Showing posts with label Guest Authors/ Interviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guest Authors/ Interviews. Show all posts

Friday, January 31, 2014

Interview with Ako Eyoung, #author of The Vision Of the Blind King

Today is my pleasure to welcome Ako Eyoung to So Many Precious Books, So Little Time.  I just loved The Vision of the Blind King and am so exited to have him here today!  You can read my review here.  
Teddy: Why don’t we begin by getting to know you better? Would you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

Ako: Back in Cameroon I was a political cartoonist for a local paper. Today I am living in the United States as a political exile. I have a bachelor’s degree in history and political science but I think I was born for artistic expression.

Teddy: How much of your novel is based in fiction and how much is influenced by your youth in Cameroon? Does the novel contain any oral traditions or interpretations of oral history?

Ako:  The Kingdom I write about is a real kingdom that actually existed, It was called Kemet and was invaded by the Hyksos in the year 1720 BC. At the time of the invasion the kingdom was ruled by King Nehesy, who was the son of Neferhotep, the king before him. The invaders were led by a man called Salatis, who became king, ruled for about fifteen or sixteen years, and established a dictatorship that saw the beginning of a two hundred year Hykso rule. But of course it is into this setting that I introduce aspects and elements of fiction that serve as props to help with the effective portrayal of the ideas behind the story. And the fact that part of the plot is set in Cameroon proves that the realities of growing up in that part of the world definitely had an influence on my writing. In the book I seek to shed light on some of the reasons behind the economic disparities that engender conflict on the African continent and I use Cameroon to create this dynamic.

As concerns oral tradition, there is actually a character in the novel who is descended from a long line of Oral Historians. In fact there is a scene where he does a recital much in the same way that it was done on the African continent for thousands of years.   

Teddy: Give us some insight into one of the main characters of The Vision of a Blind King.

Ako:  Abou Bakar is a fifty year old General who is a legend in his own life time. He is a man who fears nothing and no one. In his long and distinguished career as a brilliant General, successive Monarchs have had to rely on him to protect the kingdom from over aggressive foreign kings and warlords. But what no one can see are the secret clouds of heavy doubt that cloak the man’s mind, -doubts that were born more than two decades earlier as a result of an ‘accident’ that shattered his family.
When a foreign army strikes, the current King turns once again to this capable General and confers upon him the mission of defending the land. It is the most important mission he has been conferred yet, and he knows that failure could signal the end of the kingdom. It is a situation that cannot afford any spaces for doubt. 
In the struggle between good and evil, Abou Bakar is a warrior on the side of good. He is the representation of the quintessential hero; noble, strong, determined, with good intentions, but only human and thus not perfect. 

Teddy:  Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

Ako: Both, depending on the material concerned. What is certain is that things are always changing even as the story is being written. Sometimes in the process of following a preconceived plot, the story will develop a mind of its own and take me down some surprising paths. You never know. It's fun.

Teddy: What is the hardest thing about writing?

Ako: Marketing what has been written.

Teddy: Are you reading at the moment? If so, what?

Ako: I am always reading. Presently I am reading “The trial of Christopher okigbo” by Ali A. Mazrui.

Teddy: Do you have a favorite or inspirational author or novel? What is it about that person or their work that draws you to it?

Ako: I love the works of Chinua Achebe. In my opinion he is a master storyteller with an uncommon ability to paint detailed pictures with words. ‘Arrow of god’ is my favorite of his, and I have read it at least three times. Wole soyinka is another author whose work I enjoy. His use of tension and drama in ‘The swamp dwellers’ for example, has been widely applauded.

I also enjoy reading,Alice Walker, Mario Puzo, John Grisham, Robert le Carre, Paulo coehlo, Geoffery Chaucer, Oscar Wild, William Shakespeare, etc. 
  
Teddy: In The Vision of a Blind King, Melenoc, a very power hungry man whose uncommon fear of death combine to drive him into an unending quest for immortality, risking everything, including his entire kingdom, to attain everlasting life. I was reminded of a story I was read as a child; "The Emperor's New Clothes" when I read the synopsis of your novel - are you familiar with it?

