Category: Running The Bases

Running The Bases With Paul Francois

Running the Bases’ guest this week is Paul Francois.  Paul is an IT professional whose love of Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Thrillers shine through in his books.

Paul’s newest book Shadowbane: Age of Aelfborn chronicles the adventure of a young warrior who is on a journey to rescue his sister and finding the mighty sword, Shadowbane, all the way.

We pitched some questions to Paul to see what makes this talented author click.

  •   What is one trick that you do to insure your stories and/or characters are fresh and unique?
Well first I try to research other published stories, so I do not use the same names. I prefer to use names that have meaning. Next I try to plan out what “quirks” each character will have and do my best to maintain that throughout the story.
  • What have you learned so far in your journey to discover which genre best suits your writing style?

I still have not settled on one genre. I still want to write a thiller and a horror, but I am really drawn to Sci-Fi and Fantasy…especially Epic Fantasy. After the Sci-Fi I am currently working on I plan to write a trilogy, but first I have to create the world and awesome graphics to support the storyline. I plan for the Epci Fantasy to be…well, Epic!

  • What are three things that you can’t do without on a daily basis?

A computer, but since my primary job that pays the bills is in IT, I always have one or more around. Something to take notes, preferably digitally, since I need to jot down these thoughts that come spilling out of my gourd. And last, but certainly not least, my wife. I know you asked for “things” but some people in life are critical to how we live and breathe, and she is such a person.

  • Describe the perfect computer setup to write stories.

Mine would have to be a laptop in a deluxe treehouse perched atop a group of redwoods overlooking a river, or creek.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PAUL:

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Running The Bases With Eric Knight

Running The Bases’ guest this week Eric T. Knight. Eric is a Tuscon, AZ resident who is also travel and fantasy author.

Eric has a new fantasy novel, The Lost Temple of Totec, coming out on Kindle Scout next month. 

So round the bases with Eric and then leave a comment when your done. One lucky commenter will win an eBook of their choice from Eric’s backlist.

  • What are 3 of your favorite fantasy works (books, TV, movies, etc)?

Three faves… Well, of course I have to start with the Lord of the Rings. I read the series the first time in high school and it just blew me away. I’d never read fantasy before, other than fairy tales, and I had no idea it could be like that. I wanted so badly to leave my life and go live in Middle Earth with all those characters.

Then it gets hard. I’m going to have to go with top four, I think. I have to say the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, both series. Just a fantastically-realized world with such incredible characters (even if I did want to slap Covenant quite a few times and tell him to stop whining so much!) I love Saltheart Foamfollower.

The Caine books, starting with Heroes Die. Caine might just be my favorite character of all time. The guy is just awesome, the stuff he gets into and the way he handles things. Wow.

Finally, but not last, the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Those books make my head hurt to read, but no one has a bigger, more fascinating world than Erickson. So much cool stuff packed into those pages.

  • Why do you write fantasy?

I guess I write fantasy because I love the genre so much and I want to add my two cents’ worth. I also love making stuff up and the great thing about fantasy is that you get to make everything up.

  • We see you’re a world traveler. What place would you like to visit again and why?

I’d like to go back to New Zealand. The place is just incredible. The scenery, I mean, everyone’s seen it now in LOTR, but in person it’s even more spectacular. While I’m there, though, I’d have to head back to Australia as well. That’s where my wife and I met, in Alice Springs, over twenty years ago. It’s pretty special to us.

  • What book or series of yours do you recommend readers start out with?

If your time is limited, try one of the Ace Lone Wolf books. (The first one, The Lost Temple of Totec, is coming out on Kindle Scout next month. Two more will quickly follow it.) It’s a fast, fun read. Think of it as a cross between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Mummy. I specifically set out to make the chapters short and to keep the story hopping. But if you want to dig in and lose yourself, go with the Immortality and Chaos series. It’s pure epic fantasy, but I warn you, it will surprise you. The villains aren’t always who you think they are and the heroes, well, sometimes they cause as many problems as they solve.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ERIC:

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Running The Bases With Joe Jackson

Running The Bases’ guest this week Joe Jackson. How cool is that? (For those who don’t know, Shoeless Joe Jackson was one of the greatest player ever and I love that his twitter handle is @shoelessauthor. This must be what nerd heaven is like.) What make’s this even more timely, pitchers and catchers report for spring training this week. Baseball is about to be reborn for 2017!

Joe’s epic fantasy series, Eve of Redemption, saw a fourth installment released last month with Legacy of the Devil Queen. 

So round the bases with Joe and then leave a comment when your done. One lucky commenter will win an eBook of their choice from Joe’s backlist.

  • Your series has big expansive world building. What is one big tip you would give to authors when world building?

Make it immersive!

