Tag: interview

WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Tatiana

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.

As a final farewell to 2017, I’ve decided to interview Tatiana Lenusy this week. Tatiana is the eighteen-year-old protagonist in Star Touched by A. L. Kaplan. She survived the Cataclysm but life hasn’t been easy. Neither was tracking her down for this interview.

Wolf: Welcome to Wolf Notes, Tatiana. If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?
Tatiana: Thank you, Wolf. I’d love to be a bird. That way I could fly anywhere I wanted, feel the wind in my feathers as I soared through the air. I’d be free, with no worries.

Wolf: That sounds nice. Any particular kind of bird?
Tatiana: Swallows are pretty and graceful. I love the way they glide.

Wolf: Sweet. Swallows are cool to watch. Would you consider yourself a cat person or a dog person?
Tatiana: I love all animals, but I suppose I’m partial to dogs right now. Fifi is very important to me.

Wolf: You mean that tiny poodle you’re bonded to?
Tatiana: I’d rather not talk about her. Please ask a different question.

Wolf: Sure. While walking through the woods you come upon…
Tatiana: Wild blueberries, a whole field of them. There are also wild carrots, dandelions, cat tails, and all sorts of other yummy foods.

Wolf: That sounds more like a grocery store. What is the strangest food you ever had?
Tatiana: Food is food these days. Although I did see someone else eat, well… something I really don’t want to talk about. I mean I’ll eat almost anything, but not…that. I’d rather starve. Not that I would. I’m pretty good at finding food in the wild.

Wolf: I’m not sure you really answered that one. Let’s try another. What do you do for fun?
Tatiana: Surviving is very time consuming, so I don’t have much free time, but when I do, I love to read. Doesn’t matter what. Fiction, history, science… I just love books. When I read I can be anyone and go anywhere. It’s a wonderful escape and I learn things.

Wolf: I agree. Books are pretty awesome. You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.
Tatiana: That’s a tough one. I don’t like the idea of staying in one place. My roots would need to be movable. More like legs.

Wolf: A walking plant?
Tatiana: Yes. With a forest green stem and bright-green heart-shaped leaves with a splash of blue. They could be made into a tea that would cure any disease. I’d also grow clusters of tasty and nutritious berries. Each would be enough to fill your belly for a day.

Wolf: That sounds fantastic. Aren’t you worried people would hunt you down for those berries and leaves?
Tatiana: Oh. I didn’t think of that. Can I change my answer to a small inedible red flower with no useful purpose?

Wolf: Sorry. No take backs. There is a door at the end of a dark damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?
Tatiana: Open the door and try to fix whatever machine is malfunctioning.

Wolf: Are you a mechanic?
Tatiana: No, but I’ve read lots of books on fixing things.

Wolf: If you could choose any weapon, what would it be?
Tatiana: Knowledge. I don’t like weapons or fighting.

Wolf: If you could pick any super power, what would it be and why?
Tatiana: None!

Wolf: Really?
Tatiana: I don’t want ANY special powers. I just want to be a normal person. I need to go now.

Wolf: Wow, Tatiana ran out of here fast. If you want to know more about her, you’ll have to read Star Touched.

December 27, 2017
WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Alan Zendell

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 I welcome Alan Zendell

Alan Zendell spent more than forty years as a scientist, aerospace engineer, software consultant, database developer, and government analyst, writing really boring stuff like proposals, technical papers, reports, business letters, and policy memoranda. But trapped inside him all that time were stories that needed telling and ideas that needed expression, so with encouragement and cajoling from a loving baby sister he plunged into fiction.

Since then, he has written mostly science and extrapolative fiction, the genre he loved since he was nine. But his stories are about more than aliens and technical marvels. He creates strong, three-dimensional characters a reader can care about, because it’s people and the way they live and love that are important. It’s the things they believe in and how much they’re willing to invest to preserve them that make a story worth telling. It’s convincing interactions and well-researched credible plots that make a story worth reading.

And, of course, like any writer, Alan loves having an audience.

Wolf: If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?

Alan: A dog, because everyone would love me, and I really love to be loved.

Wolf: What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?

