Book Spotlight: Atom & Go: Genesis

Today I have some sci-fi for you with a spotlight (plus an excerpt) on the new release, Atom & Go: Genesis by Zach Winderl. Enjoy.

 Atom & Go: Genesis by Zach Winderl

Fleeing the destruction of his clan, Atom Ulvan must protect his two-year-old daughter on a space-western romp across the galaxy. Aboard his ship the One Way Ticket, the pair must find a way to survive their pursuers while carving out their new place on the frontiers of the Empire.

 Atom & Go: Genesis is available from the publisher's website

And Amazon

Excerpt

Atom stepped from the cargo ramp into a gust of oven dusty air. Squinting against the blown grit, he raised a shielding hand and took stock of his surroundings. The polarized atmosphere shaded everything a reddish-grey, haunting the eyes with ghostly images of absent colors. In the back of his mind, Atom tried to adjust to the lack of blues and greens.

“Why don’t you inform the others of your side business?” Kozue asked as Atom retreated up to the hatch door at the top of the ramp.

“I don’t want them involved,” Atom replied as he punched through the hatch.

“But they could help.”

Atom glanced at Margo. Looking up from the pram, she beamed a smile.

“Dada dirty.” She clapped her hands and shook with a gleeful giggle.

With care, he wrapped a mesh hood around her head and fixed a filter over her mouth. She reached up to pull the hood off, but Atom took her hands and set them in her lap.

“Leave it,” he commanded, and Margo complied. “We’re going outside, Go. It’s dusty so let the hood be.”

Margo nodded. She turned her attention to looking through the polarized lenses covering her eyes. With a furtive glance to Atom, she reached up and adjusted the hood. Atom raised an eyebrow, but he saw the smile lift her cheeks beneath the light material.

Satisfied with Margo’s elemental protection, Atom punched the hatch open again and pushed the pram out into the gusting wind. As he tromped down the ramp, he wrapped a light scarf around his mouth and nose.

“They could help, but they could also prove a liability.” He continued the conversation as he slipped into the crowded street at an easy stroll. “Plus, I work better alone.”

“You take Margo.”

“Truth, but she’s blood. She’s a part of me.”

“She’s a child, Atom.”

“And I trust her more than either of the other two in a fight. I know what she’s capable of.”

“There’s something frightening in that statement.” Concern laced Kozue’s words. “Especially since one of your crew is a known gunfighter with a rap as long as my hair.”

“You don’t have hair.”

“I did, and you remember.”

Atom fell silent. His feet pressed forward through the dust laden throngs. He had lined up a buyer on the slow orbital descent, but he preferred meeting face to face, a habit from his days as an admiral.

Following Kozue’s directions, he wound his way through the thriving spaceport to a well built residence, nestled between the slums and the affluent.

At his first knock, a young servant woman opened the door with a genuine smile

“Make yourself welcome,” she said as she slammed the door against the wind. “I will let Staroste Moncrief know you have arrived. He was pleased and surprised by your request to meet in person.”

“I aim to surprise.” Atom smiled as he pulled his scarf down. “In a good way of course.”

The servant bobbed her head and disappeared through a door at the rear of the tall entryway. As the door closed on the servant’s heels, Atom unwrapped Margo and surveyed their surroundings. From the outside, the building appeared squat and plain, but the interior told a different story. The entrance hall showed modest opulence. Built of solid sandstone bricks, artisans had carved delicate floral scenes of off-world Edens into every surface. Soaring twenty feet overhead, a broad, tinted skylight allowed a comforting warm glow to enter and offset the cool, misted interior of the building. Underfoot, a thick carpet of intricate weave covered the broad sandstone blocks of the floor in an inviting manner.

“Welcome, Mr. Ulvan.” The servant opened the doors to the interior and motioned for him to follow. Atom picked up Margo and strolled after the serving girl.

About the Author

Zach is a stay at home dad who has graduated from writing during naptime to using school hours as creation central. He lives in Western NY with his wife, a mermaid, a cheetah, and a stormtrooper.

