This week I’m interviewing Eric S. Brown who is, among other things, one of the many writers like myself writing in the Four Horsemen Universe. He’s also written a bunch of horror, military science fiction, and kaiju stuff.
I am a professional horror and SF writer. I’m also a collector of all things comics and SF. David Drake is my hero. I learned how to write by reading his work when I was younger. One could blame my whole career on Dave.
What is your favorite color?
I like the color green. I also like to scare people with words. I’ve been writing horror for about 17 years now. I write the type of stories I want to see as a fan. That’s how my book Bigfoot War came about. I had been writing zombie stuff for a long time and even did a Z novel for Simon and Schuster (War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies). I was burnt out on zombies and really wanted to do something different. Bigfoot War is that. It makes Sasquatch truly frightening beasts and unleashes hordes of them upon the world. Bigfoot War (Bigfoot Wars on IMDB) was adapted into a feature film by Origin Releasing with C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders) and Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club). While the paycheck was nice, I really didn’t care for the movie and it didn’t have a lot to do with my then series of Bigfoot War books.
Eric S. Brown
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
I like to think that the books I write are FUN above all else. From Bigfoot War to Kaiju Apocalypse to Casper Alamo (set in Chris Kennedy’s Four Horsemen Universe) my books are about guns and monsters with loads of action and more than a little gore. I have a Mech/Psionics/Vampires book coming out later this year entitled Psi-Mechs Inc. I am biased but I think it’s the best thing I have ever written. It’s about mech pilots and psychics who hunt monsters.
Lightning Round (answer any or all, be as verbose and whimsical as you wish)
Casper Alamo cover
Favorite Muppet? The Shrimp guy.
Favorite Sports Team? I don’t do sports so I am going with The Micronauts on this one.
Cake or Pie? Cake
Lime or Lemon? Lime
Favorite Chip Dip? Don’t have one.
Wet or Dry? Wet. Always wet.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Sorry but to me music consists of Rush, more Rush, and a little more Rush. (ed. note: I knew I liked him for a reason)
Whisky or Whiskey? Don’t drink.
Favorite Superhero? Wonder Woman for DC and Daredevil for Marvel.
Steak Temperature? Well Done. (ed. note: Sigh)
Favorite 1970s TV show? Battlestar Galactica.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall.
Favorite Pet? (provide pictures if you want) I love cats. The favorite cat of my life was Howard, named after Lovecraft. I had him for seven years but he passed from health issues.
Best Game Ever? I don’t really game so I will go with 2nd edition D&D from back in the day.
Coffee or Tea? Coffee!!
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Sci-Fi all the way.
What question(s) would you like to ask me?
How did you get into interviewing people?
My answer: I had been interviewed by other people, and I wanted some more content on my blog. Also, it turns out that perhaps the most time-consuming aspect of writing my weekly email is finding someone to spotlight. This way, I don’t have to worry about it.
Do you love the rebooted BSG as every right thinking SF person should?
My answer: Oddly no, mostly because I haven’t actually seen it. Much like Eric, I loved the original and I found it hard to give it a chance. Also, I don’t watch many TV shows. Usually, my personal preference is something to do with sports.
I try to attend Liberty con every year. Aside from that, I am a very stay at home sort of writer.
Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not?
My newest release is The Squad. It’s a Bigfoot horror book set in the south. Other books I have had released this year as Casper Alamo, Day of the Sasquatch, Bigfoot, and a dark fantasy, Lovecraftian Roman novel entitled Beyond Night.
Thanks to Eric for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
Marisa is another person I met at LibertyCon. She is chock full of awesome, as you will see here.
Interview: Marisa Wolf
Marisa Wolf
What is your quest?
To write stories that people can’t put down, to imagine what the future could look like (both in a “yaaay!” and a “yeee-ikes” sort of way), and to write characters people think about after the books let them go…
What is your favorite color?
Characters that feel real – thinking about how they might react in all kinds of situations that never make it to the story so I have a better idea of their life choices. Thinking through the emotional response I’d like to provoke. Sometimes that means reading out loud to make sure what was snarky-funny in my head lands outside of my actual head. Sometimes it’s writing a fight scene to Immigrant Song so I get the mood right. Sometimes it’s brainstorming gut-punch moments with authors who are really, really, really good at such things (coughKaceycough) (Rob’s Note: Kacey Ezell’s interview is here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?p=1470).
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
Whewwww the voice in my head is an ASSHOLE. Can we curse here? (Rob’s Note: Don’t hurt my saintly ears)
I feel like you curse when you go hurtling off the bridge, and also that voice is the equivalent of being thrown from the bridge in the middle of your grail-quest. Right, the voice – the one that tells me I’m not good enough, that people are going to notice I don’t belong with all these amazing writers, that I should probably not bother to write because no one’s going to like it…UGH that voice makes setting and keeping a writing routine hard. (Rob’s Note: That voice deserves to get cursed at)
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
Character development – where they end up is not where they started, even if they deny that growth to themselves (I’m a big fan of characters in denial about something, which maybe says something about me? Unclear). This is for sure a skill I developed through fanfiction, where I had characters I wrote for yearsssss.
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? Cookie Monster. The right answer.
Crunchy or Creamy? Creamy. Except when I want crunchy, and then crunchy.
Favorite Sports Team? Bad News Bears. Hufflepuff’s Quidditch team. (for real I was raised on Boston sports and so believe firmly in the underdog and then my teams did all the winning and it’s an identity crisis, I tell you #hardproblemstohave)
Cake or Pie? Peanut butter pie, then everything else = yes, please, excellent runner up
Lime or Lemon? Someone already made the lime in the coconut joke, didn’t they?
Favorite Chip Dip? Cheese.
Wet or Dry? #thatswhatshesaid
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? #imnotahipster #basicmusicaltaste #idontcareitssogood
Whisky or Whiskey? YES, please and thank you.
Favorite Superhero? Kitty Pryde #shehadaDRAGON
Steak Temperature? Medium rare, I will accept only rare-r temperatures as valid answers.
Favorite 1970s TV show? Not gonna lie, all the ones I thought of were 80s. Early 80s, but…yeah.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? …all you have to do is call! (dammit now that song is in my head) (Rob’s Note: My job’s done here)
Favorite Pet? I can’t pick a favorite, or I will be haunted by all the good boys and girls who went before. All dogs are the best. All cats are also the best. Even the jerks.
Best Game Ever? Either Uno or Apples to Apples with my family (each side has claim to one) – there is always loud arguing, snorting, attempts at cheating that are immediately seen through, and so much laughter I’m honestly sore the next day.
