Interview with Devorah Fox

Today, I had a chat with a fantasy novels author of a very special kind. Please, welcome Devorah Fox!

Hi, Devorah. Where did your journey as an author start?

Though I’ve been writing for practically my entire life and have held several different writing jobs, my author career began in 1987 when my husband and business partner said, “Let’s publish a book.” We had no idea what we were getting into but a year later we had a 500-page textbook, Bumper to Bumper, The Complete Guide to Tractor-Trailer Operations. It’s been revised several times over the years and is still in print. I began The Lost King, my first published novel, as a project for National Novel Writing Month in 2010.

What’s the first story you’ve ever written? What was it about?

I recall writing a short story for a high school creative writing class. I don’t remember the title, but I do know it had something to do with the Spanish Inquisition and the auto de fe.

What is your most recent novel called? Please, tell us something about the plot.

Detour officially debuts on Nov. 4, 2016. The story takes place in mid-February, 1993. Trucker “Super Man” Harlanson is traveling to New York's Hudson Valley with misgivings. He's eager to see his girlfriend Debbie, but her elitist parents? Not so much. When he ends up at the family home, he figures the hardest part will be surviving the onslaught of relatives arriving to celebrate the birth of Debbie's nephew. That is until the US President announces his plans to hold a campaign event nearby and the town is caught up in the media frenzy. When Archie stumbles on a deadly plot against the nation's leader, he finds himself butting heads with skeptical local law enforcement, the FBI, and the White House security team, and dodging the would-be assassins who now have him in their sights, all while trying to keep his head down in a household crazy with new-baby fever.

Which of your characters is your favourite, and why?

When I first started writing Detour, Archie Harlanson was inspired by my husband who has since passed away.

Do you watch TV? What’s your favourite TV show?

I confess, I still watch reruns of Law and Order, and Law and Order SVU. Since the shows had such long run, there are actually episodes that I haven’t seen. In the current lineup, I like Scorpion and The Librarians.

What are your plans for the future?

I plan to participate in National Novel Writing Month in November, 2016 although at this writing I haven’t settled on a project. Likely it will be a Mystery/Suspense/Thriller. The Zen Detective, another novel that like Detour is set in the 1990s, will debut Jan. 6, 2017. At some point, I’d like to do another book in my epic fantasy series, The Bewildering Adventures of King Bewilliam.

What, in your opinion, is the best thing about fiction?

Fiction enables us to learn about people, places, and events that we would not ordinarily encounter, and to entertain thoughts and experience emotions that are not part of our everyday life.

Is there anything you’d like to write about, but never had the chance to start?

I have an idea for a story set in biblical times the way The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is. I’ll tackle it sometime in the future when I have more time for the enormous amount of research it’s going to require.

Do you have a special message for your readers?

Please leave a review on the amazon, Barnes and Noble, or other site where you purchased the book, even if it’s just a line or two. We authors learn a lot from reader reactions. Plus, if you enjoyed the book, your review could encourage someone who’s not familiar with my work to give it a try.

Thank you, Devorah :)

For more infos about Devorah and her novels, go to:

Devorah- Goodreads 

Devorah Fox- Amazon 

Devorah Fox- Website 

 

Interview with Lana Campbell

It’s autumn… Leaves are falling, the wind is blowing, and a cold chill is running down your spine… The perfect season for some supernatural fiction about monsters! Nearly two centuries ago (1897), Bram Stoker wrote Dracula. 

Ever since the day the Transylvanian Count haunted the ordinary household of every family around the world, people were not able to get over the creepy mystery of the bloodsucking gentleman and his wives. Just some years ago, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight hit the bookstores, and later also the movies’ screens. Young and old loved the idea of nice, vegetarian (yes, that’s what Meyer’s vampires called themselves :) ) romantic monsters. The Cullens were very human, while they also shared very animalistic traits with their forerunner.

Love stories between humans and supernatural beings seem to have a magical power. People are intrigued by the bittersweet danger of being close to your natural enemy. TV series, like True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, and The Originals prove that. All shows of that kind are popular and very successful. 

Since we are just a few weeks away from Halloween, I contacted some new authors of vampire fiction for some questions.

Fiction Author Lana Campbell just released a novel about vampires. I am glad to present you the result of the first supernatural interview :).

