New Story!

Hey! I know I'm not posting regularly. Too much life and I just had to let things slide. But I will post when I find great recipes or have news, like now.

My story, It's Always Sunny in the Fortress of Bones, is coming out in the anthology, Tales of Magic and Destiny from Inklings Press. Loads of great fantasy in this volume. It's up for pre-order!

Check it out - mybook.to/MagicDestiny

Wednesday Words

Kuportik's forked tongue flicked over the claws on his front foot. So messy, those deer, so full of blood. But that haunch of venison had tasted all right. Not spectacular, but it was sufficient to satiate his hunger. Tomorrow, he'd have to try something new. Maybe fish from the lock. Shark was supposed to good for the scales and teeth.

His huge eyes slowly closed as he drowsed in his cave, tail tucked over his nose.

Tomorrow, next week, next year, it would bring more venison, not fish. His wing still ached and his bones grew weary as the centuries passed.

Kuportik the great dragon dreamed of his past glory, of that time when he was usually more adventurous in his diet.

Check out more flashfiction on this theme here - https://www.facebook.com/pg/WonHundredWords/posts/

#WednesdayWords #flashfiction

Basket of Book Reviews

I feel like I keep stalling out on my writing, but at least I'm reading again. I've got a pile of books waiting on my nightstand and a whole lot more on my Kindle, if I can ever pry it away from my daughter. Here are the ones I've read recently:

Hammer of Thor
S. Evan Townsend

I admit I know the author and that's why I bought his books. They also intrigued me. This is the first in an alternate history/reality series. The world is pretty much the way it is now, except some people are adepts who use magical talismans to cast spells. They have their own government and hidden histories that intersect with the normal world and shadow a lot of happenings. Some of history's heroes were actually adepts. Other figures, like Thor, are actual demigods. Overall, the adepts keep pretty much to themselves, fighting each other and trying to stay under the radar of the normal world.

This book takes place from the 1930s through the 1950s. It reads in many ways more like a memoir than a work of fiction. The plot meanders, takes unexpected detours, and doesn't mesh together tightly. Some plot threads are introduced, become very important for a chapter or two, then just disappear and never get resolved. Just like real life. But I liked the main character, Kader, enough to care what happened to him. It kept me reading.

Don't let the cover fool you, Hammer of Thor was a fun read even if the memoir style plotting and storytelling bothered me somewhat. The historical details were a fun touch. Having Hitler hunting for talismans and powerful artifacts smacked of Indiana Jones, but in a good way.

I give it a solid three and a half stars and a PG for mild violence.

Agent of Artifice
S. Evan Townsend

The sequel to Thor's Hammer was a lot of fun to read. Same universe, different characters, years later, 1950s through 1970s. This time, it's an adept who's been burned by his Guild and turned into a pariah. Everyone wants a piece of him. He just wants to get back to his gambling playboy lifestyle in Cuba. And find the girl of his dreams. The government wants to enlist him in the CIA, to get an adept in their ranks so they can figure out how to control the Guilds.

I liked this one better than Thor's Hammer, although I didn't like the main character as much. He was a little too self-centered for my taste. But he gets what he deserves and grows into a much more likable man by the end. Plus the story has giant fire-breathing pterodactyls attacking the Space Needle in Seattle.

This one gets four stars and a PG for violence.

Shrouded
Frances Pauli

If you read this blog much, you know I love Frances Pauli's stories. She's done it again with a science fiction setting that still manages to be about magic and finding true love. She creates a very believable universe with alien cultures and races that feel real enough that I almost expect to run into them at the grocery store.

Dolfan is one of the Shrouded (from a world named Shroud for the thick atmosphere it has, a world which I found very intriguing to the point I want to write fanfic about it now). They are isolationist to the extreme, except every child born on the planet is male. So they import brides. A ceremony at their Heartstone, a giant crystal, helps them find their heartmate. It's like a giant matchmaker and speed dating all rolled together, except that description made it seem tawdry and stupid and it's anything but that in the story. I'm not doing it justice here. Anyway, Dolfan wants his bride, but he's also a Prince along with eleven other Shrouded men. The first to find his bride will also become King, so it gets complicated.

Vashia wants to escape her father's plans for her future. He's the ruling despot of a planet that deals in slaves, brothels, drugs, and every other vice and nasty thing ever invented. Vashia's dad wants to marry her off to his second in command, Jarn, to cement his loyalty. Jarn is a slime ball. Vashia jumps at the only escape she can find—becoming a bride on Shroud. It's a one-way ticket and she's not sure she's made the right choice.

And then things get complicated.

I give Shrouded a full five-stars with a PG for mild swearing and a few fistfights.

Seen
Frances Pauli

The sequel to Shrouded picks up pretty much where Shrouded left off with more of the Princes and their stories. And adds in even more wonderful aliens and sigh-worthy romances and forbidden loves.

Another full five-stars and PG for less swearing but more fistfights.

New Book Release - Once Upon Two Kingdoms by Anna del C Dye

Today I'm happy to announce a new book by Anna del C Dye. She writes some lovely fantasy stories. If you're in the mood for escaping, check out her books. And be sure to stop by the Facebook party she's throwing for her book: https://www.facebook.com/events/615939271840135/

Freedom to Choose is Paramount for any human

An arrangement made when Elizabeth was just a babe ties her to someone she has never met, never spoken to, never loved. Now she desires freedom—a way to choose her own path—her own husband. The moment Elizabeth meets Patrick she knows he is her soul mate. But when you are bound to a crown how is any choice your own?

Buy your copy today:

From the author's website

Amazon

Anna was born in the extreme South along some famous beaches. She grew up with four other siblings, being placed in the middle.

Anna moved to the USA to marry her husband Rodney, and has resided in Utah since then. Her husband, a native of Idaho, met her in her hometown. They fell in love and she came to Utah on Christmas Eve to be married two weeks later. They are the parents of three princes and a princess.

Early on in her life she showed an affinity for sewing and took classes that have rewarded her with the opportunities of doing the costuming for the cast of four musicals, and Utah’s own Fantasy Con, which she enjoyed immensely. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Some of Anna’s writing recognitions:

She received the Editor’s Choice Award from the International Library of Poetry and had her article entitled A New American Mother, published by Desert Saints Magazine. Her short story entitled Amerine—Fairy Princess won an award in a League of Utah Writers contest later to be published by Kalkion Magazine. (Now it has been published as an e-book.) Other articles about family and relationship have been published frequently in the MOMS CLUBÒ of Salt Lake Valley-West. She has published 7 books on her Elf series. Her and Rodney’s love story was published by Deseret book in the anthology entitled Angels Round About compiled by July C. Olsen. Another of her articles was included in the Anthology Mother’s Message in a Bottle, edited by Tyler Hayden and published by Nimbus Publishing.

Links to social media sites for the author

ReadersFavorite.com

Facebook

Website

Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday Promo Time!

Are you ready for something completely different? My space opera series, The Fall of the Altairan Empire, is finished and published. So I'm switching gears. I started this story a couple of years ago as a Nanowrimo project and was inspired by a book trilogy by my friend Frances Pauli (check it out here). I had no idea what I was writing or where it was going to end up. I'm happy with how it turned out. But then, who wouldn't be happy with elves in fairyland who use magic to power steampunk airships and giant robot men?

Here's a teaser for it. I'm shooting for a late August publication date. It is a stand-alone book, but the world was so much fun to play in, I might just expand it.

The Seligh crushed,
The captives found,
The barrier broken,
The balmorae freed.

