly to the book: http://www.bobnailor.com/book_ayrold.php


9. What can we expect from you in the future?


I am co-authoring with my buddy from Brazil a new series of vampire novels.  The story takes place (book 1) in Brazil and has so many fantastic historical moments in the tale to keep you wondering.  We are weaving history, religion and vampire fantasy together with an international flair.  The series we've outlined so far has five solid novels in it but it may expand.  On a personal note, I am hoping to have two more books out by June 2012; one an adventure type involving a clumsy for-hire relic hunter and the other a more literary fiction piece involving an Amish boy in 1961.


10. Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?


A tip to readers?  Enjoy the new technology but don't forget the old.  I love ebooks but still hanker for a real book from time to time.  Support both.  A tip to other writers? Stop writing, I don't need the competition. Just kidding.  Don't let your imagination go away and keep writing. Sometimes it is easier to start small with a short story in a collection.  But whatever, keep writing.


11. Is there anything else you’d like to say?


I'm glad to have this opportunity to talk a little about my book and myself. Thanks.  You may want to check out my other novel, 2012: Timeline Apocalypse.


12. And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us:


The doctor leaned toward me and lowered his voice.  "I'm going to ask one question, Harry.  I want you to give it serious thought before answering."


I nodded.


"What scares you?  I mean, deep down, inside.  What scares Harry?" 


I watched Dr. Hancock hold his pen absolutely still.  What scares me?  The dreams had, no, they still do.  They hadn't gone away.  They were with me, had been with me all my life and just got more vivid each time.  But did they really scare me?  I chewed on my thumbnail and gazed at the doctor as he watched me. My life scared me.  Not knowing what was coming next and not understanding what was happening now.  I feared my life, or, non-life.  The missing years scared me.


"What scares me the most, doc?"  I leveled my stare at him.  "The three of us: me, myself and I.  Whoever we are, were, or are going to be."


"Ah, interesting.  Thank you, Harry.  Well, even if you don't think so, we have made some progress.  Your color's changed."  He smiled at me.  "Small attempt at humor.  I'll go over the tape later.  Maybe something will come up."  He stood and we shook hands.


I turned and headed for the door.  A faint aroma tickled my nose.  "Do you smell that?"


"Do you mean that damnable taco stink?"


"No, not taco.  It reminds me of something.


"Well it isn't air fresheners," Hancock said.  "I tried to use some but they couldn't cover or hide that taco smell.  So I don't waste money on those anymore."


"It's not taco," I said.  "More like..." I inhaled.


"Yes, yes," he replied as he lifted his head and sniffed the air.  "It reminds you of what?


"A flower, I think.  Yes, a flower."


I watched as he took short quick breaths, sniffing.


"Honeysuckle," I exclaimed.  "I think it smells like honeysuckle."

"Well, if you smell honeysuckle, more power to you.  All this," Hancock pointed to his nose, "can smell is tacos.  God, I loathe tacos."

"My parents had a honeysuckle arbor in the back yard.  I'd go out and play, you know, a brave prince fighting evil dwarves to save the fairy princess."  I looked blankly at Hancock.

"Interesting.  Go on."  He started the tape again.

"Shit.  That had to have been when I was a kid and hadn't remembered it until this very moment.  Still something doesn't seem correct, it wasn't my parent's house, nor even the garden arbor.  Wow.  That honeysuckle scent is so strong now and reminds me of I-270 just south of Frederick, MD.  I used to drive through there just to smell the honeysuckle on my way back and forth between Georgetown U. and my folk's house.  I'd roll my windows down and just let the scent of honeysuckle embrace me."

"Yes, yes.  Very good.  Since you want to digress elsewhere and your hour is over, we'll pick this up at the next meeting.  I have a convention to attend but you'll not get away from this arbor and prince story.  Next meeting, for sure.  Think over the idea of hypnotic regression, it might just be the avenue we're looking for."  Doctor Hancock eased me toward the door.  "Anyway, if I could smell honeysuckle instead of taco, I know that I could say I was blessed.  I'll make an addendum to the notes referencing your ability to smell honeysuckle over tacos."

