Debunking myths on genetics and DNA

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Author Patricia Josephine launches fourth book in the Path of Angels series

Blurb 

The end is in sight.

To stop Uriel from freeing Lucifer, Gabriel and his brothers must fall and go to Hell. It is a sacrifice Gabriel is not entirely ready to make. Will he fight alongside his brothers or forge his own path? There is only one choice.

Alexander doesn’t want to help Uriel nor does he trust him, but the angel has promised him a better life. He swore to protect Charlie, and he’ll do whatever it takes. When he meets the archangels and learns the depth of Uriel’s lies, he understands the true meaning of sacrifice. If there’s any hope of stopping Lucifer from being freed, Alexander, Charlie, Zephyr and Lake will have to get to Hell and help Gabriel and his brothers in the fight against Uriel.



The path is finally ending, but the price may be too high.

Available at Amazon for 99cents.

About the Author

 photo PatriciaLynneAuthorwithbook.jpg
Patricia Josephine never set out to
become a writer. In fact, she never considered it an option during high school and
college. She was an art and band geek. One day, on a whim, she decided to write a story in her head. That was the start of it all, and she hasn't regretted a moment.



Patricia
lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a
small petting zoo and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the
rainbow.



Patricia Josephine writes young adult under the name Patricia Lynne.


Follow Patricia on Twitter | Goodreads | Google+ | Website | Wattpad

Sunday, July 26, 2015

"Sweet, melancholy, and hilariously witty: Jason Anspach talks about his debut novel 'Til Death, a humorous noir with a paranormal twist.




I'm really excited about my guest today. Look at the fabulous cover up there: it screams pulp detective novel with a twist, my favorite genre! Jason Anspach does the hard-boiled detective genre so well, adding a dash of paranormal as the detective, Sam Rockwell, deals with a unique kind of death cases: Returns, i.e. ghosts. Filled with humor and witty lines, 'Til Death is a book you won't want to miss. Nick Cole, author of The Old Man and the Wasteland, calls it "Sweet, melancholy and hilariously witty."

Welcome to Chimeras, Jason, and congratulation on your first book!

EEG: 'Til Death is your first novel, but you've been writing for a while. Tell us a bit about your writing background.

JA: I majored in journalism and public relations in college, did a bit of that after graduation, and then settled into a day job where I wrote marketing and PR copy in addition to other duties. I also freelanced for a while building websites and writing copy for small businesses.

As far as writing fiction goes, it's been a lifelong goal to write a book. I'm a dreamer, and by that I mean that my mind will constantly come up with vivid stories or what-if scenarios. So this was a process of forcing myself to be consistently disciplined enough to sit down and write one of the stories that ricocheted within my mind.

EEG: What inspired 'Til Death?

JA: I think with most first novels, there's a lot that goes for the inspiration. 'Til Death is set in the 1950s and Sam Rockwell, our hero, is doing his best to imitate the hard boiled noire detective of pulp fiction. He's a great guy that thinks he has to present a certain image to be successful, not realizing what impact that has on being truly happy.

The story is paranormal in the way it deals with Returns, ghosts who come back with unfinished business. Part of the origins of this story was the death of my mother-in-law and the aftermath of all of that. As a Christian, I believe there is life after death. I asked the question, what if the entire world knew with 100% certainty that there was life after death (because of the Returns). How would they act towards death?

Lastly, but not finally, I grew up on a steady diet of old movies from the 1940s and 50s. I wanted the novel to have a certain feel, like you were watching a Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart picture.

EEG: You are also working on an Apocalypse Weird novel. Can you tell us a bit about that project?

JA: Absolutely! At this point, I think I'll be the first contributor to put out something other than a novel.

There was a writer's workshop about the time the first five Apocalypse Weird books launched. I attended and got some great advice from Kim Wells, Nick Cole, & Jennifer Ellis. Part of that workshop involved a pitch contest. My pitch was about a super-violent earthquake that obliterated the Pacific Northwest, leaving pioneers living in a New Oregon Territory. Bob Crosley won the pitch contest, but Nick Cole messaged me a month or so later and said he liked my pitch and asked if I would consider putting together an outline.

I flipped out with excitement and joy.

So now, the project has the green light and has evolved. Originally we were going to do release serial episodes in Oregon, 3-5k each. Now, it's morphed into a CBS Mystery style Radio Drama. If you've got a good voice, we might be interested in casting you... unless we change it up again. ;)

EEG: Wow, that's really cool! Haha, I'll audition if you need an Italian accent in the cast! ;-) Switching topic completely: what's a regular day like in a household of 8?

JA: I love it.

