Author Interview - H.A. Titus

Back once again, with one last interview with an author from the Avenir Eclectia anthology. Today we're talking with H.A. (Heather) Titus, whom I've been blessed to have as a personal friend, cohort, and co-author on multiple projects, for several years now.

HA: Hey Mary! Thanks for inviting me over to your cyberspace home. :)

MRP: You know you’re always welcome. ; ) Let’s get started: What first brought you to the world of Avenir Eclectia and got you interested in the project?

HA: I ran across it while browsing the Splashdown Books sites. I thought it sounded like a cool Christian version of the Star Wars universe set-up, where authors all worked together to create a really cool world. Plus, I have a tendency to be wordy, and when I saw that the preferred wordcount was below 400 words, I thought it would be cool to challenge myself.

MRP: What do you consider your unique 'trademark' as a writer, and how does that come through in your Avenir Eclectia stories?

HA: I'd say my unique trademark is bringing characters out of a dark past and into an at least semi-hopeful future. Even if I don't always showcase my beliefs, I always try to bring characters to a place of hope at the end of the story arc. A lot of that comes through Pieter's past as a smuggler/his future as a flight teacher, and the orphans' future in being able to have good jobs. With Reeder, it's in his fear of the supernatural forces that his brother is a part of, and how eventually overcomes that fear.

MRP: I've had so much fun watching you explore the unique way a smuggler and a group of orphans relate to each other. Can you tell us a bit about that (your inspiration, goals, etc.)?

HA: My inspiration for Pieter was, basically, I've always wanted to write a character that is a former smuggler. Cara was inspired by the other orphans I saw in the stories. I didn't intend for them to last for longer than two or three stories, but as I figured out more about them, their story kept expanding.

I really didn't have specific goals in mind as I started writing them. I have noticed, though, that Pieter especially has expanded as a character. He goes from bored, spoiled rich kid to infamous smuggler to flight school teacher. Teaching was the last thing he ever thought he would be doing, yet he finds the most satisfaction from it. (Of course, his story doesn't end with becoming a teacher...but if I said anything more, it would be a spoiler. Can't have that!) ;) So I think my goal with him is illustrating how satisfying a simple life can be.

MRP: What do you see as the biggest advantage of a multi-author project like Avenir Eclectia?

HA: The inspiration. I always joke that I should've worked for Pixar, because the team that works on a story together always meets every morning to bat ideas around. I work the best when I get a chance to brainstorm with other creative types, and I always come away from an AE story or discussion inspired to write, whether it be for Avenir Eclectia or on one of my own projects.

MRP: The biggest disadvantage or challenge?

HA: The continuity. It's like the old saying, "Too many cooks spoil the stew." Not that I'm saying that there could be too many people involved in Avenir Eclectia. But sometimes, with multiple people writing about the same locations, it can get a little off-kilter since everyone kind of has their own perspective on things. But so far I think everyone has done a really good job at working together to keep stuff consistent.

MRP: Do you have a favorite memory or experience from the Avenir Eclectia project so far?

HA: I really, really loved reading everything that Walt Staples wrote. He had a great wit and a talent that I envied. He was one of my favorite Avenir Eclectia authors and I really miss him.

Besides that, my next favorite memory would be seeing my first fiction piece published, and seeing the first book in print with my name on the cover.

MRP: Seeing my name on the cover was a big thrill for me too, and getting to share that exciting first with a close friend just made it that much cooler! 

Can you give us any kind of hint at where your story/character arc is going from here?

HA: Pieter, Cara, Cog, and Clock will be involved with some of the creepy-crawly happenings on Avenir. Reeder, my messenger in Zirconia, actually has a lot of his story plot to go, and his story will be tied into some of the demonic-plot storylines.

MRP: Thanks again for joining us, Heather! It's always fun talking to another author, especially one who shares interest in a project I've been blessed to be a part of. ; )

HA: Thanks for having me Mary! 

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Well, that about wraps up the Avenir Eclectia interviews for me. It makes me kind of sad. But, work on the shared project continues with some exciting plans for the future, and of course, the first volume is available in print on Amazon at an amazing price. So if you haven't read it by now, you've got no excuse. : P

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Author Interview - Pauline Creeden

Hello, all! I'm back again, with another interview with one of the Avenir Eclectia authors. Today we're talking with author Pauline Creeden. Thanks so much for joining us today, Pauline!

PC: Thank you for having me here Mary!

MRP: What first brought you to the world of Avenir Eclectia and got you interested in the project?

