Secret life of a townie

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Today's Authoberfest featured author is JAMES KNAPP

James is a Philip K Dick Award Finalist, his novel 'State of Decay' won the Compton Crook Award and his work will be featured in the upcoming 'The Doomsday Chronicles.'

Let's see what James had to say about reading, writing and zombies!

1. It’s Halloween, pick 3 of your favorite writers to paint the town red with and tell us why you chose them.
James says: I'd pick Paolo Bacigalupi, Stephen King, and, since it's Halloween, the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe. I'd pick Paolo because he is very nice, draws large crowds, and would probably put up with my constant ordering of candy corn shooters. I'd pick Stephen King because Stephen King. Finally, I'd pick the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe so that when I invariably need a break from the crowd we can hang out in a booth in the back of the place and talk shop (I am the only one who can see and hear Poe in this scenario), then later I can freak him out by watching Saw with him on my phone.

2. You’re ready to head out with your pillowcase to collect loads of confections on All Hallows’ Eve, what’s your costume and why did you choose it?
James says: I would dress as a Terminator, for a couple of reasons. One, as an 'intact' Terminator my costume would be relatively cheap. Two, it would give me an opportunity to flex my horrible Austrian accent for the night, something which everyone knows never ever gets old, and Three (and most importantly) I saw an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer a long time ago where some sort of supernatural tomfoolery caused everyone to literally become whatever they were dressed as on Halloween, and on the off, off, off chance that actually happens I'd love to be a Terminator.

3. Old Mrs. Robinson opens her door and you’re holding open your pillowcase patiently waiting. “Oh deary,” she says in her frail, little old-lady voice. “I forgot it was Halloween. Don’t know why you kids go begging anyways. Let me go find something to give you.” She shuffles off and finally returns three and a half minutes later with 5 pennies, 2 peppermint candies that look like they went through the dryer, and her deceased husbands dentures. “Take what you like,” she offers, squinting at you.
What do you choose and why.
James says: This is a classic trap - Old Mrs. Robinson is clearly a witch of some sort and is trying to pawn off 'Needful Things' style cursed objects to me. Assuming that the pennies are cursed to offer *bad* luck to whoever picks them up, the peppermint candies are cursed so that when sucked they actually coat your tongue with wintermint flavor, and the dentures are cursed so that while the wearer will always know 'just what to say' in any given situation, 'just what to say' in this case will invariably be something horribly racist and/or misogynistic. I would therefore pick the pennies, since I think pennies now officially cost more to mint than they are worth - it is far less likely anyone will bother to pick them up and get cursed, especially once I toss them into the same plastic bin where I discard our cats' used litter.

4. I really love reading Dean Koontz but some of his stuff scares the bejesus out of me. What’s the spookiest book you’ve ever read?
James says: This is a short story and not a book, but I have to pick it because it is one of the creepiest things I've ever read; Born of Man and Woman, by Richard Matheson. Double-U, Tee, Eff?

5. You’re a writer by day and supernatural creature by night. (Shed that human skin you sack of bones) What are you and why?
James says: I actually have to buck the trend, here (something I very rarely do, I assure you) - I write almost exclusively at night, and transform into a Werecoder during the day. My curse isn't as bad as you might think...at night I appear as a Fabio-esque hunk who has the pecs and abs of a young Brad Pitt, the hair of Brad Pitt, and the confident swagger of Brad Pitt...during the day I'm actually still a lot like that, except with the pecs and abs of Ron Swanson, the hair of Jason Statham, and the confident swagger of Brad Pitt (just not nearly as effective). My transformation occurs when the sun comes up, usually in the shower, and involves a certain amount of swelling and hair-graying.

6. Every author has a bookshelf filled with his or her favorite reads. Run on over to yours and tell us the scariest book you have.
James says: Honestly? Down on the bottom shelf, all the way to the left, are some old yearbooks of mine. Scarier than Saw.

7. We don’t all write horror but there comes a time when you’ve got to surprise your readers and make sure their hearts are still beating. How do you prepare yourself to get in the spooky writing mood?
James says: Sadly I don't have to - readers too often seem to find even my comedy dark...

8. Stephen King’s front porch light is on but there are no Halloween decorations.
Do you:
a) trick-or-treat and cross your fingers that he’s handing out the good stuff
b) run screaming
c) call your mom to bring your favorite King paperback and beg for an autograph
James says: Well...in my scenario, Stephen King is already with me, Paolo, and the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe and King already thinks it's kind of weird that I insisted on going to his house to trick or treat when we all know he isn't there, but after he goes around the back and opens the front door to humor me I then run screaming just to mess with him (and to make Edgar Allen Poe laugh because, let's face it, he's still kind of messed up from watching 'Saw' on a phone).

