Author Interview with

Samantha Evans

Author of: Dragon Master and The Land of Four Series

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

My newest book which will be released on May 3rd:

Arabella is a girl of high standing, and her father wants her to marry someone she barely knows. But she wants to be someone more than just a member of the court. With the help of some new friends and her curiosity, will she get her to wish to become what she wants, or will there be barriers along the way.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

Just a new idea came to my mind. It is going to be a two-book series. 

Do you write in more than one genre?

Just fantasy fiction. 

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

I love writing in the first person. 

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I am a loving fan of fantasy fiction. Reading books have been a hobby of mine. 

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

Being a mom of three reading, and writing has become a common thing I do at home every day. 

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

My dear Friend Vicky Peplow writes fictional historical thrillers. Here is a blurb about her most recent book:After Billy loses his life in a mining accident, he becomes the carrier of the Old Coal Miner's Lamp, helping to guide other lost souls on their way to the Light.

Mike begins having strange flashes of the past and seeks out the help to make sense of what he is going through.

Danielle answers the call to assist Mike with his visions, but when she too begins to have some strange sensations, will she continue to search for the truth or steer clear of the unknown?

Connections will be revealed and a darkness will rear its head along the way.

Will Billy, Mike, and Danielle be able to work together to overcome the obstacles and defeat the darkness?

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

Ella is everyone’s favorite. Due to how it is about a dragon who helps someone and they develop a deep friendship. 

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

After writing, and publishing Ella I realized that I can continue on with writing and not be afraid. 

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it? 

“ Never give up on your dreams.” My grandma says that to me. Always stuck to me, and when I write I think about this all the time. 

______________________

Thanks to Samantha for participating. Her book covers are stunning.

For those of you who may recall that I sometimes refer to the home here as Le Chateau du Chat Gris, I give you evidence of the reason for the nomenclature.

Although my wife and daughter have another name for the cat, to me she is Lynx. I'll include another picture and more information about her in my February newsletter, which you can get here to keep up to date on my books and special deals. Last year I made some of my books free and put the rest at only 99 cents for a couple days -- only my newsletter subscribers got notice of that limited time deal. I'll also give a short book review in the February newsletter.

In my writing this week, I sent off a short story. I'm rereading Threading the Rude Eye, book one in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. I have to admit that once I get a few chapters in, the story really captures me. Some of the characters don't have the depth and richness that they will eventually acquire, but the mystery and incompleteness of exactly what they plan to do and how they plan to do it intrigues me. The reread is a good way to get back into the story as I write book 5 in the series.

 

Well, Pilgrim, if you're wondering what all the fuss is about, I'll explain it to you.

 For your reading pleasure, I've attached two excerpts from The Shrinking Zone, which is still available for only 99 cents in ebook, and $9.99 in paperback. Links to all of my books are directly above. You can also find them here.

I selected these two excerpts at random, with the only proviso being that they didn't give away too much of the story, or spoil for future readers the outcome of the scenes from which I took them. As always, the author has generously approved my use of these excepts.

Excerpt one:

Rodrigo waited for Vince to tear out on the four-wheeler before he sent the Jeep hurtling through the sagebrush and the darkness. He rapidly increased his speed, going straight for the space between two sets of headlights. The one on his right must have caught sight of him, for the black SUV veered away and slid to a stop. Rodrigo didn’t slow. The other SUV didn’t stop, but instead turned toward the Jeep. The maneuver sprayed a plume of dirt into the air.

Rodrigo cut hard left, going through the dirt-laden darkness the SUV had vacated. The SUV spun around in pursuit. Everything not locked down in the Jeep bounced, rattled and banged. The jockey box which hadn’t latched properly flopped open when the front end of the Jeep found a badger hole. The box of shells bounced out when the Jeep came down. Bullets spilled from the open box to scatter like frightened mice on the floorboard.

Rodrigo couldn’t spare a hand to shut the jockey box or to...

