In the Writer’s Chair

Book Launch! Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition

Big news folks!

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of my newest book — a re-imagined version of my debut novel Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition.

Below is a Q&A with publisher Crazy 8 Press to talk all about it!

Nearly a decade after making his debut, author and Crazy 8 Press member Russ Colchamiro has gone back to the beginning with a new and updated version of his first novel, the wild scifi backpacking comedy Finders Keepers.  Finders Keepers Definitive Edition Front Cover

Crazy 8 Press: Finders Keepers is one of the novels you are most known for. What inspired you to issue The Definitive Edition?

Russ Colchamiro: Haha fair enough! When I first published Finders Keepers back in 2010, it was intended to be a stand-alone tale of cosmic lunacy in the vein of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, with a complete, self-contained story I very much wanted to tell—and in the way that I wanted to tell it.

But when I expanded the adventures into a three-book series, which include the sequels Genius de Milo and Astropalooza, I wanted the first book to more closely match the tone, pacing, length, and style of books two and three, so the entire series feels more cohesive.

C8P: Makes sense! What’s different about the new version?

Russ: Looking back on the original Finders Keepers, there were elements I wanted to change. Passages that needed to be cut, sections that could easily be combined, and a few character traits I wanted to approach with a bit more nuance, especially as the original was a bit rough and raunchy in places.

Maybe this updated version is me showing my age (or maturity or a few bumps on the head!), but I came to accept that some of the more raucous, sex comedy elements in the original might be distracting from the rest of the story (consider the original the Raw and Uncensored edition!).

C8P: New readers won’t notice any changes, but what about for fans of the original?

Russ: First off, for anyone who read and loved the original and thinks, “Whoa! Dude! What gives? We love Finders Keepers the way it is” … you’re awesome! But have no fear! This new version contains the same plot, the same adventure, and the same characters … only with far fewer f-bombs and naughty passages.

It also comes in at a lean 81,000 words, down from nearly 95,000. (Yup. I killed my darlings. Lot’s of ’em.)

C8P: Whew! Sounds great! For those who haven’t read Finders Keepers… what’s it about?

Russ: Finders Keepers is still about our bumbling backpackers Jason Medley and Theo Barnes, two guys in their early 20s from opposite ends of the Earth, caught in that netherworld between college and a career, zig-zagging Europe and New Zealand to have one last hurrah before they have to… blarg!… become responsible adults.

And while they’re out there, find a way to get the girl, discover the meaning of life, and, of course, save the universe, whether they realize they’re doing it or not.

RussC8P: You’re calling this the Definitive Edition. Does that mean…?

Russ: Yup. This is it! No more versions. No more tweaks. And it’s got a snazzy new cover from my go-to cover man Roy Mauritsen.  

C8P: Thanks, Russ! Where can folks pick up Finders Keepers: The Definitive Version – and the entire series?

A: Sure thing! You can find Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo and Astropalooza here on the Crazy 8 Press site. They’re also available through various online channels, including but not limited to Amazon and Barnes & Noble .

***

Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space opera, Crossline, the outrageous SF/F backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, and is editor of the SF anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.

Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, Altered States of the Union, Camelot 13, TV Gods 2, They Keep Killing Glenn, and Brave New Girls.

He is now working on three collaborative novella projects and the first full-length novel featuring his hardboiled intergalactic private eye Angela Hardwicke.

For more on Russ and his books, visit www.russcolchamiro.com, follow him on Twitter and Instagram @AuthorDudeRuss, and ‘like’ his Facebook author page www.facebook.com/RussColchamiroAuthor.

Russ is repped by The Zack Compnay.

 

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Russ Colchamiro, Author – CROSSLINE

Thanks to author Joyce Strand, who graciously requested this interview about my life as an author, and in particular about my novel CROSSLINE. This Q&A was conducted via email.

http://strandssimplytips.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 18, 2017

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: Russ Colchamiro, Author


Colchamiro has also written the Finders Keepers sci-fi comedy series, including,FINDERS KEEPERS, GENIUS DE MILO, and ASTROPALOOZA.
He is a contributing editor to a new science-fiction anthology, LOVE, MURDER AND MAYHEM, which he plans to release in July. He currently lives in New Jersey with his family, including his twin children (girl and boy.)Russ Colchamiro strives to write books that his readers “can’t wait to finish.” Readers of his science fiction novel, CROSSLINE, say the book isa good old fashioned yarn with just the right touch of action, humor and a few nice twists thrown in.” Colchamiro is drawn to science fiction because of the scope and breadth it gives to his imagination. He approaches his characters in depth to understand their motivations. Although he focuses on giving the reader a “fun ride”, he also offers thin layers of his own beliefs.

Q: What draws you to write science fiction?

Russ Colchamiro: Regardless of the genre, my goal is to write a great, compelling story that readers can’t wait to finish, so the fundamentals always need to be there—plot, characters, pacing, etc. Given that, science fiction allows me to dream as big as I want, or take the characters—and thus the readers—on a journey that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Within these wild pulp adventures, I like to juxtapose the big, epic questions (What does it all mean? Is life itself random? Is there a grand design? Where do I fit in?) with the ‘smaller’ struggles of everyday life.

So even though the characters may be on some kind of intergalactic quest, or in a ‘foreign’ land (that happens to exist in another quadrant of time and space), the struggles they face are all too human. Love, guilt, fear, joy, passion, loyalty, family, sex, desire, and so on. And if they happen to be facing off against a galactic threat, all the better. When you sit down to read, I want the edges of each page to melt away.

Q: Reviewers say that in CROSSLINE your “Characters felt like people I knew from my own life.” When writing science fiction, how do your approach your characters? Are they bigger-than-life resembling super-heroes? Or are they, as reviewers suggest, “people I knew?”

Russ Colchamiro: My process is to climb inside the hearts and minds of every character I write, whether they are the protagonists, antagonists, or supporting players, and do my best to understand their motivations, so that I can deliver intimate character studies within the grand adventure. Whether ‘everyday people’ or more flamboyant personalities (my cast of players include lots of both) I want each one—male, female, young, old—to feel real and grounded within the confines of the narrative … quirks, contradictions, and all, even down to their speech patterns and cadence. Some characters are loosely based on people I know (or knew), others are amalgams, with the rest pure invention, reflecting various elements of my own personality.

Q: Reviewers also say CROSSLINE is a “Solid blending of science fiction and satire” and “Just the right touch of action, humor and a few nice twists thrown in. It never takes itself too seriously while still grabbing you by the shirt.” How useful was humor to tell your story?

