Author Interview - S Evan Townsend

Please welcome S Evan Townsend to The Far Edge of Normal!

S. Evan Townsend has been called "America's Unique Speculative Fiction Voice" and writes novels that cause thrills and rapid page-turning. After spending four years in the U.S. Army in the Military Intelligence branch, he returned to civilian life and college to earn a B.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Washington. In his spare time he enjoys reading, driving (sometimes on a racetrack), meeting people, and talking with friends. He is in a 12-step program for Starbucks addiction. Evan lives in central Washington State with his wife and has three grown sons. He enjoys science fiction, fantasy, history, politics, cars, and travel. He currently has ten published fantasy and science fiction novels. You can learn more about him at his website sevantownsend.com.

How can we find you? 

Website

Facebook

Twitter: @SEvanTownsend 

Blog

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 prefer to write science fiction with as much science fact as possible. Although I have written five fantasy novels (of my ten total published novels), science fiction is my favorite. Asking which books are my favorite are like asking which of my children is my favorite. But I am partial to Agents of Artifice (a fantasy) and Treasure of the Black Hole (science fiction).

Treasure of the Black Hole is the first book in a series of three including Treasure of the Pirate Planet and Treasure of the Rogue Moon. I am planning a three-novel prequel series to that series. The first novel, Chumba of the Intelligence Corps: The Smugglers of Mars is in edits. The second book I've started writing the first draft. The third book is swirling around in my brain.

Those sound like a lot of fun! I can't wait for the new one to come out. What about you as a person? What do you do to relax? Favorite movies or tv shows? Hobbies?

My hobby is basically writing. I'm lucky that way. To relax I watch movies via Netflix disc service (dvd.com). I'm also a huge Jeopardy fan. I tried out for Jeopardy once in 1989. I didn't make it. I had to travel to Los Angeles to do that. Now they do it on line. I've tried twice and haven't made it. I guess I'm not smart enough.

I think you're just too smart for Jeopardy. What gets your creative juices going? Do you write to a music, and do you want to share your playlist? 

I write to "Sound of the Fan" by Dell Computers

lol "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 don't think that's true. I never had a cat until September of 2017 when my son adopted a rescue cat from the shelter. Her name is Lily and she's a sweet but stubborn kitty.

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

I would recommend Toastmasters to anyone who wants to be a writer. It teaches you to speak in public with confidence and helps with interpersonal communication, something a lot of writers need help with. Also, see if you can hook up with a local writers' group for feedback, ideas, and camaraderie. 

What writers inspired you to become an author?

Larry Niven, Robert A. Heinlein, and Poul Andersen

If you could travel to any time in history, when would you visit?

The 1960s. I was a kid in the '60s and I always felt as if I missed out on a lot of fun.

If you could have dinner with any of your characters, which ones would you choose? What food would you serve? 

Titus Chumba, aka Rick Bailey, from Treasure of the Black Hole. He would have a lot of stories to tell about his time in the Intelligence Corps of the Core Empire and his time as a private detective on Hayek IV. I'd serve steak and baked potatoes with steamed spinach. Why? Because that's my favorite dinner. And Titus has never had real steak.

If you could travel anywhere, on earth or off, where would you go?

I would love to explore Europe: the fjords of Norway, the history (and wines and cars) of Italy, the autobahns of Germany, the architecture of Prague. 

I'll come with you when you go. Describe your dream writing spot.

A little office with a view of water and mountains and great internet service.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please go check out his books. They are worth a read!

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.