9. Congratulations, you just won the literary lottery and sold a million books at full price! The royalty check clears on October 28th. What are you buying for the neighborhood kids?
a) an assortment of mini candybars
b) an assortment of cheap, hard candies
c) full size Hershey bars
James says: I'm sorry, but in this scenario I am far too drunk and (with the exception of my monocle and top hat) far too naked to hand out treats to children.

10. Your writer friend calls you with some frightening news. They’re giving up on writing, can’t take the pressure any longer. What do you tell them?
James says: Remind them that, no matter how discouraging the business end of it may be, they love to write almost as much as they love candy corn shooters - never give up...everything worth doing is hard, that's why it's hard. If it's what you love, then never stop writing.

Connect with James!

Buy his books at his Amazon Author Page

About the author

James Knapp was born in New Hampshire in 1970, and has lived in the New England area since that time. He developed a love of reading and writing early on, participating in young author competitions as early as grade school, but the later discovery of works by Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov turned that love to an obsession.

He wrote continuously through high school, college and beyond, eventually breaking into the field with the publication of the Revivors trilogy (State of Decay, The Silent Army, and Element Zero). State of Decay was a Philip K. Dick award nominee, and won the 2010 Compton Crook Award. Ember, The Burn Zone, and Fallout were all written under the name James K. Decker.

He now lives in MA with his wife Kim.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Please Welcome Isaac Marion author of WARM BODIES

Way back in 2013, I read WARM BODIES. It made me laugh out loud, it made me a little sad and it made my heart go pitter patter. Since then R's deepest thoughts have stuck with me and made me smile. So when the super awesome Isaac Marion said, "Heck yeah," to an interview, I was super pumped!

Let's see what Isaac had to say about reading, writing & Zombies!

1. It’s the zombie apocalypse and writers have got to stick together to survive. Pick 3 authors to be on your zombie apocalypse killing team and tell us why you’d choose them.
Isaac Says: Cormac McCarthy because he probably knows about guns and he could intone bleak poems about our misery while we sit around the campfire. Miranda July because she could pacify the zombies with whimsical bittersweetness. Joseph Aguilar because he’s an old friend and I don’t want to spend the apocalypse hanging out with a bunch of creepy celebrities I’ve never met before.

2. I tend to write about my fears, and one of those fears is losing authors whose books I love. If Stephen King and J. K. Rowling were drowning in a river, who would you save first?
Isaac Says: Stephen King, because I owe a good sized portion of my creative identity to him and he’s already had one brush with death; seems unfair for him to drown a few years later.

3. We authors are voracious readers. My TBR list is approximately 8 miles long. What are you currently reading?
Isaac Says: Currently in the middle of the above-mentioned Joseph Aguilar’s book of poetry and flash fiction, Half Out Where. Also Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Isaac Asimov’s The End of Eternity.

4. What is the one book that you could read a million times and never get bored with?
Isaac Says: There is definitely no such book. I have a restless mind. There are maybe four or five books I’ve read twice, but that’s as far as I can go. The one that seems the most inviting to reread is probably Everything Matters by Ron Currie Jr.

5. Last year my favorite read was The Martian by Andy Weir. What was your best read of 2014?
Isaac Says: Since you said this same thing in your interview with Andy Weir, I half expected you to tell me your favorite was Warm Bodies but it seems you’re speaking from the heart! Well, 2014 feels so achingly far away so I don’t know if I can even remember which books I read that particular year...I may be forgetting other favorites but Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse, springs to mind.
Meredith says: My favorite read from 2013 was "Warm Bodies." This blog held a placeholder for my Goodreads review of "Warm Bodies" in the top right-hand corner for almost 3 years :) I wish I had a screen shot to prove my love and dedication.

6. This year my favorite read has been The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. What’s the best book you’ve read so far in 2015?
Isaac Says: Now this is easier. I don’t even know if this counts as a “book” but I read the complete works of H.P Lovecraft (I may have skipped one or two less essential tales) and it sent my mind screaming into an illimitable void of nameless gibbering horrors!

