I'm pleased to welcome Robert Dahlen, author of "The Monkey Queen!"

1. Hello and welcome to my blog! To start off, what made you decide to take the plunge into the world of publishing?

It's a combination of two things: The desire to tell stories, and the realization that this may be my last and best chance to do so in front of any sort of audience. The trigger was a sequence of three events: Winning enough money so that I could afford a tablet to let me write on my commute, then discovering the existence of indie publishing, then finding a synopsis for a comic series I had come up with 15 years prior that I realized could make a good series of books.



2. Tell me about your book.

It's a fantasy adventure about a kidnapping and the two women who are out to solve it - Michiko, a young hero with a wisecracking streak, and Beth, a college student/geek girl who gets swept up in events when she discovers a secret about herself. It's about the beginning of their friendship. It's the start of a series, but it's a complete story, cliffhanger-free. I'm biased, but I think it's a fast, funny, satisfying read.

(And there's a snarky guinea pig. You'd be snarky too if you were a once-powerful but selfish sorcerer who was stuck in Limbo for a thousand years, and then reincarnated as something cute and furry.)


3. How long have you been writing?

Well, I was making up stories with stuffed animals and (God help me) Hot Wheels cars when I was eight, so let's just say that's a long time. I got serious about it for awhile in the eighties and nineties, dialed back (but never stopped completely) for a number of years, caught the fire again in March 2013, and haven't stopped since.



4. What authors do you derive inspiration from?

Just authors? I can point to Tolkien and Leiber and Gaiman and Pratchett, but I've also been inspired by Chuck Jones, Hayao Miyazaki, Charles Schulz, Stan Sakai (read Usagi Yojimbo!), the staff behind Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, five dozen musical artists on my iPod, and another 100-odd sources. Not to mention Wu Cheng'en and everyone who followed him. If I had to narrow it down, I'd point to webcomics artist Phil Foglio (with a nod to his talented wife Kaja); he's the only one out there I consciously tried to emulate at any point. And if we have to stick to prose, well, my favorite fantasy novel (heck, my favorite book period) is Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart.





5. If you could achieve one goal with your writing, what would it be?

World Domination! Leveraging the Monkey Queen franchise until I am king of all entertainment, sitting proudly on my throne while all-girl K-Pop bands sing my praises!... Seriously, if I could get a core audience of fans that like what I write and want to read more, that would be enough, be it 500 fans or 50,000.




6. What do you do when you're not writing?

Well, I have a full-time job that I don't plan on quitting soon, with a long commute on public transit, so I don't have a lot of free time, and I've been using a lot of that to promote this book and write more. I do try to keep up with webcomics, the occasional novel or movie, and time with family. And one of these days I should see if the oven in the new apartment does a good job on chocolate chip cookies.




7. When can we expect your next books?

It depends on whether on not the cover artist - hey, that reminds me, I haven't talked about Willow yet! She did the wonderful cover art you see here, and you can see more of her work at http://willow-san.deviantart.com ! Anyway, I need to find out if she's free soon to do the cover for the second Monkey Queen book. If she is, I'm hoping to get it published in time for Thanksgiving weekend reading!


Off-beat questions


1. I see you write fantasy. If you could live in any fantastical universe, what would it be?

I actually gave this some thought a while back, and I realized that my life expectancy in most fantastical universes would be disturbingly short. As in, doesn't survive season one/first book in the trilogy short. I might consider the Discworld if we're sticking with prose, but my first actual choice would be...Duckburg. Really. All the comforts of home, advanced technology, and there's always the chance that Uncle Scrooge might drag you off on a treasure hunt. (I just don't want to live in Donald Duck's immediate neighborhood. He has to be rough on property values. And property.)



2. One of your main characters is asked, "How would you like to help me save the world?" If you were asked this by a random stranger, what would your response be?


Good question! What would I say? It depends. If I'm just walking down the street or waiting in line for something and someone approaches me with that question, my response would probably be "You may want to check your meds," or maybe "Um...security?"

But if I've just discovered that a good friend of mine actually looks like an elf straight out of Lord of the Rings, pointed ears and all, and then I get chased by a monster that shouldn't exist, and then I'm rescued by a hypercute teenage girl with a magic staff, I mean really magic as in grows fifty feet high, and then said teenage girl asks me that question, my response would probably be, "I'm listening."

And Beth has a different response from the ones above...and that's when things get interesting. In the "may you live in interesting times" sense of the word...