As I reached for the door, my pager beeped.

"The office," I said, and looked at Hancock.

"Go ahead, use my phone."  He motioned me back into the office.

"Be just a second," I said while walking over to the phone and dialed Kim, the office receptionist.

"Harry, sorry to bother you, but a Mr. Dunne called a few minutes ago.  He seemed very insistent on reaching you."  Her voice grated on me.

I spoke quietly.  "Thank you, Kim.  Who is he?"

"I have no idea.  He left me a phone number and said it was imperative that I get it to you as soon as possible.  Something about your parents."

"My parents?" I said and could feel my eyebrows furrow.  "The phone number?"  I pulled my notepad and pen from my jacket.

"It's 202-555-2950.  He's staying at the Sheraton Hotel, room three dash fifty.  He said it was near the Woodley Park Metro.  That's Dunne, D-U-N-N-E, first name is Arthur."

My hand fumbled trying to keep the pen from falling from my fingers.  "Woodley Park?  Thanks, Kim."

"Hope it's not bad news.  So, how's the date going?  Still got your clothes on?"

"Please, Kim.  I'm not out on some clandestine affair.  I'm at the doctor's office.  Give it a break.  Robert Hancock is a doctor.  Look it up."

I slammed the phone down.  Perhaps I'd still have a job tomorrow.  I knew Kim would check the information and it would quickly become office gossip.

"Nothing important," I said on my way out.

"Are you certain?" Hancock asked.  "Your aura wavered while you spoke.  I hope it was good news."

"I'm not sure.  Someone needed to see me and it's just a coincidence that he's staying across the street.  I'll call you later for another appointment?" 

Dr. Hancock nodded and stared at me, almost through me. It was obvious he was in deep assessment.

"Something tells me I won't be hearing from you." 

"Thanks," I said then frowned at his words.  "I won't be coming back?"

Hancock shrugged then passed his fingers near me, touching an unseen edge a couple of inches from my head and shoulders.

"No.  I don't think so," he replied absently. "Things change and you're changing.  Good luck."

*****

Thank you Bob for taking part in my Author Spotlight interview!  I hope your writing continues to flourish and we hope to see more of you in the future. 

 ***** 

If you or an author/illustrator you know is interested in being interviewed, feel free to send me an email at jejoescienne@yahoo.com

Why should I read an Indie Book?

     Why should I read an indie book?  Well, I can think of several reasons, but here are just a few to get you started:

     First of all, why shouldn’t you read an indie book?  Yes, it’s true that anybody with a computer, word processing program and an internet connection can self-publish, but is it not also true that anyone with a webcam can become the next best internet sensation overnight?  And there are plenty of videos out there that were created with a simple click of a mouse followed by a few wacky dance moves that have proved to be entertaining.  Heck, how many of those videos simply involve pets portraying their every day, normal behavior?

     So, what’s my point exactly?  Just because an author has gone the non-traditional route (they haven’t found an agent or publishing company to mass produce their book) doesn’t mean they are not talented.  In fact, I have read several traditionally published, main-stream books that haven’t met my expectations.  Yes, some of them just weren’t the right genre for me but some of them were simply awful.  Will you stumble upon some indie books that make you feel the same way?  Yes, you will, and I have as well.  However, for every indie book you cast to the wayside because it just wasn’t your cup of tea, you’ll more than likely find one that makes you stand up and shout, “Eureka!”  Some of my newest favorite authors are independent writers.  But now that I’ve found them, will I completely shun the traditional authors I once loved so well?  Nonsense!  Of course I’ll eagerly await their next novels and pay the more expensive price, but now I have great reading material coming from another source as well.