PC: My first introduction to AE was through a link posted on Facebook by fellow writer friend, H. A. Titus. She posted a story and I followed the link. After reading the short piece about a wizard making deliveries, I was intrigued by the site as a whole. I spent hours perusing the stories and history of the shared world. As can happen sometimes, a character popped in my head. She wouldn’t let me go until I’d written her first scene.

MRP: What do you consider your unique 'trademark' as a writer, and how does that come through in your Avenir Eclectia stories?

PC: Hmmm. My trademark? I like for my stories to have the feeling of both the familiar and the strange with a twist that I hope makes it original and lasts in the reader’s mind. That’s my goal anyway.

MRP: I've loved following your story arc and your character, Zana Black. Can you share a little bit about that for those who haven't read it yet?

PC: Zana Black is, of course, the character who grabbed me after reading the history of Avenir. After being grotesquely injured in a bug hunting accident, teenage Zana lost her brother as well as her left arm and leg. A scientist (Dr. Lee) found her and engineered parts to allow her to have some semblance of a normal life. The make-up of Avenir’s judicial system is that most bug hunters are criminals or low-lifes. Zana’s father was both. She grew up hating the father who left her and her brother for dead, and became a bounty hunter specifically to find and kill her father.

MRP: You've got me intrigued, and I've already read it! That must be a good sign. ; )  I'm looking forward to reading more!

What do you see as the biggest advantage of a multi-author project like Avenir Eclectia?

PC: I can take my time with the story arc and not worry about whether readers have something to read in the mean time. It’s also fun to read the way other authors are building on to the world. My favorite stories to follow so far have been Ernsto and Dressler’s arcs.

MRP: The biggest disadvantage or challenge?

PC: Because the world has so many authors working in it, an author has to keep track of the other stories in order to keep from clashing with someone else’s story line. It can be time consuming, even if it is fun.

MRP: Do you have a favorite memory or experience from the Avenir Eclectia project so far?

PC: Travis Perry has offered to collaborate with me on a story arc for Zana that includes a meet up with his character Ernsto. I’m looking forward to it, and am sure it will be an interesting learning experience.

MRP: (You can read up on Travis Perry and Ernsto in my interview with Travis, Here.)

Can you give us any kind of little hint at where your story arc is going from here?

PC: Of course, Zana will have to deal with her daddy issues. I’m hoping that there might be some sort of forgiveness in her future, and maybe she’ll learn that it’s okay to let herself be loved. She’s got a hard crust right now. I’m hoping she’ll soften up.

MRP: Thanks again so much for being with us. It's been fun!

PC: Thanks again for having me here, I hope to meet up again!

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Author Interview - Jeff Chapman

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm back with some more great interviews with authors of Avenir Eclectia Volume 1, the newly-released science fiction anthology from Splashdown Books.

This time around we're chatting with author Jeff Chapman. Thanks so much for joining us today, Jeff!

JC: Thanks for inviting me, Mary.

MRP: What first brought you to the world of Avenir Eclectia and got you interested in the project?

JC: I'm friends with some of the Splashdown authors. I learned about the project when I followed links to their stories. I don't usually read much science fiction but the stories were fascinating and the world so varied and full of potential.

MRP: What do you consider your unique 'trademark' as a writer, and how does that show itself in your Avenir Eclectia stories?

JC: I like to write about characters who aren't certain about their beliefs or the decisions they make. The consequences of those decisions likely won't play out as they hope or expect. I also love tragedy, so while a few of my stories will end happily, most will have a more ambiguous ending. 

MRP: The stories you've written for Avenir Eclectia often deal with complicated issues of right versus wrong. Can you tell us a bit about that?

JC: When Elihu discovers the hermit's cache of coins, he has to decide between honoring the dying man's property or the good that Elihu could do for his impoverished community with the money. He's not happy with his decision, but the right choice doesn't always bring us immediate joy.

"A Creature of Words" comes down to a moral decision on the part of the fish. She decides to abort her attack on the human diver not because she's having trouble sawing through his dive suit armor but because she realizes he has language like the angels. Her morality forbids eating a creature with words.

MRP: What do you see as the biggest advantage of a multi-author project like Avenir Eclectia?

JC: I particularly like the sharing of characters between multiple authors that allow various story arcs to interact. We see familiar characters from a new perspective and the stories no longer appear as single threads going off in their own directions but as different colored threads woven together. I've consciously tried to tie my story arcs into those of other writers. My stories "A Fortuitous Stumble," "Shelter from the Storm," and "The Hermit's Cache," for instance, borrow the character Elihu Simmons--a bug-hunter and pastor--from stories that Travis Perry wrote. Of course it's polite to ask permission to borrow characters and let the other writer see what you're doing with them. This is great for building friendships and relations with other writers.

