Blog Archives
D.M. PULLEY: I AM STILL IN SHOCK FROM AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD
D.M. Pulley’s debut novel The Dead Key is currently on the second place at Kindle Amazon Bestselling list. The novel will be officially released on March 1. The story won the Grand Prize of Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for 2014.
We’ve got a chance to speak with D.M. about her book and many other things.
– What the readers will find in your book The Dead Key?
– The Dead Key tells the story of two women separated by twenty years and brought together by the same mystery. In 1998, Iris Latch is a young engineer just starting out in her career and adrift in her life. She is assigned to survey an old bank where she stumbles upon clues to a conspiracy that’s been hidden away in the abandoned building for twenty years. She soon discovers a young secretary named Beatrice Baker left behind a trail of breadcrumbs in 1978 that lead directly to the vault. As Iris follows in Beatrice’s footsteps to uncover the secrets locked in the safe deposit boxes, she realizes too late that the key to the mystery may cost her life.
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ANDREW MILNER: WRITING SONGS IS AS MUCH CREATIVE PROCESS AS WRITING A BOOK
Andrew Milner’s last novel Card School was released two weeks ago. He is our next guest, who will put some light on his new book. It’s time for another fresh interview.
– What is your latest book Card School about?
– Card School is about a ten year old boy Michael Dawson who loses both his parents in a car crash whilst they are on an overseas mission. He is staying with his Auntie until they get back. He never said goodbye as he believed they would return home. His Auntie doesn’t really want him and sends him to boarding school. He has to grow up fast and begins to believe that the school has a dark side, so sets out to find out what it is all about. The answers at times seem to get a bit too close but one unlikely person comes to his aid but it may all be too late.
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MICHELE FAISON: A BAR OF DARK CHOCOLATE KEEPS ME MOTIVATED
Michele Faison’s first novel Ethereal was published two weeks ago. We’ve got a very special chance to speak with her about the book and many more interesting things. It’s time for our next cool Q&A with a fellow author.
– What is your last book Ethereal about?
– Ethereal is close to my heart, a salute to our military and their sacrifices. I grew tired of watching the way service members were depicted in the media or forgotten by nations. However, it wouldn’t be my kind of story unless love were involved and thus the connection between Chase and Trinity. Ethereal is the story of love overcoming adversity in the face of danger and uncertain times and above all, choices.
OWEN H. LEWIS: SCI-FI GIVES ME A CLEAN SLATE TO START OVER AGAIN
Owen H. Lewis recently published his debut novel The Mark of Man. He dropped a real estate business in order to concentrate in writing. Let’s hear his story.
– What is your last book, The Mark of Man, about?
– The Mark of Man is a novel about a future where humanity’s cannon of accepted philosophies are challenged and our passive inertia is confronted.
The central premise concerns a mark on the wrist which indicates the date of death of the holder – contrary to previous tales; this is posited as a genetic anomaly. So the race is not a simple chase and pursuit tale from evil overlords with a reliance on the familiar clichés and tenets, but one that concerns the whole of humankind and compels everybody (including the reader) to try to find an answer to this ticking doomsday clock.
The book races along as a first rate adventure yarn with the protagonist counting down the days he has left, whilst trying to come to terms with losing the love of his life. Fate however seems intent on throwing them back together.
The discovery of another Earth like planet gives hope for a solution to ‘The Mark’ and an expedition is mounted. The subsequent settlement is explored in remarkable detail. Political layers are exposed and the society revealed carries real depth, as our characters become intertwined in some of the darker corners of this new world and the secrets it holds.
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MONTGOMERY MAHAFFEY: I TURN A FABLE INTO A NOVEL
Montgomery Mahaffey is one of those rare classical storytellers. Few months ago she published her book Ella Bandita and the Wanderer. The author polished herself in the cold Alaska. It’s time for another Q&A with the next interesting writer.
– What is your book Ella Bandita and the Wanderer about?
