Binary by Jennifer Jeff Coons

Young Adult fiction as a genre has become synonymous with paranormal romance over the last few years, following the immense popularity of Twilight, Vampire diaries and the like.  The new film of the Hunger Games and the explosion of interest in the trilogy may, however, be set to topple vampires from their pole position.

I considered myself new to YA fiction until I considered that I've read a fair few books over the years that could be classed that way, or certainly would be in that section in WH Smiths. The one that springs to mind is Northern Lights, by Philip Pullman- a mash of allegory, fantasy, Steampunk and sci-fi.

And the featured book this week, Binary by Jennifer Jeff Coons, enters a similarly tricky to classify arena. I read the book earlier in the year when Jen was on the same publisher as me. She's since gone full indie and is self-pubin' Binary and the sequel Polaris on Kindle. I was immediately charmed by the almost fairy-tale quality of the sci-fi romance story, and look forwards to the sequel.

Binary is based on the premise of a parallel alien culture to ours which is linked in some mysterious fashion with Earth. The inhabitants of Gliese enter into a war with the Erisians, an invading planet with superior technology. Gliese is home to a range of bizarre and colourful races, of which the hero is the prince of. The ruling Gliesians have the ability to teleport (flash) and the hero, Prince Tyche, utilises this ability to reach our planet seeking help. This is driven by a memory he has of a girl called Brooklyn, who joins him with her friends, on a mission to fight the Erisians.

The story is told with alternating POV from Tyche and Brooklyn's perspectives and this first person style suits the romantic theme well. The story has a great momentum and an almost tele-visual quality to it, as the duo explore Gliese to gain advantage over the Erisians. It definitely finds it feet in the finale with action, suspense and betrayals all creating a strong conclusion.

In short it's a really enjoyable YA romance with a sci-fi setting and imaginative characters. Tyche is likeable, although seemingly perfect, and Brooklyn makes a strong female lead.

I interviewed Jenn about her work and her chosen genre-

Me: I'm not a big YA reader, but I really enjoyed your book. What inspired you to write a YA sci-fi fantasy versus the more usual YA paranormal?

JJC: A while back I took my kids to the Museum of Nature and Science here in Denver.  We wandered through the exhibits and ended up in the planetarium.  They were doing a question/ answer show.  Everyone was asking about a newly discovered planet named Glise- 581g.  I guess it had been in the news a lot recently... I hadn't heard about it.  By the time we left the planetarium, my kids were practically jumping up and down with excitement about this new planet.  Most of all they were excited because this planet was in the so called "Goldilocks Zone" (It is not to hot or too cold but the planet was just right for life to exist.)  I decided that day that I needed to write a book about that planet. 

Me: You clearly love sci-fi. What are the main influences on your work within the genre?

JJC: Okay so this is embarrassing... I had never read sci-fi before I wrote my book.  80% of what I read is YA.  Most of that is Paranormal or adventure like books.  Although now that I wrote Binary, I have read a lot of Sci-fi.  So no sci-fi author influenced me... YA authors influenced me. The author who influenced me the most is probably Rick Riordan's work.  Even though it is more mid grade.  I love his writing style and his attention to detail.

Me: I loved the twist at the end of Binary, and it took me by surprise. When you write are you someone who plots out meticulously or are you more free-form in your ideas?

JJC: I don't plot out my books.  I write like I read... I sit down at the computer and it spills out.  I am glad I have been blessed with long fingers so my hands can keep the pace of my mind, most of the time.  The end of Binary surprised me to, but it just wrote itself and when it was done I loved it.

Me: Binary has a curiously parallel culture to ours existing on another world. Is that concept, that an alien culture resembles ours in some ways but not others, something you'll explore in future books?

JJC: Yes, you will learn in the rest of the series that there are reasons the culture on the planet Glise resembles ours.  I believe I will write more books about aliens like us, because I really believe that is fact. In my mind I truly feel we aren't alone in the universe.  Even more I think there are human like aliens out there living lives much like ours.  Who knows maybe someday we will really meet them.

Me: Ok, fun question. Which is best, Twilight or Hunger Games, and why?

JJC: Hmmm- good question.  This is a tough one for me because I LOVE YA ROMANCE.  In Twilight the romance rocked! It also opened up a new genre to the world that never really existed before.  Paranormal YA Romance ... But, with that said... Hunger Games would still come out as number one in the comparison because the author is a better writer overall. 

Me: After the glut of paranormal YA romances on the market where do you see YA fiction going next?

JJC: I hope they sway to sci-fi... lol. Honestly, I think paranormal romances are here to stay. I think YA readers don't like to be treated like children.  They want to read about teens put in adult situations and thrive in them.  I believe if someone can capture that concept in their writing, they could create the next fad in YA literature.

Me: Last question- what are you reading at present and what are you working on now? (ok, that's two questions)

JJC: Lately, I have been exploring indie authors on Amazon.  I have found some amazing authors and books that are self published.  Currently, I am finishing up my third book in my Binary series.  I am also working on a YA adventure/romance called Genealogy where some teens discover Earths family tree.

Thanks to Jen for a great interview. You can look at her book voa the following links:

Amazon UK Kindle here.
Amazon US Kindle right here...

My Goodreads review is right here, that's it, just click the link. My Amazon one has disappeared :-(

The Assassin's Wedding by Wilf Morgan

I discovered Wilf's book, The Assassin's Wedding during the time I spent on Completely Novel.com, where it was posted for free reading. Wilf's book is a great example of the power of a good cover. I haven't read thrillers since I trudged my way through Steig Laarson's Millennium trilogy.  The ultra-stylish cover (features of all Wilf's books) caught my attention immediately- I scanned the blurb- and dove straight in.