The stories from others are expanding and filling in the Avenir Eclectia world and each addition can spark your imagination in a new direction.

MRP: The biggest disadvantage or challenge?

JC: The flip side is that it can be hard to keep up with what's happening in the story world. You don't want to be caught writing about something that can no longer happen. I think Grace is doing an admirable job keeping a watchful eye on all the story threads.

MRP: Do you have a favorite memory or experience from the Avenir Eclectia project so far?

JC: My first story "A Creature of Words" is from the point of view of a fish, albeit an intelligent fish. I wasn't sure if this would fly, so I was elated when Grace accepted it.

MRP: Can you give us any kind of hint at where your story/character arc is going from here?

JC: The stories about the hermit that Elihu discovered in a cave will follow the hermit to the The Abbey of Francis and Lazarus House located on the asteroid Assisi. We'll find out who the hermit is and what's in his cryptic book. The contents of that book will create a profound personal crisis for one of the monks

MRP: Is there anything else you'd like to add or share?

JC: I'm looking forward to writing more Avenir Eclectia stories. I have the hermit thread which I see going on for quite some time and a new thread about a couple bug hunters. I hope to get back to the fish as well.

Thanks so much for hanging out with us here at the Writer's Lair, Jeff!

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Remember, the AE anthology is available on Amazon for $5.98, plus it's eligible for Amazon's 4-for-3 promotion. So don't just order one for yourself; it would make a perfect gift for the sci-fi reader on your Christmas list, too. ; ) Click Here to order it from Amazon.

Working Title Chosen for My New Novel Project!

As you're probably aware, my new project since finishing Son of the Shield is a science fiction novel set in the world of Avenir Eclectia and based off of the short story series I've been publishing there.
While obviously each individual short story had a title, the novel project as a whole has just been referred to as 'my Avenir Eclectia novel'... until now! The project is now named:

Empathia's Hope

As the post title says, this is just a working title and subject to potential change in the future, but for now I think it's a perfect fit for the events and character arcs that form the theme of the story. And I'm starting to really get into this project, finally. It's been a bit of a struggle shifting gears after finishing SotS, but I think I've managed to do it and I'm excited to see where this new project goes.
Be watching for updates to that effect! : )

Book Review: Replication {The Jason Experiment}

By Jill Williamson
Published by Zondervan

I've never won a blog book-giveaway before winning this one, and I was thrilled to receive a copy, signed by the author!

Martyr - or, J:3:3 as he's officially called - lives in a state-of-the-art facility deep under ground, safe from the toxic air of the dangerous world above. A few weeks before his eighteenth birthday, he's about to expire - his life will end, a sacrifice that will provide the much-needed antidote for the people trapped above ground in the hostile environment.

Or so he's told.

Out in that 'hostile environment' is Abby Goyer, a brainy high-schooler looking towards studying forensics in college. Her father works for a science lab in Washington D.C, and their relationship has been pretty strained since Abby's mom passed away. The strain becomes even worse when Mr. Goyer announces that they're moving to Alaska, where he's taken a job at a state-of-the-art research lab.

I have to say, I loved this book. The characters were all remarkably well-developed - even Martyr, who naturally has some peculiarities from living in an underground laboratory his whole life. The plot was straightforward and clear-cut, another plus. (I occasionally get tired of plots with so many twists and turns that by the end you can't even remember what the initial point was.) The writing was very skillful, another huge plus.
In this story, the author dealt with the highly controversial issue of cloning with skill, honesty, and grace, which I found highly refreshing. She doesn't mince words, and she calls things what they are, which I admire, but she did it all without sounding in the least 'preachy' or militant about it.
One or two things that bothered me:
First, there were several kiss scenes between teenagers. They were nothing humongous or grossly over-the-top, just straightforward kisses, but they still bothered me, since both characters were Christians.
The only other thing is a pet-peeve annoyance for me, more than anything else. The character Abby - who has studied crime for years and should know better - lets herself get pushed around very easily by a guy from her school who follows her around uninvited and even ends up forcing his way into her house. Abby isn't happy about it, but she doesn't do anything about it. There were several instances in which she should have thrown the creep out of her house at knife-point and called the cops on him, but she did nothing. It made me highly irritated at her.

Aside from those two little issues, though, I really, really enjoyed this book. I honestly couldn't put it down - and it takes a special book to captivate me that completely. I wouldn't recommend this book for younger readers, certainly. But for anyone 16 and up, this would make a fantastic read. I definitely recommend that you check it out at the first opportunity you get!