A.M. Leibowitz

queer slice-of-life stories

interview

Author Interview: J. Scott Coatsworth

Books

I’m thrilled to welcome Scott back to the blog today. I’ve reviewed a few of his books before, and I highly recommend them. This time around, he’s giving us a little peek into his thoughts on writing, life, and his brand-new release, Lander. I’ll be posting my review next week, so stay tuned.

Interview

Let’s get right to it. How and why did you chose your genre?

I would argue that it chose me. I write sci fi, fantasy, and magical realism, all with queer characters. I got hooked on sci fi and fantasy at a young age, when I was in third grade and read The Lord of the Rings. My mother was a member of the sci fi book club, and she had shelves of sci fi and fantasy books. Within a couple years, I blew my way through McCaffrey, Clarke, Asimov, and a bunch of other books and authors.

In fifth grade, I wrote and illustrated (in crayon) my first sci fi short story – basically the Jetsons redux. And in high school, I started my first novel.

So when I got serious about writing again in 2014, it was a no brainer that I would write sci fi and fantasy.

That makes sense! I often say the same. So what story is choosing you next? Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

I have a number of irons in the fire. 🙂

The first one is The River City Chronicles – a magical realism serial tale that will be coming out in English and Italian in book form in a couple months – my first self-published work.

Next, The Rising Tide, book two of my Liminal Sky series, will be out in October from DSP Publications.

Mischief Corner Books plans to release three volumes of the Marionettes in the Mist serial sometime this year.  And I will probably also release an anthology of stories that were originally published in various places, and that have come back to me over the last year or so.

Finally, I am writing the third and final books in Liminal Sky and the Oberon Cycle this year for release in 2019.

Oh, my goodness, those all sound amazing. I can’t wait. Aside from the obvious with a series, are there any common themes you see in your work? I have my guesses, but we’ll see.

Not necessarily across all my works. But each of my books tends to evolve into a theme. The Stark Divide ended up being about forgiveness, while the sequel, The Rising Tide, is all about redemption.

Skythane is about accepting who you are, and Lander seems to have ended up being about accepting love, no matter how it began.

It sounds like there are a lot of themes about accepting, welcoming, and embracing who we are, which is really cool (and matches what I’ve seen in your work).

Time for some word sprints! Cats or dogs?

I gotta say I grew up in a totally dog family, but I ended up on Team Cat—there’s just something about their casual aloofness and soft fur that just makes me want to please them.

What’s your favorite movie?

There are two, and given that I’m a sci fi and fantasy nut, they might be a bit of a surprise: Romy and Michelle because it makes me laugh hysterically, and it’s set in Tucson; and Strictly Ballroom—I adore Baz Luhrmann films, and this is the quintessential one.

Oh, my gosh. I love Romy and Michelle.

In school, were you more academic, artsy, or athletic?

I was a total geek—I still am—I remember dumbing myself down to fit into High School, but now I let my geek flag fly, and it has actually made me a lot of great friends.

Wow, I can relate to that too.

Thank you for stopping by, and feel free to come back any time!

About the Book

Title: Lander

Date: 13 February 2018

Length: 90k words

Publisher: Dreamspinner

Categories: romance, sci fi, fantasy, wingfic

Goodreads

Synopsis

Sometimes the world needs saving twice. Xander and Jameson thought they’d fulfilled their destiny when they brought the worlds of Oberon and Titania back together, but their short-lived moment of triumph is over. Reunification has thrown the world into chaos. A great storm ravaged Xander’s kingdom of Gaelan, leaving the winged skythane people struggling to survive. Their old enemy, Obercorp, is biding its time, waiting to strike. And to the north, a dangerous new adversary gathers strength, while an unexpected ally awaits them. In the midst of it all, Xander’s ex Alix returns, and Xander and Jameson discover that their love for each other may have been drug-induced. Are they truly destined for each other, or is what they feel artificial? And can they face an even greater challenge when their world needs them most?

Purchase Links

Dreamspinner eBook | Dreamspinner paperback | Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | QueeRomance Ink

Excerpt

Jameson savored the kiss, his arms around Xander, the way they fit together just right. They were finally together, and Titania and Oberon were one again.