Good evening, Lana. Nice to meet you. Please tell us some facts about yourself.

I’ve had a passion for romance reads since early high school.  You could always find a Harlequin romance in my book bag.  In 1994 I decided to try my hand at writing, just for fun.  I really sucked at it in the beginning, but I joined a local writers group and slowly began to improve. 

In 2014 I decided to get serious about writing.  I wanted to publish something.  So I wrote Forever and a Night, the first in a vampire romance series.  I just finished book two and am in the process of looking for an agent. 

Every spare moment I have is devoted to writing or reading.  Writing is in my blood and I wake up every day excited for the next chapters.

I live in Avoca, AR with my oldest daughter, Jessica, my husband Robert and a cat named Felix.  

How many books have you written this far?

Forever and a Night is the first book I’ve published, but I’ve written many over the years.  In my vampire series there are a total of four written so far.  Three are yet to be published.  I intend to write at least six before the series is complete.

“Forever and a Night” is a romance about a vampire running from a human, only to fall in love with another. Would you tell us more about the plot?

My vampires in my Forever and a Night series evolved from humans due to a blood disease that makes it impossible for them to survive without the blood of their sire species.  They are mammals, very much like humans, but throughout their evolutionary process they developed adaptations necessary for survival such as fangs, physic and telekinetic abilities.  Their senses are more astute as well, especially the sense of smell.  When they feed from humans they enchant them then erase their memories of the encounter afterwards.  In the case of my heroine Mia, she has no idea Nathan has fed from her until he reveals this to her later in the story. 

Here’s my synopsis for Forever and a Night:

Nathan Davenport is being stalked by Isabella Ravini, the feral vampire who stole his human life over a hundred and sixty years ago. She makes him her fledging, a slave for her dark, evil purposes—hunting humans. After a few years she releases him, and Nathan reluctantly learns to accept the cursed life she foisted upon him. Over time he amasses a great fortune, which today has made him famous worldwide. Isabella decides she wants to be a part of this world of fame and fortune Nathan created for himself. She’s determined to marry him, and love has nothing to do with it. His money is her primary target, and the fame and prestige attached to being the wife of one of the richest men in the world wouldn’t be so bad either. In an effort to evade her, he hides at a safe house he owns in New Orleans. One Saturday evening in NOLA, he decides to have dinner in the city. He chooses a quiet little Italian bistro, never imagining this night will change his life forever. The human woman who delivers his order isn’t a server, but the restaurant’s sous chef, a beautiful ethnic woman possessing the most delicious blood scent he’s ever encountered. The moment Mia Peebles arrives at his table with his plate, tasting her becomes an obsession. Mia wants nothing to do with him because of Nathan’s reputation as a playboy. So Nathan enchants her, feeds from her, but his lusts for her blood and body play havoc with his thinking. Nathan finds a way to bring her into his life as his personal chef and quickly falls in love with her. The trouble is Mia has no idea he’s a vampire because during the enchanting episodes, Nathan blocks her memories of those sensual encounters. How will Nathan tell her the truth without losing her and keep Isabella from finding him? Or worst yet, will Isabella discover how much Mia has come to mean to him?

Nathan is a very modern vampire. Could vampires ever hide their nature from mankind?

In my world of vampires, they are easily able to disguise themselves from humans because they appear as normal as any person with two exceptions.  By nature they are bigger animals, taller and possessing more muscle mass.  Their most distinguishing feature would be their eyes.  The colors range just like human eyes, but theirs are always very brilliant, beautiful and in low lighting their eyes shimmer and sparkle, an evolutionary adaptation to beguile a human long enough to enchant them in order to feed. 

In some instances when a human discovers a person to be vampire, the vampire through mind control can erase the persons memory of the encounter which led the human to the discovery.  A side note—since my vampires are mammals they can reproduce with their own kind.  And of course to make the stories interesting, they can turn humans by introducing their blood into a human body.

There is also a spiritual aspect to my story.  Mia is a Christian woman who struggles with what vampires must do to survive. 

Vampire stories are really popular at the moment. There are plenty of TV shows and novels about the sassy bloodsuckers. What, do you think, could be the reason for the hype?

