Joshua C. Carroll, Author of The Adventures of Sarah Ann Lewis and the Memory Thieves

Today we are interviewing Joshua C. Carroll about his upper middle grade / rural sci-fi / thriller novel, titled "The Adventures of Sarah Ann Lewis and the Memory Thieves."

*Starting Thursday, August 8, the book will be 99¢ for several days, and then it will slowly increase until it goes back up to the normal price of $6.99 on Thursday, August 15. Get it on Amazon by clicking here.*

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Sure! I’m 38 years old, and I live in Fort Worth, Texas with my wife, daughters, foster daughters, and a Miniature Schnauzer named Ginger. Besides writing, I also love to make music (I play a handful of instruments), take pictures, and cook.

Describe the plot of your new book, “The Adventures of Sarah Ann Lewis and the Memory Thieves,” in a few sentences.
Sarah Ann is, at its heart, a story about a girl learning to accept and be accepted by the people who love her. But while she’s learning that, she’s being stalked by spies, uncovering family secrets, falling into secret laboratories, and meeting mad scientists, intelligent animals, shapeshifters, and all kinds of other interesting characters. In the end, she learns what she’s really made of and what it means to accept her own identity.

Who do you think would most appreciate your book?
I wrote this book, first and foremost, for my oldest daughter. But I also wrote it for myself. We’re both huge fans of books like A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Hobbit. She loves the Percy Jackson series, and I love a good sci-fi with alternate dimensions. So I packed little bits of all of that in here. Anybody, young or old, who likes those books will find plenty of fun little Easter eggs in Sarah Ann. But this book has also been a bit of a hit with other foster and adoptive families. There are some strong themes in the book around truly belonging to the family that has chosen you whether you were born there or not. Being a foster dad myself, it does my heart good to see it resonating with other kids and parents in similar situations.

Tell us about your protagonist, Sarah.
Ahh, Sarah. I feel like she’s one of my daughters. Like a lot of kids her age (13), she’s curious about the world around her and hates going to school, but she also really cares about doing what’s right, even when that gets her into trouble. She’s had a hard life, and she lives with her Grandpa on some land in the country outside a small town in Texas. She sees herself as a nobody from nowhere, but—without spoiling anything—she’ll have to get over that if she’s going to save the day.

The book is set in 1988. What made you decide to set it during that period?
I grew up in the 80s, near the area where the book is set. In a lot of ways, the world was just as crazy then as it is now. We were in the tail end of the Cold War, and I remember doing bomb siren drills in school. But on the other hand, it was also simpler and slower. I wanted to share a bit of that world with new readers who can’t imagine what life was like the phone was connected to the wall by a coiled cord and most people didn’t even own a computer.

Author Joshua C. Carroll.

On a similar note, since life (specifically technology) has changed so much since 1988, did you find it difficult to capture the period in your writing?
I definitely had to fact-check a lot of things. There’s a dot matrix printer that plays a fun role early in the story, and it’s been so long since I’ve seen one that I had to look up some of the details. But mostly, it felt simpler writing a story where people aren’t constantly staring at screens and texting each other and posting things to social media.

Your book has elements from multiple genres – written for the upper middle grade audience with elements of rural sci-fi, mystery and thriller genres. Was this something you intended to do from the start? Or was it something that evolved as you wrote?
I just can’t focus on one thing at a time. It’s the story of my life. I’ve always been interested in lots of different things, and so when I set out to write this story, all these disparate elements found their way into it organically.

Without giving too much away, tell us about the Memory Thieves.
Ahh! That’s the question, isn’t it? Let’s just say that the Memory Thieves may or may not be who you think they are at the beginning.

Sarah must team up with strangers she would normally be at odds with. Can you tell us about Sarah’s relationship with these strangers? Does her perspective of them change as she gets to know them more?
Her relationship with these people, whom she learns are called The Sentinels, is complex. There’s a lot of fear and distrust up front and a sense of wonder as she learns more about them. People she thought of as stuck up or scary turn out to be good friends. There’s hurt and betrayal, loyalty and self-sacrifice. In the end, they become family to her.

Do you feel being a father affected how you wrote your book? Did you ever bounce ideas off your children?
Oh, absolutely. I’m working through the sequel right now, and just this week, I described a situation to my oldest and said, “How would you react?” Her response became a chapter.

Are there any authors who have influenced your writing style?
I hesitate to answer this question, because I know my writing style is very different from my influences—most of whom are long-dead and British. But if I had to pick modern authors whose writing I admire and aspire not so much to emulate but to learn from, the list would include Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, Orson Scott Card, Brandon Sanderson, and Robin Hobb. Gaiman’s prose is magical. Butcher’s stories are so much fun, beginning to end. Card is a master of weaving complex, difficult themes into his stories in a way that feels both subtle and inevitable. Sanderson builds the most insane worlds and magic systems that have their own beautiful logical framework. And Robin Hobb (who also wrote some amazing books under the name Megan Lindholm) creates such wonderful, believable characters.

How long have you been writing?
I’ve written blogs and that sort of thing for a long time, but I didn’t start writing fiction until around 2013.

