This holiday season, I’ve decided to promote some of my writer friends and ask some of the questions that folks ask me. Today’s guest/victim is:

 Stephanie Osborn

First, a little something about Stephanie.

Stephanie is a retired rocket scientist turned writer who likes to mingle science fiction and mystery with a strong element of action thriller and a touch of romance. Her style has been described as, “Hard-edged SF that wraps a compelling mystery around ‘this is the real thing’ space science…tight, tense, and gripping. Osborn tells a damn good story, and tells it well.”

At what age did you start writing or know that you wanted to write?

Wow. I started writing when I was a kid. I think I wrote my first poems in 3^rd grade. I know I wrote a play when I was in 4^th grade. It was horribly derivative of the television I was watching, but evidently my English teacher saw something in it, because she let me cast and produce it for the class. By grades 5-6, I was writing short stories, and when I was in high school I wrote a Sherlock Holmes short story and submitted it to the school literary magazine. They were blind-judged, and the English lit teacher threw it out for a plagiarism. She thought someone had copied down one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories and submitted it.

Where do your ideas come from?

If I knew that, I’d really have something going. I could even sell it! Closest I’ve ever been able to come is the half-formulated idea from the Displaced Detective books that writers record events from alternate universes. It’s as good an idea as any, I suppose.

Do you base your characters on people you know or know of? Family or celebrities?

When I first started writing professionally, I used to mentally “cast” the characters. The leads would be actors/actresses, and the secondary characters might be based on people I knew. But now they are pretty much sprung whole-cloth from my imagination. I have to be reminded to Tuckerize people who have asked for it.

Do you plot out your stories or just make it up as you go?

Oh heavens, a little of both, actually. Since I write some fairly hardcore mysteries, you pretty much got to do a LITTLE plotting, just to make sure you get your clues in the right places, and they point in the right direction. But my general inclination is to pants it.

Do you listen to music while you write and if so, what do you listen to?

I used to. There were a couple of cable stations on TV that would play the local National Public Radio stations, and I’d listen to that, because it was largely classical or jazz. Then they took those off, and I find playing stuff on my laptop slows it down too much. If I do, it has to be something that is purely instrumental, otherwise I get distracted, singing along.

Which of your characters would you most like to meet in person? Which character of another author would you want to meet?

I think I’d really love to meet Sherlock Holmes. We might not get along very well, but it would be interesting!

Which of your stories/books/works do you consider the best?

Now, now. That’s like asking a parent which child is their favorite.

How much do you write each day/week?

It varies. Depends on how much inspiration I have, and how much energy. My physical condition is a huge factor. If I’m sick or worn out, I haven’t the energy to create. When I’m in peak condition, with some real inspiration on, 5000 words a day is not unreasonable. The last couple-three years have been rough for me medically, though, so I’ve slowed down a bit.

What is your latest project/release?

That would be Sherlock Holmes and the Mummy’s Curse, book 1 of the Gentleman Aegis series. It’s a prequel series to my Displaced Detective series, about the adventures of “my” alternate-universe version of Sherlock Holmes, only it’s set long before he transitions to the modern day in our universe.

So think Holmes and Watson as very young men, still trying to find their way in the world. Their famous reputations are still in the future, cases are few and far between, so when one of Holmes’ old university professors invites them along on his Egyptian expedition to find the tomb of the first Pharaoh – a paying gig – they eagerly accept. But what they find is something quite different.

Do you have any signings or appearances coming up?

I have the Killer Nashville mystery convention on Halloween weekend, and I’ll be at CONjuration in Atlanta in mid-November. After that, I tend to back off on conventions and such, and enjoy the holidays with family and friends. I’ll pick back up again in January. And I’ll certainly be doing interviews whenever anyone wants one.

Who were your inspirations?  Favorite authors?