A strange prophecy haunts the Seligh lords, rulers of the Fey and controllers of all magic in the Summerlands, a prophecy that foretells their fall.

A banished Seligh lord rules the Winterlands with an iron fist and his pets, the balmorae, patrol the borders against all intruders, guarding the secrets hidden beneath his icy lair.

A young woman rediscovers her heritage, a gift of magic and dancing that opens portals between worlds. She holds the fate of magic in her hands. All who live within the lands of the Fey must choose where they stand—beside the Dancer or opposed to her.

And trust that she won't destroy their world.

Dark Dancer coming soon.

Author Guest Post - Voss Foster

Please welcome Voss Foster to the Far Edge of Normal. He's got a new book to tell you about, and it involves a trip to the circus! Grab some popcorn and those nasty marshmallow peanut things, and sit right down for a ringside seat.

Zirkua Fantastic has been steadily running since 1753, amazing its patrons with acts of otherworldly skill and prowess. But that talent comes at a steep price: each artist must give a year of his or her life to the circus. None of them know why, only that the circus' owners will go to whatever lengths are necessary to ensure it. Toby, the hoop dancer at Zirkua Fantastic and son of one of the owners, is content with his life: he enjoys performing and Zirkua's wandering life, and even has a boyfriend among the circus' hawkers. But when a new artist arrives, bringing with him a strange flask and a number of odd occurrences, Toby falls face-first into the truth behind the circus: Its contracts bind King Jester, the immortal embodiment of chaos.

Zirkua's performances and contracts have held King Jester prisoner for centuries, but now something's amiss. King Jester's sister, Dragon, has escaped her own bonds and is working to free her brother, and his power is growing. If he is loosed on the world, it will mean the worst war in human history and the end of civilization... unless Zirkua Fantastic can find a way to stop him.

From Voss:

One of the first things I think of when I think about circuses and carnivals is the vendors. Games, foodstuffs, souvenirs. Any circus or carnival worth going to, in my experience, will have vendors. Even the big, fancy troupes like Cirque du Soleil sell you things (things that I've bought… expensive things that I've bought… I swear, it was worth it…). So of course, when I crafted Zirkua Fantastic, I had to include hawkers' corridor.

But there's more to it than that, for me. I admit to having a minor obsession with hawker culture. Two of my bucket list locations are Singapore, to visit a big hawker center, and La Paz, to go to the Mercado de Brujas (Witches' Market). Something about tiny, specialty shops clustered together like that, half business, half life form, appeals to me in a very real way. Probably also why I love malls.

But I also knew, from the very beginning, that hawkers' corridor, had to be a separate entity, a totally human experience. I almost imagined it, at its inception, as something that had to form simply because of the attractive power of magic. People would inevitably follow, and some of those people would inevitably have some sort of artisan skill.

Once I had that, I knew Marley had to be a hawker. It just made sense.

Thanks, Voss. If you want to check out Zirkua Fantastic, here's the link.

Author Interview - Sue Burke

Please welcome Sue Burke to the Far Edge of Normal. In her own words: I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and lived briefly in Austin, Texas, y'all, before moving to Madrid, Spain, in December 1999. Much of my work has been in journalism as a reporter and editor, covering everything from dog shows to politics to crime. I began writing fiction 20 years ago and have published short stories in various magazines and anthologies, as well as poetry and non-fiction.

How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.

The website for my most recent book: http://amadisofgaul.blogspot.com
Facebook page for the book:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amadis-of-Gaul/112253615569385
Facebook for me: http://www.facebook.com/burke.sue
My professional writing website: http://www.sue.burke.name
LiveJournal: http://mount-oregano.livejournal.com/

Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?

Science fiction is my favorite, and I like it because I think it's the most difficult genre to pull off well. On top of everything else that you have to do to make a story work, you have to understand science and use it in a way that creates the story – if you took out the science element, the story wouldn't exist.

I also write and enjoy fantasy, horror, and mainstream, and I write poetry, non-fiction, and translations.

My most recent project is Amadis of Gaul Book I. It's a translation of a medieval Spanish novel of chivalry that became the Renaissance's first best-seller and left a deep mark on history and literature – the original source of sword and sorcery. In spite of that, there was no good translation of it into English. So I began translating it chapter by chapter as a blog, and now I've collected and published the posts for Book I, available through Amazon as a paperback and Kindle.

The novel is divided into four books, and Book I is the oldest. It tells the story of Amadis's birth and his early years proving himself as the greatest knight who ever lived, fighting evil knights and sorcerers and protecting all people in need. His deeds are interwoven with those of his friends and his brother, who is both a fine knight and a comic character. When Amadis rescues a damsel in distress, she thanks him eloquently, but when his brother rescues a damsel, she thanks him in bed.

I also have an article in the February 2012 issue of Broadsheet, the magazine of Broad Universe, about contemporary Spanish fantasy writers and their challenges:
http://www.broaduniverse.org/the-broadsheet-magazine/blog

What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

I love to write, so writing is relaxing. I also love to read, travel, and hike. In my day job, I teach English to Spanish teenagers, which is not relaxing but which has taught me a lot about Spanish teens and about English grammar that native speakers know but are not aware of, like the difference in meaning between "going to" and "will."

As for TV, there's Dr. Who – always Dr. Who. When my husband and I first started going out and we learned we both liked that show, we knew that our relationship might stand the test of time and space. I'm also hooked on a Spanish series, Toledo, cruce de destinos (Toledo, crossed destinies). It's set in the city of Toledo in the late 1200s when it was a center of Christian, Moorish, and Jewish translation, and it held the court of King Alfonso X. The series tries to be historically accurate and at time it succeeds, and it is filmed in a perfectly preserved medieval town near Toledo, which is now a modern city, so it has an authentic look.

And I like to cook. Drop in sometime for a paella or fabada (Asturian bean soup).

Want to have a recipe guest spot? I love new recipes and soups are always a hit.
What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?

The clock gets my creative juices going. I teach in the late afternoon and evening, so in the morning, after breakfast, I sit down to write. I've been writing professionally for forty years, so the work habit is now deeply ingrained.

But I don't write to music. I think that multi-tasking means doing two (or more) things badly rather than one thing well. In my case, it would mean ignoring the music as persistent noise – or letting the writing get interrupted again and again when I stop to listen.

However, on occasions I do listen to music or even sound effect recordings: when they're what the character I'm writing about would be hearing. That is, it would be the character's favorite music, which might not be mine. For the science fiction novel Transplants, which EDGE will publish later this year, I played a CD of sounds from the Guatemala jungle to help me write as nervously as the explorers of another planet confronted with an ecology both amazing and deadly.

"All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

Alas, my husband is allergic to cats, so while I had them when I was single, we can't have them. (Or dogs.)

However, I do have a lot of houseplants. They're not as cute, but plants play a big role in Transplants. In fact, that novel was inspired when one house plant attacked another one. I did some research, and I found out that plants are horrible and sneaky. I now keep a close eye on my indoor domestic horticultural companions.

Scary to think that plants might be vindictive. When I consider how many houseplants have died at my hands...
What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

Organizations exist aplenty to learn to write: courses, workshops, websites, associations and in-person or internet critique groups. They're all good, though some may be more to your taste than others. If the first one isn't quite right, the next one might be. But do connect with other writers. If you write in a vacuum as empty as deep space, no one can hear you scream.

Above all, keep trying new things to improve: new genres, new styles, new ideas. Poetry, for example. It can teach you to pay close attention to every word and the relationships between words, both in meaning and in rhythm and sound, so even if you write bad poetry, your prose will improve.

