Indie Author Spotlight: Samantha Picaro

Join me today for an interview with Samantha Picaro, author of Limitless Roads Café:

Tell me a little about your journey as a writer.

I became an author through years of writing stories (cliché as that may sound), and finally having one I felt ready to share. Writing is the best, most comfortable way I have always communicated, as verbal communication has always been hard and even scary as an autistic woman with anxiety disorder.

How do you come up with your stories?

 I’d like to say it’s walks through nature but, alas, my inspiration is more modern and more indoors than outdoors. Haha. A movie or TV show with a really unique premise and/or theme could inspire me, and sometimes social media gives me ideas. Social media inspires me with information I didn’t know before, or whenever someone talks about a plot or type of character they don’t see enough of in fiction.

Tell me a little about the books you like to read and the book you've written.  

There are too many books and too many genres to name my favorites. I can tell you what I typically like in a plot: a main character with a specific goal, like winning a contest or reconnecting with a family member. My favorite genres are Young Adult Fiction (any subgenre) and Adult Fiction. Memoirs and nonfiction are also a great way to pass time, especially if they have social justice themes.

Now, on to what you really want to hear: the plot of my book, “Limitless Roads Café.” This Young Adult Contemporary takes place in summer in New Jersey. The main character, Kinsey Fontana, works at a café hiring teens with any type of disability, and Kinsey is autistic. This aspiring event planner plans a fundraiser to prevent the café from closing with help from her former best friend Melissa Castillo.

Thanks, Samantha.  Good luck with everything!

Find Samantha Picaro here:  www.samanthapicarowrites.com
Instagram: @author.samantha.picaro
Facebook: Author Samantha Picaro
TikTok: @authorsamanthap
Twitter: @Samwritesya

Buy her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Limitless-Roads-Cafe-Samantha-Picaro/dp/B0C52L1J81

Shanakan by Tim Stead

Shanakan is another great fantasy novel by independent author Tim Stead.

I love the characters and world-building.  The writing is also very good, with many beautiful or thought-provoking lines.  

Things do come a bit too easily.  Though the characters face many obstacles, everything they try works, and people are easily won over.  The optimistic, want-to-change-the-world part of me loves these big successes, however, and I really enjoyed reading about them.    

The ending also goes on a little longer than I'm used to.  It's realistic.  After all, defeating the bad guy isn't really the end…rebuilding the world is.  That's very cool.  Just be ready for a longer denouement than you may be used to. 

Serhan, the main character, is capable and powerful and awe-inspiring, but also very human.  Tim Stead does a spectacular job with characters like this (I also love the character of Narak from The Seventh Friend ). 

The novel easily stands alone, but it also leaves room for a sequel, and I would certainly read it…or anything else by Tim Stead.

4.5 stars 

Click to see my review of The Seventh Friend and an interview with the author.

Indie Author Spotlight: Sean DeLauder

The Least Envied

by Sean Delauder

Everyone Has a Story
Cast back in time to a perilous wasteland, Andrew is tasked with recording the fate of an individual history has chosen to ignore. Threatened by knee-high creatures called Wogs, an enigmatic beast known as the Forest Monster, and the man orchestrating the slow annihilation of the world, Andrew discovers all hope for salvation and survival rests with a boy without a history. 

My Review:

“The Least Envied” is an unusual book from the get-go, full of interesting philosophy, subtle humor, and strange happenings. It begins in a surreal, underpopulated wasteland and follows a would-be hero who gets advice from inanimate objects. Other adventurers include a timid writer sent to chronicle the life of the would-be hero and a tired angel-type who doesn’t really believe his fight against Ultimate Evil will succeed. My only problem is the pacing and repetition. It’s a long book, and not enough happened to justify the length.  There was quite a bit of repetition, especially around the nature of heroes and “Unless.” I know that’s the point of the book, but I think it would have been even more powerful if it were not repeated so much. Other than that, the writing was really good, often poetic, with great word choice and interesting images. I highlighted several really outstanding passages, and may add a couple of the profound lines to my collection of quotes. The similarity of Jim’s and John’s names confused me a little—I’d forget sometimes who was who—but I think that was intentional, and once I reached the end, I decided that it rather worked, and added to the parallels between the world of “The Least Envied” and our own belief systems. I loved the wogs and the things that talked to Billy Bob. I loved the information posts and the clever humor and the idea that heroes were mostly…tall. I look forward to reading more by Sean DeLauder.

Author Interview:

1)   The Least Envied is an unusual story. Where did you get your inspiration?

I used to hate Westerns. They were trite and predictable and full of stereotypes. So, naturally, I wanted to take something so full of recognizable characters and turn them all on their head because that’s what I enjoy doing—taking the familiar and making it unfamiliar. Granted, anyone familiar with Joseph Campbell is going to be able to pick out a few general themes, but I tried to add my own particular twists to these as well.

