Author Interview: Kyle Richardson

Today I am interviewing Kyle Richardson, author of the new fantasy novel, Beast Heart, first book in the Steambound trilogy. 

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DJ: Hey Kyle! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! 

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

Kyle Richardson: Hi DJ! Thanks for having me. A little about myself? Let’s see … I’m a Hawaii-born author who now lives in snowy Canada, an oft-bumbling husband, a father to two little rascals, and I’m still waiting for my superpower origin story (which I’m hoping will result in a traditional power, like telekinesis, rather than something bizarre—like the ability to tickle insects, or something).

I’m a traditionally published writer of flash fiction and short fiction, have worked as an assistant editor and co-editor, and now I’m making my novel-length fiction debut with Beast Heart.

DJ: What is Beast Heart about?

Kyle: This is a question that appears so simple, yet strikes fear into the hearts of writers everywhere. Oh, the challenges of summarizing an entire story in a paragraph or two! 😀

We follow two strangers, Gabrielle and Kemple, as they navigate their youths (and, later: their teenagehood) along the fringes of Iron Bay, a city full of carriages, airships, clockwork beings, and creatures that go bump in the night.
Their two lives will inevitably intertwine, in the most explosive of ways, but neither of them knows it … yet.

DJ: What were some of your influences Beast Heart and the series? 

Kyle: I didn’t write with any specific influences in mind, though I’m sure the book owes a lot of its ideas to the various stories and films I consumed growing up. Looking at the finished product, I can definitely see a lot of Bubblegum Crisis in it (a cyberpunk Anime from the late 1980s, following a team of young women in mech-suits who fight monsters to protect the city), along with a healthy splash of American Werewolf in London.

Author Interview: Roy Freirich

Today I am interviewing Roy Freirich, author of the new psychological thriller novel, Deprivation. 

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DJ: Hi Roy! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! 

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

Roy Freirich: Thank you! I would love to say less is more and try to be enigmatic, but that probably wouldn’t be the result. I’m from suburban NY, was an absurdly pretentious self-pitying teenaged poet, studied real poetry in college and grad school and ran away to the mountains of California where I weaseled my way into writing song lyrics with/for Warner Brothers recording artist Bill LaBounty.  Moved to LA, became a lyricist with various songwriter contracts and songs recorded by some actual legendary R&B singers, but decided I needed a new wall to bang my head against and that since I saw lots of movies, I could write them. The jury’s out. One of my first efforts was written simultaneously as my first novel Winged Creatures and became the  (studio-retitled) film Fragments, featuring Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Josh Hutcherson, Guy Pearce, Walt Goggins, and lots of recognizable others to whom I am grateful. Since then, the movie business hasn’t been as straightforward for me, but it’s a safe bet I’ve failed to adapt as it became more driven by event (OK, superhero) fare and less by the kind of literary / psychological drama I write.

DJ: What is Deprivation about?

Roy: Elevator pitch?  Honestly, it feels like people have tried to pry the doors apart between floors, so here’s a short version: “A New England tourist island struck by mass insomnia.”  What’s it about thematically? The idea that dreams keep us sane, and without them, we’ll each go crazy in our unique way— as our own unresolved experiences increasingly drive us in our waking lives. It’s about mass hysteria, too, and how our individual psychology makes us vulnerable to it. And then, yes, about how we collectively blame and scapegoat and murder each other.  We are the creatures who kill us.

DJ: What were some of your influences for Deprivation? 

Roy: Jose Saramago, Cormac McCarthy, Styron’s Lie Down in Darkness, James Salter, John Updike, Raymond Carver, Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies,  Robert Stone.  Did I mention Robert Stone?

Author Interview: J.T. Nicholas

Today I am interviewing J.T. Nicholas, author of the new science-fiction novel, Re-Coil.

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DJ: Hi J.T.! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview! 

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

J.T. Nicholas: I’m a sci-fi author (primarily, anyway) who lives in North Carolina.  I’ve wanted to be an author for pretty much as long as I can remember, but it’s a long journey, so I spent a large chunk of my career in the exciting and dazzling world of insurance data analysis.  I know, I know… it’s difficult to imagine leaving something so exciting behind for a career as mundane as authordom, but such is the road I’ve taken. I’m happily married with two Australian Shepherds who have a bigger social media following than I do (@ronin_and_gambit on Instagram) one of which is whining at me right this very moment.  I love reading (unsurprising), writing (also unsurprising), games (video and tabletop) and anime.  

DJ: What is Re-Coil about?

J.T.: I think of it as a whodunnit set against the backdrop of a gritty cyberpunk/sci-fi world where mankind has conquered death by backing up the human consciousness and stuffing it into a new body (or coil in the parlance of the book) when you die.  The main focus of the story has the protagonist trying to figure out why he and his crew disappeared on what should have been a routine salvage mission. There’s corporate greed, coverups, and a dash of existential threat thrown in for good measure.

DJ: What were some of your influences for Re-Coil? 

J.T.:  L.E. Modesitt, Jr.’s sci-fi has always had an ethical twist to it, which certainly has influenced my writing.  All of the cyberpunk regular suspects (Bruce Sterling, Neal Stephenson, Richard K. Morgan, Katsuhiro Otomo) influenced my vision of the future.  Isaac Asminov and Phillip K. Dick were also big influences, particularly since I think the two of them were some of the biggest voices in the “detective sci-fi” world.  I’ve been reading sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery for 3 decades, so there are a lot of other influences. And that’s just the books. I also draw influence from movies, tv shows, anime, video games, and people watching.