(Hope you don't mind that I reworded the last question to actually fit what Michiko says to Beth at one point.)







Author bio:
 Fantasy novelist, all-around wisecracker and penguin aficionado, Robert Dahlen lives in California with lots of penguins (no surprise), a tablet stuffed with e-books and works in progress, and a long-suffering wife. He is hopefully working on more Monkey Queen stories as you read this. And FYI, his last name is pronounced "duh-LANE", as in "The rain in Spain falls mainly on Dahlen," which really freaks out everyone at the Weather Channel.

 

 

 

Buy links:

Amazon -- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAKJUG2

iTunes -- http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id916078980

B&N / Nook -- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/of-introductions-and-abductions-robert-dahlen/1120314934?ean=2940046304756&itm=1&usri=2940046304756

Kobo -- http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/of-introductions-and-abductions-monkey-queen-book-one

Interview with Cesar Gonzalez, author of Element Wielder!

I'm pleased to welcome Cesar Gonzalez, author of the Element Wielder! Reviews indicate that fans of Harry Potter will enjoy this new fantasy series...


1. Hello, and welcome to my blog! To start off, what made you decide to take the plunge into the world of publishing?
 

 

Thank you for having me. It is an honor. 

 

My love for stories beckoned me to get into the publishing world. Ever since I was a kid I would lose myself in stories. Books like Goosebumbs, The Darkside of Nowhere, Where The Red Fern Grows, and Chronicles Of Narnia would consume my days.

However, I wasn't limited to stories told through books. I would also spend many days immersed in the world of video games like Final Fantasy VII, VIII, VI, Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem, Mass Effect, Resident Evil, and Valis. It was this love for stories that drove me to want to share my story with the world as well.

 

2. Tell me about your book.

 

The idea of Element Wielder came to me when I was in eight grade. I wanted to tell a story that reflected what the things I enjoy. Those things are a mix of action, adventure, drama, character development, and romance.

It is the story of inner turmoil as well as outer turmoil. In his quest he has to question himself, where his loyalties lie, and his own character. Is he really a good person, or the greatest menace the world has ever seen? It is the story of faith, love, and a young man’s struggle to continue on his quest, when surrendering to his emotions is so much easier.

However, I know there’s a lot of stories that deal with element control. So I knew that I also had to do something to make it different. This is how I came up with the idea of advanced and basic elements. There’s not only basic elements like water, fire, wind, and earth, there’s also elements like space, holy, mind, darkness, and poison.

 

 

3. Do you have a favorite character from your book?

 

I have favorite aspects of each character, but if I had to choose one it would be the holy wielder, Faith Hemstath.

I enjoy her ability to see the best of every person. Even in the worst situations imaginable, she will find that small ray of light and let it shine.

It is an admirable trait that I wish I could emulate. It’s easy to be dealt a bad hand in life and become pessimistic. But it’s extremely difficult to remain optimistic and kind when the world beats down on you. I think she speaks to that person inside of u that we all wish we could be.

 

 

4. Many of your reviews compare this to Harry Potter. Did the Harry Potter series have any influence on this story?

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see that many people have found Element Wielder to Harry Potter. I’m a big fan of Harry Potter series; however, Harry Potter did not influence the writing of Element Wielder. But I can see how people find similarities in both works.

People want to be immersed in a different world. They want to get to know interesting characters and share in their experiences. I believe this is what both stories do. They take people on an adventure with intriguing personalities, immersive plot, and magical worlds.

People who enjoyed Harry Potter will find Element Wielder an enjoyable read.

 

 

5. Without giving any spoilers, what was your favorite scene to write?

 

That’s a hard one, but I would have to say the romantic scenes. Romance is laced throughout the story, but does not play a huge part in the overall plot. That is why I found it enjoyable to write the few scenes where it is in the book.

I also really liked the fight scenes. They were some of the hardest, but most enjoyable to write. It’s always so easy to picture in my head what you want to write, but putting that image down on paper is always a challenge.

 

 6. What do you do when you're not writing?

 

Usually I’m spending time with my son. I also go out running quite a bit. I’m something of a nut about keeping my body and mind healthy.

My son and me are also big anime. I think that is why Element Wielder appeals to fans of anime and manga.

7. Can we expect a sequel?

Oh, yes. This series is a trilogy. The sequel, Legacy of Chaos, has been finished and is currently going heavy revision. I think readers will really like the sequel because we get to delve more into this strange world. It also breaks the mold and strays away from events that some people may consider to be cliché.