     That brings me to the next reason why you should give indie books a try: the price!  Who isn’t looking for lower costs on luxury items these days?  Yes, books are a luxury (in my case, a necessity), and independent authors tend to charge far less than the big publishing companies (at least when it comes to ebooks), and often times they host giveaways and offer coupons for free books. 

     The best places to find these ebook deals is on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and smashwords.com.  Smashwords has the added bonus in that when you purchase an ebook you have several formats to choose from, so if you don’t have a Kindle or a Nook you can still download your new book onto your ereading device.  Before I got my Kindle, I was reading ebooks on my laptop.

     Finally, one more wonderful thing about independent books is the editing.  No, I’m not saying they are all flawlessly edited (I’ve caught typos in text books before, as well as indie books), what I mean is that by publishing independently, authors have the freedom to write the story exactly how they want to write it.  I don’t know how many times I’ve finished a traditional book and thought to myself, “Wow, that plot had real potential but it never really left the ground . . .”  Has this ever happened to you?  You finish a book but feel the plot was predictable or the characters were flat?  You realize that it would have been a whole lot better if only more of the details would have been left in. 

     Fortunately, indie authors have that option; they decide whether or not if Character A needs to have that extra conversation with Character B.  Maybe it seems a little excessive, but I personally enjoy more meat to my stories.  Too often the heart of a book is sacrificed in order to create an end product that will be more marketable.  It reminds me of movie previews that make me say, “That looks like a really good movie!” only to be terribly disappointed when, after I’ve seen the movie, I realize all the worthwhile scenes were portrayed in the preview.

     So, hopefully as ebooks and ereaders become more and more accessible in this age of advancing technology, you’ll take a chance and give an independent author a try.  You never know, you may end up discovering the next best book to add to your collection.

Author Spotlight: Interview with Greg Chapman

1.Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book and a 30-word or less tagline:

“The Noctuary” and the tagline: “Writer Simon Ryan is Hell’s new Scribe and the safety of our souls depends on his every word.”

2. How did you come up with the title of your book or series?

The Noctuary means “night-diary” or “night journal”. The main character Simon Ryan narrates the tale as if he is writing it as it happens. I wanted to write a tale about inspiration and creation and imagined what it would be like if your “muse” suddenly appeared before you.

3. Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

I don’t really have a “favourite” because all the characters in The Noctuary are worthy of being invested in. Meknok, the leader of the nine Dark Muses of Hell however, was a joy to create and I put every ounce of effort into making him as sinister as possible. The central character, Simon, is such a dark soul, someone who has wholly and solely retreated into the darkest part of himself. Henry Schiller, his mentor, is all sarcasm – a “say what you really mean kind of guy”; he provides a bit of comic relief throughout this very dark book.

4. How about your least favorite character? What makes them less appealing to you?

Again, I like all the characters in the book; all of them have a vital part to play.

5. If you could change ONE thing about your novel, what would it be? Why?

One thing I have done with The Noctuary is write a prelude – a sort of introduction to the book, which I will self-publish as a short story in a few weeks.

6. Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book or series:

Simon Ryan’s name has a personal meaning – Simon was going to be the name my parents wanted to give me, but my brothers wanted to name me after a famous cricketer, Greg Chappell. Ryan is the ancestral name on my mother’s side.

7. Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?

I am an accomplished freelance horror artist.

8. How can we contact you or find out more about your books?

You can visit The Noctuary website – The Noctuary or my blog - Dark Scrybe

9. What can we expect from you in the future?

I am currently completing illustrations for a non-fiction graphic novel called Witches! written by Rocky Wood and Bram Stoker Award winner Lisa Morton. It’s a graphical account of the history of the witch-trials. It will be published by McFarland in early 2012.

10. Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

Don’t become dejected by publisher rejections; use them as an incentive to keep writing.