Coffee or Tea? Coffee. Unless I want tea, and then tea. But for real: coffee.
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? YES. Also you have a typo, ‘or’ should be spelled a-n-d.
What question(s) would you like to ask me?
What was the first book/story that GOT you? The one that made you catch your breath and need to read and re-read and maybe also re-re-re-re-read it?
Rob’s Answer: Well, I would probably have to say the Hardy Boy books. For a while, they were my babysitter when my parents both had classes to teach at the same time. They would buy me one that I didn’t have, which usually took me about 2-3 hours to read. That meant I got a lot of them one semester when I was five.
I’d also like to toss out The Ghost of Dibble Hollow. I read that book like a zillion times in 4th grade. I still have a copy and I might just read it again this weekend.
Marisa Wolf is the author of “Under the Skin” in The Good, the Bad, and the Merc, and the co-author of Assassin, with the fabulous Kacey Ezell. With more to come in the 4HU, she’s also co-authored a short story in another universe with Kacey (“Underneath” in Sha’daa: Toys, from Copper Dog Publishing), and has apparently decided to have five or more projects going at the same time all the time.
She was born in New England, and raised on a healthy diet of Boston sports teams, Star Wars, Star Trek, and the longest books in the library (usually fantasy). Over the years she majored in English (in part to get credits for reading which…partly worked), taught middle school science and history, was headbutted by an alligator, built a career in education, earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and finally decided to finish all those half-started stories in her head.
She currently lives in Texas with three absurd rescue dogs, more books than seems sensible, and one deeply understanding husband.
Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not?
You should have asked what nerd property do you desperately want to see come to some sort of media life in a very high quality way? That way I could have answered Dragonriders of Pern. Now! Please and thank you.
You should have also asked if there will be a sequel to Assassin so I could mention that Hunter is coming soon.
Thanks to Marisa for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
Doug Dandridge is one of the great independent writers out there. He’s done really well in part because he puts out a ton of good material. My personal favor is his Exodus: Empires at War series, but he has over thirty published titles, including two other series, Refuge techno-fantasy and The Deep Dark Well trilogy. Now he’s started Kinship Wars, a traditionally published series. Let’s just say I’ve visited his Amazon Author’s Page: https://www.amazon.com/Doug-Dandridge/e/B006S69CTU/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1522973584&sr=1-2-ent a number of times to get his books.
Exodus: Empires at War, Book 1 Cover
And I’m not the only one. According to his bio, “(h)e has amassed over 5,000 reviews across his books on Amazon, with a 4.6 star average. 5,000 reviews! And about that same number on Goodreads. I am learning just how hard it is to get a single review out of readers, so that’s even more amazing to me than the hundreds of thousands of books he’s sold.
Clearly, he knows both how to write and how to market online, so I was excited when he agreed to answer my questions.
Doug Dandridge
What is your quest? I like to craft technically sound science fiction (and fantasy as well) in an interesting and well thought out setting, with strong characters. Sometimes I actually succeed. I like the physics, chemistry, biology to stay as close to accurate as possible. Which doesn’t mean I don’t make up whimsical of utterly fantastic elements, but I see no need to step on real world principles when not necessary. My major influences include Robert Heinlein, Poul Anderson, David Weber, Robert E Howard, Jim Butcher, R A Salvatore and Larry Niven. I get a little bit from each one and possibly blend them together into something of my own. It seems to work, as I was able to not only quit my day job, but make a very good living at it.
What is your favorite color? Like Jim Butcher I start off with a map most of the time. I do a lot of research. Even in fantasy, I look up a lot of information, put a lot of it on paper. I world build to an extreme, probably more than I need to, but then, when I have a series, I just need to add onto the already detailed world. And I draw a lot of things out on graph paper, which allows even a poor artist like myself to visualize my settings. Spaceships, star systems, castles, even the look of dragons. All goes down on paper. And when I’m creating a star system I like to use programs to look over the configurations of planets and make sure it all works (wouldn’t do to have your inhabited planet go spiraling into the star). Probably more than I need to, but I read the horror stories of people finding fault with the science in other works. I even use Nukemap to make sure my things that go boom have an accurate damage radius.
Doug Dandridge with Helicopter
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush? I wrote a series called Refuge, which actually started off really well. Both of the first books sold over 5,000 copies. They mixed modern technology with magic, with people from Earth crossing over to another dimension against their will and having to fight wizards, dragons and things that go smack in the night. With tanks, attack helicopters and a couple of tactical nukes. Due to the physical and magical laws of the planet, the technology would only last for a short period of time, and the humans had to use it or lose it. So by book three they had lost it, and I had lost my readership. Turned out that the majority of people who bought the first two books loved the idea of technology versus magic, so book three sold just over two thousand copies, while four barely made it over a thousand. I’ve tried to salvage the series with book five, resorting to magic imbued steam tech. But I’m afraid once you lose readers you’ve lost them for good, at least for that series. The lesson? When something is working, don’t make radical changes.
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade? I am really proud of the Exodus: Empires at War series and the spinoff, Exodus: Machine War. This is the universe that turned me into an independent success. Of the 240,000 odd books I have sold, over 200,000 of them are in these series. They have been well received, and I have collected a lot of fans from all over the world from these books. I feel that I write battle scenes really well (see R A Salvatore and Jim Butcher above), and I’m also good at putting in technical details without overwhelming people with info dumps. The Exodus series is nearing its end, but I will start another side series, going back in time to the origins of my human Empire.
Lightning Round
Crunchy or Creamy? Crunchy.
Five by Five Cover
Favorite Sports Team? Florida State University, because I went there and I live in Tallahassee. Any of the teams, not just football. I go to women’s soccer, both basketballs, softball, volleyball, even sometimes baseball.
Cake or Pie? Pie, because cake is too rich.
Lime or Lemon? Lime, because lemon is just too sour.
Favorite Chip Dip? Home-made French Onion dip. None of that weak store made stuff. The Lipton’s Onion Soup with sour cream.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? A German Jazz guitarist named Vogel Kreigel. He played in a little hotel in North Germany back in the late 1970s. One of the best jazz guitarists in the world at that time.
Whisky or Whiskey? I used to love Wild Turkey 101. Haven’t had a drink, for health reasons, in fourteen years.
Favorite Superhero? Spiderman. I’ve been a Spidey freak since I was five years old, and I bought the issue of Amazing Stories that featured the webhead.