I hear all the time in my circle of writers, agents and publishers that vampire stories are/ has been, but then I also hear just the opposite from others.  My feeling is vampire reads, TV shows and movies will never go obsolete.  There is just something people love about vampires even when they’re evil and nasty looking.  Romance readers seem to want vampires who are sexy bad boys and girls, bigger than life with special powers yet given the right circumstances, the ability to be redeemed somehow.  Nathan my hero vampire in Forever and a Night does some immoral acts to his love interest Mia in the beginning.  Of course in any romance story love must conquer all, so in the end eternal love impacts his life choices and actions.  This isn’t a spoiler alert because every romance no matter the sub-genre makes both protagonists better people in the end when true love reigns.

Nathan is a lonely, older vampire who has given up on love.  Mia is a divorced woman in her forties with three grown children who has also given up on love because of a cheating spouse.  What inspired me to make my characters older was the fact I’m an older reader and very tired of reading stories with eighteen to twenty something year old protagonists.  There is a big desire amongst older readers for books with mature protagonists these days.  Oddly enough however, I’ve had a huge following of YA readers just loving this story.  I think the reason behind this is the characters don’t act or come off as older.  Plus the story moves quickly and is interspersed with a bit of humor and a lot of sexual tension.

What is your favourite TV show, and what is your favourite novel?

My favorite novel or rather series is Twilight which did inspire me to write a vampire romance.  However, I wanted my vampires to be more humanlike.  It bummed me out that poor Edward never ate or slept.  I’m an ex-chef.  I was determined my vampires would enjoy culinary delights, which is why I made Mia a chef. 

My favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory.  I’m a huge fan and I can’t get enough Sheldon humor.  I hope the series goes on for years to come!

If you had the chance to have your novel adapted into a movie, which actors would you choose?

I’ve been asked who I might like to see play Nathan and Mia if my book was ever made into a movie and the truth is I can’t think of any.  In my mind I’m very clear about how my characters look so chances are I’d probably choose unknown actors who look as close to Nathan and Mia as possible.  Then again if someone wanted to make my book into a movie I’m sure I’d be flexible.

Who is scarier: Frankenstein or Dracula?

To me Dracula is much scarier than Frankenstein.  He’s a shape shifter so who knows where he’ll show up next and as what.

As a child, were you frightened of the monster under your bed?

When I was about five years old my aunt told me a very scary story about an evil monster who lived in my closet and would sometimes hide under my bed.  It was a riveting story, but it scared me so bad I think I was nine or ten before I ever again slept in a bed alone.  My grandmother raised me and the poor woman was a saint.  She put up with my nightmares for years and let me sleep with her so the monster in my closet wouldn’t come out at night to eat me. 

What are your plans for the future?

My plans and goals are to make writing my future career and produce an income I can live on.  I’ve had two other careers in my life.  I was a chef for eight years and a produce farmer for fifteen.  Actually I had three prior careers.  I’ve been a mom for thirty three years and that kept me very busy while my three girls were growing up.  Today however, I need a less physically strenuous career.  Writing is hard work and hard to break into let alone make into a career.  I’ve always owned my own business so I know what hard work is all about.  I believe when a person possesses the drive and determination to make something happen, it will happen.  It may take some time, but one day I will be a writer with a name many will recognize.

What’s your Halloween message for your readers?

Halloween is right around the corner.  What better time to pick up a juicy paranormal read and dive in for a good scare?  Forever and a Night is by no means horror.  It’s a sweet romance with fun, sexy characters, but of course there is the evil, feral vampire, Isabella, who stirs the cauldron of intrigue in the story.  Some of her evil actions will make a reader white knuckle it for awhile, but I promise a good read, a happily ever after and no nightmares involving any sort of monsters under one’s bed.

Good to hear, Lana ;). Thanks for the chat, and good luck with your novel.

For more infos about Lana's work, please visit:

Amazon- Forever and a Night 

Amazon- Lana Campbell 

 

Our next Halloween interview about vampires will be with Amber Schunk-Clubb. So, keep checking the blog ;).

(Intro by H. El-Tahwagi)

Interview with Tom Kane

Today, I got to talk to an author who discovered his talent for writing erotica. But not any kind of erotica-- Supernatural Romantic Erotica. In our informative interview, he told us how he decided to write in that genre, and what his books are about. Please welcome Tom Kane!

Hi, Tom! Nice to meet you. Please tell your readers about yourself. 

