Today I am interviewing R.W.W. Greene, author of the new science-fiction novel, Mercury Rising! ◊ ◊ ◊ DJ: Hi R.W.W. Greene! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself? R.W.W. Greene: Hi, DJ. Thanks so much for inviting me. Once upon […]
Author Interview: R.W.W. Greene — Bookworm M.D.
Today I am interviewing Terri Favro, author of the new science-fiction novel, The Sisters Sputnik, the sequel to Terri’s 2017 novel Sputnik’s Children! ◊ ◊ ◊ DJ: Hi Terri! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself? Terri Favro: Hi DJ, […]
Author Interview: Terri Favro — Bookworm M.D.
Photo by Jenny Warburg Today I am interviewing Robin Kirk, author of the new YA fantasy novel, The Mother’s Wheel, final book in the The Bond Trilogy. She teaches human rights at Duke University, where she also started a class on speculative fiction and human rights. ◊ ◊ ◊ DJ: Hi Robin! Thanks for agreeing […]
Author Interview: Robin Kirk — Bookworm M.D.
Today I am interviewing NY Times bestseller and 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner and Inkpot Awardwinner, Jonathan Maberry, author of the new epic fantasy novel, Kagen the Damned, first book in the Kagen the Damned series. ◊ ◊ ◊ DJ: Hi Jonathan! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! For readers who aren’t familiar with you, […]
Author Interview: Jonathan Maberry — Bookworm M.D.
Today I am interviewing Jennifer Estep, author of the new fantasy novel, Tear Down the Throne, second book in the Gargoyle Queen series ◊ ◊ ◊ DJ: Hi Jennifer! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself? Jennifer Estep: Thanks for […]
Author Interview: Jennifer Estep — Bookworm M.D.
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Alma Katsu: I’ve written seven novels. Most are in the historical horror/supernatural fantasy vein, with the most recent being The Fervor. I also had a spy thriller, Red Widow, come out in 2021, with a second in the series coming in 2023. I’ve been putting out novels for over ten years but had a whole career in intelligence (hence the spy novels), retiring a few years ago.
Alma: On one level, it’s about the lives of four characters during the waning days of WWII: Meiko, the Japanese wife of a U.S. fighter pilot imprisoned at one of the Japanese internment camps; Archie Mitchell, whose wife is killed at the opening of the book when a fu-go, or fire balloon, explodes near Bly, Oregon; Fran Gurstwold, a reporter intent on writing up the dangerous and mysterious fire balloon incidents; and Aiko, Meiko’s daughter, who escapes from camp and makes a dangerous solo journey back to Seattle when she’s told her mother has died. On another level, though, it’s an exploration of racism.
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Errick Nunnaly: Hi, DJ! Thanks for the opportunity. I am a relatively normal human with a weakness for comic books, sci-fi, and other speculative works. I was raised in Boston, Massachusetts—the Mattapan neighborhood—and after high school I did a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps. I have a Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design—a very dissonantly titled degree—and a black belt in Krav Maga/Muay Thai. Like most authors, I have a wide range of interests from socio-political history to marine biology to cocktails.
Errick: The anthology is for The Pixel Project, a non-profit focused on ending violence against women. They are an online collective, so their communications channels and network are huge in social media and new technologies. In particular, their project, the Read For Pixels Campaign, contains the anthology and related events such as blog tours, panels, signings, and interviews. I wanted to be a part of it because it’s currently the best way for me to contribute to the cause.
Errick: The theme for the entire anthology was “comeuppance” with a Twilight Zone feel. I am a huge fan of revenge. I love comeuppance, it’s definitely an entertaining thought as it pertains to real world problems, if impractical all too often. So, these stories are supposed to reflect that. My story is about a woman who comes to recognize the opportunity that follows when she and her toxic husband drop their son off at college. Through a serendipitous occurrence, she comes in contact with a network that’s all to happy to encourage her…independent thinking.
