Interview with

Tiffani Collins

Author of The Traveler's Journal Series

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

I’m writing an epic fantasy series set in an alternate history universe where magic is not only real but as pervasive as technology is in our world. 

Actually, the story takes place in a whole series of alternate versions Earth strung together in what my main character, Danny, calls the Related Worlds.  She’s writing to Alice, who lives in our world, telling her all about her life as a Conduit, an individual with great capacity and affinity for magic that the rest of society uses to increase their own power – a kind of human familiar. 

The first book in the series was about how Danny managed to liberate herself from her very powerful family who were exploiting her terribly.  My second book, which I am about to release, is about her struggles to find a new home for herself and a base of operations as she sets out to free others like herself.  This second book was a lot of fun for me to write because I got to introduce everyone to the circus and all of the cool people who call that town-on-the-rails home.  This is the book where Danny really gets to start spreading her wings (figuratively and literally) to see just what she’s truly capable of

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

It’s more accurate to say that Ursula K. Le Guin’s story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, gave me a better grasp of the kind of story I was trying to tell.  I already knew Danny was going to be the kind of character others with few scruples would seek to exploit, but when my friend told me the story of Omelas, I could better articulate the moral I wanted readers to take away after reading Danny’s story.

Do you write in more than one genre?

At this time, I am focused on my fantasy series, but I once had a teacher in high school who said that if you studied history, you could study any other subject under the sun.  I would say something similar about fantasy. 

When you write fantasy, you can literally write every other genre out there under the same umbrella.  You can write a thriller, a mystery, a horror, a romance, historical fiction, western, you name it, and with a little magic cast about to smooth over any logistical or probability wrinkles you have an awesome fantasy story.  You can even have a book with a ton of science in it and still throw in a dash of magic, because in my opinion the two don’t cancel each other out and the magic helps fill in the chinks technology leaves in the plot. 

For instance, slapping a pair of wings on a human with a little ingenuity in a geneticist’s lab won’t make a girl and her friends capable of flying, but if you mix in a pound of magic, it’s no longer impossible to believe they can hide huge wings inside skin pouches on their backs.  This is probably the biggest reason I love fantasy over all of the other genres.  I have a much easier time of suspending my sense of disbelief so that I can properly enjoy the story’s narrative.

 

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

Hmm, well, I’d like to think that I’m traveling the road less traveled with my books in that several of my principal characters are people who have already come into their own and are dealing with the kinds of issues that are unique to powerful people.  Often, fiction stories are about underdogs or those who came from nothing and set on a hero’s epic journey that ends with them reaching legendary status.  I want to explore the stories of those who are already legendary.  What must it be like to have oodles of power but find yourself in situations where to take action would only cause greater problems?  Or to be in a position where all of your power is for naught and you have to rely in other skills you’ve never needed before because you had power from the beginning?  I want to play with characters who are some of the best at what they do and watch them do it with style and competence. 

I’m not saying these are new concepts.  Far from it.  I can give several examples of these kinds of characters and stories, but not so many that I would say they represent the majority or even large minority of stories out there.  So, I think for readers out there who like strong, competent, capable, clever characters, I can add a few more stories to the collection along with my own twists and ideas on them.

I also think I will stand out from most other stories out there because my main characters are asexual.  It’s not that I set out specifically to write novels that represent people like me, but to have characters wholly unconcerned with sexual attraction will offer a glimpse into the head od someone who wouldn’t even know how to begin using sexual appeal to get what they want, and is probably the least likely to fall for the wiles of those who do.  My stories have no real explicit focus on sexual orientation, but at the same time, I don’t think the vast majority of people consider how many of their day-to-day decisions revolve around and are shaped by the desire for romantic relationships.  For an asexual character, a lot of the reasons people do what they do or find themselves in all the drama and complicated relationships they do make absolutely no sense!  I’m taking the opportunity self-publishing offers to provide a viewpoint few novels let people see.

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

If I had to pick one thing—no wait, two things—that manifest in how I’ve developed my characters and their stories, I would have to say that I’ve projected my… determined independence… onto my characters.  Though I’m sure my friends and family would say another way to describe this is just plain stubborn contrariness.  The second thing that I’ve passed on is a kind of gallows humor positivity.  No matter how atrocious the situation seems, we can do this!  Yeah, it really, really, really sucks, but we WILL survive it and then we’ll have a great story to tell everyone about how we’re never doing it again!