When not playing board games with his children or game group, Zach Winderl can most often be found expanding the tales of Atom & Go or people watching for literary inspiration. He draws inspiration for his character Margo from a mash-up of his three children and while he can’t claim to be a gun-slinger, many of Margo’s experiences have actually happened.

Website

A Spotlight on Clockwork Wonderland

Today we drop down the dark, dark rabbit hole to emerge in a Wonderland of horrors. Today, the spotlight shines through the shadows on the creepy horror anthology Clockwork Wonderland...

Plus, I have an excerpt from one of the stories, so enjoy!

HorrorAddicts.net Press presents… Clockwork Wonderland

Clockwork Wonderland contains stories from authors that see Wonderland as a place of horror where anything can happen and time runs amok. In this book you’ll find tales of murderous clockworks, insane creations, serial killers, zombies, and a blood thirsty jabberclocky. Prepare to see Wonderland as a place where all your worst nightmares come true. You may never look at classic children’s literature the same way again.

Edited by Emerian Rich

Cover by Carmen Masloski

Featuring authors:

Trinity Adler

Ezra Barany

Jaap Boekestein

Dustin Coffman

Stephanie Ellis

Jonathan Fortin

Laurel Anne Hill

N. McGuire

Jeremy Megargee

James Pyne

Michele Roger

H.E. Roulo

Sumiko Saulson

K.L. Wallis

With Foreword by David Watson

Clockwork Wonderland is available on Amazon

Excerpt from Jabberclocky by Jonathan Fortin

As the fist hit Henry’s jaw, the impact rippled through his whole body.

“That the best you can do, you little shit?” his father roared, looming over him like an irate bear. His father’s hands, Henry knew, were accustomed to detailed, delicate work, bearing tools tiny enough to make clocks tick again. Then, when night fell and the shop closed, one of those hands would curl around a bottle, and the other would form a beefy fist. Henry’s father’s hands, it seemed, could take whatever shape the situation required.

Henry had never had dexterous hands like his father’s. Henry’s hands were clumsy and frail, and shook when he tried to grip tiny tools. If he ever tried to throw a punch, it would be his hand that was hurt. And just then, as he fell to the floor, the pain seemed to rattle his very bones.

“Try again!” His father picked up a clock and threw it to the floor. Gears blasted out, one nicking Henry in the cheek. “Try again, or no dinner!”

Although it hurt to even move, Henry pushed himself up and crawled like a rat to pick up the scattered pieces of clock. As he examined them, he had a rush of panic.

“They’re...dented,” Henry said.

His father brought the bottle to his lips for another swig before coughing.

“Dented? Must have been because you weren’t careful enough the first time, you ungrateful little shit. Dented. Pft. I’ll show you what’s dented.”

He stomped over. Henry, hypnotized in fear, dropped the clock, and even more pieces scattered away.

***

Father had a very bad hangover the next morning.

“Go open the shop,” he grunted from his bed, and Henry obeyed. Henry knew how to man the register and take orders. In truth, he didn’t mind doing it all on his own. It was quieter. Less stressful.

The way Henry saw it, all he needed was a chance. Every day, he watched his father in the shop, seeing him smile so sweetly to the customers. The bear that came out at night was a purring teddy during business hours. But even sober, his father might glance at Henry from the corner of his eye, and the ferocity would be there, warning what might come once night fell. The fear was suffocating. Whenever Henry tried to repair a broken clock, his father’s eyes would be on him, and Henry knew what would be coming if he failed. If he could just work on a clock without his father watching, then maybe he’d get it right.

Henry opened the drapes in the front window and saw the most peculiar thing outside. A man in a top hat was twirling through the streets like some kind of gentleman ballet dancer. Only, the more Henry looked, the less the man seemed like a gentleman at all.

The man’s clothes were tattered, with many rips and brown stains that might have been from mud, or perhaps tea. His hat was absurdly tall, and his waistcoat and tailcoat both had exceedingly long tails that snaked down to the backs of his knees and swished in wide, hungry arcs.

