A Chat with Gabriel Valjan, author of Wasp’s Nest

My guest today is Gabriel Valjan, author of the Roma series, published by Winter Goose Publishing. The first book,Roma, Underground, came out earlier this year. The sequel, Wasp’s Nest, was just released this week. The third installment is scheduled for August 2013.

Valjan attended the University of Southern California for his undergraduate education and completed graduate school in England at the University of Leeds. Ronan Bennett short-listed him for the 2010 Fish Short Story Prize. Valjan’s short stories continue to appear in print and online literary journals. He recently won ZOUCH Magazine’s inaugural Lit Bits Contest. He lives in New England.

Find the author on the web: Website/blog / Winter Goose Publishing Author’s page / Pinterest for Wasp’s Nest

Wasp’s Nest is available on Amazon Paperback / Barnes & Noble Paperback / Kindle / Nook

Read my review of Wasp’s Nest on The Dark Phantom Review.

Thanks for this interview. Tell us a little about what got you into writing?

Like most things in my life the road was not always obvious or straight. I didn’t always know that I wanted to be a writer. As a child I read voraciously, so I was quite awed, quite intimidated, by the great talents on the bookshelves at my local library. I began with a lot of self-doubt about my ability to sustain an idea, create multidimensional characters, and capture the tics of dialogue. I knew what I enjoyed in literature, understood to some degree how it all worked. I was convinced (still am) that nobody could teach the idea that starts a short story, a novel, or a poem. When I had set aside the initial excuses and insecurities, I discovered that I was having fun and I had stories within me.

What was your inspiration for Wasp’s Nest?

After I wrote the first in the series, Roma, Underground, I knew that I had created my cast of characters. Two things happened then: one, I wanted to see how each of my characters would grow and evolve, interact with each other, the world around them, and bond emotionally; and two, I wanted to take my own sense of ‘what if’ thinking and create situations and see how my characters would negotiate them. I believe what makes my characters interesting is that they each of them has their own ‘issues,’ as we all do in life, but mixed in it all is a cultural collision of American and European. In Wasp’s Nest, the ‘what if’ has to do with cancer research and technology. What if someone had a way of detecting cancer at the level of DNA and prevent cancer from occurring without chemotherapy, radiation, and disfiguring surgeries? Since the majority of us will die either from heart disease or some form of cancer, there is that ‘what if.’ And then there is the ‘what if’ in Wasp’s Nest of the threat a potential cure poses to those industries that profit from chronic illness. I don’t suggest that ‘what if’ is a pure either/or. Dance with the angel of a cure, but don’t forget that the Devil was also once an angel.

For those readers who haven’t read this or the first book yet, what is the blurb of the series as a whole and how many instalments are you planning?

I haven’t committed to an exact number, but I had planned six novels. The overall arc of the series is watching friends learn how to love and trust each other, learn how to move within a morally compromised world. The main character Alabaster (or Bianca if you prefer her alias) is difficult to know, extremely intelligent, and dichotomous at times in her thinking. She sees things others do not, yet she struggles with intimacy and trusting another person. Dante, her boyfriend, is a nice guy, a little too patient with her at times. Farrugia is a stoical investigator with an edge to him. His peer Gennaro is a widower who has never forgiven himself for causing his wife’s death. Alessandro has brains but picks the wrong women. Then there is Silvio, the ambitious and humorous interpreter. In Wasp’s Nest, readers will be introduced to Diego Clemente, a garrulous, very Boston character. Throughout the Roma Series I try to infuse authentic Italian culture and food.

In this novel, you dive into the controversial world of biotechnology, genetics, and pharmaceutical companies. Is the theory about wasps, the methyl toolkit, and their connection to cancer in your story a real thing?

The Nasonia wasp is real. There are three species indigenous to the U.S. and a fourth was indeed discovered in Brewertown, New York. In the novel I mentioned Mendelian genetics, which should return readers to basic biology. I try to keep it simple. I address the reason why this wasp was selected and why the fruit fly is an imperfect model. The reader will discover that the Nasonia wasp is no pleasant creature, but what I said about its genetics is true; it is easy to study, easy to manipulate, but the ‘what if’ is that current research in Nasonia is devoted to the development of pesticides. The concept of the methyl toolkit is real. The ‘what if’ I propose is pointed at oncology. I don’t think that it is misleading to say that we all have the potential for cancer. Women with a familial predisposition to cancer, for example, can be tested for the BRCA1 and HER2 genes for ovarian and breast cancers, respectively. A while back, the actress Christina Applegate tested positive for the BRCA1 gene, which was unexpressed, but she opted for a double mastectomy as a pre-emptive strike. This is an example where technology exists and the ethical debates begin. While some sophisticated ideas do exist in Wasp’s Nest, I tried to not make them inaccessible. I believe readers are intelligent and seek intellectual engagement while they enjoy a story.

How much research did the book required?

I always do a great amount of research, but I hope that what I decide to include is articulate and not beyond the grasp of the reader, or so implausible that it is science fiction. I research technology online and in technical libraries. While I don’t have a Ph.D, I’ve retained a working vocabulary from my scientific education. With the methyl toolkit I did speak with an immunologist and instructor who researches cancer and teaches at the graduate level. While I was remiss in thanking him in the Acknowledgements I had him in mind when I introduce readers to Portuguese food in Wasp’s Nest.  I should also mention that another form of research necessary to the Roma Series is cultural in nature. Two of my friends act as my editors. Dean proofreads all my work; and Claudio does the ‘cultural editing.’ Both men are far more knowledgeable in Italian than I. Claudio is a native speaker, a linguist, a journalist and a professional translator, with northern and southern Italian culture in his veins. While I can read Italian with respectable facility, only the native speaker can give you the authentic phrases and turns of phrase. This ‘cultural editing’ was crucial to the third novel, out in August 2013, since it deals with a volatile part of recent Italian history, with an unfortunate American connection.

