eSpec Books Focus #13: Lisanne Norman

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpec Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know.

Next up, Lisanne Norman, contributor to No Man’s Land (Defending the Future #4) and In Harm’s Way (Defending the Future #8), edited by Mike McPhail and published by eSpec Books. 

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

It's a Lost Colony story about Scots settlers who get stranded on a planet reemerging from an ecological disaster that destroyed most of the life there. It is slowly regrowing, but this is where my Scots landed. Some 200 years later they are an arrested civilization being studied by Earth anthropologists. It's called Dream Warriors.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?

I couldn't find enough books of the kind I liked to read when I was 8 years old. My parents bought me a toy typewriter for that Christmas.

What inspires you to write?

Despite me plotting out my novels to a scene-by-scene level, they are still organic and can and do change. I want to know what happens next!

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

The main characters being different someway from those around them, and learning to come to terms with that difference, to see it not as a debility but as an asset to their personalities.

What would be your dream project?

To work with a TV crew on a production of my novels! 

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Firstly, the children's author in the UK, Enid Blyton, then Rudyard Kipling, then Anne McCaffrey, and too may others to mention.

If you had any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

I learned a long time ago that when a work is finished, it has to be finished. It is too late to wish you had done it differently. Leave it behind you and go forward and make the next project with the knowledge learned from the last taken into account.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

I think it is both. Each piece for me is an experiment to see how it unfolds, and I adapt it to get the result I want. 

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

The beginnings are always difficult till you know whose voice is the one that takes you into their world, and also you find the voice of what will become the whole piece. I once wrote 6 beginnings for a novel with each being up to 20 pages long before hitting on the right one. I had to ask my main character what he'd do and suddenly all the stress went out of my situation and the book just flowed.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?

I sincerely believe your greatest asset as a writer is the friends you have made along the way. Not necessarily writer friends because avid reader friends have a lot of knowledge to share with you. If I don't possess a skill, then chances are I know someone who does possess that skill and can tell me what it is like to, for instance, rock climb on a wintry day.

What does literary success look like to you?

Always having an outlet for the next novel, and having outlets, such as eSpec Books, I can submit to for short stories. I have acquaintances who have written a book and are now looking for a publisher to buy it. I'm with a publisher who wants first refusal on my novels and that for me is success. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

Only Dream Warriors, which I hope to be finished this year.

For more information, visit:

Sadly, my web page is down at the moment and I hope a friend will have time soon to rework it and sort me out a domain and all that stuff, but his new baby daughter takes priority.

eSpecs Books Focus #13: Keith DeCandido

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Keith DeCandido!

Tell us a bit about your latest work. 

All-the-Way House is part of a series of standalone books about cryptids—monsters of various types from folklore. In my case, the primary character is the Jersey Devil, but other cryptids show up as well. All-the-Way House tells the origin of the Jersey Devil, taking the various legends and stories about that monster that is so popular they named a hockey team after it, and puts a different spin on it. In particular, a big chunk of the story takes place during the week in January 1909 when there were dozens of sightings of the creature in central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

The book takes place in my urban fantasy universe in which there are supernatural hunters for hire called Coursers, who deal with various issues involving creatures and magic and such.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

Well, I was raised by librarians, and reading and storytelling was part of my life from birth. I honestly can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a writer. From as early as I can remember, I was always fascinated by stories and the telling of them, and when I was six I wrote my first book: Reflections in My Mirror. I did it in pencil on construction paper. It was terrible (I was six!), but I still have it to remind me of my roots.

What inspires you to write? 

Everything. That's a facile answer, yes, but there is literally nothing that doesn't inspire me to write. News stories. Walking around the neighborhood. Stuff I see on TV. Conversations I have with my family and friends. People-watching.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

I have a tendency to be interested in the minutiae of how people survive in the world, even if it's a made-up world. How do people feed, clothe, and house themselves? It's a factor that tends not to be present in far too much fiction, yet it's the most critical aspect of pretty much everyone's life.

I love to take a look at characters' histories and see how that affects them in the presence. We're the sum of our experiences, and in particular, when I write media tie-in fiction, I love to look at the entirety of the characters' experiences as seen in prior stories and see how I might use that to facilitate characterization and plot.

I also love to deconstruct tropes 'cause it's fun.

What would be your dream project? 

Being consulted on the creation of a movie or TV series based on one of my works of fiction.

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

Ursula K. Le Guin. Chris Claremont. J.M. DeMatteis. Harlan Ellison. Laurie R. King. P.G. Wodehouse. J.R.R. Tolkien. Robert A. Heinlein. Kurt Busiek.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do? 

My third Supernatural novel Heart of the Dragon was written in the midst of a very ugly breakup. I wish I could have had one more pass on it when my brain was actually functioning properly.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why? 

Oh, much more on the art end. There is some science to it, but it's definitely art, mainly because science requires replicable results and consistency, which pretty much never happens with writing……

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

Organizing my time. As I type this answer, I've also got a short story to finish, a bible for a series of novellas to finish, a comics script to write, and a novel to finish. Plus, there's that whole eating and sleeping thing, plus we can finally go out and see other humans again. It's a tough juggling act…..

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

Mostly by gabbing with each other about our projects. We're always talking to each other about our works-in-progress, and at times it's incredibly helpful, even if it's just to have someone to bitch and moan at.

11. What does literary success look like to you? 

Knowing that at least one reader was touched by something you wrote.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

I've got a story in Devilish & Divine that'll be out soon from eSpec Books. Over the course of the next nine months to a year, I should have three new books out: Feat of Clay, the second book in the Adventures of Bram Gold, an urban fantasy series that's in the same setting as All-the-Way House, from WordFire Press; Phoenix Precinct, the sixth novel in my fantasy/police procedural series, from eSpec; and Ragnarok and a Hard Place: More Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet, my second collection of Key West-based urban fantasy stories, from Plus One Press. In addition, my wife Wrenn Simms and I have launched our own very-small-press publisher, Whysper Wude, and we just successfully funded our first project on Kickstarter: the anthology The Four ???? of the Apocalypse, with alternate takes on the four horsemen of the apocalypse (the four cats! the four lawyers! the four PTA Moms! the four librarians! and so on…) by more than two dozen authors, including Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, David Gerrold, David Mack, Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Jody Lynn Nye, Laura Anne Gilman, Gail Z. Martin, Adam-Troy Castro, and tons more. We're hoping to have that out by the fall of 2021.

Also I continue to write about pop culture for the award-winning webzine Tor.com, including a rewatch of Star Trek: Voyager, which will be followed by a rewatch of Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as reviews of current shows, and twice-yearly looks back at superhero movies.

eSpecs Books Focus #11: Aaron Rosenberg

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Aaron Rosenberg!

Tell us a bit about your latest work.   

Gone to Ground is the second book in the Systema Paradoxa series. It’s a period mystery, set in the Roaring Twenties, with a bit of a cryptid twist. Trevor Kincaid throws the best parties, and only the most fashionable and elegant get to attend. But when a lady is found dead in the midst of one, all signs seem to point to Trevor himself as the killer. He claims he didn’t do it, and that someone can confirm his innocence—but his supposed witness cannot be found. Can an earnest police detective—and a quiet young woman—discover the truth? 

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?  

I’ve always loved telling stories, even as a kid. Then, when I was in third grade, I won my school’s Writing Award. The school was K-4, so I actually beat out the fourth-graders for it. Going up and getting that award was the first time I realized that my writing could impact more people than just myself and my family and friends. I was hooked. I still have the plaque, mounted on the wall next to my desk. 

