Category: Writing Style & Voice

+Author Interview+ Peter Danish [author of] The Tenor! A historical biographical fiction surrounding Maria Callas, the opera singer!

Posted Monday, 31 March, 2014 by jorielov , , 5 Comments

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{: Peter Danish is welcomed to Jorie Loves A Story :}

Peter Danish is the Classical Music Editor in Chief for BWWClassical.com, the classic music site for BroadwayWorld.com, covering and reviewing the classical music performance in and around New York City and the greater New York Area. A proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America, he is the playwright of the play: “Gods, Guns and Greed,” as well as the new musical: “The Flying Dutchman.” His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Ad Age, Ad Week and Media Week Magazines.

The Tenor by Peter Danish

I am honoured to welcome Mr. Danish to Jorie Loves A Story on my very *first!* blogoversary! Today marks the day I created a WordPress account & started the foundation of what you see now. What better way to celebrate the joy of being a book blogger for twelve-months than to showcase a début novelist who dug out of the recesses of history a story which etches out a courageous act of selflessness to inspire a story with such depth. An author I might add who shares my passion for ‘Magical Realism’ which is quite possibly the largest groupings of books I aspire to read for “The Classics Club”.

I even have “Winter’s Tale” sitting on my shelf and I fear I might run out of the hours to consume its loveliness before it needs to return to my local library! As I asked the questions on behalf of “The Tenor”, I was most impressed by the responses Mr. Danish supplied, as he gave us a breadth of knowledge for his writing style as much as how research can lend itself its own education for a writer. The historical significance of how one opera singer’s life intersected with a soldier and how the legacy of their actual lives and bond inspired the woman behind the Huffington Post is beyond remarkable! Let us pause from my celebratory mood and listen to his remarkable story of how “The Tenor” was created and given back to the world.

Book Synopsis:

The Tenor is a sweeping tale of historical fiction in the style of Ann Patchett’s “Bel Canto” and De Burniere’s “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.” It swiftly moves from Pino Vaggi’s youth in pre-war Italy, to his coming of age as a soldier in war-torn Greece, before ending in a shattering surprise finale at Maria Callas’ historic final performance ever on the stage of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House in 1965. It is based loosely on the stories and anecdotes that I learned from several of Maria Callas’ personal friends and from nearly a dozen trips to Italy and Greece to research the subject.

Pino Vaggi is not like the other children in Italy in 1930. While they play soccer, he listens to opera. By age ten, he is already a child prodigy, an opera singing sensation on the fast track to a major international career. On the eve of his début, WWII breaks out. The theater is closed. The season is cancelled. Pino is drafted. He is stationed in war-torn Athens, where he hears and ultimately falls in love with another child prodigy, the young Maria Callas. There is one major problem: she is the enemy. However, as famine devastates Athens, (a famine created by the diversion of humanitarian aid meant for the Greeks to the Russian front to feed the German Army) the artist in Pino can’t fathom the thought of the greatest singer the world will ever know perishing, especially if he is in a position to prevent it. With a firing squad in the balance, he repeatedly risks his own life to protect and feed the young girl and her family. In the process, his love for her deepens, until something tragic happens – something with devastating consequences that blows the young lovers apart.

When you first learnt of the soldier’s story, to where his survival was not evidenced, did you in turn try to dig through the archives to see if he had lived?

Finding the soldier himself after the war would have been an impossible task. According to the folks I spoke to in Athens, when the Russians ‘liberated’ the city, they were every bit as brutal and ruthless as the Nazis had been. They took no prisoners. So, in all likelihood, the soldier perished there. Even if he had not, immediately following the end of WWII, both Greece and Italy were plunged into civil wars. In the chaos that followed record keeping was not the first thing on peoples’ minds. And of course, there was no internet back then to do the research!

What touched you most about the story whilst giving you the breadth of creating “The Tenor”?

I originally learned the story of the soldier from Arianna Stassinopoulos (now more famously known as Arianna Huffington, of Huffington Post fame) and her biography of Maria Callas. But when I read a half dozen other accounts of her life, none of them mentioned him! So I sought out an old family friend who was a personal friend of Callas (actually a friend of my ex-in-laws – yes, I cared enough to reach out to my ex-in-laws!) He informed me that the story was indeed true, and not only had the soldier existed, but Maria had a school-girl crush on him! And that the two of them often sang together! The fact that they sang together struck me deeply. I just knew he had to be a fellow opera singer, because only another opera singer would have recognized the subtleties, the nuances that separate the good from the great and the great from the once-in-a-lifetime voices.

What was it like to interview friends who knew Maria Callas personally?

It was total joy. We sometimes forget that even the greats, the legends, were also just ordinary people. One acquaintance of hers said that she was actually brilliantly witty with a sardonic sense of humor, even quite ribald at times. Yet, watch all the video of her interviews and performances and you will never find any record, video or otherwise in which she is ever anything short of pure elegance. So, it was delightfully endearing to hear and learn about the person behind the diva.

Did anything stand out to you in those enquiries you had not yet stumbled across!?

Several things! But one thing that particularly struck me was how she hated wasting food. And allegedly would admonish dinner guests about “cleaning their plates”. In some sense, I suppose the lessons and the scars of the war and poverty were ingrained so deeply that they remained a permanent part of her. On the other hand it speaks of a person who in spite of all the diva antics, had a firm grip on what was truly important.

What captured your attention the most about the plausibility of Maria Callas being rescued by an unknown soldier?