I love the title, which of course suits the story well because it works on two levels. Did you come up with it right away or did you have to brainstorm?

I knew the title from the start. I had wanted to create a story in Boston. The title does work on many levels. It alludes to the insect, the Bostonian stereotype of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, and the colloquial expression of getting into a mess, although I think the proper phrase has to do with a ‘hornet’s nest.’ One of the particular joys with Wasp’s Nestwas working with Winter Goose in designing the cover art. I should point out that the wasp on the cover is not a Nasoniacritter, but a yellow jacket wasp.

How long did it take you to write the novel and did you plot in advance?

I wrote Wasp’s Nest in four to six weeks, BUT I spent longer editing and shaping it before I submitted it to Winter Goose, where it underwent more editing with James Logan. Fellow Winter Goose authors Jessica Kristie and Sherry Foley provided me with invaluable feedback and suggestions before James touched the manuscript. Jessica is a poet so her contribution around imagery was helpful. Sherry is the author of two Winter Goose thrillers: A Captive Heart andSwitched in Death. She taught me other “suspense tricks.” I can’t emphasize how helpful they were for both Wasp’s Nest and for me as a writer. In terms of plotting, I knew where I was going with this novel. It did feel at times like “seat of your pants” writing, but I advocate getting the story down on paper and then editing afterwards.

What made you decide to make your main character a woman? Has this been challenging? If yes, in what way?

The genesis for the Alabaster character came from a dare. I was talking to a work colleague whom I’ve known for over ten years. Margaret knew that I was writing short stories at the time so she suggested that I try my hand at writing a female character.  The result was a short story entitled “Alabaster.” Yes, it is challenging to write out of gender and I would add that it is also difficult to write from a child’s perspective. I have a deep respect for children’s authors since they have to modulate story and vocabulary to their audience. I don’t think writing from a female point of view is insurmountable. Research can get you the answers. The skill is in transforming the knowledge into believable action and dialogue.

In Book I, it was Rome. Now, it is Boston. In both novels your locations are fleshed out in vivid detail. How important is a sense of location in a story?

In the Roma series I try to make the location a character. We can take our environments for granted. Wasp’s Nest takes place in Boston, the third, fourth, and fifth novels take place in Milan, Naples, and Boston. Cities change all the time: think of Whitman’s Manhattan and New Jersey, T.S. Eliot’s London, and Baudelaire’s Paris. The modern metropolis provides a remarkable backdrop to our individual and social conflicts and pleasures.

How do you keep up with what’s out there in terms of spy gadget technology?

I hope readers don’t think that they are getting Jane Bond. John le Carré Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy proved that spy-craft is a slow game of chess. As I mentioned earlier, I read a lot so I read the geek articles whenever I find them, rummage in the libraries when an idea takes root, but in terms of gadgetry I think I use a remarkable device called the ‘intelligent brain,’ and it happens to belong to a woman.

As it’s the case with book I, there’s a lot of marvellous food description in Wasp’s Nest. 

Starving is not an option in Italy. How could you not love the food and the attitude of La Dolce Vita?

If you could narrow down the three main elements of a good spy story, what would they be?

Ambiguity. Misdirection. Movement. A story has to move; the pages have to turn. Ambiguity in character and motivation is true to life. Human beings are not selfless creatures; that is why I think altruism is a virtue. One of the joys of a good mystery is watching intelligent people being intelligent.  This is damned difficult to write, since your protagonist has to be smart enough to spot something that neither the other characters nor your readers can see, even though it’s right in front of them.

You also write poetry and short stories, having published many in literary journals. What do you find more enjoyable: working in a poem, a short story or a novel?

Each has its appeal. Poetry is a house with all the necessary language; and by its nature, not often natural language. The short story is an airplane with a short runway and flight is imminent or the plane crashes. The novel is an endurance race, where there are miles to go, numerous paths to take, but you have only so much water and food: use them wisely. For me poetry is intimate and personal. While I enjoy the short-fiction format, I have noticed that what was once acceptable – twenty to fifty pages is now impractical, with most stories clocking in at 5,000 words. Flash or micro fiction is challenging. Is it a story or a vignette? I’ve only had one flash-fiction piece published; it was a 111-word story that I did for a contest for ZOUCH Magazine.

Congratulations on winning first prize in ZOUCH Magazine’s Lit Bit contest. Can you tell us about it?

I was searching for the “calls for submission” web pages and I saw page after page of requests for flash fiction. I felt dismayed but then I thought: What can I tell in a short, SHORT piece? I wrote one sentence that told a hero’s journey. The brevity of the form drew upon my experience in writing poetry.

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m almost done writing the fifth book in the Roma Series. I’m trying to find a publisher for a three-volume noir series that I have written. It has two main characters, an American and a British woman, who are part of the American intelligence community. The novel starts in Vienna and continues in McCarthy-era Los Angeles and New York, highlighting the time, the mores, and the dark rivalry between the CIA and FBI.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers?

Write because you love to write. No matter how great you think the writing is, please have someone edit it for you. Respect your reader and try to understand that not everyone will like you, that criticism, while an opinion, is an opportunity for improvement. If you find a writer that you like then write a balanced review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. Last but not least – thank you for reading.

This interview originally appeared in Blogcritics. 

A Conversation with Thriller/Crime Author Brandt Dodson

Brandt Dodson was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, which he would later choose as the setting for his Colton Parker Mystery series. Although he discovered in grade school that he wanted to be a writer, it would be another twenty-one years before he would put pen to paper.“I knew in fifth grade that I wanted to be a writer. Our teacher had given each of us a photograph which we were to use as inspiration for a short story. The particular photo I was given was of several young men playing handball in New York City. I don’t remember all of the particulars of the story now, but I do remember the thrill that writing it gave me.”

Later, while in college, one of Brandt’s professors would echo that teacher’s comment.