How do you think you've evolved as a writer since when you first started?
I’ve learned a ton, mostly by writing short fiction. I tended, at first, to focus on the plot and see my characters as objects that helped the plot advance. Since then, I’ve learned to focus in on and “play” with my characters like my kids do with their dolls until I feel like I know them. What motivates them? What do they care about? What scares them? What are they lying about? What do they need that they aren’t even aware of? And how do those things drive their behavior, their decisions, and ultimately, the plot that they generate?

What do you like about the upper middle grade genre?
Upper middle grade is a horribly underserved segment. There are lots of kids who have a hard time reading or feel that reading is a chore, and for them, there are shelves upon shelves of light-hearted, safe, easy-to-read, short little books full of fart jokes and pictures. There’s nothing wrong with that. But even at 7 years old, my daughter was blowing through those so fast we couldn’t keep up. When she was 8, we read The Lord of the Rings together, and she loved it so much that, as soon as we finished, she read through it again on her own. That—and the incredible success of the Harry Potter series—told me that, whether the industry wants to admit it or not, there are plenty of young readers who are hungry for longer, more complex books. And that’s exciting to me. There’s an opportunity to introduce these young bookworms to ideas and themes and worlds that are new and exciting to them without having to dumb-it-down. There’s a chance to treat these kids like the young adults they’re becoming. So far, they’ve responded really well to Sarah Ann, and I’m excited to keep exploring that space.

Do you have any favorite middle grade books?
My all-time favorite is The Hobbit. I remember reading that (not for the first time) in my 6th grade reading class. Our teacher, Mr. Bo, did the voices for all the characters, and they were just amazing. I’ve yet to read a modern book for that age group that comes close to capturing that level of magic, though there are some young YA books that are pretty great.

What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
I want to finish this series and write a bunch more, and I want to figure out how to better connect with middle grade readers and their parents. It’s a tricky market to get into, and a lot of writers give up and move on to other markets. I just see it as a fun challenge.

How have your readers responded to the book so far?
The responses have been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve truly been humbled. I’ve had several parents send me photos of their kids reading the book, and I’m planning to print them all out and put them next to my writing desk.

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
I don’t dislike any part of it, but yeah, some parts are harder than others. For a lot of writers, this great emotional rush happens when they’re getting the words onto the page, but they dread the revising and editing. I’m wired backward from that. Getting the story out in the first place is a ton of hard work, but I love honing it and crafting it into a story that I’m proud of.

Have you ever had writer's block? If yes, how'd you deal with it? If you have not had writer's block, why do you think you haven't?
I think writer’s block is more or less my default mode. But if I can make myself sit down at the keyboard, get into the right head-space by reading a bit of what I’ve already written, stay off of social media, and trust that the words I write will turn into something good later even if they’re awful right now, I can usually make some progress. I’m terribly slow, but I’m steady, and in the end that’s what matters.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
I’m working on the sequel to Sarah Ann right now, and I have two other novels outside this series that are already in the works. One is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi that involves quantum computing, data mining, and an alien substance that can be manipulated so that its molecular structure changes. The other is a story of a time traveler stuck in the body of the son his mother would have had if he had never been born. I’m really excited to get those out into the world.

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
Well I don’t, but I’ll pass on a message from a young lady who reviewed it: “If you don’t order, you will live a very sorry, miserable, horrible life, knowing you did not order a book that is AWESOME.” I nearly died laughing when I read that review, and I don’t think I stopped smiling for a week.

“The Adventures of Sarah Ann Lewis and the Memory Thieves” excerpt:

What Sarah doesn’t know… 

...could doom us all. 

It’s 1988 in the middle of nowhere, Texas, and 13-year-old Sarah is about to be swept out of her boring life and into a world of danger. 

Spies are coming for her. The people next door are not what they seem. And Sarah’s family has been hiding something. Something BIG. Something not even Sarah knows. 

The fate of the world hangs in the balance. But for Sarah, all that matters is rescuing her family. What’s left of it, anyway.  

If she fails, the Memory Thieves will learn their secrets, and as a result, millions around the world will die. But to save the people she loves, Sarah will have to team up with strangers she isn’t sure she can trust. Strangers who aren’t even human. 

This story is not what you think. 

A captivating blend of rural sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and thriller, the first book of this genre smashing series will have you begging for more.

More Information
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Simon Emery, Author of Fallen World

Today we are interviewing Simon Emery about his new science fiction book, titled “Fallen World: Book 1 of the Dark Enemy Saga.” 

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’ve been a literature and creative writing teacher for over 10 years now. Before that I worked as an editor and wrote for a few different fiction magazines. More recently I’ve been living in Timor-Leste, volunteering my time teaching literacy, mathematics and geography. Some of the people and places in Timor have served as inspirations for this book!

Describe the plot of your new book, “Fallen World,” in a few sentences.
Fallen World follows the journey of Xavier who watched as his world burned, swearing vengeance on the race that did it. But he soon realizes that the war is far more complex than he first thought. Betrayal, deceit and lies reveal hidden factions and buried truths.

In the middle of this great war, trapped between two empires Xavier finds himself with an unlikely crew. With them he must fight to keep alive his family, who are caught on all sides of the conflict. But with powerful figures pulling strings and even his allies chasing their own agendas, the odds truly are against Xavier and his crew as they seek to prevent two races from annihilating one another.

Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
Sci-fi fans first and foremost. Anybody who loves epic space action. But I take inspiration from everywhere. Any fans of video games such as Mass Effect or Knights of the Old Republic, or the Warhammer series would love this book. I also draw ideas from a variety of different genres and authors. 

This book is very character led, with a truly compelling and unique story. 

Tell us about the protagonist, Xavier.
Xavier is a young man who has always dreamt of leaving his sleepy planet and finding adventure. That all changes the day his world is invaded and the action he craved comes to him instead. Beaten, betrayed, grieving and bitter he finds himself at the center of a web of lies and deceit that could destroy the universe. 

The loss of his world and death of loved ones causes Xavier to realize his flaws, but also discover his strengths. He becomes a warrior and a leader of men, but close beneath the surface simmer doubts and uncertainties. Xavier is a man who must find himself soon; or lose himself forever.

In your book, the survival of two races is at stake. What are the two races?
Humanity and a race called the Vruhr. The Vruhr are a thoroughly unique race andthe only sentient species mankind has made contact with… for now.

Your book is set in an imaginative world. Was it difficult coming up with this world?
It’s set in more than one! It wasn’t difficult. There is so much inspiration available to authors these days. I think the beautiful thing about science fiction is the freedom you have with creating. Sci-fi is unrivalled in genre fiction in that regard.

What is your writing process like?
It’s not as complex as the process of many authors I know. I plan it and store it all almost entirely in my head. I love writing, and when you put me in front of a computer all I want to do is get into the story. I set out the book’s skeleton, but much of the story and characters only find their flesh and bones when I’m writing. I lose myself in my work quite easily and when I’m typing away and ‘in the zone’ I’m constantly building the story in my head as I go. 

Are there any authors who have influenced your writing style?
So, so many. The author who really flamed my love of books was David Gemmell. He was a fantasy writer, and I’ve read everything by him countless times. My style has certainly changed since I first started though, and I now draw influences from people like Neal Asher, Alastair Reynolds, Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett and John Scalzi. As well as a lot of smaller authors who are still trying to make their name.

What is your favorite thing about the sci-fi genre?
World and character building. I love to create and sci-fi offers a huge blank space for a writer to build upon. 

Who was your favorite character to write?
Kjeld. Kjeld is an old grumpy brooder. He reminds me a lot of my dog! But he has a history and a mystery about him, and he carries a love that is forcing him to go against his nature. I think it results in great interaction and dialogue with some of the more blithe characters such as Canisio.

How do you think you've evolved as a writer since when you first started?
This is a tricky one as I have evolved so much. If I’m honest, I used to be too blunt when writing emotion, too forthcoming with character. Now I love to play with subtlety, which I think results in a much more engaging story. I also love experimenting with paragraph construction. I think you can build atmosphere and convey so much with simple manipulation of sentence length.

Are there any aspects (e.g. character building, world building) of your writing that you've been practicing?
I practice everything, every day. As an unknown author I think you have to. You owe it to those few people who take a chance on you and your book. I don’t have a publisher and I know I’m going to have to fight for every single sale, so it’s up to me to ensure my writing is deserving. I love to experiment with different styles, which I release into short stories. You can view them on my website— they’re free!

What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
To build a world and characters that people love. You know that book you pick up on a rainy night? The one you sit back with after a stressful day, or relax with a cup of tea and a warm blanket? I would love for that book to be mine for somebody one day. I want to receive a tweet from a fan telling me to hurry up and write the next book as they need to know what’s going to happen. I know it’s not the biggest dream, but it’s mine and it keeps me going.

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
Not the writing, but the post-writing stage. As an independent it’s so difficult to get yourself noticed. I’m starting to appreciate that writing a book is the easy part. Finding someone to read it is the difficulty.

Have you ever had writer's block? If yes, how'd you deal with it? If you have not had writer's block, why do you think you haven't?
Often. I think it’s important to step away from your writing every now and again. Writers tend to live, breathe and sleep their books. You carry your current novel with you everywhere and having writer’s block only adds more pressure. But that is not, in my experience, conductive of good writing. Step back, take a time-out and find a fresh perspective. Personally I like to bounce ideas and complaints off my dog. He is a very good listener.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
Oh, I have a lot in mind for this current series. It’s going to be amazing; I really think that. But after this saga? Well, I have something equally special but very different planned. However, for that you’ll just have to wait and see!

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
Just give it a shot. It’s free, you have nothing to lose. What I have planned for this series is special. If you’re still hesitant (which I totally understand) you can go to my website and read some samples of my work. 

More Information
Find the book on SmashWords.
Get the book on Amazon.
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Timothy L. Thompson, Living Portals: A Sci-Fi Short Story Collection

Today we are interviewing Timothy L. Thompson about his science fiction collection of short stories, titled "Living Portals."

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’ve been a sci-fi fan as long as I remember, going back to seeing lost in space on TV when I was a kid at 3 to 4 years old.  I am a comic book geek at heart even though I haven’t read any in years. I’ve also been a fun, outdoor adventure guy, I’ve owned boats and dirt bike motorcycles as a kid and as an adult. 

