Thank you to J. A. Grier for the lovely interview on her blog.
You can read it at J. A. Grier – One Writer’s Mind
Category: interview
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Ted Weber
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
Ted Weber has pursued writing and music since childhood, and learned filmmaking and screenwriting in college, along with a little bit of physics. Trapped at home during the “Snowmageddon” of 2010, he transformed those interests into novel writing, and has been honing his skills ever since. His first published novel, a near-future cyberpunk thriller titled Sleep State Interrupt (See Sharp Press), was a finalist for the 2017 Compton Crook award for best first science fiction, fantasy, or horror novel. The first sequel, The Wrath of Leviathan, is coming out in Sep. 2018. He is working on the final installment of the trilogy, among other things, and seeks a home for an alternate history thriller titled Born in Salt, about a rural youth forced into terrible choices by a fascist government.By day, Mr. Weber works as an ecologist for a non-profit organization and has had a number of scientific papers and book chapters published. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife Karen. He enjoys traveling and has visited all seven continents.
Wolf: Welcome to Wolf Notes. Sounds like you’ve done quite a bit of traveling. What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Ted: Crispy mealworms and crickets in Thailand. (Mealworms were passable but crickets were too chitinous)
Wolf: Can’t say I’ve tried either of those. If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
Ted: Depends on the situation. In an interstellar battle, it would be hard to stop the Death Star. Here on earth, a suit of powered armor, like the Iron Man Mk. III. If confined to current tech, the Lorica suits are pretty cool. Combine that with an assault rifle and a katana. And in a zombiepocalypse, you’d need something low-tech, quiet, and durable, like a flanged mace or a crowbar.Wolf: What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Ted: Let them enter a relationship with the man/woman of their dreams.
Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Ted: In Born in Salt, Ben and Rachel are arrested by Internal Security and broken by months of physical and psychological torture.
Wolf: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Ted: Time travel. Definitely.
Wolf: Take me with you when you go. What five items would you want to have in a post-cataclysmic world?
Ted: Lucky for me, I actually have a bug-out bag! If I were to narrow it to five: combat knife, water bottle, survival blanket, waterproof matches, roll of duct tape.
Wolf: Cool. You’re all ready for a cataclysm like the on in Star Touched. Which of your characters is your favorite?
Ted: That’s a tough one since I put a lot of thought into all my characters, and they are all unique. Perhaps Kiyoko, the main character in Wrath of Leviathan, is the most interesting. She lives in her own version of reality, and can divine the future by interpreting the shapes in her Pokémon cereal. I like Waylee, the main character in Sleep State Interrupt, a lot too. She demonstrates that people with mental illnesses can be just as gifted, or more so, than “normal” people.
Wolf: I really liked Sleep State Interrupt. What story are you working on now?
Ted: I’m writing the final book of the BetterWorld trilogy, in which a small group of hacktivists attempt to bring down a giant corporation that controls the flow of information.
Wolf: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Ted: If it were up to me, I’d be writing 24 hours/day! Obviously, this is far from feasible. I like to travel (unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity lately), long hikes in the woods, spying on birds and other critters, and pretty much anything that involves being on the water.
Wolf: Should people be concerned about climate change?
Ted: Yes! And I say this as a practicing scientist. Go to https://www.skepticalscience.com/ and https://climate.nasa.gov/ (until Trump has it purged) for more.
And here are some things you can do: https://www.ucsusa.org/what-can-i-do-about-climate-change
Wolf: Thanks. I’ll do that now.
You can connect with Ted Weber through these links:
Web site (for Sleep State Interrupt): http://savethereefs.wix.com/sleepstateinterrupt
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/T.C.-Weber/e/B01JB3VWWQ/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15548787.T_C_Weber
Email: fr**********@*******nk.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFreedomThorn
Twitter: @savethereefs
Instagram: t_warbler
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – J.A. Grier
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
J.A. Grier is a speculative fiction writer and poet whose work is closely informed by her formal background in planetary science and astronomy education. More than three dozen of Dr. Grier’s poems and stories have appeared in venues such as Mad Scientist Journal, Eternal Haunted Summer, Eye to the Telescope, Liquid Imagination, Mirror Dance, and an anthology of the Maryland Writer’s Association entitled “Life In Me Like Grass On Fire – Love Poems.” Other writing credits include the textbook “The Inner Planets” published by Greenwood Press. Dr. Grier teaches workshops in poetry, and has served on panels and offered presentations at conventions including BaltiCon, HallowRead, and the Tucson Science Fiction Convention. Dr. Grier is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, and the Horror Writers Association. She is currently seeking homes for two speculative novels, as well as finishing a book of childhood horror poetry.