“But life intervened and I found myself working at a variety of jobs. I worked in the toy department of a local department store and fried chicken for a local fast food outlet. Over the course of the next several years I finished my college degree and worked for the Indianapolis office of the FBI, and served for eight years as a Naval Officer in the United States Naval Reserve. I also obtained my doctorate in Podiatric Medicine, and after completion of my surgical residency, opened my own practice. But I never forgot my first love. I wanted to write.”

During his early years in practice, Brandt began reading the work of Dean Koontz.

“I discovered Dean’s book, The Bad Place, and was completely blown away by his craftsmanship. I read something like 13 or 14 of his back list over the following two weeks. It wasn’t long after that I began to write and submit in earnest.”

Still, it would be another twelve years before Brandt was able to secure the publishing contract he so desperately desired.

“I began by writing the type of fiction that I enjoyed; I wrote edgy crime thrillers that were laced with liberal amounts of suspense. Over the years, I’ve begun to write increasingly more complex work by using broader canvases and themes.

Since securing his first contract, Brandt has continued to pen the type of stories that inspired him to write when he was a boy, and that have entertained his legions of readers.

“I love to write, and as long as others love to read, I plan on being around for a long time to come.”

Brandt Dodson’s latest book is the crime thriller The Sons of Jude.

Visit Brandt Dodson’s website at www.brandtdodson.com.

Q: Welcome to Beyond the Books, Brandt.  Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

The Sons of Jude is my seventh novel. However, it’s the eighth book I’ve written. That book, which was actually my first, will never see the light of day nor should it. Some things are best left unsaid and I said them all in that first one.

I’ve published some short stories, too, but I prefer the long form. Novel writing gives me a chance to day-dream and cook the story ’till it’s done.

Q: When you were published for the first time, which route did you go – mainstream, small press, vanity published or self-published and why or how did you choose this route?

For a long time after beginning an earnest effort toward publication, I focused on short stories. I figured at the time that they were easier; that they were shorter, less complex and would help me establish writing and publishing credentials. Nothing could be farther from the truth. At least in my case.

When I began to focus on the long story form, my fiction began to pick up steam. Not so much in the sense that publishers were beating a path to my door, but that I was making headway as a writer; my craft was developing along the lines it should have. When I felt I was ready, I began to write the second book of my career. That novel, Original Sin, literally poured out of me in a week. I wrote the entire book longhand. It was a first-person suspense story, something I’ve since learned can be quite challenging. At the time, though, I didn’t know enough to know what I didn’t know.

But it worked.

When it came time to submit – and remember, this was 2004 – self-publishing was still in relative infancy with a lot of stigma attached to it that is not the case today – I felt the only realistic option I had was to seek out a traditional publisher. After completing Original Sin, I attended a writer’s conference the following week where I met with an editor from a small press publisher. He liked the book and that meeting eventually led to a three-book contract. I had a 12 year odyssey learning how to write, but when I got published, it happened rather quickly.

Q: How long did it take you to get published once you signed the contract?

After submitting Original Sin my editor asked for another novel so that he could show the committee that I wasn’t a one-book writer. I wrote the second novel in four weeks and he liked it better than the first. He told me to sit tight. It was almost a year to the day after he first saw Original Sin that the contract offer came. As I’ve mentioned, it was a three-book contract, but I already had two of them written. They brought the books out, as a series, spacing those four months apart over the course of a year.

Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I was attending the same writer’s conference a year later when I heard about the contract offer. The conference was held on a college campus in June so some of the attendees could stay in the dorms. It was a few minutes after ten p.m. and I was heading back to the dorm when my wife called to say she had just opened our email. She read the message to me. I can still hear the excitement in her voice. I was excited too, but unfortunately, there was no one to tell. Most of the attendees were either already in their rooms – if they stayed on campus – or had returned to their hotels. I drove around town aimlessly for the better part of an hour, eventually stopping at a McDonald’s for a Happy Meal. As low wattage as it is, this is still the way I celebrate each new contract.

Q: What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

The very first thing I did was to develop a website. My son, who’s far more computer savvy than his old man, built it for me. He kept it in tune with the noir tone of my novels, complete with gun shots, squealing tires and explosions. It was rather animated to say the least.

Shortly after that, I began seeking interview opportunities on the web and even did some local radio and TV. I was all over the place.

Q: Since you’ve been published, how have you grown as a writer and now a published author?

My knowledge of the business – and make no mistake, this is a business. – has grown exponentially. I make it my business to know my business.

But I’ve also grown as a writer. I’m reading more deeply and widely than I ever had before, and I am more willing to attempt new techniques when writing. I read everything on the craft that I can find, including books on: character, point-of-view, plotting and grammar.

When I read, I read the novels that are written by the leaders of the genre. And I read for knowledge too. I read biographies, science, and history … nearly anything that can later become grist for the mill.

Q: What has surprised or amazed you about the publishing industry as a whole?

This industry is populated by some great people. That surprised me because I have often worked in areas where that was not the case.

But there is a certain fickleness to publishing too. One person at one house may say that such-and-such a novel will never sell and that quickly becomes the dictate for every other house. When someone writes that novel anyway, and then self-publishes to critical acclaim and huge sales, everyone seems stunned.

I’ve also been a bit taken aback by book stores and their seemingly never ending laissez faire approach to selling books. I’ve had stores in which I’ve sold hundreds of copies of my previous novels, refuse to stock more than a single copy of my next book until it could be proven it would sell.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?

Getting to do the very thing you love to do and have been doing for years without pay or acknowledgment. I can’t think of a better way to spend my day than making up stories. Now that I get acknowledged for it and someone(s) is actually reading them, all the better. It’s a great life.

Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

A dream is a goal without a deadline.

Don’t quit. Nearly every author I’ve met has succeeded only after years of learning the craft. If you give up, it will most likely be just before the threshold of your success. And what a loss that would be for you and your readers.