I’m going to lump these two questions together, because it’s kind of the same for me. Doyle, Tolkien, Bradbury, Asimov, Pournelle, Niven, Shakespeare, H.G. Wells, Dickens, Thoreau, Twain…I think you see the pattern there. I’ve also read Thomas Mallory, Dante, Aristotle, Plato, Stoker, Mary Shelley, Whitman, Sandburg, Sophocles, Euripedes, Aristophanes, Chaucer, and many more. Somewhat eclectic, and all classic. And yes, I’m an omnivorous reader.

What book do you read over and over the most?

Oh geez. I’m thinking it’s a toss-up between Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and Wells’ War of the Worlds, though I read Doyle and Tolkien an awful lot too, especially Doyle. But I nearly always read War of the Worlds at Halloween, and A Christmas Carol at Christmas.

How much of you is in your characters?

Very little, actually. It’s kind of funny; I have been accused of writing Dr. Skye Chadwick-Holmes, the wife of Sherlock Holmes in the Displaced Detective series, as my own personal Mary Sue – because she’s a world-class hyperspatial physicist, and I’m an astrophysicist, so it apparently seems obvious to some people that she MUST be me. But she’s not me, and hyperspatial physics is most assuredly NOT astrophysics. I can do astrophysics, but had to work hard and do a lot of research to ensure I got the description of the hyperspatial elements in the stories correct. I would really hate to have to sit down and work out the kinds of tensor analysis that I have Chadwick doing in the books.

In fact, any time I take one of those “What Literary Character Are You?” quizzes, I always come up as Sherlock Holmes. I was talking to a publisher friend about that dichotomy, and his response shocked me. He said, “Well, of course! You ARE Holmes! Your HUSBAND is Skye Chadwick!” And I had to admit, after thinking about it for a bit, that he was in many respects correct. And certainly Holmes is actually very easy for me to write. But I didn’t model either character upon myself OR my husband.

What genre do you prefer to write?  To read?

I’m pretty much an omnivorous reader. About the only thing I don’t read is horror, because I have a vivid imagination, anxiety disorder, and dream in color.
But I tend to write genre-crossing stories. I’m particularly fond of mixing science fiction and mystery, often throwing in strong romance and thriller elements. I just like that sort of story.

Do you prefer writing short stories or novels?  And why?

Novels, actually. I can and have done both, but it’s actually hard for me to write short stories. I do nearly the same amount of research for both, anyway. And somehow the story concepts seem to always blow up into novel-length!

Is Writer’s Block ever a problem for you?  If so, how do you deal with it?

Oh yeah. I get stuck every so often. I’ve even been known to write myself into corners. (Easier to do than you might think, when you write mysteries.) Brainstorming is my best solution. My husband is my best co-brainstormer, because he “gets” me and he’s probably more creative than I am. But if he’s not available, I have several friends that I check with, and will brainstorm with them. I’m planning a short story collection that ties into both the Displaced Detective and Gentleman Aegis series, and it’ll be titled Project Tesseract: The Holmes Files. The concept is to chronicle alternate versions of Holmes – where he did NOT become a detective as such. And I had lots of help brainstorming all those short stories! I have the basic plots all sketched out for myself now; I just need the energy and time to write them.

What are you working on now?

I generally have several projects going at any one time. Right now those projects are:

• Heritage, book 4 of the Cresperian Saga, with Dan Hollifield,
• Fear in the French Quarter, book 6 of the Displaced Detective series,
• Project Tesseract: The Holmes Files.

And I’m brainstorming several more, including:

• Escape Velocity, the sequel to Burnout: The mystery of Space Shuttle STS-281 (I do have some written on this)
• Sherlock Holmes in the Wild Hunt, book 2 of the Gentleman Aegis series
• A Little Matter of Earthquakes, book 7 of the Displaced Detective series (I’ve got some written on this too) and a few other things besides. I also have the first book of a new series that is being shopped around. The series is The Adventures of Aemelia Gearheart, and the book is The Bellerophon Club. It’s a steampunk series.

What 3 things do you feel every aspiring writer should know?