Steak Temperature? Medium rare.
Favorite 1970s TV show? Man, go back to the sixties and I might have something. The seventies did nothing for me, and I spent half of them in the Army.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall, love the crispy temps. Best time for going to football and soccer.
Favorite Pet? (provide pictures if you want) I had a ginger cat years ago named Beau who was the smartest pet I have ever had (and I’ve had an Australian Shepard). He died way too young at age nine.
Best Game Ever? Video Game? Fallout New Vegas, with lots of mods. Best gaming world, best story, a lot of fun to play in VR.
Coffee or Tea? I’m a big coffee drinking. Buy the beans and grind them myself before brewing them.
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? I love them both. I would actually like to write more fantasy, but somehow I slid into the scifi niche, so there I am.
What question(s) would you like to ask me? How do you come up with these questions?
My Answer: I think the first time I asked questions like this happened because I got tired of internet question memes, so oddly that made me make my own. The ones out there were just bland and boring, and so I made a whimsical one to have fun with my friends.
I used the idea again when I got married to my second wife. We wanted to make it fun, so I asked a larger series of questions to everyone involved in the ceremony. Then, we had a friend who is great at such things introduce us all as if we were wrestlers coming into a WWE event or something like that. We had a fantastic wedding.
As everyone who answers the interview questions realizes, I want to get some idea of your methods. Hopefully, this will help me and my readers find things that might improve our writing and publishing skills. However, I didn’t want it to be bland and boring, hence the Monty Python way of asking the questions.
But I also wanted to give each of you a chance to be something more than a name on an e-book. For example, I think it’s awesome that I now know you’re a Florida State fan. Plus, given how much I like to host people, it’s always a good thing to know how to cook their steak should the opportunity arise.
Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not? How did you ever decide to get into this crazy business?
I was out of work and pissed off at the employer that had just fired me, and decided to write a book exposing the corruption of mental health organizations. I sat down and wrote that book in two weeks, then started on an alternate history. When that was done, I went to work on a 260K word fantasy.
Refuge, Book 1 Cover
I wrote on an off for over a decade, collecting over three hundred rejection slips, but trying to do it the old way, through a publisher. Finally, in 2010, I was really sick of my job and wanted to become a full time writer. I wrote the equivalent of 7 novels that years, including the books that were turned into the first two volumes of Exodus: Empires at War and Refuge: The Arrival. I didn’t actually put anything online until December 31, 2011, and nothing much sold for the first eight months. I did a giveaway for a book called
The Deep Dark Well, and 4,100 went off the Amazon hard drive. When Exodus came out in November (I had put out Refuge first, thinking it would be the breakout novel), I started selling 100 books a day. In January of 2013 I sold 8,900 books and the sales continued into February with 5,400. I kept getting good sale the first couple days of March, and I turned in my two week notice and never looked back.
What’s Your Upcoming Event Schedule? I will also have books coming out later this year from Arc Manor Publishing (Kinship War) and Chris Kennedy Publishing (When Eagles Dare).
Doug’s Book Biography:
Doug Dandridge is the author of over thirty self-published books on Amazon, including the very successful, Exodus: Empires at War series, the Refuge techno-fantasy series, The Deep Dark Well Trilogy, as well as numerous standalone science fiction and fantasy novels. In a five year period as a self-published author, Doug has sold well over two hundred thousand eBooks, paperbacks and audio books. He has amassed over 5,000 reviews across his books on Amazon, with a 4.6 star average, and a similar number of ratings on Goodreads with a 4.12 star average. He has also written his first traditionally published novel, the first of a series, Kinship Wars. He served in the US Army as an infantryman, as well as several years in the Florida National Guard in the same MOS. Doug, who holds degrees from Florida State University and the University of Alabama, lives with his five cats in Tallahassee Florida. He is a sports enthusiast and a self-proclaimed amateur military historian.
Thanks to Doug for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
Sorry I haven’t posted anything for #Four Horsetober in a few days. I had to help my mom out for a bit and that threw me off schedule. I’ll start making it up this morning with Jason Cordova.
I met Jason Cordova at LibertyCon and he immediately said something sarcastic to me and offered good scotch. I liked that so much I went out and bought Wraithkin, book 1 of the Kin Wars Saga. I liked *that* so much I bought books 2 and 3 in that series.
Interview: Jason Cordova
Jason Cordova Portrait
What is your quest?
I try to include my own life experiences into the writing. The problem I have is I find oftentimes that some of the things I’ve done are so farfetched that nobody would believe it! So I borrow techniques from the best in the business – Jim Butcher, Larry Correia, Tim Zahn. Zahn especially has been a huge influence on my writing career, since the very first SF series I ever read was his Conqueror’s Trilogy.
What is your favorite color?
I love a vivid action scene, but I noticed over the years that I’m a little vague when it comes to describing a character’s appearance in detail (unless it’s a plot device!). I think it’s partially due to a deep hatred some authors have of overly describing things (“info dumping”) that can yank a reader out of the story. I’m all about pacing, dialogue, and character development without talking about how pretty/handsome they are. If I can write a 100,000 word novel and people are complaining that it’s too short and they “just started it, how come it’s over?”, I feel like I’ve done my job. (Rob’s Note: I agree, and strive to limit my Raymond Chandler tendencies… most of the time)
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
The English language continues to vex me. In my head everything is part Spanish, part English, and translating a lot of it means I mix up order of words and verb tenses. I have the same issues when I try to write in Spanish (too many English-isms). Fortunately, I’ve had fairly decent editors over the years who are patient and willing to shoot me an email with a question. The most common one is “What are you trying to say here?”
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
I’m definitely proud of my Kakata Korps short stories set in the Four Horsemen universe. Using a relatively unknown group of behind-the-scenes guys who are struggling to find their way in a war-torn universe appeals to me. I enjoy writing about Mulbah and his crazy little band of hard-charging Liberians. I also am immensely pleased with the Kin Wars Saga. I love writing in that universe, even if it’s a constant reminder of the friends I’ve lost over the years due to illness.
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? GONZO!!!
Crunchy or Creamy? Creamy
Favorite Sports Team? Atlanta Braves
Cake or Pie? Both?
Lime or Lemon? Lemon-lime
Favorite Chip Dip? Salsa, but homemade and onion-free (onion allergy will kill me one day)
Wet or Dry? Dry
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Mindless Self Indulgence. They’re my guilty pleasure indie band of weirdos.