Book Review: Wasp’s Nest by Gabriel Valjan

In this the second installment of his Roma series, author Gabriel Valjan takes secret government analyst Alabaster Black from Rome to Boston to investigate Nasonia Pharmaceutical and its CEO, Cyril Sargent for Rendition, the covert government agency she works for.

Nasonia uses advanced molecular biology and genetic sequencing technology to target human diseases. Sargent, who’s demonstrated lack of transparency in his dealings and unorthodox strategies in the past and who’s named his new controversial venture after a group of wasps, claims that his company is in no way perverting the natural order of things or doing anything unethical. He also claims that his research with wasps might lead to developing a methyl toolkit to use against cancer.

Thus, it is up to Alabaster to figure out what’s really going on and, because of her unnatural pattern recognition ability, she she soon gets hired by Sargent.

While this is going on, Alabaster is still being haunted by her last adventure in Rome in the form of a Bulgarian hit man set on killing her after a price has been put on her head. Old friends and a love interest from book I join in, adding further tension to the story as they uncover a twisted conspiracy.

I really enjoyed reading Wasp’s Nest. In fact, I liked this book better than the first one. Somehow, I was able to feel closer to Alabaster: she’s smart, bold and fearless yet has a soft side that is at times humorous. But mainly, I think it was the whole idea about DNA and wasps that did it for me. The information was fascinating. As Valjan did with Rome in his first book, Boston is fleshed out in vivid detail in this one, to the point where the setting becomes almost like a character. Also, as in the first book, the author goes into detail bringing Italian food to life–to the point where the reader has no other option but to love it. In short, an interesting, entertaining read. Recommended.

Read my interview with the author.

Purchase links:
Amazon Paperback
Barnes & Noble Paperback
Kindle / Nook

This review originally appeared in Blogcritics.

Character Interview: Samuel Roberts from Scott A. Lerner, Paranormal Suspense Thriller, Cocaine Zombies

We’re thrilled to have here today Samuel Roberts from Scott A. Lerner’s new paranormal suspense thriller, Cocaine Zombies.

Sam is in his thirties and is an attorney living in Urbana, Illinois.

It is a pleasure to have him with us today at Beyond the Books!

Thank you so for this interview, Mr. Roberts. Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?

Let’s face it; the story is pretty incredible. If I didn’t live it I wouldn’t believe it. Yet, the world is bigger than we pretend it is. It offers us both wonderful nightmarish things. I feel I was fairly portrayed most of the time. Although, I wasn’t really as scared as the author makes me out to be. I also never cried during Finding Nemo. Wait! Never mind, the author never said that.

Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality?  If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?

He could have made me profound and handsome. It would have been a lie but it would probable increase my chances of getting a date. Don’t tell Susan I said that. Could we erase that bit?

What do you believe is your strongest trait?

I do what I need to do even if I am afraid.

Worst trait?

Sometimes I am afraid.

If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?

That’s tough. Johnny Depp would be good. Daniel Craig, too. Either would work.

Do you have a love interest in the book?

Her name is Susan. We have been friends for a long time. It practically took a club to the head to realize we were more than that.

At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?

Finding a severed head on the shelf above your crisper bin has a way of changing one’s perspective. Although, “nervous” may not the right word. Perhaps scared to death would be better. I kind of assumed things would not turn out well at that point.

If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?

Thomas Traver. I would like to avoid being gutted and beheaded. I am not fond of severe pain. I prefer to avoid pain, period. I don’t even like to go to the dentist.

How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?

Tremendous. Let’s just say there is a sequel coming out called Ruler of Demons. I am in the sequel, which means that the ending turned out better than I deserved. Yet, as in all things, the world is not safe. The world may never be safe but at least it is still around.

What words of wisdom would you give your author if he decided to write another book with you in it?

I may sound like a psychic but he already did. Although, I have not read it yet. I would suggest he make me better looking, smarter and richer. I know he won’t, though. He feels my character should reflect a real person and not some Hollywood version of what a hero should be. If a movie is made I bet he would reject the whole Johnny Depp or Daniel Craig thing.

Thank you for this interview, Sam.  Will we be seeing more of you in the future?

As I mentioned earlier in the interview Ruler of Demons should be coming out soon. I often wonder if I am cursed. I eat my vegetables and I am kind to animals. Why is everyone trying to kill me? Sorry I don’t mean to complain. I would like to thank you for this interview. After all everyone interviews the author. All he does is sit on his rear end typing while I actually put my butt on the line. Who knows, maybe we could all get together and talk about Ruler of Demons—if I survive it.

Author and attorney Scott A. Lerner resides in Champaign, Illinois. He obtained his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and went on to obtain his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. He is currently a sole practitioner in Champaign, Illinois. The majority of his law practice focuses on the fields of Criminal law and Family Law. Mr. Lerner lives with his wife, their two children, and their cat Fern. Lerner collects unusual antiques and enjoys gardening, traveling, reading fiction and going to the movies. Cocaine Zombies is his first published novel. Coming soon, the sequel: Ruler of Demons.

You can find Scott online at scottlerner.camelpress.com.

Samuel Roberts, a small-town lawyer in Urbana, Illinois, is contacted by a prospective client accused of selling cocaine. Nothing Sam hasn’t handled before. Or is it? Thomas is accompanied by a mysterious and exotic beauty named Chloe. Who is she, why is she paying for Thomas’s defense, and why is the accused so antsy around her?

Soon after Sam takes on the case he is plagued by terrible nightmares. Only, in these nightmares, when he dreams of death, people die. Realizing that he is out of his depth, Sam enlists the help of his friend, Bob Sizemore. Bob is oddly insightful about the supernatural and deeply suspicious of big business and the government. Sam and Bob soon discover that a major German pharmaceutical company has been using human guinea pigs to test a highly addictive and dangerous derivative of cocaine first developed in Nazi Germany. Combined with ancient herbs provided by a Voodoo priest, the substance has become increasingly addictive and dangerous.