That is a very good question! Callas mother became very friendly with several Italian soldiers and encouraged her daughters to be nice and cordially with them. Maria and Jackie would often serenade the soldiers in little impromptu concerts and the soldiers would respond with flour, rice, even the occasional bottle of wine – all in short supply to the Athenians. But the unknown soldier who sat beneath her window and listened to her night after night was especially interesting to me. He cared enough to risk his own life just to hear her sing, but he remained anonymous probably to protect himself from any consequences. Yet, Maria’s audacious disregard for the curfew was really reckless and possibly even suicidal. And in that regard, the young 17 year old girl showed infinitely more courage and moral fortitude than the soldier.

What draws your heart into stories set around the genre Magical Realism?

Magical Realism is possibly my favorite genre of fiction. Partly because it is so infrequently successful. In fact, I think you can probably name on one hand – maybe two hands – all the masterpieces of the genre – but those few, those happy few! Magical Realism is a style that is almost exclusively unique to the printed page and by extension to the mind’s eye of the reader. That makes it very special. The images that the mind conjures up while reading Mark Helprin’s “Winter’s Tale” or Gabriel Garcia Marques “100 Years of Solitude” still give me goosebumps just thinking of them years and years later. The first time that Athansor (Peter Lake’s horse) flies, I held my breath and almost forgot to start breathing again. The swarm of yellow butterflies from 100 Years of Solitude still brings a smile to my lips and tears to the eyes. The impossible and the implausible, the very laws of physics fall before the imagination and the craft of the author. That is what make Magical Realism so wonderful.

When you were a young boy what books drew your eye? And, what were your favourites?

I started reading very young and by the 3rd grade I had consumed most of Agatha Christie’s mysteries and all of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Shortly after, Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels became an obsession. I still love a good detective story a good mystery, but in truth, even though there are now literally thousands of titles in that genre – and I’ve probably read several hundred of them – very very few stick with you. I was talking to a group of writers at a conference a while back and Dean Koontz name came up. He’s sold a gazillion books and made more money than God or the Rolling Stones, and I’ve probably read over a dozen of them. But as we speak, I could not tell you what even one of them was about. While I could tell you the plots of virtually every single Sherlock Holmes story ever written. For me, discovering Russian literature was the turning point. It happened in High School and the first novel was Anna Karennina. After that, it was Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. Then I discovered Puskin and his verse novels. Finally came War and Peace – easily my favorite book of all time. I find myself quoting from it constantly, over thirty years after I first read it!

How young were you when you first started to write? Who was your best cheerleader?

In grammar school I wrote detective stories – and they were awful! I kept at it though and after a few years – they were still awful. They were sooooooo much harder to write than I imagined! My narrative style of writing didn’t lend itself at all to that style – still doesn’t. But that won’t stop me. I’m nearly done with my first mystery suspense novel as we speak. I’ll keep you posted on it! As far as cheerleaders, I never had any. I come from a family of accountants and they are all totally left-brained. It wasn’t until I met my wife, who is a voracious reader, that I had any encouragement at all. She is and has been my inspiration and my muse.

Opera evokes a lot of passion through vocal story-telling, did you find it difficult to translate this to the page?

Opera is a completely unique art form. It is largely people screaming at each other for hours – those are Luciano Pavarotti’s words not mine! But he’s right, it is almost completely unnatural yet there is something almost otherworldly in its beauty when its done well – a lot like Magical Realism! It’s really impossible to convey the emotion of an aria into mere prose. You try to augment with imagery and metaphors but it’s up to the reader to fully ingest and project their imagination. It was by far the hardest part in the writing of the book. How do you accurately and vividly describe someone singing? I hope I convey at least a small portion of the power and the passion of the music through my prose.

What was your favourite part of your research for “The Tenor”? Did one locality of travel stand out over the other?

The research for The Tenor was done largely in Italy and Greece. The book has three parts: part one takes place in Italy in the 1930s, in the breath-taking Appennine Mountains in the north. The second part takes place in Athens in 1941, when the Italian Army was the occupational force left behind by the Germans after the Nazis had overrun Greece. Part three takes place in New York City in 1965, amid Beatlemania, The World’s Fair, the Civil Rights Movement and most importantly to our story, the return of Maria Callas to the Metropolitan Opera after being banned for nearly a decade. Italy and Greece are almost indescribably beautiful and the research was pure joy. Italy of the 30s, where our protagonist grew up, is idyllic and the village where he was raised could be straight out of “The Sound of Music”. Athens, 1941, is the diametric opposite. There is rampant starvation, people begging in the streets, dead bodies piling up on the curb. The juxtaposition of the stunningly beautiful Italian mountain village against the horror of WWII Athens is critical to the story. Our protagonist, Pino, has led a charmed life in a magical place and suddenly finds his world turned upside down. He’s no longer an artist, he’s a soldier. The beautiful vistas have been replaced by starving children begging in the streets and the bodies of those who have starved to death littering the sidewalks. Pino is completely ill-equipped for this new world, this new reality. Meeting dozens of old folks who were there at the time, who had lived through the occupation was by far the most rewarding part of the research. I often played dominoes and backgammon in the parks with them for hours on end, and listened to their stories. They were priceless. In fact they were so special that I have incorporated many of the stories and even the people into THE TENOR. I have compressed several people into characters in the book. I think you will be able to figure out who are the real characters without too much difficulty!

What did you learn personally by writing this story?