Russ Colchamiro: Humor appears in all of my novels. It’s a natural element of my writing style. But there’s a distinction between sprinkling humor within the narrative, and writing an all-out comedy, which I have certainly done with the FINDERS KEEPERStrilogy. CROSSLINE has its humorous moments for sure, but it’s not a comedy, per se. It’s action/adventure/mystery, with my usual time-bending shenanigans and humor woven in.

Q: Did you write CROSSLINE primarily to entertain your readers or did you embed a few messages or themes along the way?

Russ Colchamiro: Both. I approach each book with a sense of fun, wonder, and adventure, with my hope that readers will come away feeling like they were taken on a wild, unforgettable ride. But underneath the surface of the pulpy SciFi tale I embed elements that are important to me and shape my own worldview—philosophy, history, mysticism, mythology, meditation, and transcendentalism. These elements are prevalent in my novels. But nothing too preachy. I want the readers to have a blast!

Q: How did you create credibility for readers as they explored parallel universes, time travel, and an altered Earth?

Russ Colchamiro: As long as you explain the ‘rules’ of each of these worlds, and stay consistent within them, the credibility is there. I try to include enough details and world building so that readers can say, “ah, okay, I get where I am and how this all works. I’m good.” If that happens, the narrative and characters are free to go wherever the story takes them.

Q: Does the concept of “hero versus villain” apply to CROSSLINE? What makes a compelling villain?

Russ Colchamiro: My novels tend to be far less about ‘hero versus villain’ and more about the hero’s journey. In CROSSLINE, our ‘hero’ Marcus Powell is testing experimental warp thrusters, when (for reasons I won’t spoil here) he’s forced through a wormhole and into a parallel Earth, drawn into a battle he may actually have been destined for all along. He desperately wants to get back to his wife and young daughter, but the needs of the characters he meets on the ‘other Earth’ overtly conflict with his desire to get home.

Meanwhile, on our Earth, 90-year-old Harlan “Buddy” Rheams Jr.—the CEO of the private space corporation that launched Powell’s flight—may or may not have Powell’s best interests in mind.

There are some villainous characters in CROSSLINE for sure, and others more heroic, but I’m far more interested in characters that come to question their motivations, navigate the often confusing and ambiguous choices they face, then have to make decisions, and live with the consequences.

Q: How do you use your settings or worlds to propel the story?  Do they help to evolve your characters?

Russ Colchamiro: Both instinctively and by design I write each story like a mystery. Reveal, conceal, reveal again. Investigate, falter, discover, investigate again. The worlds in some cases are additional characters, with the journey to and from those worlds essential to the narrative.

The characters often find themselves unexpectedly thrust into new environments, having to discover and navigate them. Then—on their ‘heroes journey’ so richly described by Joseph Campbell in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”—by hook or by crook figure out how, when, and why they really need or want to get back home, and if that’s even possible. And even if they do make it back, it’s unlikely they’ll be the same as when they left. That’s certainly the case with CROSSLINE.

Powell’s emersion in the ‘other Earth’ tests him in ways he never even considered. Most of the other characters also get their own arcs. Among others, Powell gets involved with a trigger happy rebel leader who reminds him of his wife, a pot-smoking shaman, a crafty pie-maker, and a weary solider who hates his guts. Some pass those tests. Some fail. Some do both.

Q: What’s next? Will we see more science fiction novels from you?

Russ Colchamiro: Yes! In July I’ll be launching LOVE, MURDER & MAYEHM, a science fiction-themed anthology from Crazy 8 Press, with 15 authors in total. I serve as the editor, and am contributing a story of my own. Each story contains at least one element of love or romance, at least one murder, and lots of mayhem, all in various, unrelated settings.

We have superhero and supervillain stories. We have artificial intelligence, off-world, and space cruiser stories. We also have dream surrogates, private eyes, an aliens vs. monsters showdown, and one DuckBob!

Some tales are wacky, some darker, and others pure fun. Mine is a private eye tale, with the PI—Angelica Hardwicke—written in that classic Sam Spade style, pinstripe suit, fedora, and all. I’m diving pretty deep into the mystery arena these days as both a reader and an author, so this collection was loads of fun to pull together.

Q: Tell us about Russ Colchamiro. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Russ Colchamiro: Ha. I’m a New York City transplant now living in northern New Jersey, married with twins—my ninjas, a boy and a girl, nearly seven. So between my family, my crazy dog Simon, my books, and my full-time day job as a real estate media specialist in NYC, it doesn’t leave room for much else! But I’m a lifelong baseball junkie, and gobble up fiction in whatever form I can, whenever I can. I’m actually watching The Flash on Netflix with my kids. They absolutely love it. Oh, yeah. Occasionally I sleep!

About Russ Colchamiro

Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure, CROSSLINE, the hilarious sci-fi backpacking comedy series, FINDERS KEEPERS, GENIUS DE MILO, and ASTROPALOOZA, and is editor of the new anthology, Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.

Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, and Altered States of the Union, and TV Gods 2. He is now at work on a top-secret project, and a Finders Keepers spin-off.

As a matter of full disclosure, readers should not be surprised if Russ spontaneously teleports in a blast of white light followed by screaming fluorescent color and the feeling of being sucked through a tornado. It’s just how he gets around — windier than the bus, for sure, but much quicker.

About CROSSLINE

In the spirit of Firefly, Flash Gordon, Stargate, and Escape from New York

Hotdog pilot Marcus Powell has been selected to test Taurus Enterprises’ Crossline prototype craft and its newly developed warp thrusters, which, if successful, will revolutionize space travel as we know it.

But during his jaunt across the stars, Powell is forced into a parallel universe — including a parallel Earth — where he finds himself at the center of an epic battle he may have been destined for all along.

Meanwhile, back home, reclusive oil tycoon and Taurus CEO Buddy Rheams Jr. — who sent Powell on that very mission — has a mysterious past and a secret agenda, one that could prevent Powell from ever making it back to his wife and little girl.

From author Russ Colchamiro, CROSSLINE is a psychedelic, action-packed romp across time, space, and dimension that asks the question: once you cross the line, can you ever really go back?

Cover Reveal – Love, Murder & Mayhem – New SciFi Anthology

COVER REVEAL: LOVE, MURDER & MAYHEM

In addition to my own stand-alone novels, I’m also serving as editor for a new anthology with my guys at Crazy 8 Press. Here’s the cover!