After Thomas’s head shows up in Sam’s refrigerator, suspicion naturally falls on him. Now he has no choice but to face the forces of evil head on. But how do a small-town lawyer and a computer geek defeat an enemy with the power to enslave mankind?

 

Guest Blogger Joanne Elder: The Steep Climb to the Top: A Debut Author’s Story

The Steep Climb to the Top: A Debut Author’s Story

By Joanne Elder

Four years ago, my over-active imagination tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, “You should write a book.” A crazy thought, perhaps, but is it any crazier than daydreaming about thrilling, sci-fi adventures? I had always been a sci-fi fan, but a writer of science fiction? I pondered this notion acknowledging that I had a great deal of technical writing experience under my belt from years working as an engineer. But, to make the leap to fiction? I dismissed any uncertainties and sat down at my computer, knowing that when I start something, I like to take it the max. Now, with two science fiction books published, I thought it’s time I tell my story.

For months, I dedicated myself to writing Spectra. I became consumed with the plot, and the background research. All the while, I felt certain that upon completion of the manuscript, I’d get a literary agent to represent me and land a contract with one of the big publishing houses. After all, how many people could possibly dedicate themselves to a project of this magnitude and see it through to fruition? Well apparently thousands.

My cocky attitude was quickly humbled as I queried agents and larger publishers. Letters of rejection filled my inbox, but they didn’t crush my spirit. I turned my sights to the smaller presses and very quickly signed a contract with MuseItUp Publishing.

One year later not only did I hold a printed copy of Spectra in my hands, I had a second contract for its sequel, Entity. My overzealous attitude reignited. Launching my debut novel was akin to starting up a business and I believed success would come with the proper investment of both time and money. I did a press release, a book trailer, and threw myself into the social networking scene with a website, Facebook page and Twitter. I started blogging on my website and as a guest on others. I actively participated in forums, and Facebook and LinkedIn groups. I attended conferences. I even advertised with key science fiction magazines and websites. I watched my sales statistics each step of the way and, at no point, found any positive correlation between books sold and my efforts.

Next step, I hired a publicist. I will give a word of warning to any author considering this promotional avenue…shop carefully. They can lure you in with their promises and provide few results. That was my experience with the first publicist I used, which I will refrain from naming here. Their efforts, although well intentioned, lead to nothing more than a few reviews from mediocre review sites. Once again, no increase in sales. Bad fortune can make us smarter and I’m now working with a publicist I’m very pleased with. Will sales go up…time will tell.

Of all my efforts to promote Spectra, there is only one success story, which I inadvertently fell into. I submitted the novel to RT Book Reviews Magazine for review and they gave it their rating of TOP PICK, which they give to few books. For the month it appeared in their magazine, sales soared. Perhaps there is one lesson to be learned here. Good, reputable reviews sell books.

So how do authors get their name out there? What’s the right promotional recipe for success? I had hoped that with my experience I’d have these answers by now. The writing world is a changing place with ebooks and online sales dominating the marketplace. This has increased the selection of books for the discriminating reader, yet many still gravitate to the big name “Cadillac” authors. Readers often don’t realize that the latest novel penned by their favorite author may have actually been written by a ghost writer. Book clubs often stack their shelves with the latest media hits boasting vampires or things that are best kept behind closed doors. Are these books literary works of art? I think not, but they sell. I try to take things to the max and I’d like to think I’m not there yet with Spectra. Beyond perseverance, if the key to an author’s success is out there, I’ll find it. In the meanwhile, I’ll keep writing for no better reason than that I love it.

___________________________

Joanne Elder is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering Science at the University of Western Ontario. During her professional career, she spent several years in the aeronautical and nuclear industries, published numerous technical papers in the field of Metallurgical Engineering and presented at international conferences. She now resides in King City, Ontario with her two teen-aged children and husband. Spectra, Elder’s debut novel, and the sequel, Entity, were published by MuseItUp Publishing.

You can visit Joanne Elder’s website at www.sciencefictionthrillers.com.

Twitter | Facebook | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | MuseItUp Publishing

Interview with Jack L. Brody, Author of The Moroni Deception

Jack Brody is a writer, ex-military, and an avid traveler. After his Army stint and then deciding to pass on law school, he went to film school, wrote screenplays, and held a number of jobs which ran from everything to working for a newspaper for one day, to film production, to then going into real estate (with at least five others along the way). He’s fascinated by history, politics, and architecture, all of which play a part in his novels (yes, he already has two more in the works). When not writing, he can often be found hiking with his two faithful dogs, occasionally breaking out the old BMW bike for a ride though the mountains, or playing volleyball or bar trivia with his friends. He divides his time between his home in the Southern Appalachians and wherever his passport will take him. After reading Jon Krakauer’s bestselling “Under the Banner of Heaven,” he was inspired to undertake a full year of research in preparation for the novel. Taking what he’d learned, along with a bit of imagination, the result was the conspiracy thriller, The Moroni Deception. Go to http://www.themoronideception.com/ for more information about the novel and to read the first chapters for free.

Q: Welcome to Beyond the Books, Jack. Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

The Moroni Deception is my first novel. Prior to that I had only written screenplays. I would just add for your readers who are probably not not familiar with my work that The Moroni Deception is a political conspiracy thriller with religious overtones, ala Da Vinci Code, only in this case the Mormon religion is the backdrop.

Q: When you were published for the first time, which route did you go – mainstream, small press, vanity published or self-published and why or how did you choose this route?