Good thought about poetry. Mine is abyssimally horrid, so it gives me hope for my writing. What writers inspired you to become an author?

I wanted to become a writer before I learned to read, so Dr. Seuss, as read to me by Mom, played a big role. While young, I read widely – Nancy Drew, Isaac Asimov, Willa Cather, Aristophanes – and I still do. I remember the amazement I felt reading William Faulkner and seeing how far he could stretch the language to tell a story; or the silly fantasies of James Thurber and understanding that with a little twist he could make daily life hilarious; or the emotional and intellectual adventure of Paol Anderson and enjoying how taking possibilities seriously creates new realities.

Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?

I'm planning to come to WorldCon in Chicago this summer.


Thanks so much for stopping by, Sue. It's been a pleasure to meet you.

Book Review: Heir to Power, Book 1 of The Healing Crystal

Heir to Power by Michele Poague

If you like lavish fantasy novels with the setting and characters described in loving detail, this is the book for you. It's billed as a post-apocalyptic novel, and there are traces of a past technologically advanced society peeking through the current one, but with magic and a low-tech agrarian society at the center, I'd put this book on the fantasy shelves.

Kairma wants to be just a normal girl, but she is heir to the powerful Healing Crystal that her village holds secret from the rest of the world. She's also the only person known to survive the sweating sickness. Her white hair marks her as different and leads to conflicts with the other villagers. Mired in tradition and isolation, Kairma's world is about to change, whether the villagers wish it or not.

Michele (note the one L) builds a wonderfully rich world with plenty of detail and intriguing ideas. I found it a bit frustrating to read because she teases me with mysteries then spends several chapters exploring a minor character's relationship with his father and his past. I know people who love that kind of story. I'm an action movie kind of reader, though. I like things to happen with a bang and keep happening. Michele likes to spend time with her characters, exploring the nuances of their lives.

If you're a fan of books like Tolkien or Tad Williams, the big fat ones with lots of rich detail, give this one a try. Michele has given herself plenty to explore in the book series. This is book one in The Healing Crystal series, I'm sure the others will bring their own mysteries as her world unfolds.

Book Review - The Sapphire Flute by Karen E. Hoover

The Sapphire Flute is the story of two young women who find their destiny the hard way. It's magic and save-the-world high fantasy with plenty of evil to go around. For Ember, it's a search for her father and her own magical gifts. For Kayla, it starts with guardianship of the magical Sapphire Flute. She itches to play the beautiful instrument but has promised not to. Ember's insistence on attending the mage trials leads to her kidnapping by agents of C'Tan, her aunt who wants the child dead. Kayla can't resist just blowing into the flute, enough to activate its magic and bring her to the attention of C'Tan herself, who wants the flute's magic for her own.

I enjoyed the book. I've read a lot of high fantasy. Though the world is not that different from many fantasies, Karen's twist on the quest story was unique. Her young women are women first. Many fantasies feature male protagonists and questers. Women usually play a secondary role. If they join the quest, they are hardened warriors with little femininity. Karen's girls aren't that way. Kayla is as frilly and sweet as they come. Ember is more of a tomboy, but still very much female. C'Tan, the evil witch of the story, is very feminine, too. The change was refreshing, although it made for some interesting dilemmas. Girls and women aren't the ones who long for quests, not the same way boys do. Karen manages to pull very believable motivations from her characters.

My only complaint is that the characters are supposed to be 16 and 17. They read more like 11 and 13, but it still works.

If you have a girl age 10+ who likes fantasy, magic, and save-the-world quests, this one is a winner. I give The Sapphire Flute a solid 4 stars. I'm also looking forward to the next book in the series, which says a lot for the story.

Thanks for sharing, Karen! And for those who care, I met Karen at a book signing and we traded books.

Book Review: The Golden Cord, Paul Genesse

I met Paul Genesse two and a half years ago at a local convention. I was dithering about submitting at the time. I had a manuscript that I believed in, but the established authors at the con all had the same message: Don't bother. Publishing fiction is hard and very few succeed. Very discouraging for a fledgling author to hear. It didn't help that I was clueless about submissions or pitching a book or anything else other than writing. I was ready to stick the manuscript in a folder and forget it. Until Paul talked me out of it.

He spent several hours with me, giving me the advice and encouragement that I needed. My novel, Nexus Point, is in print mostly because of that pep talk. I'll buy all of Paul's books just for that reason. He's a genuinely nice guy with a passion for storytelling.

The Golden Cord is the first in a series. I'm not much of a fan of epic fantasy, especially when the main character is an angsty teen/young adult and the world is a dark, gritty place where everything wants to either kill you, eat you, or both. This book fits solidly in that category. I still enjoyed it.

Paul builds a world that is fully believable. Danger lurks behind every tree, if not in the tree or on the tree or *is* the tree. Not a world I'd want to live in. His main character, Drake Bloodstone, is a troubled young man. He's also loyal and tormented by his need to keep everyone in his village safe. He failed to protect his friend years ago and the failure haunts his every thought. His quest, in this book, is a reluctant choice to save the world in order to save his village. Or so he thinks. It's as much about saving his own soul and letting go of the past as it is about present dangers.

The Golden Cord is a solid book. I could hear Paul's voice in the words, his passion and excitement over the story spilling into each scene. I can't honestly say it's one of my favorites, but it's a good read, one I'd recommend to anyone looking for a fantasy quest novel that isn't your usual Tolkein clone.

Want to hear why it took me two years to finally read the book? Sure you do. It was in the short pile of Books-to-be-read-very-soon (as opposed to the books-to-read-sometime-in-the-next-decade pile, both are much too tall). Of course, that meant it was in plain sight of my children and my husband. I went to read it one night and couldn't find it in the pile. I found it in my husband's hands. So I waited for him to finish. Then one of my boys discovered the book. After chasing it back out of three different bedrooms, I have multiple children who read any book that looks good especially if it's in my pile next to my bed, I finally got my hands on it last spring. Between work, my own writing deadlines, and life in general, it took me several weeks to start reading it. I was just getting into the story when I left the book in a motel room in Lewiston ID. I hope they enjoyed it because they never admitted to finding the book even after multiple phone calls. I bought another copy a few weeks ago and threatened everyone in the house not to touch it until after I'd finished it. It was worth it. I wish I'd dragged it out of those bedrooms a long time ago or threatened my kids with horrible punishments, like doing the dishes, if they touched it before I read it.

Now, where did I put book two? The Dragon Hunters continues the quest and if I can find the book, I'll read it. It's in someone's pile at my house...

Please welcome the Perilous Pauline Baird Jones

Last stop on my tour! Please welcome Pauline Baird Jones.

Pauline Baird Jones is the award-winning author of nine novels of science fiction romance, Steampunk, action-adventure, suspense, romantic suspense and comedy-mystery. She's written two non-fiction books, Adapting Your Novel for Film and Made-up Mayhem, and she co-wrote  Managing Your Book Writing Business with Jamie Engle. Her seventh novel, Out of Time, an action-adventure romance set in World War II, is an EPPIE 2007 winner. Her eighth novel, The Key won an Independent Book Award Bronze Medal (IPPY) for 2008 and is a 2007 Dream Realm Awards Winner. She also has short stories in several anthologies. Originally from Wyoming, she and her family moved from New Orleans to Texas before Katrina.

Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?

I started out writing contemporary romantic suspense, but have been moving persistently into action/adventure type romances for years. I committed to paranormal AA when I wrote OUT OF TIME, a WWII time travel, then headed into space with THE KEY. For now I’m solidly into science fiction romance, with a fillip of Steampunk romance for fun. I’ve also recently had some short stories published in a variety of anthologies.