And what a discovery. The book begins at a wedding, with the main character, Mike, introducing us gradually to his covert world of assassinations. Very rapidly we get a sense that this is going to be an atypical (and funny) journey with Mike. The humour is subtle for the main, built (in true British style) around awkward situations, splendidly drawn characters, well-observed cultural differences and irony. Wilf's particular strength is in his pop-culture references, of which there are plenty.

There is a strong cinematic vibe that runs through the book, both in the evolving plot and the way the scenes are set. It is most apparent in flashback chapters of Mike's life, which are written like scripts. It felt odd initially but it works well, taking some potentially dark psychological scenes and making them readable.

The plot progresses in a wonderfully intricate way, with twists and turns that get Mike further and further into trouble. Perhaps it was the aforementioned cinematic tinge to it, or perhaps it was the dark humour and assassins, but the book brought to mind the classic Grosse Point Blank. The assassin aspect to it varies in its dominance of the tale, ultimately it is a story of relationships, truth and trust.

So that's enough of my rambles- I interviewed Wilf Morgan about the book and about his journey into self-publishing. He gave a fantastically detailed interview:

Me:  I was struck by the very cinematic nature of your book, The Assassin's Wedding. Was that intentional or just a by-product of how you write?

Wilf: Being into films (like most people!), I'm definitely a fan of the cinematic style. I always imagine things very visually so that's how I write them, too. It's not that I'm just trying to write a 'film on paper' - prose has very definite differences to screen and some very definite advantages, so you'd be foolish to simply try to recreate one medium in another. But I do like reading things that flow in that very dynamic, visceral way. I'm also a big comic fan. Comics are kind of a halfway house between film and prose - they capture that visual aspect as well as being presented via written word. So between film and comics, there are definite influences there for me.

Often, in books, I find that action scenes (for example) are quite slow and overly intricate, even when they're meant to be fast and desperate. That's partially down to the very nature of reading words off a page - you can only process words so fast. But I've tried to take lessons from certain writers (Doug E Winter's 'Run' for example) as well as certain comic book writers regarding brevity and allowing the reader to fill in the blanks in their mind. You won't have to describe everything in endless detail, slowing down the action. And because people are so used to watching films, they tend to fill in the details using that visual language. That's probably one reason why books written this way do tend to feel somewhat cinematic.

Another big thing I'm into is having a strong concept or 'point' of a story and then wrapping it in action. It's just a stylistic thing I like and it probably comes from watching too much Star Trek! On the surface, a typical episode / film of Star Trek is about people flying around in starships fighting Klingons or some other menace - and all the associated explosions and gunfights therein. But in reality, the stories are always 'about' something - getting older, dealing with grief, innocence of childhood, accepting bad choices in early life etc. Those two aspects are what I really enjoy in films/tv I watch and books I read. So I definitely try to recreate that in my own work. In The Assassin's Wedding, for example, we have an assassin taking on various targets and getting into all kinds of scrapes. Yet, the story is really about 'can a person accept that who they are isn't necessarily the best thing - and do they have the maturity to recognise that changing for the better isn't necessarily 'selling out' but 'growing up').

So yeah, I think it's a big mistake to simply write a book to reflect what you think you'd see on the screen - but, if what you're writing lends itself to it, I think there are definitely some elements from the visual media that can make prose work in a more dynamic way.

Me: The comedy-crime tone of your book was very well done. What writers in the genre inspire you in your writing?

I'm not sure I can think of too many writers that inspire me from a style perspective but there are some definite people that inspire me just generally;

Iain M Banks' stuff is great because it pulls you so completely into a fully realised world (or, I suppose, galaxy). It feels totally real and it's almost like you're simply reading a 'diary' of events that have really happened (ditto Tolkien with Lord of the Rings and R R Martin with Game of Thrones). Robert Rodriguez is my favourite film director / writer because of his brevity, speed and dynamic approach to even the most potentially boring of scenes. I'm also a massive fan of dialogue so I really like Quentin Tarantino and William Shakespeare (yes, I did just put them both in the same sentence!). Both writers do brilliant, witty, clever and flowing dialogue. In the same vein, I'm also a fan of comic book writers Mark Millar and Peter David. But my favourite writer right now (and hopefully for a long time to come) is Patrick Ness. He wrote the Chaos Walking trilogy as well as 'A Monster Calls'. They are Young Adult books but written with a kind of maturity that a good number of adult books lack. Quite simply, he knows how to tell a damn good story.

With regards to the dark humour in The Assassin's Wedding, I think I adopted that tone because making an assassin your main character (and hence someone you're meant to root for) can be a very difficult thing to pull off, especially if you're going to be 100% serious about it. At the end of the day, these folks kill people for money - that' just not nice! Adopting a kind of black humour means that I'm not really taking everything too seriously but still allows me some space to address some of the darker, more serious aspects of the story (Mike's family history, for example). Also, my previous book, Lost Angels, was so serious and so dark, it almost sends you into depression reading it - so I was determined to write something that was more fun this time around!

Me:  What made you decide to establish 88tales and where do you plan to take it? What is it about self-publishing that appeals to you most?