The one thing that immediately stuck out in my mind was just how incomplete my education was. I think of myself as a student of history and I am a voracious reader of historical tomes, yet I had no idea whatsoever about half the things I learned during my research. Just to name a few, I did not know that the Russian’s had concentration camps. I thought that the Nazis were the only ones, but that was not the case. I met several old Italian men who were soldiers in the Italian Army that were captured and interred in camps. In addition, and most sadly, I never even heard of the “Great Famine of 1941” that took the lives of nearly a half million Greeks. Far more Greeks died of starvation during WWII than in battle. I never read anything about that in any of my history books.

Did the Callas family read the final draft? What were their impressions?

I didn’t send the manuscript to any of Callas’ relative because the book is first and last a work of fiction. And when people read historical fiction, the tendency is to examine historical accuracy down to the minutest detail. All of the characters in the book are fictional – although some are composites of several people and others are loosely based on real people. Just showing the manuscript to people who knew her was tough enough! Some said: “that’s EXACTLY what she would have said!” Others said: “she would NEVER say that!” So in the end, I had to allow my own imagination and intuition guide me.

Did writing “The Tenor” inspire you to seek out other unknown historical stories?

Writing THE TENOR did inspire me to research several peripheral historical stories. I am actually putting the finishing touches on my next novel – which takes place in Bosnia in the former Yugoslavia and it deals with the children who were seeing visions of the Virgin Mary during the war there. THAT was quite a research job! But that’s a story for another interview.

Describe your perfect day.

Here is a photo of ‘heaven’. My wife Sanela on the top of Bear Mountain (in NY) sitting under a tree, looking out at the valley, a cup of coffee and a good book! My perfect day: waking up just before dawn, making a thermos of fresh coffee and homemade bread, heading up to the mountains and sitting in the middle of nature with my coffee, my bread and a good book. Heaven.

Author Connections:

Follow Peter Danish online: Site | Facebook | Twitter

Converse via: #TheTenorVirtualTour & #MariaCallas

I want to thank Mr. Danish for giving me such a wonderful reflective conversation on his intuitive writing style and for his appreciation of books and stories which fit under the spell of ‘Magical Realism’! I too, fancy biographical fiction and stories of this kind because they are not merely suspensions of reality and time itself which can become bent and yielded against the narrative, but they are glimpses into the possibilities which exist just past where our imagination circumvents the plausible! I am thankful his début novel was offered through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, as I might not have come to discover it as quickly as I have! My gratitude is his for giving all of us a lot to ponder about in his replies to my questions!

And, in closing I am thankful to all the dear hearts who have travelled with me on this journey! You entered my life on my blog’s birthday (6 August, 2014 or thereafter) but several of you supported me whilst I was in the process of going live! I appreciate your support and your willingness to give a new book blogger such a fantastic first year! For those of you who have been with me within the first seven months Jorie Loves A Story has been ‘visible’ I applaud you for giving my comprehensive approach to book blogging a nod of gratitude! I was originally going to post a reflective missive but decided this was better in the end! Why not march into the next twelve-months celebrating the joy of interacting with authors for without whom I would not have a blog! Their dedication to their craft and the stories they lit alive in our mind’s eye provide me with endless hours of appreciation!

This Author Interview is courtesy of:

The Tenor Tour via HFVBT

check out my upcoming bookish events and mark your calendars!

Drop back on Jorie Loves A Story, on 4 April, 2014 when I review “The Tenor”!

You will not want to miss my ruminations!

Virtual Road Map of “The Tenor” Tour:

Be sure to leave a note in the comment threads for Mr. Danish! I would be especially interested in hearing if your a regular reader of war dramas and if so, which particular war era draws your eye the most!? Do you appreciate stories which evoke a reprieve from reality and enter into the hidden dimensional space habituated by Magical Realism? Do you enjoy reading biographical fiction based on living persons or would you prefer to read a non-fiction piece instead? I welcome you to start a conversation in the comment threads and I look forward to conversing with you!

And, thanks for dropping by Jorie Loves A Story!

{NOTE: Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.}

{SOURCES:  The Tenor Book Cover, synopsis, and tour badge were provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and were used by permission. I requested an Author Interview with Ms. Bruno to run in conjunction with my book review of  “The Tenor” as I wanted to enquiry about the writer’s inspiration for conceiving the story! I received the replies in return from the author via Ms. Bruno. Author Interview badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Monday, 31 March, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Aftermath of World War II, Biographical Fiction & Non-Fiction, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, Debut Novel, Geographically Specific, Greece, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Italy, Magical Realism, Maria Callas, New York City, Passionate Researcher, Reader Submitted Author Interview, The World Wars, The Writers Life, Writing Style & Voice

+Author Interview+ Scott E. Tarbet [author of] A MidSummer Night’s Steampunk!

Posted Saturday, 29 March, 2014 by jorielov , , 2 Comments

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{: Scott E. Tarbet is welcomed to Jorie Loves A Story :}

Author of "A MidSummer Night's Steampunk"

Scott Tarbet writes enthusiastically in several
genres, sings opera, was married in full
Elizabethan regalia, loves Steampunk waltzes,
and slow smokes thousands of pounds of Texas
style barbeque. An avid skier, hiker, golfer, and
tandem kayaker, he makes his home in the
mountains of Utah.
A MidSummer Night's Steampunk by Scott E. Tarbet
Artwork Credit: Dale Pease (of Walking Stick Books) http://walkingstickbooks.com

I’d like to take a moment to welcome, Mr. Tarbet to my blog today, and for being especially gracious in his responses to my forthcoming Interview! I was blessed to have found this small Indie Press via Twitter whilst catching sight of a tweet about the very book I am reviewing by Mr. Tarbet! There is something to be said for “Shakespeare” & “Steampunk” which instantly catches your attention! As you will see throughout the Questions I asked of Mr. Tarbet, I was most esteemed to have an author who was as receptive as he was and willing enough to answer my enquires! We spoke on behalf of Steampunk as a genre as much as the stories of which we identify as ‘steam’ inspired! I do hope you enjoy the conversation as it materialised!