The path I took came about as a result of several things coming together. First, I’d heard an interview with writer Barry Eisler (the author of the successful “Rain” series) in which he announced he was going to walk away from the latest six-figure publishing contract that had been offered to publish exclusively for e-Readers. This was also right around the time that Amazon announced that they had sold more books for their Kindle than they had in hardcopy. I also came to the realization that after having spent over five years researching and writing The Moroni Deception, if I were to go the “traditional route”–find an agent, a traditional publisher, etc, –that it could potentially take another two to three years to see the novel released–and that’s best case scenario. So once Gov. Romney got the nomination– because of the rather eerie similarities to the story that takes place in my novel as well as all the recent interest there seems to be in the Mormon religion — that pretty much sealed my decision to directly publish The Moroni Deception and release it through Amazon, Barne’s & Noble, and several others through Visigoth Press, the publishing company I formed with the help of two friends.

Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I was obviously quite happy, as well as relieved when I finally finished the novel, because there were times I sometimes wondered if I ever would finish it. Also,seeing it listed on Amazon.com for the first time when it came out was actually pretty cool in itself.

Q: What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

Visigoth Press issued a nationwide press release that coincided with the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte announcing the release of the book . Since part of the plot deals with a Mormon politician running for President, I thought the timing worked quite well.

Q: Since you’ve been published, how have you grown as a writer and now a published author?

To tell you the truth, I don’t think you can really grow as a writer unless you’re writing, which I haven’t been do much of lately because I’ve been spending so much time on promoting The Moroni Deception. I do know know after looking back at my early drafts, and then later looking at the final product that has since been edited, revised, and rewritten countless times, that I’ve gotten quite a bit better. I also know, though, that I still have a ways to go before I can even think of approaching the writing ability of some of the genre writers I admire like Raymond Chandler, Elmore Leonard, and John Le Carre, but in the mean time I’ll just keep reading their work and writing away.

Q: What has surprised or amazed you about the publishing industry as a whole?

I can’t say I’m really surprised, since all businesses like to have a competitive advantage, and publishing is no different. Their competitive advantage of distribution and marketing is still imposing, but it appears to be eroding as digital publishing grows. In fact, I’m a little amazed that more of them don’t have divisions just focused on digital books.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?

The first thing is mainly just knowing that you’re an author with a completed novel, which is something relatively few others can lay claim to. But perhaps even more importantly, in the bigger picture, that you had an inspiration and followed it through to it’s conclusion.

Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

I guess just write what inspires you and hopefully it will entertain, inform, and inspire others.

Visit the website at  http://www.themoronideception.com/
Purchase from Amazon.

Character Interview: Jamie Collins from Michael Bowler’s romantic thriller ‘A Matter of Time’

We’re thrilled to have here today Jamie Collins from Michael Bowler’s new romantic thriller, A Matter of Time.  Jamie is a 20-year-old college student living in Santa Clara, California.

It is a pleasure to have him with us today at Beyond the Books!

Thank you so for this interview, Jamie.  Now that the book has been written, do you feel you were fairly portrayed or would you like to set anything straight with your readers?

Actually, I feel I was excellently portrayed, maybe better than I could’ve portrayed myself. And I’m an aspiring writer, too.

Do you feel the author did a good job colorizing your personality?  If not, how would you like to have been portrayed differently?

He could’ve described me as dashingly handsome to the point that ladies swooned in my presence. Ha! Sadly, that would’ve been true fiction. As to my personality, I feel he got it just right. I’m kind of an introspective guy, even shy at times, and that can be a difficult character trait to make interesting. But I think Mike hit just the right note in describing my interactions with the other characters as well as with the events that befell me.

What do you believe is your strongest trait?

Honorability, maybe loyalty. I confront some very difficult moral dilemmas in this story and had to make very weighty decisions. My honorable nature, I believe, is what impelled me to make the right choices.

Worse trait?

Self-doubt. I second-guess my decisions too much, even when others tell me I made the right one.

If you could choose someone in the television or movie industry to play your part if your book was made into a movie, who would that be (and you can’t say yourself!)?

Ezra Miller is a phenomenal actor and he’d be outstanding playing me (plus he’s better looking than me, too, and that doesn’t hurt – Ha!)

Do you have a love interest in the book?

Yes. Actually, there are two, but only one is my soul mate. Sounds corny, I know, but I do find the love of my life along this journey. (sigh)

At what point of the book did you start getting nervous about the way it was going to turn out?

About the time I realized I had no way to get off Titanic and was going to go down with the ship. I’d planned everything out so perfectly, except how to get myself off the ship!

If you could trade places with one of the other characters in the book, which character would you really not want to be and why?

Jay, because he’s cynical and bitter about life and I wouldn’t want to go through life that way.

How do you feel about the ending of the book without giving too much away?

Fate is pretty cruel to me in this story, and I’m kind of a basket case at the end. Still, I come to a better appreciation of who I am than I had at the beginning, and I’m hopeful that all the pain I endured can be turned into something positive.

What words of wisdom would you give your author if s/he decided to write another book with you in it?

Maybe not quite so much pain and suffering thrown my way next time, huh? How about showing me some love, eh, Mike?

Thank you for this interview, Jamie.  Will we be seeing more of you in the future?

Very likely, since I kind of, inadvertently, changed the timeline ever so slightly, but even a slight alteration can have devastating consequences, and, unfortunately, those consequences will fall on me like the proverbial ton of bricks. Oh well . . .

Michael Bowler grew up in San Rafael, California. He attended St. Raphael’s School and Marin Catholic High School before attending Santa Clara University. Titanic and her tragic fate fascinated him for as far back as he can remember. He has a vast collection of artwork, memorabilia and virtually every book ever written about the disaster.

He majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara and got a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University. He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several films, most notably “Fatal Images,” “Dead Girls,” “Hell Spa” (later re-edited and titled “Club Dead”), “Things” and “Things II.”

He has written a number of unproduced screenplays and is currently working on other novels he has outlined. He’s been teaching high school in Hawthorne, California for over twenty years.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to seven different boys over 28 years with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles for 27 years.  He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state.

His first novel, A Boy and His Dragon, was originally written in the 1980’s before fantasy stories enjoyed a major renaissance, and has remained unpublished to this day. It is intended as the first of a trilogy.