Wilf:  Eighty8Tales simply came about in the same way as plenty of other self-publishing ventures are coming about nowadays - in response to two main developments; the rise of print-on-demand and also the ease of web-based presence. Before POD, I was restricted to home A4 print-outs of my stuff for my own viewing. Then I discovered POD (lulu.com and then completelynovel.com) and was suddenly able to produce actual, real books! I've always been into my art and design so I was able to get my arty hat on and do my own covers, too. Throw in a website (in my case www.88tales.com) and bingo - you're your own publisher!

Yes, I still send my work to mainstream publishers in the hope of getting a deal, but that's almost just a reflex action, now. I found, very quickly, that I love the freedom of doing it myself. Yes, you don't get the same penetration in the bookstores (assuming you're one of the writers your big-name publisher decides to push, that is) but you do get to reach people online, through social networking, blogs like this one etc. Crucially, you can decide what kind of books to produce (full length novels, novellas, short story collection, whatever you fancy). Cover design, visual identity, tag-lines, the back-cover blurb - it's all down to you and you can do things that a 'real' publisher might never let you do in a million years (I made one collection 'The Greatest Show on Earth' look like a circus poster and I want to do another one to look like a vintage music album). At the end of the day, building a line of books under the Eighty8Tales banner is just total and utter fun..!

 Of course, the challenge is not to look amateurish and sloppy - the stereotypical image of the self-publisher - but it's a challenge I enjoy trying to overcome.

If I got offered a deal by a 'big' publisher, would I take it? Well, I suppose I'd just have to see at the time. But producing things under my own 'label' is really exciting - and knowing there are loads of people out there doing the same thing is even moreso.

 Me:  You have several books under your belt now. What advice would you give to starting out authors?

 Wilf:  Boringly enough, my advice is the same as many other writers' - write every day. It's advice I don't always take! But it's very important. The two main reasons for writing every day are;

a) It hones your technical skills. Just like kicking a ball or playing a violin, you sharpen your physical abilities and make them more ready to carry out whatever twisted tasks you come up with for them!
b) Stories almost never come fully formed out of your head and onto the page. It's a big process of layering. Throw whatever's in your head out onto the page. Don't stop and re-read and edit as you go...just keep moving. Don't look back! When you've done a big chunk (a chapter or three), then you can go back over it. It may well be a pile of crap (excuse my French). But that's good. Because that's the way it works. You go over the crap and it gives you ideas that you didn't initially have. Sometimes small, sometimes large. And then you refine and refine and refine. Until eventually, you end up with the finished well-written product. Always remember that it's much easier to turn crap into something good than it is to turn a blank page into anything at all.

Well, that's how it is for me, anyway..!

Me:  What's your opinion on social media as a marketing tool? Is it something you've considered?

Wilf:  Social Media is an absolutely brilliant thing regarding marketing of your work. I have to admit to not having used it to its potential yet. But even in the limited way I have used Facebook and Twitter (in particular), I have seen the benefits. Creating a Facebook page for your book and posting a link to it on your friends' pages, for example, is a great start. And as friends link to you, so their friends are made aware of it and so on. But that is only a start. You still have to do more work such as advertising online (eg. Google Ads), joining in forums and participating in blog conversations and so on. But if you funnel people from those activities to social media pages then any interest they show will be automatically broadcast to others. (On that note, the Assassin's Wedding is on Facebook - search for it! Yes, I know, totally shameless...)

Social Media is a great tool but it certainly won't do all the work for you (unfortunately!). I'm a typical writer in that I'd rather spend all my time writing and designing the books themselves and have someone else shout about them and tell everyone how brilliant and great they are and go and buy a copy right now etc..! Unfortunately, if you can't force yourself to jump into that stuff, all the work you do in writing will be for nothing because no-one but you and your mum will read it. Leveraging social media in conjunction with your book's (or publishing venture's) website can definitely yield results.

One last thing on the marketing / publicity aspect - I think it's a good idea to offer large chunks of your work for people to read online for free. As an up and coming writer, your greatest currency isn't money - it's word of mouth. One hundred people who know about you is worth more than fifty people buying your book. Because (assuming you are successful in capturing their interest and imagination through your work) they will tell others and spread knowledge of your stuff to others. If that keeps happening, the purchases will come naturally (especially when you realise that the vast majority of people much prefer to read a physical book than off a screen - so having your work available to read free online isn't going to really hurt you financially that much - unless you're J K Rowling!). Of course, it's down to each person to figure out the balance of what to give away and what to charge for. What works for one person won't necessarily work for another's marketing style, content type etc.

Me:  What's your latest project/WIP?

 Wilf;  At the moment, I'm writing my first children's book. My kids have long pestered me for something they can read and I foolishly gave in. Writing a kids' books is really, really hard! I had to figure out what age range I was aiming for and then find their level of comprehension; what kind of sentence structure they like, what they find funny, what they find boring etc.

I finally settled on aiming it at 9-12 year olds. It's called 'Arthur Ness and the Secret of Waterwhistle'. Arthur Ness is sent to live in a Nottinghamshire village (called Waterwhistle) during the blitz. He soon discovers that everyone there is scared of something. Something they can't see. There are guardians there, keeping everyone under a strange kind of control and only Arthur - a naturally very scared young boy - is free from their machinations. Only he, therefore, can do anything about it - if he can only realise the most important thing about fear and how to conquer it.

I've had a selection of children (friends' children as well as some kids from local schools) reading it as I'm going along to help me strike the right chord with it. After a very difficult initial period, it's now coming along very nicely. I'm aiming for it to be finished by the end of summer (depending on how much football / Olympics I end up watching..!). From there, it's onto the book I was going to start before my kids side-lined me, 'The Notorious Mr Locke'. But more on that nearer the time!

