Category: Running The Bases

1. You write across many genre’s – Thrillers, Romance, Paranormal, and Sci Fi. Which genre do you find the most fun to spend time in?

Oh, I love them all for different reasons, but honestly my favorites are the Fantasy, Horror and Sci Fi. I just love spending time in magical worlds. Worlds where anything could happen. Anything is possible. I also love the idea that there is another world, an underworld where supernatural things happen, just beneath our day to day lives. I love mixing genres, too. Paranormal and Romance, or Fantasy and Thriller. Sci Fi and Horror. So much fun!

2. Since The Land of Make Believe is a place for Sci-Fi and Fantasy, let us talk a bit about your Intruders series. Tell us a little about the world in which that series is set.

Intruders is set in a kind of post apocalyptic world where aliens have landed and they are not friendly. On top of having to deal with the aliens, people in the Intruders world also have to deal with zombies, which were created by breathing in the dust that resulted from the giant meteor that crashed to the earth.

The most frightening thing about living in the Intruders world is that the aliens have dug pathways beneath the ground, and they can skitter out from anywhere. There are holes all over the place. They feel the vibrations of people walking above ground, and then they come out. The only saving grace is that they can’t take the daylight. So people can carefully move around then.

It was an eerie, creepy experience to write. The second book, Intruders: Awakening, was co-written with Paul Seiple, and was a blast to write. He brought so much to the story.

3. What genre have you not written, but you want to? Do you have a story in mind?

I haven’t written a Western Fantasy but I’d love to give it a try. I have no story in mind, but I’m sure it would have to do with a good guy fighting supernatural bad guys.

4. For someone who has never read Tracy Sharp, which of your books would you suggest they start with and why?

I guess it would depend on what genre they like. Someone who likes thrillers would start with Repo Chick Blues. Horror/Sci Fi, Intruders: The Invasion.

I’m currently working on an Urban Fantasy series that Fantasy lovers might like. Fingers crossed!

About Tracy Sharp

Tracy Sharp grew up in a small mining town in Northern Ontario, Canada, where there wasn’t much to do except dress warmly and write stories to entertain herself.

She is fond of thrilling novels, bellowing out her favorite songs in the car, iced coffee, flamethrowers and Slinkies.

She lives in Upstate NY with her family.

You can connect with her on Amazon, Facebook or Twitter, or at her website: http://tracysharpthrillers.com/

1. You spend your time on a boat along the Alaskan coast. Do your adventures at sea make their way into your novels? Can you tell us about one of those adventures?

Our boating adventures definitely inform my writing. In 2010, I retired from the world of dance to write. Boarding my new home, a 40ft-boat, and cruising 1,200 miles on a 70-day trip up the Inside Passage to Alaska was an exciting introduction to my new life!

In my second novel my characters are on a sailboat navigating through a mysterious strait with a history of peril and death. My telling of this was based on my experience going through a long, narrow passageway between islands as the tide ran strong, the wind whipped, and my fear boiled!

Most of our time is spent at anchor in quiet coves along Alaska’s Southeast coast far from humanity in a gentle and serene immersion with nature. Of course, there are those times when a storm hits and we are dragging anchor about to be blown ashore, or a whooshing sound announces a whale in the cove, or in the middle of night two brown bears awaken us with their roaring only 50 yards away―even more shocking because we’ve seen how well bears swim and climb! So many experiences to influence my writing.

In another adventure in my second novel, the characters travel on their sailboat via a portal to a fiord lined with ice covered shores and filled with ice bergs similar to what we have seen here in Alaska. Snowflakes obscure their vision as a Water ConDria soars overhead. Isn’t the imagination grand!

2. How has your background in Dance influenced your writing?

As a choreographer and artistic director with 40 years of experience and over 60 original choreographic creations, I told stories through motion. During those years, I learned the arts of trusting myself and taking risks.

Early in my choreographic career, I tried to control the process. At home, I used my son’s Legos as miniature dancers with the dining room table as my stage. I, of course, took copious notes. When I took these notes into the studio to set the movements on my dancers, I ran into walls. I learned I had to create and recreate in the present. Then I would clean and detail the piece and stand back for a final look.