Book Synopsis:

Immerse yourself in this Steampunk retelling of Shakespeare’s classic, replete with the newfound wizardry of alternative Victorian technology, mistaken identities, love triangles, and deadly peril, set against the backdrop of a world bracing itself for war, and Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

Pauline Spiegel, a master artificer like her mother before her, wants just one thing: to wed the love of her life, Alexander MacIntyre, a lowly undersecretary of the Royal Household. However, a long-term pact between her parents, and a noble House, stands between her and her happily ever after. When a priceless mechanoid of unfathomable power is stolen, Pauline finds herself entangled in skullduggery and international intrigue, upon which the fate of nations rest. Only with the help of her friends, and a brilliant scientist with a swarm of micromechanical insects, can Pauline survive the dark forces determined to destroy her. But will her betrothed and his rag-tag band of semi-mechanical soldiers reveal Alexander’s secrets as well?

 

I have appreciated William Shakespeare for most of my life, as his plays always resonated with me. I am quite curious how you took one of his famous plays and ran with it into a new vision which in turn spun together a tale of steampunk suspense!? Your impetus to write this story stemmed from a bit of the play which turned ‘mechanicalisms’ on its head. How did this lead you forward and did you have to conduct research to make the science behind it sound plausible to the reader?

The idea for A Midsummer Night’s Steampunk sprang directly from the question, “What if the ‘rude mechanicals’ in the Shakespeare play actually were mechanical?” In the Steampunk sense, of course. From there it became a Steampunk/alternative history retelling of the whole story line. I sat down with the play, which I have loved since high school, and outlined it in detail. Being a Steampunk author, I have done a lot of research on the era, and knew that there were lots of events and people who would fit well into an alternative history retelling.

How did you approach the adaption of the play whilst balancing the elements which bring the story into the forefront of the steampunk genre? Whilst keeping it new, tangible, and fresh?

One of the things which we all admire about Shakespeare is how timeless his story lines are. I’m a huge fan of productions of his plays (my wife and I try to see all the Shakespeare offerings of the Utah Shakespeare Festival every year) and one of the things we enjoy most is seeing the plays adapted to different time frames and circumstances. Such productions shed new light on the timeless quandaries of the plays and their characters. So why not the late 19th Century? Why not mechanized men? It seemed a perfect fit. Because of the timelessness of the story, it wasn’t much of an effort on my part to keep the material new, tangible, and fresh.

Will you be re-envisioning more Shakespeare plays or other classical works of literature?!

Absolutely! Steampunkified Shakespeare is a natural. The subsequent works in the universe first explored in A Midsummer Night’s Steampunk will have similar blends of Shakespeare, Steampunk, and alternative Victorian and Edwardian history.

I also have a Steampunk short story retelling of Moby Dick that is in the hands of the editors at Xchyler Publishing (“the X”).

I read in another Interview of yours, you’ve written a science fiction techno-action (Dragon Moon), which is waiting in the wings for publication. Have you decided to stretch yourself into different genres as the muse suits you? OR do you have specific story ideas for a couple of genres which you feel are your niche?

I think “speculative fiction” is my genre, and that genre is pretty broad. It includes Steampunk, techno-thriller, straight up sci-fi, and alternative history. Amongst other sub-niches. There’s plenty of material there to keep me writing stuff that piques my interest for the rest of my life. And more ideas keep finding their way into my writer’s notebook all the time.

What do you feel makes steampunk a technically difficult genre to write in fiction?

There are two hard things about Steampunk: 1) defining the very term ‘Steampunk’ to the satisfaction of both the writer and the reader, and 2) keeping it fresh.

Every Steampunk I know has his/her own private definition of what the genre is. I subscribe to the inclusive definition put forward by Steampunk Scholar Dr. Mike Perschon, which defines the term as an aesthetic, and doesn’t try to narrow it to the literature, the gadgetry, or the cosplay.

The aesthetic of the late 19th Century has its own attractions for us in our modern world. Overlay it with the thrill of new inventions (with which the period was rife) and you get the genre we know and love.

For me, keeping Steampunk fresh requires crafting characters and stories that are compelling in their own rights, and don’t require gadgetry to be attractive. Some authors successfully base their stories and characters on the gadgetry. No offense to them, but for me, the gadgetry is an embellishment, not the heart. It’s just as hard (if not harder) to keep steam-powered gadgets fresh and interesting as it is to keep robots fresh and interesting: it’s been done.

I must admit, like you, the optimism stitched into steampunk is what grabbed me initially to pursue seeking out writers who give such fantastical insights into a newly minted dimension of our world. It’s quite exciting to live for a bit inside the stories which give birth to where Victorian technology could have taken us. Do you feel that part of the Victorian age of ‘steam’ power might have helped lead us out of the hurdles of the Industrial revolution without the heavier off-sets of environmental issues we face now?

To a great extent we’re still working our way over the hurdles that we were just beginning to see as the Industrial Revolution got underway. My favorite Steampunk takes us back to the hope-filled mindset we had before all the ugliness made itself manifest. It does away with our current crop of problems, including the heavy environmental costs, by putting them off for our future selves.