You can check Wilf's booksite out at 88 Tales

The Assassin's wedding is available on Kindle UK here for £0.88... a bargain!
As is his book The Cotton Keeper here, for the same price.

In the USA click right here for the Assassin's Wedding at $1.36 and on this bit here for the Cotton Keeper at the same price.

The Choosing by Jeremy Laszlo

Featured this time on the Roaring Mouse is a self-published book by US author Jeremy Laszlo. I discovered this book when I met Jeremy on Twitter. At the time Jeremy had published it on Smashwords, but now its available on Amazon kindle. Jeremy is going great guns on the series (Blood and Brotherhood Saga) - he has his third book out now!

The Choosing is the first novel in the series. It tells the story of two siblings, Seth and Garret, who embark upon a journey to a recruitment ceremony. This 'Choosing' dictates what division of the army the recruits will enter, depending upon their talents. The brothers begin the journey with a healer, called Ashton, who educates the pair on the aspects of religion that dominate the world. As the journey progresses, the lads experience a variety of adventures, encountering a girl, Sara, with whom Seth falls in love with. This introduction of a female into the group dynamic begins to have serious ramifications for the brothers.

As with many stories based around a journey (which is a frequent feature in the fantasy genre) we learn about the world of Thurr as we accompany the group. There is a great degree of detail in Jeremy's description of the world, most notably in his concepts of patron gods and magic. I really enjoyed the taster of magic we got in this first book and am certain it will play a larger part in the future books.

What stands out for me is the intimacy of characterisation in this book. The characters feel very genuine. Their relationships are detailed and realistic, especially those between the brothers and the evolving relationship between Seth and Sara. This latter dynamic took me back (a good few years) to my adolescence, with that awkward sense of developing emotion, the feeling of uncertainty, and a great sweetness to interaction. It makes for some great comical moments--there is a fantastic scene where they are shopping, and another where Sara has bought some lingerie. Simply great.

But where the books stands out is as a first part of a fantasy series. It hits all the right spots: good characters, a sense of anticipation, well structured world and logical magic. The action is well written and not excessive. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I asked Jeremy some questions about the book, his writing and himself.

Me: What have been the biggest challenges in self-publishing for you?
Jeremy: I think the biggest challenge for me were all of the unknowns that come with self-publishing.  There is so much to do, and so many details to handle that I had never even thought of before publishing my first book.  I had done tons of research, but even that did not really prepare me for what was to come after publishing The Choosing.  I guess overall however, the biggest challenge has been marketing and self promotion.  It has all really been trial and error for me, and I am constantly adjusting my approach and learning what works and what does not.  Though I have garnered a modicum of success, I always feel there is more I should be doing and other avenues I should be taking to promote my work.  Unfortunately however my time is limited being that like you and most other Indie Authors I work a full time job, have a family, and write as well as market my own books.  So it is a constant struggle to balance all of my responsibilities, leaving marketing and promotion as the last on my list of things to do.

Me: One of the most poignant scenes in the book for me is where the 'twins' are leaving to go to the Choosing. How much do you draw on your own experiences as a serviceman for writing such scenes?

Jeremy: I think that much of my writing draws from my own personal experiences.  I like the fact that you were able to put together that scene with an experience that you believed I have had in my own life.  To me that makes me feel that I have written it correctly, in that it feels real enough to make you question that connection.  I do relate to that scene personally, as I have experienced something quite similar.  In my case I was 22 preparing to leave for war.  I was leaving behind a wife and my eldest daughter who was only 6 months old at the time.  I was unsure when or if I would see them again, and I worried for their safety and well being in my absence.  It was an emotional time filled with uncertainty, and that is what I tried to bring across in the scene where Seth and Garret are leaving their home to attend the choosing ceremony.

Me: What especially attracts you to writing fantasy?

Jeremy: I think there are probably more reasons than I could even think of that draws me to the fantasy genre, however I can name at least a few.  When I was younger I was assigned a book report and read The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks.  It was the perfect introduction into fantasy and ever since reading that book I was hooked, but for me at least I think it goes deeper than that.  Growing up my family was well below the poverty line, and life was at most times a struggle at best.  To say I did not have a good childhood would be an understatement with moving constantly, a mom and step dad who struggled with alchoholism and depression, and a family budget that at times required eating the same thing nearly every meal for weeks at a time.  Fantasy for me was an escape, and one that I could get for free from the library at school.  I spent several years inside books as a way to escape my life until eventually I was on my own at 16.  Today I realise that everyone, in every aspect of life needs an escape from time to time, and fantasy books have always worked well for me, it is by far my favorite genre.

Me:  I see you have released the third book in the series, The Changing. How many books will the series run to? Will you remain with fantasy when it's concluded?

Jeremy: Yes I am very excited, Book 3 of The Blood and Brotherhood Saga, The Changing, was published April 23rd and thus far the feedback from my readers has been amazing.  As for an overall lenght of the Saga, it would be a lie to give you a definite answer as the story is always evolving.  However, since it's inception I have always imagined it to be a 12 book saga with 4 trilogies, although at this point I am beginning to think that 12 was an under-estimate.

I do have plans for a couple of different books bouncing around in my head that are outside the fantasy genre, however even if I stray from fantasy I think I shall always return to it.

Me: What authors inspire you?