Erro, Quince had called this new world. Like the skythane god of the sun, the one Errian and the Erriani were named for.

For the moment, everything was right in his life, and he never wanted it to end.

A cold drop of water on his cheek brought him out of his reverie. He glanced up. Storm clouds were piled high, swiftly overtaking them. Rain began to pour out of the sky like a waterfall, and thunder echoed in the clouds as the valley went dark, sunlight smothered by the onrushing clouds. Nearby trees thrashed about in the wind, their purple leaves fluttering in distress.

“What the hell?” Xander said as the winds picked up and ruffled the feathers of his wings. He stared up at the black tempest.

About the Author

Scott was indoctrinated into fantasy and sci fi by his mother at the tender age of nine. He devoured her library, but as he grew up, he wondered where all the people like him were. He decided that if there weren’t gay characters in his favorite genres, he would remake them to his own ends. A Rainbow Award winning author, he runs Queer Sci Fi and QueeRomance Ink with his husband Mark, sites that celebrate fiction reflecting queer reality.

Social Media

Website | Facebook (Personal) | Facebook (Author Page) | Twitter | Goodreads | QueeRomance Ink | Amazon

 

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Author Interview: Tay LaRoi

Books, Cool Stuff

I’m so excited to welcome Tay LaRoi to the blog today. She’s a new-to-me author, and her book looks amazing. I’d complain about having a longer to-read list, but that’s hardly a bad thing.

Interview

Welcome! Your book looks amazing. What inspired you to write it?

A whole lot of things. Primarily the fact that I made a huge career change and moved in with my dad, whom I was not out to at the time. There were a lot of worst-case scenarios running though my head at the time and, instead of working them out in a journal like a normal person, I ended up making them the back story for DJ Suzuki, the main character of The Tale of a Faerie Knight. Giving those scenarios a more hopeful ending helped me a lot and I hope it’ll help young adults as well, regardless of where they are their coming-out process.

That’s fantastic, and I hope many young adults feel hopeful and inspired by your words. Tell us a little about any upcoming projects. Will they have the same feel?

The third instalment of the Faerie Court Chronicles, The Song of the Faerie Prince, is out in May and I’m SUPER excited for it. While the series is YA, it definitely focuses more on the fantasy element. Song is a chance to focus more on the YA aspect since it takes place primarily at a high school and the main character, Gia, is very much so inspired by my awkward teenage years. She learns a lot of things I wish I had gotten though my head at her age, but I was a lot more stubborn than she is.

I think a lot of us can relate to that, even when we’ve been away from it for a long time. How do you hope your writing influences other people?

I want to people to first and foremost have a little fun. My favorite books are ones where I can take a break from the world and just have fun in a different world for a while, so I’d like to pay that forward. In addition, I want people, ESPECIALLY queer teens, to know that they’re not alone. I didn’t really come of age with any stories with girls or women like me and it really does go a long way to make you feel like you belong in the world

That is so important! As a parent of teens, I know I appreciate that they can read these stories and hopefully see themselves and their friends.

Okay, time for some word sprints. What’s your favorite food?

Curry! Especially yellow curry.

What’s one of your hobbies?

I love to crochet, but I haven’t had time recently.

What’s your favorite season?

Spring and Autumn are currently tied.

Thank you for stopping by! Please be sure to let us know when the next book in the series is out.

About the Author

Tay grew up reading too many fairy tales and watching too many movies, which is probably why she writes fantasy now. When she’s not at her day job or writing, she can be found taking spontaneous drives to new places, and drinking way too much coffee. Her first series, The Faerie Court Chronicles, is available from NineStar Press.

Social Media

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About the Book

Title: The Tale of a Faerie Knight

Author: Tay LaRoi

Publisher: NineStar Press

Date: December 25, 2017

Length: 74,600 words

Categories: YA, LGBT, Bisexual/Pansexual, Urban Fantasy, f/f, road trip

Synopsis

After the fall of Queen Mab, DJ Suzuki resolves herself to an aimless life of entertaining, drinking, and hooking up within the Faerie Realm. After twenty ageless years, she knows she can’t go back to her family, despite the fact that her brother still searches for her and the small voice telling her that her parents might have had a change of heart about her orientation.