At long last we are thrilled to present here the official cover for our new scifi-themed Love, Murder & Mayhem anthology coming out in July, debuting at Shore Leave in Cockeysville, MD.

As always, our pal and cover designer extraordinaire Roy Mauritsen did a fantastic job on the cover, with the collection featuring stories from an all-star author lineup including Aaron Rosenberg, Robert Greenberger, Michael Jan Friedman, Peter David, Paul Kupperberg, Glenn Hauman, Mary Fan, Hildy Silverman, Meriah Crawford, Kelly Meding, Paige Daniels, Karissa Laurel, Patrick Thomas, Lois Spangler, and editor Russ Colchamiro.

In this great collection you’ll get 15 stand-alone stories, including those featuring superheroes, super villains, A.I., off-world, space cruisers, private eyes, a monster mash and … one DuckBob!

This blog was originally posted on the Crazy 8 Press web site – http://www.crazy8press.com/2017/04/18/cover-reveal-love-murder-mayhem/

The Russ Colchamiro Astropalooza Interview – Self Publisher’s Showcase

The Russ Colchamiro Astropalooza Interview

Russ Interview

Self-Publisher’s Showcase: Today we are joined by Russ Colchamiro, author of the Finders Keepers science fiction comedy series, which includes Finders Keepers, Genius De Milo, and his newest book—the final in the trilogy—Astropalooza. Welcome to the Showcase Lounge, Russ

RC: Thanks, guys!

SPS: For any of our readers that haven’t come across the Finders Keepers trilogy previously, can you take a moment to tell us all a little about the story leading up to the release of Astropalooza, the final part of the trilogy?

RC: Sure. The first book in the series – Finders Keepers – is loosely based on a series of backpacking trips I took through Europe and New Zealand, set against the quest for a jar that contains the Universe’s DNA. Think Bill & Ted meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

So you have these two knuckleheads – Jason Medley, from New Yok, and Theo Barnes, from Auckland, New Zealand, who are on their last hurrah – after college – but before they have to pay rent and be responsible adults! So while they’re backpacking, their biggest worries are … can I get the cute girl? Can I make my train to Amsterdam? I’m hung over … again. Meanwhile, the fate of the galaxy is hanging in the balance, and they’re at the center of it, with characters from Earth and the Cosmos hunting them down, to claim this jar of the Universe’s DNA, which, if opened prematurely, could dissolved the Milky Way. Only, the guys don’t realize it, and you do, so as the reader, you’re in the joke, and they’re not.

In Genius de Milo … Milo, the Universe’s Great Disruptor – essentially, the Universe’s gremlin – squares off against the Minder of the Universe, essentially, the God the character. They are Cosmic foils basically battling for the status of the Universe.

In any case, Milo seems to have initiated the end of the Milky Way, and possibly worse. Only this time our bumbling backpackers are trekking across America to once again retrieve that jar that keeps causing trouble. But in both books, every time the guys think they have saved the day, their ‘solution’ actually makes things much much worse! LOL! Which takes us to Astropalooza.

SPS:  Was it always your intention to write the story as a trilogy?

RC: Ha! No! LOL! When I wrote Finders Keepers, it was a stand-alone adventure. I had a very specific story I wanted to tell, and tell it in a very specific way. But I intentionally gave it an open ending, because deep down I suspected there was a lot more story.

SPS: How far through the series did you plan? Have you always known the eventual outcome?

RC: After Finders Keepers, I took time away from those characters to start an entirely different novel, Crossline, which is an action adventure in the spirit of Firefly, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Farscape, and Escape from New York. Our space pilot hero, Marcus Powell, while testing experimental warp thrusters, is forced through a wormhole and into a parallel Earth, and gets roped into this wild scenario that actually links back to his home Earth, where the CEO of the private space program that launched that flight through the wormhole has his own motivations … and not necessarily to Powell’s benefit. It was loads of fun, and got tremendous reviews.

But as I was writing Crossline I had that classic a-ha moment where I suddenly knew the basic concept for the Finders Keepers sequel, which became Genius de Milo. I knew then that I was going to tell a trilogy. About half-way through Genius de Milo, I worked out the conclusion to the entire series, including where every character would end up. That allowed me to write Genius de Milo with a lot more confidence and assertiveness, because not only was I telling a self-contained story for that book, but I was laying the groundwork in a very specific way leading up to the third and final book in the series, which became Astropalooza.

SPS: Would you say that your writing style has progressed through the trilogy?

RC: No doubt. In Finders Keepers, there’s a definite frenetic, madcap energy to it which I absolutely love, whereas with the next two books the tone and feel are more similar, my writing more confident and expansive (IMHO) as the books progress.

SPS: Was there anything you wished you’d done differently in the first two books when it came to writing the third?

RC: I’m extremely proud of Finders Keepers, especially given that it was my first book. But sure, there are a few things I would have changed if I knew then what I know now. Kinda like life! Ha! But live and learn, huh?

SPS: What can we expect from this final part of the trilogy?

RC: With the conclusion of the second book, Genius de Milo, which I saw in my mind’s eye from the very first moment I wanted to write that book, the guys do again ‘save the day,’ only this time they have inadvertently set in motion the next Big Bang. So in Astropalooza we have these two huge energy waves of the Universe’s DNA barrelling across the Universe towards each other.

Whereas the first two books are split between Earth and the Cosmos, Astropalooza is set almost entirely in the cosmic realm, where the guys have to stop these energy waves from crashing into one another before the start of Astropalooza, a celebration of the Universe itself. The stakes are as high as they can possibly be, yet the characters all still get their own intimate, personal arc, once again juxtaposing the big with the small. And then there’s the whole ‘saving the Universe’ thing going on!

SPS: What do you think a reader will take away from reading the whole trilogy?

RC: My hope is that readers say, “Wow, that was loads of fun! That was crazy!” But also as they stop and think about it, they realize that the narrative actually ruminates on the nature of the Universe, asking the big questions, and maybe challenging you a bit to think about what’s really most important to you. It’s a theme that runs through all of my books. I read a lot about philosophy, mythology, and world history in my personal time, and those ideas filter into my writing.

SPS: Was it hard letting go of the characters, or have you left any scope to ever revisit the characters or ‘universe’ again in the future?