What inspires you to write?  

For me, it’s all about entertaining my readers. Maybe I’m trying to make them laugh, maybe I’m trying to make them think, maybe I’m trying to keep them on the edge of their seats or have them scratching their heads, but I always want to engage them in the story and to have them feel, at the end, that they enjoyed it and that their time was well-spent. 

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?  

I’m a big fan of turning things on their head, taking a standard trope and twisting it around to see what it looks like that way. I also love mythology, so a lot of my stories have to do with gods and monsters but also with the difference between perception and reality, story and truth, legend and existence.  

What would be your dream project?  

That’s tough because I’ve been pretty lucky so far, both with tie-in work and with my original fiction. There are still some properties I’d love to write for, like Doctor Who or Marvel, but I’ve gotten to write for things like Star Trek and World of WarCraft and The X-Files and Sinbad the Sailor, and I’ve been able to write mystery, thriller, action-adventure, comedy, science fiction, epic fantasy, urban fantasy, dark fantasy/horror, western, and superhero. 

What writers have influenced your style and technique?  

On the literary side, Jane Austen and Mark Twain have always been my inspirations—humor, character, and story, plus both perfectly capture their time and place. For genre fiction, I started with Madeleine L’Engle, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Andre Norton, all amazing. Then I expanded to people like Ron Goulart and Douglas Adams and Julian May and R.A. MacAvoy and Piers Anthony and finally Roger Zelazny and Tim Powers and David and Leigh Eddings.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?  

My first OCLT novel—that’s a series of occult thrillers I created with David Niall Wilson—is a novel called Incursion, about a pair of FBI agents who go to investigate murder on a reservation in the Pacific Northwest and find themselves dealing with a killer who is not quite human. I’m still very happy with the book but I’ve done two more OCLT novels since then and so I know the characters a lot better now. That’s just something that happens as you continue a series, though, where people you created who started out a little rough and a little hazy are now in much sharper focus. 

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?  

Depends upon the kind of writing. Fiction and poetry are heavily on the “art” side. More technical forms of writing are on the “science” side. But I’d say it was more accurate to distinguish between “art” and “craft”—at the one end you have writers who care nothing for standard grammar, punctuation, etc., and are all about the feel of the writing and the emotions and images, while at the other end you have writing that is technically proficient but lacks any of that passion, and of the spontaneity. Fortunately, most writers call somewhere between the two extremes. 

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?  

Starting the story. That first page is a killer! It’s always tough to get going, because you’re doing it from a standing start. And if it’s a new project, you don’t know the characters yet, you don’t have the feel for the story, you don’t have the pacing down, the rhythm. It’s a lot easier when it’s a book in a series because then at least you’re picking up where you left off, with characters you already know and a rhythm you just have to relearn. 

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?  

Oh, of course they do. All the time. One way is simply being around other writers, talking about writing—like so many other topics, you sharpen yourself and your ideas and opinions by running them by others, getting feedback, and adjusting to take that into account. It’s also great to be able to bounce specific story ideas off friends, asking, “how does this sound to you?” and knowing they can respond as a fellow writer. And then there’s hearing about their writing, and reading it, and getting to see how they approach certain aspects of storytelling—some of it may be completely different from how I go about things, but it’s still instructive to see, and at times you go, “Oh, that makes so much more sense than what I was doing before! I’ll try that method!” 

What does literary success look like to you?  

I’ve already achieved some of what I consider literary success—I’ve written for major properties, I’ve had books released by major publishers, I’ve been translated in multiple languages, I’ve been an author guest at various conventions, I’ve won awards, and I’ve hit bestseller lists. I haven’t hit The New York Times list yet, so that would be a big one for me, and I’ve never had a work optioned for, let alone developed into, a movie or television series. But honestly, my proudest moment as a writer, what I’d say was my greatest success, was at a con a few years back. Someone stopped by my table in the author library, and after I told him about one of my books—No Small Bills, the first book in my SF comedy series The Adventures of DuckBob Spinowitz—he got all excited and said, “that sounds awesome, I need to bring my friend over here.” Then he left. But the next day he turned back up, dragging a friend with him. They came straight to my table and he pointed at my book and said, “There, that’s the one I was talking about, it sounds awesome.” And his friend said, “Yeah, I bought it last year, I loved it—wait, there are two more?” And bought the next two in the series right then and there. It really doesn’t get any better than that. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?  

My next book out should be Bones at Rest, which is the fourth book in my Anime-esque epic fantasy series The Relicant Chronicles. Think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets Game of Thrones, in a kingdom where the only remaining magic is literally consuming the bones of your ancestors to access their skills and knowledge. In this book, the characters have to contend with a nationwide event that throws everything into turmoil and inadvertently creates opportunities for chaos and strife. After that is Focal Point, my next OCLT novel, where several members of the team are asked to travel to a small Eastern European country to help protect a scientific installation that’s being threatened—but when they arrive they discover that all is not as they were told, the site itself is wrapped in ancient and powerful mysteries, and things are far stranger and far darker than they seemed. Then I have Crossroads, the fourth and final book in my Time of the Phoenix series, about the immortal Phoenix and his attempts to move through the ages of Man and help foster humanity’s creativity and passion while fending off those who would doom us to colorless uniformity in the name of safety. 

For more information, visit: 

You can find me at gryphonrose.com and also at Crazy8Press.com, an author collective I helped found. I have an author page on Amazon, and one on Facebook, and my Twitter handle is @gryphonrose. 

eSpecs Books Focus #10: Ty Drago

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Ty Drago!

Tell us a bit about your latest work. 

Dragons is a young adult science fiction thriller set at the end of this century. By now, space travel has been wholly privatized. Mining colonies have been established on the moon, Mars, and some of the asteroids, all of them controlled by the powerful Coffin Solar Exploration (CSE) and its billionaire founder, Charles Coffin.

In this world, Andy Brand, an eighteen-year-old high school senior from a small town in New Jersey finds himself a prisoner in a strange, hi-tech cell. His captors want no ransom. Instead, they seem interesting in compelling Andy to do the seemingly impossible: to create fire without benefit of a match. Andy, having been trained nearly from birth to do so, denies and resists them at every turn—that is, until his captors push him too far and force him to reveal what they already know.

Andy is a Dragon, a member of a vanishingly small subspecies of humanity capable of generating enormous amounts of thermal energy at will. Dragons have been hidden among us since the dawn of time, living quiet lives, trying to stay under the radar, because they know full well what can happen when they don't.

But there are always those who feel they can control the uncontrollable. Charles Coffin needs a Dragon to help with a rescue effort, and he's stolen Andy from his home and family to make that happen.

All is not as it seems, however, and Andy soon finds himself embroiled in a complex web of deceit and betrayal, a political and scientific puzzle that will test not just his considerable power, but his courage and intellect as well. Lives are at stake, and only a Dragon can save them.

That's all you get.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

I've always been a writer. At the age of three, before I could read, I wrote stories. This usually involved me sitting naked on the living room floor, scribbling with a crayon (I've seen the pictures). But, in my head, I was telling a story. Later on, I "graduated" to drawing comics books. These I shared with the kids in the neighborhood, my first readership. But it was clear from a young age that I'm no kind of graphic artist. So, in high school, I embraced the written word and it's been my religion ever since.

What inspires you to write? 