7. You’re a writer by day and a superhero by night. (Take off those geeky glasses Superman) What’s your superpower?
Isaac Says: Immutability. My body can never be affected or altered by anything. This makes me invulnerable to everything: physical injury, disease, age, hunger, thirst--immortal and entirely self-sufficient. In this state I’d be able to explore every inch of the world and every activity in human life without any fear or urgency.

8. I have writing spots all over my house: my desk, my couch, the patio, and my bed. Where’s your favorite spot to write?
Isaac Says: I do almost all of my writing at local coffee shops. I spend enough time home alone already; if I made it my workplace too, I’d go crazy. But I do tend to do my editing at home, since I’m more easily distracted while editing, and I do most of that on my back yard deck overlooking downtown Seattle.

9. We’re supposed to love all of our children equally, but there are some scenes I’ve written that really stick out in my mind. Tell us your favorite scene from one of your books.
Isaac Says: I’m probably biased by their freshness but my favorite scenes are definitely in my upcoming Warm Bodies novel, The Living. But since I can’t talk about those yet, I’d have to say it’s a scene in my short story “Jerry Lives Forever” (published in Tethered by Letters issue #7) when Jerry lives through the expansion of the sun and subsequent collapse of the universe. I really enjoy going all the way out there.

10. Sometimes a little too much of myself slips into my characters. Which one of your characters most resembles you?
Isaac Says: Sometimes in short stories I don’t make much effort to separate the narrator from myself, but in any of my novels, it’s never me. I guess R from Warm Bodies comes the closest, but he’s just one slice of my personality, or maybe my personality at a certain era in my life, long ago. Combine R with Perry and you come a little closer.

11. I’ve always got tunes rocking while I’m writing. Tell us five songs that are on your playlist.
Isaac Says: My writing music is very different from what I’d listen to for pleasure. It has to be instrumental with fairly flat dynamics--no vocals and no big shifts in mood or intensity because that will throw me out of my head space. I have a playlist with a bunch of different songs for different moods, and I play whichever one matches the mood of the scene I’m trying to write--sad, bittersweet, triumphant, creepy, etc. A few that I come back to often are “Villa del Refugio” by This Will Destroy You, “Prospectors Arrive” by Jonny Greenwood, “Bookstore” by Jon Brion, “Lamb’s Breath” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and “An Ending (Ascent)” by Briaan Eno.
Meredith says: I think "Lamb's Breath" is going to give me nightmares, I could only listen to a tiny bit of that.

12. If you could tell an aspiring author one tiny tidbit of information, what would you say?
Isaac Says: Don’t write “for an audience.” That leads to safe, impersonal, formulaic pandering. Don’t write “for yourself.” That leads to masturbatory noise that does nothing for anyone but you. Write to communicate. Write to connect to other minds and share something.

Connect with Isaac

About this author

Isaac Marion is a young hermit living in Seattle with his beard and his cat, starving, hysterical, naked. His first novel, WARM BODIES, was adapted into a film in 2013. A prequel novella, THE NEW HUNGER, will be released some time in 2015, and he is currently working on an absurdly ambitious concluding volume, which will hopefully be released late 2015 or early 2016. And he will let you in on a little secret: no one wrote this bio about him. He is writing it in third person, pretending to be some raving publicist or besotted fan for some reason of ancient and baffling literary convention. He is me. Hello, I'm Isaac, hello.

Enter the Goodreads Giveaway for a chance to win a copy of THE NEW HUNGER!

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Today's Authtoberfest featured author is Teresa Watson!

1. It’s Halloween, pick 3 of your favorite writers to paint the town red with and tell us why you chose them.

Teresa says: Victoria Laurie, because she’d be able to pinpoint the houses with the best candy; Stephen King, because he could tell the best scary stories; and J.M. Barrie, because he might have some extra pixie dust lying around, and who wouldn’t want to fly around on Halloween?

2. You’re ready to head out with your pillowcase to collect loads of confections on All Hallows’ Eve, what’s your costume and why did you choose it?

Teresa says: What little girl didn’t want to be Wonder Woman growing up (I had to be a princess; Mom couldn’t make a Wonder Woman costume…or wouldn’t)? Everyone always chooses to dress up as scary things, but she stands for all the things that are good, and sometimes, people need to have a little hope in this crazy world of ours, even if it’s just make believe.

3. Old Mrs. Robinson opens her door and you’re holding open your pillowcase patiently waiting. “Oh deary,” she says in her frail, little old-lady voice. “I forgot it was Halloween. Don’t know why you kids go begging anyways. Let me go find something to give you.” She shuffles off and finally returns three and a half minutes later with 5 pennies, 2 peppermint candies that look like they went through the dryer, and her deceased husbands dentures. “Take what you like,” she offers, squinting at you.
What do you choose and why.