Alan: Ginger marinated chicken feet.

Wolf: What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?

Alan: Having lost lose lover find each after years of searching.

Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?

Alan: Making those long-lost lovers believe they’d never be together again.

Wolf: You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.

Alan: I’m a giant redwood tree. But since I hate being stuck in one spot, I’ve been given the ability to relocate.

Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?

Alan: A dog person.

Wolf: While walking in the woods you come across…

Alan: … a metal hatch leading to a World War 2 bunker filled with hundreds of things that were believed lost in the war.

Wolf: If you could have a super power, what would it be?

Alan: The power to read minds and influence what other people think and do.

Wolf: There is a door at the end of dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?

Alan: Check my phone to see if there’s signal. Call for backup and use my laser rifle to bore a peep hole.

Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?

Alan: Call someone I inadvertently hurt to make things right.

Wolf: Which is of your characters is your favorite?

Alan: Harry Middleton. He’s noble, a baseball star, and never compromises his love.

Wolf: Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.

Alan: Am I staying at the Marriott? If not, I’d love to sample all the local fruit I could. If that didn’t kill me I’d move on to fish and a sumptuous dessert.

Wolf: What story are you working on now?

Alan: I’m chronicling the worst month of my life (this one). Assuming I survive it, I will sanitize it some, because a story about your body suddenly betraying you at every opportunity might turn people off.

Wolf: What’s the most important thing you want for the rest of your life?

Alan: Good health for me and my family, and the ability to influence the world for the better. (It’s not about money because I have more than I need.)

Blog: Americathebeautiful.blog
Facebook: Alan Zendell
Twitter: @alanpze

November 1, 2017
WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – A. L. Sirois

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 I welcome A. L. Sirois

A. L. Sirois is also a developmental editor, graphic artist and a performing musician. He has had fiction published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Fantastic, Amazing Stories, and Thema, and online at Electric Spec, Every Day Fiction and Flash Fiction Online, among other publications. His story In the Conservatory was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Other works include a children’s book, Dinosaur Dress Up (Tambourine Press / William Morrow). His graphic novel, THE ENDLESS INCIDENT, based on a video game, was published in February, 2016. Al has been playing drums for over fifty years in rock and jazz combos. As an artist, he has hundreds of drawings, paintings and illustrations to his credit. Al has contributed comic art for DC, Marvel, and Charlton, and has scripted for Warren Publications. He wrote and drew “Bugs in the System” for witzend #12, the famous comics fanzine started by for MAD artist Wally Wood. He lives in Rockingham County, North Carolina with his wife and occasional collaborator, author Grace Marcus. Together they are writing a Young Adult novel set in ancient Egypt.

Wolf: If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?

A. L.: Tough one, because we don’t know what animals exist on other planets. Excluding those, however, I guess I’d have to opt for an otter. They seem to truly enjoy life.

Wolf: What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?

A. L.: I don’t kill too many of them. I generally let them have happy endings.

Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?

A. L.: I had one experimented on by a government-sponsored institute. It didn’t end well.

Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?

A. L.: Both. We currently have a cat but are planning to get a dog.

Wolf: There is a door at the end of dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?

A. L.: Heh – this reminds me of that old adventure game, Zork. I guess I’d first make sure there’s no threatening little dwarf in the corridor with me, then I’d check my inventory, then I’d go open that door. Hopefully it isn’t the entrance to that blasted maze.

Wolf: If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?

A. L.: Either a Glock or an epee. The Glock for its stopping power, and the epee because I’d have to know how to fence, which would be fun.

Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?

A. L.: Make sure I know where my wife is so I can be with her.

Wolf: Which is of your characters is your favorite?

A. L.: Tough one. The one I thought about most while writing was a young woman named Arrizida Yokoi, the main lead in my novel Blood Relations. One of these days I must get back to her story, which remains incomplete.

Wolf: Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.

A. L.: A selection of flavored and scented gasses, some thick, some thin, laced with nanobots that enter your body via your taste buds and create a mild hallucinogenic effect.

Wolf: What story are you working on now?