A Matter of Time, his second novel, was originally written in the 1980’s and completed in the mid-1990’s as time permitted.

You can visit Michael on the web at www.michaeljbowler.webs.com.

Follow Michael Bowler on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/BradleyWallaceM

Friend Michael Bowler at Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1377702356

Pick up a paperback copy of Michael Bowler’s A MATTER OF TIME at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/A-Matter-Time-Michael-Bowler/dp/143278711X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344430749&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+bowler

Download your electronic copy of Michael Bowler’s A MATTER OF TIME at Amazon Kindle Store:  http://www.amazon.com/A-Matter-of-Time-ebook/dp/B007GOAC9C/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1344430749&sr=8-1

Purchase your paperback copy of Michael Bowler’s A MATTER OF TIME at Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-matter-of-time-michael-bowler/1109296752

Pick up a copy of Michael Bowler’s A MATTER OF TIME at Outskirts Press:   http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432787110

http://www.amazon.com/A-Matter-Time-Michael-Bowler/dp/143278711X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333825240&sr=8-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-matter-of-time-michael-bowler/1109296752?ean=9781432787110&itm=1&usri=michael+bowler+a+matter+of+time

What is your destiny?

This question haunts 20-year-old Jamie Collins. A junior at Santa Clara University in 1986, Jamie has friends, a  professor who mentors him, and a promising future as a writer.

Then the dreams begin – nightmarish visions that transport him back to a time and place fifty years before he was born: Titanic’s maiden voyage in 1912!  Less than a week before the 74th anniversary of its sinking, Jamie discovers that his fate is inexplicably linked to that of the famous vessel. Somehow, the two timelines are overlapping, and when Titanic dies this time, Jamie will die along with it.

The dreams reveal something evil stalking the ill-fated ship, something that expedites the collision which sinks her. Jamie realizes that the only way to stop this evil and prevent his own death may be to prevent Titanic from sinking in the first place.

But how? How can he stop that ship from sinking in 1912 when he hadn’t even been born yet? And even if he can stop it – should he? What will be the effect on history if he succeeds? Jamie’s quest to fulfill his destiny ties friendsand  family together  in ways he could never have  imagined.

A Matter of Time is an emotionally charged voyage into the value of friendship, the power of love, the impact of evil, and the vagaries of Fate.

 

 

 

Read a Chapter: Concrete Pearl by Vincent Zandri

Read a Chapter is *NEW* added feature at Beyond the Books! Here you’ll be able to read the first chapters of books of all genres to see if you like them before you buy them. Today we are featuring Concrete Pearl by Vincent Zandri. Ordering information follows. Enjoy!

Ava “Spike” Harrison might be a beautiful, classically schooled woman, but the single, 38 year old construction business owner is also plenty ballsy. Her late father taught her long ago how to handle the rough boys in an industry that’s almost entirely filled with hard-boiled men on the make. But now, with “the business dad built” from the ground up failing due to an unusual series of job-site injuries and just plain bad luck, Spike has no choice but to take on one last project she believes can pull the fledgling commercial firm from the depths of almost certain bankruptcy and family shame: The Renovation of Albany PS 20.

Problem is, Spike had no choice but to take the job on the cheap or, what’s known in the industry as, “at cost.” To make matters worse, she’s not only hired an asbestos removal contractor who, unbeknownst to her, low-balled his price, but she’s advanced him $10Gs from her own dwindling cash account as a “good faith” incentive to beat the project deadline.

Now, when that same asbestos contractor goes missing and it’s discovered by OSHA officials that he’s cheated on the project exposing more than 300 students to deadly asbestos fibers for months, the ever responsible Spike takes matters into her own callused hands and goes in search of him. What she discovers along the way however, is a path paved with deception, greed, murder, and eventually, her own ultimate demise.

Chapter 1

How does a headstrong girl like me learn to survive in a man’s construction racket? You learn to survive by taking your old man’s advice, even if it does come to you from six feet under.

After all these years I can still hear the proud baritone pouring out the mouth of the late great John Harrison. He used to say that a building erected by the Harrison Construction Company wasn’t meant to last for two or even three hundred years. Like the great Egyptian pyramids, it was meant to last forever.

I can see the short but sturdy man standing on the edge of a high-rise jobsite, concrete foundations already poured and cured, structural steel newly erected, a big American flag perched high above us off the top most section of rust-colored I-beam.

“You want a tower to last, A.J.?” he’d say, taking my small hand in his, callused fingers squeezing me tight. “You don’t skimp for nobody…You build it right the first time. No matter the cost.”

But I guess even he had to admit that there were those times when a perfectly executed construct might begin to fall apart for no apparent reason. Nothing apparent to the naked eye anyway. Maybe a tack-welded roof joist works itself loose. Or maybe a crack forms in a concrete foundation and over time expands its way up the length of a twenty-story bearing wall. In both cases the destruction is so slow and subtle you might not take notice until it’s too late.

Life is like that too.

Destruction isn’t always something that hits you over the head like a claw hammer. Instead it’s something that’s been building up for a long time, more like the rain that seeps into a brick wall and freezes during the winter months. The ice expands, cracks and eventually destroys the mortar.

Case and point: my own personal Jericho came crashing down on me on Monday, June 15^th, barely a half hour into a hot and humid workday. Call it woman’s intuition or a sharply honed, built-in crap detector, but I knew something wasn’t right from the moment my Blackberry started vibrating against my hip.

I’d been trying to expedite the demolition of the Albany Public School 20 basement utility room, using my equalizer (an old 22 ounce grizzly bear-clawed framing hammer) to rip down the old plywood utility panel backer-board. But even with those four inch claws wedged in between the old, dry plywood and the brick wall, the bitch just wouldn’t budge. Which might explain why I barked into my Blackberry instead of answering it with good old, lady-like professionalism.