Jeremy: Every good book I have ever read has inspired me to an extent, if not then I don't believe the book was worth reading.  There are a few authors however that have inspired me more than others.  Terry Brooks of course was my introduction to fantasy, and I have followed his work ever since that first page of The Sword of Shannara.  I have always been a huge fan of Edgar Allen Poe as well.  I love the dark surealism of his writing, and have read all of his published works several times.  Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman are also among my favorite authors for their work with the Dragonlance books and how they can follow multiple story lines so flawlessly within the confines of two covers.  Last, but not least, I would mention David Farland and his Runelord series for its originality and wonderfully vivid descriptions.

Me: Your work has wonderful detail in it , especially in descriptions of the settings. How much background work did you put into developing the world in which the Blood & Brotherhood Saga is set?

Jeremy: To be honest I think my life has been the background work to describing the things I see vividly in my imagination.  I have been fortunate enough to see a large perspective of the world during my years in the United States Marine Corps.  I have seen with my own eyes and touched with my own hands, mountains and jungles, deserts and forests.  I have visited buildings in every architectural style dating back to Ancient Rome.  Though these landscapes and creations of man have given me an immense palate to paint from, it was my father, James, who taught me the importance of detail.  When I was little I would sit with my dad and we would draw together.  Though he would never admit it, he has a natural talent for drawing.  I wanted so bad to draw like my dad that for years I worked to perfect the art myself.  Over those years I trained myself to really look for the details in items so that I could recreate them on paper from memory.  However while in the military I suffered an injury to my dominant wrist that required several surgeries.  Though I still enjoy drawing, I admit that my ability has suffered and with that the quality has diminished to a degree, and as such I don't spend as much time practicing the art anymore.  Even so, however, though I may never draw a masterpiece worth mention in any museum, I can still paint the masterpiece with written words for my readers to imagine as they journey with me through the world of Thurr.

An enjoyable and intimate interview, thanks to Jeremy for taking the time out to answer the questions. Jeremy is having a giveaway on his site, just click here to go there. It involves answering a few questions about his book and then you can win a gift card.

So, if you need to read his books before you enter, they can be found at the following links:

The Choosing (US)
The Chosen (US)
The Changing (US)

And for UK readers:
The Choosing
The Chosen
The Changing

My Amazon review for the Choosing is just here!
And Jeremy's awesome website is http://www.wix.com/jeremylaszlo/author

The Last Good Knight by Connie J Jasperson

Connie J Jasperson’s The Last Good Knight is the featured book today on The Roaring Mouse. I read Connie’s book on Kindle, although it is available in print via Amazon.

The Last Good Knight tells the story of a gang of mercenaries called the Rowdies. Their captain, Billy MacNess, bumps off rival Bastard John but not before he burns down their headquarters. On the ruins Billy builds a brand new inn dubbed Billy’s Revenge in which the Rowdies come to live.

The knight of the title is Sir Julian De Portiers, or Julian Lackland for short, and he comes to join the Rowdies along with his (unrequited) love Mags. The adventures of the Rowdies form the bulk of the book, interweaving their relationships with a variety of tales and ultimately involvement in politics and wars. The narrative style of the book is reminiscent of an old storyteller, with quips and asides and reflections on events which give the prose a real vitality. I was reminded of the style that Neil Gaiman wrote Stardust in when I read it.

The escapades of the Rowdies tread a fine line between grisly and humorous, and indeed the comedy in the book is dark yet well done. The chapters with the dragon, Bloody Bryan, the waterdemon and the Lady Rowdies are superbly done. In the later chapters we get a more character focused story, with the seemingly perfect Julian Lackland beginning to struggle with some of the traumas he encounters. I was glad that this aspect of his character was explored as for parts of the book he seemed too perfect and his relationship with Mags not fully explored. The finale of the book really moved me (which is tough as I’m a miserable so and so) and got me thinking a lot about my own past and the role of nostalgia and missed opportunity.

Connie’s second book the Tower of Bones has just been released, to excellent reviews. I pitched a few questions at her during one of her rare free moments.

Me: What writer has influenced you most in your work as an author?

Connie: I think Anne McCaffrey and J.R.R. Tolkien are my greatest influences, although there is a piece of every good book I have ever read lodged in my heart. I originally began writing because I could not buy enough books to feed my reading habit, and I had read everything the library had, so I started writing stories that I would like to read. They were pretty awful, of course, but I found that I loved writing as much as I love reading.

But strangely enough, I am addicted to playing ‘Final Fantasy’ games, by Square-Enix, in particular the classic console games FF IIV, IIIV, X and XII.  These games, created by the genius Hironobu Sakaguchi have wonderfully vivid and immersive storylines and deep plots to them.  My second book, ‘Tower of Bones’ shows this influence most of all, as I originally wrote it as the walk-through for an RPG that was never built. 

So it turns out that along with J.R.R. Tolkien, I have a Japanese Anime-style RPG twist to my fantasy worlds when I am imagining my beasts and my magic systems.  Also my fights tend to be more visualized from a gamer’s point of view.

Me: The Last Good Knight counterbalanced the rather grisly bits (and I’m thinking here about castration, poisoning and serial assassinations) with great comedy. How do you manage to write the comedy sequences without slipping into a Terry Pratchett-style satire?

Connie: Well, I try not to dip into satire, although I do love a good satire and Terry Pratchett in particular. But when you look at real life situations, people are really quite entertaining in the way they go about things, and in the way that they think.  It is a sad fact of life that nothing is more hilarious than something that seemed like a good idea at the time that has gone slightly awry.  Tears and laughter are really akin to each other, and I have found humor in some of the worst, saddest moments of my life.  It is the humor amidst the horror that gives us strength to go on, at time.