A. L.: Several! One is a YA tale of time-travel, one is a chapter book reminiscent of Edward Eager’s work, and one is a solarpunk book. I do have several short stories clamoring for my time; I’ll get to ‘em eventually. I tend to work on stories in batches, between books.

https://www.facebook.com/al.sirois
https://twitter.com/realAlSirois

October 25, 2017
WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – Steven Southard

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 I welcome Steven Southard

Submariner, engineer, and Jules Verne fan, Steven R. Southard pens stories that showcase people as toolmakers, gadget-masters, dreamers and tinkerers, creators of devices and victims of them. He’s written in the genres of steampunk, clockpunk, science fiction, alternate history, fantasy, and horror. His stories have been published in over ten anthologies, including In a Cat’s Eye, Hides the Dark Tower, Dead Bait, and Avast, Ye Airships! Another story will appear in the upcoming anthology, Dark Luminous Wings. Tales in his What Man Hath Wrought series span all human history as well as timelines that might have been, featuring the drama and danger of invention and discovery.

Wolf: If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?

Steve: I’d opt for the Centaurian Demilitarizer. Invented by the beings of Proxima Centauri B, it’s a bit difficult to wield without tentacles, but if aimed and fired at an enemy’s weapon, it renders that weapon useless. They haven’t had a war or a murder on Centauri B in the past millennium.

Wolf: What is the meanest thing you’ve ever done to your characters?

Steve: Tough question; I’m pretty mean to all my major characters. Perhaps the meanest thing is what I did to the mission commander in “The Cometeers,” my steampunk version of the movie Armageddon. First, the story is set in 1899 and a planet-devastating comet is on its way toward Earth. Humanity launches a desperate, international mission to redirect the comet using gunpowder. Of the three manned capsules launched from the Jules Verne cannon, one doesn’t make it to orbit. The six remaining crewmen receive a radio message that one of them is a traitor, but the transmission fails before telling which one. Then their first attempt to divert the comet fails and they have no backup plan. That’s pretty mean.

Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?

Steve: My gut reaction is to say I’m a dog person. My family owned a dog when I was young, and I’ve never owned a cat. Still, I’ve written about both animals in my stories—a basset hound in “Ripper’s Ring” and various mutated cats in “The Cats of Nerio-3,” a story appearing in the anthology In a Cat’s Eye. But your question goes deeper, doesn’t it? Cats and dogs are the yin and yang of pets. Cats go their own way and are their own masters, demanding much and offering little. Dogs are dependable, loyal, predictable, subordinate, and trusting. I’ve got a strong amount of both cat traits and dog traits in my nature, but perhaps I lean more toward the dog side.

Wolf: While walking in the woods you come across…

Steve: …a small boy, about ten years old, riding the back of a mechanical, clockwork lion. It’s the one made by Leonardo da Vinci in 1515, as depicted in my story, “Leonardo’s Lion.” Not meaning to startle the boy, I wait until he passes and move on. Emerging into a clearing, I see an enormous, metal spring, compressed but still standing over a hundred yards in the air. It’s the spring used to launch men to the moon in my story “A Tale More True.” I hasten back behind the tree line but hear loud footfalls. To my horror, there’s a Martian tripod fighting machine making its way through the forest, just like the one from my story, “After the Martians.” I hide within some foliage until I can’t hear the machine’s noise any more. Perhaps today isn’t a good day to be walking in these woods. But it’s a fine one for reading.

Wolf: If you could have a super power, what would it be?

Steve: The ability to write best-selling novels without effort. But the world’s citizenry shouldn’t worry. I’d only use my power for good.

Wolf: There is a door at the end of dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?

Steve: Wait for my stomach to settle down. I shouldn’t have eaten such a large meal, especially before entering this sewer, particularly a sewer with an inexplicable door at its end.

Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?

Steve: Change the channel, if I’ve seen this movie before. If I haven’t, I’ll make some popcorn and enjoy the show. Oh, you mean, what do I do if the real world were really ending? Still the popcorn thing, but with extra melted butter and salt.

Wolf: Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.