Choreographing taught me the value of editing. Dance and writing are honed by careful attention to detail and the willingness to let the unnecessary things go.

I have found that in both art forms, a piece is never truly finished. The moment comes when I know it is time to let the audience (or readers) make it their own.

I am the writer I am today because of the choreographer I was yesterday.

3. If you were to leave Alaska, where would you like to live/cruise?

I love my life on a boat in this wild and wonderful place! Once in a while I do wonder what it would be like to live where the sun shines more and the rain falls less!

Planning what’s next has never worked well from me. Experience has taught me to let life unfold.

As with my writing, allowing it to flow, to watch for the doors to open, and to be ready and willing to step through are what makes my life an adventure!

4. What is next for you and your characters? Will you continue the UnFolding series, or branch off in a new direction?

Writing is my passion. It connects me to life. As long as it feeds my soul, I’ll keep creating. What I write next depends on what the characters have to say. Each has their own story. I’ll keep writing until the characters grow quiet.

The UnFolding Series has come to a pause after four novels and eleven companion shorts. The characters are still talking to me so I continue. The CoaleScent Cycle draft has begun and its stories demand to be told.
I expect down the road that I will discover new characters and new worlds. This prospect delights me.

Meet S.K. Randolph

After a wonderful career in dance, I am no longer directing performers on stage to tell my stories. I now choreograph words on my computer. In some ways it is different, but in many it is the same. Taking as much if not more effort, it is as delightfully rewarding!

My first written work, UnFolding Series, has taken several years to complete. The paperbacks and Kindle eBooks are now available from Amazon. The next series has begun its journey to the page and is a continuation of the UnFolding story.

I now live a quiet and simple life focused on writing, creating art for my books, and cruising the coast of Southeast Alaska in a 40-foot boat. The largest US national forest, the Tongass National Forest encompasses the thousands of islands amongst which I travel. Brown bears, wolves, moose and whales, dolphins, and salmon have lived here for untold millennia. You will find me at anchor in a cove amongst them, savoring the mist floating through the trees, raindrops patterning the water with circles (did I mention this is the world’s largest temperate rain forest?), and enjoying the moment.

I enjoy sharing pictures of this glorious place on Facebook and my website. Please stop by and take a peek.

We will start off with an easy one. Tell us a bit about Millie.

Millie is a gifted young woman with a feisty disposition. She sees the world in colors and love, and strives to understand the connection between imagination, thought-creation and the limits we present ourselves.

Do you have more in store for Millie? If so can we get a sneak peak? If not what is next for you?

Millie has gone on to develop her extraordinary gift and challenge the evil serpent entity, Apepsis in my new release, Angels & Vixens, a thrilling urban fantasy that follows Millie and her brother Ace as they race towards a nail-biting showdown. Here you will find a sneak peek:
http://www.kimpetersen.com.au/angels—vixens-exclusive-chapter-one-preview.html

Up next? I’m joining a handful of writers and traveling across the US in November in a writing collaboration retreat hosted by J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon. By the end of the retreat we’ll have a book to publish. Super excited!

Not including writing, what is your dream job

I would love someone to pay me to travel the world and report on the local cuisine (think Anthony Bourdain), how interesting his life and experiences must be; and someone actually pays him to do this! The only drawback with this is, I’d probably end up the size of a house 😉

What would they most like to see more of in the fantasy genre?

Every writer has a message to convey, whether we’ve dressing our characters and beasts with magic and gifts, malice and sorcery, we can mold the story to address subjects that are important to us as individuals or society in general. That’s the beauty of writing, we get a voice. We can change the world with one reader at a time, I’d like to see more controversial/important subjects addressed in fantasy. If a writer feel passionate about a particular subject, chances are, there are people who need to hear about it.

About Kim Petersen

When Kim found herself divorced with 3 kids in 2007, she did what any thirty-something woman would do – she went to see a clairvoyant for the very first time.

The elderly woman peered into a crystal ball, studied her palm and deciphered a deck of playing cards in a way Kim had never before witnessed, while foretelling a vivid future laden with happiness, abundance and a mysterious dark man from across the seas.