When a young woman named Talia shows up at DJ’s workplace desperate for help, DJ sees a way to rid herself of the guilt of staying away: she’ll take Talia where she needs to go if Talia rids DJ’s family of all memory of her. Talia will be safe and DJ will be free to live in the Faerie Realm with a clear conscience. Everyone wins.

Except there’s more to Talia and her situation than she’s letting on. Her pursuers want more than just her. They want the Faerie Court, and Talia is the key to getting it. If DJ can’t get Talia to safety before they catch up, a guilty conscience will be the least of her worries. She just might have a faerie civil war on her hands.

Purchase Links

NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Kobo

 

Excerpt

This girl isn’t Queen Mab. They just have a few similar features. That’s all. People look like each other all the time. I’m just a little tipsy. The longer I look at this girl, the less she looks like the woman I once served. Mab didn’t have freckles or blonde hair. Mab’s ears tapered to a point like every other faerie I’ve seen around here, and this girl’s are rounded like mine. She must be human, which is exactly why she shouldn’t be here in the Time Between.

She gently shakes me out of my thoughts. “Please, is there somewhere I can hide?”

I take her by her wrists. “Slow down. What are you doing here?”

The girl takes a deep breath. “I was kidnapped by a group of trolls and goblins. They’re dragging me to only the gods know where, but they stopped nearby for the night. I managed to bewitch them and escape, but I’m sure it’s worn off by now. My magic’s terrible.”

“Wait, what? Your magic? But you’re…”

A light bulb flicks on.

“You’re half human.”

“Correct. Now can you help me or not?”

I don’t think I can, but Iver might be able to. Queen Shaylee’s half human, and he’s pretty good friends with her. He’ll know what to do with this girl, even if she’s being kidnapped. I take her hand and lead her toward the bar.

The girl squeezes my hand and whispers, “Thank you.”

She’s warm like a human. I can’t remember the last time I felt this sort of heat, the gentle warm pulse that radiates from within.

I shake my head again. Maybe Iver’s right. I should quit drinking.

Nah. Just lighten up.

We wiggle through the crowd near the bar, so I can slip behind the counter. “Iver, we’ve got a situation.”

He turns our way, still pouring a drink, and frowns. “What did you break this time?”

“Bite me. I didn’t break anything. Look, this girl needs help.” I pull her forward, so my boss can have a look at her. “She said a bunch of trolls and goblins kidnapped her.” As he looks her over, I stand on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “And she’s half human.”

His eyes go wide and blink at me a few times, then at the girl. He studies her for a few minutes more and concludes, “So you are.”

“What should we do?” I ask.

Iver looks over our heads toward the entrance. “Get down.” Sure enough, there’s a troll lumbering through the doorway. He must be young because he only has to duck to get in. The dim and flashing lights don’t do any favors for his ashen complexion and warts. The other patrons give him a wide berth. As if a troll’s bulk isn’t enough to scare people off, it looks like he hasn’t washed that brown tunic in years. It can’t smell pleasant.

The three goblins that tag along aren’t much better. Their big ears flap and their long noses bounce with their crouched steps. They can’t be that old either. Two hundred years old, maybe. Two hundred fifty, tops.

I turn to tell the girl to get beneath the counter, but she already thought of that. She’s curled up beside the mini-freezer, hugging her legs to her chest for dear life. Iver glances around the bar, giving everyone a warning look to keep their mouths shut. Judging by the way everyone goes quiet and stiff at the group’s approach, there shouldn’t be an issue.

Even if we weren’t hiding a possible fugitive, I doubt anyone would give these guys a warm welcome. Ever since the Faerie Courts split back up, faeries in Seelie Court lands haven’t been too fond of faeries that willingly served Queen Mab, like trolls and goblins. One hundred years of oppression will do that to people. There are exceptions to every rule of course, but this crew doesn’t look like one of them.

The goblins hop up on a couple of barstools and lean over the counter. “Evening, Iver,” one says with a snaggle-toothed grin. “How’s business?”

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Author Interview: M.D. Neu

Books

I’m excited to welcome author M.D. Neu to my blog today to talk about life, writing, and his latest book.