My name’s Tom Kane and I’m English, sixty-two and have been writing since I was about eight. I’ve worked with computers all my adult life my first experience was using a mainframe. Eventually I started programming and became a journalist through my knowledge of computers, finally ending up with a multimedia company. I met and married my wife at the turn of the millennium and we married in 2004. In 2008 we moved to Cyprus to semi-retire and this is where I found the time to go back to my first love of writing.
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You write supernatural romantic erotica. What made you choose this genre?

I actually write in multiple genres, having published ten books already. The paranormal erotica came about as an experiment in writing a sex scene for another book, The Brittle Sea, a romantic drama. That scene was both embarrassing and enlightening to write and it suddenly gave me an idea for another book idea I had been toying with.
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What is your recent novel called, and what is it about?

My latest work is book one of The Demon Detective Agency trilogy, called The Demon Murders. The story is about an ex LAPD cop, May Brubaker, who discovers she holds a secret power and is the daughter of a sorceress. Brubaker is attacked by a Demon Fury who is hell-bent on obtaining this power for herself.
Essentially it’s a story of the battle between good and evil but with a backdrop of dark erotic tension and outbursts of senseless violence. Ideal bedtime reading, I hope.

                                                  Demon Detective Agency 
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What made you think of your main character? What do you and don’t you like about her?

May Brubaker came about from a stock picture I was looking for, as did her adversary, Polydorus. I was going through stock images from Shutterstock and came across a picture of Polydorus quickly followed on the next page by May Brubaker.
What I like about May Brubaker is her strength of character and conviction. What I don’t like about her is her choice of boyfriend… enough said.
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How many books does your series have?

The Demon Detective Agency is in three parts. I can’t see it carry on much beyond that, but I might end up introducing a new hero, who knows.
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If you could be a supernatural being, who or what would you be and why?

I like the idea of warlocks, for some reason, but I’m not sure why. Maybe I was into witchcraft in another life.
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What is your favourite novel?

Isaac Asimov’s Caves of Steel. First Sci-Fi book I read and still relevant today and a good detective novel to boot.
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What is your next project? 

I work on multiple books at the same time, which is also how I read books. Next up is The Ragged Edge of Time, followed by The Brittle Sea and finally Welcome to Beyond.
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What did you write before The Demon Detective Agency?

Prior to The Demon Detective Agency, I wrote Operation Werwolf, a WW2 action adventure novel based on my father’s experiences in the war. Also A Pat on his Back that tells the story of our misadventures when moving to Cyprus.
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If you could give out a prize to a very influential writer, who would it be?

Isaac Asimov, except he died a few years back. His books influenced me an awful lot.
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What was the most inspirational moment in your life?

There are three moments. The moment my wife said “I do,” and the moment I received my first book review. And the moment when I received the draft printed copy of Operation Werwolf, that brought a tear to my eye.
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Do you feel uncomfortable, knowing that some close relatives could read your sexually explicit work?

No, not at all. It’s not likely to happen as I don’t know of any of my relatives who have bought any of my books… they’re a stingy lot and expect free copies, but are sadly disappointed when I ignore their request.
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What advice would you give your readers?

Read as much as possible, as often as possible and as varied as possible. Life flies by, you are only here once, so enjoy it.
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When did you decide to actually write erotica?

As soon as I had finished the sex scene in The Brittle Sea, I knew then I could write something (I hope) that others would appreciate. Funny thing is I never read erotica before and hated sex scenes on TV or in film. Funny old world isn’t it?

Yeah, the world is unpredictable ;). Thx, Tom, and good luck with your work.

For more infos about Tom's work, please visit:

http://www.goodbookgoodprice.com/

 http://www.the-brittle-sea.online/

Book Review: Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole

Hey you lot!

Today, I want to do a review of a book I read some time ago. I was looking for some fiction that would remind me of books, like Bartimaeus by Jonathan Stroud, that I knew from childhood. I wanted something full of suspense; something that would draw me in. In short, a world full of fantastic, mysterious creatures. So, I had some friends over for tea, and we talked about our latest reads. At the end, I was left with a list of great recommendations. However, one specific book sounded so interesting that I decided to start reading it right away. I bet you now wonder what book I am talking about. Well, let me tell you: It is Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole. It is a quite recently published work of 276 pages with a pretty dark cover, showing a raven on a rock at its front. My first impression was: Holy spirit! That looks like one of Edgar Allan Poe's works. It kinda reminded me of Poe's The Raven. Full mark for the choice of the cover design, man! I am a huge E.A. Poe fan. I really love the dark atmosphere of his writings, and there is nothing better than the creepiness one feels upon reading them. With high expectations, I turned the first page, and I found myself pulled into the story right away. There was no introduction; no epiglogue or anything alike. Instead, the story started right in the middle of the action. At first, I was a bit confused. To be honest, I needed some time to find my way into the plot. Oh yeah, right... the plot. Let's have a look at it. So, the book description says:

A quiet little mountain town is hiding a big problem. When the townsfolk of Raven's Peak start acting crazy, Abigail Dressler is called upon to discover the root of the evil affecting people. She uncovers a demonic threat unlike any she's ever faced and finds herself in a fight just to stay alive.
Abigail rescues Haatim Arison from a terrifying fate and discovers that he has a family legacy in the supernatural that he knows nothing about. Now she's forced to protect him, which is easy, but also to trust him if she wants to save the townsfolk of Raven's Peak. Trust, however, is something hard to have for someone who grew up living on the knife's edge of danger.
Can they discover the cause of the town's insanity and put a stop to it before it is too late?
(Source: Raven's Peak- Goodreads )

Abigale is possessed by a demon. I got that after a few pages, and I found myself intrigued on the spot. The young girl is part of a secret organization that hunts down dark creatures, and, when she meets the very human Haatim, who is confused to find himself drawn into a world full of supernatural things, she find a new confidant. 
While Abigale felt rather estranging to me, because of her missions and her actions, I could feel with Haatim. The character seems to be a focal point for the readers, so that they can feel closer to the happenings and the feelings of the protagonists. When both characters go on their mission to save the world, a battle between good and evil starts.  
I won't tell you what discoveries Haatim makes, and I also won't tell you how he and Abigale save humanity from the ancient demons that feed on the darkness of mankind. But I will tell you that the confusion and the fear of the characters was contagious. Cole does a great job in creating dynamic, very realistic characters in a fictional world. When I had read the last page, I realized that the novel leaves room for a sequel, and I also found myself impatient to read more. I guess that says enough about the quality of the novel. In one word: AMAZING! I honestly can't wait for the next book, and I give Cole's work five out of five stars! Guys, if you are looking for a fantasy story you can't put down, then go ahead and start reading Raven's Peak.

Here is where you can get it:
Amazon: Raven's Peak  

Interview with Terry Shaffer

Good morning, folks!
Dystopian novels have been fascinating the audience ever since Thomas More's Utopia was published in 1516. More's ideas were controversal, and his satirical tone, and the doublemeanings he incorporated in his work, got him into trouble. Utopia set the first milestone for a popular genre in which authors criticise the standards of society, give warnings, and sometimes give alternative ideas of a better world. Nowadays, we live in a particularly troubled world that gives room for more questions and thoughts like, "Who are we?", "Where do we belong?", "What is wrong?", "What do we want?", and "How can we change to lead a good life together?". But what if a dystopian novel actually scrutinized our mainstream superstitions?

Author Terry Shaffer explores the world in the 2050s. What about Aliens? What if they truly existed? Today, we have the chance to talk to the author  about his influences, his works and his ideas. Please say hi to Terry Shaffer! 

Howdy Terry! Nice to meet you! Please, introduce yourself to the readers.

Very nice to meet you, Key.  My name is Terry Shaffer.  I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my wife, Kimberly, and our cat, Rosie.  I wrote my first unpublished and unpublishable novels during the Reagan Administration – back in the days when “doing a re-write” meant sticking a blank sheet of paper in the typewriter and starting over…which is why we didn’t have nearly as  many writers in those days.  Beginning in 1992, I went to work for a Pennsylvania Assemblyman who had been a close friend since our youth.  After fifteen years of wallowing in the muck that is Pennsylvania politics, recognizing I’d lost all traces of my personal integrity through my loyalty to criminals, I voluntarily provided evidence to the PA Attorney General which led to his arrest and the subsequent indicted of much of the House Democratic Caucus Leadership.  Through that horrible-yet-cathartic process, I lost nearly all the possessions I’d managed to accumulate during that period and emerged relatively unscathed; free from the weight of my “wagon loaded with clay” (to quote the Grateful Dead) in the “lighter” version you see today.  And I discovered I could actually write, again!  (My personal mantra is James Thurber’s quote, “I never wrote a thing worth a shit until I was fifty.”)