As the story progressed I felt certain philosophical questions pop up that I thought it would be interesting to address. For example, what is a hero? We all have a picture in our brain with stereotypical characteristics, but really, what does it take to be a hero in a world where it’s dangerous to be one? What is the motivation?

Other questions arose as I went along, including existential questions such as what is our purpose; what would a god that controlled everything but insisted on being invisible be like, and what would be its motivations; what would be the motivation of anyone given a “divine” mission and what would be their state of mind after seeing it fail over and over again.

Of course, this story grew into far more than a mere Western, and the desert with which Westerns are often associated became a wasteland on a ruined planet. The story became less Western and more fantasy and science fiction, which is where much of my stories fit. My imagination tends to twist ordinary tropes into an indistinguishable blizzard of genres.

2) I loved the wogs, the scary little creatures I imagined as deadly mechanized zombie goats. Which were your favorite characters to write?

That’s a hard question to answer. I loved writing all of my primary characters. To flip that around, I had a more difficult time writing characters I didn’t like, if only because I didn’t like their characteristics. Characters such as Hobert, who was selfish and deliberately ignorant, I didn’t particularly enjoy writing, but I did enjoy making him look like a buffoon. And while those around him as well as other buffoons couldn’t see him for what he was, I’m confident readers will have no difficulty identifying his self-gratifying brand of stupidity.

3) Is the somewhat timid historian in the book based in any part on you?

Absolutely.

If you passed my personality through a prism, you would get the characters in this story on the other side: the bitter, frustrated writer; the hopeful boy who wants to make a difference; the irritable old man who sees failure and futility everywhere; the god who has faith in humanity; the girl who sees all her efforts wasted; etc.

It’s probably true that all writers put something, or a lot, of themselves into their works. It may be necessary in order to write an honest story. Of the many I’ve written, I think this one has the most of me.

4) What’s the best thing about writing? The most difficult thing?

More than anything, I enjoy the opportunity to let my imagination run wild when writing. Once I’ve come up with several utterly absurd scenarios, the fun is finding a way to tie them all together. I’m sure it comes as something of a shock to a reader when a bunch of gibberish abruptly makes sense.

In terms of difficulty, I don’t know that I have any trouble writing. Finding time to do it is usually my problem. That said, I feel that may work to my advantage because it allows characters and situations to steep for a longer period, which means I have a better understanding of what they’re like when I finally sit down to write. And if I know a character’s personality, how they will behave in certain situations, the writing is very organic and extremely easy.

5) Can you share some of your own favorite books?

The best books I’ve ever read are T.H. White’s The Once and Future King and Richard Adams’ Watership Down. The former makes an abundance of observations about the human condition in comical and profound fashion, while the latter is a brilliant example of mythbuilding. With rabbits. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos is another favorite because it shares my philosophical views about human potential and disappointing shortfalls.

6) What are you writing now?

At the moment I’m mulling several projects. The sequel and prequel to The Least Envied, as well as an autobiography of Robin Hood. Those have taken a back seat for a murder mystery about a detective investigating a string of decapitations in the northeast during the 1980s. Because, naturally, I hate murder mysteries. As stated earlier, this means I’m going to take that trope and try to turn it upside down.

7) How can readers find you?

I’m all over the place. I don’t have a tumblr or my own webpage, but I’m everywhere else:

Twitter - @seandelauder

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5446542.Sean_DeLauder

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/seanquistador

Google+ - Seanquistador@gmail.com

This author has held several positions in recent years, including Content Writer, Grant Writer, Obituary Clerk, and Staff Writer, and is under the false impression that these experiences have added to his character since they have not contributed much to his finances. He was awarded a BFA in Creative Writing and Journalism and a BA in Technical Communication by Bowling Green State University because they are giving and eager to make friends. He has a few scattered publications with The Circle magazine, Wild Violet, Toasted Cheese, and Lovable Losers Literary Revue, and resides in the drab, northeastern region of Ohio because it makes everything else seem fascinating, exotic, and beautiful.

Indie Author Spotlight: Barbara Paetznick

The Book:

It’s October 1955, an era of Eisenhower politics and stringent sexual roles. The airways have recently given birth to rock ‘n’ roll. James Dean has just died in that sexy, low-slung Porsche of his, and in the sleepy little town of Windhaven, Minnesota, Sibyl Webber has succumbed to pneumonia. The lives of her closest relatives are about to be transformed.

Young Natalie cannot mask her grief for her grandmother, but she dreams that the return of her absent father may fill the emptiness inside her. Her emotionally damaged father, however, has his own demons to fight.

Natalie’s mother, Alice, is once again dating her beau from high school, the fast-car-driving rock ‘n’ roll aficionado, Jake Baker, who has been more of a father to Natalie than anyone else and who doesn’t like the idea of her biological father’s return to Windhaven. A surprise in Sibyl’s will allows Alice to pursue a deferred dream, but is it a blessing or a curse?

Helen, the maiden aunt who still lives in the stately old family home with Natalie and her mother, hides a dark secret. But with the death of her controlling mother, she reevaluates her life and decides to make an unconventional proposal.