Describe “Living Portals” for people unfamiliar with the collection.
Portals are a reasonably common sci-fi concept that doorways may appear which allow a person or persons to travel space, time and alternate realities in quick order. 

So, this is a collection of eight interrelated portal themed short stories about a scientifically minded adventure seeker named Tom Tedesco.  In fact, due to alternate dimensions and threats to the multiple earths in the portal system, we discover that the world(s) need multiple Tom Tedesco’s to come together in defense.

Who do you think would most appreciate this sci-fi short story collection?
Any good reader from 11 and up that likes a fun adventure story with a sci-fi, mystery backdrop.

One of the unique aspects of your writing is the throwback, 1950s adventure-magazine style to the writing. What attracted to you to this style of writing?
It’s how adventures form in my mind.  I’m always off day dreaming about some wild adventure and now I’m trying to put that into book form.

What do you like about the short story format compared to novels?
We live in a busy world where people don’t always have hours available to pore through a huge novel.  I like that my stories are designed to be readable in one sitting.  You still have a book and more stories if you finish one quickly, but you get a beginning, a middle and an end in each story.

Tell us a bit about the protagonist, Tom Tedesco.
Tom likes a challenge like living alone in an arctic environment or taking on a race of sub-humanoid species who threaten humans on another earth.  Each version of Tom in the alternate earths has a soulmate on his world and they are usually named Helga Howard.  While he should always find her, he doesn’t know this and so, it doesn’t always work out.  Tom’s scientific and engineering background helps him to grasp the nature of the portal system, but he needs Helga to help him understand the “why” of the portal system.

Problem-solving and mystery are major components of Tom’s adventures. Did you set out to incorporate this into the stories? Or is it something that evolved naturally?
The problem-solving concept probably comes from my legal background as I was an attorney for 20 plus years.

Are there any sci-fi authors that have influenced your writing style? Do you draw inspiration for your work from outside writing?
Alan Moore, Orson Scott Card, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Yes, the Bible (great stories and truths in there) and the outdoors too.  It’s hard not to marvel at it when you stop and take a look.

In “Living Portals,” you do a great job of making new worlds with unique species come alive for the reader. Is world-building something you’ve always wanted to be a major part of your writing? Or did it evolve alongside your writing career?
No, that just happened when I started into the story.  I didn’t know that would erupt, but it did.

Who was your favorite character to write?
Melanie – from “Swamped” A smart and tough lady who guards the portals in the bayou.

What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
Churn out good stories and entertain people!

Sci-fi author Timothy L. Thompson.

How have your readers responded to the collection so far?
It’s too early to tell as we just released it this week, but the early comments are very encouraging.  I had a neighbor who is a non-fiction writer in Christian themed books who chased me down the sidewalk to tell me how much he enjoyed the first two stories he’d read.  I did enjoy that.

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
Not really, just maybe the tension of waiting for a response from the public.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
Sequels of course!  Maybe a novel along the way too.

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your sci-fi short story collection?
I hope they enjoy reading them.  If you have trouble following the multiple Tom Tedesco’s from around the multiple dimensions, here’s a little description that might help: 

An easy way to keep track of them is to think of them as:

1. Super Science Tom (from the Culling); 
2. Slightly older Tom (from Bury the Evidence and a limited role in the Culling); 
3. Single Tom (from Wolf's Blood and from Swamped and a brief appearance in All Wet).  
4. The lead protagonist in All Wet is a Tom Tedesco, but it's intentionally unclear which Tom this is yet and where this story is in his timeline.

An excerpt from "Living Portals":

We’d been gone for three days. We were back in an instant.  Half an arm lay wriggling in a pool of blood on the floor. 

“That was way, way too close!!” Helga screamed.  We both looked down at the severed arm writhing on the hardwood floor beneath us. Then she continued, “Couldn’t you keep him from chasing us in and losing his arm?” 

“I know how to get us through a portal, not how to stop someone who’s chasing us!” I squawked out as my voice cracked. 

Helga started blurting out random phrases, “I can’t look at that . . . did we make it . . . are we safe?” She was dancing pitter pat in little circles on the den floor as she randomly shrieked out each word and phrase. 

“Yes, we made it. We are safe now.” As blood started oozing out of the loose limb on the floor, I tried to flatten my voice to put on a false bravado, “I’ll clean it up.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to be more reassuring for Helga or for myself as I went to the kitchen to get a black plastic garbage bag, but, “Where will I bury that thing?” and, “How can I destroy it?” kept rolling through my head. 

Helga had stepped out of the den, where we had reentered our home from the portal. As I passed her, I noticed the nice frame she still carried even at 48. Cycling class wasn’t wasted on her. “I’m going to put that arm in the garage, and I can clean up the blood with hydrogen peroxide,” I told her. “But then what . . .” My voice trailed off. 

I walked back into the den, where the cat was still peacefully sleeping on her favorite armchair, not having stirred from our reappearance at all.  

“You’d think after seven days we might get a welcome purr or a rub?” I mused.
Then I awkwardly scooped a still-twitching, severed arm into the thick, black plastic garbage bag from the kitchen.

More Information
Visit the author's website. 

Buy "Living Portals" for Kindle.