Although it was determined there would be more children in her life, the gifted woman warned Kim against the notion, instead encouraging her to embrace the freedom that would come along with the growth of the three that already waddled behind her.

Kim left the aroma of scented candles and zesty tingles with her mind whirling with excitement and a new-found adventure buzzing through her thoughts – the prospect of more children the last thing to inflict upon her fantasies. Not when there was a dark mysterious man out there awaiting a magical rendezvous.

Two years passed until one evening a friend invited Kim to a birthday bash at a local pub. Her mother was in town so she eagerly accepted a night away from the kids where she would get to act and feel like an adult. She dressed in her winter dressy threads, drank way too much wine and sizzled up that tiny dance floor like tomorrow would never come – when it did arrive, she awoke with a throbbing headache, a churning stomach and phone call from a mysterious man who came from Holland.

It wasn’t long before they became inseparable and two more children emerged from her overly fertile womb, lending to the frantically busy life she now leads while writing her heart out between feeding and cleaning after small army of kids!

Kim discovers abundance around every dusty corner, every load of washing and every cooked meal each day – even when at times she is certain she might be better off if they put her away someplace safe!

Today is a special Running the Bases for me because it has my friend Tali Spencer as the guest. Tali has been so generous with her time whenever I ask for help and she even hosted me and my daughter for an afternoon a while back. Oh yeah, did I mention I love her writing? Her Pride of Uttor series is probably one of my all time favorites. If you get a chance, read it and find out why.

1. You write stories in different genres, does one speak to you more?

Fantasy is my first love, and high fantasy especially. I feel most at home when creating my own worlds and using those worlds to explore the human condition, whether it be class differences, gender roles, or how people create their own problems and solutions. I also love to write science fiction stories, which allow me to twist humans and societies to reflect what might happen when humanity meets the “other,” whether that be aliens… or itself.

Because humans, I think, can pretty darn alien.

2. Which author(s) inspired you to write?

I’m definitely old-school. I first published in 1985, so the authors who most inspired me were those I read as a young writer. Tolkien, of course, because he towered over the fantasy field, inspired me to write large, sweeping stories. Frank Herbert with his Dune series inspired me with his female characters. Another big influence was Tanith Lee, whose luminous, beautiful prose still leaves me in awe. She and Marion Zimmer Bradley, whose Darkover books I adore, were the big reasons I submitted to my first publisher, DAW.

3. Pride of Uttor is hard to slot. It’s clearly another world, but it has a steampunk feel to it and lacks the magic needed for typical fantasy. How do you classify your series?

I see Uttor as an alternate world, so would call the stories alternate world fantasies. The lack of magic is intentional, because I was aiming for a more historical vibe, rather than a fantasy vibe. And yet it is a fantasy, because the world in which the stories take place is a created one. The evolution of technology in this world very much mirrors that of Earth. The Greeks and Romans were much more advanced than we—influenced by the Dark Ages and philosophies that downplayed the sophistication of pagan societies—long believed. We still haven’t surpassed Roman advances in hydraulic cement. The Greeks invented calculators and even simple computers.

Uttor is a descendent of these advances. The characters inhabit a world where guns are an emerging, powerful technology, pantheism is a philosophical religion confronting ideological monotheism, and understanding of astronomy is shaping navigation of seagoing ships. It’s a world of conflicts: romantic, social, economic, and religious.

4. The main pairings in Pride of Uttor shift between M/F and M/M was this the plan when you started the series or did it evolve into that over time?

I didn’t start out with a plan; I started out with a story. It always starts that way. A character speaks to me, and next thing I know a world takes shape around that character. More characters pop up. Conflicts emerge. That’s exactly how the Uttor books were born.

The first character was Darius Arrento, the brilliant general whose story is told in Victory Portrait along with that of the captive royal slave, Peta Kordeun. I wrote it as a short story, an erotic short story, about these two men: one powerful and the other powerless, and how the powerful man could be threatened by the other’s origins. In Uttor, a royal is always royal, even if a slave, and Darius cannot accept this. I found this situation intriguing enough I built a world around it. How did this royal end up a slave? To facilitate this, I created an intelligent, perceptive emperor, Gaspar Leonnte, and Peta’s innocent princess of a sister, Julissa. Before long, the emperor had a sister and the captive royals acquired more siblings.