11. Is there anything else you’d like to say?

I also have another book called Torment – a supernatural horror tale centred around the aftermath of an exorcism. You can find it here: http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615723416

12. And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us:

All of a sudden the darkness parts like a curtain and a tall, robed figure steps out, bathed in a dull light. As my eyes adjust, I glimpse the being before me. The figure is at least eight feet tall. Beneath the scorched lace of its endless robe I can see a bone-thin body wrapped tightly in pale grey skin.

Then I see its face; two orb-like eyes centred in a glistening, hairless head. Strange hieroglyphs are scattered about the face, ancient scars carved into the flesh. As I gape in horror the thing beckons me with outstretched hands.

Its fingers look sharp and menacing. As it glides closer I finally see they are not fingers at all, but rather the pointed ends of ancient quills. Bloody ink spills from each tip onto my lounge room floor.

My God, what are you? I hear myself say.

The thing smiles, revealing a toothless mouth, moist with the same foul ink.

"I am no god, Simon. I am no devil. I am purely an inspiration to lost souls. Only the privileged can bear my countenance."

I sit rigid in my chair as the creature hovers around me, observing me with its hollow eyes. I dont want to look away from it, but the entrance from whence it came lures my gaze. Beyond the curtain of night I can make out a corridor with walls made of parchment, stained and marked with every written language on Earth and others I could never comprehend. The sound of scratching, multiplied a billion times over, echoes throughout the corridor and out into my home.

Abruptly the creature blocks my view and with a wave of his spindly hand the curtain is drawn. The room plunges back into darkness.

"No, Simon, not for you - not yet."

I look back to where the creature is standing, but the darkness has blotted him out. All I hear is his voice.

"First you must master your words in this world before you can write them in mine."

*****

Thank you Greg for taking part in my Author Spotlight interview!  I hope your writing continues to flourish and we hope to see more of you in the future. 

 ***** 

If you or an author/illustrator you know is interested in being interviewed, feel free to send me an email at jejoescienne@yahoo.com

Author Spotlight: Interview with Sean A. Lusher

1. Quickly, give us the title and genre of your book in a 30-word or less tagline.

Liberation Road is a horror novella in which a routine stop at an isolated gas station quickly morphs into a grim tale of survival.

2. How did you come up with the title for your book?

In all honesty, I came up with it randomly at work one day.

3. Who is your favorite character from your book and why?

I'd have to say the main character, Jared. Probably because he was easy to write. Everything about him felt natural and flowed accordingly.

4. How about your least favorite character? What makes them less appealing to you?

Johnny. Probably because he's the most underdeveloped character and he didn't have too much to do 'on screen', but I felt he was necessary for the story.

5. If you could change ONE thing about your novella, what would it be? Why?

The length. I always end up wanting my works to be longer, and Liberation Road did turn out longer than I thought it would, but not by much. I'm still at a stage in writing where I want longer material, but am having difficult finding the delicate balance between lengthening the story appropriately and padding the prose. Ultimately, I felt that Liberation Road needed to be a novella, but in my ideal world, everything I write would be an epic length novel.

6. Give us an interesting fun fact or a few about your book.

Well, the main character is how I could see myself being if I had never met my wife.
I wrote the novella after seeing two teasers: the description for Stephen King's short story, Mile 81 and some gameplay footage of a game called Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
I wrote the story in one go over the course of two weeks.

7. Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?

Nothing springs to mind. Although almost everyone I come in contact with seems to think that being married at the age of 23 is a unique talent.

8. How can we contact you or find out more about your books?

My blog, In Deepest Darkness
My Author Page on Facebook: Sean A. Lusher
My e-mail, for the moment, is obsidianproductions@hotmail.com.  Although, in the near future, it will be at seanalusher@gmail.com.
Where to purchase my book: amazon.com 

9. What can we expect from you in the future?

Everything.

Alright, that might be embellishing a little. But while I may be primarily a horror/mystery author at the moment, I plan on expanding my work to encompass many different genres, from fantasy to comedy to science fiction to romance and, someday, when I'm brave enough, erotica.