Teresa says: I’m not sure I would take any of them. She might look like a frail, old lady, but you could really be an evil witch in disguise. She could have coated the pennies with poison; those peppermint candies could have been made out of mothballs; and the dentures, well, they’re just gross. For all you know, she slowly poisoned her husband with arsenic, which could still be on the dentures. All valid points!

4. I really love reading Dean Koontz but some of his stuff scares the bejesus out of me. What’s the spookiest book you’ve ever read?

Teresa says: Stephen King’s It. I’ve also seen the mini-series based on the book, and Tim Curry as Pennywise still scares the crap out of me!

5. You’re a writer by day and supernatural creature by night. (Shed that human skin you sack of bones) What are you and why?
Teresa says: Wow, this one is really hard! There are so many possibilities! I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a succubus (making love to a different gorgeous man every night), or an Amazon like Wonder Woman, kicking some serious butt? But I’m the type of person that likes to help other people, so I would probably choose a fairy, so that I could do nice things at night for the people I have witnessed doing good things for others during the day.

6. Every author has a bookshelf filled with his or her favorite reads. Run on over to yours and tell us the scariest book you have.

Teresa says: Again, Stephen King’s It!

7. We don’t all write horror but there comes a time when you’ve got to surprise your readers and make sure their hearts are still beating. How do you prepare yourself to get in the spooky writing mood?

Teresa says: I’m always trying to throw in little twists and surprises in the stories that I write. I think of what might upset them the most (i.e. killing off their favorite character, or upsetting the relationship between two of the characters), then I write it. I know I’ve done the right thing if my beta readers send me messages saying, “Are you out of your mind?!!!! How could you?” If they do that, then it stays in the story.

8. Stephen King’s front porch light is on but there are no Halloween decorations.
Do you:
a) trick-or-treat and cross your fingers that he’s handing out the good stuff
b) run screaming
c) call your mom to bring your favorite King paperback and beg for an autograph
Teresa says: In order, c, a, b…but, since this is Stephen King’s house, I’m pretty sure b may be the only thing that happens!

9. Congratulations, you just won the literary lottery and sold a million books at full price! The royalty check clears on October 28th. What are you buying for the neighborhood kids?
a) an assortment of mini candybars
b) an assortment of cheap, hard candies
c) full size Hershey bars

Teresa says: C, because I remember what it was like to be a kid and seeing all those mini-bars in the bottom of the bag. Besides, I don’t have to worry about dealing with the kids coming off the sugar high!

10. Your writer friend calls you with some frightening news. They’re giving up on writing, can’t take the pressure any longer. What do you tell them?

Teresa says: I have had someone tell me that. I told my dad the same thing once, and this is what he told me: “Keep writing! You’re writing to tell the stories that you want to tell, and there are people who want to read them. You’ve heard from them; they’ve told you this. As long as you are happy with the stories that you write, that’s what is important. Don’t give up what you’re passionate about. Find a way to do it better, and keep doing it. I’m proud of what you’ve accomplished. Keep it up!”

Connect with Teresa!

The first story I wrote was on the back of old homework papers in the fifth grade. I'm a voracious reader, so it makes sense that I grew up to be a writer. My favorite genre is mysteries. I always knew who did it on "Murder, She Wrote" fifteen minutes into the show!
I try to incorporate humor into my stories because of my wicked sense of humor. Laughter is the best medicine in the world! Throw in a good mystery and you've got the makings for a very enjoyable experience!
The reason there is more conversation in my stories than description is because I want the reader to feel like they are a part of the story. I want you to feel like you are sitting in the room, right there, listening to it as it happens. My mother, who is also a mystery lover, is the main reason I write my stories the way I do: with no graphic violence, no overly descriptive love scenes. Just a good old fashioned mystery with as much humor as possible.
If this is what you are looking for, you've come to the right place! Give my stories a try. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Wondering what #Authtoberfest is all about?

October is upon us and you know what that means; fall leaves, steaming cups of coffee, tea, cocoa, sweatpants, blankets and fires, and… dead things. Ghosts and Zombies and the Apocalypse align. Droves of the undead, aka real live humans, line up to devour it all with a ferocious appetite. I’m no exception. All of my favorite books, TV shows, and movies tend to release in October... Read the rest here.