Ako: Yes I am familiar with the story of the emperor’s new clothes. In it, Hans Christian Anderson does a great job of exploring and exposing human insecurity, the extent to which we will go to mask it, and the hypocrisy that is born of that. His main character in the story is an emperor with a huge weakness for material things (fine clothing); a weakness that has blinded him to the point where he is willing to sacrifice untold quantities of the kingdom’s wealth just to dress himself. Needless to say, like most weaknesses, it makes him vulnerable and susceptible for errors. Luckily for him the blindness that seems to have spread from him to the rest of the kingdom has spared the sight of an innocent young child who can see clearly and does not hesitate to call the truth by its name. “The emperor is naked,” he says. 

In “The vision of the blind king,” we are dealing with a similar situation. We have a kingdom that, although still rich and powerful, has been greatly weakened by the effects of self-serving egoism. And like Hans Christian Anderson, my intention was to expose the political, economic and socio cultural corruption that contaminates everything when man becomes blinded by an addicting love for power. 

Teddy: What was your reasoning for tracing back 4,000 years of strife and struggle affecting this ancient African society through to the present day and laying it on the shoulders of Melenoc? Does your novel mean to provide a lesson to the reader; is this also perhaps part of oral tradition/history?

Ako: Creating a plot line that spans 4000 years of history provides me the opportunity to make the case that in fighting for virtue, humanity has to be truly determined because evil can be very persistent. We find a man who has somehow managed to survive for four millennia; a time during which he scours the earth for an amulet that has the capacity to make him all-powerful. As we follow this man on his journey, it becomes obvious that the amulet has become much more than a quest. It is an obsession for which no sacrifice is too big.

It is important to state at this point that the character of Melenoc, is representative of humanity’s collective vice. He is a product of the same baser thoughts, wants, and needs that man has harbored and continues to carry around to this moment. His aspirations, just like his guilt, are ours as well. His fear of death is found in each and every one of us, -of course to varying degrees, but it is there. Even his reaction to seek immortality is strong within our societies, as expressed in the massive use of anti ageing products and supplements that are geared towards longevity. In fact, it is common to read about scientific research that is calculated to break ‘the code of ageing.’

Now, the way things are right now, man can expect to live for a hundred years which is nothing compared to the universal big picture. Yet man is so willing to destroy nature and his environment in a bid to get the good life for this relatively short duration of his earthly existence. How much more destruction will man cause if he could live for 1000 years? And I am not saying that a long life is a bad thing, I am just saying that a longer life would be a disaster for this planet if man does not learn to be more responsible.

There are many lessons to be learned from this book but I think one of the most important ones is that Love is the answer to nearly every problem we have. A lack of love is the foundation of spiritual corruption, and spiritual corruption is the parent of political, economic, and socio cultural malaise and it will shred any society to pieces. It was the case with the ancient Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, etc, and the same will hold true for the contemporary world if things do not improve. 

Thanks so much for joining us Ako!

About Ako Eyoung:

Ako Eyong is a Cameroonian national, whose critique of government policy (as a journalist) has led to an existence in America as a political exile. Presently, while working on the sequel to The vision of the blind king, he is taking the first steps into the world of public speaking. He has spoken at several locations in the country, including Oxnard College in California, Coconino community college in Arizona, Ventura college, Ventura Chapter of Amnesty international, Rotary club of Malibu at Pepperdine university, just to name a few. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a diploma in political science.
Ako Eyong  Twitter: https://twitter.com/akoeyong

Buy The Vision of the Blind King:






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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Giveaway and Guest Post: Scent of Butterflies by Dora Levy Mossanen

Today it is my pleasure to introduce my special guest author today, Dora Levy Mossanen.

 Hi Dora, I just have one question for you today.  Please describe your experience as an immigrant to the United States. What sort of culture shock did you experience? Did your journey as an immigrant inspire Soraya's character?  