Whisky or Whiskey? Scotch
Favorite Superhero? The Flash
Steak Temperature? Rare
Favorite 1970s TV show? Little House on the Prairie
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall/Winter
Favorite Pet? My cat Casper
Best Game Ever? Civilization V (Rob’s Note: Over Civ VI?)
Coffee or Tea? Coffee
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Sci-Fi
What question(s) would you like to ask me?
How do you find time to do all that you do and continue to have a life?
Rob’s Answer: You tell me. I do this full-time, given that I’m too educated to get any job that I’m qualified for. You also work, so I would say you’re the one with the more challenging path.
Working for yourself is hard, though, especially the motivation to do things every day. That’s my big struggle. In school, I would binge work. You can do that some in this job, but not as often because you don’t have gaps like you do in school.
As for my life, it’s not terribly active outside of going to cons and SCA events, which have become my work. My sweetie and spend most nights watching TV together or working on projects around the house. I’m surprisingly domestic anymore.
FantaSci (probably, still waiting on confirmation) – March 22-24, 2019
Libertycon – May 31-June 1, 2019
Dragoncon – Aug 29-Sept 2, 2019
Do you have a creator biography?
A 2015 John W. Campbell Award finalist, Jason Cordova is probably best known for his popular Kin Wars Saga series, as well as the Kaiju Apocalypse trilogy with Eric S. Brown. He also has written a YA science fiction series called The Warp. He was also featured in John Ringo’s bestselling Black Tide Rising anthology, and the highly-regarded Forged in Blood anthology set in Michael Z Williamson’s “Freehold” universe. He will have a story in the upcoming Freehold: Vengeance anthology (Baen Books). Jason currently lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia. He is also a kaiju enthusiast.
Thanks to Jason for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
I’m continuing #Four Horsetober with an author who will be making his debut in the Four Horsemen universe in Luck Is Not a Factor. I may have mentioned it’s coming out on 2 November. I may have also mentioned I’ll be in that anthology, too.
But never mind all that, this is Joseph Capdepon II’s interview. More than most, he took my instruction to be as whimsical as he wanted to be in the Lightning Round seriously. So to speak.
Interview: Joseph Capdepon II
Joseph Capdepon II Portrait
What is your quest?
To write fun and engaging stories that people want to read. To create universes and worlds that draw people in, be it novels, short stories, graphic novels, screenplays, or whatever other mediums of entertainment I can do it in. To bring just a tiny bit of light and fun to a serious world. Also telling the stories of the voices in my head. They can be a bit demanding at times.
What is your favorite color?
I tend to concentrate more on dialogue in my writing. I am a bit light on scene description, though when I describe a scene, it is the big description. I don’t often get down to the small things in the scene. I also rarely give hard descriptions of characters. You get an idea of what they look like, but I’m more interested in trying to bring them to life through their actions and words. I think my love of dialogue comes from being a very avid movie watcher, and wannabe screenwriter. For me, while the background of a scene helps, it is the dialogue that I love. The back and forth between characters. How their words help the reader to be drawn into the world through the characters words. Movies have had a huge influence on how I write dialogue. (Rob’s Note: This is much like my philosophy, too)
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
Showing and not telling. Describing a scene so that it is not clunky and gives the reader an accurate impression of the world. Writing dialogue that is not clunky or sounds like two robots talking. Trying to get the dialogue to sound natural. Battling that sometimes crippling self-doubt that The Enemy throws at you. (The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is a must read for any aspiring author)
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
While I sometimes struggle, I do believe I write some damn good dialogue and some convincing characters.
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? Animal, because he will beat you to death and eat your face.
Crunchy or Creamy? Creamy. Crunchy peanut butter is for commies. (Rob’s Note: We may disagree on this.)
Favorite Sports Team? Houston Astros. Life long fan.
Cake or Pie? Bro. Pie is the best. Pecan Pie. Pumpkin Pie. Coconut Cream Pie. Key Lime Pie. Banana Cream Pie. Even fruit pies are superior to cake, unless it is Tres Leches Cake. Tres Leches Cake is the bomb, especially if it is Chocolate Tres Leches Cake from the Chocolate Bar here in Houston. (Rob’s Note: You’re missing the best pie of all, butter pie.)
Lime or Lemon? Are we talking as garnish, in a mixed drink, or in a savory dish? The only dessert that is allowed to use lime is Key Lime Pie. No dessert should ever have lemon in it, for that is heresy, and Odin weeps when people make lemon dessert.
Favorite Chip Dip? Salsa, the hotter the better.
Wet or Dry? Dry rub for brisket, smoked all night. After it is cooked, I will eat it wet or dry.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Explosions in the Sky. Sigur Ros.
Whisky or Whiskey? Scotch, because the gods love us all.
Favorite Superhero? Punisher/Wolverine. Everyone else are pikers.
Steak Temperature? Medium rare. Less and you are not breaking down the fat in the meat, which means there is no flavor there. More and you are destroying the flavor of the meat.
Favorite 1970s TV show? Was Simon and Simon on in the 1970s? (Rob’s Note: Close enough. I love that show)
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Winter. I live in Houston. Winter is the only bloody time of the year that it is comfortable outside.
Favorite Pet? Oberon, King of the Standard Poodles.
Best Game Ever? Final Fantasy VII.
Coffee or Tea? Both. All the caffeine!
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Again, both! Though combining the two is always fun.
What question(s) would you like to ask me?
Why are the British so weird when it comes to food?
Rob’s Answer: I’m guessing it’s because their humor is so dry they can’t get the appropriate amount of juiciness in their food. That and coconut migration is not what it used to be. Swallows these days just don’t put forth the effort they did back in our day.
Tell me again where we can find your stuff? I don’t have much stuff yet.
Hopefully if things work, I will be at LibertyCon 2019.
Do you have a creator biography?
Not really, but I should probably come up with a good one soon. (Rob’s Note: This might be a subtle hint 🙂 )
Thanks to Joseph for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
This week’s interview is with the amazing Kacey Ezell. She is, I can say without doubt, the first person I’ve interviewed who has over 2500 hours flying Hueys and Mi-17s.
She’s also one of my favorite writers right now. I really enjoy her Minds of Men alternate history and am waiting for the next one in that series. She’s also one of the writers in the Four Horsemen Universe, collaborating with Marisa Wolf to write Assassin and show us all the might of the Depik.
Interview: Kacey Ezell
What is your quest?
To crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and hear the lamentations of their women. (I’m sure I’m not the first to say that!) For real, though, I just want to tell good stories that I’d like to read. And I want to be a dragonrider. For Science. (Rob’s Note: SCIENCE!!!!)