Today's Authtoberfest featured author is Lisa Weaver!

Lisa Weaver doesn't write spooky books, but she does write fun romances. And she's a fellow Kindle Scout winner. Let's see how she plans to spend All Hallows' Eve.

1. It’s Halloween, pick 3 of your favorite writer buddies to paint the town read with and tell us why you chose them.
Lisa says: I have a lot of favorite writer buddies, so narrowing down the field is a terror inducing exercise. For sheer fun factor, I'd choose Fiona Quinn and you, Meredith. You'd be awesome sisters-in-spook! And, okay, I confess, I'd also like to pick your talented brains for writing advice. And I'd invite Joseph Souza. I have a feeling he'd nail the "Best Costume" contest.

2. You’re ready to head out with your pillowcase to collect loads of confections on All Hallows’ Eve, what’s your costume and why did you choose it?
Lisa says: I'd break out my utility belt, black cape, arm gauntlets, and thigh high boots and channel my inner Batgirl. She's the daughter of a police commissioner (cool) and a librarian (doubly cool). PLUS she gets to fight crime and hang with Batman. *swoon*

3. Old Mrs. Robinson opens her door and you’re holding open your pillowcase patiently waiting. “Oh deary,” she says in her frail, little old-lady voice. “I forgot it was Halloween. Don’t know why you kids go begging anyways. Let me go find something to give you.” She shuffles off and finally returns three and a half minutes later with 5 pennies, 2 peppermint candies that look like they went through the dryer, and her deceased husbands dentures. “Take what you like,” she offers, squinting at you.
What do you choose and why.
Lisa says: Nothing. I'd leave empty-handed and return with a piping hot pizza to share with her. I'd also bring chocolate along to hand out to the rest of her trick-or-treaters. Mrs. Robinson offered up all she had, so she deserves to be treated.

4. I really love reading Dean Koontz but some of his stuff scares the bejesus out of me. What’s the spookiest book you’ve ever read?
Lisa says: Edgar Allen Poe's Tales of Horror, featuring The Tell-Tale Heart. Need I say more?

5. You’re a writer by day and supernatural creature by night. (Shed that human skin you sack of bones) What are you and why?
Lisa says: What a fun question! Angel, shape shifter, dragon...there are so many possibilities! Fairy appeals to my romantic side. And sprinkling Fairy Dust is far more fun than cleaning up the ordinary variety.

6. Every author has a bookshelf filled with his or her favorite reads. Run on over to yours and tell us the scariest book you have.
Lisa says: Stephen King's The Shining.

7. We don’t all write horror but there comes a time when you’ve got to surprise your readers and make sure their hearts are still beating. How do you prepare yourself to get in the spooky writing mood?
Lisa says: I'd dim the lights and settle in to watch The Walking Dead with a little Buffy The Vampire Slayerthrown in for good measure.

8. Stephen King’s front porch light is on but there are no Halloween decorations.
Do you:
a) trick-or-treat and cross your fingers that he’s handing out the good stuff
b) run screaming
c) call your mom to bring your favorite King paperback and beg for an autograph
Lisa says: C.

9. Congratulations, you just won the literary lottery and sold a million books at full price! The royalty check clears on October 28th. What are you buying for the neighborhood kids?
a) an assortment of mini candybars
b) an assortment of cheap, hard candies
c) full size Hershey bars
Lisa says: C. I'm sensing a pattern here.

10. Your writer friend calls you with some frightening news. They’re giving up on writing, can’t take the pressure any longer. What do you tell them?
Lisa says: I'd tell them not to give up, because diamonds are a by-product of pressure.

Connect with Lisa!

Lisa Weaver loves living in Maine, although she occasionally fantasizes about moving to a state with milder temperatures. On the upside, the long, cold winters give her plenty of time to plot her next romance.
Lisa also loves books, and can't imagine a world without the written word to enrich us, inspire us, entertain us, and touch our hearts. She's thrilled to make a small contribution to the treasure trove. She began her writing career penning articles and short stories, but it has long been her dream to write romance novels. Thanks to the Amazon Kindle Scout program, that dream is now a reality. Her debut novel, "The Billionaire's Bodyguard Bride", will be published by Kindle Press in 2015.
Lisa is the first to admit her romances aren't serious literature. She thinks of her stories as fluffy, fun, romantic romps--like decadently rich cupcakes, heavy on the frosting.
She loves to hear from readers! Please drop by and visit her anytime at her website, www.lisaweaverromance.com. You can also keep in touch with the latest Weaver Romance happenings via her Facebook and Twitter pages.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Today's Authtoberfest featured author is JOHN GREGORY HANCOCK!