Errick: The different forms of abusive behaviors that partners can model. I wanted to present a situation that was not as overt as someone who is unfamiliar with domestic violence might think. How someone can be trapped and to what extent their autonomy erased. And I really, really, really wanted to present a comeuppance that was unexpected and plausible. Continue reading
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David Dalglish: Hello! I’m the somewhat prolific fantasy author of a bunch of different series, from the very D&D influenced the Half-Orcs and the Paladins, the assassin focused Shadowdance series, the anime inspired Seraphim Trilogy, and the overall bonkers Keepers Trilogy. I was there at the start of the self-publishing boom on Amazon, and also been traditionally published with Orbit Books for years now. With all this experience, you might think I know what I’m doing, but that’s still debatable.
David: The island of a young prince, is invaded by the Everlorn Empire, a sprawling power on the mainland ruled by their God-Incarnate, who is determined to slaughter all other ‘heathen’ gods and establish himself as the sole idol of worship. With his family executed, his gods slain, and his army crushed, any resistance seems hopeless. But then a core group of resistance fighters from the mainland arrive, rescue Cyrus, and offer him a chance to fight back. Using his ties to the throne, and their money and experience, they can create a new resistance, spearheaded by Cyrus himself. He will be their figurehead, trained to fight, to kill. He’ll become an assassin known as the Vagrant, and through rumors and subterfuge become a new hope for the island so they might believe this overwhelming, unstoppable empire can still be beaten.
David: The vast majority of the Vagrant Gods takes place on the island of Thanet. It’s a fairly small island, ruled over by two gods, the butterfly goddess Lycaena and the winged lion Endarius. Due to the cooperation of the gods, their earlier squabbles and fractured regions have united under a single royal family blessed by the gods themselves. Given their lengthy distance from the mainland continent of Gadir, the people of Thanet have mostly known peace…until that massive fleet arrives at their shores at the beginning of the novel. Continue reading
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Chris Panatier: Hi and thanks for asking me. I live in Dallas, Texas, with my family and the clown show of dogs who have joined us like camp followers. I write books and short stories, illustrate album and book covers, and also practice law going after companies that do bad things to people.
Chris: I knew someone would ask me this eventually 🙂 Okay. I’m just going to give you a beefed up version of the short back cover copy, because it’s the best boiled down take without being too spoilery: Ben is NOT a genius, but he can spout facts about animals and wristwatches with the best of experts. He just can’t explain how he knows any of it. He also knows about the Chime. What it is or why it’s important he couldn’t say. But this knowledge is about to get him in a whole heap of trouble. After he and his best friend Patton are abducted by a trash-talking, flesh-construct alien bounty hunter, Ben finds out just how much he is worth… and how dangerous he can be. Hopefully Patton and a stubborn jar of pickles will be enough to help him through. Because being able to describe the mating habits of Brazilian bark lice isn’t going to save them.”
So that’s basically it. I will say that in talking about the book I’ve undersold the heart and poignancy that much of this story carries with it. It’s funny, yes, but this is about a group of people in a difficult situation and how relationships between them are born and tested. Continue reading
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Khan Wong: Thanks for having me! I’ve been a creative person my whole life, and over the years I’ve published poetry, played the cello and ukulele, been a firedancer and hula hooper. I worked in the nonprofit arts for a long time.
Khan: The elevator pitch is: it’s about a circus that takes down a crimeboss on the galaxy’s infamous pleasure moon. The longer more nuanced answer is, it’s about chosen family, community, the acceptance of people different from us, and art. With a dash of superpowers and lots of aliens and partying.
Khan: The Wayfarers books by Becky Chambers and that slice-of-life approach to space opera was a big influence on this project. The Sol Majestic by Ferrett Steinmetz was also instructive for me. And my experiences in the realm of circus arts.
Khan: The main character, Jes, is an asexual empath with gravity powers. The gravity powers drive the plot, but his sexuality and empathic ability drive the character and how he relates to the world – particularly an overtly sexual world such as a pleasure moon. He’s essentially a gentle person who hasn’t experienced much kindness in his life, and struggles with some of the things he feels he has to do in the course of the story. His BFF is Esmée, who is an aspiring singer who learns to assert her identity against the cultural expectations of her people. Jes’s romantic interest is Bo, an acrobat in the circus who is fiercely loyal and protective, and devoted to his art and community. The main antagonist is Niko, the local crimeboss who has his hooks in the circus, who presents himself as being cultured and debonair, but is capable of great cruelty and violence. Continue reading
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