 Dora: I’ve experienced two major cultural shocks.  Once when I moved from Israel to Iran at the age of nine.  And again, when I was forced to leave Iran for the United States.  Despite being a child, or because of it, perhaps, the move from Israel to Iran shook me in more profound and long-lasting ways, so much so that those early memories live on and continue to haunt my stories.  Israel is a liberal country known to cherish its young, to give them voice, and encourage them to form ideas and flourish.  But the Iran I moved to at the age of nine had a way of delegating children to the fringes of society.  I had to learn to hide my emotions and keep silent in the company of adults, to wait for adults to serve themselves during meals, select the best crunchy rice and tender shank, before we children dared touch the food. But the most disturbing was the coincidence of arriving in Tehran on the very week that the 1953 coup d’état of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh, the prime mister of the time, broke out.  Statues of the Shah in prominent squares were yanked off their pedestals and urinated on in full view.  Governmental offices and buildings were set on fire.  The entire city of Tehran seemed to be aflame in the stifling August heat.
We temporarily moved in with my grandparents in a small apartment overlooking Shah Reza Avenue, a major thoroughfare, and the pulse of the political landscape of the capital I remember the hours I spent at a low window, my elbows on the ledge, my chin cupped in my hands as I watched military jeeps cross the avenue below, the acrid stench of smoke and gunpowder levitating above.  Chador-clad women fled the streets like flocks of ominous ravens.  Why did we leave Israel, my child’s mind wondered, a country where women fought side by side with men in the army.  Why did we have to come to this burning hell, where women were ashamed to show their faces?

Then, Mohammad Reza Shah, who had fled to Italy the week before, came back to Tehran.  Life returned to normal.  The Shah ruled for another 26 years.  Iran became home.  This was where I was married, where I raised my family.

 Then the Islamic Revolution of 1979 forced the Shah and his family to, once again, leave the country. Ayatollah Khomeini returned after years of exile.  We hurriedly packed a suitcase and came to California, certain we’d be back once the Shah’s allies fascilitated his return home.  History, of course, proved otherwise. 

Here’s an excerpt from Scent of Butterflies as an example of how Soraya’s reflections are not unlike my own when I first came to Los Angeles.   “In 1979, at the outset of the revolution, and for some years after that, we, the so called “Aristocracy,” believed – and, more than anything, hoped—that the Islamic Republic of Iran was a temporary madness, religious fanatics who would not and could not last.  Iranians, we rationalized, at least those of us who had the courage to discuss matters among ourselves, were too modern, too educated, too westernized to bow down to the hold of fundamentalists.  We were wrong.  Their roots have burrowed deep. They're here to stay.”

So once again I was forced to adjust to a new cultural environment, this one far more liberal than the one I had become accustomed to.  And this time with two children in tow—a three-year-old who did not speak English and a twelve-year-old, who teetered on the brink of teenage-hood, with a bewildered mother who had no idea how to navigate the permissive society she would call home.   What happened the following years and how we all adjusted merits another many pages.  But suffice it to say that like Soraya, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  After experiencing personal betrayal.  I began thinking about writing a story about betrayal set against the political background of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.  I wanted to tell the story of a Jewish Iranian woman, who has the courage, or the madness, to break free of the many cultural and societal restrictions forced upon her, flee to Los Angeles, and plan her intricate revenge against the woman her husband is having an affair with.

And, oh!  How very satisfying it was to give life to the glorious Soraya, who goes about extracting her revenge in ways I would not even dare think of in my darkest fantasies.

Thanks you so much for sharing your experience with us Dora! 

About Dora Levy Mossanen:


Dora Levy Mossanen was born in Israel and moved to Iran when she was nine. At the onset of the Islamic revolution, she and her family moved to the United States. She has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of California-Los Angeles and a master's in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California.

Dora is the bestselling author of the acclaimed novels Harem, Courtesan, and The Last Romanov. Her fourth and most provocative book, Scent of Butterflies, was released January 7, 2014. She is a frequent contributor to numerous media outlets including the Huffington Post and the Jewish Journal. She has been featured on KCRW, The Politics of Culture, Voice of Russia, Radio Iran and numerous other radio and television programs. She is the recipient of the prestigious San Diego Editors' choice award and was accepted as contributor to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Dora Levy Mossanen's novels have been translated into numerous languages world-wide.