What is the main genre in which you prefer to write?

While I have no doubt it is not a popular approach these days, I don’t set out attempting to write in any particular genre…at least, not a single one.  I try to write the kind of things I like to read.  And that usually involves crossing the lines between satire, politics and science fiction.  I personally believe pigeon-holing oneself and one’s work into a neat, easily defined compartment only serves to retard the process of self-discovery, which should be the fundamental element of any creative work.  If your goal is to write to make money, you can probably accomplish it with a modicum of talent and a great deal of perseverance.  But if your goal is to write something lasting and significant, you can’t do it without examining the “fuzzy edges” of reality that don’t fit neatly into a specific genre.

What is your fist novel, Random Notes From a Specific Deadhead, about?

Random Notes From a Specific Deadhead began as a fictionalized account of my experiences in politics and somehow morphed into a de facto tribute to the music of the Grateful Dead and, in particular, the lyrics of Robert Hunter.  The metamorphosis began when what had once been a minor character named Mo slowly took over the story.  I came to recognize the protagonist of the novel was really the person I had been.  Mo was more like the person I was becoming.  And the one undeniable characteristic of reality is that nothing is anything and everything is becoming something else. Like everything I’ve written since my youth, it seems, the fundamental message is that each of us must find our own way and, as Mo says in the conclusion, “As soon as someone says, ‘Follow me!  I know the way!’ he’s just as lost as you are.”

Your second novel, The Democracy Dramaturgy: Modern American Politics in Two Acts, is just hitting the electronic shelves. What made you think of its dystopian setting?

The setting for The Democracy Dramaturgy was actually chosen by the mysterious forces of the universe we mistake for coincidence and happenstance.  It began with the not-all-that-original idea that Jimmy Hoffa had been accidentally abducted by aliens when his television image was caught in a transporter beam.  I checked the date he disappeared to see if I could find another TV personality who might have been caught in the transporter at the same time and discovered Mayberry’s Goober Pyle, George Lindsay, was a guest on the Merv Griffin show the same day.  I checked when George Lindsay died and it was thirty-seven years after the appearance.  What star is thirty-seven light years from ours?  Muphrid.  The additional thirty-seven years it would take someone to return from Muphrid established the year of the second act as approximately 2050.  

If you could travel in time, what time would you choose and why?

I imagine many people would answer by identifying a particular moment in the past they find interesting.  I would have no desire to time-travel to the past.  I know how that turned out.  But I’d love to take a glimpse into the not-too-distant future to see if our species made it over the self-destructive hump before which it presently sits. (I wouldn’t want to actually go there.  Just look down on it from above like Bush during Katrina.) In order to thrive and flourish as the dominant species on our planet we’ve had to develop levels of intelligence through which we could also destroy ourselves.  We have been inn a constant state of war, attempting to dominate each other as we have the other animals, since Abraham took charge six thousand years ago and God became a man.  I still see great potential in our species.  But I can also see we will never be able to tap into it as long as we permit ourselves and our children to be brainwashed with things like religion, patriotism and cartoons.

Are there any writers who influenced your style? What do you usually read, and what is your favourite novel?

I hope a reader will see the clear influence of Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams when they read my work.  Vonnegut in particular.  What is markedly different, however, is the sense of optimism I present which was very rare during the Cold War.  I never read fiction when I’m writing it because I tend to subconsciously write like the author I’m reading.  But when I do I tend to stick with the classics, with David Copperfield and War and Peace topping my list of personal favorites. 

What, in your opinion, are the most bothering flaws of society, and what would you like to change?