Author David Morrell once said that every writer should ask the question, "Why do I write?"  For me, that's easy to answer. I want to be a hero. I wish I was a hero. But I'm not. So, instead, I write about heroes. These heroes vary drastically, from the "super" to the "anti," from the surprisingly ordinary to the over-the-top. I enjoy finding new ways to tell their stories, and I absolutely love it when my readers appreciate them. In fact, I guess you could say that I write for two reasons, the second one being the audience. As I write largely for children, I know firsthand how enthusiastic they can become about my tales and characters. It's a joy to write for them.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

Most of my novels deal with some kind of "kid empowerment," the idea that children make the best heroes—that they can be, and sometimes are, so much more than we give them credit for. Whether my protagonists are twelve, sixteen, eighteen, or twenty, the story always revolves around their struggles. Sometimes those struggles are against evil, invasion, or oppression. Sometimes they deal with growing up or coming into one's own under complicated and often dangerous circumstances. But, in every case, they are in the middle of it, relying on themselves, their own courage and ingenuity, to see them through.

That's the heart of children's fiction.

What would be your dream project? 

Well, I don't know if this is a "dream project" exactly, but it's a deeply personal one. I recently completed a rare adult novel, one based on a rough outline that my father left for me on cassette tapes before he died in 1992. Called The New Americans, this long family saga is a huge departure for me. It doesn't focus on speculative elements (science fiction, fantasy, and horror), which have been my bread and butter all these years. Instead, The New Americans tells the story of three young men from rural Sicily, who are forced by circumstance to emigrate to the United States in 1915, at the heart of what is now called the "Great Arrival," the single largest influx of immigrants in this country's history. It's a story of family, betrayal, and redemption. As of now, it's out in the market, looking for a home.

If you'd to know more, you can check the podcast that my wife and I did about this novel and the tapes that inspired them. Look for "Legacy: The Novel Writing Experience" wherever you get your podcasts!

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

Wow. That's a tough one. I have authors I love: Yann Martel, Lee Child, Eoin Colfer, Jonathan Maberry, Heather Brewer, A.S. King, Stephen King, and others, but I'm not really sure how any of them may have influenced me. They certainly inspire me; reading their work often gets my own creative juices flowing. But I've worked hard to find my own voice, to tell my stories as best I can with my own style. 

I guess, if I'm as honest as I can be, I've been touched to some degree by Maberry's wit, Martel's irony, and A.S. King's truth. But I like to think that's more about motivation than influence. 

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do? 

Ouch! One of my earliest published novels is an adult SF mystery called Phobos. It came out way back in 2003. I've grown quite a bit as a writer since then and sometimes when I re-read it, I think, "Oh, I should have done told this part this way, or changed this character like this." I think all of us do that at one time or another. Second-guessing oneself is an author's favorite hobby! 😊

But madness lies that way, or at the very least useless frustration. It's hard enough to stay positive as navigate this business—and, make no mistake, writing for the modern world is most definitely a "business." It does you no good to dwell on the nettles of your past.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why? 

Writing is a craft, rather like knitting. Everyone, to some degree, can be "taught" how to write. Over the past several years, I've taught many classes on writing, both to adults and children. And, while the teaching style for each is, by necessity, different, the underlying lesson is the same: Practice.

Storytelling, however, is definitely an art. I've read some technically well-crafted novels that suffered from poor execution, slow pace, or had downright boring stories. Conversely, I've read great stories that were simply badly written.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

The first thing I need to do before I start a novel is to find its music. I literally put together an entire "soundtrack" for each story I write. Then I play these songs, over and over, while I plot things out in my head. In the case of Dragons, the music is largely that of one of my favorite bands, Imagine Dragons.

Without that music, I can often find myself stuck or, even worse, losing interest in a particular project. So, I make it a point to find the "soundtrack" first. This isn't always easy and can often take a longer time than I'd like. But, for my process, it's crucial.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

My "first read" for the last thirty years has been my wife, Helene. I honestly don't know what I'd do without her. She is, without any doubt, the toughest copy editor I've ever worked with. But every single one of my books is better for it!

What does literary success look like to you? 

I love to write. I love for my writing to be read. I've happily reached the stage where I can write full-time and, at sixty years old, I now find that I'm living my best life. I've been fortunate to have partnered with some wonderful, forward-thinking publishers, most particularly eSpec Books, which published Dragons. It's a great ride and I intend to keep at it until they pry the keyboard from my cold, dead fingers.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

I recently completed a YA horror novel called Rags that I'm hawking around. It's a scary, somewhat gruesome tale set in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the early 1980's when the casinos were just starting to come in. It tells the tale of sixteen-year-old Abby Lowell, an orphan whose life is saved by a mysterious stranger who hides his face and wields his long black knife with deadly precision. Soon, Abby is unwillingly drawn into a life-and-death struggle against forces she can barely comprehend. I'm really proud of the book and its dark anti-hero, whom Abby dubs "Rags."

Look for it!

For more information, visit:

My website and bookstore are easy. We're at www.tydrago.com.

If you're a writer of speculative short fiction, check out my amazing ezine at www.allegoryezine.com. We're always looking for fresh talent!

eSpecs Books Focus #9: Robert E. Waters

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Robert E. Waters!

Tell us a bit about your latest work. 

My latest is a novel that I co-authored with Compton Crook Award winner, Charles E Gannon, set in Eric Flint's 1632/Ring of Fire Alternate History series, published by Baen Books. The novel is titled 1636: Calabar's War and it's available now through Barnes & Noble and Amazon, etc. 

The 1632/Ring of Fire series is about a small West Virginia town (Grantville) that was transported back in time to fall right in the middle of the 17th century during the Thirty Years War in Germany. The series tells the story of these Americans as they try to cope with the sudden change in their world and location, and how their arrival impacts the people of the period, plus the social, religious, military, and political lives of everyone in Europe. 

Since its inception, however, the series has moved into many other parts of the world: India, China, Africa, North and South America. Calabar's War is the 30th novel in the series and is set in South America and the Caribbean. It deals specifically with the issue of African slavery which, unfortunately, has been in place in the Portuguese and Spanish territories since the early 16th century. 

The main character of the novel, Domingos Fernandes Calabar, is what the Portuguese at the time called a "Mameluco," a man of mixed Portuguese and native Brazilian heritage. The novel recounts his service to the Dutch in Brazil, but it carries him into the Caribbean as he struggles to save his family from slaveholders and tries to begin the long and arduous task of bringing slavery to an end in Brazil.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

Well, I can't say that there was any one thing that occurred to make me want to be an author. I enjoyed stories from an early age. In fact, I recall writing my first story when I was around five or six, though I can't tell you what the story was about, except that the main character was a kid with a switchblade. What he did with that switchblade, I haven't a clue anymore. But from that early attempt, I always had an interest in telling stories. It wasn't until high school, however, that I began to give serious thought to writing. I spent a lot of my high school years writing stories and submitting them. All rejections in those early days, but I kept trying and eventually, I struck gold. 

What inspires you to write? 

Stories that other authors have written that I have read. I remember back in the mid-90s, shortly after I had moved to Baltimore, Maryland, I rededicated myself to trying my hand at fiction. Science fiction and fantasy, to be specific. But, I was reading a John Updike novel called Brazil, and wow, did it inspire! Updike is known for his mainstream prose, but this one had some fantasy elements in it. But it wasn't those elements that inspired me. It was his writing style, a kind of lyrical prose that I found quite enjoyable. I was so enthralled by his style that shortly after reading it, I sat down and penned a story that almost... almost!... got published. It was a little piece about a woman in an alien concentration camp that survives and thrives against adversity. It was actually accepted for publication, but the magazine that bought it went belly up before the story saw print. Such is life! But the novel was so inspiring that it had me penning my first acceptance and almost first publication. Other stories/novels that I have read since then have been just as inspiring. 