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

That unless I die, I WILL complete this series and not leave everyone hanging, because I can’t stand it when a story stops on a cliffhanger or uncertain ending.  I promise that I will not get bored and move on to a shiny new project or chicken out when things get complicated.  I don’t even have to worry that some publisher’s editor pulling the plug on my series or that Amazon topples.  I believe in keeping my options open and not putting all of my eggs in one basket.  I have a do or die attitude when it comes to finishing what I start and a better late than never philosophy when it comes to life’s curveballs causing me delays.  Don’t worry readers, I won’t leave you hanging!

 

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

I love how this question implies that I consider my books underrate and that more people should read my stuff!  *G*  Never mind that it’s true!

But in all seriousness, I really do believe that S. A. Swiniarski is a deeply underrated author.  He wrote some of the greatest horror books I’ve ever read and one of his books, Raven, had a huge impact on my reading tastes and how I approach popular myths and legends in my own stories.  And yet I would be willing to bet my whole savings account that no one who reads this interview has ever heard of him.  It’s one of the greatest literary tragedies of our time!

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

   The first books in my series The Traveler’s Journal series, Reflections of a Runner.  I really love Nící and my Kitsüns, but if readers start with RoaR, and then get to the second book in the series they get to meet Nící and her crew in Reflections of a Tigress.  After that, if they want to know more about Nící’s past exploits, they can pick up Dark Wood, which I’ve tied to the series as a companion novel.

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

Honestly, I’d say that I’m still waiting for a break that launches my career.  I’ve been told again and again that my novels are good, so I don’t doubt my writing ability, but man, discoverability is a real challenge!

That said, I’ve actually really benefited by getting my books into the local libraries.  I’ve gotten sales I otherwise wouldn’t have by having my novels available for free in libraries.  A patron went out of their way to leave a note with my coworkers to tell me that she got halfway through my book and new she was going to want to read it again, so she bought a copy for herself—then a second copy for her daughter because she knew she would love it. 

I’m not too embarrassed to admit I nearly framed that yellow sticky-note!

 

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

“So, have you ever read Harry Dresden?!?”

I am a shameless fangirl of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and will joyously geek out with other obsessive Dresden nerds all day long.  Normally, I’m the one asking that question, so it would be fabulous if I met someone who blurted it out before I did.  That way, we could skip the descriptive introduction and get straight to placing bets on what all of Butcher’s dropped hints mean and what is coming next in the series.

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

Ooooo!  I love quotes!  There’re so many!  I could go on and on about all the quotes I love, but because this is an author’s interview, I’ll go with the quote pertaining to writers that always makes me grin and which pretty much sums up my whole philosophy and approach to the storytelling art.

“Good writers borrow from other writers.  Great writers steal from them outright.”

— Aaron Sorkin

Which is funny, because he was robbing T. S. Elliot blind, who said “Good writers borrow, great writers steal.”

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Thanks to Tiffani for participating.

In my own writing this week (I'm working on a free prequel to my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series), I've been telling the story of two prominent characters. I'm going to include an Interlude between the commander's backstory, and Lucette's adventure. The latter brings both characters to the opening of Book One of the series. The Interlude will feature a particularly cruel and colorful dragon who doesn't join the main adventure until Book Two in the series. Except for the Interlude, the prequel is almost complete.

 

Once in a while I'll stumble across a show that has all the ingredients for an effective and entertaining story, only to have the story fall apart completely, and become entertaining for all the wrong reasons. This week, or maybe last week, my wife and I discovered a glistening little gem on Netflix that held a Pandora's box of awfulness. One trope after another punched the viewer with giant, clown boxing gloves, delivered with all the finesse of a drunk tap-dancer with his shoelaces tied together.

This PG or PG-13 movie purported to be a mystery based upon a book written by a famous mystery author. The story line goes like this: Famous mystery writer goes to see her sister. The sister has always played second fiddle to mystery writer. Sister is now a high school teacher who hides a secret life as an online d*****trix. Said life consists of dressing in leather and masks while cracking a whip and shouting, "Say it!" Sister is also initiating a custody battle, now that she has her life back together. She has gathered info on her ex that implicates him in some serious white collar crime. 

Mystery writer meets next door neighbor, a police detective who recently solved a well-known case. Detective also has at least one of writer's books, and he's in the middle of a home remodel. There is an instant connection between detective and writer--at least in the script--but the chemistry between them seems more like that of oil and water. Not to worry, writer will dominate him--and absolutely everyone else in the show--before...well, let me explain the rest of the setup.