About the Book

Title: The Calling

Publisher: NineStar Press

Date: January 1, 2018

Tags: dark, gay, immortal, magic, paranormal, vampires

Synopsis: Being a nobody isn’t Duncan Alexander’s life goal, but it’s worked for him. He has a nondescript job, a few good friends, and overall he’s content. That’s until one fateful trip to San Jose, California, where he is “Called” to meet the mysterious Juliet de Exter. Juliet is a beautiful, wealthy, powerful Immortal who is undertaking The Calling—a search for a human to join her world of Immortals. Inexplicably, Duncan’s calling is more dangerous than any of the Immortals, even Juliet, ever thought it would be.

There is more to this nobody, this only child of long-deceased parents, than anyone thought. When Duncan experiences uncontrollable dreams of people he doesn’t know and places he hasn’t been, Juliet and the other Immortals worry. Soon, his visions point to a coven of long-dead witches. The dreams also lead Duncan to his one true love. How will Duncan navigate a forbidden romance with an outcast Immortal? How will he and the others keep the balance between the Light and Dark, survive vicious attacks, and keep the humans from learning who they truly are? More importantly, who is this implacable foe Duncan keeps seeing in his dreams?

Link

Goodreads

Interview

Thank you AM, for taking the time to welcome me to your Blog and for doing this interview. I’ve been looking forward to it.

Glad to have you here! I’m always excited to meet new-to-me writers. How has your life changed since becoming a published author?

Since publishing, I’ve found that I’m a lot busier.  I have to spend a lot of time on marketing and PR.  I’m also finding that I spend more time on social media connecting with people.  It’s cool and all, but what happened is it’s sucked up my time to write.  I don’t get nearly as much time to write as I used to. The not writing is frustrating because I have a backlog of stories that I want to get to. There are so many stories floating around in my head I just need to make the time to get them all down on paper.

One nice benefit is I get to read many other people’s works. It sounds odd, but since I was published I’ve been reading a lot more.  I’ve been a judge for the Rainbow Awards which was an amazing experience and I’m hoping to get to do it again this year.

The other thing I’ve found is fellow authors coming to me seeking my advice, which is both flattering and a little strange, because I’m still learning.  There is a lot about this industry that I don’t know or understand.  Of course I try and offer whatever advice I have, but I remind them that I’m still learning and that there are no magic bullets.  You have to keep writing and keep looking for people who will support you and help you along the way.

Other than that, being published has been amazing.  People seem interested in getting to know more about my work and me.  They also want to know what’s coming next.  Which is fun, because as I’ve mentioned I have a tone of ideas floating around and I’m hoping this next year you’ll see more of my work being published.

It’s definitely a challenge, balancing how much time to spend on which aspect of writing and publishing. You mentioned having lots of ideas floating around. On that topic, how do you choose names for your characters?

When it comes to my main character names, I have a general process of creating a character bio with all kinds of information on the character.  I use that information to help me pick out a name.  I will look at when the character was born, where they were born, and what race they are, with that information I try to find a suitable name using popular names from that period and that region, for the most part it works.

For any non-human names, I get to be creative. I still have rules that I have to follow of course, but I make them.  If I’m creating a culture I have to create some of their naming rules.  An example is from my upcoming novel A New World – Contact I have an alien race, which I have a son and father that share the same name.  Were we would use junior and senior they use cin and ko and it is added to their name. So, in the case of my alien son and father their names are Mi’cin and Mi’ko. It’s a fun detail that I created for this race, not many people will pay attention to it, but I have it all there.

Sometimes (more often than I care to admit) the character will come to me with a name.  They will pop into my head and start telling me about them.  Who they are, name included. That happened with my novella A Dragon for Christmas.  The main character appeared and the first thing she said was, “My name is Carmen Maria Garcia and I want my Dragon for Christmas.” Insert a foot stomp on the ground and that is how I met that main character.