But as for the immediate future? I'm working on several horror projects to be release in the next few months.

10. Do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

Readers: Take a chance on new authors. I know times are tough and money is tight, but with the advent of indie publishing and the Kindle, content is cheap. And legitimately skilled authors, previously ignored by the industry, are finally finding a way to have their voices heard. The more readers support writers, the better this whole thing will be for everyone involved.

Writers: Unless the Big Six, or any publishing house, are offering you big bucks, don't bother. Sure, at first it might be great, but it'll come back to bite you, hard, when you realize you could be making 70% instead of 17.5% on royalties and reach a wider audience by controlling your own content and pricing. Several previously published authors, big names, are going the indie route or signing on with Amazon, who seems to know exactly what they're doing. Also, write often and befriend editors, marketers and cover artists if you can.

11. Is there anything you'd like to say?

Well, definitely, thanks for having me, Jenna. These questions were fun to answer. Other than that, check out my blog for some free content.

12. And now, before you go, how about a snippet from your book that is meant to intrigue and tantalize us.

I'd love to.

From Liberation Road

Some bizarre cocktail of throaty noises escaped Jared's mouth as he regained consciousness. It happened all at once, very abruptly. Not like waking, some part of his mind observed with a detached apathy. No, not like waking at all. When coming out of regular sleep, Jared found himself doing it in stages--provided there was no alarm clock.

Being unconscious was a completely different thing. His eyes snapped open as terror surged through his veins. He had a sideways view of a dim, dusty floor. Something was incredibly wrong, of that he was certain, but he couldn't tell what.

At least, not at first. Jared sat bolt upright, nearly hitting his head on the counter. He blinked, desperately wanting to make some kind of movement, for some reason certain that he must get up and run. But some semblance of logic held him at bay as he attempted to reconstruct his memories.

He could remember the road. He knew he'd been driving down it for some time. And the gas station. Stopping there, nobody was home...Jared felt a gasp escape his throat as everything tumbled back into place.

He snapped his head around, hunting for someone, his attacker. He was alone in desolate gloom. That thought seemed to register something, but Jared couldn't figure out what. All he knew was that he had to get out alive. As he began to pull himself up, a glint caught his eye. Something stashed behind and beneath the counter: a pistol. Almost without thinking, he grabbed it. Fear was a physical thing, screaming through his head, drowning out his sanity and reason. It put him on edge, sent tremors through his muscles.

He stood and quickly inspected the lobby of the gas station, six shooter firmly in hand. He'd never fired a gun before, but found himself ridiculously open to the concept of shooting someone. If it meant staying alive, then so be it. All those endless debates, spoken over at length in the daylight with friends, about how far you'd go to stay alive...all the philosophical what-ifing...all the moral ambiguity and legal ramifications...

Jared quickly discovered it was all a very moot point as he hurried for the door. He would kill to stay alive. There was now no question in his head. Shivering, he stepped outside and then froze, rooted to his position in absolute horror.

*****

Thank you Sean for taking part in my Author Spotlight interview!  I hope your writing continues to flourish and we hope to see more of you in the future. 

***** 

If you or an author/illustrator you know is interested in being interviewed, feel free to send me an email at jejoescienne@yahoo.com

Calling all Authors and Readers!

     As an avid reader, I often find myself bursting with questions for the authors of the books I love.  As an independent author, I also enjoy learning that my readers care enough about my books and the characters I've created to approach me with their inquiries.  One way I've discovered the answers to my questions is through author interviews on other blogs. 

     For a while, I featured interviews on my old blog, and I'm working on getting the interviews up and running again on this new site.  I hope to post an interview every week or so, composed of a list of questions that will hopefully give my fellow authors a chance to offer us a taste of their work and for us readers to stumble upon a new good read. 

     If you are an author and would like to take part in my author interviews, send me an email at jejoescienne@yahoo.com.  For everyone else, I hope you enjoy the questions and the answers that result!

-J.E. Johnson