But that’s all right! We don’t always have to wallow in our sorrows. Once in a while we can tell ourselves, and each other, cheerful stories with happily-ever-after outcomes. It’s one of the best ways we as a species have to refresh our spirits.

For those seeking to sink into steampunk but like the cosy side of story-lines without the oppressive war and/or violent threads of where most take their steampunk stories; which writers would you steer that particular reader towards?

Look for the group Steampunk With Heart on Facebook. It’s a group of self-published and Indie Steampunk authors who write for the heart, not the battle reflex. The group has a number of stand-out stories and authors, with more coming all the time.

Also look on Amazon for the X’s Mechanized Masterpieces: A Steampunk Anthology. And coming soon, Mechanized Masterpieces II. The first volume was Steampunked world literature, the second is based around Classic American Lit.

One more mention: there is a budding young Steampunk author at the X by the name of Alyson Grauer, whose work I am watching closely. An intro of her Steampunked Shakespeare adaptation of The Tempest appears at the end of A Midsummer Night’s Steampunk.

Have you attended a Steampunk convention and if so, do you get excited about the people you will meet once your there? I have heard they are a synergy of creative electricity, where creativity and science converge!

There is no lovelier group of people anywhere than the folks you meet at a Steampunk con. They are full of positive energy, enthusiasm, and creativity. If you haven’t been, you should really make it a priority to find one near you.

My favorite is Salt City Steamfest, which is the first I attended, and with which I am most involved on an ongoing basis. My peeps!

Being that you’re a history enthusiast, I noticed that you inserted 12 historically known characters into your story. Do you feel you’re creating a new niche in steampunk which might be considered historical steam? Where those who appreciate historical fiction might find themselves crossing over to reading your stories due to the nature of how much history you’ve woven into the background?

Nice term, that: historical steam. I like it. It captures A Midsummer Night’s Steampunk very well in its “something for everyone” essence. And by ‘everyone’ I mean ME. I believe that an author worth reading will be writing something that they would want to read themselves. For me that means having way more than one element to any story. Mine always have at least two of three, sometimes more. A Midsummer Night’s Steampunk has Steampunk, Shakespeare, and alternative history. I would want to read it. It tickles me pink that other people find it a satisfying blend as well.

One of my favourite reasons for enjoying science fiction isn’t just the cautionary tales writers organically write into their sci-fi stories, but the measure of balance between our humanity and our technologic advances which at times can off-set the balance. Do you feel the hidden messages inside science fiction are resonating still with the audience, or do you believe there has been a shift, to where most people now see those cautions as fictional theories?

Just as with every genre, there is good sci-fi, bad sci-fi, and all sorts of stuff in between. And what we each consider to be in each of these categories is not only reflective of the writer, story, and characters, but of the age in which we live, and who we ourselves are.

Cautionary tales, including the balance between technology and humanity, comprise the very fabric of sci-fi in every age, from Jules Verne on down to Neil Gaiman. The technology changes. Our humanity does not. The wars and near-wars of the world change day by day; young people marching off to war does not.

No, I don’t think the embedded cautionary tales are any less relevant today than they were when Jules Verne first wrote of being shot to the Moon by a giant cannon, or of wreaking havoc on civilian shipping with his fictional undersea boat. I believe sci-fi is one of the best art forms for making sense of our rapidly changing world.

Through my background research, I discovered your blog posts on working with Xchyler Press and found a startling revelation: your Penny Freeman’s brother!? I found this an interesting tidbit on the level that although you’ve grown inside a creative family of writers, creative writing found you at an interesting crossroads. I oft felt I was better at writing fiction and poems verse writing expository pieces as I couldn’t find my niche of expression within the constraints of the opposite form of writing. Did you find shifting from one branch of writing into the creative difficult or a unique challenge to stretch your wings through your imagination?

There’s a saying at Xchyler Publishing (“the X”): “Writers gotta write.” We tell each other that all the time. I’ve got to write. So I write. I tell stories.

I volunteered to put my business background to work and help Penny out when she was in the excruciating process of getting the X off the ground. She and her partner, Heidi Birch, had thrown themselves into the deep end of the pool, with great talent, caring, energy, and grit, and I wanted to do what I could to help them float. So for a few months, at their request, I took on some of the necessary duties. But in the end my desire to tell stories, and the enormous commitment of time and energy that it entails, overcame me. I have to write. I couldn’t do both. I’ve got to write.

You have a wonderful gift for cheeky humour which is quite evident in how you express yourself and in how you write. Does this stem from coming from a family whose focus was not only on family but on the lighter side of life? Of keeping a balance between the difficulties and the joys? I, myself, have a close-knit background full of antidotes and humour etched into our living histories.

Your question is a wonderful compliment. Thank you.

Penny and I come from a family that is large, creative, and amazingly closely knit. We delight in principled debate and in-depth discussion of important issues. Wit is an important part of the way we interact—not the comedic sort, but the cheeky (another good descriptor) sort. Our father and mother both taught us that the snappy bon mot was the one of the highest manifestations of intelligence.

In your sideline bio on your blog posts, there is a reference for BBQ Catering, and in this, I can relate as worked the front house of a BBQ take-out restaurant after I graduated high school. Catering ran con-current to the business. My favourite part of being in that environment were the ‘characters’ who arrived at the window to order! Each of them set my mind afire for creative personas and the ability to see how unique each BBQ appreciator can truly be! Did you ever consider writing a foodie fiction story set within a world opposite the modern? Somewhere between fantasy and steampunk?