In a real world, it’s rare that all couples in a world would be gay, or straight, or asexual. I decided to explore each relationship on its own terms, as the characters spoke to me. Because the Uttor books form a family saga, the gay and straight characters appear throughout the series. Though the main focus of each book is on the romantic couple, their story plays out in a world that also includes strong pairings of other types. Kind of like the world we already live in. Complicated and inclusive.

About Tali Spencer

Tali Spencer delights in fantasy and adventure, creating worlds where she can explore the heights and shadows of what it means to be human. A hopeful romantic and lover of all things exotic, she also writes romance and science fiction. If you would like to see inspiration pictures for her characters, or glimpse how she envisions her worlds, check out her Pinterest boards.

Tali’s books include the Pride of Uttor series: Captive Heart, Dangerous Beauty, Adored, and Victory Portrait, all with Resplendence. Her gay male high fantasy stories, Thick as Thieves, Sorcerer’s Knot, and The Prince of Winds, are published by Dreamspinner Press, as is her ice-fishing contemporary romance, Breaking the Ice. She often publishes in anthologies, and puts up free stories and excerpts on her blog.

Visit Tali’s blog at http://talismania-brilliantdisguise.blogspot.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tali.spencer
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/talispencer/

Thank you to James Kampel for joining us today to Run the Bases with Andrew Q Gordon.  You will want to check out his book The Dreamer when you are done with interview.  Links are at the bottom. 

Who or what inspired The Dreamer?

Growing up, I read a bunch of Dragon Lance and Forgotten Realms novels. The works by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Richard Knaak, R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, and all the others transported me to other worlds with fantastic adventures. I also enjoyed the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention how much I enjoyed the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

I’ve always had an interest in the philosophical and theological ideas surrounding death. As such, I have found that many of my ideas explore these theories. So, when I was imagining the protagonist of The Dreamer, I settled on the desire to explore the story of a hero that cannot die.

We’ve had many stories throughout history where the antagonist is seemingly immortal. The heroes must battle against terrible odds to defeat the immortal evil. I wanted to explore what would happen if the story was flipped and the hero was immortal instead of the evil.

In order to keep readers interested, I made very certain to limit just what the immortality was. In the case of The Dreamer, Oryn’s immortality is purely limited to his inability to die. He has no super strength or extra special powers. He is basically limited by his human physiology. He must sleep (eventually), he can’t kick over buildings, and he can only rely on his years of experience and natural intelligence to outthink his opponents. In the worst cases, Oryn may only win through pure attrition.

As the only immortal in the world, it was natural to pair Oryn up with normal humans. This adds a level of challenge to the protagonist. He wants, above all things, for his companions to survive. I think it also provides a good anchor for the reader.

Lastly, I wanted this immortal hero to exist in a world with extreme danger. If he takes each human death personally, then there must be an adequate threat that places humanity in peril. Thus, the kai were born. They are like a giant parasite and they loathe humanity with a supernatural hatred. War is humanity’s past, present and future. And Oryn wants to stop it. The hero of this tale does not have an easy journey.

Describe your planning process for this series.

I had always envisioned this series as a trilogy. As the story took shape in my mind, I knew how each book in the trilogy would begin and end. It was what happened in the middle that unearthed many gems.

The Dreamer was incredibly difficult for me to complete. I felt I had a wonderful character with great depth in Oryn. Yet with where the story took place in his life, I struggled with how to get him to the point he reached at the end of The Dreamer. In the end, I think I really struck the key balance between Oryn’s past and present in The Dreamer. Reader’s comments have suggested that I nailed it.

I wrote the trilogy in order and I completed the first draft plus edits in each book before moving on. I would definitely say I took an organic route overall. By not having all the key details defined through the three books, I had to make sure any key ideas and changes I made in the first book were carried correctly into the second and third.