Sister is murdered after completing one of her special online sessions while writer is over at detective's house. Writer enters moments after the crime. She finds the body, apparently makes sure that sister is dead, and then stumbles down the stairs and out of the house to collapse in a blubbering heap, crying that her sister is dead. Detective sees her and goes to the body. Writer follows and suggests that sister may still be alive--which seems weird after moments earlier having declared her dead. Sister is not alive.

Now that we've seen how the mystery writer--who is well steeped in crime and murder--has a soft and vulnerable side, she becomes the d'trix for the rest of the movie. She dominates absolutely everybody. She is better at everyone else's job than the actual professionals. One of the first people she dominates (after the detective) is detective's boss. Of all the people in this movie, I felt the worst for detective's boss. She's a strong woman (as are all the women in this show--only the men are weak and pliable things) who is the master of her department. She objects to mystery writer's involvement until writer explains that she has keen insight into the criminal mind. Boss immediately caves. From that point on, boss' only function is to tell everyone else that she agrees with mystery writer. Boss has completely lost the ability to form independent thought; she can only parrot the thoughts of mystery writer.

The boss of the online company for which sister did her whip and leather lessons is also headed by a strong woman. Only she and two weak men have access to the database of the identities of the d'trixes. As you might guess, one of those weak men has spilled some information to  his cousin who works at the school where sister taught. One or two other online ladies are killed in a fashion similar to how the sister was killed. Another escaped death and wounded the attacker's arm.

It's during the investigation that we see two important things: First, either the author of the book, or whoever did the adaptation for the movie has an uncanny ability to write bland and uninteresting dialogue. I mean, third graders write better dialog than what goes on in this stain on celluloid. Second, neither the detective nor anyone else knows how to interview witnesses or suspects (nor are they able to get search warrants). After some quick questions by the trained professionals that get nowhere, mystery writer swoops in to understand and dominate the interviewee. She asks the one question that gets the vital information. She does everything but say, "Step back boys, and let me show you how it's supposed to be done." In all fairness, this isn't all that unusual in the mystery genre. The amateur may followup with some insightful questioning that the professional didn't do. In this case, the professionals are particularly inept, and there's an implied, "Look at me!" or trumpet fanfare after each interview. The execution of the trope in this show is among the most maladroit I have seen.

Another strong woman we get to meet is a senator. She may be the only woman who is almost as bad as sister's ex. Sister's ex is of course the prime suspect, and writer is insistent that he is the killer for a while. No one watching the movie will fall into the "the ex did it" trap. It really comes down to two suspects. My wife picked the killer right off. I suspected the other suspect at first, until I found out about the senator. All the pieces came together then, but the fake suspect did show up with a wound on his arm to lend credence to my initial hypothesis. However, he had another secret which absolves him of any sin in the eyes of modern Hollywood.

Finally--and we all saw this coming from the opening--mystery writer must don the leather to lure the killer into a trap. I almost forgot: Along the way, writer also got to punch sister's ex in the face--because that's what strong women do; they dominate everyone in every way. So anyway, she's doing the domination thing online. The cops manning the trap think they've already got the perp, and abandon the trap. As we knew would happen, the murderer thus catches writer alone. They do the fightey-fight with writer still leathered-up. Detective rides in on his Shetland pony to prove that although he is incapable, in spite of his training and experience, of asking meaningful questions, investigating, or carrying on any sort of interesting conversation, he can shoot. He does, and there's another body for the meat wagon. Case closed.

I may have ruined the plot for you, but it is secondary to the box of unintentional horrors that constitutes this movie. Besides, I'm not going to give you the name of the thing. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about--you're nodding in agreement as you laugh about having wasted more than an hour on the thing. If you haven't seen it, once you've hit play, you'll find yourself in the Vietnam of  movies. You know you should stop and back away, but you can't seem to do it. There's always another trope stumbling at you in grotesque face paint and sequins. It's one train wreck after another. It's like watching NASCAR with a massive pileup on every lap. I have to stop before my similes and metaphors rise up and stage a coup.

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In lighter news, the two boys to whom I used to refer as RC and K-man were here today. I say "used to," because I've settled on new nicknames for these Corsican brothers: Moss and Roy. If you know these two, and know the reference, you'll know who is who.

The highlight of the get together was the war of the dinosaurs. We made up a game which pitted a jug of plastic dinosaurs against one another. Each side had ten or fifteen terrible lizards and one super dino. Roy had the gigantic T-Rex. Moss had the ptremendous pterodactyl. Also, we had artillery. Don't ask me to explain it. We just wanted to throw balls at dinosaurs. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures. 