About Scent of Butterflies:

A novel singed by the flavors of Tehran, imbued with the Iranian roots of Persepolis and the culture clash of Rooftops of Tehran, this is a striking, nuanced story of a woman caught between two worlds, from the bestselling author of Harem, Courtesan, and The Last Romanov.
A Love So Deep Can Forever Scar the Soul
Such audacity she has, Soraya, a woman who dares to break free of the diamond-studded leash of her culture. A woman who refuses to accept the devastating betrayal her husband has perpetrated. A woman who refuses to forgive her best friend.
Soraya turns her back on Iran, fleeing to America to plot her intricate revenge. The Shah has fallen, her country is in turmoil, her marriage has crumbled, and she is unraveling. The cruel and intimate blow her husband has dealt her awakens an obsessive streak that explodes in the heated world of Los Angeles.
Yet the secret Soraya discovers proves far more devastating than anything she had imagined, unleashing a whirlwind of unexpected events that will leave the reader breathless.

Thanks to Dora Levy Mossanen and Sourcebooks, I am giving away one print copy.  This giveaway is open to the U. S. and Canada.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.  I will be posting my thoughts on Scent of Butterflies Soon! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway




 

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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Book Tour and Guest Post: Author, John Holt

john-holt-featured Publishing

In August 2012 I decided to go down the self publish route. With sites like Lulu.com; Createspace; Smashwords; Kindle Direct; self publishing is now so easy, and cost nothing. I now have all six of my novels self published under my brand PHOENIX. I have full control over the book content, the cover, promotion, publicity, and, of course, I don't share the royalties with anyone. The promoting is a full time job, but it has to be done. All in all, and thanks to my friends and supporters on Facebook and Twitter I am glad I made that decision.
So that’s it then, decision made, you are going to self publish. So how do you do it? It really couldn’t be simpler.
First let’s consider the paperback. Decide what size you would like your Paperback to be. I use A5. Set the Page Layout on your word processor (I use Microsoft WORD) to the size you require. Type up your novel. I use Times New Roman, 11 point. Page Layout – Margins Top 1.9cms; bottom 1.9 cms; inside 1.27 cms; outside 1.9 cms; gutter 0.89 cms; Mirror margins. Once completed you can then submit that WORD document directly to Lulu.com or Createspace. There is no charge for getting published. There is, of course, a charge to purchase the actual books. (I have used both. In my opinion Lulu.com produces the better product, but they are slightly more expensive to purchase). Both Lulu and Createspace make your work available on Amazon. Follow the simple on-line instructions to get published. You will be asked to upload the file containing the novel. An ISBN number will be allocated (again at no charge). With regard to the cover you will be required to upload a wraparound cover. You will be advised as to the sizes required. And that is that. Your paperback will be ready to purchase from Lulu or Createspace instantly; and on amazon 6-8 weeks later.
Now to the ebook – there are many sites where it is possible to produce an ebook for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and all kinds of ebook formats. I started with Kindle Direct Publishing – KDP, but, through using Draft2Digital, I also have books available on Noon, Kobo, and iTunes.
Once again it is simple to do, and at no charge. Use the same WORD document you used for the paperback. Follow the simple on-line instructions. Upload your cover – for ebook use you will only require a front cover - The ebook will be available within 24 hours on Amazon.
A word on ISBN numbers – if you have a number of books, and you wish to make them available in several different places, you would best be advised to purchase your own from Nielson – the cost is £118.50 for ten.