RC: I’m still so deep into the marketing phase that I really haven’t let go! Plus … I’m working on a spin-off series, based on the Angela Hardwick private eye character I introduce briefly in Genius de Milo and who has a larger role in Astropalooza. Now she’s getting the ‘star’ treatment!  Her stories will mostly include new characters, but the ‘world’ I’ve created is very much a part of the Finders Keepers universe. It’s loads of fun. My hope is to write several Hardwicke books, all in that classic Same Spade style, only … with my usual scifi slant to it. In fact, Hardwicke will be appearing in a short story I just wrote for an upcoming anthology I’m editing – Love, Murder, & Mayhem – which will be out through Crazy 8 Press in July.

SPS: Would you say Jason and Theo have grown, as the series comes to a head, or are they the same two guys we meet at the start of Finders Keepers (Book One)?

RC: Ha! They both go through incredible journeys. I can tell you that their relationships with each other, everyone they know, and even themselves, looks in some ways like it always did, but other ways does not even resemble their lives from how they started.

SPS: How easy do you find it to write the comedy aspects of your work?

RC: My writing style is naturally to lean towards humor, although I find there’s a big distinction between ‘fun’ and ‘funny’. Fun leads to a smile on your face, while funny has you laughing out loud. They are part of the same family, but not the same, although they often go hand in hand.

SPS: If you could give one reason for someone to pick up the trilogy and read, what would it be?

RC: You’ll have a wild time you’ll never forget!

SPS: Thank you for joining us today, and all the best for the future.

RC: Thanks! Had a great time.

SPS: For more information on Russ and the trilogy, please do visit www.russcolchamiro.com, follow him on Twitter @AuthorDudeRuss, and ‘like’ his Facebook author page www.facebook.com/RussColchamiroAuthor. His books are also available for sale through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

​And enjoy the FINDERS KEEPERS book trailer: http://bit.ly/16SNh8Q

Russ’s Blog – Welcome to Astropalooza!

Welcome to Astropalooza!

There’s a tendency among us humans to exaggerate. Just a wee bit.

Things like … I’ve been doing this half my life!

Yet in my case … in this particular case … it happens to be true.

ASTROPALOOZA is not just my newest novel. It’s also the third and final entry in my SciFi backpacking comedy series, which started with FINDERS KEEPERS, continued with GENIUS DE MILO, and now concludes with ASTROPALOOZA.

I have to say … whew! What a journey it’s been.

For the uninitiated … FINDERS KEEPERS is loosely based on a series of backpacking trips I personally took through Europe and New Zealand, set against a jar that contains the Universe’s DNA.

When we first start our gonzo tale … bumbling backpackers Jason Medley (from New York) and Theo Barnes (from Auckland, New Zealand) meet in Europe and become fast friends. Their biggest worries include … can I get the hot girl? Can I make my train to Amsterdam? I’m hung over … again.

Meanwhile, as they fret over their ability to pay off student loans and eventually become full-fledged adults … the galaxy is about to be wiped out of existence as a motley crew — from Earth and a galactic realm — chase down that missing jar of the Universe’s DNA, because they all think the boys have it.

Our heroes are at the center of the action only … they don’t know it. So as the reader you’re in on the joke … and they’re not.

Throughout FINDERS KEEPERS, GENIUS DE MILO, and now ASTROPALOOZA, the boys somehow stumble their way into saving the Universe, only … every ass backwards solution they come up with sets in motion an even bigger, more complicated problem.

And so it goes, raising the stakes with each new adventure.

In ASTROPALOOZA, there are two massive energy waves barreling towards one another, and if they collide in space before the boys save the day one last time, the waves’ll smash together, initiating the next Big Bang, wiping out Existence as we know it.

Which brings me back to the beginning.

I took my first backpacking trip to Europe back in 1994. This was at a time in the world where, if you were stranded in the middle of Romania in the dead of night with a crazed, drunken madman on the loose with armed soldiers about to knock on the door — which in fact happened to me — you couldn’t Google where to go next because … there was no Google. There was no Internet.

You had to rely on guide books, whatever knowledge you could pick up, people you met along the way … and your ability to adjust on the fly.

Since then I’ve been around the world and back, including New Zealand, which motivated a lot of the action in these three books.

I’m almost 46 now. Yet I’ve been living, thinking, and writing about these guys and their adventures for the past 23 years.

Half my life.

It’s a symphony of emotions to have spent so much time and effort with Jason, Theo, and the gang, to finally see their journey come to an end. Well … this journey, anyway.

ASTROPALOOLZA is the culmination of it all.

And now that I’m here, I can say this: the boys did right by me.

I hope you have just as much fun with them as I did.

Enjoy the ride.

ASTROPALOOLZA is available for sale in paperback and e-book.

For more on ASTROPALOOZA and my other books, visit www.russcolchamiro.com

This blog was originally posted on the Crazy 8 Press web site – http://www.crazy8press.com/2017/03/08/welcome-to-astropalooza/

SciFi Rock n’ Roller Coaster Q&A – Guest Author: Roy Mauritsen

Roy Mauritsen is the author of Shards of the Glass Slipper, an epic fantasy fairy tale adventure in 2 novels, Book I: Queen Cinder & Book II: Queen Alice

RoyM_author_RGB

SciFi Rock n’ Roller Coaster: Hey Roy! You strapped in? Let’s have some fun! Have you ever, or would you ever go sky diving? Details!

Roy Mauritsen: I’ve done a lot of exciting stuff…. been SCUBA diving with 30 reef sharks, horseback riding across the Scottish highlands, white water rafting in Costa Rica, African Safari, and I’ll do more to be sure… BUT I am not drawn to sky diving… but who knows, one day I might have an opportunity and I’ll probably give it a shot!

SFRRC: We have a magic kitchen, which can prepare any meal you want. Cost and prep time are not an issue. You can either eat alone, or invite guests from anywhere in time and space, fictional or real. What’s your ideal, one-time only menu? Who joins you? And what’s the venue?

Roy: The best memories are made with life-long friends and some really good BBQ in the back yard. Having the time to gather all in one place like that would be magical. And maybe Steven Spielberg…

SFRRC: Speaking of appetites, when it comes to fiction, what three books would you most like to read that you haven’t gotten to yet?

shards-audiobook-coverRoy: Genius De Milo by some guy named Russ.., The IX by Andrew Weston, and Patrick ThomasMurphy’s Lore … I’ve actually never read it and I’ve known Patrick for years! Ha-ha! I have no time to read.

SFRRC: What book, in any genre, has stayed with you the most, long after you read it?