Excerpt Two:

Outside a few torches appeared in the night. Red eyes gleamed in the torchlight.

Don pushed the two women out the back door. "Go. Ride. Hurry, or you’ll never get out of here.”

...

A torch appeared from the corner of the house. Diana’s M4 spit a single shot. The torch and the exper who held it fell back around the corner.

“Don’t forget these,” Kim said, tossing Don the keys to the Buick.

“Go.” Don slapped the horses as they turned away.

Horses and riders disappeared into the night.

Don moved to the hayshed and peeked around to where he could see the lane. The first set of headlights started to make the turn to come to the front door. A storm of rocks and a piece of rebar struck the F-150.

Another fine review posted on Amazon for The Shrinking Zone last week. I'll share it in my newsletter which you can get here.

In other news, the review and edit of the new short story are complete. I implemented most of the changes my proofreader suggested. I will give the story another once over before I send it off this week.

I begin phase III of my workout program tomorrow. It's not part of some new year's resolution. I started the program in November. As you may suspect, my new year's resolution was, "I aim to misbehave." Which reminds me that I'm in the middle of a Firefly rewatch. I highly recommend it as instructional material on the elements of good story telling. It's also great fun. 

I've gone over the first 20K words of the next book in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series, adding and subtracting along the way. Antonio is the brightest light in that part of the story, but Alex and Lucette are getting the next steps in their respective adventures set up. Alex has made a particularly exciting advancement in his use of the essence. I still need to outline, at least in some general way, the next part of the tale for Iago and Atu, as well as for Akram and the other dragon hunters with their new acquaintances Frode and Njal. Lt. Roberts and his new pet are going to be a formidable obstacle for Alex and the patriot soldiers. The Commander is also likely to return to the New World, bringing the death and destruction which attend his presence both on and off the battlefield.

 

Author Interview with Christopher Keene

Author of

Cycle of Blades and more

Please tell me a little about your current work in progress.

I’m editing a romance fantasy book that’s passion project for me. Here’s the blurb:

When Princess Emily is poisoned, ex-poisoner and journeyman Holt Gnarl goes on a quest to find the rare flower needed for the antidote. The flower is on the other side of a country riddled with plague, and Holt must obtain it before the month is up. To add to an already dire situation, the duke’s troublesome middle child, a young woman named Riva, follows him to escape the expectations of being a nobleman’s daughter.

When the duke’s men don’t come to take Riva home and Holt fails to get her to return, Holt allows her to accompany him. Encountering both beasts and brigands on the road, Riva insists Holt tutor her in the art of poisoning. Holt agrees, but Riva soon discovers that many of his skills are due to the various masters he trained under, not all of whom he left on good terms. As she meets each of Holt’s old mentors, Riva comes to understand both how Holt grew to be the man he is and the type of woman she must be to survive in such a threatening world.

Forced to take on the role of master and protector until Riva can fend for herself, Holt experiences the struggles his mentors went through when he was their student. These struggles help him to confront his past and settle old scores while also exacerbating Riva’s feelings toward him and his hidden feelings toward her. Although bogged down by losses and reconciliations, Holt and Riva persist in their journey. Time is ticking, and the life of Riva’s sister hangs in the balance.

Where did you get the idea for this book or series?

True Grit, Howl’s Moving Castle, Uprooted, a bunch of places.

Do you write in more than one genre?

Arguably. Fantasy and Sc-fi generally get lumped together though.

 

Tell me about something that you believe makes your writing unique or worthy of attention.

In fantasy, my books are usually stand alone so it actually has an ending, which it the problem with a lot of modern never-ending series. Plus, they’re good. You don’t have to trust me. Read them yourself.

Is there anything about your personal history or personality that manifests strongly in your writing?

I guess my relationships. I’ve been with my girlfriend for over a decade and I think our interactions come out a lot in the heroes and heroines.

What else would be helpful for readers to know about you?