Wolf: Welcome to Wolf Notes. If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
J.A.: Of course I’d be a cat-dragon. But another interviewee already mentioned cat-dragon because cat-dragons are amazing. I have a cat-dragon in one of my novels, and it is so cool. But I’ll move to plan “B” here and say I’d be a couatl, which is a creature from the original AD&D. It’s a beautiful rainbow-winged serpent – highly intelligent, noble, and virtuous. A couatl is magical, has psionic powers, and keeps treasure. It destroys demons in its righteous wrath. It’s also occasionally worshiped as a deity which seems like a nice perk.
Image Credit: My pic of a couatl and stats from the hardcover AD&D book sitting right here on my shelf. Wolf: What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
J.A.: I’m very timid about trying new kinds of food, but a few possibilities come to mind. Octopus maybe? Black squid ink pasta? Bear? Not sure which to pick. One person’s strange is another person’s everyday.
Wolf: If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
J.A.: That would be my razor-sharp wit. No wait. This woman appeared out of a lake and gave me a sword. She was saying something like I’m supposed to rule something or other but I wasn’t really listening. It’s awesome for cosplay.
Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
J.A.: So, one character was captured by the bad guys and tortured. It was nasty. Husband says he’s never going to be the same after reading that scene, so I guess the scene works? But really the meanest thing I’ve done is to have one of my characters win the war for cosmic supremacy. Now she’s stuck ruling the universe and the job sucks.
Wolf: You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
J.A.: I’m an ocotillo blooming in the desert. I’m strange but somehow compelling, and my flowers are used to cure ailments of all kinds. The full Moon touches the tips of my spines like Sleeping Beauty’s finger on a spindle. A coyote hunts the javelina snuffling at my roots. I understand the speech of the moths. I dream of rain.
Wolf: That sounds really cool. Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
J.A.: Cat person. You might have guessed that from the whole cat-dragon thing. I mean, dogs have an amazing history and relationship with humans – they can predict seizures and detect cancer, just for starters. But cats … cats purrrrrr.
Image Credit: My childhood cat “Crayon” hiding in the ivy. Adored this kitty. Wolf: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
J.A.: Probably teleportation, otherwise I want the power to choose the perfect wine to go with any meal. Actually, I do have a super power – I get to decide the order in which the Christmas presents are opened.
Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?
J.A.: After I stop screaming I contact my scientist colleagues. Fortunately, we’ve been studying asteroid hazard mitigation strategies, so we know just what to do. We launch a specially designed explosive that should change the asteroid’s orbit. The world watches, unable to breathe, as the asteroid approaches closer and closer to the Earth. The explosive detonates. The asteroid … sweeps by harmlessly! We all change our pants and celebrate! (Little do we know that we’ve now altered the orbit of the asteroid so it hits … well … that’s another story.)
Wolf: Thanks for saving the world. I could have used your help to stop the cataclysm in my novel, STAR TOUCHED. What story are you working on now?J.A.: I can’t work on just one thing. I have poems, stories, and novels all going at the same time. One work in progress is a book of poetry that I’ll call ‘childhood horror.’ It explores the fears of childhood, both real and imagined. It has some poems with speculative elements like magic or monsters. Other poems could be considered literary poems with themes like illness, grief, and war. I’ve published several of the poems separately in various journals and other venues. However, the full book completes an emotional journey as it flows from beginning to end. You’ll have to read it to find out more, so keep your eyes peeled for when I finally get this thing out!
Until then try some of my other published stories and poems that are free to read online:
(1) A flash sci-fi piece entitled “The Gods of Home” – published in The Arcanist https://thearcanist.io/the-gods-of-home-a46a36fd0dd4
(2) A bit of pagan magic in short story form called “Bonfire Night” – published in Eternal Haunted Summer https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/issues/summer-solstice-2017/bonfire-night/
(3) A couple of dark fantasy poems –
“It Snows on Camelot” http://www.mirrordancefantasy.com/2013/12/it-snows-on-camelot.html
“Stop Praying, Girls” https://liquidimagination.silverpen.org/article/stop-praying-girls-by-j-a-grier/
Wolf: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
J.A.: Well, no doubt I should be reading if I’m not writing. But instead I’m probably thinking about writing, or planning writing or blogging about writing … okay I’m probably playing video games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or Skyrim. Or I’m going wine tasting. I am also a paper artist in a form called ‘Quilling’ so you might find me working on art projects (my quilling blog is at storiesstonesandspirals.blogspot.com) Barring any of those I guess I’m working at my day job in which I’m researching impact craters on other worlds or sharing planetary science with the general public.