It was a cold, rainy morning, and the street was empty save for the man. He seemed to take no notice of the rain, but merely continued to spin and spin, his arm outstretched, perpetually pointing every which way his body turned. What on Earth could possess a man to do such a thing? He had to be mad. Yes, he was obviously a gentleman who’d lost his mind and—for whatever reason—had not yet been escorted to Bedlam.

So, it was quite alarming when the man stopped spinning at the exact moment his outstretched finger pointed in Henry’s direction.

Henry’s heart stopped. It was the first time he could see the man’s face clearly, and his visage froze Henry to the core. It was a gnarled face, with a nose that seemed as long and jointed as a bent finger. The man’s eyes were wide with glee, and his smile was twisted into a grin that resembled a jagged series of arches.

Panicking, Henry ducked away from the window, but only a moment later, he heard a knock upon the door.

“Is this a clock repair shop?” came a muffled voice. “I find myself in need of your services.”

Henry crouched in the corner, quivering. Unlocking the door was the last thing left to do, and it was certainly the last thing he wanted to do.

“Pardon my rudeness, but are you indeed open?” The knock became a furious rapping.

Above Henry were shelves where clocks ticked incessantly. Combined with the rapping on the door, Henry’s head rattled. All the same, his father had ordered him to open the shop and if Henry did not do that, he would certainly be in danger of a beating. The man in the tall hat was strange, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was dangerous. Henry’s father, however, most certainly was.

Henry reluctantly pulled himself to his feet and went to open the door. The man stood outside, his eyes and grin both unnaturally wide.

“I apologize for any trouble. I seem to, herm, my clock seems to be broken. I should very much like aid.” There was an unusual affectation to the man’s speech, and his eyes had a confused wildness to them, as though he wasn’t quite certain whether Henry was real or not.

“I would be happy to help you, sir. May I see the item in question?” Despite his fear, Henry greeted him with the same smile he’d seen his father give customers many times before.

“But of course, child.” The man with the tall hat dug into his pocket and pulled out a pocket watch. Henry couldn’t help but notice the man’s remarkably long fingers.

Henry took the watch and jerked his hand back, as if trying to snatch a paper from a roaring fire. The man took no notice of Henry’s nervousness. Instead, he tossed a bundle of notes onto the floor and bowed.

“I shall check in tomorrow at nine o’clock precisely. I trust it will be done by then?”

“Well, er—”

“Splendid!” the man interrupted and disappeared back into the rainy street.

To read the full story and more Clock-inspired, Alice Horror, check out Clockwork Wonderland

Book Spotlight: The Other One

Today, I bring you a book spotlight on Amanda Jay's debut science fiction/steampunk novel, The Other One. Enjoy!

The Other One by Amanda Jay

Ezra Orson never intended to be a murderer, but he's on the brink of discovering something that will destroy not just his family, but the world as they know it. Tom has spent his whole life barely surviving in the Underbelly of a city that runs on cogs and cables. Felix is forced to leave the safety of his home to find a twin he never knew existed. Kaelyn wants to save a child. Onyx, a nation.

But for Mliss, a clockwork city, there is very little time left. A world like a spinning coin. Two sides - never the twain shall meet. Except for when the balance is disrupted and the delicate thread, which holds everything together, starts unravelling.

The world is spinning out of control now. The Twin Faced Gods are not happy. And someone needs to stop it.

The Other One is available at Amazon

And the book will be free for its initial launch, so be sure to check it out!

Author Bio:

Amanda Jay left her hometown in Colombo, Sri Lanka when she was 18, keen to travel the world and never return. After living in the Californian Bay Area and the British countryside, she is now eating her words back at her beautiful, sunny island.

Amanda works as a corporate trainer, heads the communications department at her insurance startup, and spends an unfortunate amount of time daydreaming about when she can take a nap (there’s one scheduled for next summer, hopefully). The Other One is her first novel. She has no idea what her second novel will be about. But she intends to start working on it right after her nap.