Never a dull moment, but so much to be thankful for. My oldest child is ten and my youngest was just born. Having a large family is NOT something my wife and I expected, but life sort of happens and each new character that enters our lives belongs there.

It's not nearly as hectic as folks might think. You just have to be deliberate about what you do and when you do it. I wouldn't trade it for anything, though.

EEG: Where do you draw inspiration from?

JA: From an idea or muse perspective, a good part of it just happens. Lame answer, I know.

But like a lot of writers, what I love or believe comes out in my work. I never set out to be heavy handed or write a story about a particular theme, mind you. A good story has to be first - I don't ever want to be the guy who declares, "I'm going to write about the injustice of x,y,z" and then sit down and figure out a story that will deliver my message.

Still, things I love like family, faithfulness, life, and humor tend to keep popping up.

EEG: That's a great answer! :-) Best of luck with your book, I hope Sam Rockwell will have many more Returns to deal with. :-)


'Til Death is now available from Amazon. Here's the blurb:
Sam Rockwell is a fledgling private investigator specializing in Returns, or, recently deceased ghosts with unfinished business. After his no-nonsense father is murdered and comes back, Sam takes the case hoping for a big break and a chance to win the heart of his Girl Friday.
Short on experience and long on the swagger of the dog-eared pulp fiction he keeps in his desk, Rockwell sets out to find his father’s killer only to find himself caught up in a deadly game of Cold War Intrigue at its most horrific as the Doomsday Clock inches closer to permanent midnight in this witty throwback to the Golden Age of Hollywood noire.
To find out more about Jason and his writerly projects, visit his website or follow him on Twitter and Facebook.



Friday, July 17, 2015

"The voices and concepts authors bring from their own personal experiences makes fiction so compelling": Lucas Bale talks about writing, traveling, and his successful series, Beyond the Wall



My guest today is the author the dystopian series titled Beyond the Wall and several other short stories. In fact, it's through one of those short stories, published in the anthology No Way Home, that I came to know his work. Lucas Bale writes beautifully, he doesn't shy away from details and indulges in careful descriptions of the worlds he builds.

Welcome to CHIMERAS, Lucas!

EEG: Tell us a bit about your background: I know you live in Denmark. Is that where you are from? If not what brought you there?

LB: No, I’m from the UK. London, in fact. My partner is Danish and there inevitably came a point where we talked about her wanting to move back home. We have two children and both of us wanted a quieter life, a bigger house and to live by the sea. I had spent fifteen years in my previous career, and had been working harder than I wanted to, so I was actually happy to consider it. We worked through the options and eventually decided it was the best thing for us. I lived in London for 38 years – it was time for a change.

EEG: You were a criminal lawyer, correct? How does your profession influence your writing?

LB: To begin with, my writing was heavily influenced by years of legal drafting. The language was overly formal – it read as though I was trying too hard whereas, in fact, I think my previous life was asserting itself a little too much. It meant, and probably still means, that I have to make the first edit I do a sort of ‘toning down’ edit, getting rid of overly convoluted language. I also think the law influences the stories I write and the themes that run through them – justice seems to be an important feature of Beyond the Wall, in particular different perceptions of what constitutes justice. I think it means different things to different people and the method of achieving what might be said to be “justice” differs on the situation a society finds itself in. I suspect Beyond the Wall had that theme underpinning it because of what I once did for a living. Additionally, I started writing to publish around two years before I left my career in the law – I was able to do so because I shoe-horned writing into whatever tiny gaps in my time I could find. I am an outdoor and adventure travel writer and editor, and this was where I began at first, back in 2012. I wrote for magazines mostly, but eventually, I decided to learn to write fiction. I think that outdoor writing certainly had an impact on my sense of place, and descriptive writing of setting. I think all authors are influenced, subconsciously at the very least, by what direction their lives have taken. It’s what makes fiction so compelling – the voices and concepts authors bring from their own personal experiences.

EEG: Sorry, I have to ask: how come you write sci-fi and not mysteries?? this is because when I wrote my Track Presius mysteries I wished I was a criminal lawyer! :-)

LB: In fact, the first story I ever wrote, back in 2013, was an espionage thriller and mystery. It still remains unfinished and I’m half-toying with the idea of re-writing it for the speculative fiction genre – there are issues and themes in it I’d like to expand on and explore by giving it a speculative flavour. I can’t say why I chose science-fiction in the first place – whether Beyond the Wall was already bubbling away in my mind, a story that I wanted to tell, or whether I just saw the mystery/thriller market as overcrowded and overflowing with derivative stuff that had already been done in almost every way it could have been. Science Fiction just seemed right to me. I have been a fan of classic science-fiction, and fantasy, since I was a boy. I grew up reading Asimov, Heinlein, Frank Herbert and the like, Robin Hobb and George R.R. Martin too, of course, but I also loved Stephen King and James Herbert. It wasn’t the ‘horror’ genre particularly that drew me in, but the stories themselves – King places ordinary people in terrible situations and his books’ dramatis personae are frequently a study in the creation of memorable, compelling and believable characters. Write what you love, they say, and I see the logic in that. It’s far easier to write in the style of someone who has inspired you, as you build your own style over time. Maybe I was trying to put law behind me for a little while too.