To give an idea of the organic style of this trilogy, I call attention to Goramor. He is a character I introduced late in The Dreamer. As I prepared to write The Seeker (Dawn Bringer volume 2), I asked myself what Goramor’s role would be. That’s right, when I wrote The Dreamer, I had no idea what Goramor’s role would be! In the end, introducing Goramor turned out to be one of the best decisions I made. He plays a huge role in The Seeker and I had a wonderful time exploring his story.

That is not to say I did no planning. I did character outlines (with Goramor’s being done before The Seeker). These included physical descriptions, motivations, and general plot points. This was done following the snowflake method.

I used Excel to map out my story. This was long before I knew of great tools like Scrivener. I would list each of the main characters and factions as row headers and put the chapter headings as column headers. Then I’d plug in the scenes. As I got ideas while I was writing, I placed them in the correct chapter and moved back to them during revision.

What magical power would you want, or absolutely NOT want to possess, and why?

I’ve given this a lot of thought through the years. I’m sure many would not necessarily be comfortable with what I would want, but I assure everyone that I would only want to use it for the good of humanity.

My power of choice would be mental telepathy.

I see many cases in this world where we struggle to see justice. We are severely limited by the facts. In some cases, we can only rely on the testimony of individuals. And as humans, our memories and recollection of experiences can be severely impaired by the trauma of an event.

I would use this power to know with certainty if an accused person is guilty of a crime they are accused of. I would want to focus primarily on the worst of crimes (murder and rape). This would help to reduce the cases where a person is unjustly found guilty and it would identify with certainty the person that is guilty (if presented as a suspect).

What should readers look forward to in book 2?

I am very excited to be preparing The Seeker for release this fall. Here is some information that I have attempted to make as spoiler free as possible.

In the Seeker, Oryn and his companions travel to a lost kingdom. There, they discover that somehow the kai have access to magic. Humanity has been decimated and Oryn arrives just in time to witness a terrible event. As the summer solstice approaches, Oryn and his companions race against time to save the humans of the lost kingdom from a horrible kai ceremony. The kai stand against Oryn and his companions and they offer the deadliest challenge Oryn has ever witnessed. The Seeker is a story of hope against the greatest odds, and a story of survival against the most persistent and merciless foes.

Readers can expect a number of exciting things in The Seeker.

The Kai

In The Dreamer, readers get an idea of how terrible the kai are. However, by the end of The Seeker, readers will likely hate the kai with as much passion as Oryn. In The Seeker, the kai are much stronger than any Oryn has faced before. They are ruthless and relentless in their efforts to deny Oryn his goal.

In addition, readers will get to see more of the kai organization. There are a number of scenes told from the viewpoint of the kai.

Oryn

Readers will get to see a much stronger Oryn. Oryn was in great turmoil throughout The Dreamer. In The Seeker, he is a man with a purpose and that makes him much sharper. Readers will also get to learn a few more skills that Oryn has picked up in his years of life.

Willem

Readers will get to see Willem grow a lot in this book. In The Dreamer, he didn’t get to shine too much, but he gets a tremendous opportunity to shine in The Seeker.

Goramor

This strange companion was introduced very late in The Dreamer. Readers can learn more about why he was introduced so late in the anecdotes I plan to release for The Dreamer on my website very soon. In The Seeker, readers will get a chance to learn a lot more about Goramor and I must say, I absolutely love this character.

A new companion

Readers will be introduced to a new companion. She is a native of the land Oryn and his companions travel to. She is a master hunter and a tremendous support in the struggle to overcome the kai.

A darker tale

The Dreamer was certainly a dark tale, but The Seeker will be a story that reaches a greater darkness. Survival becomes a huge part of the ordeal.

Magic

The Dreamer was a low magic story. Magic was presented, basically, as miracles. In The Seeker, for very good reasons, magic is far more prevalent.

Author Bio

James Kampel has been writing novels for over ten years. He is very happy to share his work with you! He writes fantasy novels with very strong character growth that really strike an emotional chord. He has published The Dreamer, the first volume of the Dawn Bringer trilogy, featuring Oryn the Undying. He has also published The Crest of Destruction, a novella featuring Oryn the Undying. James holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in library and information science. He lives in Columbus, Ohio with his two beautiful cats. When he’s not writing or reading, James enjoys playing computer and video role playing games.