Book Spotlight: Edging

Today I shine the spotlight on the horror novel, Edging by Michael Schutz. I have a look at the book, an excerpt, plus the book trailer. Enjoy!

Edging by Michael Schutz

Intenze is the newest designer drug. Take it, and nightmares come alive. The fears of all those who “edge” summon the Thirst—a living miasma that thrives on terror. Rick Carlson needs to protect his family and dear friends from the horrifying storm that’s coming, but they don’t all want to be saved. And time is running out.

Edging is available at Amazon

Excerpt:

Steven loved scary movies, same as his girlfriend, Trish. Horror fiction not so much, she had confided to him, though she’d read all the bestsellers. No, she liked to see the faces full of terror, watch movement in the shadows of good cinematography, and hear the heartbeat thumps of a menacing score.

That’s why Steven thought she’d love to edge.

His upstairs neighbor had come knocking just as Steven was heading out for the gym. Kenny’s dark unlined face and retro Jheri curl placed his age anyway from twenty to forty. In the past they’d struck up a friendly rapport at the mailboxes out front. He invited Kenny in, feeling underdressed in his own apartment. Kenny was decked out in an olive green suit with red shirt and red pocket square while Steven wore his blue track suit with his Brewers cap hiding his unkempt shaggy brown hair.

Facing each other on the couch, Kenny stared at Steven with red-ringed brown eyes throbbing with intensity while the gentle cadences of his pitchman’s speech lulled Steven into a sort of trance.

“It’s a further distillation of lysergic acid diethylamide.” Kenny sounded like a marijuana aficionado waxing philosophical about strains of Kush.

“L.S.D.”

 “Yeah. Paired with a particular strain of psilocybin. The drug targets the fear center of the brain to induce mild panic, hallucinations, stressed heart rate—”

“It gives you a bad trip.”

Kenny shrugged. “What’s ‘bad’? People shell out millions of dollars a year at Six Flags. Every summer, some new Destination or Scream movie rakes in at the box office. All to scare people who can afford a hundred bucks to take the family out.” He held up a flat, tiny white disc on the tip of his finger. “This baby’s just twenty bucks for the same thing. It’s called edging.”

Steven took the little pill into his hand. It weighed nothing and looked so innocuous lying in his palm that he found it hard to argue with his neighbor’s rationale.

“It looks like aspirin.” He turned it over. The imprint on the other side read 1N10Z.

“Actually,” Kenny said, “it was. Now it’s the delivery mechanism. That there,” he pointed to the imprint, “is where this baby gets its name—Intenze.”

“Listen, Kenny, I don’t do drugs.”

Kenny shrugged again and reached to take the pill away. Steven pulled his hand back an inch.

“But you say it’s just, like, entertainment?”

Kenny smiled. “Its physical effects are like riding that big coaster at Disneyland. The hallucinations are like walking through a Halloween haunted house: spooky faces, shadows stalking around. But it’s different for everyone. Auditory sometimes—voices, you know?”

“That doesn’t sound fun.”

“This only lasts half a minute.”

Steven laughed. “And that sounds like a rip-off!”

“Brother,” Kenny lowered his voice, “you take this, it’s the most intense horror movie you’ve ever seen. Because you’re in it. It’s all around you, and you’re participating. It’s one freight train of a rush. But, c’mon, if that kind of high lasted too long, you’d blow your circuits.”

Book Trailer

 

Author Bio:

Michael Schutz was born and raised in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, where the macabre tales of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King kept him warm at night. He’s seen way too many horror movies to be healthy and blogs and podcasts about them on Darkness Dwells. He is the author of the novels Edging and Blood Vengeance and the novella Uninoch. His short fiction has been featured most recently in Crossroads in the Dark II: Urban Legends, Dark Moon Digest, Sanitarium, and the anthologies Beasts: Revelations, Beyond the Nightlight, and Cranial Leakage: Tales from the Grinning Skull. He lives with his three naughty cat-children in northern California. You can keep tabs on him at: http://www.michaelschutzfiction.com

Book Spotlight: Collected Easter Horror Shorts

Today I have a spotlight on the new anthology, Collected Easter Horror Shorts. Enjoy!