Learn more about J. A. Grier here:
Twitter – @grierja
Blog and Website – jagrier.com
Goodreads Author Page – www.goodreads.com/author/show/6429911.J_A_Grier
STAR TOUCHED
Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population. Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble. Will Tatiana flee or stay and fight for the new life she has built? Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.
“A unique and finely crafted debut novel, the characters touched my heart as I was drawn into their plight and compelled to finish!”
— New York Times bestselling Author Maria V. Snyder
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Heather Cumiskey
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
Heather Cumiskey is a freelance writer and editor. She studied English at the State University of New York at Albany. I Like You Like This is her debut novel and the first book in a young adult duology about addiction, sexuality, peer pressure, and first love. It is a bronze recipient of the 2017 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards and a USA Best Book Awards Finalist. Heather resides in Maryland with her husband and three sons. You can visit her at http://www.HeatherCumiskey.com.Wolf: If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
Heather: I wish I was trained in the martial arts or Krav Maga and my body was a lethal weapon. That would be totally badass. Like Black Widow or Wonder Woman, I’d fight to protect the ones I love and the innocent.
Wolf: Those are two of my favorite super heroes. What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Heather: Show their inner character. In the scene where Hannah in I Like You Like This sees a girl being bullied by a pair of classmates, her response reveals her empathy of having been in that position herself. Sometimes it takes one random act of kindness to change everything and inspire hope.
Wolf: True. What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Heather: Set up a character to do something utterly and horribly unforgiveable as I did in the sequel to I Like You Like This. I don’t want to spoil it, but the scene still takes my breath away.
Wolf: You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
Heather: Well naturally I would be heather. It would be cool to be a flowering plant that feeds others and blooms year-round. Definitely evergreen, hearty, and happy-looking, maybe with eggplant or spearmint colored leaves.
Wolf: That sounds wonderful. Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Heather: Dog, all the way. I love to see them smile and their soulful eyes. Dogs are so intuitive and know just what you need. One time a friend’s cat attacked my ponytail. Never. Again.
Wolf: While walking in the woods you come across…
Heather: A beautiful wrought iron gate to possibility. I hope I run through it.
Wolf: Make sure you open it first. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Heather: Snap my fingers and my legs and armpits would already be shaven. That would be amazing.
Wolf: That would be nice. Which of your characters is your favorite?
Heather: Hannah and Deacon, equally. Their stories break my heart and I just want them to come out the other side and be ok.Wolf: What story are you working on now?
Heather: The second book in the duology of I Like You Like This. I’m so excited about it.
Wolf: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Heather: I train with special needs athletes and help them compete in mainstream races through a Maryland organization called Athletes Serving Athletes. It’s been a life changer.
Wolf: That’s wonderful. What can you do for free and its effect on people and the world could forever be changed for the better?
Heather: Strive for love and understanding of others
Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ILikeYouLikeThisNovel
Twitter: @HeatherCumiskey
Instagram: @HeatherCumiskey
Pinterest: @HeatherCumiskey
STAR TOUCHED
Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population. Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble. Will Tatiana flee or stay and fight for the new life she has built? Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.
“A unique and finely crafted debut novel, the characters touched my heart as I was drawn into their plight and compelled to finish!”
— New York Times bestselling Author Maria V. Snyder
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Howard Weinstein
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.
After 35 years peering into the future in his many Star Trek stories, New York Times bestselling author Howard Weinstein turns to historical fiction in Galloway’s Gamble, his new novel from Five Star Publishing.Inspired by high-spirited classics like Maverick, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Sting, Galloway’s Gamble is an Old West coming-of-age romp about bickering brothers Jamey and Jake Galloway, who grow up to be poker players in 1860s Texas. Can these two young gamblers outfox a ruthless cattle baron and shady banker bent on destroying their Texas hometown—without getting themselves killed? Galloway’s Gamble is the first of a possible series, and Howie is working on the sequel.
Howie’s most recent Star Trek story is “The Blood-Dimmed Tide” in Star Trek: Mere Anarchy. Other writing credits include “The Pirates of Orion” animated Star Trek episode; many Star Trek novels and comics; and Puppy Kisses Are Good for the Soul, a charming account of life with his legendary Welsh Corgi, Mail Order Annie.
Howie also runs Day-One Dog Training, using Annie’s valuable lessons to help dogs and humans have the best possible life together. You can findowieHowieSeSee Howie’s writing news and blog at http://www.howardweinsteinbooks.com, and dog training info at http://www.dayonedogtraining.com.
Wolf: I think I know the answer to this, but do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Howie: Team Dog, all the way. I understand why cat people appreciate/love/worship their cats. But I’ve been scratched by enough cats who were friendly until they weren’t to know I don’t trust ‘em. I can size up a dog and know whether it’s friendly in a couple of minutes. And I can become pals with most dogs in a couple of minutes more. Dogs are not good at hiding their feelings, so I trust dogs.