Other characters and their names are a little harder to figure out.  In my novella The Calling one of the characters went through two names.  He started as Vincent DelRey, which I liked as a name but for some reason it never stuck.  I kept calling him Victor.  So, I finally changed his name to Victor Rey (dropping the Del) suddenly the name just flowed and I never looked back.  Also, in The Calling I have a large cast of secondary characters that needed names so I pulled names that would be easy for folks to remember. I used more common names that would hopefully stick with the reader (even if the character was only around for a few scenes).

I have to admit, I’m terrible at naming things, whether it’s characters or the book’s titles. But the process is fun. Sounds like that aspect isn’t much of a struggle for you, though. Are there any types of scene you do find hard to write?

The hardest scenes for me to write are action and romance scenes.  I like detail and descriptions so with action scenes I can get bogged down and it really slows the pace down, which is a bad thing for action.  I also tend to lose track of where my players are.  That was especially difficult in The Reunion and in The Calling; both have actions sequences with a lot happening and I had to make sure everyone was accounted for and had something to do.  There is nothing worse than having a character there and they don’t do anything.  They just fade in the background and at the end ‘poof’ they return.  So, that can be difficult.

Also, for action scenes (or any large event with multiple characters) I try and map out the scene.  I figure out where everyone is and what he or she is doing and go from there.  I think it works.  Of course that is up to the reader to decide, so I hope it works.

The other tough one for me to write is romance scenes.  Again, my love of details and descriptions can get in the way here.  I’m not an erotica writer that is never the focus of my stories however, when I write these types of scenes (unless I fade to black) I can get very descriptive.  Normally after I write these scenes, I have to go back and edit them down so they don’t mess up the type of story I’m trying to write.  Luckily in these situations it’s easy to cut, which is why in The Calling there is really only one sexy scene and my hope is it’s more emotional than physical.

I hear you on that. It’s definitely easy to get caught up in the details. Okay, how about some word sprints?

What’s your favorite movie?

Oh, my favorite movie.  There are so many great movies out there.  I love movies so this is a tough one.  I guess I would have to say my all-time favorite movie, would be The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock.  It was so creepy.  He is the master of slow burn.  He spent most of the movie building the tension and at the end he left you with more questions than he answered.  It’s a wonderful movie and still holds up today.

Do the people in your life know about your writing?

Yes, absolutely.  I couldn’t do any of this without their support.  My husband Eric is both my biggest fan and harshest critic.  I really wouldn’t be here without him, or any of my family for that matter.

What are your hobbies?

Besides writing, I love to cook and bake, although Eric is a much better baker than I am.  I love to travel, there are so many places to see and go I hope I get to see them all someday.  I love taking pictures, which leads me to another hobby scrapbooking, but I haven’t done that in a while. Yep, that pretty much covers it.

Thank you for having me.

You’re welcome here any time! Just give a shout if you’ve got a new release.

About the Author

M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) he’s always been fascinated with what could be. Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.

When M.D. Neu isn’t writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric, his husband of eighteen plus years.

Social Media

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | NineStar Press

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Author Interview: Adam Legend

Books

Today, I’ve got Adam Legend here to talk about C.H.A.O.S. Logs, writing, and life in general. I’ve got this book on my Kindle, and I’ve started reading it. So far, it’s intriguing!

About the Book

Title: C.H.A.O.S. Logs: Carita Amelia Kaine

Author: Adam Legend

Publication date: July 29, 2015

Length: 328 pages

Categories: Science Fiction/LGBT fiction

Goodreads

Synopsis: The C.H.A.O.S. Logs series is set in the far future where humanity has united on Earth under one banner, the United Earth Government. A group of Martian Separatists has started an interplanetary war and the series follows the events of the last War of humanity and explores a world where a near utopia meets with a foreign culture on a different world.

Purchase link

What do you wish people knew about your books or characters?

As much as a talk about Representation in my books, it’s not the main focus. There is a really great plot and other moments and interactions that happen, but at the same time Representation was a focus in the character creation process. I don’t want to seem like I’m patting myself on the back, but I want everyone to know that I made a proper effort to be inclusive in my work instead of making everyone the same.

Just reading the beginning, I have a good sense of diversity there. I know I appreciate it. Seems to me that you must’ve spent a lot of time carefully crafting the histories and backgrounds of the characters. What else do you use to immerse yourself in the story (music, visuals, etc.)?