I don’t care about anyone’s identity when it comes to writing. I judge people’s work on its own.

Excluding your own work, what underrated author or book would you recommend that more people read? Why?

Matthew Stover’s Heroes Die is my favorite book, and I don’t hear his name being passed around much.

Which of your books do you most highly recommend? Why?

At the moment, Cycle of Blades for adults, War of Kings and Monster for children or young adults. Each of them is standalone fantasy and decent examples of my work.

Which break, event, decision, or fortuitous circumstance has helped you or your writing career the most?

I got picked up by a small American publisher when I was in my early twenties, who have supported my early work.

What question do you wish you would get asked more often?

What doing think of [insert story element]? E.g. realistic villains, magic systems, made up cultures, twists and foreshadowing. Literally anything to do with story telling.

Do you have a catch-phrase or quote that you like? What is it? And why do you choose it?

I quite like Spike Speigel’s “Whatever happens, happens” from Cowboy Bebop as it acknowledges the chaos of existence and our lack of control over it.

___________________________

Thanks to Christopher for participating. I particularly like both the title and cover on the last picture  I posted there.

Here at the Chateau du Chat Gris, January grips us tightly in its frigid hand. Yesterday at the hardware store where I stood in line, but then elected not to buy the overpriced product I had planned to get, I overheard a guy talking about frozen pipes under the house. The snow which fell in copious amounts hardened during a few days when the temperatures fluctuated between below freezing and slightly above freezing. The cat walks over it with no difficulty, but the rest of us break through in a crunch-thump pattern as we walk across it. Those places in town where the sidewalks didn't get shoveled have become treacherous trails of uneven ice and snow. One such place includes my path to the courthouse. Sometimes is easier to walk in the street that to brave those perilous paths. January is not one of my favorite months, even though some of my favorite people were born during the month.

As for my writing, not only have I edited the short story (after I sent it to the proofreader), I have also started on book 5 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series. I'm going over the 20 some thousand words I had on it before I had to break to write The Shrinking Zone - which is still available for only 99 cents. I'm toying with an idea for science fiction story - and adding to it as I go. After that I'll outline the rest of the book.

In the meantime, perhaps you could benefit from this bit of wisdom.

 Short story completed!

I say completed, but I've already got some tweaks in mind--move part of a paragraph, smooth a description, add a couple words of meaningful detail. The usual stuff.

Every story is a portal to another world. They don't all lead to Mayberry and Joan Collins, but penetrating that threshold--letting your eyes trace that first line of words--threatens to transport you to another place, another time, another you. Complete the leap, drop into the story, and you may never escape. Some stories remain a part of you forever once you've embraced the trauma, the drama, and the dream.

What are the trauma, the drama, and the dream? Those are my broad terms for the elements required to make the reader love a story. Other writers may call them by different names, but I submit that my terms as expressed at the end of the paragraph above score points for being the most poetic. Aren't great stories poetic at some level? Yes. The answer is yes. They don't have to rhyme or match a certain meter, but they should have an aesthetic or emotional impact.

Let me expound. The character(s) must experience trauma or distress. Something about the situation, setting, or other players upon the stage must cause or threaten injury. The character(s) must face peril. That peril may be physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, etc., depending upon the genre of the story.

A great story requires drama, or conflict. The character must have obstacles to overcome, villains to defeat, disadvantages to heighten the difficulty, and mysteries or problems to solve. The trauma and the drama mesh to create tension and build the reader's interest in the characters. When these are combined correctly, the reader will buy-in and immerse themselves in the story. The reader becomes emotionally invested.

When emotional investment has been achieved, the dream materializes. The dream exists in the reader's imagination, and will differ with every reader. Nevertheless, the way the writer manipulates and resolves the trauma and the drama controls the dream. A dream may be created, only to be destroyed by the writer's departure from or too strict adherence to the genre tropes, or by the writer's mishandling of the story or by poor stylistic choices. The aesthetic or emotional impact, and delivery of the elements determine the power of the dream and whether it lingers with the reader long after the story has ended.