Wolf: I’m with you on that. While walking in the woods you come across…
Howie: Trick question! I’m highly unlikely to be caught walking in the woods. There’s creepy things in the woods, like snakes up in trees. I never liked snakes anyway (me and Indiana Jones), but it was a very disturbing day when I learned SNAKES CAN CLIMB TREES!!
Wolf: So besides the ability to repel snakes, If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Howie: The ability to suspend the passage of time, so I could get more (any!) work done. A few extra hours a day would help.
Wolf: I hope that one is shareable. I’m always running out of time. There is a door at the end of a dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?
Howie: I send somebody (preferably somebody I’m not that fond of) to take a closer look. Delegation is an underrated skill (especially in horror movies).
Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?
Howie: Shrug, then curse. Or do both together. Then again, does it even matter?
Wolf: Which of your characters is your favorite?
Howard: Well, I didn’t create him, but Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy from STAR TREK shares the top of my list. He’s a hopeful, cynical, romantic, sarcastic curmudgeon – which is pretty close to my own personality.
Of my own characters, I guess it would be Jamey Galloway, from my new novel GALLOWAY’S GAMBLE. When he and his older brother Jake are caught in a Civil War skirmish against superior Union forces, and Jake suggests charging into pointless battle, Jamey resists: “Better a live coward than a dead hero.”
Wolf: Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.
Howie: You can’t go wrong with a good burger!
Wolf: Hope you don’t mind the occasional dragon burger. What story are you working on now?
Howie: Historical fiction – a literal turnaround from writing about the future in 35 years of STAR TREK novels, comic books, and non-fiction. Why the change? I no longer feel very optimistic about the future. After decades in which humanity made some real strides (race and gender equality, social justice, end of the Cold War), the world took a turn for the worse with the rise of global terrorism and economic inequality. Laws may change, but human nature not so much. People fall prey to the same flaws and failings as centuries ago.
So, I decided to write about the past, hoping to find some useful perspective on today’s world, and tomorrow’s. The first of what I hope will be several historical novels is GALLOWAY’S GAMBLE, an epic tale of two young brothers (Jamey and Jake Galloway) who grow up in 1850s Texas to become gamblers. After a variety of adventures, with fortunes won and lost, they come home to find their hometown threatened by wealthy cattle baron Wilhelm Krieg and shady banker Silas Atwood – forcing Jamey and Jake to cook up with a scheme to outfox the bad guys, without getting themselves killed. It’s a timeless David vs. Goliath tale about battling greed and corruption, as relevant today as in 1873. With high stakes and serious themes, GALLOWAY’S GAMBLE is also lots of fun.My new publisher (Five Star Publishing) asked for a sequel. So, I’m starting a new cross-country story with Jamey and Jake, involving horse racing (dominated by black jockeys until the early 1900s), Spiritualism, Gilded Age greed and chicanery – culminating in a big match race at Baltimore’s then-new Pimlico race track.
Wolf: Where shall we deposit the first installment of your billion-dollar lottery prize?
Howie: My bank account would be fine.
Social Media Links:
https://www.facebook.com/howard.weinstein.33
Website: https://www.howardweinsteinbooks.com/
STAR TOUCHED
A. L. Kaplan
Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population. Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble. Will Tatiana flee or stay and fight for the new life she has built? Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.
“A unique and finely crafted debut novel, the characters touched my heart as I was drawn into their plight and compelled to finish!”
— New York Times bestselling Author Maria V. Snyder
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Donna Milward
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.Give a big wolf welcome to Donna Milward.
Donna Milward lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with two cats and a troll. She’s dabbled in writing since grade two, but it wasn’t until an RWA conference in 2009 that she found the knowledge and tools she needed to tell the world about her dreams. Donna considers herself a feminist, a spiritual person, an insomniac, and an unabashed crazy cat lady. Despite her canning, gardening, and fishing hobbies, she much prefers city life.Wolf: What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Donna: I believe it’s called a Century Egg or something? It was hard boiled, black with a grey yolk. I tried it when I worked for a Chinese Food restaurant in the nineties. I remembered that I liked it—it tasted robust and pleasantly creamy. Not at all what you’d expect.
Wolf: What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Donna: I can’t say which one, but I gave her son back to her. I’m very proud of that scene, and I know I made more than one reader cry. I can’t give you more details. That would be Spoilers.
Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Donna: I killed her dog. In my defense, I was NOT a pet owner at the time, and I don’t think I’ll ever write that kind of thing again. I became a first-time pet owner after a long bout of Writer’s Block. I realized I couldn’t kill off a cat in my WIP. It made me realize I really liked cats and animals in general. I changed the scene and went to my local Humane Society and adopted my Freya. When I destroyed the dog in the previous book, I was going for powerful emotions and I wanted to shock the reader into realizing how awful the villain was. I didn’t have the empathy I have now.
Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Donna: Cat person! I like dogs, but I’m a crazy cat lady now. They fit so neatly into my life and I adore everything about them, even when they are bratty. There is no such thing as an ugly cat, and as they say, ‘time spent with a cat is not wasted.’ That’s either Ernest Hemingway or Sigmund Freud—depending where in the internet you look.
Wolf: While walking in the woods you come across…
Donna: …An Elemental, or a true nature god. My grandmother is Finnish, and I’ve studied some of their folklore. Their nature magic doesn’t believe in good or evil forces. Some Elementals are good and others are just more difficult to deal with. I’ve written a short story about the Elemental I met in my dreams and intend to publish it in a future project.
Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?
Donna: I’ve had this nightmare more than once. The first thing I always do is scramble to find the people I love, just to tell them I love them before the ozone tears and rips us all apart. Thankfully I don’t dream those much anymore.
Wolf: Which of your characters is your favorite?
Donna: I hate to call favorites, but honestly, it’s Strife. She was only meant to be a minion, but she wrote herself into a larger character. I love her personality and how she evolved right before my eyes. She fascinates me and I’m proud of her.
Wolf: Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.
Donna: I used to dream and write in science fiction. I visited a world where the people were mostly fruitarians and their culture and spirituality were based on triangles and trios. Their favorite food was a flat, tangy, triangular fruit that tasted like a cross between apples and apricots, so I named them Applcots. I can just imagine all the delicious dishes they could create with it.
Wolf: What story are you working on now?
Donna: I’m actually editing two books right now. One is ‘Her True Name: Volume Two’ and it’s set in ancient Scandinavia. It is a novel on its own, but it keeps in time with Volume One and the reincarnation/mythology theme. ‘Elaina’s Fate’ is about an assassin who falls for the man she’s assigned to kill. The short story about the Elemental I mentioned will be part of a collection of short stories that don’t match my brand of reincarnation angels and mythology-based stories.
Wolf: Those sound very interesting. Thanks for stopping by.
Social Media Links:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/DonnaMilwardAuthor/
Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/
Blog: http://earthtothoeba.blogspot.ca/
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/?trk=
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Stephanie Collins
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.Wolf: Welcome to Wolf Notes, Stephanie. Tell us a little about yourself.
Stephanie: WITH ANGEL’S WINGS, along with the epilogue and blog included on the book’s website, pretty much sum up who I am. I am a mother of four. Catherine (“Emily” in the book), 25, has high-functioning autism with mild to moderate cognitive delay. Sarah (“Hannah” in the book), 22, has a rare genetic disorder, Wolf-Hirschorn Syndrome (history of 7 heart defects, non-verbal, non-ambulatory, incontinent, exclusively G-tube fed, seizure disorder, cognitively approximately 6-9 months old). Will, 15, has severe ADHD and dyslexia, and Ellie, 11, – who I described for years as my [finally!] “typical” child [albeit with something of a princess complex] – was diagnosed in third grade with ADHD/dyslexia (although, a significantly milder case than Will’s). I have a 4-year degree in psychology and a 2-year degree in nursing. I worked for approximately ten years as a registered nurse on the medical unit at Seattle Children’s Hospital, but gave up my career to focus on the growing needs of my family. When I was 40 I set out to get rid of the 10 souvenir pounds I had collected from each of my four pregnancies. In the process, I found my inner jock, and I now love to run and I’m addicted to Zumba. Other than that, I read every minute I can.Wolf: If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
Stephanie: A pen. I’m not a violent person (unless someone messes up my clean house, and in that case I have the lethal mom glare ever at the ready). I do, however, enjoy working my frustrations out on the page, and some people can definitely get burned by that. It’s the very reason I changed all the names in With Angel’s Wings – fear of retaliation from those who ARE violent people!
Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Stephanie: Well, given that I’ve only written a memoir, I suppose the meanest thing I’ve ever done to a “character” is to be honest about his/her poor behavior. As the reviews to With Angel’s Wings will testify to, my ex-husband’s behavior allowed me to be VERY mean…very, very mean…
Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Stephanie: I’ve had dogs and I love dogs. My sheltie and I did agility for years and I loved it. Now that I’m older, though, and lack the enthusiasm and energy often required for dog ownership, I’m enjoying cats much more. Potty training, racket when someone knocks on the door…not an issue, yet you can still enjoy the warm cuddles.