I do get inspiration for scenes with songs. I’ve got a lot of songs that I specifically relate to my work and it adds to their enjoyment because I get to daydream and enjoy the songs on an entirely different level than most people can. I can imagine things happening to the song and it helps get those thoughts onto the page and helps make the books feel real for me and the readers.

Oh, yes! I can definitely relate to imagining a story in a song. That speaks right to my heart. Who do you write for (your audience or who you hope to reach)?

I write for myself. I think it was Bungie that said when you write for yourself you’ll always enjoy the story and I can say that it’s true. I’m never dissatisfied with anything in my books because I’m a fan as much as I’m the author. It also makes me incredibly happy when people enjoy my work because they like the same things I like and that creates a bond. It also helps that I want to see things for other people. I want to see the positive representation of women, Native characters, non-binary characters, queer characters, mixed ethnicity characters, disabled characters, and different groups because that diversity enriches the story and I love those kinds of stories that bring everyone into the fold better than they’re brought into the fold in the real world.

Well, you’ve just described the neighborhood I live in, with such a wide range of diversity. It’s nice to read books that reflect this. I’m only a short way into the story, but as a writer myself, I’m picking up on the fact that you like your world and your characters. It shows.

Time for some word sprints! What’s your favorite season?

Winter

What’s your favorite movie?

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

If you could have any career (other than writer), what would it be?

I’m pursuing a career in professional wrestling while writing my novels.

That is really cool! My late brother-in-law was an avid fan of professional wrestling and the art involved. It’s not dissimilar to writing, in a way. Thanks for stopping by, and I’m looking forward to finishing the book.

About the Author

I’m a mixed(black and white) bisexual author who writes sci-fi novels. I’m training to be a professional wrestler and I’m a fan of comics, cartoons, and use those things as inspiration for my books.

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Author Interview: Claire Buss

Books

Today, Claire Buss is stopping by for an interview. She’s the author of The Gaia Effect, Tales from Suburbia, and, most recently, The Rose Thief.

About the Book

Title: The Rose Thief

Author: Claire Buss

Publication date: 10 November, 2017

Length: 347 pages

Goodreads

Synopsis: Ned Spinks, Chief Thief-Catcher has a problem. Someone is stealing the Emperor’s roses. But that’s not the worst of it. In his infinite wisdom and grace, the Emperor magically imbued his red rose with love so if it was ever removed from the Imperial Rose Gardens then love will be lost, to everyone, forever. It’s up to Ned and his band of motley catchers to apprehend the thief and save the day. But the thief isn’t exactly who they seem to be, neither is the Emperor. Ned and his team will have to go on a quest defeating vampire mermaids, illusionists, estranged family members and an evil sorcerer in order to win the day. What could possibly go wrong?

Interview

What is the hardest part of writing?

For me the hardest part of writing is shoehorning the time in. I constantly feel guilty that I’m not writing when I’m doing other things and I am probably the Queen of Procrastination so when I do have a little spare time, I usually find something else to do. I think a lot of that is fear or doubt in my writing ability. Quite often, as I’m sure most writers do, I’ll write something that I think is awesome and then a few days later I’ll be convinced it’s the biggest load of rubbish ever written, in the world, ever! I get very nervous at people I know reading my books, I want them to enjoy it of course but I also want their honest opinion. I’d like to think I take constructive criticism well and I’ve been fortunate to get some great reviews. Developing a thick skin is certainly a skill a writer needs to develop.

I know some writers claim they never read their reviews but I think I’ll always read mine, bad or good, I want to know what people thought. It can be so interesting when they pick up on something you never set out to include, it’s just what the book meant to them individually.

I can definitely relate to the self-doubt, but also to what you said about readers picking up on things. That’s so true!

Tell us a little about any upcoming projects.

I’m currently attempting to write the sequel to my first novel, The Gaia Effect. I say attempting because I had a baby girl in early December 2017 and trying to do anything at all is a challenge. Also writing a sequel is hard! Obviously you’ve got to keep the same tone and rhythm, keep the characters realistic and believable based on what you’ve shared so far. Then there are the questions readers have raised about various aspects of book one that you try to answer. The first rough draft is finished and it is extremely rough so this next stage isn’t so much about editing but more about reorganising sections and filling in the gaps, getting the basic structure sorted out. I’m actually looking forward to it!