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

I like a main character with a good internal conflict, a man or woman who expresses a little self-doubt in what he/she must do. I don't like overly-confident characters who always make the right decisions, the right choices. Why would anyone bother following those people through a narrative if you knew that at the end, they would prevail? A character that questions his/her place in the universe, who stumbles along the way, but who, in the end, overcomes adversity and prevails against poor odds. Wasn't it William Faulkner who said the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself? I'm not sure it's the only thing worth writing about, but I agree with the concept, and I try to work something like that into all of my stories. 

What would be your dream project? 

A multi-book deal with a high 5-figure or 6-figure advance with a highly respected publisher. I have lofty dreams. :) 

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

They are legion, and I'm still being influenced today. Early influences were Robert Sheckley, Robert Silverberg, CJ Cherryh, Clifford Simak, Orson Scott Card. Middle career influences were John Updike, TC Boyle, many of the cyberpunk authors like William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, and John Shirley. These days, Timothy Zahn, George RR Martin, Scott Westerfeld, Charles E Gannon, Louis L'Amour, Eric Flint. I don't think an author should ever stop finding new authors to read and being influenced by them.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do? 

My "Assassin's Lament" series of short stories, which were published in WEIRD TALES magazine and in various online and print anthologies. The world-building in these stories is a little half-baked, to be honest, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd spend more time shoring up the fantasy universe in which they are located. My original idea was to create a kind of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser type of setting and storyline, but it got a little too twisted up in the convoluted mythology of the various gods that the main character had to deal with. If I ever have a chance to revisit that series, I'd improve the world-building. 

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why? 

I'd rank it further on the "art" side of the spectrum. I've known a lot of technical writers in my day, having gotten my degree in technical writing. Many of those professionals can write a good rulebook, or a manual, a brochure, an environmental impact study. But most of them lack the imagination to write a good story. Science plays a part (the grammar, the style, etc), but storytelling is more of an art form IMO. 

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

Keeping the details straight, and the longer the story, the harder that is. I wind up copying a lot of tiny snippets, names of characters, unique terms, etc. as I go along, so that by the end of the project, the bottom portion of my file is strewn with errant names, places, descriptions, etc. that I had to refer back to as I wrote the story. For some of my projects, like for my Mask Cycle novels published by Ring of Fire Press (The Masks of Mirada, The Thief of Cragsport), I've created a full glossary of character names, locations, terms etc. just to keep it all together in my mind. 

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

They absolutely make me better. I've done a number of collaborations and with each one, I've learned something from my co-authors. Everyone has their own unique style and voice. Each approaches narrative in at least a slightly different way than I do, and that difference teaches me something new that I can apply in my next project. 

What does literary success look like to you? 

I suppose the "ideal" literary success would be both critical and financial: readers liking your work enough to buy it in quantities such that you could make a living doing it. But the sad reality of it is that most authors do not make a living writing. So, if I had to choose one over the other, I'd pick a critical success. I hope that at the end of my days, someone will look back fondly on my work, smile, and say, "I liked it!"

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

In July 2021, Grantville Gazette IX, reprinted stories from the online 1632/Ring of Fire magazine, will have my story "Letters from Inchon." After that, scheduled for December 2021, will be 1637: The Coast of Chaos. This will contain novellas and novelettes set in the New World of the 1632/Ring of Fire series. My contribution will be a novelette called "The People from the Sky," co-authored with Eric S Brown. Our Algonquin warrior, Fast as Lightning in the Sky, will find himself heavily embroiled in the political changes taking place in the eastern United States as the Americans, who came through the Ring of Fire, begin to change the world. 

For more information, visit:

www.roberternestwaters.com

eSpecs Books Focus #8: Ken Shrader

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Ken Shrader!

Tell us a bit about your latest work. 

My latest work—a short story titled “Brimstone” appears in the Predators in Petticoats anthology. "Brimstone" is a Weird Western where Chaha'oh—a Navajo scout—is offered the opportunity to both avenge the deaths of her family, and stop a madman from burning a bloody trail across the West. To do this, she must become Coyote’s Shadow.

"Brimstone" was a lot of fun to write and, since the anthology was female-themed, it was an easy decision to also portray Coyote as a woman.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

On some level, I have always wanted to be a storyteller and I can remember a few times where I thought it would be writing. There were a few false starts over the course of my life. Animation and Film-making were two of the more formative attempts but, where the lights really clicked on for me was back in college (for the second time) and an introductory screenwriting class.

The End-of-Semester project was to complete thirty pages of a script, after handing in a *very* rough outline of the full story. After the class, I went on to finish the script. Naturally, it never went anywhere but that class gave me a real taste. This was something I could do. I was writing every day, there was feedback beyond the form rejection. From there, it was a short step from scripts to short stories, to novels.

What inspires you to write? 

On its most basic level, I write because I can’t not tell stories. I am constantly making up little entertaining—or what I hope is entertaining, you’d have to ask my wife—embellishments and anecdotes about everyday stuff. Writing is a greater outlet for that.

On a higher level, great stories inspire me to write. I won’t get into specific authors yet, because your mileage may vary about a particular author but I guarantee, if you’re reading this, you’ve read *that* story. The one that grabs you and just won’t let go, even after you’ve finished it.

I finish a story like that and I’m like, “I want to write something like that.” It’s something to work toward—not to duplicate, exactly, because that’s impossible. More like a drive to improve, where the destination is a moving target and not nearly as important as the journey.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

Found Family is something that appears in my work over and over. Disparate people coming together for a variety of reasons and finding that ties of friendship and love are much stronger than any blood ties. That feeling of belonging, that knowledge that there are folk out there who simply love you for you, that is important to me.

One other thing that is a constant in my work is that good will ultimately triumph over evil. It won’t be easy; neither will it be without sacrifice and struggle. I suppose that makes me predictable, in a way, knowing that no matter what story of mine you pick up, you know that it’s going to turn out a certain way. What you don’t know is how I’m going to get there, and who is left standing at the end.

What would be your dream project? 

I would *Love* to write a Star Wars Novel—either a movie novelization, or a tie-in. Just to say that I’ve written for that universe—created “Canon”—would be such a blast since it’s had such a tremendous impact on my life. 

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

I think initially, when I was just starting out, the writer who had the greatest impact on me was Jim Butcher. Overall, though, the writer who has had the greatest influence on me has to be Kalayna Price. When I wanted to learn how to write better female characters, I read her Alex Craft books  - among others, namely: Faith Hunter, Rachel Aaron/Bach, and Kim Harrison to name a few. And not just for female characters. I learned a lot about description and worldbuilding from them as well.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do? 

The story I read most often at conventions is called “Haven.” It appears in the Weird Wild West anthology and I read it more often than any other story is that it’s got a perfect cliff-hangery stopping point at about (at my reading pace) 12 minutes in—which is the usual cutting off point for a 3-person panel reading.

As I read it, I can see how my voice has developed over the years and the language/style that seemed so smooth back then, now seems a little clunky to my ear, after so many readings. I think I would take Haven, which I am still very proud of, and run it through an editing pass with my current voice and smooth it out some.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why? 

For me, writing is far more of an art than a science. Certainly, there are bits of science to be aware of though.

Let’s say that you’re writing a romance. As you’re crafting that romance, you need to be aware that your readers expect a certain outcome. If you’re conducting an experiment using Hydrogen, there are also certain things that you’ve got to be aware of:

A romance is expected to end with a “Happily ever after,” or a “Happy for Now” scenario.