The most flawed and dangerous aspect of modern society – more than the nukes or the vaccine-resistant bugs or the rising oceans – is the control of power through the manipulation of information.  There is a very good reason why Americans go to the polls to cast their votes for someone who openly supports the agenda of people other than them.  It’s because they’ve been taught that’s what good Americans do.  And it’s because they’ve been misled by emotional issues only designed to distract them.  I understand the anger of the Trump voters because I saw it each and every day when I worked for a politician.  People are fed up with what their government has become.  But since they don’t understand what needs to be done to improve it they hitch their wagons to those of some numbskull who promises to take them to the Promised Land.  The simple fact is that they have been deceived by both Parties for so long they can no longer identify deception.  They have been force-fed bad information for so long they have become perfectly comfortable with dishonesty.  As long as politics is a major “for-profit” enterprise, the system cannot be improved.  But if we were to properly regulate our elections and their funding as we did before conservatives forced the idea “less regulation is always better” down our throats, I believe it would be remarkable how quickly the system would return to a state of relative health.  As long as we have a system designed by crooks to support the work or crooks, we can’t expect anything to change no matter who we elect.  If we have the ability to elect good people who are more concerned with effectively leading their nation and their world, rather than lining their pockets, the problems with nukes and the bugs and the oceans will be much easier to address.

What is your next project?

I would love to tell you what my next project is about and, in consideration of the fact I have about fifty pages of the first draft competed, one would think I should be able to do that.  But it is at present being taken over by a mad scientist who lives in the mythical underwater city of Philadelphia and in the process of forcibly evolving himself into a marine creature. 

Do you have a special message for your readers?

My special message would be this…We live in a wonderful reality we are only beginning to understand and appreciate.  Don’t let yourself miss out of the wonders of life because you’re bogged down by human issues.  We just aren’t that significant.

Thanks a lot, Terry, and best of luck with your projects. If you want to find out more about the author and his novels, please visit:

Goodreads: Terry Shaffer 

Amazon: Terry Shaffer 

Interview with Tim Rees

Good evening, my friends. Did you ever watch a movie and just realize that you like it even better because it is based on real events? I sometimes feel like that's the case with books. Sometimes, we need to read about things that really happened to somebody else. People are curious by nature. Besides, the experiences of others can have an educational or emotional impact on us. That's why, from time to time, I also like to read a good memoir. 

My next guest writes fiction, and has recently written and published his own story. Please say hello to Tim Rees!

Hi Tim. It’s so cool to have you here. Thanks for dropping by. Will you introduce yourself to the readers?

Hello, I'm Tim Rees. My background is BBC drama. But before that I was in the army, the First Battalion Welsh Guards to be exact, where I experienced active service in Northern Ireland and the Falklands war. It was after military service I got a job in BBC drama and made a Play For Today about the Falklands war. 'Mimosa Boys' was broadcast on BBC1. I went on to make many more BBC dramas and films. I left the BBC to focus on my own material. My first novel was a thriller titled Raw Nerve about the first black president of the USA - I'm Welsh and live in the UK, by the way. My experience with Raw Nerve and traditional publishing is too long to go into now, so to cut a long story short, one vice president of one of the biggest publishers in New York personally accused me of stretching credulity to breaking point and beyond by suggesting America would ever have a black president. I had actually flown to New York to sign a deal with HarperCollins, but it's part of the long story I mentioned earlier; suffice to say that the novel was hailed by pretty much every editor in the big publishing houses my agent at the time sent it to, but the presidents of those publishers felt it too controversial. "We cannot be associated with riots in the streets," was one reason I remember being told. In the end I self published Raw Nerve, but that was in the very early days of self-publishing before Amazon. I unpublished Raw Nerve when Barack Obama was elected as it sort of rendered Raw Nerve redundant, although I have had requests to republish as, I'm told, a good book is always a good book.

Anyway, after Raw Nerve I fell in love with a woman who had two children and spent years in the literary wilderness, metaphorically speaking. But I had to return to writing and knew the industry had changed radically with the advent of Amazon. So I decided to write a memoir to get my foot in the traditional publishing door and subsequently, In Sights: The Story Of A Welsh Guardsman, was published by The History Press.

The 'foot in the door' didn't work as the novel I wrote to follow up my entry into traditional publishing, a story titled Delphian, came in at 170,000 words, that equates to around five hundred pages, and, according to my agent, traditional publishing don't take risks on big print runs now to get the price point right and printing costs over two-hundred and fifty pages escalates, so I found myself back at self-publishing again and exclusively electronic publishing as I learned my agent is right. If I were to make some money from a self-published paperback version of Delphian I'd have to charge around twenty dollars per book.

Yes, tell me more about Delphian. It is a thriller focused on British intelligence. Where did you get the idea from?

That's easy to answer: I wanted to expose the hypocrisy that is vivisection, yet I accept the argument that if I had a child dying of cancer I would be desperate for a cure. Thus the story begins with someone's child being used as a vivisection subject.

