Author Interview: Ferrett Steinmetz

Today I am interviewing Ferrett Steinmetz, author of the new urban fantasy novel, The Flux.

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DJ: Hey Ferret! Thanks for stopping by to do this interview!

Could you start things off by telling readers a little bit about The Flux?

Ferrett Steinmetz:  It’s the story of a man who loves paperwork, raising a daughter who loves videogames.

Wait.  That sounds terrible.

What if I told you the man loves paperwork so much that he has come to work great acts of magic through filling out ordinary forms, and can conjure apartments out of nowhere simply by imagining that he’s completed all the leasing agreements?

What if I told you that the daughter was burned by a magical terrorist, and as a result had been accelerated into horrible powers that no eight-year-old should have?  And her love of videogames also kindled magic, and now she can create vortexes of mass destruction simply by writing “Black Hole” in a game of Scribblenauts?

Book Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication Date: September 18, 2002 (first published 1937)

Edition: Paperback, 276 pages

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Rating: 4.5/5

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In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit… 

Guest Post: How to Dazzle Your Readers with Vibrant Settings by Alexis Radcliff

Alexis Radcliff is an author, gamer, unashamed geek, and history junkie who spent the better part of a decade working in tech before dedicating herself to her first love, literature.

Her new novel, A Vanishing Glow, is the first book in the Mystech Arcanum series, a deep and thrilling blend of steampunk and flintlock fantasy with mature themes.

Buy it now on Amazon.com, and read it when it releases on October 1st!

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How to Dazzle Your Readers with Vibrant Settings

by Alexis Radcliff

It’s easier than you might think to weave a vibrant setting in the minds of your readers.

Imagine, if you will, a house on a hill on a cloudless night. Ancient paint peels off in long strips from the rotting boards of the walls, and the wind whistles through broken attic windows. Inside, a musty smell permeates hallways long since abandoned.

Can you see the house yet? Do you know what color the wood is, and whether the staircase leading up to the attic is worn or well-kept? Do the doors have brass hinges or iron? I didn’t give you any of those details, but I’d bet money you can answer each of the questions I’ve asked. Magical, huh?

Backlist Burndown: During the Dance by Mark Lawrence

Backlist Burndown is a monthly meme hosted by Lisa from Tenacious Reader where you put aside at least one book from your blacklist every month to read, and then post a review of it on the last Friday of that month.

I could not have picked a better time to read this story. After just reading another short story, where I felt there was unnecessary amount of world-building to help develop a character, this is a PERFECT example of how you don’t need pages and pages to create a world and sympathetic character.

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During the Dance by Mark Lawrence

Publisher:

Publication Date: June 29, 2014

Edition: ebook, 9 pages

Genre: Short Story, Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5

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The ending game me goose bumps

The Time Traveler’s Almanac: Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Section: Experiments

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 1.5/5 Rating

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Ugh… 

Comic Book Review: Starve #3 (Starve #3) by Brian Wood

Starve #3 (Starve #3) by Brian Wood (story), Danikel Zezelj (art, cover), and Dave Stewart (color, cover)

Publisher: Image Comics

Publication Date: August 12, 2015

Edition: Paperback, 32 pages

Genre: Comic, Food

Rating: 5/5 Rating

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And the plot thickens!!!

Book Review: The Steel Remains (A Land Fit For Heroes #1) by Richard K. Morgan

The Steel Remains (A Land Fit For Heroes #1) by Richard K. Morgan

Publisher: Del Ray

Publication Date: January 20, 2009 (first publishedAugust 7, 2008)

Edition: Hardcover, Reprint, 416 pages

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Grimdark

Rating: 3/5 Rating

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I’ve read books with expletive language and violence, but this one here definitely takes the crown.

Author Interview: Eric Tozzi

Today I am interviewing Eric Tozzi, author of the post-apocalyptic, alien invasion novel, Apocalypse Weird: Phoenix Lights.

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DJ: Hey Eric! Thanks for stopping by to do this interview!

For readers who aren’t familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?

Eric Rozzi: First of all, thanks so much for having me! I’m a video and film editor by trade, and on occasion a director. I’ve had the good pleasure of working for NASA as a Mars Rover documentary editor/producer, and the thrill of being involved with film adaptations for stories by Stephen King (Paranoid) and Ray Bradbury (Kaleidoscope). I’ve been writing since high school and love telling stories. I live in Phoenix Arizona with my beautiful wife and adorable cat.

DJ: What is Phoenix Lights about?

ER: Phoenix Lights is an alien invasion thriller set within the larger bookverse of Apocalypse Weird. For this book I decided to use a well-known, real life UFO sighting that occurred in March of 1997. It was a high profile event that was subsequently referred to as the “The Phoenix Lights Incident.” Anyone who Googles “Phoenix Lights” will immediately find a massive volume of links with pictures and articles. No matter what you believe about it—whether it was military aircraft or something else—it cannot be denied that the event left many thousands of people awestruck and to this day wondering what exactly happened.

The basic premise of my book centers on what happens eighteen years after the Phoenix Lights incident. The V shaped ships have returned and it’s an all out attack on the central Arizona region. Additionally, I’ve incorporated the idea of a secret, underground facility—an Area 51 mirror site—buried in the desert near the Superstition Mountains. And in the book I imply that this site has something to do with the V’s showing back up.

The Time Traveler’s Almanac: Needle In A Timestack by Robert Silverberg

Needle In A Timestack by Robert Silverberg

Section: Experiments

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 3/5 Rating

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The butterfly effect!

Book Review: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Elantris (Elantris #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication Date: May 2005 (first published 2005)

Edition: Hardcover, 492 pages

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5

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Sanderson is only one book away from becoming one of my favorite authors.