Buy "Living Portals" paperback version. 

Buy "Wolf's Blood" for Kindle.

Follow Timothy L. Thompson on Twitter.

Find the author on Facebook. 

John Ploskina, Author of The Far Unlit Unknown

Today we are interviewing John Ploskina, author of the young adult sci-fi novel "The Far Unlit Unknown."

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a world traveling adventurer, author, arachnid enthusiast, engineer, and one of the few people to both sing in death metal bands and teach kindergarten. 

Describe the plot of your new book in a few sentences.
Nathan, a maladjusted class clown and Cello, the school’s top student, investigate the disappearance of their history teacher.  Instead they find a tear in the fabric of Space-Time that opens to the universe next-door. 

Lost in the multiverse, alone with no weapons and few supplies, they are drawn into the machinations of a mad scientist who won’t hesitate to destroy entire universes in his plan to build a “perfect world.”

Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
Anyone who ever sat in class, stared out the window and lost themselves in dreams of adventure and romance.

What inspired you to write a novel about two students who must venture through the Multiverse to rescue their teacher?
When I was in school I was chronically bored, and books were like little glimpses into other worlds that were more vibrant and interesting than the real one.  I often wished I could crawl into them and get lost.  The premise of Perfecting Reality is just around the corner from there.

Author John Ploskina.

In your book, the characters get lost in the Multiverse. For people not really familiar with the term, can you explain what Multiverse means?
A multiverse is a set of universes that exist simultaneously.  Some scientists believe that our universe is one small piece of a multiverse, and different types of multiverses are described by different schools of thought within theoretical physics.

Perfecting Reality is inspired by the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, or MWI.  It’s far too much material to explain here, but if you Google for “MWI Quantum Mechanics” there are lots of interesting articles out there.  Or, if you’re so inclined, Cello briefly covers the key concepts in The Far Unlit Unknown.

That said, I don’t think you need to be into the hard science aspect of MWI to enjoy the story.  MWI is a canvas.  You can skip those parts and just enjoy the ride.

Have you always been interested in physics and the universe? Or did your interest develop as you wrote this book?
I’ve been interested in physics, especially theoretical physics, since I was a kid.  However, I want to be clear that the multiverse presented in Perfecting Reality is not a representation of a scientifically accurate multiverse.  I use the multiverse is a metaphor for the infinite variety and potential of human life.

Who was your favorite character to write?
Cello is my attempt to put an Agatha Christie-esque detective into a unique context.  Cozy mysteries are my comfort genre.  I read a lot of Rex Stout when I’m in a bad mood, and the Eccentric Genius Detective is my favorite archetype.  It was fun to take that kind of character, drop her into a sci-fi novel, and see how she copes with it.  I deeply enjoy writing scenes where her personality clashes with Nathan.

Are there any authors who have influenced your writing style?
In no particular order: J.K. Rowling, Ayn Rand, Stephen King, Agatha Christie, H.P. Lovecraft and Rex Stout.  They write stories that keep me reading into the night, frantically turning pages even as my eyes ache and the piercing shriek of the alarm clock looms.  They also use language in unique ways. 

Tell us about your creative process, from initial idea to published manuscript.
At all times, my brain involuntarily vomits up premises for novels and characters.  In the heat of the moment, everything seems like it might be good.  I carefully sort the complete nonsense from the ideas that may have promise. 

I have a lot of false starts.  I’ll write a few chapters and then forget about the idea, or suddenly realize that it’s stupid.  The stories that get finished are the ones that stick with me and don’t fall apart when the real work gets under way. 

How do you feel about the increasing popularity of ebooks?
I’m just happy to see people reading. 

Personally, I resisted ebooks for a long time.  I love the feel and smell of a real book in my hands.  Physical books have a presence and a personality all their own.  I’m only truly comfortable in a room full of books.  Every once in a while, I’ll pick up a used novel from somewhere and find hand written notes in the margins.  It’s like sharing the book with a total stranger.

I finally grew to love ebooks last year.  It was the Kindle app on my phone that brought me around.  The book is always there, ready to go.  I now read books at red lights and in line at the grocery store.  How cool is that?  I read a lot of non-fiction that way, because it’s easy to highlight and return to specific passages.  For fiction, I still prefer paper.

What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
To put so much entertaining and thought provoking content out there that I’m unanimously elected supreme ruler of Earth. 

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
All the not writing.  Nothing’s worse than the time you have to spend not writing.  Sleeping, eating, hygiene, maintaining the facade of a productive member of society…  All time that could be better spent writing.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
I’m hoping to publish my next book before the end of the year.  It’s a horror novel for adults.  After that, I’ll be returning to the Perfecting Reality universe… but maybe not in the way you’d expect…

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
I can’t promise you that it will bring meaning and purpose to your existence, but I won’t rule out the possibility. 