Marketing

So after months, if not years, of toil and trouble, your epic is at long last completed, and is ready to be released on the world. You have had the good fortune to find a publisher prepared to bring it into print for you, or you have gone down the Self Published route. Either way it is there, for sale. Pretty soon you will realise that writing the book was perhaps the easiest part of the process. Even getting published wasn’t that difficult, especially if you do it yourself. With Lulu.com; Createspace; Kindle Direct Publishing; and several other outlets on the Internet, publishing is easy, and at no cost.
Now comes the difficult part, selling your book. Nobody is going to buy it because they’ve never heard of it. So you have now got to publicise, promote, and publicise, and promote and ...... until you make a nuisance of yourself. And then you have to publicise and promote some more.
I can’t remember the exact figures but I was once told that every month 20000 new books hit the shelves (virtual or otherwise). That is some competition.
OK so what do you do to publicise your opus, especially if funds are tight and you can’t really afford a half page spread in the Times. Well there are some things you can do. Firstly let your local library know, give them a copy. The might be prepared to arrange an event in the library. I had one a year or so ago. It wasn’t the event of the century, but I sold about twenty books, and handed out some leaflets, and book markers. Tell your local newspaper, they might be prepared to publish something about you. I mentioned earlier about leaflets and book markers. Well apart from them I have business cards relating to my books, I have sticky labels that I place on every letter that I send out. This is all effective advertising that costs nothing. And one other thing, if you have more than one book. Make sure that details of all of your books are included in the last few pages of ALL of your books.



So, Who Am I?

I was born in 1943 in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire. I currently live in Essex with my wife, Margaret, and my daughter Elizabeth. And not forgetting Missy, the cat who adopted us, and considered that we were worthy enough to live with her. For many years I was a Chartered Surveyor in local government. I was a Senior Project Manager with the Greater London Council from 1971 until it was closed down in 1986. I then set up my own surveying practice, retiring in 2008.
I suppose like many others I had always thought how good it would be to write a novel, but I could never think of a good enough plot. My first novel, The Kammersee Affair, published in 2006, was inspired by a holiday in the Austrian lake district. We were staying in Grundlsee. The next lake, Toplitzsee, was used by the German Navy during the war to test rockets, and torpedoes. As the war came to an end many items were hidden in the lake – millions of UK pounds, and US dollars, in counterfeit currency; jewellery stolen from the holocaust victims; and weapons. There were also rumours of gold bullion being hidden in that lake. Despite extensive searches the gold was never found. In my book, however, it is found, only in the next lake, Kammersee.
The books that followed, The Mackenzie File, The Marinski Affair, and Epidemic, all feature Tom Kendall, a down to earth private detective, and were originally published by Raider Publishing in New York. My fifth book, A Killing In The City, another featuring Tom Kendall, was originally published by Night Publishing. In August 2012 I decided to go down the self published route, and formed my own publishing brand PHOENIX. All five novels have now been published on PHOENIX. A sixth novel The Thackery Journal was published on 8 August 2013.
I am currently working on two other novels featuring Tom Kendall, and I have made a tentative start on an Adventure novel.
This giveaway is international

For a chance to win one of three e-books by John Holt (winners choice) and one paperback by John Holt (winners choice)

 The winner will be announced at the end of the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for being our guest at So Many Precious Books, John!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:00 AM 5 comments  

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Book Tour Interview & Giveaway: My Year As a Clown by Robert Steven Williams

Today, I have the honor of kicking off the second tour of My Year As a Clown by Robert Steven Williams with an interview and giveaway.  


 About My Year As a Clown:
Publisher: Against the Grain Press  (Dec. 26, 2012)
Category: Contemporary Fiction/Literary Fiction/Humor/Relationships
Tour Date: November 4-19, 2013
Available in: eBook,  325 pages
With MY YEAR AS A CLOWN, Robert Steven Williams introduces us to Chuck Morgan, a new kind of male hero—imperfect and uncertain—fumbling his way forward in the aftermath of the abrupt collapse of his 20-year marriage.
Initially, Chuck worries he’ll never have a relationship again, that he could stand in the lobby of a brothel with a hundred dollar bill plastered to his forehead and still not get laid. But as the emotionally raw, 365-day odyssey unfolds, Chuck gradually relearns to live on his own, navigating the minefield of issues faced by being suddenly single—new routines, awkward dates, and even more awkward sex.
With My Year As a Clown, Robert Steven Williams will attract fans of the new breed of novelists that includes Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, Lolly Winston, and Tom Perrotta, delivering painfully honest glimpses into the modern male psyche while writing about both sexes with equal ease and grace in a way that’s hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time.
Robert Steven Williams is the recipient of the Silver Medal for popular fiction in the 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards for My Year as a Clown.
Read My Review Here.
Watch the Video:


The Interview:
Welcome to So Many Precious Books, So Little Time Robert! 