Collected Easter Horror Shorts

From the darkest recesses of some of the horror world’s most chilling minds, Kevin J. Kennedy brings back together some of the authors that brought you Collected Christmas Horror Shorts, alongside several new authors, from upcoming indie stars to Amazon top sellers. 

Whether you like Easter or not, you’ll certainly have a different view of it after you read the stories contained within these pages. 

Grab an Easter egg, dim the lights, get cosy and get ready for some chilling tales by some of the horror world’s finest.

Collected Easter Horror Shorts is available on Amazon

The Authors and Stories:

C.S.Anderson – He Has Risen

Christopher Motz - Magic Awaits

Veronica Smith - It’s Not All About Bunnies and Chocolates

Peter Oliver Wonder - Easter Gunny

Mark Cassell - The Rebirth

Andrew Lennon - Trying To Write A Horror Story

Mark Lukens - Mia's Easter Basket

Lex Jones - SonnesHill

JC Michael - Lord of The Dance

Steven Stacy - Echoes of The Bunny-Man

Weston Kincade & David Chrisley - An Easter Prayer

Christina Bergling - Hatch

James Matthew Byers - Killer Jelly Beans from Outer Space (poem)

Jeff Menapace - Paying It Forward

Jeff Strand - Rotten Eggs

Lisa Vasquez - Bunny and Clyde

Mark Fleming - Sulphur

Suzanne Fox - Last Supper

Briana Robertson - Baby Blues

Latashia Figueroa - Easter Eggs

Amy Cross - Lamb to Slaughter

Kevin J. Kennedy - A Town Called Easter

Drabble Wednesday: Absurdity

Today’s Drabble Wednesday is full of nonsense and weird stuff. You have been warned...

Destiny

Down on his luck and homeless, the hapless android Zippy Chinoiserie threw himself into the ocean. He expected to sink, rust, and fade into offline oblivion. Instead he heard a chirp-chattering, and suddenly found himself atop the backs of genetically modified dolphins, riding the waves like a surfer. As they whizzed along, he heard their telepathic voices in his head.

“You are the Chosen One. You will save us from the humans.”

Zippy smiled.

And so began the Age of Utopia.

At least for the androids and the dolphins. The humans were either brainwashed slaves to their overlords or dead.

~*~

Books and Other Groovy Stuff

“Um, Klaatuu, Bartholomew, Nikita.”

We stare at the book, but nothing happens.

Sally nudges me between bites of her pomegranate. “Are you sure you got the words right?”

“I dunno. The paper I wrote them down on got all smudged. And I wasn’t listening too closely when the guy at the store explained how it worked.”

“Now see that’s your problem. Why you need this Necrocominwhatis to bail you out of your failing grades. If you just studied…” She reaches into her purse and pulls out a stick of dynamite. “Let’s try this boomstick, see if that opens this thing.”

~*~

And now some more virtual adventures of Frankie and Joni...

Frankie and Joni’s Christmas Party

“What were you thinking!” I screamed at Frankie as we ran through the halls of... “What is this place?”

“Um, that I wanted to ride in the Tardis? And it’s the palace of something or other. I forget! Oh, they’re getting closer!”

“Oh, crap! What’s the Tardis have to do with our virtual Christmas party?”

“You know, bigger on the inside and all that! It made a fun venue! I mean before—” Laser fire hit the wall and he sped past me. “I didn’t think this would happen!”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have invited the Daleks! Now keep running!”

© A. F. Stewart 2016 All Rights Reserved 

Interview with Kevin S. Chambers, Author of God's Rogue

Today I have an interview with writer Kevin S. Chambers, who chats about his new novel God's Rogue, his screenwriting and other tidbits. Enjoy.

Interview with Kevin S. Chambers

Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about yourself.