Hydrogen is Flammable.

You ignore both at your peril.

That’s the science bit—the underlying structure, or the canvass if you will. But what you choose to put on that canvass? That’s pure art, all the way.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

The hardest part of my process is that no two projects are the same. As such, the parts that worked for a previous project, might not work for this current project.

I’m working on a draft right now, that I couldn’t get anywhere with until I had an idea of what each character looked like, so I scoured Google images for pictures of actors and actresses until I had a ballpark look. I’ve never needed that before but being able to work on character creation having a particular face to refer to…well it helped out a lot. And it’s not like this change just appeared with a “Ding” sound when I opened up Scrivener to get to work. I had to flail around a bit until I ran across it.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

Oh they do. Far and away they do.

The most obvious way is generously offering their time to read what I’ve written and, even more importantly, to let me know what they think about it. A second and third pair of eyes is essential for me, primarily because by the time a project is ready for someone else to see it, I’ve gone over it several times before then, and I need a fresh perspective.

Less obvious is that my writer friends “Get it.” They’ve been there on the bad days when it seems like every word is crap, or your rejection pile seems to be visibly growing while you watch. They’ve been there on the good days when you *Nail* that scene, or that paragraph, or that line. They know what that feels like and you can talk to them about it. My writer friends are folks who I can talk to about the story when it isn’t working, and about when it is. And I can do the same for them when they need it. We’re all in this together and the support system I’ve found in the writing community has been invaluable.

What does literary success look like to you? 

Literary success means being able to at least partially support myself by publishing stories. That’s one level.

On another level—a more important level - hearing from readers that I’ve given them some kind of escape, or provided entertainment, or moved them in some way—I would count that as success. 

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

I am currently working on a project with eSpec Books on a steampunk adventure as part of the Systema Paradoxa series. Crimson Whisper will take readers from London, England down to the jungles of South Africa. That’s about all I can say about it at the minute but, when I can provide more, you can find out all about it on my website—speaking of which…

For more information, visit:

You can visit my website—www.ken-schrader.com. I keep a running blog that updates twice a week. You can also find excerpts, appearance information, and a link to sign up for my Newsletter there.

You can also find me on Twitter @kenschrader4882 where I shout about all of the awesome stuff my friends have coming up, women’s rugby, music, and the occasional moment of semi-brilliance on my own behalf.

eSpecs Books Focus #7: Michael A. Black

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Michael A. Black!

Tell us a bit about your latest work. 

In spite of making everyone sick and miserable, the pandemic and the lockdown had a salubrious effect on my writing in 2020. In December of 2019 I signed a contract to write a four-book series for Wolfpack Publishing called Trackdown. I did a quick outline of the first novel in the series, Devil’s Dance. Since I had the idea for this one pretty well thought out, I was able to jump in with both feet. I started the novel in January 2020, and turned it in by the March deadline. (I pride myself on never having missed a deadline.) While I was finishing up this one, an opportunity arose to do another western in the Gunslinger series under the house name of AW Hart, and coincidentally I had an idea for a western story with a “monster” in it. I signed a contract to knocked out Gunslinger: Killer’s Ghost by the end of April. The virus scare was in full swing by this time. Since virtually everything was shut down, even my gym, I got into a non-stop writing routine. I’d long ago mastered the process of working on two projects at once, so I worked on the western (Gunslinger: Killer’s Ghost) and the second Trackdown book, Devil’s Fancy, which was due in June. After completing both of those on time, I started and finished the third Trackdown book, Devil’s Brigade, and then wrote the fourth book, Devil’s Advocate, by December 31st to cap off the story arc. The books were released in quick succession, the first one coming out in November 2020 and the fourth one coming out this past February. So far this year I’m maintaining my pace. I wrote Gunslinger: Killer’s Gamble, which is due out on June 23rd, and I’m tying up the series with Gunslinger: Killer’s Requiem, which will follow later this summer.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?  

I always wanted to be a writer. I wrote my first short story in the sixth grade. I kept badgering the teacher to let me write some fiction, and finally, she agreed. One Friday she told me I could write a story but I had to read it in front of the class on Monday. The realization then hit me as I walked home. I had no idea what to write about. After a searing, soul-searching weekend, I managed to scratch out a story on Sunday. When I got in front of the class to read it, I was nervous as hell. When I finished there was a stunned silence, followed by a couple of giggles. (It wasn’t supposed to be a funny story.) The teacher gave me a “come hither” gesture. I went to her desk and handed her my story. She scrawled D-POOR WORK in bright red ink across the front, thrust it back to me, and said, “Don’t ever do this again.” I look back on this experience as what they call a paradigm shift in my writing life. It foreshadowed everything yet to come. I got my first writing assignment, my first deadline, and my first rejection all in the space of three days. 

What inspires you to write? 

I love everything about it. A friend of mine once told me that I was “in love with words.” As a youth, whenever I read a book and came across a word I didn’t know, I’d fold down the corner of the page and look it up later. I kept a notebook with all the words and their definitions. When I was visiting my grandfather as a youth, he gave me his Roget’s Thesaurus and told me to keep it. In the inside cover he’d written, “A man’s thoughts are limited by his vocabulary.” He was a navy lifer and had little formal education, but he was self-taught and highly intelligent.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

My works are meant to be entertaining, not didactic. For me it’s all about telling the story in a way that will keep the reader turning the pages, and leave them with a satisfied feeling upon closing the back cover. This is not to say that I don’t occasionally try to imbue certain important truths and principles into my work. In one of my westerns, Gunslinger: Killer’s Brand, for instance, I portray things as they were, warts and all. I have an ex-Buffalo Soldier falsely charge with murder due to his race. I put in a trial sequence that pays homage to and is reminiscent of the one in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. I never beat the reader over the head with a message, though. If you want to do that, I’d advise you to write non-fiction.

What would be your dream project? 

I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to be published in several different genres. I’ve done mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, westerns, horror, historicals, sports, and pulp to name a few. My dream project … I’d have to say it would be writing a book with James Patterson. I heard he recently acquired the rights to the Shadow. I used to listen to the old-time radio show when I was working midnights, and loved reading the old pulps. So, Mr. Patterson, if you’re listening … ;-)

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

I’d credit my two mentors, Stuart Kaminsky and Donald Bain for being major influences on me. Stuart was a tireless writer and inspired me to write, write, write. Donald once told me that a professional writer should be able to write anything, and should never turn down a writing assignment. As far as styles I admire, I’d say John D. MacDonald, James Dickey, Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, and Michael Connelly have all influenced me.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do? 

I think it’s every writer’s goal to evolve and improve as a writer and stylist, but as far as a “do-over” I’ll take a pass. Don’t look back is my motto. My early work stands on its own and I’m proud of it, but I do think my more recent stuff is much better written.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why? 

Writing is definitely art. Science is based on facts and is black and white. It’s empirical reasoning that is used to prove or solve problems based on the laws of science. Art, on the other hand, is in a myriad of colors and is all about portraying something with a bit of flourish and panache. Let me put it this way. In science, two plus two equals four. It’s a fact. In art, two plus two can equal five, if Big Brother says so.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

It’s all difficult, but it’s the kind of difficulty that you love. It’s like running a marathon or going ten rounds in a boxing match. (I’ve done the latter and maybe someday will accomplish the former.) You may feel the pain and exhaustion as you’re doing it, but you also know the payoff will be crossing that finish line or finishing on your feet, win, lose, or draw.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

They help me by being my first readers. They tell me if I need to work on something that’s awkward or unclear. They help me by being honest. Every writer should get feedback on that first draft. Find someone who will read your work and tell you what’s working and what’s not.