Wolf: I do agility with my dog. We love it. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Stephanie: If it were possible, I would have the power to read the minds of those unable to communicate with us. I would choose that super power ANY time over any other, ever. One of the biggest challenges of special needs parenting is the constant second-guessing and chronic guilt trips. If I could ask questions like, “What’s hurting?”, “What would you like?”, “Are you happy?”, “Do you understand?”, without having to completely guess at the answers, I would have hope of a life weighed down by far less guilt as a special needs mom.
Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?
Stephanie: Clean the house. I’d be desperate for SOMETHING I can control, and if I’m going out, I don’t want any random person or zombie who might survive the apocalypse to think I kept a messy house!
Wolf: What story are you working on now?
Stephanie: I am helping my (11-year-old) daughter with a middle grade series. It started almost by accident late last summer. I was nagging at her to get off electronics, and she said, “Well, what should I DO, then?!” I said, “I don’t know; write me a story!” I half expected her to ignore my suggestion and go back to trying to negotiate more screen time. Instead, she started with a story idea, formulated a plot, did some character development and wrote an outline to her chapters. We worked on it throughout the fall, and her first book, Daisy, Bold & Beautiful is now with the editor, due back in the next week or so. We hope to publish on April 1st, and we’re super-excited! 😊
Wolf: That’s fantastic. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Stephanie: I like to go out in the neighborhood on either long, brisk walks or runs. I feel refreshed when I get back home, and a great and interesting side effect is that I do my best “writer thinking” when I’m out pounding the pavement. There’s something about the exercise that gets the creative juices flowing!
Wolf: How did you come to write With Angel’s Wings?
Stephanie: In what felt like the blink of an eye, I went from being a young woman wrestling with a temperamental marriage to a single mother of an asthmatic, autistic toddler and an epileptic infant in heart failure. There were suddenly an overabundance of WTF moments, OMG moments, and “I can’t even remotely believe this is happening” moments. I began writing therapeutically, and I found my recollections came in layers. I would first write what happened (like, the baby stopped breathing in my arms, but I didn’t start CPR right away as I should have), and I would think, “Oh, I handled that horribly; I’m such a rotten mother!” Then I’d remember, “Oh yeah; this was going on, too,” (like, the fact that I was a young, sleep-deprived, postpartum mother who had just bore witness to hours of failed IV attempts, was reeling over a rare, potentially fatal diagnosis, holding onto hope for survival, but not having any idea what that survival would actually mean for me or my baby, while simultaneously preparing myself for the very real possibility of her passing…oh, and also “mourning the death of the healthy child I thought I had” before receiving her diagnosis just weeks earlier). Then it would hit me that 3 other things were happening at the same time (for instance, a failing marriage, pathetic financial woes, and my other daughter’s increasingly bizarre behaviors), and so…if that portion of my parenting career didn’t exactly resemble June Cleaver, well…no wonder! Those were some pretty extreme circumstances!Then other people (specifically nurses and therapists) began to read what I had written, and said things like, “Wow, I’m working with another family right now, and I’m certain the mom is struggling with the feelings you wrote about here, but she doesn’t seem comfortable sharing her thoughts. I think she’s ashamed or afraid to open up, and I think reading something like this would really help her to know she’s not alone…that the way she’s responding to what life is throwing at her right now is only natural.” After many similar comments, I decided to take a deep breath, close my eyes, and bear my exposed, bleeding heart to the world. I figured if sharing my tale would help just one family facing similar challenges, my fear of criticism from the rest of the reading world would all be well worth it.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.withangelswings.net
Trailer: http://youtu.be/d1feuCdh8dc (English)
Facebook: (Book) https://www.facebook.com/withangelswings
(Author) https://www.facebook.com/catnsarah
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18642531-with-angel-s-wings
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+StephanieCollinsAuthor/posts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/W_Angels_Wings
Blog: https://withangelswingsepilogue.blogspot.com/
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Matt Fuchs
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives. Say hello to Matt Fuchs.