What is your favorite color?
Blue. I like emotional gut-punch moments in my writing. Specifically, I always try to have a moment or moments where I put the reader in the mind of the character and make the character’s emotions resonate within the reader. If I can make you cry, or laugh, or grieve, or rage, or exult, then I’ve done my job.
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
I always feel like I’m never writing enough, especially when it gets busy with the day job. I get frustrated when I fly long days and then don’t have the energy to do more than drag myself into the shower and then into bed. My discipline demands that I at least try to write something every day, but a recent string of 12-hour days has shown me that sometimes, when I’m drained, I’m drained. So I’ll settle for writing 100 words that day and call it a win.
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
In writing, my personal Holy Hand Grenade is what I’ve described above. I’m always proud when I can make the reader feel something. In life/marketing, I think my personal Holy Hand Grenade is my ability to connect with people and make friends quickly and easily. I love getting to know new people, and that’s been incredibly helpful in my career!
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? Animal
Crunchy or Creamy? Creamy
Favorite Sports Team? Pittsburgh Steelers
Cake or Pie? Apple Pie / Guinness Cake (it cooks out! I promise!)
Lime or Lemon? Lime
Favorite Chip Dip? Spicy salsa heavy on the cilantro
Wet or Dry? wet
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Leo
Whisky or Whiskey? I’m Mormon, don’t care.
Favorite Superhero? Wonder Woman
Steak Temperature? Medium Rare
Favorite 1970s TV show? Um, I’m too young for that. 😉
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Summer
Favorite Pet? I can’t choose. I love them both. 😊
Best Game Ever? Shadowrun
Coffee or Tea? Again, Mormon. I’ll take Sugar Free Red Bull, please
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Again, por que no los dos?
What question(s) would you like to ask me? What is your superpower?
My Answer: Hmmm, in my younger days I could walk into any neighborhood bar in any country and become Norm before the night was over.
I suppose now my greatest superpower is drinking the bitterest beer. I’ve had brewers try to out-bitter me. I welcome their attempts to tilt at this windmill, as it means free beer for me.
FantaSci and LibertyCon 2019 for sure. Maybe some others along the way if I can talk my husband into it.
Do you have a creator biography?
Kacey Ezell was born in South Dakota in 1977. Her parents joined the US Air Force in 1984, and she grew up around the world on various military bases. When she was seven, her mother gave her a copy of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragondrums, and shortly thereafter, Kacey decided that she wanted to be a dragonrider when she grew up. In 1999, she followed her parents into the “family business” and graduated from the United States Air Force Academy before going to pilot training. As dragons were in short supply at the time, she reasoned that flying aircraft was the next best thing. She earned her wings in 2001, and has over 2500 hours in the UH-1N and Mi-17 helicopters.
From the time she was a small child, Kacey made up stories to tell to her friends and family. In 2009, while deployed to Iraq, she wrote the military-themed supernatural story “Light”, which was accepted for publication in the Baen Books anthology Citizens. She was asked to consult on John Ringo’s 2015 novel Strands of Sorrow, and wrote the cover story for the Black Tide Rising anthology set in Ringo’s zombie apocalypse universe. That story, “Not in Vain” was selected for inclusion in the “Year’s Best Military SF and Adventure Fiction” anthology produced by Baen Books.
In addition, she’s written a story for each of the bestselling Four Horsemen Universe anthologies, and her story “Family Over Blood” is included in the national bestseller “Forged In Blood” set in Michael Z. Williamson’s Freehold Universe.
She and Christopher L. Smith are currently collaborating with John Ringo on a new post-apocalyptic steampunk trilogy from Baen, and her first solo novel, “Minds of Men” was released by Theogony Press on 10 November 2017. She returned to the Four Horseman Universe to collaborate with Marisa Wolf on “Assassin”, a novel about an alien race of felinoid killers-for-hire. “Assassin” is available now from Seventh Seal Press.
Kacey writes science fiction, fantasy, horror, noir, romance… etc. fiction. She lives with her husband, two daughters, and two cats.
Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not? You should have asked me about my plans for world domination, but I wouldn’t have been able to tell you about them. You’ll just have to find out.
And if you are interested in a FREE short story in my Psyche of War universe, you can absolutely have one by simply signing up for my mailing list! It’s also the best way to stay up to date on what’s going on with me, and how that whole world domination thing is going. You can join by going to www.kaceyezell.net.
Also, Mark Wandrey and I released Weaver at Liberty Con this year, and we’d love to have your readers check it out and if they liked it, leave a review! (Rob’s Note: Please give us reviews. Please, please, please. It’s huge)
Also, also, Minds of Men was just selected as a 2018 Finalist for the Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel! <cue excited screaming!> The Dragon Awards are a big deal to me, because they’re a truly fan-favorite award.
Many thanks to Kacey for taking the time to let me interview her.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
The next entry in #FourHorsetober is Christopher Woods. He and I have been in panels together and hanging out at cons for a few years now. I really enjoyed his novel Soulguard, especially since part of it was set in Wichita, my hometown. He was recently nominated for a Dragon Award with his novel Legend, which is set in the Four Horsemen Universe.
Interview: Christopher Woods
What is your quest?
Christopher Woods
I never expected to be an author, so my initial answer would have been to get a general contractor’s license and build houses. But then I wrote a book. And another. When I published the first two, I realized that my goals had completely changed.
Now? Now, I want to write stories. I want to write stories like Louis L’Amour. Like Roger Zelazny. Like David Drake, John Ringo, and David Weber. There are so many authors I read over the years and I find that I want to do the same thing as they have.
I want to entertain people with my stories like Jim Butcher and Larry Correia. These are the things I never thought were possible until now. So now my goals are to write books and, hopefully, make enough money through that career to be able to say “Sorry, I don’t build anymore. But I know a guy who I can put you in touch with.”
What is your favorite color?
According to the Psychology of color, it should be yellow. I don’t particularly like yellow so I will say purple. The reason I say yellow is the fact that it is associated with laughter.
There are many techniques that can be used in writing. My specialties would be humor and dialogue. People like to laugh and it makes the reading that much easier with a smile on your face. The easiest way I have found to express the humor is through dialogue. The interactions between characters are fun to work with and I find a great deal of places to draw inspiration for these characters in the people closest to me.