First off, thanks for taking the time to post this. I generally try to let my work talk for me, but this I guess is more about me right? Anyways, I currently reside in the North West, where I attended school at Western Oregon University, for Earth Science. Since about 2009 I’ve been writing, or attempting to write my own novel. Originally I had Awakening, that I shopped around, and never got anywhere with. After a few years attempting this, I made the switch to screenplays, where I’ve had more success, including two produced shows/web-series, Starship Orion, and Daughter of Time. The first season of DOT should be coming early next year.

Could you tell us a bit about your latest book?

I have a list of novels to write, and a list of TV shows and movies I’d like to produce. When I was down in LA last February, I met up with a potential distributor/production company for Daughter of Time, which is about Time Traveling Assassins. Anyways, when I was down there, they mentioned they were looking for movies, Naturally, I brought up God’s Rogue, which was meant to be a TV show. Well they asked if I could write it into a movie, which I did.

As I wrote, I realized there was a lot there. As such, I decided to turn it into a book. Which combines the concept of Ancient Aliens, and the value of human life. Personally I believe in the value of life. An individual only has one life, and it’s theirs to live. The main character Kaden Hunt, who has discovered hidden talents in the human genome, takes up a fight against two Annunaki. During his fight, he begins to discover who he once was in previous lives. As he begins to discover, he realizes there are enemies much more powerful out in the universes.

Who is your intended readership?

Young adult and up, who like to have a reading experience take them on an adventure, while challenging them mentally. I ask questions, that I want the reader to think, what if I was in the position.

Can you tell us about your writing process? Where do your ideas originate? Do you have a certain writing routine?

My writing routine is a bit different I guess, I usually get all of my ideas from dreams. Where I will write them down. Sometimes I’ll let the stories play out in my head, and leave it at that. Others, if I really love the characters, and story I will begin to write either a novel, short story, movie, or television show.

What is your greatest challenge as a writer?

Growing up I had a learning disability in English and Grammar. It started as an IEP, which I worked hard to get down to a 504. Even now I have trouble with English and Grammar. My editor would often call me, as he pulled his hair out in frustration.

Do you have a favorite author, or writing inspiration?

First let me dive into a bit of my reading history. When I entered Middle School, I stopped reading, thinking it was uncool. Well in 2007 a teacher gave me a copy of Eragon, which I sat on for over a year. Finally I started reading it, and I fell in love with the series and reading. Well in the fall of 08 I saw two actors from Power Rangers were in Legend of the Seeker. Once I saw what it was about I began to watch it. I noticed that it was a book. Well since that time, I’ve been a huge Terry Goodkind fan, you can see similar themes in God’s Rogue.

What do you like to do when you're not writing? Any hobbies?

I do love to dance, especially line dancing. I don’t mind kayaking, fishing, exploring. I have this idea of going to Ireland, and letting my feet guide me, get me lost. Really just exploring the world around me, is such fun. I have great friends who like to go along with me.

Are you working on another book?

Spoilers. Yes, I’m working on The Travelers Tower. Which is the second book in the series. I’m also beginning to rewrite Rogue Mage, completely unrelated.

What did you hope to accomplish by publishing your book?

I want to tell stories, and entertain people. Let’s also be honest, I want to make a good living off this, to allow me to do other things.

In addition to writing novels, Kevin S. Chambers has a series, Daughter of Time (Time Needs an Assassin) currently in post production that should be available next year. When not writing, or on set, he’s at home with his wife and dog, out playing baseball, or fishing.

God's Rogue by Kevin S. Chambers

Kaden Hunt has been fighting a hidden war for humanity, alone. A war that changed one night when his oldest friend tried to kill him. Now Kaden the most powerful human in existence has drawn the complete focus of Enki and Shamash the two warring leaders of the Annunaki; the aliens who created humanity. Both are determined to stop Kaden from becoming what he once was, who he once was. For if he becomes the Traveler a more powerful enemy will be freed.

God's Rogue is available on pre-order at Amazon and launches November 14th.

#NewRelease: Charm City by Ash Krafton

Today I have for you a delightful treat, with a book spotlight for the new urban fantasy release, Charm City by Ash Krafton, Book 1 of The Demon Whisperer series. Enjoy, my minions!