A Time of Need invites the reader to examine the lives of these fascinatingly flawed characters.

My Review: 

A Time of Need, by Barbara Paetznick, is a beautifully written peek into the culture of rural 1950s Minnesota. 

The book is full of compelling, well-drawn characters.  It’s fascinating to explore the differences between sisters Helen and Alice and between Jake and Benjamin, two men important in Alice’s life.  I love watching young Natalie and how her imagination tries to modify her reality.  The story begins with the death of Sibyl, who is Helen and Alice’s mother, Natalie’s grandmother, a character pivotal in the lives of all the characters.  We don’t know Sibyl except through the characters’ memories and opinions of her.  This creates a fantastic study of the dichotomy possible in how people view each other.  Really insightful…and realistic.

There are several very touching, emotional scenes, yet the author does it without melodrama.  The prose is lyrical and warm.  The plot moves well.  It’s an absorbing read, and I look forward to more from Barbara Paetznick.

Exclusive Author Interview:

1)  A Time of Need takes place in the 1950s in a small town in Minnesota.  Did any of the inspiration for the book come from your own life, growing up in a similar setting?

The answer is yes and no. I grew up in rural Minnesota in a small post-war bungalow, but the isolation that the youngest Webber female, Natalie, experiences was definitely similar to my own. The old Victorian home that the main characters of A Time of Need live in is a home that my husband, author/historian Lloyd Hackl, and I moved into after our marriage. It became center stage for my main characters.

2)  If you could have dinner with one of the characters from A Time of Need, who would it be and why?

My choice would be Benjamin Raleigh, a tragic boy whose personality is shaped by his alcoholic mother and pious minister father and further crippled by the violence of his experiences as a soldier during World War II. In my opinion Benjamin is the most complex of any of my characters and the tragic hero of this novel. It gave me great comfort as an author to give him some small modicum of love and peace as his life slowly moves forward in the novel.

3)  What is one of your favorite scenes in the book?

I truly enjoyed writing all of the sections in which different types of music took center stage. I hope that my musical choices, and at times lyrics, became actual characters within the novel.

4)  What’s your favorite thing about writing?  What’s the most difficult?

I love the rewrites and editing far more than the original hard work of the first draft. With the help of my awesome critique partners, who are both tough and fair with their comments of my submissions, I enjoy going back into my original manuscript to make my feelings and messages clearer. Often I learn new facets of my ever-so-interestingly-flawed characters I hadn’t even known existed.

5)  You also write poetry.  Can you tell us a little about that?

The poetry I write is, to coin a cliché, truly from the heart. I find being able to capture a time, an experience, a thought, in as few words as possible a marvelous and rewarding challenge.

6)  What are you writing now?

My latest endeavor is a rewrite of an old manuscript, Whistling Girls and Crowing Hens. This novel takes place in the same Victorian home that the Webbers of A Time of Need occupied several decades earlier. Whistling Girls central character, Rebecca Morgan, is a middle-aged English teacher who has recently lost her husband to a sudden death and is dealing with near crippling grief. As the story unfolds, in alternating chapters the reader meets the young Rebecca and, in first person narrative, learns of the little girl and the experiences that shaped her into the grieving widow she has become. The reader also becomes involved in two students’ lives—that of a meek young lady and her boyfriend, a young man who as a youngster suffered abuse and witnessed great violence. At the time of the novel, both their lives have spiraled out of control and, ultimately, their dramas lock into that of Rebecca’s destiny in a confrontation that is bound to cost any or all of them their lives. The ultimate question that the reader will face is how a person survives and continues a life having lived through great trauma. I hope to have this novel available the summer of 2015.

7)  How can readers find you?

My novel, A Time of Need, is available on Amazon. Just type in my name, or visit my Amazon author page.

Buy A Time of Need on Amazon

As with the character of Helen Webber in A Time of Need, Barbara Paetznick was a high school English teacher in Minnesota for fifteen years. 

She has won many competitions and awards for her short stories and poems, including first prize in the National Humanities Advancement competition for poetry, the Writer’s Digest first prize, and the Amelia Award for Poetry. 

She has devoted the last several years to full-time writing and thoroughly enjoys “hanging out” with her characters.

Indie Author Spotlight: Tim Stead

The Seventh Friend, by Tim Stead

Review and Author Interview

From Goodreads:

Hero. Monster. Saviour. Butcher. Madman. Recluse. Wolf Narak, the deadly and charismatic god of wolves, has earned all the names men give him, and since the climactic and bloody final battle of the Great War he has shunned the company of mortal men and withdrawn to his forest home. There he is troubled by dreams of blood and fire, tormented by memories of his own deeds. 

But fate has not quite finished with the victor of Afael. 