My whole family is a family of smart-asses. I’ve been around them my whole life, and I find that the friends I am drawn to are much the same. Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment
Christopher Woods at his booth
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
I would say the speed depends on how frustrated you become. Sometimes it can reach deadly speeds. I’ve never been quite that frustrated in my quest to be an author. Perhaps in other things. What is the average speed of a thrown hammer? It will chip concrete floors.
I guess the most frustration I have felt as an author has been trying to get fans to follow me into another series. I wrote Soulguard, Soullord, and Bloodlord, then tried to get the fans to follow into a new series that just didn’t happen. Round two with that series is in the works and going to be published by Chris Kennedy. I never built the online presence to truly push my work out there. The Soulguard series did what it did on its own. We’ll see how Fallen World does through a publishing company that has a talent for putting the work in front of the right people.
I think my next highest frustration point was something similar. After I wrote the first four Soulguard books, I wrote a fifth about another character. His storyline is three books long and already plotted out to some degree. Once again, I just didn’t get the follow from Soulguard fans. I understand this one, I’ve been guilty of doing the same thing. When I read The Magic of Recluce, I did the same thing. When Modesitt wrote the next book about another character, it took me some time before I read it. Same with his Corean Chronicles, I think the name was. What I found out was that the second part was as good as the first, if not better. The Freedom’s Prophet story line, in my own opinion, is better written than the first ones. The following two books are still happening. It wasn’t a flop, by any means, but it made about a third of the amount of money as any of the first four. I think it will change when they see it is going to be three books. Another of those things we’ll just have to wait and see.
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
Dialogue is probably my greatest strength in writing. The banter between characters gives them life. They could be the fellow next to you in line at the store. They develop as people you can care for.
I’ve been told that my prose is too simple by some but that’s what I like to read. I don’t want to have to think too hard about what I’m reading. I read to relax and escape. Some call it a weakness but I consider it to be a strength.
If you want flowery language, there are many other authors out there. We aren’t competing. How many people do you see that read only one author? I feel that an author’s competition is television and video games. I try to make it as easy to read a book as it is to watch a show or play a game. That’s my theory, anyway.
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? Is Cookie Monster a Muppet? Cause I sure love cookies.
Crunchy or Creamy? Creamy
Favorite Sports Team? I don’t do sports but I do live in Tennessee so I might get killed if I don’t say Vols
Cake or Pie? Pie, of course. What sort of silly question is that? (Rob’s Note: *MY* kind of silly question, thank you very much)
Wet or Dry? Hair or cement? Those would be totally different answers.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Leo Moracchioli, I think that’s how to spell it.
Whisky or Whiskey? Why not both?
Favorite Superhero? Wolverine.
Steak Temperature? Medium rare. Not sure what temp that is.
Favorite 1970s TV show? Probably The Dukes of Hazzard. Don’t laugh.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall. Summer is the fat man’s bane and winter is the old man’s bane. I love the Fall colors. (Rob’s Note: Boy, do I understand this)
Favorite Pet? We used to have this huge black horse named Jack. He’d chase me around the field for a while. Then I would chase him for a while. I really liked that horse. Unfortunately I have no pictures.
Best Game Ever? Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Been playing it for five or six years and still enjoy it.
Coffee or Tea? Tea for me. But I am developing a taste for coffee. If I put enough cream and sweetener in it.
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? I can’t even discuss this one. My first work is a mix of both. I lean toward Sci-Fi at times and Fantasy at others. I love them both.
What question(s) would you like to ask me?
What sort of History degree do you specialize in? I’m sure I’ve heard it at one of the Cons, but for the life of me, I can’t remember.
Rob’s Answer: I am ABD in Medieval History with an MA in the field along the way. My dissertation focused on 10th-century Mercia during the time of Aethelflaed. I sought to answer whether the law codes she wrote specifying certain numbers of troops in various places were plausible or mere hopeful goals.
My answer, by the way, is that it looks like they did have the population to support those troop strengths *if* they could pull troops from more populous areas to fill gaps in lesser populated areas like what would become Cheshire. It seems likely they could, given a couple of hints that I found, but it is not confirmed.
More importantly in this context, it changed my writing plan. I decided to write fantasy over space opera / military SF initially because I wanted to use what I had learned. That focus, along with my experience in the SCA, also prompted me to use real-world cultures in my world. I feel I can write deeper cultures that way, and it’s not like Tolkien didn’t do much the same thing.
If anyone wants to join my email list, it’s accessible from the web page and they will have a free pdf copy of This Fallen World for signing up.
And where can we find you?
SphinxCon, Atlanta, GA, Nov 2-4
FantaSci Durham, NC March 22-24
Do you have a creator biography?
Christopher Woods, writer of fiction, teller of tales, professional liar, and holder of the original BS degree was born in 1970 and has spent most of his life with a book in hand. Soulguard is his debut novel. It is followed by several sequels; Soullord, Bloodlord, Rash’Tor’Ri, and Freedom’s Prophet, with more to come. With other projects in Post-Apocalyptic and Military Sci-Fi in the works there should be something for everyone. He lives in Woodbury, TN with his wife, Wendy. As a former carpenter of 25 years, he spends his time between various building projects and writing new books.
Thanks to Christopher for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
I am continuing Four Horsetober with Jamie Ibson. Most of you will know him as the boss of 4HU – The Merc Guild Facebook group, but he’s also a writer and will be in Luck Is Not a Factor, the second Lyon’s Den Anthology in the Four Horsemen Universe. Take a look at another writer that Chris Kennedy has fostered.
Interview: Jamie Ibson
Jamie Ibson
What is your quest?
I’m right at the beginning of what may eventually become a career, so getting published is my main story quest. I have a non-sci-fi story out with Supervisive, my 4HU story “The Human Inside”, and a story in next year’s Freehold anthology called “Cry Havoc” about the FMF leopard handlers.
Influences include all the usual Baeniacs, Mad Mike, The ILOH, Oh John Ringo No, David Weber, David Drake, books I found on my dad’s bookshelf like Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Joe Haldeman, Spider Robinson, Gordon R Dickson, as well as the next generation of up-and-coming authors like Kacey Ezell, Jason Cordova, Chris Smith and Mike Massa. My horizons were broadly expanded when I discovered the Four Horsemen series at LibertyCon 30. They say if you want to write you need to read. I read a lot.
What is your favorite color?
I like stories that get you out of the normal human perspective. Some of my favorite 4HU stories are the ones where the aliens are front and center. (Kacey does alien Very Very Well) so in my leopard story, I have parts where the narrative shifts from 3rd person limited to 1st person present and the cat tells the story. My current project, I’m doing full-conversion cyborgs and I try to imagine how alien it would be to have your entire interaction with the world be done through artificial/constructed means.