And I was intrigued by the challenge of creating a Jason Bourne type character who's also a master of disguise, like Forsythe's The Jackal. For a long time I have played with the idea of a character who can re-invent himself almost daily. How difficult would he be to catch?

I also wanted the story to have a strong female lead and the young lady that walked into that role has exceeded all my expectations.

What is special about your novel’s protagonist and his struggle as an agent?

Vincent's job as an intelligence agent was to cover up potential political banana skins. For example when it was discovered there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the scientist David Kelly was very outspoken about our political leaders knowing that. David Kelly died supposedly of a heart attack. As a writer that scenario sparks my imagination. So, in short, Vincent was a government assassin. However, when he's confronted with a young girl being used as a vivisection subject in medical research funded by the British government, he goes rogue. He's determined people are going to pay, thus his struggle is now with his own conscience.

Your other novel, WTF: An Untypical Love Story, “is a story told through the eyes of a 21 year-old SAS-type soldier as his life crashes from one life changing drama into the next against a background of national news headlines” (book description quoted here). What is the main difficulty that the main character has to cope with?

James has so many problems in WTF that I don't know where to start. And, actually, to lay it all out will be a spoiler for anyone wishing to read the novel. Suffice to say, as you mentioned, he's twenty-one and he falls in love very easily - too easily. I think it's okay to say that being headline news doesn't help an SAS-type soldier whose job requires his identity to be secret.

The style of WTF is quite unique. What inspired your style, and what makes it as special as it is?

Everything about WTF is different about how I normally approach a story. First of all my mother died and I began the novel the very next day as a means to focus my mind on something else. I finished the first draft in six weeks, which is alarmingly fast for me. It's quite a linear storyline written in first person, but I see and feel so many layers to it. As for style, the book begins in short, punchy sentences that hopefully convey the breathlessness James is experiencing. But I could talk about WTF all day, but it's for the reader to decide whether I've succeeded in writing a story that is first and foremost entertaining, whilst offering thought provoking perspectives. It's certainly a unique novel for me to have written and I personally haven't read anything quite like it, by that I mean, as challenging of so many commonly held views.

What was the most memorable event of your life?

I wrote about a very memorable event of my life in In Sights: The Story Of A Welsh Guardsman. The Falklands war was a huge life and character changing event. You don't go through an experience like that without changing your perspective on every aspect of life.  But my time in Kenya, also recounted in In Sights, had a profound effect on me.  But discovering my creativity is my most memorable period because only then was I able to fully love me. If there is one thing I could change, that would be to have started writing a lot sooner and have said to hell with every thing else.

What is the best thing about being a writer?

Oh, that one's easy too. As a novelist I can create the change I wish to see, at least on the pages of a book, but that's a start isn't it? If I offer readers a new or alternative perspective that cause them pause to think, so much the better. But first and foremost a novel needs to be entertaining. I believe it is by wrapping difficult subject matter in entertainment we make it so much more digestible.

If you had the opportunity and all the means necessary to change the world, what would you do?

I would say to humankind that all life forms add their own colour to the world and that it is important for us to embrace all the colours regardless of personal taste.

What is your next project?

I am currently writing a stand-alone thriller that again features Vincent.

What is your greatest ambition in life?

My ambition is to write that next novel and to make all my novels into films so the stories can reach a wider audience. I have already adapted both Delphian and WTF for the screen.

What inspires you the most?

Planet Earth and the myriad stories written in each leaf of every tree. Human and animal rights and the parity that needs to exist between the two.

Do you watch TV? Do you have a favourite TV show or movie?

I do watch a lot of TV and films. I don't have a favourite as there is so much brilliantly creative dramas I see all the time.

What kinds of books do you usually read?

Thrillers mainly now, but my favourite book has to be James A. Michener's Centennial. I especially loved the story about Little Beaver. Also, as a teenager I loved the Tarzan books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I would encourage all young men to read Tarzan Of The Apes as, for me, it is a profound study of one man's evolution in harmony with our planet Earth. It is through those pages I learned to appreciate all life we share this planet with.

Thank you very much for dropping by, Tim!

If you are interested in Tim's books and in more infos about the author, please visit: 
http://author.to/TimRees

 Tim Rees Amazon