Roy: Alice in Wonderland. I read it as a child and now some 40 years later I based one of my novels off of it.

SFRRC: Star Wars or Star Trek? Why?

Roy: Star Wars always appealed to my sense of adventure.. Star Trek I like too, but seems a little bit more structured and science-y. Plus lightsabers.

SFRRC: Favorite character from any SciFi movie?

Roy: Buckaroo Bonzai jumps to mind. But I’m sure there are others!

SFRRC: There’s been a resurgence over the last decade, bringing SciFi back to TV. Favorite SciFi show that’s debuted in the past ten 10 years?

Roy: I really enjoyed the reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

SFRRC: We love Rock n’ Roll here at SFRRC. What’s your favorite kind of music? And if you could go on tour with any solo artist or band, for one year, all expenses paid, from any time in history, who would that be?shardsbook1_cover

Roy: I listen to a wide range, but generally it’s mostly progressive and World I’d say… But top of the list is YES. Their music has always resonated with me on a much greater level than any other.

SFRRC: In our bag of tricks is a single wish, granting you one, specific super power — which you can use at your discretion for one full week. You have to pick now. One-time only offer, and your power can’t be that you can give yourself more powers. What’s your power, and why?

Roy: Teleportation: global range. So I can travel more efficiently on a week-long vacation!

SFRRC: Now that your powers are used up, we can now send you to a magical realm filled with wonders and dangers with almost unlimited possibilities, where you’ll encounter all sorts of creatures, friendly and otherwise. If you go, there’s a 50-50 chance of you making it back to the life you know now. If you do make it back, you’ll be filled with stories to share that authors can only dream of inventing. But if you don’t make it back — whether dead or alive, thriving or not — you can’t ever return, and the people you know in this life will have no idea where you’ve gone or what’s become of you. Would you go?

beanstalk-display_finalRoy: Definitely I’d go! Because as much as it a chance to lose a part of your life it’s also a chance to encounter a new life. Change it up! These days most people are tethered to their old lives, restrained from developing a new life for themselves.

SFRRC: When you writing career is over, how would you like to be remembered, both as a person, and as an author?

Roy: As someone who set out to do things and accomplish some if not all, rather a person that merely talked about doing great things as they sat on the sidelines watching life go by.

SFRRC: OK. We’ve tortured you enough. You’re a writer. What are you working on now? Promote away!

Roy: As a writer AND an art director for two small press publishers I’m quite busy. These days I have my artist cap on and I’ve been doing a flurry of book covers for Perseid Press.

On the writing front I’m scratching out story ideas I’m a huge planner and not the most prolific of writers so there’s lots of planning before I even start to crack the next story.

The other hat I have on is Audiobook producer. My first novel Shards of the Glass Slipper Queen Cinder has been turned into audiobook (available on audible). I worked directly with the narrator, and myself spent weeks mixing in music and sound effects to make it a more immersive listening experience. At over 16 hours long that was quite a task.shardsbookII-cover

I did it again for a short story entitled “Syrenka” which a prequel story to my first book. And I will be doing it again as we’ll be recording book II. That audiobook should be out next spring!

Thank you very much for reading!

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1w0-1QojUo

Book I: Queen Alice

Book trailer:

Audiobook ( Book I) 
audiobook promotional trailer:

http://www.shardsoftheglassslipper.com

SciFi Rock n’ Roller Coaster Q&A – Guest Author: Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Award-winning author Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. Currently, she is a project editor and promotions manager for Dark Quest Books and has recently started her own press, eSpec Books (www.especbooks.com). dmcphailhighresHer published works include five urban fantasy novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court: and The Redcaps’ Queen: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale, and a young adult Steampunk novel, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed.

She is also the author of the solo collections A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, and Transcendence, the non-fiction writers’ guide, The Literary Handyman, and is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Dragon’s Lure, and In an Iron Cage. Her short stories are included in numerous other anthologies and collections.

SciFi Rockin’ Roller Coaster: Hey Danielle! You strapped in? Let’s have some fun! Have you ever, or would you ever go sky diving? Details!Danielle Ackley-McPhail: I’ve always wanted to go up in a hot-air balloon, but I can honestly say I’ve never had a desire to jump out of a perfectly functional plane. Just saying. Hang-gliding might be interesting, though…only my hubby would have a coronary if I even suggested it.

SFRRC: We have a magic kitchen, which can prepare any meal you want. Cost and prep time are not an issue. You can either eat alone, or invite guests from anywhere in time and space, fictional or real. What’s your ideal, one-time only menu? Who joins you? And what’s the venue? BabaAliandtheClockworkDjinn_lg

DAM: Everything has no calories, right? Meat. The most succulent, best-prepared meat…lamb, steak, rabbit, duck, venison….I could die happy without anything else even being on the table, but for those who are big on sides, creamy crusty homemade mac and cheese, buttery homemade mashed potatoes, and fresh-picked corn on the cob. And I would invite everyone who was hungry.

SFRRC: Speaking of appetites, when it comes to fiction, what three books would you most like to read that you haven’t gotten to yet?

DAM: Clockwork Crown by Beth Cato, Alma Alexander’s Shifter, and the newest Rachel Griffin book by L. Jagi Lamplighter.

SFRRC: What book, in any genre, has stayed with you the longest after you read it?

DAM: <blushes> When I was thirteen I read The Outsiders by SE Hinton 21 times in a row.

SFRRC: Star Wars or Star Trek? Why?

DAM: Both, I love a great sci fi, and these are both lasting legacies with much to offer in both entertainment and message.

SFRRC: Favorite character from any SciFi movie?

DAM: Tech Sergeant Chen from Galaxy Quest. He had so many subtle layers.

TW3-COVER-REVAMPSFRRC: There’s been a resurgence over the last decade, bringing SciFi back to TV. Favorite SciFi show that’s debuted in the past ten 10 years?

DAM: I’m a little hazy on time since I see most things after the fact on DVD. I would say Firefly, if it’s in the right time frame. If it’s not …. really hard to say since I don’t get much time to watch TV. Of course, if this counts, I would also say FaceOff, which is a reality show, but yeah, really high on my list.

SFRRC: We love Rock n’ Roll here at SFFR. What’s your favorite kind of music? And if you could go on tour with any solo artist or band, for one year, all expenses paid, from any time in history, who would that be?

DAM: I’m really big on Celtic music and other folksy type genres that come from the same roots. If I was able to follow someone around for a year, though, it would be SJ Tucker. Fabulous. Absolutely fabulous.