1. It’s harder than you think. Writing and creating takes a lot of energy. If you’ve never done it, you’d be surprised. My writing mentor, Travis S. Taylor, described it to me as like running a mental marathon. And when your mind is envisioning all these action scenes, your body reacts, tensing, releasing adrenaline, preparing for fight or flight – whether you realize it or not.
2. It’s slower than you’d like. You’re not going to knock out the Great American Novel in a couple weeks. And once you start submitting it – to publishers, to agents – you have to give it more than two weeks for whoever you’ve submitted it to, to respond. I know some would-be authors who seriously expected a response inside a month, and got pissed when it didn’t happen, pulling the submission and going elsewhere, only to repeat the process. And yes, you guessed it – they’re still trying to get published. Look – if you’ve made an unsolicited submission, your manuscript goes on the “slush pile,” and an editor or professional reader will get to it…just as soon as s/he has worked down through all the stuff that was submitted before yours. Even if you have a solicited manuscript, you have to remember that editors have lives, and they have other projects, some of which might be due in the next few weeks, which puts those at the top of the priority list. (Don’t you want ‘em to devote so much attention to ensuring your baby is ready to hit the bookstore shelves? Then don’t denigrate ‘em doing so for other writers too.)
3. Don’t stop reading just because you’ve started to write. Now is the second most important time to read – the first being when you were younger, and absorbing everything you read. Now is the time to ensure you’ve read what I call “the good stuff” – the classics of literature. Why? There are multiple reasons why they’re classics, and you want to absorb all of that – because then, when you sit down to write, it’s going to distil out into your writing, and make it that much better. Now is the time to read what’s really popular, and try to analyze what makes it so popular – then try to apply that to your own writing. Now is the time to read your preferred genres, and figure out what makes them different – then sit down and try to put a new spin on it.

These are the things that can make a good writer great.

What is your funniest/ awkward moment at a convention/signing event?

Oh, well you see, since I write science fiction, and have used UFOs, Area 51, Roswell, Rendlesham, and aliens, and because I’m a friendly, open sort, I tend to get a lot of the, ah, well…I’ve been told all about people’s alien abductions, including details such as the probing and stuff. Very much TMI, and I could really do without all those details…

Thanks Stephanie! To find her books, click here:

Alan’s new audio books

Audio books have been popular for many years. But with the selling power of Amazon and Audible.com, audio books have exploded. Two of Alan’s works are in audio format, with two more (The Blood in Snowflake Garden & The Lightning Bolts of Zeus) on the way.

And one of Alan’s publishers, Pro Se Productions, is working with Radio Archives to bring The Bishop of Port Victoria, plus a number of anthologies that include Alan’s stories to audio book fans.

Click on the books below to check out the Audible.com pages.

A review of Hard Day’s Knight by John G. Hartness

Hard Day’s Knight is a catchy title for a catchy book.

Set in Charlotte, NC, a place the author knows well from what I can gather from the great descriptions and knowledge of the city’s streets. A pair of vampires, Jimmy Black and Greg Knight own and operate the Black Knight Detective Agency. Both are young in appearance since they were ‘turned’ in their younger days, but they’ve got some years on them. That doesn’t, however stop the pair form acting their age. Mischievous, goofy and constantly popping off with pop culture references, they go about the business of solving crimes, albeit Greg prefers doing so while dressed up as a would-be vampiric superhero.

Honestly, when this part first came up, I couldn’t help but picture Jack Black, dressed up in the Adam West-era Batman suit while dangling from a bat-rope.

Their client, worried that he’d be cursed by a local witch, hires them for protection, but the case takes them in an unsuspected direction. Local children, a lot of them are going missing. Witches, demons, and a ticked-off lady cop are no match for our boys, though.

Hard Day’s Knight is the first book in the Black Knight Chronicles by John G. Hartness. While vampires have been all the rage over the past several years, this story takes a different look and a unique approach to the vampire lore.