I’m also planning to release another collection of humorous short stories in the summer called Tales from the Seaside and two novellas to go with my fantasy novel The Rose Thief. If I can get all that achieved this year, I’ll be very happy.

Welcome to the world, baby girl. How exciting! Babies do take all our extra energy. Sounds like you’ve got some great projects in the works despite all that. What do you do when you feel stuck (writer’s block)?

When I get stuck I usually walk away from the writing, I’ll leave it for a few days and let the problem marinate in my brain for a while. It works because part of my brain never stops thinking about it, never stops worrying over the problem so that suddenly the rest of the brain says – hey, we got it, lets crack on. I like it because I know I don’t need to worry about writers block, the answer will come to me, in time.

I did see a brilliant solution on twitter the other day. This guy said bake a square cake, ice writers block on it then cut it up piece by piece and enjoy with a cuppa until its gone. How genius is that?

Anything involving cake sounds good to me. Especially if it helps with writer’s block.

Time for some word sprints!

Coffee or tea?

Tea, and preferably a slice of homemade cake.

Mm, cake. Do you have any body art?

Yes – Leo starsign on my wrist, George the Gecko on my shoulder and dragon on my back.

Hey, both my kids are Leos. What’s on your to-be-read shelf?

Haha – over 4500 books on my Goodreads TBR list and over 50 indie author books on my kindle.

About the Author

Claire Buss is a science fiction, fantasy & contemporary writer based in the UK. She wanted to be Lois Lane when she grew up but work experience at her local paper was eye-opening. Instead, Claire went on to work in a variety of admin roles for over a decade but never felt quite at home. An avid reader, baker and Pinterest addict Claire won second place in the Barking and Dagenham Pen to Print writing competition in 2015 setting her writing career in motion.

The Gaia Effect, a hopeful dystopian novel and winner of the 2017 Raven Award for favourite Scifi/Fantasy novel, was published in 2016.

Tales from Suburbia, a collection of humorous plays, blogs and short stories was published in July 2017.

The Rose Thief, a humorous fantasy inspired by Claire’s love of Pratchett was published in November 2017.

Claire has had two short stories published in 2017. ‘Underground Scratchings’ can be found in the sci-fi and fantasy anthology Tales from the Underground, published by Inklings Press. ‘Patient Data’ can be found in the sci-fi anthology The Quantum Soul, published by SciFi Roundtable.

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Review: Seven-Sided Spy by Hannah Carmack

Books, Featured, Reviews

About the Book

Title: Seven-Sided Spy

Author: Hannah Carmack

Length: 259 pages

Publication Date: 15 January, 2018

Publisher: NineStar Press

Categories: Suspense, espionage, LGBT

Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Synopsis

In the midst of the cold war, the CIA’s finest and most fatal female agent, Diana Riley, vanishes. Kidnapped by the KGB and taken to the backcountry of North Carolina, she and her team of unsavory partners are forced to undergo illegal experimentation.

But, when the experiments leave them horribly deformed and unable to reenter society without someone crying monster, the previously glamorous and high-maintenance spies must escape KGB captivity and avoid recapture at the hands of Nikola, a ruthless KGB agent with an intense and well-justified grudge against her former flame.

Review

I’ll be honest, this didn’t end up being quite what I expected when I picked it up. When I think spy thrillers and espionage, I generally think James Bond-type stories, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that. This was much more character-driven than plot driven.

There’s a lot to like in here. I appreciated the way the characters on both sides were nuanced. There was really only one character I ended up labeling the true hero, and as expected, that’s the one who genuinely had a happy ending. Whether or not the others got what was due them is up to the reader.

While some people may struggle with keeping the characters sorted out, I had no trouble. Each one has two names, which feeds into the theme of people being multi-faceted. For something that could have been confusing, I think the author did a remarkable job of making sure we had the tools we needed to know who was who. The dual identities also serve to make each character sympathetic, regardless of which side they’re on.