“What!”

“Yeah and good morning to you too, chief,” said my assistant and former Harrison mason laborer, Tommy Moleski. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got a bit of an emergency up here. One which requires your ah…utmost undivided attention.”

I pictured the sixty-something, blond-haired, blue-eyed Vietnam vet with the trailer phone pressed to his ear, a lit Marlboro Red balanced precariously between his lips.

“A drop everything kind of emergency, Tommy?” I said. “Or an it-can-wait-until- coffee-break emergency?”

“Need you front-and-freaking-center-now emergency, chief.”

“Meet you in the trailer…and don’t call me, chief.”

Pocketing the Blackberry, I grumbled something about how much Monday mornings sucked, even when you got to be your own boss. Then I grabbed hold of the equalizer’s rubber grip and pulled like nobody’s business.

The old board tore away from the wall and crashed down at my Durango cowboy-booted feet. But then so did half the plaster ceiling. Guess this old broad didn’t know her own strength after all.

Leaving the mess for later, I high-tailed it out of the room and up the concrete stairs. As usual, I had a fire to put out.

– Book excerpt from Concrete Pearl. Purchase your copy at Amazon for only 99 cents by clicking here!

Interview with Allan Leverone, author of ‘Final Vector’

Allan Leverone is a three-time Derringer Award Finalist whose short fiction has been featured in Needle: A Magazine of Noir, Shroud Magazine, Twisted Dreams, Mysterical-E and many other venues, both print and online. His debut thriller, titled FINAL VECTOR, is available February 2011 from Medallion Press. For details, please visit www.allanleverone.com or his blog at www.allanleverone.blogspot.com.  Don’t forget to join him at Pump Up Your Book’s March 2011 Authors on Tour Facebook Party on March 25.  Visit his virtual book tour page at http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2011/01/16/final-vector-virtual-bookk-tour-february-march-2011/ for more information!

Q: Welcome to Beyond the Books, Allan.  Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

Final Vector is my first novel to see the light of day. I’ve had a couple of dozen short stories published, both online and in print magazines and anthologies, but I’m both nervous and excited to join the ranks of professional novelists.

Q: When you were published for the first time, which route did you go – mainstream, small press, vanity published or self-published and why or how did you choose this route?

My journey to publication included a total of 134 rejections of my three manuscripts from agents and publishers, 51 of which were for Final Vector, before Medallion Press showed enthusiastic interest in my thriller about an air traffic controller who gets caught up in a plot to assassinate U.S. President Robert Cartwright by blowing up Air Force One. Medallion is a small Indie publisher, but I believe one of the biggest and best of the Indies.

I had always sworn, during the years when it seemed I was making no progress, that I wasn’t so desperate to see my name on the cover of a novel that I would resort to self-publishing. I figured if my book wasn’t of sufficient quality to get picked up by a traditional publisher I didn’t want it out there. But now, things are changing so fast in the world of publishing that I would seriously consider releasing a book myself.

Q: How long did it take you to get published once you signed the contract?

Not quite fourteen months. I signed my contract with Medallion in late-December, 2009 and Final Vector was officially released February 11, 2011.

Q: How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I’ll never forget the night I got the offer of publication from Medallion. I had to read the email over three times before it really sunk in that, yes, they actually wanted my book! Then I had to examine it to ensure I wasn’t the victim of some cruel practical joke. Knowing I was about to become a professional novelist was a feeling that can’t really be described. It was like drinking a whole bottle of champagne without having to worry about puking it up later or dealing with a headache the next day.

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promotion when you were published for the first time?

Within days of signing the contract for Final Vector, I had contracted with Xuni.com for a complete redesign of my website, www.allanleverone.com. I had designed and maintained the original myself and it wasn’t up to the professional standard I wanted to project. Then I began aggressively expanding my social networking presence, hoping it would help get the word out when it was closer to my release date. Finally, I contracted with COS Productions for development of a video book trailer and signed with Pump Up Your Book Virtual Tours for a two-month blog tour in support of the release.

It sounds like a lot, but as an unknown debut novelist, my challenge is to put my name and my book in front of as many potential readers as possible. Final Vector could be the best thriller ever written, but if no one knows about it, no one’s going to buy it.

Q: Since you’ve been published, how have you grown as a writer and now a published author?

I like to think I would continue to grow as a writer regardless of my publishing situation. I started writing fiction in earnest less than five years ago, so I had—and still have—a lot to learn about the craft. I hope never to stop learning.

There are two things I ask myself every day; one to keep growing as a writer and one to give myself the best possible chance to sell Final Vector and whatever may come next:

1)     Is what I wrote today better than what I wrote yesterday? And

2)     Did I do at least one thing today to promote my work?

If the answer to either of these questions is “no,” I try to do something to rectify that as soon as I can.

Q: What has surprised or amazed you about the publishing industry as a whole?

How slowly things happen within the industry while things are changing so fast for it as a whole. The idea that it could take almost fourteen months to turn a completed manuscript into a new release amazed me when I signed my contract, and it amazes me now. Fourteen months is an eternity the way things are happening in the publishing industry right now, but this is a business that ran basically the same way for five hundred years until the advent of electronic publishing. Now the publishing industry is undergoing a sea change, and traditional publishers are struggling to keep up.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing about being a published author?

That’s an easy question for me to answer. The most rewarding thing, by far, is the knowledge that my work might be entertaining a reader in Boise, Idaho or Sacramento, California or Fairbanks, Alaska right now. Or tomorrow or next week or next month. It’s humbling and rewarding at the same time.

Q: Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

Make sure your work is as polished and as high-quality as it can be, because if it’s riddled with typos or grammar flaws or plot holes it will get passed up in favor of a more polished book, even if it’s a better story. Once your work is the absolute best it can be, turn into a bulldog and never give up. JA Konrath says the difference between a published author and an unpublished author is persistence and I couldn’t agree more.