Moss started the game with artillery fire. Roy advanced his lizards. Roy had good luck with the ground attack, inflicting heavy casualties on his advance up the center and on the flanks. He said that's what you had to do. You had to have a center and two flanks. Moss did some damage with artillery attacks, but not much. Roy's attempts at artillery attacks were less effective. Moss finally sent ptremendous pterodactyl into the breach. He cleared a path up the center. Roy brought monster Rex up to counter. It all came down to the battle of the behemoths. They decided that for a battle this important and with such massive foes, the fight should have three rounds. Moss won the first round. Roy won the second. The third ended with Moss taking the two dino-kings and showing the animation of the fight which resulted in the pterodactyl smiting the ruin of the T-Rex upon the carpet in both fast and super slo-mo action. It was a fun time.

 

Author Interview with

Katharine Wibell

Author of The Guardian's Speaker, The Djed Chronicles, The Incarn Saga, and more

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

I am currently working on further installments of my Viking novella series, The Guardian’s Speaker. The series is based on Norse mythology, and readers will get to explore the nine worlds located in and around Yggdrasil, the world tree, as well as meet a vast number of beasts and beings from that mythos.

The first novella begins with Líf Lothbransdottir. Though she is the sibling of two of the most elite warriors in her village, she is a rather meek and solitary young woman. This is due to the fact that she was born with the ability to see and communicate with each person’s fylgja, an animal-shaped guardian spirit. Líf has grown accustomed to being treated as an outcast and even come to accept her life. That is until she meets another with a similar gift who brings a warning that all humanity is at risk of destruction. Only he can stop this calamity. The problem is that he is a slave, and he is not hers to free.

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

I have always been fascinated with mythology of all sorts. I developed the idea for this series after learning about the four parts of self which people during the Viking era believed. This included the fylgja, an individual animal guardian spirit associated with each person. I knew I had to write about these strange entities.

Do you write in more than one genre?

All my books and series so far are epic, high fantasy though I do span multiple age brackets from young adult through adult literature.

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

My answer is twofold. First, I love to pull from the source materials of world mythologies. From them, I like to reintroduce creatures and beings that have all but been forgotten as well as depict more readily known entities in fresh and novel ways.

Secondly, I do like to subtly open a dialogue regarding various inequalities whether sexism, racism, or religious persecution. These concepts can make even the most fantastical story relatable and “real”.

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

I love to write about physically strong and spunky women. Although these characters are not always the main heroine, I cannot help but relate to that sort of archetypal being since I am an advocate of fitness and medieval style weapons training.

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

I do adjust the level of grit and darker material based on the intended age of the reader.. My young adult series, The Djed Chronicles, is meant to be a fun adventure fantasy, but my new adult and adult books can get rather dark. Be warned, I am not afraid to kill off my characters.

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

I primarily read ancient epic poetry and prose—the source material for mythologies. With that said, it is very hard for me to answer your question at this point. One of my favorite books is the Poetic Edda which focuses on Nordic mythology.

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

This is like asking someone to pick their favorite child. I am more inclined to recommend the first book of one of my series based on one’s age bracket. Today, I will select The Guardian’s Speaker series since we talked about it earlier. Volume One was a recent finalist for the 2021 International Book Awards for Fiction Novellas. If you enjoy darker adult fantasy, Vikings, or mythology in general, this book and series is for you.

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

There are several fortuitous events, but going back to the beginning, getting advice from another indie author, Tarrant Smith, just as I was just starting to figure everything out was a lifesaver. She walked me though the self-publishing process and even Beta read my initial book. I would have been at a loss of what to do without her encouragement.

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

What is my favorite mythical animal? Ha-ha! That would be the dragon. Fun fact: One of my majors in college was fine art. The theme of my solo art show was the history of the dragon!

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

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour”

--- William Blake

That quote has always given me the shivers. It is both elegant and thought provoking.

You can check out Katharine's books here.

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Thanks to Katharine for participating. Her website looks great.

This week someone told me that they loved the first line of The Shrinking Zone. Other's have told me that they were hooked from the first line. You can check it out here. I also received a fabulous review for The Shrinking Zone earlier in the month. I'll share it in my newsletter. You can subscribe here.

If dragons and magic are more your thing, you'll want to dive into my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire series.

Click here to start the series.

 Klingons in Distress

Uhura turned in her chair to better address the captain. "Distress call, sir. It's Klingon. They report that they have been seized by a beam from planet Cestus VI. Their ship is breaking up."