An excerpt from "The Far Unlit Unknown":

    Nathan checked his watch again.  The Librarian would be back in about four minutes.  Plenty of time.
    The library was empty and quiet.
    He made his way to the back room, the Librarian’s personal office.  Everything was neatly arranged on and around a small desk, and Nathan could hardly stand it.  He wanted to knock it all over and spoil it, but he resisted the urge.
    On the far edge of the desk a DVD player was wired to a carefully organized mass of cables that ran into a panel set in the floor.  Nathan pressed the eject button.  Inside the disk tray was a DVD-R with today’s date written in black.  It was the same brand, model and color as the one he’d prepared and smuggled in.  He pulled a permanent marker out of the pencil holder on the Librarian's desk, set the two DVD-Rs side by side and carefully forged the date on his blank one.  The Librarian's “4” was tricky, but he regularly practiced imitating all the teacher's handwriting.  When he was finished it looked perfect.
    Even if they checked, no one would know it was a fake until it was too late.
    He placed his DVD-R in the tray, closed it, put the original between the pages of his math book and walked casually out of the office as if he had every right to be there.
    That was when he noticed that the library wasn't empty after all.
    A small girl was sitting at a table by herself in the corner, staring at him through enormous glasses over a book as thick as any dictionary.  She was pretty in a plain sort of way, with ashy grey skin and an elfish face.  Wild hair, black as the void of space, was dangling down around her shoulders.   Her intense eyes, magnified by the lenses in her glasses, drilled into him.  It felt like she was staring directly into his brain.
    Nathan had seen her in the hall but had never spoken to her.  Word going around was that she was some kind of genius with top marks in every subject, but that she was a total oddball.
    “What did you see?” he asked her.
    “Nothing,” said the girl.  She shrugged, and the corners of her mouth curled up, ever so slightly, into something that only hinted at a smile.  Her eyes drifted back to the pages of the book.  “Nothing at all.”
    “You are a smart girl,” Nathan said, and walked out of the library.

Book trailer for "The Far Unlit Unknown":

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John Murphy, Author of Mission Veritas

Today we are interviewing John Murphy about his SciFi novel "Mission Veritas."

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I retired from the computer software industry and have pursued a number of creative outlets. I’ve been writing off and on over the past twenty years, and decided to put in whatever necessary effort to get my novel "Mission Veritas" published. I have the good fortune of getting on board with an innovative new publisher, BookTrope, who produces both ebooks and printed books.

Describe the plot of your new book in a few sentences.
"Mission Veritas" is about candidates for an elite fighting force who must qualify on a planet where the atmosphere makes you tell the truth. Vaughn Killian must hide his past as a ruthless rebel fighter against the Carthenogen led Global Alliance, who espouse world peace with a brutal hand.

Who do you think would most appreciate this book?
Certainly readers with a military background as they often love a good action adventure. While I wrote, I also thought of video gamers who like first person shooters. Most popular games have a story line that goes along with the action. I tried to put the reader into the main character’s head as he encounters conflict with the environment and his peers.

Tell us a bit about the protagonist, Vaughn Killian.
Vaughn Killian begins the story as a teen who is immersed in video gaming, completely unaware of the worldwide turmoil around him. He’s the son of the US Ambassador to Thailand which is erupting, and and his parents are killed. He finds himself surviving among rebel fighters in a two-year purge of Bangkok where he learns his lethal fighting skills. Later, he’s returned to the US to join the military, and given an opportunity to join the elite fighting force, Black Saber. However, he cannot tell anyone about his recent past, that he was in Bangkok at all, or about how he was rescued.

Author John Murphy

What inspired you to write a book about a young man who must survive a difficult mission to prove himself and fight for what he believes in?
A few years back I was producing short videos for YouTube. My son, a late teen at the time, had acted in a few of my short videos. Some friends said their teens would love to appear in a movie, so I began brainstorming with my son to come up with a story that didn’t involve drugs, school, pregnancy, or present day social issues. The idea for candidates qualifying on a strange planet was hatched as my son and I worked out at the gym. I wrote it first as a screen play, but didn’t have the money to tackle such a huge project. So, I re-wrote it as a novel.

In your book, the Carthenogens are cruel tyrants who rule Earth. Can you elaborate a bit more on who they are for readers?
I took advantage of the widely held belief that we have been visited by aliens throughout history. They finally make their presence a known fact when Earth was on the brink of nuclear annihilation. They are swept into positions of power as they are seen as a superior, wiser race of beings, ‘saviors’ from another planet. They preach peace, but keep what they’re really up to a guarded secret and out of the news media.

Are there any authors who have influenced your writing style?
Robert Heinlein was the author who inspired me to take up writing. I’ve also enjoyed Brad Thor for his action and pacing. I wanted to create a good underdog story, otherworldly, with lots of action and tension.

Do you think your background as a Marine and world traveler has influenced your writing style?
As most young Marines join, they have visions of battle and heroism, and, of course, believe they’re invincible. I tried my best to capture these desires and the victory of overcoming obstacles. I also depict the kinds of experiences I’ve had with boot camp and interpersonal dramas thereafter. My travels inspired my choice for opening the story in Bangkok.

What are your goals as a writer for the next ten years?
Now that I’m writing full time, I plan to focus on the enjoyment of weaving good stories and putting characters in awful situations. I’d much rather spend my time doing this, as well as illustrating scenes, then playing golf.