Even if you’re going to write a book that takes place on a post-Apocalyptic Earth, make it a place the reader gets lost in. Describe the sights, the sounds, the smells, and let them get lost in its history and grandness. Take them to this other world and show them why it’s so vastly different than Earth, and yet so familiarly similar. In Fantasy, people don’t have Google Maps and GPS. Just crossing the grasslands to go to a town four hours away is a big deal, especially if your world is full of monsters and dangerous hazards. Authors need to make sure the reader feels that, and then a simple cross-lands journey can be as exciting as a twelve-page sword fight.

  • Your book covers are really eye catching. What is your process in choosing the right cover to match your story?

The original covers were designed to depict moments from the stories themselves (which I’ve since heard is supposed to be some big no-no). Readers could flip back to the cover and see a rough portrayal of a moment from each book.

The new cover for Salvation’s Dawn was redesigned to better catch the reader’s eye using eye contact and character engagement. The key was to get the potential reader to connect with Kari before they even learned her name. Salvation’s Dawn does have a bit of buildup (AKA boring description to some) as you learn about Kari and her world, so it’s important to make you care enough to read about her and the mission she’s about to undertake.

  • List three things you can’t do without on a daily basis.

Superhugs from my daughters when I get home from work, the love of my wife, and a brainstorming session involving an MP3 player and some quiet time. Music is my muse.

  • We know you’re a big gamer. What are some of your current favorites?

Believe it or not, my wife and I still play EverQuest after all these years. We get bored of it and take breaks, but eventually end up coming back for short stints every so often. We were both avid Skyrim players, put a ton of time and effort into running a raid guild in World of Warcraft a few years back, and have dabbled in several other MMOs (Elder Scrolls Online, EverQuest II, even tried our hands at D&D Online). These days, the kids keep us limited to one game really (aside from practicing bass using RockSmith), so right now EQ has our game time monopolized.

I used to be a huge FPS fan. When I was in college and had the luxury of being foolish with my time, I’d have many a Deathmatch marathon in Half-Life til 6am.

Find Out More About Joe:

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Check out Joe’s Newest Release:

Legacy of the Devil Queen: 

Running The Bases With Drew Avera

Welcome to Running The Bases!  The first guest to sprint around the base paths is Drew Avera.  Drew is an unabashed space pirate at heart and in keeping with true pirate grit, he agreed to be the first guest on this feature. 

So round the bases with Drew and then leave a comment when your done. Three lucky commenters will win an eCopy of Broken Worlds, the first book in the Alorian Wars Series.

  • Why space pirates?

Wouldn’t the better question be why not? Seriously, space pirates are cool. Just look at Han Solo. Yeah, he’s a good guy, but he isn’t a law abiding citizen necessarily. Though, I have to say the space pirates in The Alorian Wars aren’t really good guys. Maybe I have a skewed view of the whole space pirate thing after all…

  • How does your perspective as an active duty navy veteran influence your perspective as a sci-fi writer?

It gives me a perspective of what it’s like to live on a ship for months at a time. I also see a lot of different personalities, some good and some bad. When you read about one of my characters feeling claustrophobic on a ship tumbling across open space, you can bet I’ve been there, except it was open seas and not space. I think I would prefer space, though. At least until the life support fails and I begin questioning why I made my life choices…

  • List three things you can’t do without on a daily basis

I am actually pretty good about doing without. Most people take for granted going home and having all of their stuff every day, but being deployed (8 months last time) I have gotten used to going without. I will say, the things that make me happy each day is seeing my wife and kids, having a creative outlet, and coffee. I swear I’m not addicted to coffee, but if the world ever runs out, I might die.

  • We see that you play guitar. What album gets you into creative mode?

It varies from project to project. My first few books were written to Alter Bridge, Chevelle, and Breaking Benjamin. Recently I have discovered instrumental metal and find that the lack of lyrics helps keep me from being distracted. My favorite instrumental acts are Conquering Dystopia and Paul Wardingham. Sometimes I still get distracted and have to play my guitar for a bit before I get back to the writing. Playing guitar also relieves more stress than fictionally killing people does, so I need my therapy lol.

Where to find Drew:

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Find out more about Drew’s Alorian Wars series:

Alorian Wars

Running The Bases—Author Interviews

Starting tomorrow, January 23 2017, I’ll be starting a new feature on the blog called, Running The Bases (RTB).  This will combine my love of baseball with my writing to bring you short, four question interviews—one for each base—with primarily speculative fiction authors.  My hope is these will be a home run as I try to bring on authors who are new to the Land of Make Believe to give readers new idea for books/series to check out.  There will also be chances to win free eBooks from my guests.

If there are any authors you’d like me to try to get on the feature, let me know in a comment. If you’re an author who wants to be featured, contact Naomi at [email protected] for more information.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, and as always,

Enjoy The Journey!

—AQG