CHARM CITY Kindle release day!

There are demons all around us, legions of the dark that break loose from Hell's restraints to prowl the mortal plane. Most people can't see them and will never suffer their torments. They are the lucky ones. Guess that makes Simon Alliant the unluckiest man alive. He's learned that the only luck a man has is the luck he makes for himself. Call him exorcist. Call him master of the dark arts. Call him dime-store magician. Most names don't matter, not when Hell knows yours. Armed with his spells and his amulets and his desperate drive toward redemption, he fights the rising darkness and sends those demons screaming back into Hell, one minion at a time. But not all demons can be exorcised. Some dwell too deep inside a man's bones to be so easily banished. Simon is smart--or, at least, cynical--enough to know which battles are worth fighting. It takes more than a fistful of charms to stay alive in his line of work. And staying alive is the only way to avoid giving the Devil his due...

Welcome to the world of The Demon Whisperer.

It kicks off today with the Kindle release of the first book in the series: CHARM CITY.

Now available on Kindle!

CHARM CITY (The Demon Whisperer #1)

The darkness is rising and one man stands against it: the exorcist mage Simon Alliant. But in Baltimore, he finally meets his match...a part-mortal divinity with the power to whisper away demons.

Simon Alliant is an exorcist who battles demons, whether he wants to or not. Sometimes it's not so bad...he gets to play with magic, after all. But for Simon, magic represents a demon of another kind. He's addicted to magic and it takes more than a handful of charms to keep that particular demon at bay. Chiara is part Light, part Dark, and stubbornly mortal. The woman has a way with words: she literally talks demons into abandoning their human hosts. Simon thinks that's not the only trick she has up her sleeve-and that's pretty high praise coming from a mage like him.

As intriguing as that may be, Simon has too many reasons to distrust her...one of them being his more-or-less partner, an angelic Watcher. Amidst all the celestial warnings of the rising dark comes a new prophesy that makes him wonder: is Chiara a threat to him and all of mankind?

Or will she be his salvation?

Join the legions and pick your side: Light or Dark. Just know this...decisions like this are never easy, because there's no black and white when it comes to good and evil.

Grab your lucky charm. You might need it.

Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer who, despite having a Time Turner under her couch and three different sonic screwdrivers in her purse, still encounters difficulty with time management. She's the author of urban fantasy (such as the trilogy The Books of the Demimonde) as well as paranormal romance (WORDS THAT BIND). She also writes for YA and NA audiences under the pen name AJ Krafton (THE HEARTBEAT THIEF, her Victorian dark fantasy inspired by Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”). Currently, she's working on a new urban fantasy series, The Demon Whisperer. The first book, CHARM CITY, is now available on Kindle.

Interview With Author Tina Amiri

Today I have for you a great interview with psychological thriller author and fellow Canadian, Tina Amiri, where she talks writing and about her book, Whatever The Impulse. Enjoy!

Interview with Tina Amiri

Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about yourself.

Luckily, since I’m inclined to write and edit, for fun I enjoy quiet time, nice views, good coffee, like any real writer ought to. I also love my cats, and I’m a passionate supporter of animal rights and environmental causes, but I’m also extremely “ying-yang”. For almost every trait I possess, there seems to be a balance to that quality. I like my hair long and always wear a dress but everyone laughs when they see the person behind the art (that I create). My favourite activity for years was watching, reading and practicing martial arts. When people first meet me, they don’t expect me to be the one to shake up the room, but I do tend to either amuse or offend. Being a “green personality”, I also analyze everything I see and hear, so opinions expressed by me may not always be well received by those around me. And yet, despite all that, I am nice. Immediately after a driver incites the deepest road-rage to come out of me and I disparage all humanity, I will still let the next guy in on a by street; I will be the person in the movie theatre who cares about whether the person behind me has a good view of the film.

How long have you been writing?