SFRRC: In our bag of tricks is a single wish, granting you one, specific super power — which you can use at your discretion for one full week. You have to pick now. One-time only offer, and your power can’t be that you can give yourself more powers. What’s your power, and why?

DAM: The limitless power (for that one week) to heal everyone I meet of their most grievous hurt, be it physical, psychological, mental, emotional, etc.

SFRRC: Now that your powers are used up, we can now send you to a magical realm filled with wonders and dangers with almost unlimited possibilities, where you’ll encounter all sorts of creatures, friendly and otherwise. If you go, there’s a 50-50 chance of you making it back to the life you know now. If you do make it back, you’ll be filled with stories to share that authors can only dream of inventing. But if you don’t make it back — whether dead or alive, thriving or not — you can’t ever return, and the people you know in this life will have no idea where you’ve gone or what’s become of you. Would you go?

DAM: I would not. I like to believe there are people on this earth who would notice and care if I were to disappear and to do so willfully and put them through the heartache and grief of not knowing what happened…I could not do that to those I care about. And to be truthful, I already come up with some pretty fantastic stuff so I will be content with that.

SFRRC: When you writing career is over, how would you like to be remembered, both as a person, and as an author? SoGSoE Postcard copy

DAM: To be remembered fondly, to be remembered as someone who touched others’ lives and enriched them in some manner, be it through my writing or as a friend, as a true follower of Christ and all that entails, with love, not judgement. Though, in truth, I’m sure the one thing I will be remembered for—at least by those who actually know me—is for my hugs. There are worse things in life.

SFRRC: OK. We’ve tortured you enough. You’re a writer. What are you working on now? Promote away!

DAM: As an editor I am working on The Side of Good / The Side of Evil, a superhero/villain flipbook anthology, which is now available for pre-order in multiple formats. As a publisher I’m working on The Weird Wild West, edited by Misty Massey, Emily Lavin Leverett, and Margaret S. McGraw, and as an author I am working on a story for the Were- anthology by Zombies Need Brains! and on Eternal Wanderings, a spin-off novella series related to my Eternal Cycle novels based on Irish myth.

To learn more about her work, visit www.sidhenadaire.com, www.especbooks.com or www.badassfaeries.com.

Twitter: @DMcPhail

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/danielle.ackleymcphail

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Danielle-Ackley-McPhail/e/B002GZVZPQ/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/989939.Danielle_Ackley_McPhail

SciFi Rock n’ Roller Coaster Q&A – Guest Author: Alex Shvartsman

Alex Shvartsman is the author of Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and H. G. Wells, Secret Agent.

AlexSciFi Rockin’ Roller Coaster: Hey ​Alex! You strapped in? Let’s have some fun! Have you ever, or would you ever go sky diving? Details!

No. Na-ah. Nope. Not happening. If you want me to exit the plane, it better be parked at a nice airport terminal somewhere. If you expect me to exit a moving plane at high altitude, you better be prepared to shove hard. And even then, there’s a decent chance I will overpower you and enjoy stale airline pretzels as I wait for the death machine to land.

SFRRC: We have a magic kitchen, which can prepare any meal you want. Cost and prep time are not an issue. You can either eat alone, or invite guests from anywhere in time and space, fictional or real. What’s your ideal, one-time only menu? Who joins you? And what’s the venue?

Alex Shvartsman: I’d love to share a meal with Teddy Roosevelt, Benjamin Disraeli and Mikhail Bulgakov. At that point I’m pretty sure I would not remember the food served, or the venue serving it.

SFRRC: Speaking of appetites, when it comes to fiction, what three books would you most like to read that you haven’t gotten to yet?funnyscifi_cover

Alex: There’s a mountain of books in my To Be Read pile which resembles Everest in terms of both its height and how intimidating it is to approach. Somewhere near the top of this pile are Chuck Gannon’s Raising Caine (which I already started and need to finish), Tom Doyle’s The Left-Hand Way and Peter F. Hamilton’s The Abyss Beyond Dreams. Anyone got a few extra hours in the day they can spare, so I can read these sooner?

SFRRC: What book, in any genre, has stayed with you the most long after you read it?

Alex: This is not a fair question in that I have to pick just one. But if I must pick, I’ll go with Birthright: The Book of Man by Mike Resnick. I think it was the first collection of short stories that tied together into a novel (a la The Martian Chronicles or Tuff Voyaging) that I read and truly enjoyed, and it influenced my approach to writing and space opera in considerable ways.

SFRRC: Star Wars or Star Trek? Why?

Alex: Star Wars for sure. I prefer unabashed fun adventure to (slightly) more serious and scientific SF any day.

hg wells alexSFRRC: Favorite character from any SciFi movie?

Alex: Morpheus from The Matrix, probably. I don’t watch very many movies, to be honest.

SFRRC: There’s been a resurgence over the last decade, bringing SciFi back to TV. Favorite SciFi show that’s debuted in the past ten 10 years?

Alex: Is it cheating to say Game of Thrones, since it’s fantasy? Probably the most influential genre show in recent years, and definitely a ton of fun.

SFRRC: We love Rock n’ Roll here at SFFR. What’s your favorite kind of music? And if you could go on tour with any solo artist or band, for one year, all expenses paid, from any time in history, who would that be?

Alex: I’m partial to Queen, Billy Joel, The Beatles, and Chris de Burgh. If I had to tour with anyone though, given my own artistic tendencies, it’d probably be Weird Al Yankovic.

SFRRC: In our bag of tricks is a single wish, granting you one, specific super power — which you can use at your discretion for one full week. You have to pick now. One-time only offer, and your power can’t be that you can give yourself more powers. What’s your power, and why?

Alex: If it’s only for one week, I suppose I’ll take super-intelligence. That way I can cure cancer, design an FTL drive, and solve the plot problem on page 47 that has been bothering me of late.

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image description

SFRRC: Now that your powers are used up, we can now send you to a magical realm filled with wonders and dangers with almost unlimited possibilities, where you’ll encounter all sorts of creatures, friendly and otherwise. If you go, there’s a 50-50 chance of you making it back to the life you know now. If you do make it back, you’ll be filled with stories to share that authors can only dream of inventing. But if you don’t make it back — whether dead or alive, thriving or not — you can’t ever return, and the people you know in this life will have no idea where you’ve gone or what’s become of you. Would you go?

Alex: Nope. Are you kidding me? I’ve got plenty of stories to tell as-is!