I hadn't intended to touch on the secrets of a great story, but once I brought it up, I felt that I had to give a brief explanation. Each element deserves its own essay, or chapter, but that's not what I do here. What it is exactly that I do here has yet to be determined, but the consensus indicates that it isn't formulating an exegesis on the elements of writing.

____________

The little Wheels where here for dinner this evening. I broke in the new cribbage board by leading most of the way, only to fall behind on the last bend, and pull out a come-from-behind surprise win in a very tight game.

 

I spent part of yesterday extinguishing holiday cheer. The prevailing mood was frigid. With the landscape cloaked in icy white, and the temperature restrained to the single digits, I soon discovered that my worn, leather work gloves were woefully insufficient protection. After going back inside to warm my hands, and putting my cheap stretchy gloves inside the leather ones, I leaped into the action once more. 

It was lonely work all by myself, but I shrank not from the fray. I threw the scaling ladder next to the chateau walls and ascended to sack and pillage according to my whim. I spared not a single string of Christmas cheer, dragging them from the stronghold and binding them deftly (or with the meanest of skill as the case may be). The lights in the trees, like guerrilla bands in their mountain haunts, resisted in a most determined fashion, but my superior strength, mental acuity, and tactical brilliance eventually prevailed. There are very few inanimate objects that can defeat me in a straight-up battle of wits.

Earlier in the week, while shoveling snow, I formed a rudimentary fort around the fire pit. It stands forlorn and unused as everyone else maintains that the weather is too cold to loiter about a fire outside.

Last night, there were a hundred or so elk in a field that is off to the left in the snow fort picture. I didn't get a picture of that. 

______

Before I share a book review, I must report the surprise that I got today. My biggest fan caught me to tell me that he read my latest book, The Shrinking Zone, and he loved it. He then proceeded to tell me how he would slay red-eyes. Of course, I told him at the time I was writing it that he would like it. I'm not surprised that he read and loved it. I'm surprised that he had obtained a paperback already -- he received it for Christmas. I'm still waiting for my author copy paperbacks to arrive.

______

As for the book review:

I finished the last of these (except for a half-hour remaining) while taking down the lights yesterday. These two books are actually one book that has been divided into to 2 audio books on Chirpbooks from Dumas' sequel to The Three Musketeers. Twenty Years After is over 13 hours long, and Blood Royal is nearly fifteen hours long. I acquired them for $2.99 or maybe $4.99 each, although I believe they are both back up to their regular price of $20 or more. The books are read by John Lee who does an absolutely fabulous job. 

As the more perceptive may glean from the title, the story begins 20 years after the conclusion of The Three Musketeers. D'Artagnan is still a lieutenant of musketeers. Athos is a retired country gentleman, Aramis is an abbot. Porthos is also a retired country gentleman. The four friends find themselves on opposite sides in a political dispute that threatens to break out into civil war. They cannot prevail against one another. Only when they combine their talents do they find success--and even that has limits. Milady's son Mordaunt is the major antagonist in the story. Mazarin, the Prime Minister of France, is the secondary villain. The heroes travel from Paris and about France to England, Scotland, London, and back to France again. The story drags in places where the political intrigue among the secondary characters takes center stage. However, as a whole, the story demonstrates Dumas' expertise in weaving a compelling tale of fiction with historical events. D'Artagnan and Porthos continue to be highly satisfying and likeable characters in my opinion. I found Athos and Aramis, particularly Athos, to be less satisfying. Athos grows less mysterious, and Aramis continues to become more mysterious. If I remember correctly from my reading of the final book, Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, Aramis is the only one of the four heroes whose death is not finally revealed. 

In summary--This was a fantastic translation and reading of Dumas' work.

_____

In my own writing, I'm still wrestling with a short story that I need to submit before the month is over. That's all I've got to say about that.