"Beyond sensor range," Spock said, anticipating Kirk's question. "Intelligence on Klingon positions indicates a single ship, a Klingon battle cruiser in the system."

"I'm not picking up any responses to the distress signal, Klingon or otherwise," Uhura said.

"Mr. Sulu, set a course for Cestus VI."

The distress signal ended abruptly. Scanners located debris in orbit. Spock indicated that the debris was consistent with that of a Klingon battle cruiser. Immediately thereafter, the Enterprise was seized in a tractor beam from the surface. Kirk and a landing party beamed down to the surface of the class M planet to check out the source of the tractor beam. 

If the power source is not disabled, the Enterprise will be destroyed by the power of the tractor beam.

When Kirk, Scotty, McCoy, and Chekov materialize, they find that their weapons, tricorder, and communicators have issues. None of the communicators work. Only Chekov’s phaser works. The tricorder does not work.

Also on the surface is a party of Klingons who were stranded when they beamed down before their ship was destroyed in a tractor beam. When they see the Enterprise crew, they believe the Enterprise destroyed their ship with some Federation secret weapon. The Klingon equipment also has  problems. Only one of the disruptors is working. They are led by Captain Kor.

Both Klingons and Federation teams begin searching the ruins. Six, low buildings in various states of disrepair surround a large square. A line of pillars runs down the center of the square. Two large patches of brush and low trees have also grown up in the square.

Chekov runs across the broad square toward a taller building with weird designs around the doorway. Kirk moves into the closest building where he locates a piece of alien technology which shocks him and knocks him out when he touches it. Scotty has gone to the next building beyond Kirk. McCoy goes in to help Kirk.

Meanwhile Klingons crewmen entered two buildings. One of the buildings had a pair of swords which were seized. Kor saw Chekov and Scotty. He had his man with the working disruptor toss it to him. Scotty sees Kor but is distracted by something in the building. While Scotty hesitates, Kor scores a direct hit, killing the engineer. 

Things don't look good for the Enterprise. The pressure on the hull is increasing, and Uhura lost contact with the landing party as soon as they beamed down.

McCoy revives Kirk. The determined captain rushes out to see Kor firing at Chekov. He isn't close enough to speak to Kor, but he does yell at him. Kor responds via distruptor and Kirk adds a minor wound from the disruptor graze. Kirk takes cover inside the building to discover Scotty's dead body and a wall of strange designs with a board of buttons, lights and controls. Writing in an unknown script is scattered about the control board and wall. Chekov takes out one Klingon. He and Kor trade shots; each takes a light wound. Chekov is cornered. McCoy is trying to get his tricorder to work. (That figure on the far left that looks like Mirror Universe Kirk with a sword is actually a Klingon suffering from a wardrobe malfunction).

While Chekov ducks back inside the building across the square to avoid Kor's distruptor fire, Kirk begins working the alien board. He's trying to make sense of the controls, to find a pattern, a clue to deactivating the destructive beam that holds Enterprise.

Chekov peeks around the corner. He exchanges shots with the Klingon captain, wounding Kor a second time, and driving him into cover. 

Kirk thinks he has it figured out, but a Klingon with a sword is rushing toward his location. If Kirk gets interrupted, he'll have to start all over. The Enterprise may not have time for Kirk to begin the deactivation process anew.

In the nick of time, (a really big nick, actually) Kirk completes the sequence before the Klingon attacker arrives. The communications are no longer jammed. He signals the ship to have them lock onto the himself and Scotty, as well as Chekov and McCoy. 

The game play was very smooth. It gave a great sense of action happening all over and very rapidly. If this was an episode, it would've only been a few minutes long, excluding the hook. Ideally, Kirk would have tried to convince Kor that they needed to work together. Kor saw the Enterprise crew before they saw the Klingons, and Kor's proclivity for shooting first and getting details later deprived Kirk of an opportunity to close to diplomacy distance to try his persuasive abilities. Chekov wasn't about to opt for an attempt at diplomacy while Kor was following Klingon policy of negotiating from a position strength--over the dead bodies of his perceived enemies.

The Enterprise was set to go all tin can beneath the semi-truck tire when the damaged/timer reached 100. Kirk deactivated the beam at 68, so there were a few turns left.

Interesting side note both casualties were redshirts: Scotty, and the Klingon who was being played by an unnamed redshirt because of a lack of Klingon figures for the game.

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The Tomahawks and Dragon Fire prequel--which may be called Crimson Tempest, or not--advanced significantly this week. I had hoped to finish by the end of March, but the new target for completion is the end of April. Leave me a note if you're interested in being an advance reader.