What does literary success look like to you? 

Literary success should be typing those final words on your manuscript. When I was in grad school one of my professors had some cogent advice. “We may not all become published authors,” he said. “But we’re all writers.”

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

Yeah, my first horror story, “Seven Ravens,” is coming out in a fabulous new anthology called Devilish & Divine, edited by the peerless Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

For more information, visit: 

Amazon.com where my books are on sale for 99 cents right now!

eSpecs Books Focus #6: Mary Fan

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Mary Fan!

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Recently I turned in a novella for Systema Paradoxa, an imprint of eSpec Books that publishes cryptid fiction for Cryptid Crate, a cryptid subscription box. Because of exclusivity around the crate, I can't talk publicly about which cryptid is being featured, but what I can tell you is that it's a sci-fi thriller set in Princeton, New Jersey in the early 2000s about two teenagers who go into the woods to film a student movie and capture something... unexpected... on camera. When no one believes them, they decide to take matters into their own hands to uncover the truth. Why early 2000s Princeton? Well, let's just say that's a significant time and place for the lore around this particular cryptid. I'll admit, part of the reason I picked this cryptid is that I went to Princeton High School in the early 2000s and thought it would be fun to set a story during my teen years (as a YA author, I don't ever get to do that, since the 2000s now count as historical fiction!)

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?

I used to write up a storm as a kid, but dropped it around junior year of high school. Then, after I graduated college and started my first job (in China, where I knew no one, no less), I suddenly found myself with more time on my hands than I knew what to do with. So I decided to revive my writing habit pretty much out of boredom... and soon found it so engrossing that it took over my life.

What inspires you to write?

Everything! Anything! I never know what's going to trigger a story idea. In the case of this latest novella, I was reading the lore on this cryptid, found it interesting that early 2000s New Jersey was central to it, and had a flashback to when I took a filmmaking class in high school... how I went into the woods late at night once to get a shot for my movie. I remembered how creeped-out I was by the oppressive blackness, and how even a forest in a densely populated state could feel like the middle of nowhere when you're a lone teenager. The convergence of these thoughts led to the novella idea.  

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

Strong leading ladies are a big one. And not necessarily physically strong - though I have a few of those as well. There are many ways for a gal to show strength, whether it's through actions, resilience, kindness, intelligence, or a whole host of other traits. One can be the quietest, meekest person in the room but still the strongest in ways that aren't always obvious. Another thing I tend to revisit a lot is the abstract antagonist - a faceless villain whose power is felt but who isn't physically present, or an antagonizing force that can't be pinned to an individual, or an unknown evil that must be unmasked and defeated. I think the reason I tend to do this is tied to the explorations of strength; by keeping the antagonist in the shadows, the focus is more firmly on the heroine and how she handles the obstacles thrown at her.

What would be your dream project?

I'd love to write tie-in fiction for an on-screen franchise someday, just because I think it would be a lot of fun.  

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

I'm terrible at naming names, and so I won't. I will say that reading a lot of genre fiction helped me get a feel for the contemporary storytelling style.  

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

I'd go back and give my debut novel, Artificial Absolutes, a bit of a line edit. Looking back, it's obvious I was still feeling my way around novel writing, and some of my sentences feel awkward now. Then again, that book was the only time I got a starred review from a significant review publication (Publishers Weekly) so maybe it's just in my head, and the fact is I'm a different writer now than when I was 23.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

Honestly, I've never seen art and science as being very different, so I have no idea how to answer this question. In art there are structures and patterns that emerge to guide one's expressiveness - not always taught, often subconsciously absorbed, but ever-present. Meanwhile, science without inspiration and improvisation wouldn't get very far.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Writing the first draft is the hardest for me. Blank pages terrify me. I like brainstorming, and I like revising after I have something to work with, but to create something out of nothing? Yikes!  

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?

Writer friends are absolutely vital to becoming a better writer, in my opinion. Talking to them about a shiny new idea or complaining to them about a thorny plot problem is the best way to get the ideas flowing. The act of writing is by definition lonely, and it's always nice having someone to work through the ideas with you. Not to mention someone to be there for you when the horrible hellpit we call the publishing industry inevitably crushes your soul.

What does literary success look like to you?

Once, I would have said something related to money, but now, I just want to write what I want, when I want, how I want. That freedom is worth more than any contract.  

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

I'm contributing a story to Sing, Goddess!, an anthology of YA Greek myth retellings edited by Jane Watson, which is coming out this August! I did a dark academia retelling of the Arachne myth, where Minerva is Min Wong, a high-achieving student at an elite prep school who will do anything to stay on top, and Arachne is Ara, Min's artistic classmate whose recent suicide haunts Min. 

For more information, visit:

Website: www.MaryFan.com

Twitter: @astralcolt

Instagram: @astralcolt

Facebook: facebook.com/mfanwriter

eSpecs Books Focus #5: Ef Deal

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, Ef Deal!

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Esprit de Corpse is the first book in a series featuring the Twins of Bellesfées. Jacqueline Duval is an engineering genius in 1840s France. Her sister Angélique is a virtuoso pianist, a former protégée of Sigismond Thalberg. She’s also a shapeshifting wolf who lives a dissolute, bohemian life, constantly forcing Jacqueline to bail her out of trouble, until one day in the summer of 1843 on the railway home from Paris, the train is brought to a halt by a rogue automaton powered not by steam, but by a spirit borne in the skull placed inside it. As Jacqueline tries to unravel the mystery of the skull, Angélique pursues the brigand who tries to steal it back from them, uncovering a plot to build an army of automatons powered by the spirits of the skulls of the Paris Catacombs.

I love this story because where most steampunk is Victorian England or New York, this is set before the great railroad surge and before the taming of electricity, but all the groundwork is there for Jacqueline to discover and use.

I also love it for the relationship between the two sisters, one of whom has been so lost for the past five years and who finally finds the strength within herself to take responsibility for her own life.

It features an evil count trying to take over Russia, a mysterious janissary combatting a necromantic sorcerer, a dashing rogue, a French spy, a hilarious automaton, Charles Baudelaire, and a magnificent airship. Plus, Paris!

And I’m especially excited because this is coming out from eSpec Books. I’ve been a fan of Danielle McPhail for ages, and I’m thrilled she picked up Esprit de Corpse for publication.

What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?

I learned to read at a very early age, and after finishing up the entire children’s section of my local library, I wandered over to the fiction section where I found Alfred Hitchcock anthologies. The librarian noticed my choices, and she steered me to more horror and supernatural, then science fiction. I was only ten years old when she had me get a note from my mother to read F&SF— as if my mother cared what I read. I finished reading a few of them, and I said to myself, “One day, I’m going to publish a story in this magazine.”

I had a younger sister and three younger brothers I had to babysit, and in those days, radio after 10pm was nothing but ’50s oldies, and television went off the air at 11:30, so I took out my mother’s Underwood Royal and began typing stories.

What inspires you to write?

I have no idea. Stories just keep coming, and I have to write them. As the meme says, “I’m a writer; I make the voices in my head work for me.” Characters form, and the characters make the stories. It’s almost as if they’re telling me their stories, and I’m just recording them.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

My primary continuo is women overcoming abuse, especially young women. The inequality women face, the prejudice against them, the stupidity of the patriarchal paradigm, the outright hatred of women manifested in our entire social system infuriates me. So, I write about women who can rise from the ashes.