He receives an impossible message, and as he follows the trail a suspicion grows to a certainty within him. War is coming again, and Narak must leave his beloved wolves and once more take up his twin blades. Once again he must become the general of the six kingdoms, the terror of his enemies, a hero, a butcher, the bloodstained god

My Review:

The writing here is beautiful, the imagery and characterization very good.  The worldbuilding is fascinating, complex, and epic, while the story stays very close to the characters, which is the best of both worlds.  I love the cultural differences between the five kingdoms and the Seth Yarra. I couldn’t always keep all the ancillary geography and political structure straight, but Tim Stead did a really good job of subtly re-explaining what was necessary as he went, so I never had trouble following the actual story.  If the academic geography essay in the prologue puts you off, just skip it and go back later if you need a refresher on the layout of the kingdoms. 

Some parts are too detailed for my taste, and there’s a bit of repetition.  I may not have noticed these had the book not been so very long.  For example, the final battle builds up for a long time, in great detail, and then ends rather abruptly, followed by a really lengthy denouement.  I really enjoyed the novel, but I would have enjoyed it even more if it had been trimmed a bit.

I would also have liked to see a few more female characters with the same depth as the male characters, who are wonderfully drawn.  Narak is fantastic, as are many of the others, and I love getting in the head of the Seth Yarra spy.  Well done there.

There are a few typos, but not enough to distract from the enjoyment of the story or the excellent writing.  This is the quality independent authors need to aspire to.

This is a great story, with great writing, and so close—so very close—to earning five stars, something I don’t give out liberally.  I will certainly read the next book.

êêêê+

And read my review of another of Tim Stead's novels:  Shanakan

Exclusive Interview with the author:

I loved Narak’s character.  Was he your favorite character to write, or did you have another?

I have always been fascinated by characters with real power. What is it that restrains them? Why don't they run amok? Narak is constrained by conscience and a deep mistrust of his own personality. It is conscience that redeems him. I really can't say if he was my favorite character, but he was certainly the most fun to write. Many of my major characters, Narak included, are fragments of my own personality broken off, exagerated and distorted by the funhouse mirror of fiction. Cain Arbak is another that is close to my heart. When I wrote the first chapter when Narak met Cain it was going to be Cain's only chapter, but Narak liked him, and so he survived to grow and become a rival focus for the tale.

Narak is the wolf god.  Other members of the Benetheon are gods of sparrows, bears, and other animals.  If you were one of the Benetheon, what animal would you have an affinity with?

A sloth? Perhaps not, though I do confess to enjoying sitting down with a good book, sitting down to write, sitting around with friends and a beer or a glass of wine - sitting seems to feature prominently. As a former diver I have to say that it would be hard to go past a dolphin. I met one once, a lone dolphin off the coast of the UK in about twenty feet of water. I juggled for it (that's hard underwater) which it seemed to like. We shook fins and went our seperate ways. Yes, I think a bottlenose dolphin.

Though the Seth Yarra are universally feared and hated by the people of the Six Kingdoms, their culture and traditions have some redeeming qualities, and that’s part of what makes the book so interesting.  What would you say the best things about the Seth Yarra are? 

Now that's an interesting question! I deliberately made Seth Yarra society egalitarian - a quality I much admire - but handicapped them with a destructive dogma. It's a poke at how I see fundementalist societies, those that persecute difference and change. The majority of people do well in such societies, but they tend to stagnate. The kingdoms on the other hand revel in their freedoms but are quite firmly elitist, and not especially troubled by the condition of the poorest among them. Like Narak, we tend to side with freedom, but for the Seth Yarra it's more important that everyone has enough to eat and a house to live in. How can you not find good in a society that cares for its citizens?

How long did it take you to write, revise, and publish The Seventh Friend? 

 If you stitched all the time I spent on it together, probably about a year. At the time I was writing a steady 5,000 words a week, perhaps a little more. Chronologicaly it probaby took three years. After I finished it I went on the write the other two in the series almost without pausing. At the same time I was offering the book to various agents and publishers with no success (though one complimented me on my writing - I'm not sure the others got past the submission letter). After I'd completed five novels and got some pretty good feedback I decided to go indie and see what happened.

What are some of your favorite fantasy books or series?

I have to start with Lord of the Rings, which I re-read quite recently. It still presses all the right buttons if you can get past the absence of women in leading roles. Robin Hobb's Assassin books are good. My reading of George Martin has been overtaken by the TV series. I loved the first book, but will probably wait for the show to finish and then some before I resume with the second. Pat Rothfuss is entertaining, though I fear the third book is too long delayed and may be just too long when it comes out. I have a problem with books over a thousand pages - there is a tendency to ramble. I like Naomi Novik's dragons and ships, Kate Elliott's Crossroads (Gate) series, Michelle Sagara's Cast in ... series. I could go on for ever, but can't stop without mentioning Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, which started me down this road, and Mikhail Bulgakov's Master and Margarita, which is a slightly more challenging read, but quite exceptional (check out the reviews for this on amazon - it's a love or hate it book).

What are you writing now?