James was inspired by such greats as Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, R.A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, Robert Jordan, and Stephen King. James will never forget the day he cracked open “Dragons of Autumn Twilight.” It began an adventure that continues to this day.

Author Links

Author Web Site: www.jameskampel.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamesKampel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesKampelAuthor/

Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16783722.James_Kampel

The Dreamer can be purchased on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZM4H3H/

For readers that are interested, I published a free novella called The Crest of Destruction. It features Oryn and takes place 700 years before The Dreamer. This novella gives you a little insight into how Oryn became like he is in The Dreamer. It can be downloaded for free at http://www.jameskampel.com/free-book. All you have to do is sign up for my newsletter and I promise absolutely no spam.

 

Thank you to Bradley Lloyd for joining me today to Run the Bases.  After you finish the interview, be sure to check out Shadow Fray recently released from DSP Publications.

 

• What drew you to write a dystopian world?

First, I’m a big fan of the genre, particularly in the YA realm. I loved The Hunger Games, Enclave, Divergent, Pure,Red Rising and many others. While my book is far from YA, I did try to keep the same spirit of page-turning fun that propelled many of those books.

Secondly, if I weren’t going to write a dystopian world, that would leave me with…a utopia? Sounds pretty boring, doesn’t it? A dystopian world is pretty common in sci-fi, I think because it’s hard to make a utopia interesting—unless it’s a false utopia, but the characters in Shadow Fray are under no such illusions.

I also believe it’s natural in considering the future to imagine how current situations might play out, so that’s what I did. I wrote my book before the current political climate, but so many things are happening regarding the environment, obfuscation of political motives and methods, alternative facts—the list could go on and on. So part of sci-fi and dystopian sci-fi in particular is cautionary—this is what could happen if we don’t take measures to prevent it. Not to be all doom-and-gloom, but I feel like my tale is a little more relevant than when I first wrote it.

 

• What are some of your favorite sci-fi/fantasy worlds?

Too many to mention, so I’ll try to pick some off the beaten path! I devoured Ann McCaffrey’s Dragons of Pern series when I was a kid, and that was my first real sci-fi obsession. You’d think from the covers and subject matter it’s fantasy but it’s actually a futuristic planet-hopping saga with dragons, so kind of a mash-up. I love to read (and write) mash-ups. Such a world is just so fascinating because you get to see how different elements would interact.

Setting is also key, and I admire how Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series incorporates New Orleans and makes the city a character in and of itself, as that’s something I tried to emulate. She takes something real—everyone is familiar with New Orleans—but she makes it something more and really brings it to life.

In terms of subject matter, I love David Wong’s John Dies at the End and the subsequent books, as anything with alternate dimensions and parallel universes piques my curiosity. The idea of a multiverse seems so fantastical but I watch the Science Channel a lot, and it’s amazing that the current scientific research is saying that yes, these worlds very well could exist. Plus, Wong toes the scary/funny line extremely well, and humor is what helps bring his world to life. One page you can be laughing and the very next page you’re kind of scared.

In more of the m/m realm, Gemma Files’s Hexslinger series has amazing world-building. It’s another mash-up of magic and the Old West, with almost a steam-punk vibe. In the end, though, it’s wholly original. I haven’t read anything like it.

But my favorite of them all is Rick Yancy’s The Monstrumologist and its sequels. You might know Rick Yancy from his more recent sci-fi 5^th Wave series because it was turned into a movie, but The Monstromologist is where it’s at. It’s so well-written, I can’t believe it. I’m in awe. I wish I could write like him. In the first book in particular, he writes in this somewhat antiquated language very reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft, so the language he uses becomes part of the world. The series stretches from the past to the present, using real news stories to invent a world prowled by monsters. And it’s really, really scary. This YA book is scarier than any adult horror book I’ve read. It’s not dystopian per se, more fantasy grounded in reality with a scientific slant. What I learned from Mr. Yancy, though, is that it’s the characters that make a world come alive. The relationship between the young Will Henry and the old Dr. Warthrop is the heart of the series, and you come to care about them so deeply that the world becomes all the more hostile as you want these two characters to make it out and be safe and okay. Without great characters, the world may be inventive and intriguing, but you must be invested in it to make it real. The characters do that.