Me: I found the idea of a knight becoming part of a gang of mercenaries very original. What was the inspiration for that idea?

Connie: I wrote the book during November of 2010 for NaNoWriMo (National Write A Novel in a Month).  It came to me as a short story in which an elderly knight returns to the scene of some of the happiest days of his life.   His memories, as he approaches the place that he thought of as his home, and the hopes that he once had as a young man are raw and vivid in his mind.  He is old and tired, and he wants to retire from the business of saving the world but there are no heroes any more, and so many people need him. He can’t let them down, but he is at a crossroads in his life. 

As I wrote that story which eventually became the final chapter of ‘The Last Good Knight’, I wondered “What sort of life did he have? How did this sad, but strong old man arrive at this point in his life?”  It was then that I had my real story, and I found myself immersed in writing about his life and the people he loved. I was so captivated by the story that the first draft of the book was written in just 21 days.

Me: The boom genre of the last few years has definitely been YA paranormal romance. Is this something that interests you as a writer or a reader?

Connie: I will read ANYTHING that you put in my hands!  I am a ‘sucker’ for a good vampire tale with a sexy plot and a mystery attached! I read every genre and every book I come across, and I love to talk about them.  I enjoy a good paranormal romance, but so far I have not been inspired to write one.  I do have a sci-fi comedy on the back burner that has a somewhat paranormal twist to it, but that book is far from my mind right now.

Me: Your Best in Fantasy Blog demonstrates your clear love of the genre. If you had to pick one fantasy novel or series to be made into a big production (along the lines of George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones) what would you pick and why?

Connie: I would say that Indie author L.T. Suzuki’s ‘Imago’ series would be a fabulous big production. It has been optioned for a movie.  Also I would love to see L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s sci-fi fantasy classic ‘Scion of Cyador’ made into a big production TV series.

Me: Do you feel that print books will go the way of vinyl records i.e. a curiosity/collectors thing only?

Connie: I suppose that I am a bad judge of that sort of thing, really. The feeling of a book in my hands is a pleasure that is indescribable. Conversely, I love my Kindle, and have hundreds of books in it.  I could never own that many ‘real’ books, because my little bungalow would never hold them all!  I also have a huge collection of well-worn paperbacks and hard-bound books that gathers dust and harbors bits of cat fur (the poor old cat died 2 years ago but the fur is eternal) in my office, or the ‘room of shame’ as I think of it.  I can never get my family to help when moving house because of the book collection!  I think that both are here to stay, at least for the time being.

You can find Connie's book The Last Good Knight on kindle UK here.
And in the US Kindle here....
And in the UK print here!
And in the US print right here!!!

Connie's blogs can be found at:
http://conniejjasperson.wordpress.com
http://bestinfantasy.blogspot.com
http://darksidebookreview/blogspot.com

And if you want to read my Amazon review its just over here.

Gods of the Machines by Gary Starta

This week's book feature is slightly atypical in the sense that the author is doing a guest post rather than answering my questions. Gary is blogging about artifical intelligence, the theme of his latest sci-fi novel, Gods in the Machines.

The novel is a futuristic thriller set on Ceres, Earth's first colony. It follows a detective, Sam Benson, on an assignment on the colony that quickly transforms from a mundane placement to a full-on murder investigation. Sam suspects an android is guilty, one who has shared engrams of a psychopath. The premise has the hooks of Philip K Dick and one reviewer on Amazon compared it to Jules Verne!


Gary is a former journalist who has penned seven novels, mixing sci-fi with fantasy and thrillers, and even an android-free thriller 'Murder by Association' in 2007. You can read about his work here.


So over to Gary:


My inspiration to write the novel, Gods of the Machines, basically comes down to one word of inspiration: sentient. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sentient as ‘feeling or sensation as distinguished from perception or thought.” The ability to feel defines our consciousness as humans. It is what distinguishes us from other devices capable of thought or calculation i.e. computers. And although that line of separation, the inability of your laptop to feel emotion, is pretty thick at the moment, there may come a time when that line will either be blurred or crossed. Maybe you are skeptical that robots or perhaps, androids – beings that resemble humans – will ever exist in the way we see them in movies such as I Robot. But there are signs that technology is advancing and that robotics is becoming more and integrated into our everyday life.

The latest cutting edge cell phone operating system is called Android or Droid for short. Although a phone is a long way from a walking, talking android, it seems to show the very idea of such technology is seeping into the consumer consciousness. In Japan, actual android/robots have been created! They have skin made of silicon, and sensors allow them to react. They appear to blink and even breathe! But what they don’t possess is sentience. And because they don’t, I believe these creations will be ripe for exploitation. Robots are already in use in battlefields. Androids such as the life-like creations in Japan may be used for servitude as well, perhaps as nursing aides.


So the idea of robots is really not that extreme or fantastical. For the most part, they are here. Will it be all right to use them for servitude? Most every science fiction story of the last half century portrays them in that manner. Think of Bicentennial Man. But in that movie, there is a difference because that robot evolves, so much, that it actually becomes human. Still, the robot is portrayed as a servant, although its owner treats it with respect.

Will humanity treat robots with respect once they grow in number? People who perceive them as mere machines such as a computer will probably dismiss the idea of expending emotion on objects. But others may feel compelled to interact with androids as if they were human, even if they don’t possess self awareness or are unable to feel genuine emotion.