SFRRC: When you writing career is over, how would you like to be remembered, both as a person, and as an author?

Alex I write for fun and don’t truly consider it to be a career. I want to entertain my readers and instill a sense of wonders, especially for those younger readers who might pick up my books. More than any kind of award, I would love to hear someone say that they got into writing because they read my books as a kid one day.

SFRRC: OK. We’ve tortured you enough. You’re a writer. What are you working on​ now? Promote away!

cthulu cover-hi-resAlex: I have two fresh anthologies: one just came out (Funny Science Fiction, you can buy it now, cheaper than a fancy coffee at Starbucks!) and the other is coming out in October: Unidentified Funny Objects 4, headlined by George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman among many other fabulous authors.

As to my own work, I’m about half way through writing my grimdark fantasy novel “Eridani’s Crown.” My latest funny short story is in the current (September) issue of Galaxy’s Edge magazine. It’s called “Dreidel of Dread: The Very Cthulhu Channukah.” You know you want to read that. Finally, if you like that sample story you can pick up my collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories. (I promise, some of those other stories are not about Cthulhu.)

SciFi Rock n’ Roller Coaster Q&A: Author Guest – Ilana C. Myer

Ilana C. Myer has written for the Globe and Mail, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon, and the Huffington Post. Previously she was a freelance journalist in Jerusalem for the Jerusalem Post, the Jewish Daily Forward, Time Out Israel and other publications. She lives in New York City. She is also the author of the new fantasy novel, and her debut, Last Song Before Night, published by Tor Books.

Become a Fan: http://facebook.com/DaveCrossPhotography or visit http://DaveCrossPhotography.com

Become a Fan:
http://facebook.com/DaveCrossPhotography
or visit
http://DaveCrossPhotography.com

SciFi Rockin’ Roller Coaster: Hey Ilana! You strapped in? Let’s have some fun! Have you ever, or would you ever go sky diving? Details!

Ilana C. Myer: No way! Maybe when I’m 90!

SFRRC: We have a magic kitchen, which can prepare any meal you want. Cost and prep time are not an issue. You can either eat alone, or invite guests from anywhere in time and space, fictional or real. What’s your ideal, one-time only menu? Who joins you? And what’s the venue?

Ilana: My favorite food in the world is the hot chocolate at the Agelina’s café in Paris. While it’s most special if my spouse is present, I don’t care who is with me as long as I have a pitcher of that incredible hot chocolate with some whipped cream on the side!

SFRRC: Speaking of appetites, when it comes to fiction, what three books would you most like to read that you haven’t gotten to yet?

Ilana: I’m looking forward to reading BARSK, by Lawrence Schoen, which comes out in December from Tor Books; ORLANDO by Virginia Woolf because I keep hearing about it and really, it’s about time; and a book-in-progress by David Mack that I have on queue to beta-read, that I know is going to blow me away.

SFRRC: What book, in any genre, has stayed with you the most long after you read it?

Ilana: It’s really tough, just about impossible, to pick just one! But a standby is TIGANA by Guy Gavriel Kay.

COZuNg9WEAA8-OI (2)SFRRC: Star Wars or Star Trek? Why?

Ilana: Star Wars, because lightsabres. 

SFRRC: Favorite character from any SciFi movie?

Ilana: Han Solo, obviously!

SFRRC: There’s been a resurgence over the last decade, bringing SciFi back to TV. What’s your favorite SciFi show that’s debuted in the past ten 10 years?

Ilana: I really love Firefly.

SFRRC: We love Rock n’ Roll here at SFFR. What’s your favorite kind of music? And if you could go on tour with any solo artist or band, for one year, all expenses paid from any time in history, who would that be?

Ilana: My musical tastes are all over the map, though mostly instrumental. If I could tour with any musician, it would be Loreena McKennitt.

SFRRC: In our bag of tricks is a single wish, granting you one, specific super power — which you can use at your discretion for one full week. You have to pick now. One-time only offer, and your power can’t be that you can give yourself more powers. What’s your power, and why?

Ilana: When I was younger I’d have answered differently, but now I’d say I would want the power to heal—myself and others. I have a new awareness as I advance into my 30s of how vulnerable our bodies are.

Ilana book signingSFRRC: Now that your powers are used up, we can now send you to a magical realm filled with wonders and dangers with almost unlimited possibilities, where you’ll encounter all sorts of creatures, friendly and otherwise. If you go, there’s a 50-50 chance of you making it back to the life you know now. If you do make it back, you’ll be filled with stories to share that authors can only dream of inventing. But if you don’t make it back — whether dead or alive, thriving or not — you can’t ever return, and the people you know in this life will have no idea where you’ve gone or what’s become of you. Would you go?

Ilana: Now why would I do that, when I can read and write and have the same experiences.

SFRRC: When you writing career is over, how would you like to be remembered, both as a person, and as an author?

Ilana: She kept right on fighting.

SFRRC: OK. We’ve tortured you enough. You’re a writer. What are you working on now? Promote away!

Ilana: I’m currently working on the sequel to LAST SONG BEFORE NIGHT, which just came out from Tor Books on September 29th. It’s a fantasy novel set in a world where art and magic are intertwined, and the protagonists are poets.

http://ilanacmyer.com/

http://www.npr.org/2015/09/29/443410272/last-song-is-a-beautifully-orchestrated-fantasy-debut

SciFi Rock n’ Roller Coaster Q&A: Author Guest – Patrick Thomas

Howdy folks! Today is an exciting day, as it marks the launch of a new, recurring column I’ll be posting — The SciFi Rock n’ Roller Coaster Author Q&As. Seeing as how I’m a SciFi Guy, love me some rock n’ roll, and have loads of author friends, I figured it was time to have a little extra fun and check in with my fellow creative maniacs. But rather than just your standard ‘what are you to questions’, we here at SFRRC are going to push the boundaries a bit. And to kick off the inaugural column, I recruited my good pal and fellow author Patrick Thomas, who, quite frankly is a heckuva good writer, and maybe the sweetest guy I know!