 

• What do you think is the most interesting part of the post-apocalyptic world you’ve created?

The most interesting part of the post-apocalyptic world I’ve created is the mystery surrounding it.

As hinted at above, my world is sort of a mash-up. I knew where I wanted to go with the world, and had a series of long conversations with a friend of mine who is a scientist and chemist. I knew the ground would be toxic and people would live in high-rises, and we talked about all the different ways I could go about making this plausible. Then I thought (and she agreed), isn’t it more realistic if there isn’t just a single cause? I’m a news junkie, and I can’t think of any current issue that has just one cause, because then solutions would be a lot easier and we’d be a lot better at solving the world’s problems. People debate and disagree on causes and courses of action. Wars aren’t fought on one front, but many. It’s not simple, it’s complex, like a big knot made of many different threads.

So, my apocalypse is somewhat of a confluence of events. It’s a big knot, but as the series continues, the threads will begin to unravel and things will become clearer. I’m dropping a lot of breadcrumbs along the way, though. There are clues, and maybe a red herring or two. It’s almost like writing a murder mystery. To continue with that analogy, there is a main culprit, but also some accessories to the murder. The ways the main characters, who are street fighters, become wrapped up in world events is going to be really fun. As they move up in the world they’ll become privy to more information and have some difficult choices to make. Their stage will get bigger, the stakes higher, and that means each book will be bigger than the last.

• How would you describe your main character?

I have two main characters, and like in any good romance, they’re somewhat opposite. In a nutshell, Justin is thought, and Hale is action. Justin is younger, serious, and full of doubt, but he clings to that doubt because it helps him make informed decisions. Hale, on the other hand, is more experienced, headstrong and cocksure. He doesn’t often second guess himself. Justin is spiritual and philosophical, while Hale is a realist. Justin sees shades of gray when Hale sees the world as black and white. I think you get the idea 😊

What is true about both men is that they care and love deeply. Justin wants to keep his twin sister and younger brother safe, and Hale’s main concern is his daughter. In many ways, everything these guys have done has been for someone else. Being fighters, they’re very goal-oriented and often single-minded, so they really disrupt each other’s worlds. When they get together, it’s something very new for both of them, because they haven’t really allowed anyone else in before, and that’s been really fun to write.

 

About the Author

Bradley Lloyd is a Chicago-born author who studied Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was raised in a conservative religious household but became aware of his sexuality at a very young age—about the same age he learned of his ancestry to Hans Christian Andersen. Inspired by this knowledge, writing became an outlet that helped him cope with inner conflicts and bullying.

Of course, he was no angel and occasionally used his storytelling powers for evil. He once convinced the neighborhood children that gnomes had been real before all being turned into lawn ornaments.

Later, these experiences lead him to work with middle-school students. Now a teacher in the inner city, he shares his love of writing with a captive audience of kids, who are thrilled with true(ish) tales of their haunted school building.

Interestingly, his favorite UFC fighter and former world champion was a student at his school, and when Brad is not reading or writing, you might find him hosting the next UFC pay-per-view event party. His dreams of becoming an ultimate fighter are realized vicariously through his stories and video games.

Brad is happily married to a wonderful husband. Their tenth anniversary was also the day same-sex marriage became legal, and they were couple number seven at the courthouse.

You can read more of Brad’s (free) tales on his website BradleyLloyd.com, check him out on Medium, follow IMBradleyLloyd on Facebook and Twitter, or e-mail him directly at [email protected]

 

Thank you to Rosemary A Johns for joining us today to Run the Bases with Andrew Q Gordon.  You will want to check out her Rebel Vampires series when you are done with interview.  Links are at the bottom. 

• When you began writing Blood Dragons how much of the Rebel Vampires series was planned out?

Firstly, thanks for having me on Andrew!