Matt Fuchs writes speculative fiction. In his novella Rise of Hypnodrome, published with CCLaP in 2015, a political faction called the Lifestyle Party rises to power under the presidency of Deepak Chopra and rolls out a policy agenda to maximize personal happiness. Matt tells stories about enlightened AI and fringe political ideas taking over. Links to his work appearing in Compelling Science Fiction, Centropic Oracle, Allegory, Every Day Fiction, and more can be found at fuchswriter.com. Other endeavors include law review articles on the first amendment and magazine pieces about adventure eating. He hasn’t figured out yet how to combine the two topics.Wolf: If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
Matt: The backward-aging jellyfish. When it starts to die, it can reverse the aging process to the larva stage and then it grows into an adult again.Wolf: That’s really cool. What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Matt: I’ve tried a bunch of stuff including worms, crickets, and tuna eyeballs. But the food that I physically rejected, as in threw up on an East Village sidewalk, was a goat platter covered in a curry called p’haal, which is laced with spices that Indian farmers smear on their fences to keep elephants from their crops.Wolf: I think I’ll stay away from that one. What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Matt: I turned a character into a god. Can’t beat that.Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Matt: Dying alone. It’s happened to quite a few of my characters!Wolf: You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
Matt: I need people’s emotions to photosynthesize. Sunlight and nutrients do nothing for me, but I crave human sadness, jealousy and enthusiasm, especially when these feelings are experienced within a few feet of my leaves. It makes me grow and blossom. Apathy makes me wilt.Wolf: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Matt: The ability to change the timespan of a given day from 24 hours to any duration of my choosing.Wolf: I’d love to have that one! If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
Matt: It’d be a weapon of the mind like telepathy. I would communicate responsibly to make the world a better place, or I’d more likely end up planting ideas in people’s heads about me being ridiculously smart and good-looking.Wolf: What five items would you want to have in a post-cataclysmic world?
Matt: Number one, a machine that magically produces rivers of cold brew coffee. My tennis racquet. At least one other person so I don’t have to make friends with beach balls. Books for entertainment since it’s boring when everything is destroyed, unless zombies are chasing me. Also right after the apocalypse a time machine would be great!Wolf: Great ideas. Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.
Matt: Humans are the enemies of the species inhabiting this world, so I’ve disguised myself as another breed of alien, one that’s on better diplomatic terms, to avoid capture. I’m hanging out with the emperor, who serves me a delicacy stolen from earth. Pan-fried humans! What do I do?Wolf: Don’t have an answer for you. What story are you working on now?
Matt: A single dad raising his young daughter who is 60 percent robot.
Social Media Links: @FuchsWriter -
WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Peter Pollak
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives. This week Peter Pollak stopped by for a visit.
Wolf: Welcome to Wolf Notes, Peter. Tell us a little about yourself:
Peter: Born in upstate New York to refugee parents from Nazi Europe, I wanted to write stories from the time as a teenager I finished Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward Angel. That was the first time I realized what writing could accomplish—namely, it could give me a vehicle to reveal who I am, what is important to me, and at the same time give pleasure to others. Not equipped at that point to write anything anyone would want to read I postponed that ambition until I retired from my careers as a journalist, educator, and entrepreneur in 2007 and told myself, “it’s now or never.” Six novels later, I’m not ready to slow down.Wolf: If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
Peter: A lion because I was born under the sign Leo.Wolf: What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Peter: Some of my own cooking.Wolf: That’s funny. If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?
Peter: That depends on the circumstances, but if someone dangerous was about to break down my front door, a double-gauge shotgun would be handy.Wolf: What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Peter: Give them a voice. Of course, they’re not real, but they represent reality as I see it. They become real to many of my readers as well.Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Peter: Put them up against insurmountable odds and really nasty antagonists.Wolf: You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
Peter: As a plant I lack consciousness and therefore can’t describe what I don’t know.Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Peter: Dog person. Cats are too independent while dogs can lift up one’s spirit by the way they welcome you when you’ve been away or take them out to the park to play.Wolf: While walking in the woods you come across…
Peter: While walking in the woods, I come across signs of a struggle in a small clearing. There’s fur and blood on the ground and broken branches and matted down grasses. I begin to search the area to find clues to what took place, and at first I come up empty, but then I see it . . . the outline of a body. I’m almost afraid to approach given that the victor might be near by, but I have to know if it’s still alive. The body is partly hidden by a thicket of brush. I move closer one step at a time and start to push open the bush, but prickles grab at my hands and shirt. I pull back. Picking up two branches from the ground, I use them to part the bush. What in the . . .? The body is covered in grey fur, but has legs and arms like a human. It is the size of a child and its head resembles a rodent with a snout rather than a nose. I poke it with one of the sticks. It doesn’t move. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice says. I jump back and turn around. There stands a tall creature with an elephant head—a short trunk and large ears, but the eyes—the eyes are human. I’m not sure how I made it out of the woods alive, but I’m warning you. Stay away from the university’s forest preserve. You may not come back alive.Wolf: Makes you wonder what they are experimenting on. If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Peter: All of them.Wolf: So you’d be a super super hero. There is a door at the end of dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?
Peter: I’ve come to the end of a dark, damp corridor. I entered the corridor in the basement of a university building that is no longer being used while searching for the right office to renew my parking permit. It was out of that ridiculous curiosity that always gets me in trouble. I just had to know where the corridor went. I stand in front of the door debating whether to open it when a sound that I must have been ignoring breaks through my consciousness. It’s a rumbling sound like water rushing through a channel with nothing impeding its progress. The door is my only hope. I reach for it and then . . .Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?