I'm writing a fill in novel - The Lawkeeper of Samara - for an unpublished series (The Fourth Age of Shanakan). This is seriously ambitious for me, so I will expand on it a little. There is a main series of novels which concern another power figure who is not totally unlike Wolf Narak, but the first book picks up his tale when he's no more than eighteen. There are three books in this series, but they are widely spaced. Allied to these are several other 'Mage' books that deal with the lives and times of other Mages living in the same place and time. Then, just for the fun of it, I'm adding a fantasy detective who will be solving a series of bizarre cases in the great city of Samara - that's what I'm writing now (71,000 words done). There will also be an explorer/mathematician character with his own series, and more may be added. I have no idea how many books it will take to finish this - it depends on how many people like it, I guess, but I can't see it being less that 12 books in total. Hope I live long enough :-)

How can people find you online?

I have a website at: http://www.timstead.info/
You can find me on Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8120958.Tim_Stead
You can find me on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tim-Stead/e/B00JEKIE2I/

About Tim Stead:

Born in the UK, lived in Hong Kong, London, Hampshire, and eventually moved to New Zealand.

Always seem to be moving to more deserted places.

He wasted many years not writing, but now has the time to devote to it. He has written six books, three of which are available on Amazon (The Sparrow and the Wolf trilogy). The others will follow, as will editions for Createspace and Smashwords.

He writes fantasy because it is so open to the imagination, which is half the fun, and also because it permits exaggerated explorations of humanity and all its excesses.

He is a former avid scuba diver, a former beekeeper, and a very poor skier, archer and fencer.

Torn between reading and writing, but writing is winning.

He now spends most of his time writing, reading, planting trees, cutting them down and cutting them up, and trying to persuade people to read his books.

Second Life, by RJ Crayton

Second Life, by R.J. Crayton

From the Book Cover:

After helping friend Kelsey flee the country in Life First, Susan Harper is being held captive by the government in the thrilling sequel, Second Life. As the normally feisty Susan’s hopes of freedom dwindle, a mysterious stranger sneaks into her room and promises to help her.

Susan and mystery man Rob grow close as he tries to orchestrate her escape. When the duo discovers the truth behind Susan’s captivity, they realize she is in grave danger, and they must act quickly. Susan and Rob will need more than passion for each other and their wits to succeed. They will need help from old friends, including Kelsey.

Susan gave Kelsey a chance at a second life, but will she get her own?

My Review:

I enjoyed First Life, and also Second Life, the sequel.  I would have preferred the book to center a little more heavily on the suspense and dystopian aspects, and a little less on the romance, but that’s mostly a personal preference.  Still, I think the romance got in the way of the plot sometimes, and the arguments between Susan and Rob could have maybe been trimmed. 

The errors and punctuation quirks weren’t frequent or distracting enough to detract from the story, and the writing was good.

Susan’s first few chapters really drew me in, and the story kept me reading.  I finished it faster than any other book I’ve read recently, which is always a good sign with me.

Though Rob was a little too perfect, I really enjoyed seeing the gray areas within the characters of Dr. Grant and Dr. Patricia Donnelly.

Second Life is an enjoyable book, with some great tension, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes their dystopian seasoned with a lot of romance.

êêêê

Buy Second Life here

Read my review of Life First and an interview with the author, RJ Crayton

The Last Innocent, by K. Chrisbacher

  

Indie Author Spotlight:  

The Last Innocent, by K. Chrisbacher

From Amazon:

Twenty-two-year-old Sarah Croshen’s life changes when the police kill an intruder in her house and she meets the handsome detective David Galpren. From there, the truth quickly unravels. She is a veiled Innocent and the world is not at it seems. Winged angels? Demons from Hell? Supreme mortals with supernatural abilities? Preposterous! But when a demon prince kidnaps her best friend, Sarah must fulfill a destiny she never asked for, or risk her friend’s life.

My Take:

The Last Innocent is exciting, and its take on angel and demon lore is interesting, especially the demi-demons and their daily influence on man.  Very creepy.

The characters are well-drawn.  The good guys are brave and self-sacrificing without being too perfect.  The villain is terrifyingly charming.  Other characters lie in fascinating shades of gray.  Sarah, our heroine, is strong and a little sassy, and her wit acts as a perfect balance for the weight of the problems she faces. 

The Last Innocent teems with inner struggles, searches for identity, and forbidden love.  K. Chrisbacher's skillful writing lets us experience all this tension and uncertainty right along with the characters, and the edge-of-your-seat final conflict left me wanting more.

If you like angels, demons, and cosmic struggles, you'll love this book.

  

Exclusive Interview with the Author, K Chrisbacher:

1)  What was your favorite scene to write in The Last Innocent?

That’s a hard one. Hmmm… Can I have two favorites? I really enjoyed the library scene where Sarah first sees David in spirit form, when Shagah uses her abilities to boost Sarah’s empathic energies. My imagination soared at what a Warrior angel would look like. It took a few rewrites to finally capture on paper what my mind’s eye saw, but reading other people’s reaction to the scene, I think I did it justice.