I also play around with bifurcation—the half-elf, the royal peasant (or peasant royal), the black-and-white. I believe that all of us have another half inside us that gets sublimated until some great crisis forces it to surface.

What would be your dream project?

I would love to turn the Twins of Bellesfées into a film or television series. The Loire valley, which inspired the setting, is absolutely enchanting, and who could argue with Paris? It’s the France of Alexander Dumas, both père et fils, but before Jules Verne. Chopin and George Sand were romping or fighting, Franz Liszt was at the top of his game, and Ada King, the Countess of Lovelace, was about to publish her foundation of the modern computer program. The King of the French Louis-Philippe had just lost his son, and in another few years would lose his throne, but in the meantime, he survived eight assassination attempts (nine if you count the one in my books). Frankenstein had been published, but werewolves and vampires had yet to make it into print, although they do invade Bellesfées. Seriously, doesn’t that sound like a great project?

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

First and foremost, Gregory Frost. He’s a master of metaphor and I am in awe of his work. We were in a writers’ workshop together, and every session was like a master’s class for an MFA, but Greg has a way of seeing the story you want to tell and helping you tell it. As for the stories he tells, they are gorgeous tapestries, even—or especially—his horror.

As for my style, I’m not sure any writer has influenced it. Much of it is from conversations around the dinner table with my husband and my two sons as they were growing up. We are all punsters and love wordplay, which plays a huge role in my style. We’re all great readers and viewers, so allusions to the most obscure facts come naturally to us, and that’s made writing historical fantasy a lot of fun.

I began writing florid high fantasy, heavily influenced by Jane Yolen and CJ Cherryh, Lord Dunsany, Tolkien (naturally), but Lester DelRey told me my strength was in my characters, and I should let them take the lead, which is where I get my style now. As I said, the characters come to me, and I let them tell their story.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

My husband wants me to make over my first novel, the one DelRey really liked but ultimately rejected. I, being naive (pronounced “stupid”) thought that meant it was no good and I shoved it up on a shelf; but it was good, and I’m sorry I didn’t know that at the time and pursued publication elsewhere.

However, I have a series of novels and novellas featuring a misanthropic spellcasting musician, Gwynna Lionshadow, and I love her. Her whole saga is wonderful, but she’s got such a chip on her shoulder and fear of intimacy that no publishers liked her. I would love to take time to examine her from a distance now and see where she can go.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

Writing is an art. There’s no real “why” about it. There are varying degrees of art, so if a writer simply follows a formula to sell something no one will remember in two years, that’s no less art than a coloring book page you put on your fridge or the clay mug your kid brings home from school. Writing is creating, and any form of creativity is art. My younger son is an electrical engineer, specializing in lighting. Engineering is a science, but what he does with it is art. Visit the rotunda of the Franklin Institute (featured in book three of the Twins of Bellesfées, by the way) and tell me that isn’t artfully lit.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

The physical pain of sitting at the keyboard for hours on end. I’ve had osteoarthritis in my feet, knees, hands, hips, and back since I was twenty years old. When a story takes hold of me, I have no trouble putting “AIC” and writing. But when the arthritis sets in, and no painkillers can do anything about it, it takes me out of the process, and it’s difficult to get back to that place, that pace.

The second most difficult part is writing characters who are smarter than me, or more evil than me. It’s like any RPG, when your character has an 18 intelligence and you can’t figure out how to open the puzzle box because you only have a 12 yourself.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?

Back in the ’90s, the AOL message boards featured a lot of writer interaction and discussion—Harlan Coben, CJ Cherryh, Patricia Wrede, Jane Yolen, all dispensing advice and guidance. CJ even recommended my misanthropic minstrel novel to her agent. But the best part was the collaborative tales a bunch of us novices began putting together, and one fellow, Tom Holzwarth, taught me the power of details in body language and the senses, not just what you sensed, but how that sensation revealed itself in a character’s actions. He would also challenge me by putting my character into impossible plot twists and force me to think my way out of them. Tom never saw publication, and he should have, but he was a gem.

Nowadays, just talking about writing makes me want to write more. I’m in the Bucks County Writers Workshop right now, and many of my colleagues from the nameless workshop in Philadelphia are still close friends—notably Greg Frost, Sally Weiner Grotta, John Schoffstall, Lawrence Schoen. We talk about our projects, commiserate over blocks or plot hangups, and discuss publishing plans. I learn from them. We learn from each other, I think.

I met Wendy Delmater Thies at Lunacon a few years back, and I’m now her assistant fiction editor at Abyss&Apex online zine, an award-winning publication. Reading through the slush pile has been a huge education, and launched my freelance editing career as well.

And Danielle McPhail, my editor at eSpec Books. Just reading her Bad-Ass Fairies or Bad-Ass Moms will give you an idea of how much we think alike, and that helps shape my work as well.

I’m always looking to learn, and my writer friends are such great writers, I can’t help but learn from them.

What does literary success look like to you?

It’s book twenty-two of the Twins of Bellesfées series, or all nine of my minstrel Gwynna Lionshadow novels in print.

Well, that’s a dream success. But seriously, literary success means people coming up to me at a con and telling me my work meant something to them, that what I created inspired someone else in some way. It’s writers I respect as mentors telling me I "done good."

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

Book 2 of the Twins of Bellesfées, Femmes Fatales, in which Jacqueline is stalked by a lesbian vampire while assassins try to take out her guest, the King of the French Louis-Philippe, during Angélique’s wedding celebration.

Book 3 of the Twins of Bellesfées, Les Fleurs du Malheur, in which Jacqueline and her four protégées are dragged across time and the aether to solve the riddle of a locomotive haunted by the children of the Husker coal-mine tragedy.

Book 4 of the Twins of Bellesfées, Wails’ Tale, in which Jacqueline honeymoons at Angélique’s great house in Wales, and as the Rebecca Riots plague the roads, a ghost plagues the twins.

For more information, visit:

Blog: www.efdeal.blogspot.com

Website: www.efdeal.net

eSpecs Books Focus #4: David Lee Summers

I've got a special treat for you this month and next month. I'm going to devote Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays to writers from eSpecs Books. They're a great bunch of folks whom you need to get to know. 

Next up, David Lee Summers!

Tell us a bit about your latest work.  

My latest work is called Breaking the Code. It's set in Gallup, New Mexico right after the start of World War II. Marine recruiters arrive in the town looking to fill their ranks with a secret weapon against the Axis powers—the people who would become known as the Navajo Code Talkers. Unfortunately, not everyone supports the prospect of young native men going off to war.

When one new recruit is found dead, and a rancher's cattle are mutilated, whispers of witchcraft and a skinwalker filter through the town, and interest in enlisting wanes. Is there evil afoot, or is that just what opponents to the cause want everyone to think?

 What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer? 

I was a fan of the original Star Trek when I was a kid and one of my favorite episodes was "The Trouble With Tribbles." One Day, I saw a book with that title in my local bookstore and asked my parents to buy it for me. The book was David Gerrold's account of how he wrote and sold the famous episode and the book really gave me my first glimpse of what it meant to be a working writer and I decided right then that it was something I wanted to do.

Later, in high school, I had the good fortune of meeting Ray Bradbury. We had the opportunity to talk and I told him I'd written a few stories and was working on a novel with a friend. He looked me in the eye and said, "Send your stories to a magazine right now!" That sealed the deal. I've been sending stories out for publication ever since then. Perhaps it's no surprise that none of those very first stories sold. Still, Bradbury's belief that I would keep writing and keep trying spurred me on and eventually I did sell some stories. When I made my first professional sale to Realms of Fantasy in 2001, Bradbury wrote me a letter to say it was a fine story and that he was proud that I had persevered.