I have an email box that is exclusively for writer’s notebook ideas. When I meet fun people—which is nearly every day I BBQ—I speak entries into my phone for my notebook of characters and story ideas. It’s a wonderful technological age we live in.

I do have a few ideas jotted down for foodie stories, but as I mentioned above, I don’t know that I’ll get to the end of my story idea list any time soon. But I’m sure having fun trying.

You’re championing the cause for editors and I completely agree with you! On my own merits, being a writer who’s already disclosed she’s dyslexic (under My Bookish Life), editors are naturally a saving grace for those who struggle with spelling, grammar, and usage! Why do you think some writers fear editors as much as they do? And, how do you think Indie Publishers such as Xchyler are changing the way in which writers and editors relate to each other?

Editors are scary! It’s really tough for most new authors to give up on the idea that every sentence that drips from their fingers is a pearl of great price, worthy of preservation at any price—including from the predations of editors, whose business it is to fly at 35,000 above the story. It’s hard for most new authors to recognize that they are down in the weeds, intimately acquainted with what their character had for breakfast, how their tummy feels, and how they slept the night before. We authors know so much that it’s often hard to convince us that all our elaborate back-stories don’t add to a well-paced story. A good editor not only helps with the janitorial work—grammar, punctuation, usage, etc.—but with the story itself: the intent, pacing, character development.

The X is one of the only publishers I have ever come across that frankly acknowledges and fosters an outright partnership between budding authors and good editors. This partnership is not only creative, but down-to-brass-tacks financial: the editors have every bit as much financial incentive in the success of a book as the author does.

There are a lot of people out there who are just plain feeding off the explosion in self-publishing. From a business perspective I understand it—they want to make a living too—but from an artistic and humane perspective I just don’t buy into it. My advice: find an editor who believes in you as a writer enough to invest their own time and energy into putting out a good book, without soaking you for it in advance, and you’ll have found a long-term, invaluable partner that you can believe in.

When did you make the choice to go from expository to creative endeavours?! And, step into the forefront of a fiction writer!?

Expository is work. I wrote my way through high school, an undergrad degree, a professional certification, a master’s degree, and a long career in Big Business. Write write write, work work work.

But Creative is play for pay—not the same thing as work. I have always had creative writing going, in various stages of gestation, since I was in grade school. It is only recently that I’ve pushed through to completion and gotten any of it published. Play play play.

What emerging new writers have captured your attention and why?

I’m a literary omnivore, so that’s a very long list. I’m constantly seeking (and finding) wonderful new talents across multiple genres.

Within the Steampunk sub-genre, this especially includes several of my fellow authors at Xchyler Publishing, including the aforementioned Alyson Grauer, and kindred spirit Scott Taylor. I always rush to sneak peek anything either of them writes, and look for great things from both of them as their nascent careers emerge.

Among the more widely-known (i.e., already launched) Steampunk authors, two names jump instantly to mind: Scott Westerfeld and Gail Carriger. Westerfeld was actually my introduction to Steampunk with his Leviathan series. It’s one of those ostensibly YA offerings that jumps the fence into the wider ‘grown up’ pasture. Love it! Look forward to much more from Westerfeld. (And BTW, what is it with authors named Scott??)

Carriger’s The Parasol Protectorate (Soulless, Changeless, Blameless, Heartless and Timeless) are true Steampunk must-reads. Her writing is a delightfully quirky blend of Steampunk and supernatural, manners and alternative history. She is witty, inexhaustibly tongue-in-cheek, and very prolific. In short she embodies the very soul of the Steampunk aesthetic. Look her up. Buy her stuff. You won’t be sorry.

What’s the one question no one has thought to ask you!? Can you elaborate!?

Question: “Oh Scott! You write so poetically! Surely you must have a vast collection of unpublished poetry just waiting to take the world by storm?”

Answer: “Why yes! Yes I do! But like one of my literary idols, Orson Scott Card, I am convinced that most volumes of poetry are purchased by poets wondering how the other guy managed to get them published. So . . . maybe posthumously. But I doubt it.”

 Author Connections:

Follow Scott E. Tarbet online
at scotttarbet.timp.net or on Twitter
@XchylerScott | @setarbet
Converse via: #MidSummerNightsSteampunk & #XchylerPublishing

I’d like to take a moment and thank Mr. Tarbet for dropping by Jorie Loves A Story today, and for providing myself and my readers which such a hearty glimpse into Steampunk as a genre! I have appreciated ‘Steampunk’ from afar for a number of years, soaking into the artwork, the fashions, truly all the bits and bobbles surrounding the movement ‘except’ for the literature! I truly only started to pick up books with steam-themed story-lines this year! I even participated in a Steampunk-themed book blogosphere event, in which I reviewed my first clockwork (a sub-genre of Steampunk) novel “The Clockwork Man” by William Jablonsky. 

Ever since that moment, I have been further intrigued to carve out my niche within the literary realms, seeking out stories which dynamically add to the whole of what I love about Steampunk! I was thrilled to bits to read your responses to my Questions, because you took them into the depth of which I like to examine! I thank you for your time and your attention to giving me something to ponder whilst getting to know a bit about the writer behind the book I am going to review! Likewise, I am hopeful my readers have appreciated the insights & reflections!

This Author Interview is courtesy of:

Xchyler Publishing

check out my upcoming bookish events and mark your calendars!

Drop back on Jorie Loves A Story, on 8th April, when Jorie reviews “Moments in Milliennia”, which you were introduced too whilst Jorie interviewed Penny Freeman! Arriving on 12th April will be my review of “A MidSummer Night’s Steampunk”! I look forward to your return visits & conversations!