TR:  Could you please tell us why you as a musician, decided to write a book?

RSW:  At heart I’m a storyteller and my songs are lyric driven, so the leap to fiction wasn’t that great. Some of my favorite songs contain my favorite stories – I remember the first time I heard Johnny Cash’s ‘A Boy Named Sue’ or the Beatle’s ‘Eleanor Rigby.’ These songs are cinematic.
There’s benefit to being a musician when writing fiction. Sentences have a flow, a cadence, there’s also the occasional rhyme – often I find a rhyme that’s fallen at the wrong time (did you hear what I’m talking about?)—listening to how the sentences sound is just as important as what the sentence says.  
There’s also an economy in song – you’ve got less than 100 words to say everything you need, so each word must earn its keep. Even though a novel is closer to 100,000 words, a writer has a responsibility to keep readers reading. Digressions, sloppy sentences, extra words, these must be eliminated. Songwriters have the same issues. They have to cut words out because you can only sing so many words in a stanza. They also have to be clear because the words fly by. That’s a good skill to have when writing fiction too.

TR: Are you still active in the music world and if so, what are you doing currently?

RSW:  I write songs in bursts, but I must admit, lately, they’ve come less often. I do a couple of shows a month – I’m playing original songs and reading from my novel. Because there’s a song in My Year as a Clown, there’s a natural tie-in. People enjoy the texture change in the show and I enjoy the change of pace too.
Next year I intend on recording a new album. Declan O’Rourke, an acclaimed singer/songwriter based in Galway is producing it. He oversaw the track in my novel and he was kind enough to lend me his band to record it.
A producer is very much like an editor and it was great fun working with him.
I have a lot of other creative projects going on including a couple of film documentaries. Sometimes I feel that I’m spread too thin, but I like the change of pace and shift in focus. When I return to the music, it feels fresh.

TR: How do you balance you life between music and writing books?

RSW:  At the moment I float between activities – as I said earlier, I’m making a documentary, and that’s taking up a lot of time. This came about from a promotional event I had for my book at the Westport Historical Society. That’s in Connecticut, where I live. I hosted a literary roundtable and we were celebrating the wonderful artistic heritage of our town.
Many writers have produced incredible work here including F. Scott Fitzgerald, who lived here in 1920.
The film is about that summer Scott and Zelda’s were here and how it influenced his writing. It’s been an incredible journey. I’ve made a couple of small films, but nothing of this magnitude. But I’m a storyteller and at the end of the day, it’s all about finding the narrative. It’s been quite the journey learning about Fitzgerald’s life. Last week I was at the Firestone Library at Princeton, where the Fitzgerald archive resides. I spent the day going through his personal correspondence and reviewing manuscripts—what fun!

TR: What book are you currently reading?

RSW:  I've just completed a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Cruise of the Rolling Junk. Last night I read his essay: 100 False Starts, written in 1933 about the challenge of completing a story.

TR: If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

RSW:  I was a big Christopher Hitchens fan and I would have loved to have attended one of his Washington soirees. He and his wife would assemble artists and politicians and they’d drink, smoke and talk politics and culture until the sun came up. A few months back I read his memoir Mortality.

TR: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

RSW:  I played squash at a pretty high level when I was in my 40’s. I could beat a lot of college players. I trained with the number two player in the world, Brett Martin.

TR: Are there more books to come?  If so, what are you working on now?

RSW:  I’m very close to finishing The Sound of Money, the story of a struggling songwriter that gets mixed up with the mob. I also have several short stories that need homes.

TR: Out of the interviews you have done, is there a question that you wish someone had asked you?  Here's your chance.