What inspires you to write? 

It probably sounds cliché, but everything around me inspires me to write. I live in the Southwestern United States surrounded by history. Pat Garrett, the man who shot Billy the Kid, is buried in the cemetery behind my house. My commute to work takes me past the strongholds of Cochise and Geronimo as well as the turnoff to Tombstone, Arizona. Researching those stories and connecting new dots is a never-ending source of ideas.

In addition to writing, I'm also an astronomer who works at Kitt Peak National Observatory, which played major roles in the discovery of dark matter, dark energy and numerous planets around other stars. When I turn my mind to more science fictional pursuits, it's easy to be inspired when discoveries are being made around me on an almost daily basis.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work? 

A lot of my fiction has what might be described as a retro-futuristic tone. I set many of my speculative stories in the last century or two as a way of exploring how we arrived at the place where we are now. One of my goals is to shine a light on some of the bright spots of the past. It's easy to look back at the past and point fingers at the terrible things like slavery, colonialism, and class inequity. To me, it's more interesting to look at those people who didn't give in to their baser selves and tried to overcome those terrible things. Of course, a person fighting against their baser nature will still create conflict both within themselves and with their neighbors.

In this context, I find culture fascinating, especially in a place like the United States where it doesn't always follow racial or geographic lines and where cultures have a way of melding with one another and reshaping themselves. I can imagine this process becoming even more pronounced if humans actually do move into space. In my futuristic stories, I like looking at how humans use their backgrounds as a way to find solutions to problems. 

What would be your dream project? 

I get many of my ideas from traveling to new places. I love exploring a place, hearing its stories, eating the food, and delving into the history. With that in mind, my dream project would be to have the time and financial freedom to immerse myself in a new place for an extended time and just see what stories came out of it. I have never been to Europe or Africa. I could see many stories coming from those places. More of a longshot dream would actually be to spend time on the International Space Station, or even travel to Mars and then write stories that came from the experience. Of course, as a science fiction writer, I've trained myself to "experience" many of these things in my imagination and write them down, but I bet I'd find new things to write about if I actually came closer to the real experience.

What writers have influenced your style and technique? 

I've already mentioned Ray Bradbury and David Gerrold. Bradbury, especially, taught me the importance of sitting down at the computer and following characters through a situation you created for them until the story is complete. I was also strongly influenced by reading two very different books back to back. One was Robert A. Heinlein's Time Enough for Love, which has an extended sequence about homesteading another world. The other was John Nichols' The Magic Journey, which is a story about a family in New Mexico. These two novels reminded me of the stories my mom's family told of homesteading New Mexico at the beginning of the twentieth century. They helped me see the importance of using experience and the stories I grew up with and heard from people I knew as an inspiration for new stories.

The Australian author A. Bertram Chandler also influenced me. Not only are his space operas great fun, but he showed me the importance of letting characters make mistakes and grow from those mistakes.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do? 

As it turns out, I've had the opportunity to do just that. A couple of years ago, the contract for my first novel, The Pirates of Sufiro, came to term and the publisher agreed to revert the rights to me. This was a multi-generation story about characters making a life on a new world. I didn't think I'd taken the time to really delve into the characters and explore their motivations. Too many characters appeared for only a chapter or two and then disappeared. There were too many moments where I told the story in exposition instead of letting the reader experience the story alongside my characters. So, I embarked on a two-year journey to revise the novel and fix as many of those things as I could. I endeavored to give characters more defined arcs within the book. I am under no illusions that I have made the novel perfect, but I do believe I've made it far more satisfying.

If I had another book I'd like to revise, it's my first wild west steampunk novel Owl Dance. Again, I have a few characters I would like to explore a little more in that novel. Also, when I sold the sequel, Lightning Wolves, I had a new editor who really impressed on me the importance of reading stories aloud. When I listened to Owl Dance aloud, I heard many places where I'd clean up little unconscious repetitions and make better word choices.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why? 

For me, it's right about the middle of the continuum. The elements of imagination, creating a story that's pleasing to the reader, and creating details that engage the reader are very much an art form. That said, there's a certain science involved in building a story to a climax, good grammar, and doing the research. Being a scientist, I'm well acquainted with how much of science is process. Do research, design an experiment, conduct the experiment, write up the results and send it to a peer-reviewed journal. Writing has some of that same kind of process: Come up with an idea, do the research to back up your idea, write it down, and give it to beta readers for feedback. That said, you have to engage your artistic sensibility to know how much to set a scene, what hints to set up about the ending and when, what descriptions add "color" to a scene as opposed to getting in the way. I find I have to engage my entire brain when I write. I have to analyze my writing when I rewrite, but I analyze it both to see if it conveys all the important story points and is also emotionally pleasing.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? 

By far the most difficult part of the process for me is sitting down and getting that first draft out of the way. I do enjoy the journey of discovery and I have moments of fun when inspiration strikes me, but I find the blank screen intimidating. I know the process is working as I write and I feel like I'm "watching" the story instead of "seeing" words fill the screen. It feels like magic when that happens and suddenly I see 500 or 1000 words in front of me. Still, there are moments of terror before that happens. On the best days, those moments of terror last just a few seconds before I get into the groove, but there are days when I struggle to get each paragraph down.

When I reach the second draft, the pressure of having something written is gone. I absolutely love reading it back and I have no problem adding details that were in my mind but didn't get down the first time. I love the process of deconstructing the story and moving scenes around until they work well. Sometimes in the second draft, I find I have to write new scenes, but those are somehow never as scary as the initial writing process when facing the blank page.

How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not? 

My writer friends have absolutely helped me to become a better writer. Although it's sometimes a little intimidating, I'm always grateful for those times when writer friends have taken the time to tell me what they feel works and doesn't work in my writing. Some of my writer friends are also English professors, and I find their advice very helpful. They can explain why things work or don't work.

Writer friends also provide a level of professional support you don't always get from non-writers. They know what it's like to get rejection letters and poor reviews. They can help you work past those difficult moments. They are also a great resource when you're looking for markets to submit to or people you might want to work with if you're self-publishing.

What does literary success look like to you? 

To me, the surest sign of literary success is when your characters become household names. Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Dorothy Gale, and Tarzan are characters everyone knows because their authors crafted them well and the books they appear in are much loved.

There are certainly other measures of success. Winning a high profile award is one.  Having your work published in a magazine and or an anthology alongside authors you admire is another. I've been fortunate enough to achieve that last one more than once.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug? 

I am releasing a comic book called Guinevere and the Stranger. It tells a story about how Guinevere encountered a vampire after King Arthur's death. The comic is adapted from a chapter of my novel Dragon's Fall: Rise of the Scarlet Order Vampires. For more information about the comic, visit: http://davidleesummers.com/Tales-of-the-Scarlet-Order.html

Also, this month, I'm releasing the 20th-anniversary edition of my novel Children of the Old Stars. It's the sequel to my novel The Pirates of Sufiro. In the novel, a disgraced starship captain, an alien warrior, and a cult leader go on a quest to learn about a mysterious space vessel that destroys everything in its path. You can learn more about this novel at: http://davidleesummers.com/children_old_stars.html

For more information, visit:

You can learn more about Breaking the Code and find a link to an excerpt at: http://davidleesummers.com/Breaking-the-Code.html

My personal website is: http://www.davidleesummers.com

My blog is at: https://davidleesummers.wordpress.com