I always know the first scene…and the last one. Rebel Vampires is set in a paranormal secret London where vampires are both predator and prey. I knew where the first trilogy was going because this was a redemptive journey for the main British vampire anti-hero.

Blood Dragons – is about a man losing his humanity and then discovering it again – through love. In the secondbook (Blood Shackles) Light – the ultimate rebel – has become a slave to humans. He battles for his species’ freedom, whilst discovering love and family. Blood Renegades is about the difference between freedom and terrorism – and is a passionate thriller, as Light realises the meaning of home.

It’s exciting to see how it develops and builds…

• What is the strangest thing you researched for this series?

There are so many!! I loved researching rude Victorian slang for when Light was first elected into Blood Life…

The weirdest in Blood Renegades was the behaviour of a chimp, which would have been raised by a human child… Say hello to Mr Darwin: the chimp least likely to ever have a tea party and who can use sign language, or (as Light calls him): ‘the hairy wanker’.

• Your Alessandro has many autistic characteristics, was that intentional or a natural evolution?

Rebel Vampires was sparked by my own son who’s an autistic savant (his memory is photographic). The main character – Light – is a savant as well. It made me wonder what it’d be like to live through the centuries, witnessing all the horrors and glories, and remember them with the clarity of a photograph. Whether it’d be a blessing or a curse.

Alessandro is an autistic Blood Lifer, although he was elected before these labels. Blood Lifers only choose the best of each generation, and it was intentional and important to me that it included an autistic person. I wanted a mainstream book to include a range of characters – all different, including their sexuality and backgrounds, not to mention Elizabethan to Rocker – without it being about ‘disability’, for example. Instead, it’s about humanity.

We’re all individuals. My books stand for the rebel inside all of us!

• What can we expect to see from you next?

Blood Renegades releases on June 13^th. It’s out for pre-order now and on paperback.

Blood Renegades is written as an interrogation in a terrorist Inquiry. It’s set on and beneath London Bridge: with the recent London attacks that feels more than real. The Blood Life Council (vampire equivalent of Westminster) believes Light to be the leader of the terrorist Renegades. The idea of fanatics and the line between terrorist and freedom fighter is compelling.

The next series will be Rebel Werewolves! Set in Oxford, it will do what Rebel Vampires does for vampires: reinvent the werewolf myth for the modern-day.

Thanks, this has been fun!

Prepare to escape into Blood Life today…

~Blood Dragons: http://viewbook.at/BloodDragons

~Blood Shackles: http://viewbook.at/BloodShackles

~Blood Renegades: http://viewbook.at/BloodRenegades

 

 

 

 

Official Trailer for Rebel Vampires:

 

About the Author

WINNER OF SILVER AWARD in the National Wishing Shelf Book Awards.

ROSEMARY A JOHNS is the author of the bestselling Blood Dragons and Blood Shackles – the compelling Rebel Vampires series. Blood Renegades is the thrilling third installment.

ROSEMARY A JOHNS is a music fanatic and a paranormal anti-hero addict who creates spellbinding worlds, thrilling action, gripping suspense and passionate romances, all uniquely told. She wrote her first fantasy novel at the age of ten, when she discovered the weird worlds inside her head were more exciting than double swimming. Since then she’s studied history at Oxford University, run a theatre company (her critically acclaimed plays have been described as “uncomfortable, unsettling and uneasily true to life”), and worked with disability charities.

When Rosemary’s not falling in love with the rebels fighting their way onto the page, she heads the Oxford writing group Dreaming Spires.

Rosemary is a Goodreads Author: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15571684.Rosemary_A_Johns

To sign up to Rosemary A Johns’ VIP Email Newsletter with news of hot releases, promotions and the free short story “All the Tin Soldiers”, click here: http://eepurl.com/bQ0kMX

https://rosemaryajohns.com

https://www.facebook.com/RosemaryAnnJohns

@RosemaryAJohns

https://uk.pinterest.com/rosemaryjohns1

https://plus.google.com/+RosemaryAJohnsRosemaryAJohns1

https://www.amazon.com/Rosemary-A-Johns/e/B01JOJVTNE

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/rosemary-a-johns