1. It’s Halloween, pick 3 of your favorite writers to paint the town red with and tell us why you chose them.
John says: I'm assuming living, right ? although, its Halloween, so dead is within the realm. Okay, Living: Stephen King, Zoe Sharp, Clive Barker. Dead: Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft. And by "paint the town red" I mean "have a fantastic conversation with".

2. You’re ready to head out with your pillowcase to collect loads of confections on All Hallows’ Eve, what’s your costume and why did you choose it?
John says: George Clooney, because then my wife will love me. :)

3. Old Mrs. Robinson opens her door and you’re holding open your pillowcase patiently waiting. “Oh deary,” she says in her frail, little old-lady voice. “I forgot it was Halloween. Don’t know why you kids go begging anyways. Let me go find something to give you.” She shuffles off and finally returns three and a half minutes later with 5 pennies, 2 peppermint candies that look like they went through the dryer, and her deceased husbands dentures. “Take what you like,” she offers, squinting at you.
What do you choose and why.
John says: Dentures. always pick dentures. Unless you can be batman, then be batman picking dentures.

4. I really love reading Dean Koontz but some of his stuff scares the bejesus out of me. What’s the spookiest book you’ve ever read?
John says: Well, the book that most creeped me out the most was The Exorcist, because I read it when I was eleven, the only person in the house at night , during a crashing thunderstorm with no electricity and reading it with a flashlight. I should mention this was before the movie came out. My imagination was much, much worse than what Blatty came up with, trust me.

5. You’re a writer by day and supernatural creature by night. (Shed that human skin you sack of bones) What are you and why?
John says: Always be a werewolf. Howling at the moon has to be invigorating. Feasting on the blood of your enemies only more so.

6. Every author has a bookshelf filled with his or her favorite reads. Run on over to yours and tell us the scariest book you have.
John says: The 30 lb. leather covered oversized 150 year old bible with my ancestor's names scrawled in the front. If that isn't the beginning of a great horror story, I don't know what is.

7. We don’t all write horror but there comes a time when you’ve got to surprise your readers and make sure their hearts are still beating. How do you prepare yourself to get in the spooky writing mood?
John says: For my book crawlspace, there is a scene where Ethan is trapped inside an MRI that is too small for him. This happened to me. Writing this scene was reliving it, I was covered in clammy sweat when I finished writing it. I was not born claustrophobic, but since being trapped in a tube and dropping my panic button, unable to breathe, is why I am now.

8. Stephen King’s front porch light is on but there are no Halloween decorations.
Do you:
a) trick-or-treat and cross your fingers that he’s handing out the good stuff
b) run screaming
c) call your mom to bring your favorite King paperback and beg for an autograph
John says: D: break in a side window and start making pig noises.

9. Congratulations, you just won the literary lottery and sold a million books at full price! The royalty check clears on October 28th. What are you buying for the neighborhood kids?
a) an assortment of mini candybars
b) an assortment of cheap, hard candies
c) full size Hershey bars
John says: Nothing. Those neighbor kids didn't write the book for me. And they should get off of my lawn!

10. Your writer friend calls you with some frightening news. They’re giving up on writing, can’t take the pressure any longer. What do you tell them?
John says: If I'm truly a friend, I'll support them no matter what they decide. But if I'm a fellow writer in a horror story, I will tape them to a chair and make them use dictating software to write book 4, dammit because I've waited long enough.

Connect with John Gregory Hancock!

Author Bio:

John Gregory Hancock is a storyteller.
A graphic professional for many years (which is one way to tell a story), his graphic journalism garnered international awards, and was nominated for a Pulitzer. He incorporates his visual sense in his ability to spin compelling yarns.
Currently, he has seven books of his own, and has written for The Future Chronicles anthology series, whose titles have hit the overall Amazon Top 10 Bestsellers list. The Immortality Chronicles - a Top 5 SF Anthology and Hot New Release - featured his story 'The Antares Cigar Shoppe', which was also nominated for Best American Science Fiction.
His work has appeared in other anthologies, including; Prep For Doom, Bite-Sized Offerings: Tales & Legends of the Zombie Apocalypse, Flying Toasters - The DeadPixel Tales, and Off the Kuf.
Hancock is not tied to any one genre, but is comfortable in the science fiction/fantasy/horror realm. Even a dash of humor, at times. The foreword to his 'A Plague of Dreams' says it well:
"These stories, these lies, these Dreamwood Tales, are dipped in the heady ink of my fevered dreams. They travel unique and varied paths to arrive at your shuttered door. I entreat you to undo the latch and let them in to lie upon your hearth. They will not bite. Except for the ones that do."
He lives with his wife and soul mate (who puts up with him, beyond all logic) and a fantastically brilliant son (who thrashes him soundly in video games -- really, it's no contest). They are hopelessly landlocked in Midwest America, far from ocean or desert. Or glacier, come to that.
Like many of his characters, life has shaped and unshaped him.
His fingers itch to write and so far, luckily, people seem to enjoy the things he offers.