Is there any aspect of writing you don't like?
Certainly, the “not knowing” whether I’d get published at all creates an anxiety from uncertainty. I’m sure most writers experience this. It can really make you wonder about your own sanity. Now that hurdle has been crossed, I experience the self-induced pressure to continually improve my writing skills, while at the same time, keeping the stories exciting, suspenseful, and surprising.

Have you ever had writer's block? If yes, how'd you deal with it? If you have not had writer's block, why do you think you haven't?
Yes, and no. Certainly, there are the times I turn on the computer and can’t think of where to start. However, I have always found that by reviewing what I had previously written, it gets my creative juices flowing again. Doing graphic illustrations really helps break things up, so that I rarely feel bogged down with no clues as to where to take the story. My wife has proven to be an incredible sounding board and muse for stimulating exciting ideas.

What do you have in mind for your next project?
I’m presently working on my second draft for the sequel. I had written it a few years ago, then tabled it while re-writing Mission Veritas, which turned out to be extremely helpful. I already knew where things were going, so I implanted many clues into Mission Veritas that readers ought to enjoy discovering as they continue reading the series. I’ve already got book three outlined, which helps me weave more clues into book two.

Is there anything else you'd like potential readers to know about your book?
When I started cooking up "Mission Veritas," I was confident that I could use my videography skills make a movie, shooting it in front of green screen, then drop in graphics behind. I learned that it was considerably more complicated and expensive than I envisioned, but I had taught myself graphics. While writing Mission Veritas as a novel, I produced dozens of images that I put on my website as bonus content. Seldom do you have a novelist who is able to illustrate their own stories with the faces and settings straight from the author’s imagination. I’m hoping that the bonus content will add more depth to the reader’s experience of the story.

Finally, Vaughn is modeled after my son, as he was willing to be the lead actor. When doing my graphics, I created an image of him in 3D modeling software that I use. Vaughn Killian is a real dude! (presently living in Germany).

3D modeling of Vaughn Killian

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of "Mission Veritas":

 As Vaughn got dressed, he tried to assure himself that Captain Leon and his men would be able to keep the dark forces at bay. Still, he couldn’t help but envision the wolves of anarchy skulking among the ghoulish protesters.

He lay back on his couch and put the Fantasia mesh over his head, the padded earphones reducing the chanting outside to haunting whispers. Still, his shoulders and neck were tense. He did his best to ignore them. 

The sensory mesh resembled a soft helmet. Inside the comfortably padded interior, electronic probes touched his scalp, creating a sense of motion during play. He lowered an opaque visor over his eyes, which featured a holographic screen inside.

Vaughn entered a virtual meeting chamber, an enormous medieval hall complete with weapons hanging on the walls. He met the avatars of his friends, who waited impatiently.

“Sorry I’m late,” Vaughn said. Excuses weren’t tolerated when it came to Fantasia—not even being in lockdown.

“You know the rules, dude. Last one here carries the ammo,” Joey said. His avatar hopped off a chest resembling wood and iron. 

Vaughn sighed. Lugging the chest would not only deplete his health points, but also diminish his fighting skills.

“Where’d we leave off?” Devon asked.

A monstrous explosion jolted Vaughn again, followed by an overwhelming rumble. There was no way that was part of the game.

He bolted upright. The floor shook and the glass décor rattled.  

“Holy shit! Something’s blowing up. Gotta go!” 

He ripped off his helmet. The rumbling continued. It was like thunder, but ten times worse. He could feel it in the couch and floor, like a herd of cattle racing through his room. The windows and furniture shook. 

The room went dark, as if a blanket had been draped over the embassy. Something started pelting the windows—a rain of pebbles and rocks. 

Vaughn hit the floor between the couch and the coffee table, praying the bulletproof glass would withstand whatever was hitting it.

A white strobe light came on above the door to the family’s private residence. Its rhythmic flash was punctuated by a piercing wail.

Pewww! Pewww! Pewww! Pewww!

The door to the residence burst open. 

“Vaughn! Vaughn!”

It was Captain Leon.

“Here!” Vaughn called, rising to a cautious crouch.

“Come on, son. We’ve got to get you to the panic room.” 

Vaughn scooted past him into the hall toward the rear of the house and down the service stairs. His feet stepped madly, but they felt detached from his body. Everything moved in slow motion. 

Vaughn and Captain Leon cut through the kitchen to the panic room. It was large enough to hold at least forty people. 

Emergency strobe lights flickered throughout the kitchen, but the panic room had a steady light powered by backup batteries.

“Oh God, Vaughn,” said Annette, a woman about his mother’s age who was one of the myriad of staffers. She rushed over and hugged him. “Thank God you’re okay.”

He hugged her tentatively in return. He barely knew her name, let alone her role at the embassy. 

Considering the circumstances, though, he was grateful for her motherly exuberance.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Vaughn responded automatically. He could feel his arms and knees trembling from adrenaline.

Vaughn turned, but Captain Leon was gone. A wave of vulnerability swept over him. He looked around the panic room and counted five faces he’d seen around the embassy: four Thai house and kitchen staff, and Annette. The panic room door stayed open a foot or so. The emergency strobe lights and siren continued their alerts.

A marine squeezed into the panic room, clutching a rifle and limping badly. Blood trickled down the side of his head and neck. He must have been on duty outside.