You will not want to miss my ruminations!

Be sure to leave a note in the comment threads for Mr. Tarbet! Especially if you are a newcomer to reading “Steampunk” like I am, or if you have had a long acquaintance with the genre! I’d be keen to learn of whom your favourite writers are and what your individual notions of what makes ‘Steampunk’ a success!? What initially for instance gave you the inspiration to pick up a novel by a Steampunk novelist!? What captured you by their writing style and voice!? And, are you an appreciator of Shakespeare who is celebrating how his writings are still an inspiration for re-tellings and continuations!?

And, thanks for dropping by Jorie Loves A Story!

{NOTE: Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.}

{SOURCES:  A MidSummer Night’s Steampunk Book Cover, and synopsis were provided by Xchyler Publishing and were used by permission. I requested an Author Interview with Xchyler to run in conjunction with my book review of  “A MidSummer’s Night Steampunk” as I was most curious in learning a bit more about Mr. Tarbet! I received the replies directly from the author himself.  Author Interview badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Saturday, 29 March, 2014 by jorielov in After the Canon, Alternative History, Blog Tour Host, Bookish Discussions, British Literature, Classical Literature, Debut Novel, Fantasy Fiction, Genre-bender, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, Inspired By Author OR Book, Methodology of Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy, MidSummer's Night Dream, Re-Told Tales, Reader Submitted Author Interview, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Steampunk, The Writers Life, William Shakespeare, Writing Style & Voice, Xchyler Publishing

+Author Guest Post+ “On writing the “In the Land of Magnanthia” series by B.R. Maul

Posted Thursday, 27 March, 2014 by jorielov , , , 11 Comments

Guest Post by Parajunkee

Proposed Topic for B.R. Maul: As my first impression of “Passages, Portals, & Pathways” B.R. Maulreflected this statement of excited anticipation: “Even before the reference to “The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe” (of which, I prefer the film over the book! ironically or not!) and “The Lord of the Rings” (on my Classics Club list of books to read!), I was simply hooked into the idea of Simon being chosen as a Guardian! I love stories which are stitched together like this, as I still remember being rapt in awe over “The Seeker: The Dark is Rising” (motion picture again – hadn’t realised it was a book!)!!” Therefore I knew I had to simply ask Mr. Maul about what prompted the impetus for his new Young Adult Fantasy series as much as the inspiration to tell the story therein!

I am thrilled as peaches to welcome B.R. Maul back to Jorie Loves A Story, after spotlighting a book showcase revealing all the important bits of information on his wicked keen début novel! As you most likely have garnished from my piece yesterday, his novel resonated with me as being one story I am most apt to read as soon as it goes into print! Which as they say, could very well be on the fringe of happening sooner than we all might realise! Due lend your support of which edition of preference you’d like to read his collective works within the comment threads on either post!  Otherwise, tweet Mr. Maul directly, as that would be most kind on his inaugural blog tour! Let me yield now to his creative ear whilst he gives us an insight into his writer’s road towards publication!

}: Book Synopsis :{

Portals, Passages, & Pathways by B.R. MaulWhen a portal to another world cracks open just outside the small town of Riverside, it sets off a series of events forever changing the lives of two boys; one boy is chosen to lead a world to peace while the other one is chosen to tear it apart.

Simon Whittaker lives an ordinary teenage life. That is until the most powerful ring in the land of Magnanthia chooses him to become its guardian. Overnight, Simon has had to flee from something trying to kill him, seen magical spells he had only read about in stories, and stepped into the most majestic world ever imagined.

Swept away to the fantastic world that’s in the midst of a brutal war, Simon must place his life in the hands of four unlikely travelers, a swordsman, ranger, cleric, and wizard, sent to lead him down the right path. While King Elderten has ordered death to Magnanthia’s nine guardians, the group he believes is responsible for the kingdom’s devastation, Simon remains the only hope for those who believe the guardians are innocent.

Meanwhile, Jak Jakobsin has been pulled through a portal by two of Bedlam’s undead scouts. Bedlam’s overlord plans to use Jak, along with his army of undead, goblins, and trolls, to build a force so powerful that Magnanthia will be his forever. “Portals, Passages & Pathways” is a story of our greatest journey, to discover our purpose in this life, and the consequences of the choices we make to get there. “In the Land of Magnanthia” is the first novel in the series and is complete just under 115,000 words. It’s told from the alternating viewpoints of Jak and Simon.

 

}: World-Building – The Land of Magnanthia :{

Magnanthia was pieced together, named, and expanded upon almost seven years ago. But her creation started over three decades ago. There is no mistaking it; Magnanthia is a compilation of my favorite fantasy worlds mixed together and then molded into a figment of the imagination.

The first time I was introduced to C. S. Lewis was between the pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As a little boy I fell in love with an idea, an idea that walking through a wardrobe, a portal, could take me to a world where animals talked and magic was real. From that day forward, my childhood was filled with adventure! Every closet and closed-door was potentially a portal leading to a world of wizards, castles, and lost treasures. That’s all I had to do was find the portal and step into it.

I slowly side-stepped the narrow, fantasy fiction isle in my elementary school’s library. I was looking for a book to read. That’s when I stumbled upon J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I opened the worn cover and looked at the table of contents. Chapter five’s title grabbed my attention; I had to know why it was so cleverly named “Riddles in the Dark.” I checked the book out of the little library and brought it home with me. Middle Earth, a world filled with dwarves, elves, hobbits, goblins, giant spiders, dragons, creatures of all kinds, and of course magic, began its contribution to the making of Magnanthia.