I’m a “love the book I’m writing” kind of girl, though I have to say, I’m really feeling the SFR love. It’s just a heck of a lot of fun to write about space travel, to break the bounds of gravity and head for distant galaxies. I’m hugely excited about my April release: GIRL GONE NOVA, a follow-on to THE KEY (though both books can be read stand alone).

I had so much fun writing Doc, my kick-butt genius heroine. And my hero is a redeemed, semi-bad guy from THE KEY. I did NOT plan that. He wouldn’t leave me alone until I gave him a girl to love. What’s an author to do?

What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

Well, obviously I read, but I also like TV and movies. My current favorite shows are: HUMAN TARGET, LEVERAGE, BIG BANG THEORY and NCIS. I also like to mix a bit of reality tv into my viewing. Favs are TOP CHEF and DANCING WITH THE STARS.

What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to music, and do you want to share your playlist?

I do use playlists to gin up the creative juices. I create one for each book, because my characters have different tastes. The songs tend to filter into the book, so I have to go in and remove them when I edit, because you can’t use songs without proper permissions. I did post playlists for my last two books. Back when I wrote earlier books, I had to create my own music mixes. Wow, does that date me.

"All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

We do have a cat, though technically he belongs to my son and loves only him. Me he tolerates because I feed him (and my son is now at college). He is quirky and demanding. Only likes fresh water, but won’t drink from a pet fountain. Can tell time (DST messes him up more than it messes me up!). And can whine like nobody’s business when I don’t do what he wants, when he wants it. He is bitter and suspicious, which helps us get along when the son’s not around.

Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

The advice I always give is: reject rejection. There will always be people who will tell you that you can’t, or what you shouldn’t do or how you shouldn’t do it, but this is a business littered with people who went over and around barriers to get where they wanted to do go (legally, of course!). DO YOUR RESEARCH. KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GETTING INTO and you’ll like it better.

What writers inspired you to become an author?

Georgette Heyer. Mary Stewart. Elizabeth Cadell. Helen McInnes. Alastair Maclean. Each of these authors delighted me when I found them and taught me important things about what needed to be in my novels.

How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.

http://www.perilouspauline.com/
http://twitter.com/paulinejones
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pauline-Baird-Jones/
http://perilouslyyours.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/perilouspauline
http://worldsapage.blogspot.com/

Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?

I’ll be running release contests to celebrate GIRL GONE NOVA debuting in print and e. I have a contest page on my website, so check back often to see what’s going on! www.perilouspauline.com

Pauline will randomly pick a poster from one of the blogs to receive either a digital or print copy of A TEXAS BOX OF CHOCOLATES anthology.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Good luck on your release!

KS Augustin now on tour

Today, please welcome KS Augustin to our tour!

KS Augustin is a Malaysian-born writer of science-fiction, romance, and
permutations of the two. She also dabbles in fantasy and contemporary
action romances from time to time. She has been nominated for a CAPA
award and has been a Spectrum award finalist. She has visited, lived or
worked in the UK, North America, Australia, and has now settled back
in south-east Asia so she and her husband can draw breath and the kids
can manage to get some education in.
Also travelling with them, with species-appropriate passports, are
their two fur-shedding cats, Fluff and Squeak, and their irrepressible
miniature bull terrier, Sausage.

1. How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. -  please share your public links.

My website is http://www.ksaugustin.com And I have an opinionated blog, called "Fusion Despatches", at http://blog.ksaugustin.com where, quite unfashionably, I tend to discuss politics ... but that's only because I love the topic so much! Given enough time, I'm sure my blog will end up offending pretty much everyone in the world, so you've been warned.

2. Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write?  What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your  personal favorites? Anything new coming up?

My first love was, and still is, science-fiction. I tend to read right across the genre from social sf to hard to slipstream, although my favourite is space opera, so I suppose it isn't any surprise that I tend to write space opera romance the most. While I love a good space battle as much as the next geek girl, I always thought that a bit more characterisation and interpersonal dynamics in my favourite novels would go a long way, which explains why I add romance to the mix.

I'm sure someone has already said that wherever you go, you always take yourself with you, so why would it be any different in the future or in another galaxy? You always take yourself with you--brain, heart, wishes, regrets, yearnings. Everything else is an extension of yourself, and engagement (whether positive or negative) is when an extension of one person or group meets an extension of another. Technology is merely one channel through which such engagement can play out, but it's not the only one.

And indeed, I do have something new coming out. Carina Press is the new digital-first imprint of Harlequin Enterprises and I am extremely pleased to have a novel of mine as part of their June launch. ENEMY HANDS is a hard sf romance that covers stellar mechanics, politics, a bit of pharmacology and--of course!--romance between a brilliant physicist and the savant she falls in love with. I hope there's something there for everyone, but we'll see.

3. What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite  movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

I mostly read to relax. And I also love kite-flying. To me, there's nothing quite so exhilarating as harnessing something you have no control over (the wind) to make something you do (the kite) do what you want it to do.

I also cook. I love cooking, I adore cooking, although I don't have enough time to do much of it. In our library at home, we must have at least 200 cookbooks and I sit down and read through them in much the same way as I read a novel, from start to finish. I find it exceedingly relaxing. And it helps that my husband and children are happy to act as my guinea pigs.

4. What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to music, and do you want to share your playlist?

I think I'm in the minority on this one, in that I tend to appreciate silence, but I also think that's a holdover from my martial arts days. You can't be aware of what's happening around you if there's music blaring out of several loudspeakers and writing, by itself, is distracting enough. If you're talking musical tastes, then I listen to everything, from opera to techno. However, there is one sub-genre I never, ever listen to and that's Country & Western. I just can't get into it.

5. "All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

Ah yes, I think cats are favoured because they're lower maintenance than dogs. We have both: two cats called Fluff and Squeak and a mini bull-terrier called Sausage. Each type of animal has its own characteristics that make it quite lovable. I occasionally have updates on our pets in my blog but not often enough, or so I've been told.

6. What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

There are lots of organisations around for aspiring writers, and they even span national boundaries. The constraining factor is that you have to have access to an Internet connection in order to fully leverage the information and resources out there. To be honest, I may not be the best person to ask about such things. I sold my first novella in almost complete isolation in 2006. It was only after we left the USA that I discovered thriving writer communities in and around San Francisco. And it was only after we left Australia that I discovered the same about speculative fiction writers in Australia. I'm sure the same thing will play out after we leave Malaysia. I always tend to be behind the curve like that!

Having said that, the best advice I can share about writing is that, if you want to make a living at it, it's not enough to be JUST a writer. You have to be able to run your own small business, and that means self-discipline, multi-tasking, organisation and planning skills, and so on. And you have to realise that there's always something out there you need to know that you haven't learnt about already.

7. What writers inspired you to become an author?

I still clearly remember reading "A Martian Odyssey" by Stanley Weinbaum as a child, and being mesmerised by it. Henry Kuttner, Isaac Asimov, Harry Harrison, Ray Bradbury, EE 'Doc' Smith, Eric Frank Russell, they were all wonderful and still are. I got made fun of at school for reading a book entitled "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World". Female high-school students didn't read books with such titles, but it didn't worry me too much. *That* place was where I wanted to be--ravening beams of destruction, conflicts in the oceans of Venus, high-jinks across the galaxy, interstellar puns. Why would I want to be in school where people made fun of me because I wore glasses and had different-coloured skin? I think science-fiction saved my sanity then, and I'm forever grateful to it for doing so.

8. Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?

It's difficult being a writer living literally on the other side of the world to North America. I often feel that I'm missing out on lots of opportunities to connect with potential readers. But still, with the interconnectedness of most of the world today, the situation is a lot better than it used to be.

For the latest news, best to read my blog and I'm always available via email at ks [at] ksaugustin [dot] com.

Thank you so much for visiting this week. Good luck with your release!

Tracy S. Morris on BU Blog Tour

Today we welcome Tracy S. Morris to our tour.

Tracy S. Morris is a writer, photographer, gardener, herbalist and self-proclaimed kamikaze speller. She is the author of the Tranquility mysteries, a series of books that have been described as "Jeff Foxworthy writing the X-Files set in Cicily, Alaska."  The newest book in the series, Bride of Tranquility was a finalist for the Darrell Award in 2010. She has been awarded an Honorable Mention by the Writers of the Future on three separate occasions.

Morris's other works include short stories with the Esther Friesner anthology Strip Mauled and the Grantville Gazette, both by Baen books, essays with the Benbella books Smart Pop anthologies as well as numerous short stories in the Bubbas of the Apocolypse zombies vs. rednecks line of anthologies by Yard Dog Press.  You can find her on the web at http://www.tracysmorris.com

She lives in Fort Smith, Arkansas with her husband and two dogs.  The dogs are in charge.

1. How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.

The best way is through my website: http://www.tracysmorris.com
All my other accounts including, facebook, twitter, livejournal link through that.

2. Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?
Mostly I write urban fantasy.  Or more accurately, rural fantasy since the settings are generally towns in the Ozarks with smaller populations.  My best known work is the Tranquility series, which is sort of what you would get if Jeff Foxworthy wrote the X-Files and set every episode in the town of Cicely, Alaska.  The second book in the series, Bride of Tranquility, just received an honorable mention for the Darrell Award. 

My tendency is to write offbeat, satirical genre stories.

In June one of my short stories will be released in the Yard Dog press Rednecks vs. Zombies anthology A Stitch in Time Saves None.  This is the 5th anthology set within the Bubbas of the Apocalypse shared universe.


3. What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

I actually spend a lot of time in front of the computer.  My day job involves writing content for websites.  I write a lot of how-to articles, travel articles and gardening articles.  No surprise that my hobbies include photography, travel and gardening.  Things that I can get dirty doing, as opposed to sitting in front of a computer. If I have down time, I try to read for fun.

4. What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?

I don't write to music because it's distracting.  Stirring music makes me want to jump up, run around the house, choreograph the next fight scene that I am going to write, etc.  I actually carry a journal and pen with me everywhere so that I can write when the inspiration strikes. Usually it strikes when I have to be in a meeting and I'm daydreaming, so at least I can look like I'm taking notes.

5. "All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

I'm not a cat person.  I've got two Shiba Inu puppies that my husband and I adopted.  They keep me company while I'm writing.  Mostly they lay around getting fat.  Occasionally when the mood strikes me to get in shape they will take a run with me.  Dogs have friends.  Cats have staff. 

I used to have three ferrets, which are the inspiration behind the ferrets in my detective novels.  They're partially a tip of the hat to all the great pet mysteries out there.  The thing with ferrets is that they're not really focused animals.  So while dog and cat detectives might help their owners out, a ferret will be off sleeping in your sock drawer or hiding your keys. 

6. What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

Writing is a process of collecting rejection letters. Don't get discouraged, because rejection is a part of it.  Today was a good example for me. I checked the mailbox and found a certificate for an Honorable Mention award that I was recently given by Writers of the Future tucked in next to a rejection letter from a major publisher. 

I would also suggest finding a good (emphasis on good) writing group.  That kind of mentorship is invaluable to your growth as a writer. If your writers group is not helpful, or if it's just stroking your ego, it's time to move on. 

7. What writers inspired you to become an author?

I was a huge reader before I ever wrote, but I made the decision to write when I was about 12 years old.  I can't remember just what it was that I read at the time, but I put the book down thinking that I would love to write like that and put out books and short stories.  

8. Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?

I will be at ConQuest in Kansas City on May 28-30, and then Soonercon in Oklahoma City June 4-6.  Soonercon is helping my publisher, Yard Dog Press celebrate their 15th anniversary.  They will be releasing their anthology A Stitch in Time Saves None at the convention.

Thanks for everything

Thank you for joining us. Good luck on your upcoming release!

BU Blog Tour Continues - Brenna Lyons Interview

Today, I'm happy to welcome Brenna Lyons to my blog.

Brenna Lyons wears many hats, sometimes all on the same day: former president of EPIC, author of more than 80 published works, teacher, wife, mother...member of ERWA, MWW, IWOFA, MFRW, WPM, AWaY, and Broad Universe. In Brenna’s seven years published in novel-length, she's won two of EPIC's e-Book Awards and has finaled for 11. She's finaled for 3 PEARLS (including one HM, second to Angela Knight), 2 CAPAs, and a Dream Realm Award. The NOBODY anthology of dark fiction she's included in won Spinetingler's (UK) Book of the year for 2007.

She writes in 21 established worlds plus stand-alones, poetry, articles, and essays. She's a bestseller in indie/e fantasy, horror, and erom. Brenna has been termed "one of the most deviant erotic minds in the publishing world...not for the weak." (Rachelle for Fallen Angels Reviews) Milieu-heavy dark work is practically Brenna's calling card, with or without the erotic content.

1. How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.

I’m all over the place.
 Home web site- http://www.brennalyons.com
 Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/brenna.lyons
 Twitter- http://twitter.com/BrennaLyons
 Blog- http://brennalyonsden.blogspot.com
 MySpace- http://www.myspace.com/brennalyons
The best e-mail address to reach me at is brennalyons4168(at)gmail(dot)com, but be sure to put something like GENERAL QUESTIONS, BOOK QUESTIONS, or CHARACTER QUESTIONS in the subject line, or it may get lost in Yahoogroup mail. Since I average more than 1000 e-mail threads coming in a day, that has happened before, and I apologize profusely when it does.

2. Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?

I am a spec fic writer first and then romance or erotic romance, if it’s a cross-genre book. Even if the book is balanced 50/50 science fiction, paranormal, fantasy, or horror with romance/erom, the mood and usually the opening of the book will show that I view writing that way. People that want sunshine and roses probably aren’t looking for my books. People that like urban fantasy, grit, dark… I’m for you.
My favorites change from day to day, depending on my mood. Usually, the favorites will either be Kegin/Kielan/Wolkin (my three Council of Worlds series), Night Warriors, Renegades, or Xxan. Those worlds, out of the 21 I write, are the ones that stick with me most, which may be why I write so much in them.
I always have new things coming up. Before this interview posts, I will likely have re-releases of the first two books in my Star Mages series: WRITTEN IN THE STARS (fantasy sensual romance from Mundania) and THE MASTER’S LOVER (a M/M…my only M/M, at the moment…fantasy erom from the Phaze side of the company). My next scheduled release is in May. It’s the first in a new series (Fire and Ice) titled MAGMON’S HUNGER, coming from Phaze. I have at least three more anticipated releases after that in 2010, which include the first of yet another new series (Angel-Wing Saga) from Phaze (SONS OF HEAVEN: BELDON), the next Night Warrior series book from Phaze (HUNTER’S MOON), and the next Kielan from Logical Lust (ANOTHER MAN’S MATE). Additionally, I’d like to get the next Xxan series story out with LooseId before the end of 2010 (MATING SEASON). All of the above is in addition to the seven releases I’ve had already this year. And yes…we’re still in March.