I’m aiming for a release date of November 2014.

 

Off-Beat Questions

1. Your story deals with wielding the elements. If you could wield only one element, what would it be?

 

Space wielding is cool. Who wouldn’t want to summon black holes and stardust from the cosmos. However, I would have to go with void wielding.

Sure, void wielders can only do weak attacks, but the trade off is that they can wield all the basic elements. That means I would be able to wield fire, water, air, earth, and mind. Camping wouldn’t be a problem because I could always make a fire and to heat up some s’mores.

I also would never go thirty. 

 

2. It seems now-a-days that fantasy and the supernatural are pretty prominent, especially in YA and Middle Grade fiction. Why do you think this is?

 

This is actually very simple. Money. It’s hot right now so it’s selling. As long as this continues to happen this will continue.

Thank you so much for featuring me in your blog.

So Many Genres, So Little Time

I know I'm not the only author who feels inspired to write in multiple genres.

I suppose it's because I like to read so many genres that I'm this way. My favorites are fantasy, supernatural and horror, but I have also enjoyed sci-fi, romance, dystopian, inspirational, and even non-fiction. I've been trying to start out with the dual genre, different pen name thing, like J.K. Rowling/Robert Galbraith. But even that's hard! I have a fantasy romance that has been eating at me. Seriously, it won't shut up in my head.

I'm curious as to how many other authors have this problem, and how they handle it. Authors are often encouraged to stick to one genre, two at the most. You don't see Stephen King complaining that he wants to write children's adventure stories. But I wonder, does he ever get that non-horror story pop in his head? What does he do when it nags at him relentlessly? Just ignore it, I suppose. But as an artist, that just seems depressing to me. When a story wants to be told, it lets you know. Like, in flashing, neon colors.

I don't think there's any real answer to this question; only perspective. Sticking with one or two genres makes it easier to maintain a readership and bring in more money. But to ignore the other stories is to stifle one's creativity. Poverty, or restricting one's artistry. Depressing any way you slice it.

Granted, I'm being a little over dramatic here. I know of at least one person who makes a decent living off of writing multiple genres. Then again, they publish a book every month (seriously, they're a beast). I hope to publish every two to three months, but a book a month while working full time at a day job? I think my head would explode.

So, ignore the story and stick to two genres? Or release my creativity and explore multiple genres? An endless dilemma. I don't know. What do you guys think?

New Book, New Genre, Over 1000 Page Views!

Today I am celebrating two successes that I'm very excited about!

First off, I have reached over 1000 page views on this blog, after about a month of having it up! It started off a slow and agonizing process where I was lucky to get 1 page view a day. Then one day it sky rocketed to averaging 30-50 page views a day. I know a lot of blogs get way more than this, but I thought this was definitely an accomplishment worth noting! A big thanks to everyone who has viewed or commented on my blog! I am eternally grateful to all of you for your views and support :)

Secondly, I have announced the release of my new YA series, Fairy Tale Horror. Yup, you heard that right. I'm taking a bunch of classic fairy tales, removing all the lovey-dovey aspects that one associates with a fairy tale, and making them scary. Farewell happily ever after, hello big scary monsters.

My first in this novella series is Kill Me, Red, based on Red Riding Hood. It is also under another name (so as not to totally freak out readers of my other genre). The name is: Kelsey Warren-Bryant. Here's the cover and the description:

Red Riding Hood: A Tale of Horror

When Red's best friend gets dragged into the forest by a giant wolf, she sets out to prove that she didn't imagine it. She doesn't know the source of the mysterious growling outside her window every night. She doesn't know why all evidence of the wolf seems to vanish into thin air.

She doesn't know if she's being hunted.







Kill Me, Red, as well as it's sequel Poseidon's Grave, comes out on October 1 of this year. I had a lot of fun writing it, so hopefully readers will have fun with it too. These are definitely a flip-flop from the book I have coming in September, Lokte. 
That being said, my Christian readers who aren't digging the YA horror don't need to worry. I'll be releasing another Christian Thriller early next year. I'll keep you updated, but if I write the book I'm planning, it should be a lot of fun. It's dark and twisted, but will have a good message, so stay tuned for that.

Again, thanks to everyone who has been supporting me through this. I'm very excited about it all, and I can't wait to share my books with all of you :) Have a blessed day!