Hartness’s writing is well above par, his story telling is excellent, and his characters are just a blast to watching in action. The story is tight and leaves off with plenty of room for future volumes.

Highly recommended.

Hard Day’s Knight

Thieftaker:

a review of the first in D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker series.

At first, I thought Thieftaker would be a tale of just another paranormal detective, told in a noir style and set in some cliché setting, geared to catch the attention of the would-be reader. There seems to be a lot of those around these days. What Thieftaker turned out to be was an incredibly well-written novel that grabbed me immediately.

The story starts off in Boston in 1765. The city is reeling from the turbulent events as growing talk of revolution is whispered in the shadow-laden corners. But our hero, Ethan Kaille isn’t interested in any of that nonsense. He is a thieftaker, a detective of sorts who uses spells and conjuring as a means of helping him solve cases. He has a strict personal policy to work on cases of stolen property, while steering clear of most everything else, especially anything having to do with homicides. That is, until he is hired to locate a stolen necklace, wore by a young woman who’d been recently murdered. The trinket had been around her neck at the time of the killing, and her father wants the item found and returned. Of course, both he and her father are aware that finding the necklace may reveal the murderer. None the less, Kallie accepts and takes the case. Conspiracies abound as city leaders, potential rebels and Kallie’s thieftaker competition are mixed into the case.

There are a number of factors that endear this book to me.

First off, the writing is superb. The story-telling is slowly paced but in a good way, giving the reader time to absorb everything going on in this richly detail world that the author has created.

Second, the historical aspects are a big hit with me. The fictional tale weaves in various Revolutionary War heroes and founding fathers, as wells as some actual events from the time period to make the world feel as close as possible to being there. The descriptions of Boston, the various neighborhoods and other locations throughout the city also add the to historical nature of the setting and help the reader to feel the cobblestones under his or her feet.

Thirdly, the characters are well defined, showing us not only the good but the flaws as well. Even the villains are presented in such a three dimensional manner that you can empathize with their reasoning for doing what they do, instead of being the typical dastardly, hand-bar mustache wearing cartoons badguys which appear in far too many books of this genre. Kallie, himself is a deeply flawed man, with a lot of backstory that this first book only touches on. We’re given a wonderful character while knowing there is far more is to come from his dark past in future tales.

Finally, Kallie’s lack of political interest. With a story set in the pre-war era, the story touches on the growing struggle for independence. This could easily have gone in the wrong way with our hero using his talents to help the rebels and spur on the Revolution. Instead, Kallie has little interest in the looming war, the rebel cause, or politics in general. He is a man dedicated to his work, regardless of the historical events happening around him. Personally, I really loved that he just did his job while the reader is watching not just him but the seeds of the Revolutionary War being sown.

D.B. Jackson, aka David B. Coe has done a bang-up job on this one and I look forward to reading the rest in this series. Highly recommended.

The Adventures of Anastasia Hawke: The Celeste Affair

Celeste is an airship like no other, completely automated, incredibly powerful, and hell-bent on the destruction of Washington D.C. and the end of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.

Anastasia Hawke, an agent for the newly formed Secret Service, and her young daughter are caught up in the chase to stop it. Enlisting the aid of the captain of the British Air Navy’s Flagship, they race across the Atlantic in a desperate attempt to prevent it from completing its function and prolonging the American Civil War.

But tensions rise between Anastasia and the Ship’s captain, Lucius Bishop as their personal lives collide. She is left to decide on the course of her and her daughter’s future while the future of America teeters in the balance.

The Celeste Affair was originally published in an abbreviated form in Dark Oak Press’s pirate anthology,  ‘A Tall Ship, A Star, and Plunder’. But now it is available in its full form. The story centers around Anastasia Hawke, mother of the Hawke Girls ( Jasmine and Thyme) from ‘The Lightning Bolts of Zeus’.

The Celeste Affair is the first in a series of shorts featuring Anastasia. 

http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Anastasia-Hawke-Celeste-Affair-ebook/dp/B00YGIAR5U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433328521&sr=8-1&keywords=celeste+affair

My time with Deacon Chalk

A review of the first three books in the 

Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series.