Captain Leon poked his face inside. “Lock it down, Corporal Tyler!” 

“Aye, aye, sir!”

Corporal Tyler pushed the heavy door closed and spun a wheel to lock it, shutting out the siren.
Although Vaughn yearned for some words of assurance from the captain, he felt safer for the moment.

Corporal Tyler went to the security console and fired up its eight screens. Four monitors displayed camera views inside the embassy; the other four displayed scenes outside. Corporal Tyler flicked between various views from the numerous cameras positioned around the facility. 

Dust and debris had rained down on the building and were everywhere in the cameras’ view, coating everything with dark gray ash. Thousands of people ran in every direction in a frenzied attempt to escape the bedlam. 

Vaughn couldn’t help but think of cockroaches.

Black smoke puffed intermittently across some of the screens. Dozens of dark figures raced inside the compound, toward the main entrance.

“Sir! We have a breach!” the corporal said into his mic.

“Roger that!” Captain Leon replied.

Rapid bursts of muffled gunfire came over the security systems from the watch positions on the roof. On the screens, some of the shadowy figures collapsed to the ground. Marines shouted directives to one another as they fired, swearing rapidly amid the swarming invaders.  

Corporal Tyler turned the volume down to low.

The conflict reminded Vaughn of every World Net combat game he’d ever played. But there was no laughter, no smack-talk, no health points. This death was real and the voices were terrified.

Annette whimpered into clasped hands, as did the four female house staff. With each intruder that went down, the knot that had twisted throughout Vaughn’s body loosened into nausea. Wide-eyed and trembling, he worried he had put everyone in the embassy at risk. After all, he was the leverage point.
An interior camera in the foyer showed Captain Leon wearing a helmet and flak jacket and bearing a rifle. He held on to the front door’s handle, as if to further secure the heavy locking mechanism.
Corporal Tyler put on headphones to listen closely to the marines’ chatter.

“I think they got the conference building!” a marine said.

More gunfire.

“Say again!” Corporal Tyler shouted into his mic. 

“They blew up the conference building,” a tower guard said, enunciating slowly. “It’s no longer there!”

Terror gripped Vaughn. Were his parents in that building? His knees and stomach quivered. He sat on the floor and held his head. Annette put a hand on his shoulder.

Officer Assecula came into camera view and tried to push the captain out of the way. Their shouts were barely discernible over the gunfire outside. 

Vaughn caught a phrase or two of Assecula’s shrill voice over the speakers: “Americans . . . civilians . . . shelter . . . attack . . .”

“She’s trying to let them in!” Corporal Tyler said.

“No!” Vaughn said, his eyes wide as he scrambled up and approached the screen.

Annette said frantically, “No, we can’t let them in!”

“Not when we’re under siege,” the corporal agreed. “Our job is to lock down and protect everyone inside, not let outsiders in. We don’t know who they are.”

“Why is she doing that?” Vaughn asked.

“She’s Global Alliance,” Annette said. “She could be collaborating with them.”

Captain Leon shoved her back, and Assecula disappeared from view. He returned to holding the door handle while dark figures banged on the glass. Assecula raced back into view and crashed a vase over Leon’s head and shoulders. He tumbled to the floor. 

Assecula lunged for the door and pushed it open. Captain Leon regained his footing, then leveled his rifle on the figures jostling to pull open the door. Shots exploded over the speakers. Blood splattered from Assecula’s body, which slumped halfway out the door. 

Intruders stepped over her, forcing their way in. 

Captain Leon fired again and again. 

Bodies piled up in the doorway. 

Captain Leon pulled the bodies in so he could close the door. 

A Molotov cocktail exploded against the door, erupting in flames. Captain Leon staggered backward, engulfed in fire. He dropped his rifle, fell to the floor, and rolled back and forth in a desperate effort to smother the flames. But they were too powerful, and eventually he lay still. 

Annette and the staffers screamed. Vaughn was on the verge of vomiting; saliva ran from his mouth. He turned away, staring at nothing but seeing the horrific image replaying in his mind.

Dark masked figures leapt across the bodies in the doorway. One snatched up Captain Leon’s rifle and turned it on him.

The gunshot yanked Vaughn’s attention back to the monitors. “The wolves!” 

“We have interior breach! We have interior breach! Bogies are in the building!” Corporal Tyler turned away from the monitors. “Everyone, back against the rear wall, by the supply boxes.” 

Vaughn and the women clambered to the rear of the narrow thirty-foot-long room. Corporal Tyler turned back to the monitors, rifle at the ready. 

More intruders piled into the house carrying Molotov cocktails. They threw them against the walls. 

Flames erupted everywhere. Vaughn paid particular attention to the monitor that showed his living room. A large figure entered and proceeded to flip over furniture, yank curtains off the windows, and pile them in the center of the room. Then he ducked in and out of the bedrooms. Vaughn swallowed hard. 

The intruder was looking for him.

The figure whopped a bottle over the coffee table. The bottle shattered, spilling its fuel. He lit it and fire sprang to life, consuming Vaughn’s nest of ignorant bliss. In a final statement of triumph, the intruder tossed Vaughn’s Coke pajamas onto the flaming heap.

More Information
Buy "Mission Veritas" on Amazon
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