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
I write too much dialogue and have to find ways to show action rather than rely on conversation.
I have a fantasy short meant to be an intro to a setting I put together but it has not been accepted yet for publication. The last response I got was that there was too much slang (I didn’t think I used hardly any slang), and that it tried to squish too much world into too short a story, which was the opposite of what I’d been told elsewhere. But I recall that one of my favorite Freehold stories, The Humans Call It Duty, was rejected multiple times before it was finally published, so maybe it’s just not the right time.
That, perhaps, is the biggest lesson I’ve learned in writing, is being patient. Things take time. (Rob’s Note: So true!)
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
Somewhere along the way, a certain retired Navy SEAL declared that I was the Loremaster with regards to several of my favorite series and I’m rather honored to be called that. I think when writing in someone else’s universe it is vital to get the details and fiddly bits consistent. When I first talked to Mad Mike about what eventually became Cry Havoc, I made a point to review as much as I could on what Freehold had to say about the leopards and the handler program. Somewhere along the way I ended up writing a series bible for Mike which we’ve made available for everyone else writing in the anthology. I’ve been approached by others to give their universe a similar treatment so it can be opened up to a broader writing crowd, or I’ve been asked how I do what I do. (Notes, painstaking notes and multiple rereads!) So when I write in someone else’s universe, I try to keep a very clear idea on “What is canon” vs “Where can I expand” and ensure nothing I write conflicts with established lore. You only have to look at what happens to a series that becomes a show or movie to see whether it is accepted or rejected by fandom, based on how closely it remains true to the original. (I’m looking at you, Starship Troopers).
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? Pepe
Crunchy or Creamy? Crunchy
Favorite Sports Team? Olympic Hockey Team Canada. I pretty much ignore everything else. (Rob’s Note: This is where I get to make a gratuitous note about watching the 1980 Miracle on Ice on a 12-inch black-and-white TV)
Cake or Pie? Cookie dough ice cream cake
Lime or Lemon? Lemon
Favorite Chip Dip? 7 layer but no olives
Wet or Dry? Umm
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? If you’ve seen my 4HU music playlist you will have seen Leo Morrachiolli. Norwegian metal cover god. Sultans of Swing and Feel Good Inc are always good, and then there’s 230+ more tunes to pick from. Seriously, the dude’s a machine. (Rob’s Note: And he makes the most amazing facial expressions)
Whisky or Whiskey? Please.
Favorite Superhero? Canadian ones, obviously, that may not be as well known as the Avengers, like Wolverine and Deadpool, for example.
Steak Temperature? I’m going to be a heretic and admit I prefer burgers over steak. But if steak is what is being served, medium rare.
Favorite 1970s TV show? Heh, sweet, it counts. Dukes of Hazzard started in 1979 so… yep.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Spring
Favorite Pet? I love all my cats, past and present, but Naomi is our house panther who has declared me chief of staff.
Best Game Ever? Fantasy: The Witcher III. Sci Fi, Horizon Zero Dawn.
Coffee or Tea? Razzleberry Iced Tea.
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Sci fi.
What question(s) would you like to ask me?
Best place to learn to write/code wikis?
Rob’s Answer: Honestly, they’re not difficult. The most difficult thing to learn is the CSS coding to set up the main stuff. Wiki coding is mostly set up to use toolbars, and there are plenty of references.
They are like much else, though in that they become easier and quicker with practice. It takes time to think about what the most effective way to organize it, like what categories you’ll have and such.
Two things I suggest, though. First, download Editpad Lite. It’s my favorite text editor and you need a good one. If you already have one you know well, stay with it, but if not, Editpad is great. Second, as you’re editing create yourself a set of snippets. My philosophy of wiki editing is that it is better if you can standardize as much as possible. Similar things should be displayed in similar fashion as it will help the reader. Unlike writing prose, where you want to vary your word choice, consistency is useful in this context. Snippets help.
Tell me again where we can find your stuff?
My forthcoming 4HU story will be in Luck Is Not A Factor.
“Cry Havoc” due 2019 sometime.
Priorities via Superversive Press in To Be Men.
And where can we find you?
I’m north of the PNW so look for me at LibertyCon once a year (until I convince America to let me immigrate).
Do you have a creator biography?
Hey, I’m Jamie. Thanks for checking out my page. I’m Canadian, born and raised in Ontario and now on the left coast. Spent some time in the CF reserves and went on a peacekeeping mission when I finished highschool. Now I’m in law enforcement and write in my spare time. I’m married to the lovely Michelle, and we have cats.
Thanks to Jamie Ibson for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Also, thanks to you for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326. If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Finally, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
On Thursday, Tales from the Lyon’s Den was released. On November 2nd, Luck Is Not a Factor will be released. In honor of the fourth and fifth anthologies in the Four Horsemen Universe, I have decided to do a bunch of reviews of authors who have contributed to the universe throughout October.
We’re going to start with a re-run of an interview I did in June. Chris Kennedy is one of the founders of this universe, along with Mark H. Wandrey. He’s a really sharp guy who has done amazing things in the self-publishing world. He’s taught me quite a bit already, and I suggest you listen to him and watch what he does.
Interview: Chris Kennedy
What is your quest?
I want to sell a million books. Failing that, I want to help my authors sell ten million books.
What is your favorite color?
Science fiction…with a side of fantasy.
Chris Kennedy
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
Not coming from a writing background, I had to learn to do it right. I read blogs for 15 minutes a day for four years to help develop my craft and my ability to sell more books. I’m still not totally where I want to be, but I’m a much better writer than when I started, and I’m a lot closer to the goal.
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
I like writing gritty combat and a good motivational speech once in a while.
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? Animal.
Crunchy or Creamy? Definitely crunchy. I don’t know why they make that other stuff.
Favorite Sports Team? UNC Tarheels basketball (despite their showing in the NCAAs last year), NY Yankees baseball, and Atlanta Falcons football.
Cake or Pie? Pie…but why can’t I have both?
Lime or Lemon? Lemon…because you can put it in Corona and make it taste better.
Favorite Chip Dip? Helluva Good Sour Cream and Onion
Wet or Dry? Sopping wet. (Rob’s Note: He’s a Navy guy)
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? Two Steps from Hell. Outstanding for combat writing music.
Whisky or Whiskey? Bud Light. (Rob’s Note: Sigh)
Favorite Superhero? Gal Gadot Wonder Woman. Because Gal Gadot.