EEG: What inspired your series Beyond the Wall series?

LB: It’s hard to say. There’s no doubt, when considering fiction influences, that Firefly influenced me at first, but I think anyone who has read Defiance and A Shroud of Night and Tears knows that influence was short-lived and quickly turned into something very different as I planned the series and sketched out where it was going to end up. I wrote The Heretic with certain (I thought) subtle references to Firefly – a quiet homage to a series I genuinely thought could have been something very special – but reviews have been mixed as to whether those references were enjoyed (as I thought they would have been) or whether The Heretic was simply Firefly fan-fic. Either way, I won’t make that mistake again. There were other, historical and socio-political, influences too – I think those have been far more significant influencers than any of the fiction I have loved. For example, the Roman Empire plays a significant role in the structure of the Consulate Magistratus because I felt that, in a society where recent history has no more importance than ancient history, and humanity’s record of its history is necessarily incomplete, the Roman Empire would have much worthy of emulation. Any fledgling civilisation looking to advance, to grow, and to control its population, would draw considerable benefit from structuring itself in a way that contained elements of the Roman design. There are others of course – the Ottomans, the Monguls, for example – but Beyond the Wall is as much about how any civilisation, facing extinction and having just survived a civil war, might govern itself, as it is about the story events that take place within its pages. Additionally, in my former career, espionage, terrorism and organised crime were all part and parcel of the work I was doing. All have roles within the story I have been telling. I like the fact that the answers are not clear, that truth is more about perception than concrete notions that can be pinned down and identified.

EEG: What are you currently working on?

LB: The final book in the Beyond the Wall series is called Into A Silent Darkness – I have been working on that for a while now, and am well under way with writing it. I have been invited to contribute to a number of anthologies, including several times to Sam Peralta’s Future Chronicles series. I’m also curating a second speculative fiction anthology to follow on from No Way Home called Crime and Punishment, with the same authors. Finally, I am working on my next series, the setting I intend to write in for some considerable time to come – A Maquisard’s Song. I am particularly excited about this one – even the planning stages are exciting. It gives me far more flexibility than anything I have written before and allows me to examine themes I’ve been wanting to look at for some time. It will be epic space opera again, but with a different tone to Beyond the Wall. There will be some fantastic cover art – at the moment, it looks like I’ll be working with a hugely talented artist called Florent Llamas for that. Also, I intend to commission interior art for the series. It will be a complex, sinuous setting, with majestic characters, and it deserves to be a luxurious product. There are other projects, but those are the main ones for now.

EEG: Do you see yourself exploring a different genre in the future and if so, which one?

LB: I did consider having a mystery or thriller pen-name, but I have so many projects on the go right now, so much work that I want to do, that I simply don’t have time to scratch that itch. Instead, I have at least two years of writing before I can turn to new projects, particularly those in a different genre. The problem with self-publishing – in fact, I think it applies to all publishing – once you have a good-sized fan-base clamouring for your work, you can experiment a little. But you need to build that fan-base first and, we’ve seen that writing to market is the best way to do that. I wouldn’t say Beyond the Wall is bang on what the Space Opera genre appears to be demanding right now – there’s no space-ship on the cover, no tough and embittered leading man, and it isn’t heavily slanted towards the military. When you look at the work doing well at the moment – AC Hadfield, MR Forbes, Joshua Dalzelle, BV Larson, Vaughan Heppner, SH Jucha, even Nick Webb’s new book Constitution – they all get picked up and promoted heavily by Amazon because either they are what fans want, or because that’s what Amazon lays in front of them. Either way, that’s where the Space Opera market is (and many other sub-categories). So I’m half-considering writing something for that market, just to increase my visibility.

EEG: Nick was also a guest here on Chimeras, and his work is incredibly successful. Best of luck with all your endeavors, Lucas!

The first three books in the Beyond the Wall series are all on Amazon:
The Heretic
Defiance
A Shroud of Night and Tears

To find out more about Lucas Bale's work, visit his website, his Amazon Author Page, or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.