– I once heard an editor say: “Don’t tell me your story is about love and redemption because all stories are about love and redemption.” She was right and mine is no different. But isn’t it marvelous how many different stories can come from one theme? My particular take on this theme involves a predatory seductress who is mad, bad, and dangerous to know – and the people who helped shape her, and an adventurer frozen in grief who won’t go away because he can’t bring himself to go home.
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BAIBIN NIGHTHAWK: READERS ARE WARY WHEN UNKNOWN AUTHOR PUBLISHES THEIR FIRST BOOK
Baibin Nighthawk is just like me, a new author, who published his first novel. It was a common effort with another writer Dominick Fencer. Their novel Black Hawk Day Rewind reminds me with its title to the of one of my favorite movies Black Hawk Down. So I was very curious to know more about the book!
– What is your book Black Hawk Day Rewind about?
– Black Hawk Day Rewind is a techno spy thriller, the first episode of a trilogy.
– How did you decide to write the story?
– We are both fans of the spy-fi and thriller genres and, being business consultants, we spend many hours travelling from one client to another, and during these trips we began creating many characters and plots. I was already a writer, so one day we decided to write a spy thriller.
– You teamed up with Dominick Fencer to co-write the story. How did that work out?
– We complement each other quite well both as business partners and writers. I have a broad knowledge of history and Dominick has a strong science background.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– We spend many, many hours gathering information because our stories are inspired by contemporary events.
– Tell us something more about your main character? Is it close to someone from your real life?
– Mark Savannah is the lead character who has outgrown his uses as a special agent. Mark lost his dad in this field of work and began to wrestle with his demons, his need for answers and revenge. He is a spy, lover and psychiatrist…an interesting fictional character who tries to confront his past and at the same time find happiness in life. So, no, he isn’t really close to any one person.
– How much time you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– About 12 months.
– You have won several poetry awards. Tell us more about your experience in the genre?
– Poetry is a literary genre not widely read or appreciated. Poetry depicts inner landscapes; simply you do not create it yourself, a poem comes like a flooded river and has to be short otherwise it bores even me. Unlike novels or short stories, I do not plan a poem and sometimes I do not perceive it clearly for months.
– Who are you?
– I am a writer, a Business Consultant, and a member of Art of Ink in America Society. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Certificate in Art (Teaching).
– What are your writing habits?
– I write at night in my studio.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of the book and do you plan another one?
– Readers are generally wary when an unknown author publishes their first book, and does not have a popular publisher behind that drives them, and this is understandable. The market offering is wide, there are many literary genres and many people attempt to act as an author without preparation, proposing works poorly written to the market. In our case, we have started to see the first good results; and since our editor likes the second episode of the trilogy, we are confident that the readers will love it, too. In fact, in addition to the last episode of the trilogy, we have a sci-fi project which we’re already working on.
– What are you doing to promote your book in the best way?
– Social Networks are very important for us. We are active on social media networks, forums, platforms such as GoodReads and Wattpad.
– How did you start to practice calligraphy and what kind of emotion does this demanding art give you?
– I started 12 years ago. Calligraphy was the first art of the literati and has been recognized as an art since the Eastern Han epoch (25-220). Calligraphy, which is monochrome painting, using black ink and various dilutions of water, transfers vital energy on to paper, the qi of what I intend to represent and write and also my inner energy, so the emotions of the moment are transferred onto the sheet in the characters and in the spaces, and if you make a mistake you can not correct the work. An emotion from a fleeting moment in time.
– What is the story of your pen name and what is your real one?
– My co-author and I have a passion for flying and we chose to use the names of two fighter aircraft. The pen name of Dominick, ‘Fencer’, is the nickname of a supersonic aircraft (the Sukhoi Su-24). Nighthawk is the name of a twin-engine stealth aircraft. I am a Swiss citizen, but we do not want to use our real names for reasons of confidentiality; we prefer to keep our passion for writing and our every day working lives separate.
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