I started writing before I learned how to spell--probably at five-years-old. I would sound out the words and write them however seemed logical to me. I started with these one-line-per-page stories called "Donkey & Teddy"--basically stories about my stuffed donkey and my sister's stuffed teddy bear--in which Donkey always won the day. They should have been called "Donkey vs Teddy". LOL These "books" consisted of two pages stapled together in the middle and each page had pictures too!

I wrote a single-spaced notebook-length book at age 8. I wrote my first 200 page, typed novel when I was 10 and spent a few years re-writing it. I started writing novels, which i never finished all through high school but I always abandoned these stories when I made a jump on the writing learning curve because I knew I could do better.

Could you tell us a bit about your latest book?

Whatever The Impulse is a psychological thriller about a young man, named Night, who spent his first nineteen years forced, by his father, to play the role of a deaf-mute in order to isolate himself from others—all, apparently, for a good reason. Finally, Night learns the truth and is immediately thrust into a completely opposite life where he is always in the public eye, but in a world he does not understand, without a totally intact moral compass.

Why did you decide to write in the psychological thriller genre?

I think the hardest part of writing a psychological thriller—and probably any form of fiction—is to come up with a story that doesn’t sound familiar. Nowadays, there are countless TV shows that are based entirely on abnormal human psychology. Of course the writers of these shows are all trying to come up with a new twist every week, so it makes the author’s job that much harder…trying to surprise a reader and keep them hooked for 300+ pages. I’ve always been fascinated by the human condition. The genre also interests me because of the tragic murder of my mother and her date at the hands of an old boyfriend who was believed to have a borderline dissociative identity disorder. He killed himself at the scene and I think that the subconscious effects of discovering all of them in our home when I was 18 certainly have played a role in my interest in this genre.

Did anything surprise you about the process of writing your book?

Sure, one thing that surprised me was how I could not plan my plot-points and stick to the plan. My characters and the story itself acquired a life of its own and guided me to the end…although there were several rewrites that resulted in major changes every time.

Who is your intended readership?

This book was geared for older young adults- 16+ but it’s finding a home with older adults (40-70) as well as those in the gay community because of a few scenes and homo-erotic undertones throughout the book. I’m getting incredibly positive feedback from both male and female and that could be because of the attractive sympathetic main character.

Can you tell us about your writing process? Where do your ideas originate? Do you have a certain writing routine?

Ideas just come to me. Sometimes I think I've come up with a great idea but then I get stumped on how to flesh out an entire novel based on my idea. My writing routine is: write whenever you aren't at your day job, you're okay to not be at the gym or go for a run, and nobody else asked you to do something with them. I do enjoy inspiring settings for writing, like charming urban Inns, hotels etc or when in nature. A room with a view really helps. I am not unique when it comes to this!

How do you research your book?

While some content is just from imagination, much is a combination of inspiration and research. I bought books, I took books out from libraries, and I looked stuff up on the internet. I even reached out, by e-mail, to someone in the countermeasures industry once. I did not know who I was e-mailing and eventually that person, after screening me in a number of ways, divulged their interesting history involved in covert government operations. I did get the information I was looking for. This came about when I ran into obstacles trying to find out about spy equipment in the early 80's. Yes, just a line in the book might have taken me days of research and then years of editing to come out as it did. A lot of the details I initially put into the book where edited out over time. For example, I took out three giant books on guns, from a local library, and did i ever get some strange looks in the line-up at check-out!

What is your greatest challenge as a writer?

Greatest challenge is finding time in such a hectic world. Writing inherently removes contact with others, so it is difficult to find time when the only time you can "spend time with friends or family" is when you’re not at work and running around managing other everyday business.

What do you like to do when you're not writing? Any hobbies?

I like to do distance running, gardening, going to see live theatre (I'm a Stratford Festival member). I also am a huge supporter of animal causes, environmental causes and naturopathic medicine. To contrast that, I also have a weakness for dresses and aesthetic services!

For more on the author and her writing check out her website, and Facebook page

You can find Whatever The Impulse on 

Goodreads

Amazon Canada

Amazon US