That was another thing I liked. There are mostly no true good guys/bad guys. Although that element is usually firmly present in most spy thrillers, it’s not here. Over the course of the book, we learn how and why most of them became involved. Their motivations are varied and interesting. That’s probably the best part of the story.

I do have mixed feelings in other ways. For one thing, I never felt like some of the plot strands went much of anywhere. As interesting as the characters’ psychology was, I think I was looking for something with a more specific goal. There was no logic to why the spies were given the steroid that transformed them or what the plan was.

I also found it frustrating that most of the story takes place in the woods on a mountain. We see other places in flashbacks, but I’m not the sort of reader who wants my action stories so localized. It makes sense to the story, but it simply wasn’t my preference.

This definitely should not be tagged as “lesbian.” For one thing, neither of the two women appeared to be a lesbian. For another, their relationship was about the least fleshed-out thing in the entire story. I found the two men who had an ongoing relationship more compelling. This is a problem, making male love more interesting, deep, and well-rounded. It also feeds into some unpleasant stereotypes about women and cattiness. Some of the other LGBT content confused me, and frankly, I had some misgivings about Nikola’s and Hera’s characters in a number of ways.

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it didn’t leave me feeling entirely satisfied. There were some loose ends, which I did somewhat expect, but that wasn’t the problem I had with it. It’s hard to explain without giving everything away, but I finished the book feeling a bit like something was missing.

Overall, the writing is very good. If a psychological cross-examination of spies and the spies who love them is your thing, then this book will delight you. If you’re like me and want a bit more of a specific aim for your international espionage, then you might just as well go back to regular old James Bond.

For good writing and an interesting premise but a story that ultimately didn’t dazzle me, this gets 7/10 fountain pens.

Interview

What inspired you to write your latest story?

Seven-Sided Spy comes from a place of deep love. It’s this weird quasi-combination of “hip” media like X-Men:First Class and James Bond, and gritty literary pieces like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Though, more than anything, the characters inspired me. Once the story started falling into place I couldn’t seem to get it down fast enough.

Are there any common themes you see in your work?

Moral ambiguity! I didn’t set out with the intention to write about it, but if there’s one theme that is clear throughout everything I’ve published thus far, it’s that no one is all-good or all-bad. Most all of my stories will narrow POV down to two central characters. The reader can decide which is the protagonist and which is the antagonist.

What advice would you give someone starting out?

Get writing! You hear it everywhere you go, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to get butt-in-chair and hands-on-keyboard. It’s easy to think about what you want to write. It’s another thing completely to actually sit down and write it.

Are there any types of scene you find hard to write (action, love, death, etc.)?

Romance! After getting Seven-Sided Spy accepted for publication, I started working on a little anthology piece called Take Your Medicine. The biggest difference between the two was the romance! Seven-Sided Spy has a lot going on to prevent romance from popping up, but Take Your Medicine was written with a HEA or HFN requirement. It was a real exercise to switch between the two and I came out a better writer because of it.

Plotter or pantser?

Plotter, without fail. I think pantsing is fun for fast and loose writing, but if I want to tell a long-term story, I need a game plan.

What’s your favorite book?

Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. Fairytale retellings way before it was cool, thoughtful writing, commentary on mortality, and also pretty gay.

Do you have any body art?

I’m a tattoo fiend! I got my first tattoo –a Captain America shield with a puzzle piece instead of a star- in 2016. This past August I got my second tattoo. It’s a pastel colored mountain scene with the quote “The Stars Were Made for Falling,” (from an amazing song by Rob Cantor), which is a shout out not only to one of my favorite bands, but also to my novel Seven-Sided Spy. I’ve got a few lined up for next year, but we’ll see which one gets inked first!

About the Author

Hannah Carmack is a recent graduate of Northern Illinois University. She enjoys volunteer work and spends most of her time working for the organization STEM Read, connecting reluctant readers and bookworms alike to the world of literature and science. She has a number of poetry publications, all of which regard living with ulcerative colitis. Although living with an auto-immune disease is difficult, she finds power in using her writing as a way to convey the world that people with disabilities live in to people who may not fully comprehend it. Her debut novel Seven-Sided Spy will be hitting shelves this January with NineStar Press.

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