______________________

Other Titles by John Gregory Hancock:

Monday, October 5, 2015

Today's Authtoberfest featured author is PETER CAWDRON!

Peter Cawdron is a super awesome dude. He wrote this great book, 'What We Left Behind,' that puts a whole new spin on zombie origins. You all should read it. I would have flown down under to interview him in person but I'm afraid of spiders. So I sent him 37 emails. Let's see what Peter had to say about reading, writing and zombies!

1. It’s the zombie apocalypse and writers have got to stick together to survive. Pick 3 authors to be on your zombie apocalypse killing team and tell us why you’d choose them.
Peter says: Max Brooks, because between World War Z and the Zombie Survival Guide, he’s clearly thought about how to survive in the zombie apocalypse.
Andy Weir, author of The Martian. If we get trapped in a building, he’ll figure out how to science the shit out of the situation. At the very worst, we’ll be eating potatoes for the next decade.
Richard Preston, author of Demon in the Freezer, because seriously, smallpox makes the zombie virus look lame by comparison. Most fictional zombie outbreaks have an R(0) value or reproduction value of 1-2 (being largely based on the R(0) value of rabies which is also spread by bites), whereas at it height, smallpox had an R(0) value of between 11-18. Smallpox was contagious on a level zombie writers don’t even dare imagine, and it was utterly devastating, and yet humanity defeated it. Richard documents concepts such as ring-fencing infected areas in his book, so he’d be a great addition to the team.
Meredith says: I think this is the best group so far! You've included all of my favorite authors! And I loved Demon in the Freezer. What a great book. The biochemist in me devoured that in two days.

2. If Stephen King and J. K. Rowling were drowning in a river, who would you save first? And now you have to tell us why.
Peter says: As much as I love Stephen King’s writing, I’d have to go with J.K. because she came out of obscurity to write novels that stirred a generation and got kids reading for enjoyment again. As a writer, that’s my goal—to have people switch off TV, close down facebook, and forget Candy Crush for a while because they’re so engrossed in reading a novel.

3. We authors are voracious readers. My TBR list is approximately 8 miles long. What are you currently reading?
Peter says: I’m notorious for not finishing books. I started Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama in 2004 and I’m just over half way, and unfortunately the same is true for many a good novel on my kindle. I tend to devour autobiographies and real-life stories (like Richard Preston’s Demon in the Freezer), but it’s a rare fictional book (like World War Z and the Martian) that keeps me flicking pages until the very end.
At the moment, I have four anthologies from the Future Chronicles series on my Kindle, and the Immortality Chronicle is about to drop later this month. I thoroughly enjoy these as they’re short stories, giving me a broad exposure to a variety of writers, and they’re bite size, which suits my reading style.

4. What is the one book that you could read a million times and never get bored with?
Peter says: Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. They’re tough to read, as they were written in the 1800s, but they’re remarkably insightful. I’ve read both of them twice, and still marvel at how far ahead of their time they were. Anything by Carl Sagan and Richard Dawkins quickly falls into a similar category.

5. Last year my favorite read was The Martian by Andy Weir. What was your best read of 2014?
Peter says: I loved The Martian. Well, I hated the monotonous deliberation over potatoes, but once the book got beyond that point, it was engrossing.
My favorite read from last year was Eleanor by Jason Gurley. I had the opportunity to read an early draft, and then a little later the independently published version before it was picked up and re-edited/expanded, so I’m looking forward to reading it a third time when it is re-released in 2016. The writing is solid. Jason’s characterization is brilliant. For me, the mark of a good book is when I forget I’m reading and become engrossed in the characters and the situations they’re facing. Eleanor did that for me.