RSW:  People often tell me that My Year as a Clown is very funny and it is, but to be honest, I didn't set out to do funny and I don’t think of myself as a comedy writer. What I did do is try to write an honest book, and when you write unfiltered truths, often they contain funny bits. People confuse emotional truths with factual truths. Much of what happened in my novel didn't happen in real life, but much of the emotional impact that Chuck experienced either happened to me or to others.
People also think that my characters are based on specific people and that’s not the case either. Characters are composites, some real, some inspired by fictional characters in books, TV or film. A character’s personality, look and actions also come out of my head! It’s the blending of bits and pieces that makes the world of My Year as a Clown feel real.
I also think the choice of writing in first person, present tense creates that sense of immediacy and this leads people to think Chuck Morgan must be me.
For those interested, the first draft of this novel was written in the third person, but it didn’t have the emotional heft or impact that I was looking for. I wanted the reader to experience what was happening to Chuck as if they were right there with him. There’s nothing like first person to accomplish that.

TR:  Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by for a chat, Robert.  It was a pleasure to have you.

RSW:  Thank you for having me. I greatly appreciate your time and interest.

About Robert Steven Williams:

Robert Steven Williams is an author, singer-songwriter, and musician. His debut novel, My Year as a Clown (Against the Grain Press), was released in January 2013.
As a writer, Williams was a finalist in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest and was awarded a Squaw Valley Writers Community Thayer Scholarship. He attended Bread Loaf, Sewanee and the Squaw Valley Writers’ Conferences, and worked closely with the esteemed fiction writer, Barry Hannah. His short fiction has appeared in Carve Magazine, The Orange Coast Review, and the anthology Tall Tales and Short Stories Volume II. Additionally, he was the executive producer of the critically acclaimed BOOM! Studios CBGB Comic series, nominated in 2011 for a Harvey Award for Best Anthology. Robert’s work has also appeared in Poets & Writers Magazine, Billboard, USA Today  and LetterPress, a newsletter for writers. He is also co-author of the best-selling business book, The World’s Largest Market.
As a musician, Williams studied songwriting with Rosanne Cash, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and other top country writers. In 2005, he released the critically acclaimed CD “I Am Not My Job,” featuring Rachel Z (Peter Gabriel, Wayne Shorter) and Sloan Wainwright.
Thanks the author, Robert Steven Williams, I am giving away one copy of My Year As a Clown. This giveaway is for the ebook and ends on November 20, 2013.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
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Follow the Tour:
So Many Precious Books Nov 4 Interview & Giveaway
Uttley’s Take Nov 5 Review
Teena in Toronto Nov 6 Review
Bookalicious Travel Addict Nov 6 Guest Post
From Isi Nov 7 Review
Roses & Beps Nov 8 Excerpt
Every Free Chance Nov 12 Review
Every Free Chance Nov 13 Guest Post & Giveaway
Giveaways & Glitter Nov 14 Review
Succotash Reviews Nov 15 Review
Sweeps4Bloggers Nov 18 Review & Giveaway
Paperback Writer Nov 19 Guest Post
Buy My Year As a Clown:




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Thursday, October 10, 2013

Just Announced: Raymond Khoury, Author of RASPUTIN’S SHADOW- Live Chat on October 15th at 3 pm EST

Please join us for a BookTrib Live Chat with New York Times bestselling author Raymond Khoury on October 15 at 3 p.m. ET to discuss his new book, RASPUTIN’S SHADOW.

During the Chat you can:
·         Ask Raymond questions directly
·         Win a free copy of RASPUTIN’S SHADOW

Tune in here: http://booktribchat.com/





Posted by Teddy Rose at 11:13 PM 3 comments  

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Friday, October 4, 2013

Interview With Paul Byer's, Author of Arctic Fire

On September 2nd, I kicked off the book tour of Arctic Fire with a review.  Now I have the privilege of closing the book tour with an interview with the author, Paul Byers.

 Teddy: "Welcome Paul!"
Paul: "Hi Teddy, thanks for letting me stop by."

Teddy: Did you always want to be a writer?

Paul: No, like most kids I probably just wanted to be fireman or policeman. I took some creative writing classes in college but didn’t really get serious about my writing until about 10 years ago.

Teddy:  How much time each day did you spend writing the book?