3. What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

I’m somewhat hypergraphic, so writing does relax me, but I don’t write all the time. I enjoy cooking and baking, hiking, swimming, camping, photography, fingerloop braiding…
We don’t watch broadcast TV/cable in this house, at all. Aside from movies and such we pick up on Netflix or purchase, there are only a few shows we watch on Hulu or buy on Amazon Unbox. Those would include: Dr. Who, Torchwood, Heroes (which sounds like it’s over now), V (not as good as the original, but interesting), Flashforward, Battlestar Galactica, and Caprica. I’m thinking of trying The Sarah Jane Chronicles on Netflix to see if it’s worth purchasing.

4. What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to music, and do you want to share your playlist?

As I said, I’m rather hypergraphic, so having a pen and paper or computer is enough to get the juices flowing. Don’t ask me about the time I thought I could give up writing for three days of a camping trip and didn’t bring writing gear with me. Grinning…
I don’t usually write to music, because the temptation to either type the lyrics into the book or to sing along and stop typing is too strong. I do enjoy white noise, which can include movies or TV in the background. For some reason, that doesn’t intrude on my writing mind as songs do, even if I know the movie well enough to do the dialog from memory. I do sometimes listen to music when I’m editing, since it doesn’t bother me, unless I’m typing. What music I listen to depends on my mood and on the mood of what I’m working on.
If you’re asking where my inspiration comes from… Well, that’s another story. I get it from everywhere…people watching, a single quote or look that catches my attention, dreams (mine and those of others that I find interesting pieces in), playing games of what-if, six degrees of separation (which I have a great blog post about), noisy characters from old books or spin-off worlds…readers that ask when X person gets a book or when Y story will be told in detail… You name it, and I’ve probably used it.

5. "All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

My house is the veritable animal farm. It’s a good thing it’s a huge old 1901 or so home. At the moment we enjoy (and sometimes curse) three large dogs, five cats (well…three cats and two kittens, to be precise), two leopard geckos, and three hermit crabs. That’s what you get when you have three kids, one of which is training to be a vet. I fully agree that most authors have an affinity for animals. I’ll share some favorite pics of my fuzzy writing helpers…uh…hinderers.

6. What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

There are a lot of great Yahoogroups out there I’d suggest. Among them?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AvoidWritersHellChatters/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EPIC-eWorkshop
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mikeswritingworkshop
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PNWriters
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writepublishmarket

If you’re writing erotic, I highly suggest joining the mailing lists that ERWA maintains.
http://www.erotica-readers.com/

Once you’re published, you can remain a member of all of the above. There are a whole bunch more that you can join then, including:
http://www.broaduniverse.org/  -$30 per year membership fee
http://epicauthors.com/  -$30 per year membership fee
http://iwofa.net/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AuthorsAgainstE-BookTheft

Specialty industry groups I’d suggest include:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/pod_publishers 

The advice I’d offer aspiring authors is long and pointed to various topics. The best thing to do is visit my site and go to the FOR AUTHORS portion. That’s a good place to start. If you don’t find what you’re looking for there, ask me.

7. What writers inspired you to become an author?

Any I’ve read, in my lifetime. That said, I think all beginning writers have a couple of authors they emulate, before their own voices form fully. Mine were Stephen King and David and Leigh Eddings…and perhaps Piers Anthony. As I got older, some other voices crowed in there: James Morrow, Robert Heinlein, Joan Vinge, John Varley, and many more.

As for the “push” to become a writer, that largely came from inside. Encouragement to enter contests and submit came from my very early English teachers. Starting at about age 11, my teachers insisted on me entering anything they found for me. One even took my work to a local newspaper without telling me and suggested they publish me.  When I moved from articles, essays, and short stories to writing novels, there was no question I would publish. I’d been published in recognized venues since I was 13.

Thank you so much for joining me on this tour, Brenna. Congratulations on all your publications!

Lynn Flewelling Interview

Today, I'm happy to welcome Lynn Flewelling.

Lynn Flewelling is the author of the internationally acclaimed Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series, published in a dozen languages. Her first novel, Luck in the Shadows, made the Locus list for best first novel, and was a finalist for the Compton Crook award. Several of her other books have been Spectrum award finalists. She is adjunct faculty at the University of Redlands and also works as a freelance editor,  writing instructor, and is a tea reviewer for Teaviews.com. Maine natives, she and her husband currently live in Redlands, California. 

1. Welcome, Lynn Flewelling. Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?

I am a fantasy novelist, author of the ongoing Nightrunner Series and the Tamír Triad. I have a few short stories in anthos to my credit, but that's not my forte.

 My favorite short story is "Perfection," which appears in Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology. All of the contributors donated the profits to the relief efforts for the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka.

As far as my books go, I'm especially fond of The Bone Doll's Twin, the first book of the Tamír Triad. It's dark fantasy, it's a ghost story, it's a hidden child story, and it deals with issues of gender and identity. As for the Nightrunner Series, they're all so different that I can't really claim a favorite. I modeled the series on the Sherlock Holmes model; a series of book-length adventures loosely tied together, but complete in themselves, although some of them are duologies within the series, rather than a single long epic. The main characters are rather dashing spies who solves problems with wits as often as they do with weapons. They are both men and end up becoming lovers as well, although that is not the focus of the books, just an aspect of their characters.

My upcoming publication is the fifth book in the series, titled The White Road. That's coming out on May 25. It's the sequel to Shadows Return—one of those duologies I mentioned. At the moment I'm at work on a sixth Nightrunner book, with a seventh under contract.

2. Do  you get fan mail? What's the best or most memorable? What's the worst/weirdest?

I do get a lot of fan mail from readers all over the world. For the best, I can't really narrow it down to a single letter so much as a type: many gay readers have written to thank me for Seregil and Alec, heroes they can identify with. They've used the books to get through rough times in their lives, even to come out to family and friends. When I created the characters, I never imagined anything like that.

The weirdest fan letter, if you can call it that, was definitely one I got from a man who wrote to tell me, at length, in tiny hand printing, over six sheets of paper, how I was "destroying the fabric of the American family." The return address was a state prison.

3. What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?

Tea and music, both chosen to suit my mood. Lately I've been drinking a lot of matcha and listening to Tom Waits, Apocalytica, and the sound tracks to Alice in Wonderland and Henry V.

4. What's the best thing about being a writer? What's the worst?

The best thing is that freedom to bring the visions from inside my head out into  the world to see. I love entertaining people, and the fact that the stories I tell do that is deeply satisfying, but the actual creative act is the best of it. It's not always fun, but I can't think of anything I'd rather do.

The worst part is the isolation. Years ago I worked in an office with people I liked, and the socializing was a big part of my day. Working alone all day with only the dogs for company wears on me at times. So does being the only person at a party who does what I do. I don't live around many other writers. It's such a relief to get to a convention and sit around with other writers, comparing notes, bitching and complaining about the same things, talking shop and everyone around the table is nodding and saying "Oh I know!"  It's good to be among your own.

5. Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

Do it. Do the work. Write those awful stories and terrible books that you have to write on your way to becoming good. Classes and workshops can help, but you learn the most about writing by writing, and learning to look at your work with a critical eye. A good writer's group can be a wonderful resource and source of inspiration. Feedback can help  you pinpoint weaknesses, and strengths in your writing. And, very importantly, when you're first starting out, don't worry whether you're "good enough." To publish? You're not. You won't be if  you don't do the work. To write? All it takes is a willingness to apply pen to paper or fingers to keys on a regular basis and work on those basics: character, plot, theme, dialog, etc.