6. This year my favorite read has been The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. What’s the best book you’ve read so far in 2015?
Peter says: Nomad by Matthew Mather, as it’s a gritty, realistic look at what would happen if a relatively small black hole were to pass through the solar system. At first, such a concept seems absurd, but Matthew paces the book really well and weaves in actual science. His afterword describes how similar celestial intrusions have happened in the past, making it more plausible than I’d like.

7. You’re a writer by day and a superhero by night. (Take off those geeky glasses Superman) What’s your superpower?
Peter says: Oh, I think superpowers are overrated. Everyone loves the Avengers, X-Men and Superman, etc, but the real superpower is intelligence. As a species, we’ve spent thousands of years trying to solve problems with sheer might, but it was only when we started to use brain power that we made some serious progress. The scientific revolution lifted us out of the Dark Ages, blitzed diseases such as Polio and Smallpox, and just a few years ago, Australian researchers developed a vaccine against cervical cancer. Just think how incredible that is… we can prevent a form of cancer from ever occurring! To me, that’s cooler than x-ray vision or flying through the air. And hey, we do fly through the air (in metal cylinders). So I’m with Andy Weir when it comes to things like cancer, let’s “science the shit out of this.”

8. I have writing spots all over my house: my desk, my couch, the patio, and my bed. Where’s your favorite spot to write?
Peter says: At a desk in my bedroom. Boring, I know, but with some soft music playing, it works for me. As for editing and revising, that mostly occurs on an iPad while I’m on the bus going to and from work.

9. We’re supposed to love all of our children equally, but there are some scenes I’ve written that really stick out in my mind. Tell us your favorite scene from one of your books.
Peter says: Zombie bowling… In the novel What We Left Behind, the main characters are faced with hundreds of zombies converging on them, plodding up a hill. And at the time, I didn’t know how I was going to write them out of trouble. So I stopped and thought. What could they use around them. Hey, what about rolling cars down the hill into the zombie horde? And after a few gutter balls, they start collecting strikes. Good clean zombie killing fun :)

10. Sometimes a little too much of myself slips into my characters. Which one of your characters most resembles you?
Peter says: Kane, a bad guy from my novel The Road to Hell. He struggles with the conflict between loyalty and honesty, eventually realizing that loyalty is not such an admirable trait after all. As much as loyalty is lauded in society, real moral strength comes from honesty. And that’s something I personally had to learn in life. In the right context, loyalty is a wonderful attribute, but honesty always trump loyalty.

11. I’ve always got tunes rocking while I’m writing. Tell us five songs that are on your playlist.
Peter says: Rather than individual songs, I hope you’ll allow me to talk about albums, as songs are too short by themselves when writing. Depending on my mood, I enjoy writing to anything from Green Day’s American Idiot to Norah Jones Come Away With Me. Yeah, not the most consistent of music collections, huh? I also enjoy the live albums of David Bowie, John Mayer and Elton John (there’s 8-9 minute version of Rocket Man that is out of this world)
Meredith says: It's like the playlist gods parted a soul and I got half and you got half. I love that version of Rocket Man. And my John Mayer live albums are always on repeat, "Where the Light is: Live in Los Angeles" is my absolute favorite album to listen to.

12. If you could tell an aspiring author one tiny tidbit of information, what would you say?
Peter says: Set realistic expectations, and keep them. Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. Writers are exposed by their writing, and so critical reviews can be tough to take, but keep learning, keep growing as a writer, keep looking for how you can improve, and pace yourself. Write because you love to write, and everything else will fall in place.

Peter says: Thank you for having me on your blog, Meredith. Happy reading & writing.
Meredith says: Thanks Peter! I love your writing. If you haven't read any of Peter's books, you should! Follow the Amazon Author link below and read a few.

Connect with Peter

(This is Peter. He's a cool guy)

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About the author:

Peter is an Australian science fiction writer, specialising in hard science fiction.

Hard science fiction is a misnomer as far as categories of literature go, as it sounds harsh and difficult to understand, but that is far from reality. Hard science fiction is simply plausible science fiction, fiction that is written in such a way as it conforms to the known laws of science, and that makes it more interesting, as there's no magic wand the protagonist can wave to get out of trouble. Peter's forays into hard science fiction could best be described as informative science fiction or enjoyable science fiction.

Peter is a fan of such classic science fiction writers as Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton and their influence on his style and story lines is readily apparent. You can follow Peter on Facebook or Twitter or find him posting some interesting tibit on his blog http://thinkingscifi.wordpress.com/