I hope you enjoy the new column. So here we go!

pat thomas photo sm

Patrick Thomas has had stories published in over three dozen magazines and more than fifty anthologies. He’s written 30+ books including the fantasy humor series Murphy’s Lore, urban fantasy spin offs Fairy With A Gun, Fairy Rides The Lightning, Dead To Rites, Rites of Passage, Lore & Dysorder and two more in the Startenders series. He co-writes the Mystic Investigators paranormal mystery series and The Assassins’ Ball, a traditional mystery, co-authored with John L. French. His darkly humorous advice column Dear Cthulhu includes the collections Have A Dark Day, Good Advice For Bad People, and Cthulhu Knows Best. A number of his books are part of the props department of the CSI television show and one was even thrown at a suspect. Fairy With A Gun was optioned by Laurence Fishburne’s Cinema Gypsy Productions. Drop by www.patthomas.net to learn more.

SciFi Rockin’ Roller Coaster: Hey Pat! You strapped in? Let’s have some fun! Have you ever, or would you ever go sky diving? Details!

Patrick Thomas: Nah. I’m afraid of heights. I went rock climbing once just to prove to myself I could do it. There was much screaming on my part, but I made it to the top so I never have to do it again. So, sky diving not likely without a good reason or a large cash payout.

SFRRC: We have a magic kitchen, which can prepare any meal you want. Cost and prep time are not an issue. You can either eat alone, or invite guests from anywhere in time and space, fictional or real. What’s your ideal, one-time only menu? Who joins you? And what’s the venue?

Pat:  A buffet with everything from shrimp scampi to chocolate soufflé to lobster bisque –pretty much every good food I can think of. Most definitely guests. Lots of guests. Besides family and friends, I’d bring back passed loved ones like my Dad and grandmother, aunts and uncles, friends, even my childhood dog – you didn’t say they’d have to be human.

I’d invite the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Elvis, Humphrey Bogart, Mark Twain, Gandhi, and Jesus to start with. I’d have friends that were lost along the way. I’d bring most of the cast of my Murphy’s Lore Universe. Be nice to finally hang with the gang from Bulfinche’s Pub. And the main cast from Exile and Entrance, my first novel. And a host of literary characters – Sheeve and Ahaz, Rincewind and the luggage, Carrot, Granny and the Discworld witches, Spenser and Hawk, Miles Vorkosigan, Garrett, Archie and Nero, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Superman, Batman … oh heck, the entire Justice League and Avengers, Ford and Arthur, the characters from the Princess Bride. And that’s just the start, depending on how many the venue could hold.

startenders II_cover 5SFRRC: Speaking of appetites, when it comes to fiction, what three books would you most like to read that you haven’t gotten to yet?

Pat: The Shepherd’s Crown, the *sniff* last Discworld by Terry Pratchett, Marathon Man by William Goldman, and Genius De Milo of course.

SFRRC: What book, in any genre, has stayed with you the longest after you read it?

Pat:  Tough one. The first ones that pop to mind are Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy by Doulas Adams, The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and The Mysterious Stranger and other stories by Mark Twain. And Tales of Time and Space which I read in about 4th grade.

SFRRC: Star Wars or Star Trek? Why?

Pat: Before Phantom Menace, Star Wars. After, it’s a toss -up. Love the epic action of Star Wars Episodes 4-6 and the weekly adventures and optimism of Star Trek.

SFRRC: Favorite character from any SciFi movie?

Pat: H. Phil Lovecraft, PI from Cast a Deadly Spell

SFRRC::  There’s been a resurgence over the last decade, bringing SciFi back to TV. Favorite SciFi show that’s debuted in the past ten 10 years?

Pat: Firefly was a bit longer than 10 years so I’d pick The Flash and Doctor Who.

SFRRC:: We love Rock n’ Roll here at SFRRC. What’s your favorite kind of music? And if you could go on tour with any solo artist or band, for one year, all expenses paid, from any time in history, who would that be?

fairywithagunredoPat:  I love lots of music, but favorite would be the Blues. I even wrote a few songs back in the day and got to sit in with Eddie Shaw and The Wolfgang twice. They used to play with the legendary Howling Wolf. While a number of acts spring to mind – Alice Cooper, The Blues Brothers, The Beatles, Weird Al Yankovic, Harpo Marx, Josie and the Pussycats (c’mon, living in a cartoon adventure and going to outer space for a year would be kind of cool) – I’d have to go with Elvis, but the young one. Although if Harpo was doing a music tour with Groucho and Chico, then I’d be stepping over Elvis’ blue suede shoes to go.

SFRRC:: In our bag of tricks is a single wish, granting you one, specific super power — which you can use at your discretion for one full week. You have to pick now. One-time only offer, and your power can’t be that you can give yourself more powers. What’s your power, and why?

Pat: The most fun would be flying or teleportation, but if I only had a week the one that would make the most difference would be the power to heal. Maybe combine them – the power to make myself and others fly and heal them in the process.

SFRRC: Now that your powers are used up, we can now send you to a magical realm filled with wonders and dangers with almost unlimited possibilities, where you’ll encounter all sorts of creatures, friendly and otherwise. If you go, there’s a 50-50 chance of you making it back to the life you know now. If you do make it back, you’ll be filled with stories to share that authors can only dream of inventing. But if you don’t make it back — whether dead or alive, thriving or not — you can’t ever return, and the people you know in this life will have no idea where you’ve gone or what’s become of you. Would you go?

Pat: Tempting, but not now. After my kids are grown and on their own, I’d probably have a different answer.

SFRRC: When you writing career is over, how would you like to be remembered, both as a person, and as an author?

Pat:  As a good man, a fun and funny guy, a loving father (and grandfather. And great grandfather – I’m not planning on stopping anytime soon.) As a writer who brought readers some joy, gave them a laugh and created characters and worlds that felt like they were a second home with characters they think of as friends.

cthulhu knows best 3 name fix bSFRRC:: OK. We’ve tortured you enough. You’re a writer. What are you working on​ now? Promote away!

Pat: Constellation Prize (the 2nd Startenders book) just came out as did the trade paperback edition of The Assassins’ Ball mystery I wrote with John L. French to follow up on the hardcover last year.

I’m working on a BIG blast for the 20th anniversary of Murphy’s Lore to see how many books I can get done in time for 2017. Hex will be getting his own collection in 2016 and a novel for 2017.

Hopefully there will be a Murphy’s Lore novel for 2017 as well a bunch of collections including young Terrorbelle’s time as a Daemor in Faerie. There is another Dear Cthulhu collection done. I’m working on a podcast humor show, which I’m hoping to premier 4/1/16. I have a middle reader out, finishing up a re-write on a paranormal romance, and I’m shopping an urban fantasy.

www.patthomas.net

https://www.facebook.com/PatrickThomasAuthor

http://astore.amazon.com/patrthomauth-20

 

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