6. What made you into a writer?

The inability to stop daydreaming when I grew up.

7. What special appearances or events are coming up for you?

I'll be doing books signings at Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego on June 5, and another at some point during Comic Con, also in San Diego. In October I'll be a guest at Yaoi Con. I don't write yaoi, but because of the Nightrunner books, I have a lot of overlap with that fandom.

Most exciting of all, however, is the writing workshop I will be teaching aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship May 23-30. It's going to be a lot of fun. We'll be cruising in the Caribbean, and alternating between at sea workshop days, and four ports of call, days when people can get off the boat and explore exotic places.  We still have some space in the workshop. The cruise price includes the cruise and all the amenities, including meals, and the workshop. For more information: http://www.connectiontocruise.com/cruises/offerdetail.asp?priceid=1612862&sid=11239

8. How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.

Email: lbflewelling@roadrunner.com

Website: http://www.sff.net/people/lynn.flewelling

Live Journal: http://otterdance.livejournal.com

Facebook: Personal page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=532719346
Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lynn-Flewelling/145593970532?ref=ts

Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flewelling

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LynnFlewelling

The LJ is my main hangout these days, but I repost to the FB fan page, Yahoo, and Twitter, too.

9. Do you have any goodies for my readers today?

I sure do! I will send signed White Road bookmarks to the first ten people who comment, and lucky eleven will get a signed copy of the White Road as soon as it comes out!  Keep count and email me your addresses, folks.

Thank you so much for joining us today. Good luck with your upcoming release!

Trisha Wooldridge Interview Part 2

We're back with Trisha, for more insight.

What brought you to Broad Universe, and what do you like best about the organization?

A friend of mine from a longstanding writer's group, the DragonWriters, said that she loved Broad Universe and had found a lot of publishing information and opportunities there, so she convinced me to join.  I thank her very much because I've met so many amazing women in the organization - many who have had a direct influence on getting my fiction and non-fiction published and forwarding my career.  Also, I have always felt that women need to help each other because, unfortunately, we are still at a disadvantage in the realms of business, publishing, rights, expectations, and opportunities.  We should honor, celebrate, and nurture each other, and I believe in taking an active role to do that.

What do you feel is the greatest challenge and the greatest asset of being a woman author?

I recently wrote a blog post entitled, The Devil Wears Post-Feminism, where I shared several stories of women who still had to hide behind male or non-gendered pseudonyms.  Yes, there are women who submit the very same work under a non-feminine name and not only get it accepted but get offered more money!  That's wrong and needs to be changed.  On the other hand, in a recent poll Broad Universe did of various magazines, women's submissions followed submissions better and overall had a higher level of writing.  I do think women are more detail-oriented than men, and in many cases we already expect to work hard to get what we want; we don't automatically assume an agent or publisher will do our work for us.  We know how to be part of a team.

What is the story behind the greatest lesson you've learned so far as an author?

The greatest lesson I've learned, not only as an author but a person, is that you never stop learning.  There will always be things we will never, ever know; our world is so HUGE we simply cannot learn everything about anything.  Never assume you know what you think you know.  Always double check yourself.  And forever search for new things to learn about.

The story behind this is that my co-author and I wrote a good 75% of a novel based on a Biblical premise that we both were sure we knew.  Well, when we got to the details of the story and opened our respective Bibles - well, let's just say we had an AWFUL LOT of rewriting and reorganizing to do.  This was about 3 weeks into NaNoWriMo for both of us, too.  Yeah.  Research = Healthy Blood Pressure.

What is your favorite comfort food or drink to help you write?  What do you save as reward treats for meeting goals and deadlines?

My number one comfort food for writing is chocolate - dark, dark, chocolate.  Potato chips are a close second.  I am also a fan of a proper California Zinfandel (deep, black red with a hint of chocolate and a huge burst of fruit - did I mention I was a food/wine writer, too?).  However, I also will drink various mixers when I need them, usually containing amaretto.  During the day, I'm a coffee and tea fiend and will eat all meals at the keyboard if not watched.  As a reward, I open an expensive dessert wine, like a Trochenberrenauslese or an Ice Wine.
 
What is your favorite organizational trick for meeting all of your goals and deadlines?

My favorite trick is to force accountability and have outside forces create deadlines for me.  I've got regular readers of my blog, so I will let them down if I miss a blog deadline.  I get friends to pester me because they are expecting a chapter/scene/whatnot, and whenever I write with a partner, I feel dedicated to that other person - so it has more priority than stuff I have no deadline for but to myself.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure (be it food, a habit, a show…)?  And how do you rationalize giving into it?

Sleeping in and dreaming is my favorite guilty pleasure, especially on weekends and when I don't have anywhere immediate to be.  I often lose hours dreaming - and I recall all of my dreams with the utmost vivid detail.  But, I can rationalize all this because many of my favorite stories have either germinated or found resolution during these times.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and time with us at the Far Edge of Normal!

Check out more about Trisha here: Trisha Wooldridge, A Novel Friend, http://www.anovelfriend.com/blog.htm

Trisha Wooldridge Interview Part 1

Welcome to Trisha Wooldridge, the first interview on my blog tour. She's got some great insights and great information to share. This is just part 1.
Trisha J. Wooldridge, a member of the Broad Universe Motherboard, is a freelance writer, editor, and educator whose experience includes Dungeons & Dragons Online, animal rescue public relations, and web-based learning.  She loves interviewing goth and metal bands, reviewing food and wine, helping other writers, and giving words a dark yet whimsical twist.  Her fiction is in Bad-Ass Faeries 2: Just Plain Bad, the upcoming Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory ( both co-authored with Christy Tohara) and Fantasy Gazetteer. www.anovelfriend.com

1. How can we find you? Website, Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. - please share your public links.

Hi!  I'm Trish Wooldridge, and you can find me at www.anovelfriend.com, novelfriend.blogspot.com, novelfriend.livejournal.com, @novelfriend on Twitter.  (There's this theme thing…)  I'm on Facebook and LinkedIn as Trisha Wooldridge, or Trisha J. Wooldridge.

I've done my best to become Google friendly.



2. Tell us about your writing - What genre do you prefer to write? What books, stories, other publications that you've written are your personal favorites? Anything new coming up?


I write in non-fiction and fiction.  In non-fiction, I love writing about writing (of course), food, wine, horses, animals, art, education, music, feminism, and various spooky things.

In fiction, I tend to lean more towards action-packed contemporary and urban fantasy.  That said, I have a Blade-Runner-esque android story in the works and a mid-grade/YA science-fantasy about a deaf girl destined to hear the future from the songs of stars that I'm querying.

In May, the latest Bad-Ass Faeries anthology, In All Their Glory (Mundania Press), includes a piece by me and Christy Tohara, my co-author and good friend.  Faerie is more than a little pissed when relations between human and fae have ended in nuclear war as surviving human and fae factions battles decide whether Faerie will take over the human realm--or leave it forever.  Also, in May, I've got a poem coming out that I wrote for my parents, "To Me, You are Holy," in Eye on Life Magazine's Poetry Locksmith.


3. What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

You mean writing for hours over a keyboard isn't relaxing?  Shoot… I must be doing it wrong. I kill stuff in writing to get over a bad day.  Mercilessly and with utmost cruelty and fervor.