Blood and Bullets,  Blood and Silver,  Blood and Magick

Deacon Chalk is an A-hole.  There, I said it. And having said it, he’s the type of alpha male, tough as nails, egotistical jerk that you really want to read about. Given the number of paranormal hunter books with touchy-feely tough guys, Deacon Chalk is a breath of fresh air.

A little background. Deacon Chalk was an ordinary guy, whose family was killed by a monster. Instead of drinking Earl Gray tea and complaining, he learned to shoot, kick ass, and hunt the monster down. But he didn’t stop there. Instead, he uses his talents to keep the creatures of the night at bay.

Some transparency here. I know the author. I met James R. Tuck a few years ago at a convention and we chat occasionally when we’re working the same cons. While I enjoy this type of book, I was reluctant at first to read it. I like Tuck and worried that I’d be disappointed. What a mistake. While the character of Chalk is a great one, it’s the strength of Tuck’s writing that truly makes this series pop.

Now, down to business…

While I’ve only read the first three books, there are more out ( a couple of novellas ) and currently are on my list of ‘Must Reads’.

Book one, ‘Blood and Bullets’ introduces us to Chalk and his supporting cast. As you read, you’ll notice that Chalk loves to storm about, bellowing out that he is the only one who can do this job and he works alone. Yet, he rarely goes into battle without his posse in tow.

‘Blood and Bullets’ starts off with a bit of a double-cross and escalates from there into a nonstop blood-spilling, vampire staking, monster hunting adventure… complete with a werespider. As someone who suffers from arachnophobia, let me take this opportunity to thank Mr. Tuck for all the werespider-induced nightmares. (I will hunt you down, but only after the Deacon Chalk series is complete.)

The first book is a great introduction to the world and fleshes out the characters in superb detail. Despite Chalk’s best efforts to be a dick, the reader can’t help but like this testosterone-fueled vampire killing, behemoth.

The second book, ‘Blood and Silver’ (I’m seeing a pattern in his book titles), delves into Chalk’s world a little deeper, especially into the area of the were-creatures. It picks up after the last book and does a great job of giving the reader a sprinkling of flashbacks to remind us of what had happened in the first book, without beating us over the head with an info-dump. While the second book is certainly entertaining and full of blood, gore, and over-the-top violence, it loses the reader somewhat. For me, it wasn’t the were-creatures themselves, but the many types of weres. WereRabbits, WereDeer, WereLions and so on and so forth, culminating into a big bad weremonster (which I’ll not mention here so as not to spoil the surprise.). The number of different were-species kept pulling me out of the story, so I could shake my head before jumping back in to it. Now, I’m not saying it’s bad, but of the three, this is the weakest.

Book three, ‘Blood and Magick’ (Yes, there is a pattern emerging with these titles.) is, in my opinion, the strongest of the lot. The story flows well, the supporting characters all have their moments and Chalk is in top form. It is darker, grittier, and has great pacing. New characters are dropped in to Chalk’s world and instead of being distractions, they perfect complement the existing supporting cast and move the story along.

In the story, Chalk, who only wants to have some much needed vacation time with his woman, finds himself protecting a trio of werepups from a band of witches bent on using them for ‘evil’ purposes. Added to the mix is a government agency who watch and combat the ‘creatures of the night’, but are they allies or enemies?

I’ll be honest here… while I feel this is the best book of the first three, there was one event near the end that almost made me put the book down. I’ll simply say here that Chalk is a dick, but this act really took the cake. Still, I had to finish the book because, dick or not, the story is just too good not to finish.

Like I said earlier, the occult/paranormal hunter genre is a bit overdone but what makes this series different is the writing. Tuck’s world building, excellent storytelling, and ability to weave the words in the perfect order are truly outstanding.

I highly recommend these books and look forward to reading more of Deacon Chalk.