Steve: You and I sit in one of the famous floating dining halls of Tau Ceti e, with their hovering chair and table pads, all decorated in white and lit so as to best highlight the food. Cetean technology is a millennium or two ahead of our own, so their food seems almost magical. Completely synthetic, it is individually manufactured to optimize both nutrition and taste. Part of the preparation involves scanning the individual for dietary needs, favorite flavors, and vitamin deficiencies. My plate contains Lobster Newberg on a bed of rice, with a side of string beans and broccoli sprinkled with fresh grated parmesan cheese. A crisp, yet steely white wine complements the food. Ah, and now the robotic waiter’s brought the bill. Um, I’m a little short. Do you mind?

Wolf: What story are you working on now?

Steve: I’m writing an updated version of the John Henry story—the one where the steel-driving man competes with a steam-powered spike driver. In my story, a CEO competes with a robotic CEO, among the last occupations to be automated.

Wolf: Steve, there are millions of stories out there, and I can only read so many; why should I read yours?

Steve: My answer is that one of the main problems of our age is how we must come to grips with new technology since it advances so fast and changes so much. My stories focus on characters just like you contending with the good and bad of unfamiliar technology, facing and overcoming unforeseen problems, most often in a historical setting. Call this subgenre “technohistory” if you want, but there aren’t too many authors writing in it.

Website and blog: http://stevenrsouthard.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenRSouthard
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steven.southard.16

October 18, 2017
WOLF NOTES: An Uncommon Interview – H. L. Burke

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 I welcome H. L. Burke

H. L. Burke is the self-published author of multiple fantasy novels including the Dragon and the Scholar saga and The Nyssa Glass YA Steampunk series and Coiled.

She is an admirer of the whimsical, a follower of the Light, and a believer in happily ever after.

Wolf: If you could be any animal in the universe, what would it be and why?

H. L.: Cat-Dragon. It’s a thing. If it isn’t a thing, it should be. I fly and breathe fire, but am also soft and fuzzy and I purr and knock things off the table just to test gravity.

Wolf: What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?

H. L.: Does a caterpillar I swallowed in middle school just to show off count as food? I tend to be kind of adventurous, and I did live in Japan for a while, so I’ve had authentic Sushi and whole dried fish on rice for breakfast and things like that. Squid on a stick? Good flavor, rubbery texture. I think the most, “huh,” thing I had in Japan, were various pastries I assumed were chocolate filled only to find out it was black bean paste instead. That never failed to fill me with chagrin. Beans aren’t something I particularly like, especially in dessert.

Wolf: If you had to pick a weapon, what would it be and why?

H. L.: Can I say cat-dragon here, too? Seriously, no one, NO ONE, messes with you if you have a cat-dragon. Especially mice-dragons. Mice-dragons are the worst and a cat-dragon is really the only defense against them. If it must be a non-sentient weapon, when I used to do some online RP’ing my character was armed with a frying pan. I swear this was years before Tangled. In fact, I’m 90% sure Disney stumbled onto a thread on my Tolkien fan forum and found a scene where my cat riding character was fighting off giant Mirkwood spiders with a frying pan and said, “Oh, that’s cool. We’ll do that.”

Wolf: You’ve just been turned into a plant. Describe yourself.

H. L.: I’m a plant.
Dang, that was easy …
Oh, what? More detail?
Gee, demanding, aren’t we? Hmm … plant me is an air plant. Roots are for suckers. I’m flexible. I can pretty much grow anywhere as long as you spritz me with water on occasion. Plus my hair is a mess and I don’t do well-organized gardens. But yeah, you have some pots hanging from the ceiling, I’ll swing there for a while. I’m just tiny and adorable but maybe a little big pokey.

Wolf: Do you consider yourself a cat person, or a dog person?

H. L.: I think the fact that I’ve managed to answer “cat-dragon” to two of these questions so far gives you a pretty good hint on where I fall on the “cat or dog” scale. I have a dog. He’s a nice enough dog. He’s just not as personally attached to me as my cat, Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is a humongous orange cat with the best personality. He just showed up on our doorstep one day and decided he was going to stay. We take a lot of selfies together, and he sleeps at the foot of my daughters’ beds (he rotates). When Coryn (my older daughter) was sick, he camped out next to her on the couch for three days straight.