My second favorite scene would have to be the one between Graeme and Balthazar in the “Roll the Dice” chapter. I found that as time progressed, I really got a kick out of Graeme McCleod’s character. As for Balthazar, I stressed over him for quite a while. Of course, this scene is Balthazar’s first appearance in the story and so I wanted it to be a pretty big moment while staying realistic. Once I started, though, the scene, and honestly the whole chapter, just wrote itself. But really, I just loved the whole smarmy, evilness to Balthazar and how Graeme McCloud’s façade of confidence was shaken to the core at this encounter. I think that’s when I really fell for Graeme. He’s not as tough as he wants us to believe.

2)  Sarah, the main character, has a lot of clever and sometimes sarcastic lines.  Did you spend a lot of time writing these retorts, or did they come out naturally?

Funny you should ask this. These lines came quite naturally. This is definitely one of my own character traits that I mirrored for my female protagonist.

3)  Did you do a lot of research for the book?  It really sounds like you know your stuff.

Thank you. I think there might just be as many hours of research into the whole story line as there are hours spent writing it. I have SO many references, pages and pages that I am constantly looking over. I definitely need to find a better way to keep my notes and references more organized.

4)  What's been the most challenging thing about writing/publishing?

Oh, boy. Do we have enough time? I made just about every novice mistake there is when I first started. Hindsight is 20-20. I actually wrote a blog on my website dedicated to my novice errors. But mostly I would boil it down to my lack of education in grammar that’s proven to be my biggest hindrance. English was never my strength in school. And I never took a creative writing class until after I wrote my first manuscript—which is boxed and hidden under my bed. I found out the hard way, creative writing is not easy. Couple that with very poor grammar skills and that’s a recipe for challenge for sure. I’m better now, but in the scheme of things, I still struggle with grammar (as my critique partners can attest).

5)  What's the thing you like best about writing?

Being able to live out the movie that plays in my head. Like a motion picture that I can stop and start at will. A wonderful place that I wish I never had to leave. My desire to share these (stories) with the world is what drove me to writing to begin with. It wasn’t enough for me to enjoy it all by myself anymore. I felt compelled to put it down on paper and share it with everyone. The feeling of watching it take on a life of its own is addicting. Being a part of something bigger than yourself is truly wonderful. The editing part is the not-so-fun part, but I think it’s worth it in the end.

6)  What are some other Urban Fantasy books that you enjoy?

Urban Fantasy is a sub-genre that can encapsulate versions of: speculative fiction, dystopian, suspense, thriller, romance, etc. It is a form of fantasy that stays close to a “real world” feel with elements of the supernatural, and typically written in an urban setting. My favorite authors would be Dave Stern’s, Tomb Raider series, and Neil Gaiman’s, Neverwhere.

7)  Some people aren't familiar with the "New Adult" genre.  Could you explain it a little?

To me, New Adult is that amazingly magical age where a person is now legal, more than likely done with school, and is looking for that one last big adventure before career and life starts to get in the way.

I think it’s a perfect fit for mature teens who are looking for the next level, but not ready for the heavier “grown-up” themes. The college age group who loves the YA feel, but yearns for a bit more than what the typical YA novels offers. And finally, for the older young-at-heart group who are looking to fondly recapture that wonderful age of innocence (no pun intended).

8)  What are you writing now?

Book two of Dimensions: PROPHECY

9)  How can people contact you?

Through my website at: www.kchrisbacherauthor.weebly.com

Buy The Last Innocent at Amazon.
Also available at other online e-book retailers.

More About K. Chrisbacher:

Although raised in Arizona's "Wild West" K. Chrisbacher longed for the mountains. So in 2013, after her children had flown the coop, she fulfilled her lifelong dream and moved to the mountains of Arkansas. She now lives with her husband and two dogs on their sprawling 19 acres they lovingly refer to as "Acorn Acres."

K. Chrisbacher didn't realize her passion for writing until she turned 44, when quite by accident she put pen to paper (more like fingertips to keyboard) and began to write out the stories that danced around in her imagination. Since then she's written two manuscripts-- the second of which is her debut novel The Last Innocent -- with two more in the works. Becoming a successful published author has become her goal in life.

Indie Author Spotlight: R. Leib

Indie Author Spotlight:  R. Leib

The Negative's Tale

Amazon description:

On a space station in Earth orbit, something terrible has happened to Bertie Lindermann. Normally, the investigation would be a job for station security, but this is not normally. Allon Wu might be the last person anyone would pick to unravel a high profile mystery, but circumstances have thrust that responsibility upon him. With deceit the order of the day, who is not a suspect? Is this an isolated incident, or the precursor of a maelstrom that could throw Kostya station into chaos? With an unknown deadline, uncertain resources, and a personal tale of fantastic obsession, can he navigate the currents of intrigue and curtail what may be an evolving crisis before it is too late?

My take:  

I really like the science fiction sections of this story.  They have the feel and excitement of good old-fashioned sci fi, set on spaceships and space stations and strange planets.  There are alien races, new technologies, clone dilemmas, and interesting space-related issues.  I love how the main character sells fresh, "designer" air to people on the space station who are tired of recycled air.