Paul: That is the question right there. Not being able to support myself with my writing…YET, I try to spend as much time as possible at it and I try to treat it like a second job and not just as a hobby. With my work schedule, I usually answer emails, Facebook and a little marketing in the morning. I then spend at least two good hours at night after I come home from work and write until I go to bed. It doesn’t always work that way, but that’s what I try to do. It took me about a year and a half to get Arctic Fire done.

Teddy: Was there a moment you wanted to quit writing?

Paul: There are times, like I’m sure that most writers have, when I felt discourage and frustrated, but I don’t think I have every seriously thought about hanging it up.


Teddy: Did you have a scene that you didn't plan for, but it was determined to be written?

Paul: Yes. When writing Arctic Fire, I came to a part in the story where I thought I needed a little action. Since they were already on the iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic, what better time than to have a storm? It started out as a little action filler if you will, but it just kept growing and growing. Soon it took on a life of its own and turned into a major part of the book and became a catalyst to exposing what the true danger was.

Teddy: What are you planning on doing next?

Paul: I have another action-thriller titled Greed, sitting at the editors now and I hope to have it out by Christmas. Set in the South Pacific, an oil exploration ship encounters an uncharted island with natives who have never seen outsiders before, but the crew soon discovers that things are not as they seem.

For the next couple of months I’m going to concentrate on marketing then start another project at the beginning of the year. Nothing set in stone yet, but it looks like it may be a sequel to Arctic Fire.

Teddy: Thanks so much for stopping by Paul, it was a pleasure to have you!

About Arctic Fire:
Publisher: Fortress Publications  (July 1, 2011)
Category: Thriller, Action Adventure,  & Literary Fiction
Tour Date: September, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615504070Available in: Print & eBook,  412 Pages
Wealthy entrepreneur Nigel Cain has devised an efficient new way to bring the earth’s most precious resource to the masses – clean water – by transporting massive man-made icebergs from the frigid arctic and delivering them literally to the doorsteps of millions.
Gabriel Pike works at a small engineering firm that has been awarded the task of giving the final safety approval to pilot the first gigantic block of ice into New York harbor.
A consummate showman, Cain has built a fabulous 5-Star hotel and casino high atop the iceberg so his celebrity guests and media elite can cover this spectacle from beginning to end. Pike is whisked away from his work-a-day world and dropped into the lap of luxury where he’s expected to simply rubber-stamp his inspection.
A brutal winter storms ravages the iceberg and exposes structural inconsistencies and hidden agendas that fill Pike with serious doubts about the true intentions of the project.  But a grisly double homicide on the ice puts the inspections on the back burner and sends Pike’s life spiraling out of control when he’s accused of being the jealous murderer in a lover’s triangle.
But Pike soon discovers that there is far more at stake than just his life. He uncovers a conspiracy more heinous than anything he could have imagined – a plot that will level a city, change the political face of America, and whose shockwaves will be felt around the world. Fate rests in his hands – if he can survive long enough to take action…
About Paul Byers:
Paul grew up in Oregon on the shores of the mighty and mysterious Columbia River, and spent endless hours daydreaming on the beach in front of his house, making up stories about the ships from exotic ports all over the world that steamed up the river – what secret cargo might they be carrying; did they harbor spies who were on dark and exciting missions?
Later in adult life, he moved to another mysterious and provocative city – Las Vegas, just outside the famous Nellis Air Force base. After work he would sit on his porch and watch the fighters take off and land, igniting his imagination with visions of secret missions and rich speculation about what could possibly be hidden at Area 51.
After moving back to his native Pacific Northwest, Paul worked for the Navy and took every opportunity he could to speak with veterans from WWII to the Gulf War, listening to them swap stories and relate the experiences of a lifetime.
So it is this combination of a passionate love of history, a vivid “what if” imagination, and a philosophy of life that boils down to the belief that – there are few things in life that a bigger hammer won’t fix – that led Paul to become a writer of exciting, fact-based action-thrillers. His greatest joy is leaving his readers wondering where the facts end and the fiction begins.
Buy Arctic Fire:



Posted by Teddy Rose at 2:13 PM 5 comments  

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