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall
Best Game Ever? In # of hours played? Everquest.
Coffee or Tea? Diet Pepsi
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Scifi, with a side of fantasy.
What question(s) would you like to ask me?
How many MAC rounds can a trooper survive?
Rob’s Answer: If we’re talking a magnetically accelerated piece of tungsten, then zero if the trooper isn’t in a CASPer. If we’re talking the fully-loaded magazine of MAC rounds we’re going to have at our LibertyCon party, I would say most can survive five or so, depending upon rate of fire and body mass. However, this survival is likely to be more painful and the target might prefer the quick death of tungsten.
Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not?
You should have asked, “Do you have any free book promotions coming up soon?”
Why yes, yes he did. Back when this was run in June.
However, right now he does not have any promotions but take a look at Tales from the Lyon’s Den on Amazon. And if you haven’t read any of the Four Horsemen Universe, check out the first one, Cartwright’s Cavaliers.
Come back tomorrow for another author in the Universe.
Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326.
If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Also, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
This week I’m interviewing Wes Yahola. We met at the final ConStellation in Huntsville, AL. It’s a shame it was the last time they had it, because it was a great con. One reason was getting to meet Wes, who shared a panel with me and we got to know each other while sitting in Author’s Alley.
Interview: Wes Yahola
What is your quest?
I seek to craft the most interesting of thrilling fantasy, the types of stories that keep people up late at night and turn them into bleary-eyed zombies for the next day at work because they couldn’t stand to put down one of my books and go to sleep.
What is your favorite color?
The color of determination. The color of sitting down and getting to work. The color of getting out of my own way. I think these are all red, but they might be more of a rose or apple color.
What is the average flying speed of an unladen paint brush?
The same speed as that of an overburdened editor. Go-Work-On-Something-Else-While-They-Get-To-You miles per hour. Limit: Just Short of Exhaustion, Minimum Speed: Don’t Let It Distract You.
What are the powers of your personal Holy Hand Grenade?
Explosive pacing that sends out shrapnel made of cliffhanging chapter ends. Actually hearing from people who really did stay up later than they intended because of the way my chapters ended, and their smaller then usual size, has been very gratifying.
Lightning Round
Favorite Muppet? The canceled ones.
Crunchy or Creamy? Creamy.
Favorite Sports Team? The football team of my son’s high school.
Cake or Pie? Yes, please.
Lime or Lemon? See Cake or Pie.
Favorite Chip Dip? A good home made meaty “rotel”
Wet or Dry? Dry.
Favorite Musical Performer We’ve Never Heard Of? I doubt I’m cool enough to give a proper answer so I’ll say the Yeah Yeah Yeahs followed closely by Metric.
Whisky or Whiskey? Just one, neat, and I don’t care how you spell it.
Favorite Superhero? Mr. Kent
Steak Temperature? Not hot, but warm enough to not be sure if it’s crossed that line.
Favorite 1970s TV show? M*A*S*H
Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall? Fall.
Favorite Pet? The one and only Mia the border collie.
Best Game Ever? D&D 3.5, core books only.
Coffee or Tea? Coffee first, then tea.
Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Fantasy.
What question(s) would you like to ask me? What are your favorite Conventions to attend as a panelist/guest?
Rob’s Answer: The best convention out there by a long mile is LibertyCon. The people who run that con are by far the most efficient of any con. I’ve always appreciated Rich Groller, who has run their programming and he is amazing. He responds almost immediately every email I’ve ever sent. Brandy does a great job organizing and making sure everyone has fun, while still being in charge. Those are just two of the con’s staff, but I could compliment all of them. Truly it’s a step above in terms of organization.
It’s also a step above in terms of the happenings at the con. It’s limited to 750 attendees, which is a fantastic size. The quality of the attendees is fantastic, too. I have learned more at the LibertyCons I’ve attended than everything else combined.
To be fair, there haven’t been many cons that haven’t been fun and productive. Even at DragonCon, where I really didn’t have enough to do professionally, I had a good time. Frankly, LibertyCon is like Ted Williams. It’s not a criticism to say that Joe Dimaggio wasn’t as good a hitter as the Splendid Splinter.
The first chapter to The Artifice Conspiracy is available at WesYahola.com. The book is available in hardback, trade paperback, and e-books of various types. I enjoy doing conventions and panels and recently worked with fellow Dark Oak Press writer Pat Sawtelle on a World Building panel which was recorded and will be available on the Dark Oak Press website. On my website I list most of the panels I have been on and they include everything from world building to other aspects of writing, to gaming and fandom.
My second book, The Treasure Betrayals is in an editor’s hands. My third is in the plotting and draft zero stage.
And where can we find you?
Next at the Memphis Comic and Fantasy convention, then MidSouthCon, also in Memphis.
Do you have a creator biography?
Wes Yahola is the next best thing to a lifelong Memphian, having bounced around from Raleigh to Midtown to the University Area to just at the eastern fringes. His high school days got him started on the strange path of radio, which brought him through the night to his place as a producer and co-host on the Drake in the Morning show on 98.1 the Max (WXMX). He can also be heard playing rock songs in the middle of most Saturdays on that same radio station.
A lifelong reader who began devouring comics before he could understand all the words, Wes has long been a fan of fantasy and science fiction, and also enjoys thrillers and books about history. Once in a while he’s written stories of his own. He’s been playing games even longer, enjoying new and classic board games, card games, and tabletop R.P.G.s. Once in a while he’s designed and written his own.
All this came together with the publishing of his first novel – the Artifice Conspiracy, a fantasy thriller involving spies, sabotage, rebellion, and the unleashing of a powerful weapon of magic. Thanks to Black Oak Press for publishing it, and to everyone who’s bought and read the thing.
Final question for you: What should I have asked but did not? Why do you do this to yourself?
You should have asked what kind of stories I like to read. I want to read the kinds of stories I’m writing. I’m compelled to contribute something of what I like to the rest of the world to see who else wants the same thing.
Thanks to Wes for taking the time to answer my questions.
If you have any suggestions or comments about this interview format, let me know so I can keep tweaking it.
Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in any of the other interviews I’ve done, you can find them all here: https://robhowell.org/blog/?cat=326.
If you are a creator, especially an independent creator, and you want to be spotlighted in a future interview, email me at rob@robhowell.org.
Also, if you want to join my mailing list, where I’ll announce every interview, as well as what’s going on in my life, go to www.robhowell.org and fill out the form (Name and Email Address) or drop me an email and I’ll add you.