Overall, the story does fees a little unfocused.  Along with the classic sci-fi elements, there are psychic powers that feel more like fantasy.  The long flashbacks to Allon's education remind me of a boy-goes-to-school-of-magic story.  Bits read like a joke book.  Then there's the murder mystery/detective story worked in, and a romance.  The narration jumps back and forth in time a lot, sometimes awkwardly.  The point of view also shifts, often in the same scene.  This used to be common in literature, and thus maybe fits with the classic sci fi tone, but it isn't in vogue at the moment, and risks jarring the reader.  There's nothing really wrong with any of these elements individually, and many are very entertaining, but all together they create a story that isn't as cohesive as it could be.

The Negative's Tale has some errors and typos, but the writing is pretty good.

This is the first book I've actually used my Kindle dictionary with, which is sort of cool.  Most of the unknown words are biological, shipping, or computer jargon, and context explains most of them well enough, but it's fun to learn something.

Despite any issues, the book is enjoyable and very creative.  What's more, it doesn't repeat and over-explain everything to death, as so many books tend to do.  Great job on that, Leib!  

It also earns my wholesomeness stamp of approval:  not a lot of graphic or gratuitous violence, no major "adult" situations, not a lot of profanity.  I love novels that prove you can have a good story without all that.   

And I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the conversations with the computer.  I laughed out loud several times.

I would definitely try future works by this author.

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Buy The Negative's Tale on Amazon

*I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

Interview with R. Leib:

-In The Negative's Tale, some people have clones that they essentially use for spare parts.  How likely do you think this is in our own future?  

It depends on the ability to do mitotic rather than meiotic cloning.  Current cloning technology is by meiosis.  An egg manipulated by somatic cell nuclear transfer is implanted and goes through natural development.  If you want the equivalent of a 20 year old human, this method will take 20 years to make one.  On the other hand, cloning by mitosis (cell division) can produce adult tissue in a much shorter time.  If we could take cells from a person and clone them into the parts that constitute a human body, it would give us two advantages.  First, the time required would be measured in months not years.  Second, we would be able to pick and chose the organs we develop and modify them where necessary.  This would allow us to avoid the ethical issue of creating thinking clones.

Today medical researchers are creating individual organs using stem cells and scaffolding.  Stem cells are trained to develop into the specific cell types for the organ.  As medicine gets better at doing this, more complex organs may be created.

The benefit of creating a clone is that mitosis cloning still takes months.  If a person needs an emergency transplant right away, cloning a single organ would not happen fast enough.  Assembling organs into a living, breathing clone makes those parts available whenever needed.  All that would be required is to give the clone a cerebellum but no cerebrum to make it a medical resource and not a person.

-Which characters were your favorites to write?  Why?

My favorite is Mitchell Ebberhaus.  He was going to be a background character, but he would have none of it.  He insisted on injecting himself into the story.  When a character takes a life of his own, it is advisable for the author not to get in the way.  I did not write Mitchell.  As far as I am concerned, he is entirely organic.  He does what he wants, and I am just there to record it.

-Did you do a lot of research in order to write The Negative's Tale?

Yes.  I do a lot of research for all of my stories.  (I am writing a short story for an anthology called "Yuva".  The story is about 25 pages long.  The research I collected for it is about four times that long.)  Everything in "The Negative's Tale" is based on extrapolations of existing science or scientific theory.  I even corresponded by email with Dr. Ronald Mallett about his time-like wave research before including speculation based on it in "The Negative's Tale".  (By the way, he was really nice and very helpful.)

-When you write, do you plan extensively beforehand, or just start writing?

Most of the time, I do a lot of planning followed by a lot of research, before I start writing.  I need to know the characters.  Who they are.  What they look like.  How they think and relate.  Before I start writing about them, I write a short bio for each one.

-Which science fiction books or authors have influenced you the most?

Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov.  They were the companions of my youth.  Whenever my mind travels to another planet or delves into the psyche of a machine, what they wrote still speaks to me.

-What are you working on now?

I had planned to use characters from "The Negative's Tale" in three other books, but only one of those novels was intended to be a sequel of sorts.  Then I published "The Negative's Tale", and the first reviewer asked for a sequel.  That got me thinking, and I started researching and planning the "Tourist of Infinity".  It is a direct sequel to "The Negative's Tale".  Allon Wu and Mitchell Ebberhaus will be dissecting another twisted mystery.  I am about half way through the first draft.  (Yes.  I am a slow writer.)  It should come out sometime next year.

Then there is the story for the "Yuva" anthology, “Planetfall”.  Also, I occasionally take a break from working on the novel to write a short story.

-How can fans contact you?

Through my Goodreads page at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7221195.R_Leib

Life First by R.J. Crayton

Indie Author Spotlight

Life First, by R.J. Crayton

Life First, by R.J. Crayton, is one of those novels that uses a disturbing possible future to make us think critically about our present and ourselves. 