Peter: Tell the nut-job who keeps telling me that to get a life.Wolf: Which of your characters is your favorite?
Peter: I like Nick Grocchi, the protagonist in my first novel, The Expendable Man, because he represents an everyman––someone who isn’t in a great place in his life in part because he’s the kind of person who doesn’t think much about the future. He just acts on his instincts and as of late they have failed him. Now all of a sudden he’s in deep do-do and he’s got to change his approach to life if he’s to have any chance of surviving.Wolf: Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.
Peter: I guess I’m supposed to eat what’s on the plate that’s been placed in front of me, but I can’t really describe it because I’m on another world and don’t even know the language. I look around and everyone’s looking at me. No one is eating the food in front of them. I look down at the piles––one looks like head cheese, another like large un-ripened grapes, and the third is a red puddle that resembles blood. Instead I pull out a Snickers bar and take a bit and pass it to the person on my right. “Try it, you’ll like it,” I tell him/her/it.Wolf: What story are you working on now?
Peter: I’m revising my fantasy novel that I call The Way. It’s a coming of age story involving multiple protagonists which is probably why it has taken me years to finish. At the same time I’d like to make some progress on another thriller—this one featuring a female FBI protagonist who comes from the most unusual background.Wolf: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Peter: Read, play Words with Friends, watch a very small number of TV shows with my wife—small because I can only find a small number worth watching, play golf and especially take walks when the weather permits.Wolf: Why do you write—is it to make money or fulfill some void in your life?
Peter: The answer is neither of the above. I’ve nurtured a story telling craft over the course of my life by reading and trying to write stories to the point where I have what I think are some interesting story ideas and I’d like to find out if I can pull them off. Writing to me is like doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. Every morning I can’t wait to get to that day’s puzzle to see if I can find the proper word; in terms of writing I sit down wondering if I can find the proper sentences to make the characters come alive.Social Media Links:
Website: http://petergpollak.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pgpollak
Twitter: @petergpollak
Linked-In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pgpollak/Picture(s): Attach as separate JPG file(s).
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WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Cindy Young-Turner
Welcome to WOLF NOTES, where interview questions stray from the rest of the pack. It’s nice to know the usual stuff like where an author gets their inspiration and why they write, but sometimes we need a little fun in our lives.For the first interview of 2018 I bring you Cindy Young-Turner.
Cindy Young-Turner has been writing for most of her life. At age twelve, she won her first writing contest, a local contest in her small hometown in Massachusetts calling for stories written in the style of Edgar Allan Poe. Thus began her love of stories that are dark and fantastical. She believes genre fiction can be just as well written and valuable as literature. The universal themes of love, hate, revenge, and redemption are present regardless of whether characters live in the distant future, on other planets, or in fantastical realms. By day she is an editor for international development projects. In her free time, she works on inspiring her characters to fight for change and justice in their imaginary worlds. Her published works include the fantasy novel Thief of Hope and a short prequel, Journey to Hope.Wolf: If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
Cindy: A meerkat. They’re just cool.
Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Cindy: I’ve done a lot of mean things to my characters. Suffering is good character development, right? My heroine has people she cares about killed in front of her and she’s also tortured. But she survives and is stronger for it.
Wolf: What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?
Cindy: Offered them a chance for love and happiness. But sadly it doesn’t last that long.
Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?
Cindy: Definitely a dog person. I don’t mind cats, but I’ve never wanted to own one. One of the first things we did after we bought a house was get a dog.
Wolf: While walking in the woods you come across…
Cindy: A strange door in a tree. Of course it must be a portal to somewhere magical. I open it and step through. I really hope I’m right about it.
Wolf: If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Cindy: I would love to be able to teleport.
Wolf: You and me both. There is a door at the end of a dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?
Cindy: I consult the other members of my adventuring party and we convince the hulking warrior to bust in the door. He takes the brunt of the dragon fire while the rest of us sneak in to loot the room.
Wolf: Sounds like fun, except for the warrior. What five items would you want to have in a post-cataclysmic world?
Cindy: A pocket knife, a book on edible plants and medicinal herbs, pens, paper, sewing needle. I’m not sure how long I would survive but maybe I could prove myself useful to a group that would take me into their enclave.
Wolf: What story are you working on now?
Cindy: I’ve been working on Thief of Destiny, which is the sequel to Thief of Hope, my first novel. Sydney, the heroine, is going to some dark places in book 2. Seeing so many people you care about die does impact your psyche a bit. I’m also working on a separate novel about a would-be executioner.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.cindyyoungturner.com
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