In Gods of the Machines, the androids James Starkman and Juanita Lopez will find love. Each sympathetic to the other’s plight, neither find themselves totally accepted, and worse for Starkman, he is the prime suspect in a murder investigation. In this future, robots have yet to attain the full rights of humans. But as they inch closer to this goal, the idea that androids can love each other and that humans have had sexual relations with them almost makes it absurd that these beings aren’t considered humans. They are just another kind of human; instead of biological, they are artificial. But both can love.

Gods of the Machines is a sci fi novel for readers who don't normally read the genre, mixed with romance, mystery, crime and suspense, it is fiction on the fringe of genre. A top ten finalist in 2010's Preditors and Editors Poll for science fiction, the novel addresses artificial intelligence and the quest to categorize its place in society.

Find our more about Gary at http://www.garystarta.net/

To follow Gary's sci-fi fan page http://www.facebook.com/GaryStartaSciFiFanPage

To follow and guest post Gary's blog: http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/gary_startas_writers_blog_a_forum_for_novelists/

Oblivions Forge by Simon Williams

I first found Simon William’s Oblivions Forge whilst on CompletelyNovel, a self-publishing website which I had used when first printing Dreams of Darkness Rising. Simon had posted a teaser and within the first few pages I was hooked.

 Oblivion’s Forge is an intricate work of dark fantasy which follows three key characters in the world of Aona. An ancient force is returning from the void and this return is stimulating the restoration of Old magic in the world. Caught up in this we have Vornen, who has the ability to see the gates through which the forces arrive; Amethyst, who has been cursed to seek out a mysterious woman; and Jaana, a healer who finds her healing ability becoming ineffective in face of the forces stirring in the world. The three characters plot lines ultimately crash together in a superb finale and along the way we encounter a range of colourful characters- thieves, assassins, wizards and monsters.

There were a number of aspects to this book that appealed to me. First of all it is an intelligent work. You are dropped into the plot with little background and the details gradually unfold as we travel with the characters. I’ve always liked that aspects in a book- it stimulates you to read more. In that way I was reminded of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, where you are ‘WTF’ for the first hundred pages, but by the end you feel satisfied about what’s going on.

The second big draw was the tortured characters that Simon has created. It is a skill to write fantasy and avoid the stereotypes of the genre, the most prominent of which must be 2-dimensional characterisations. The characters of Aona are detailed, realistic and interesting. Reading this book made me think about my own characterisation a great deal—and if a book makes you think, you know it’s worth the time you invest in it!

I threw a couple of questions at Simon about the Aona series and his writing:

Me: Your book mixes fairly dark fantasy with elements of sci-fi. I was reminded at times of Moorcock and Gene Wolfe. Who would you say are your biggest fantasy-SF influences?

Simon: Oddly enough, when I first started writing Oblivion’s Forge, it was much more “traditional” fantasy but it did gradually evolve a darker, “harder” work. I’d say my main influences have for many years been the likes of Tad Williams,George R R Martin, Cecilia Dart-Thornton and Ian Irvine, although I’m not sure how much those influences come through. I love the way Ian Irvine mixes a certain amount of tech into his gritty brand of fantasy, so perhaps his influence is the most visible.

When I was a kid I read a lot of Celtic and mythological fantasy, which actually inspired me to become a writer of the wider genre- I shall always be indebted to Alan Garner, Susan Cooper and C S Lewis for that reason.

Me: What drove your decision to self-publish rather than pursue traditional or small press routes?

Simon: I found myself quite disappointed with the attitude many writers’ agents displayed-I guess they get so many submissions that they can afford to have that attitude, but it was a little dispiriting! I guess I also decided at around the same time as I was sending out manuscripts, that I could instead be the master of my own destiny. Self-publishing has actually spurred me on to become a lot more productive- Oblivion’s Forge took around 13 years to complete, believe it or not, but it’s sequel, Secret Roads, has taken about a year, and the third book is also well underway already. Perhaps the fact that the first book is “out there” and there’s been an increasing level of interest in the series has helped give me the kick up the backside I needed!

Me: Unlike many self-pub authors your book is only     available in print. Are you planning an e-version?

I am. I’m hoping to have a Kindle version available in a month or so.

Me: Your characters are very diverse and intricate.Which is the one you identify with the most and which did you enjoy writing?

Simon: I guess in the first book I identified with Vornen the most in a way, although I think many people might see a part of themselves in his personality- he comes across as a bit of a dreamer or a no-hoper sometimes, and lurches from disaster to disaster- and we all feel as if we’re jinxed from time to time in our lives (thankfully few of us could be quite as jinxed as Vornen!). I also enjoyed writing about Iyoth and Kian, both of whom feature a fair bit more in Secret Roads.

I think that Nia, who you meet briefly in the first book, is my favourite character in the second. Without giving away any spoilers, Nia is “special”(unique, possibly) and a deeply troubled personality as well as a conniving woman who appears to have no morals whatsoever. In Oblivion’s Forge she does some quite reprehensible things, and she continues to do so in Secret Roads- but I try to point out her motivation, the reason why she is the way she is. She certainly isn’t a hero, but I want readers to try and understand her or at least see the human being beyond and behind the actions. I’ve actually grown quite attached her whilst writing the second book, and hope that happens to some of my readers too.

Me: The magic system seems quite intricate in your     book--is it elaborated further or is it a more major focus in your future books?

Simon: In the later books I definitely will be describing the witch / warlock / earthmagic side of things a lot more- it’s a major focus of the third book, The Endless Shore and in fact those characters who discover their innate powers in this area are absolutely pivotal to the whole concept of the Aona books. What I want to expand on a lot more is how dangerous the use of these powers is, for the wielder as much as anyone else. I want it to be seen as a “last resort” whose practitioners fear the possible effects of its use. I think that feeling of unpredictability is important.