Years after a pandemic killed the vast majority of the population, life has become sacred, to be preserved at all costs.  If someone needs a kidney transplant, for example, the vast medical database finds the citizen who is the best match, and that person must give the needed kidney.  Kelsey, marked for the procedure, decides that it should be her choice, and tries to run away before the surgery. 

This brings up all sorts of ethical questions:  Is Kelsey right or wrong, selfish or not?  Is the government justified?  Is the good of society more important than the rights of the individual?  Is saving one person's life worth the risk to another?   I love the way Crayton doesn't shy away from giving sound arguments for the others side—sometimes even more sound than the main character's—so we're never sure what to think.  This is the beginning of wisdom:  admitting that we don't know, and then examining the issue. 

I rather wish Kelsey would have stuck to her position more, and tried to make a stand, because after the first part of the book, these fascinating dilemmas fade a bit.  However, even her backing off is interesting.  She doesn't try to change the world.  She tries to save herself.  And again we wonder:  selfish or not? 

There is some great world-building, like the offhand references to survival statistics classes that seem to be the norm for school children, but there are also a few believability issues.  Would a government that forces you to donate your organs really only demand blood donation once every two years?  Why has there been so little crime since the pandemic?  After all, we've seen the aftermath of real disasters, and it's usually not pretty.  Other believability issues crop up here and there, but most stem from the troubling what-ifs of the future, leaving room for debate.

Repetition and over-explanation sometimes bog down the pace of the story, and there are a few errors or oddities in language and mechanics, but otherwise the book is well written.

The narrative takes a turn in the middle, becoming a legal drama with a lot of talking and little action.  Some readers may not like this, since the first few chapters set a different tone, but I quite enjoyed it, and applaud Crayton for going where the story would go, instead of where commercial writing advice might suggest.  The courtrooms scenes are full of twisty logic, clever arguments, and verbal traps.  Very engaging.  

During this middle section, Kelsey doesn't actually do much.  She's just an observer.  She thinks and reacts, but doesn't make many choices.  Again, some readers won't like this, but I believe it works here, and communicates the sensation of not being in control. 

The ending is satisfying yet leaves some questions unanswered for the next book, Second Life. 

Though Life First isn't specifically about current issues, readers can draw many thought-provoking—and perhaps uncomfortable—parallels.  This is the job of the good speculative fiction, and Life First accomplishes the task.   

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Warning:  One rather explicit scene

*I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

Click to read an excerpt of Life First

See my review of Second Life

My Interview with R.J. Crayton

1)  Life First is science fiction, but mostly in the sense that it allows us to explore the social ramifications of a possible future.  Are there any other books of this genre that have inspired you, are that you think are particularly powerful?

There are so many great dystopian future books out there that explore the slippery slope of what will happen if a certain principle is taken too far, and the government runs amok. I think I like all the big ones of the past, like Fahrenheit 451  and1984. Of the current dystopian books out, I like the big names like Wool, the Hunger Games and Divergent. All interesting takes on people who are against the current status quo.

2)  Life First has some really good court scenes.  Did you do a lot of legal research?

I did not do legal research, but my husband is an attorney who used to practice criminal law. So, he was helpful with making sure the court scenes were realistic.

3)  I'm curious:  what do you think would have happened to Kelsey if she hadn't had politically prominent relatives? 

In some ways, Kelsey’s father being so prominent made it harder for Kelsey, because people were watching what happened even closer. There were also political grudges working against her. But, even had her father not been the leading gubernatorial candidate, she still would have faced tough consequences. The timing of the book is a flash point, where people are all poised for something of enormity to happen.

4)  What was your favorite thing about writing this book?

My son is reading over my shoulder and saying my favorite thing was telling him, “No you can’t use the computer. I’m working.” He suggests I wasn’t really working, but playing games. However, I was working (most of the time)! But, back to the question. My favorite thing was probably figuring out the whole Kelsey/Luke relationship, particularly the stuff that happened before the book opened. I wrote a couple of scenes, just for my own knowledge (they’re in the extras section of my website) and they turned out to be really helpful in writing book two of the series.

5)  What are you writing now?

 Right now, I’m finishing up the final book of the Life First series. I wrote the first draft. It came in around 72,000 words, which makes it the shortest of the trilogy (Life First is 86k, and Second Life is 98k). However, my husband did a first read, and I may add a scene based on his comments, which will bump up the word count slightly. Book three is meant to be fast-paced and then over, with a nice (OK, somewhat nice) conclusion. The book takes place over the course of six days, so I don’t think there’s too much more I can pack into those days. I’m also working on a YA paranormal book, loosely title Scented. But, I’m just writing dribs and drabs of that, because I’d like to get the final Life First book out by June.

6)  How can fans contact you?

I’m all over the place. My website has all my info: http://rjcrayton.com. I’m also on:

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RJCrayton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7111348.R_J_Crayton

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/rjcrayton/