He’s also still very “cat.” Once I walked in on him nudging a book towards the edge of the table and caught it before it hit the floor. He gave me a look that could kill because I’d ruined his “experiment.” He always steals my chair and sits on whatever I’m working on. He also does this thing where he’ll jump up next to me while I’m eating and try to steal my food. He’s amazing.

Wolf: While walking in the woods you come across…

H. L.: A glowing blue egg about the size of a cantaloupe. Warm to the touch, it emits a strange rumbling noise. Almost a purr … actually, exactly a purr. I pick it up and press it to my cheek. The purring intensifies. Then (crack) the egg hatches. A furry face with an adorable pink nose gazes up at me. It spreads its bat-like wings and meows gently. I have finally found my cat-dragon. I name him Englebriet.

Wolf: If you could have a super power, what would it be?

H. L.: Teleportation. I hate driving and there are a lot of things I would do if I could get there instantly. They say the journey is a point unto itself, but if the journey is being stuck in traffic or a tiny airplane seat, I think I’m okay skipping it.

Wolf: There is a door at the end of a dark, damp corridor. You hear rumbling. What do you do?

H. L.: I summon Englebriet, my cat-dragon. He’s older now, about the size of a German Shepherd. He paces at my side, wings low, tail twitching. This is what he’s trained for, for beyond that door lies the lair of the insidious mouse-dragon who has been stealing the precious grain reserves from the nearby village. The door flies open, and the mouse-dragon flaps his wings and roars. His end is nigh, but the battle will be great (to be continued).

Wolf: The world is about to end. What is the first thing you do?

H. L.: (My instinct is to just answer “My husband” and leave it at that, but that might be a little more PG13 than you’re looking for, though, honestly, yeah … so I’ll give you a back-up answer, and you can leave this off if desired.). Something fun. I mean, assuming there is nothing heroic I can do to stop it and I’m not simultaneously granted powers to go anywhere and do anything so I’m like here at home, I’d probably just find something pleasant to do with my near to me family and chill and wait. Death doesn’t scare me all that much.

Wolf: Which of your characters is your favorite?

H. L.: Ellis Dalhart from the Nyssa Glass series. He’s buoyant, supportive of the female lead (Nyssa), resourceful, and hilarious. Though if you don’t like puns, he might annoy you after a bit. He really, really likes puns.

Wolf: Describe a meal you would be served while visiting another world.

H. L.: Fresh off our victory over the mouse-dragon, Englebriet takes me to the land of the cat-dragons where we are treated to a feast of sumptuous tuna. There is a catnip sorbet and some fine catnip wine. It is a grand time.

Wolf: What story are you working on now?

H. L.: I finished the first draft of the third book in my Spellsmith & Carver trilogy at the end of August and am slowly polishing it up for release. I have not decided what I will be writing next, but I have a few things percolating.

Wolf: You look like you could use a cat-dragon. Do you want one?

H. L.: YES! SO SO VERY MUCH!

H. L. Burke’s work can be purchased on Amazon.
http://www.hlburkeauthor.com/

Social Media Links:
facebook.com/hlburkewriter
instagram.com/burkesdragons
twitter.com/typativemamacat

October 11, 2017
STAR TOUCHED Author Interview & Giveaway! – by Maria V Snider

Hop on over to Maria V Snider’s blog for a lovely interview and chance to win a copy of STAR TOUCHED.

October 2, 2017
STAR TOUCHED Is Here! – And An Interview On Poseidon’s Scribe

It’s finally here, folks.

STAR TOUCHED is on sale now.

And just in time for the release, check out this interview by Steven Southard on Poseidon’s Scribe.

Don’t forget to join me

Monday, October 2, 2017

7:00 PM EST

For a Facebook Party

October 1, 2017
Guest Interview on H. L. Burke’s Website

Saturday is Random Interview day on H. L. Burke’s website. Go take a peak at the wacky questions she asked me and my answers. While you’re there, check out her books. She’s written some great ones.

And don’t forget, STAR TOUCHED is available for pre-sale now.

Sign up for my newsletter so don’t miss out on announcements and giveaways.

August 25, 2017