At the same time I’ll be going into more detail about the mysterious Seven who rule in Luudhoq, and the quite different powers that they possess.

Me: Why do you think the anti-hero is so popular in fantasy and SF genres?

To put it simply, the anti-hero (or better yet, the random character who could have been anyone plucked from obscurity) tends to feel more real. They are much more interesting to write about and to read about. I stopped writing about the traditional idea of “heroes” many years ago because it just didn’t do it for me- I felt as if I was just embellishing a stereotype and I didn’t want to do that. I couldn’t identify with characters like that because they didn’t act in the way I or most other people would act in the given situation. I think the vast majority of people, placed in the situations you see in the Aona books, would be fearful, angry, suspicious, desperate a lot of the time- and their actions would inevitably be questionable or even abhorrent some of the time. It’s how they somehow work their way through these challenges (or not as the case may be!) that I find great to write about, whether they’re anti-heroes or simply non-heroes.

My Amazon review of Oblivions Forge is here.

Simon's book is available on Amazon or more simply ordered direct from the Completely Novel website via clicking here.

Simon's websites are the World of Aona website and his own author site at SimonWilliamsAuthor.com

Simon Williams is the author of the Aona series of dark fantasy books. The first book in the series, Oblivion’s Forge, was published in the summer of 2011 and the second, Secret Roads, is due out at the end of March 2012.

Brother Betrayed by Danielle Raver

Danielle Raver's debut novel was the one of the first books I downloaded this year when I came to the end of my Kindle must read list. What first caught my eye was the excellent cover which I only really appreciated in full colour when reading the book on my i-phone. There's something about fantasy books and painted covers I've always loved!

The novel tells the story of three brothers: the thoughtful and conscientious Syah; the wilder and impulsive Fasime; and the arrogant and conservative Oman. The three are princes of Arnith, a kingdom surrounded by wilder and more barbaric lands in which the nation is engaged in perpetual battles with. The three elect to take a covert excursion around Arnith, to scope out the lands that they’ll rule one day.

The trip inevitably runs into trouble and to elaborate further would be to spoil the book. Suffice to say that the events create a tension between the brothers which erupts on their eventual return.

The strength of the book, and indeed in any good book, is in the characters. Fantasy isn’t excluded from that core principle of literature- indeed fantasy and SF allow far greater examination of characters by pitting them into situations beyond our ‘real world’ experience. The dynamic between the three is wonderfully played out and is mercurial as the brothers grow and change throughout the book in a very believable (and tragic) fashion. We get a sense from the outset that Syah is the key character, not least as we have sections of his journal allowing us his point of view to resonate more than his siblings.

The conclusion of the book is moving and sets the scene very nicely for the sequels, which I am desperate to read. I was left with a sense of classic epic fantasy, reminiscent of Robin Hobb and Ursula le Guin. Danielle doesn’t overdo the fantasy element, in fact in places it feels more like historical fantasy. Having said that there’s some great dwarves featuring in it (with a very alternate realisation) and towards the end we get a dragon popping up.

I interviewed Danielle about the book and about her writing:

 Me: What is it that attracts you to write fantasy as a genre?

Dani: I attempted to write realistic fiction a few times and I was just too bored by it. I enjoy writing fantasy because I get to escape into the world of my characters. It's not as mundane as everyday life.

Me: Ok, so were there any authors who have particularly influenced your work?

Dani: Would it be crazy to say that I'm in love with Charles Dickens? The raw realness of his characters is fantastic. Cut out the whaling consortium from Moby Dick and that's another of my favorites. I also love the poetic style of Patricia McKillip and Tolkien.

 Me: I found the dwarves in your book very fresh and fascinating. Where did you draw inspiration for them?

Dani: Well, thank you. I did not want my elves or dwarves to be clichéd (yes, there's elves in the next book). The elves and dwarves are known as the "magical races" because they, unlike the humans, are still able to manipulate their world in magical ways. I think the dwarves in Brother Betrayed were moulded around the healer dwarf, who had to be mystical, powerful, and interesting.

Me: When you write would you describe yourself as very structured or do you write in a more free-form manner?

Dani: In the beginning it was very free-form. Many characters would sprout out of chapters, with me not having planned them. I have to limit myself strictly on allowing new characters into my books now. I also plan out a bit more, just so I know where the story will go. The meat of my writing, however, drives itself. If I'm stuck on a scene I will picture it in my head, live in that moment, and let the story unfold.

Me: Many indie and small-press writers also have jobs and occupations. How do you balance the demands of being an author against the 'day job?'

Dani: Excellent question. I write as a hobby, and I don't spend a lot of time watching TV. I do have a very busy "day life", and it takes me years to finish a novel. Even if I earned enough to support myself through writing, I couldn't stop working at a real job. Interacting with people gives me inspiration for my writing.

Thank you for featuring me on your blog. I'm glad you enjoyed Brother Betrayed!

My Amazon review of Brother Betrayed is here.

Brother Betrayed is available on Amazon Kindle as an e-book and also in print edition from Amazon or the Fantasy Island Book web-site.

Brother Betrayed Kindle UK

Brother Betrayed Kindle US

Brother Betrayed Print edition

If you want to find out more about Danielle Raver, these are the links for her author page :

Danielle's Author page

Philosophies of a Young Heart (website)