But… when my wrists are in pain because I have horrific posture… I do occasionally watch TV.  My favorites include House, MD; Caprica; Burn Notice; Castle; Fringe; Bones; Doctor Who; and Eureka when it comes back.  Movies… my husband could open a branch of Netflix, so it's hard to pick a favorite when I can pick just about anything.

For non-writing hobbies, I work with horses at the Bay State Equine Rescue.  It's an amazing experience to communicate with these majestic creatures who have suffered so much by human hands… yet still want to trust us more than anything (except food.  They want food most of all.  Even if they are a pushing the limits of a healthy weight.)  I also have a few artistic endeavors: I love painting, drawing, wood-burning, and other crafts.  Hiking and playing with pets and hanging out with my Husband-of-Awesome are the rest of my favorite things.



4. What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist?


Music.  Music, music, music!  I have very eclectic taste, but the Crüxshadows are almost always in my list, as is Nightwish, and frequent regulars (because I still use a CD player and not my mp3 player for writing) are Voltaire, Blackmore's Night, Roger Cline & the Peacemakers, Within Temptation, Loreena McKinnet, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Omnia, Emerald Rose, Brobdingnagian Bards, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Bruce Dickenson (apart from Iron Maiden), Ozzy Osborne, Unto Ashes, and some soundtrack of something or another.

Current CDs:  Crüxshadows' Birthday, Lady Gaga's Fame, Band of Skulls' baby darling doll face honey (from their being featured on an episode of Castle), Omnia's Pagan Folk, and Nightwish's Once.


5. "All writers must have cats, especially if they write fantasy or speculative fiction." Do you have a stand on this one? Any cute pictures of your kitty or other pet?

I have found this to be mostly true.  I have a few writing friends who are exceptions… they may be the exceptions that prove the rule.  Who knows.  I have both a cat and a rabbit.  In fact, I've had three rabbits in my life; two have since passed away.  I've noticed the rabbit trend among comics, however, and know of at least two top webcomic artists who have house rabbits… which I include as support for a project I haven't done a LOT of talking about yet, but will when more is done on it.  ;)

My sweet cat (well, sweet to me; my husband is another matter) is Nylis, a mackerel tabby.  My brother adopted her from the MSPCA, then a couple years later, got a promotion and had to move to Florida - so she moved in with me (an act which required great feats to obtain the forgiveness of my otherwise Husband-of-Awesome).  Her original name was Nile, which didn't work for any of us, so with the suggestion of a fellow writing friend of mine, she became Nylis - the name from a race of cat-people from said friend's work-in-progress.  For as fabulous as my kitty is, she is in the running for the Dumbest Cat in the World.

Loki is my appropriately named rabbit.  He is a grumpy 10-year-old, 3-lb Siberian Rex who has no problem letting people know his opinion of everything (which can be summed up "I am the most awesome being in existence, worship me now!  With food!  Or nose pets!  Better yet: Both!  Now!")  At his venerable age, it goes without saying he usually gets what he wants - including getting the cat in trouble/injured for his amusement and knowing neither the H-of-A nor I have the heart to scold him.  (So we occasionally find ourselves apologizing to the cat when we find out she was NOT, in fact, chasing the rabbit - or at least not without due cause of him teasing her first.)


6. What organizations do you recommend for those wanting to become writers? Any advice you'd like to share about writing?

Broad Universe!!  Some of the best contacts I've made as a writer have been through my work and membership in Broad Universe.

Besides Broad Universe, I'm also a member of the Editorial Freelancer's Association (which is on the higher end of membership dues), where I've gotten several jobs in editing and writing (such as editing the text for the MMORPG Dungeons & Dragons: Stormreach!)

I follow the blogs of Writer Beware! and QueryTracker, and have found both some of the best resources for information and advice on the business of writing.

There are two important pieces of advice I can offer.  One is to read everything you can get your hands on:  fiction to enjoy and study, blogs, books, and articles about both the craft and business of writing, and each other - with heart and mind to help one another.  That leads me to the second piece of advice: be part of the greater community.  There are some wonderful communities for writers out there, and we should seek them out and put our positive energy into them; it really does get returned exponentially.  Science fiction, fantasy, horror, speculative… our niche has one of the most amazing communities of fandom.  If possible, get to know the community online - or in one of the hundreds, thousands, of conventions across the world.  Being involved in the community - and sharing my active reading within the community - have been the two most important parts of making my career happen.



7. What writers inspired you to become an author?

I wanted to be an author for as long as I remember, so you could really date things back to Dr. Seuss, Judy Blume, whoever wrote those many Classic Children's Stories that my mother read me… and Jane Yolen and Ruth Sanderson are in my childhood collection.  I have always been a voracious reader, but one of the key persons who showed me how amazing writing could be was Madeleine L'Engle, who I discovered at 11 with A Swiftly Tilting Planet (kudos to the person who decided to throw a unicorn on the cover!)  From there, I found even more SF & F lit, like The Last Unicorn, and eventually the pulp series of DragonLance and Forgotten Realms and other Dungeons & Dragons-Lord-of-the-Rings-esque stories.  (Though, I never read LOTR until college.)  Currently, I'm a huge fan of Neil Gaiman for the same reason I loved L'Engle: the breadth of each work.  Gaiman also works in multiple media, which I also want to do.  Besides Big Names, there are many colleagues who inspire me to no end, particularly members of Broad Universe, who write mind-blowingly amazing work and are Real People I have gotten to know on a regular basis - like the other women featured in this blog series.  I've read a lot of their work and just love it!

8. Any special appearances or events coming up that you want to mention?

Not in April; it's my birthday month - along with about 20 of my closest friends and family.  However, in May, look out for the release of Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory at Balticon, and my poem in Eye on Life Poetry Locksmith.  I'll be at the following conventions:  Wiscon, Readercon, Pi-Con, and Dragon*Con… and I'm considering World Fantasy.  On June 12, there's a Massachusetts release party for Bad-Ass Faeries 3, at Generations Herbal Apothecary and Gift Shop. My good friend who through the successful MA release party is holding it again.

Lastly, thank you Jaleta for organizing this blogging event - and to all of the wonderful Broad Universe authors who are taking part!

And for all you readers who made it this far, don't forget to comment. One lucky commenter will get a free copy of my book Nexus Point. For the rest, use download code TF69P to order the ebook for only $2.99 at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10672

Thursday Recipe and Blog Tour Schedule

Yep, it's Thursday and that means recipe day. Now to decide what deliciousness to share...

Meanwhile, I have a blog tour scheduled next week. New author interview every day. Anyone who posts a comment is automatically entered in a contest to win a free ebook copy of my novel. If I get enough comments, I may add a real print copy to the pot. Or chocolate. How about a chocolate rat on a stick? (Our April Fools Day joke of the day was chocolate rats for school teachers.)

Here's the schedule for my tour:
Monday April 5 - Trisha Wooldridge
Tuesday April 6 - Lynn Flewelling
Wednesday April 7 - Brenna Lyons
Thursday April 8 - Tracy Morris
Friday April 9 - Kaz Augustin
Saturday April 10 - Pauline Baird Jones

Great women and great authors! Check out their blogs and their books. Links will be posted with each interview.

Now for the recipe:

Easy and Quick Cookies

1 stick of butter, softened
2 eggs
1 box vanilla cake mix
Add-ins (1/2 c of any or all): white chocolate chips, chocolate chips, craisins, macadamia nuts, shredded coconut, dried cherries, dried blueberries, chopped almonds, chopped pecans

Mix together. Add whatever add-ins you want. Dough will be sticky. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 9 - 12 minutes, until set. Let cool on sheet. Makes about 3 - 4 dozen.