The discovery of a fantasy world where worthy travelers could become heroes exploring haunted castles, goblin-infested dungeons, and finding hidden gold and magic items, became my favorite pastime. My older brother took me and a good friend of ours into the spellbinding world of Dungeons & Dragons. My favorite character to play was a magic-user.

Later in life, years of working to pay the bills disconnected me from the beautiful gift of imagination. It was finding my way into the Great Hall at Hogwarts with Harry Potter that rekindled my love of stories and my passion for magical adventures. I found it refreshing Harry Potter and his friends lived in contemporary times, cloaked in a medieval backdrop with magic and wonderment mixed into the works. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were about midway into their schooling at Hogwarts when I realized what I had and what I needed to do. Magnanthia was almost tangible in my mind, along with a handful of characters who had already made Magnanthia their home. I needed to create; I needed to write the story.

In 2007, the year the Harry Potter series ended, Portals, Passages & Pathways was born. I love that parts and pieces of Lewis, Tolkien, and Rowling are embedded within the fabric that is weaving Portals, Passages & Pathways together. I hope readers around the world find it as easy as I have to fall in love with the characters, and are exhilarated in the land of Magnanthia!

Author Connections:

Site | @BRMaul_author | GoodReads
Converse on Twitter: #LandofMagnanthia & #BRMaul

 

I must confess, the one fantasy novel I had difficulty in soaking into was the precise fantasy series which inspired you to write Magnanthia! The Lion, The Witch, & the Wardrobe for me was greater appreciated in its motion picture adaptation over the printed word in which C.S. Lewis left behind! It was one of the first times where I noticed that I had trouble shifting into the heart of a narrative I already knew I would enjoy! Perhaps an early nod to realising that not every story is tangible to our hearts through our eyes, and that sometimes we have to seek out an adaptation of the story in a new medium in order to allow the merit of why the story was left behind to resonate with us fully.

On a similar vein, I was experiencing a reader’s rut (I am sure this will make most of my dear readers gaff with disbelief!) during the years of Harry Potter’s epic adventures at Hogwarts, yet I was the happy spirited twenty-something who felt as though she had a renewed childhood whilst wandering off into the local movie-houses on release days, weekends, and even at midnight releases! Ah, yes, young Harry Potter will forevermore hold a special niche in my heart! His stories I know I will appreciate on long cold Wintry nights, where the blizzards are howling and the warmth of his character and friends will guide me from one book straight-through to the startling conclusion! These are the types of fantasy series I long to unearth and discover,… as I was reflecting yesterday fantasy gives us such a beautiful window into fantastically honest worlds where characters are able to do things that modern contemporaries are oft-times limited in achieving. Fantasy of today are the fables, folk, mythological stories of an ancient age. Sage advice wrapped inside a heroic adventure!

The fact that your sharing the kernels and seeds of inspiration behind Magnanthia is a credit to your own character and bold confidence as a writer, as often you will find new authors a bit hesitative about discussing their craft and progress towards getting the words onto paper rather than being stored inside their imaginations! I always felt that the best gift the writing community has given all writers through the generations is the ability to reach out and connect with each other! The sharing of knowledge, of strife and of joy, all the tools in which are needed to encompass a novel’s birth and straight-through back over the day-to-day journey of what a writer on the verge of discovery is experiencing! Bless you for being open and responsive!

Alas, I kept Tolkien for my concluding thoughts, because I fear before I sit myself down to read Middle Earth (in the Order of Middle Earth — inclusive of the Histories!), I am always going to be on the brink of relaying my total thoughts as once more, I yielded to the adaptations, this time through the grace and eloquence of Peter Jackson whose capturing finesse for the extraordinary world which is Middle Earth left me forever changed afterwards! The depth of the narrative is hard to not lay a pensive thought upon each installment’s endings, and yet, it’s the capstone of what pulls each of us into our own stories. By allowing us not to limit our potential or the girth of the final draft, in which lies our epic tales!

The genre-bender aspects of Harry Potter were not lost on me either, and I only had hoped in some of the bits of the films (as I presumed they were reflective of the stories) they could have held the tradition of their clothes a bit more, but I respected the fact that it was a modern story lit inside as you say a world of yesterday! Being a Dragon Master and player you might want to read my recollections of gaming on my Virtual Blue review! Congratulations for holding onto your world and for being daring enough to build the story in the hours and moons long after it was originally breathed into life!

This Author Guest Post is courtesy of:

In the Land of Magnanthia by B.R. Maul Blog Tour with JKS Communications Literary Publicity FirmBe sure to scope out my Bookish Upcoming Events

to mark your calendars!!

Be sure to drop by my Book Spotlight Showcase

on “Portals, Passages, & Pathways”!

Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.
Kindly post notes in both B.R. Maul comment threads, discussing what you enjoy about Young Adult Fantasy series! Leave behind a reflection of how you started to read fantasy series and novels, and what you are hopeful to find inside this new one by a Mid-West writer! All comments are welcome, short or long! I look forward to reading your thoughts & engaging with you afterwards! Remember to come back to see my responses! And, the author himself might surprise you with a reply as well!

+ Open Invitation for Book Discussion +

+ 28 March, 2014 +

Author B.R. Maul has expressed a desire to converse with readers who pick up “Portals, Passages, & Pathways” to return to Jorie Loves A Story giving all of us a hearty discussion about the life lessons & attributes of each of the character’s arc which translated directly into the reader’s heart! I am hoping to read a print copy of the story myself one day, and therefore, this is an Open Discussion Post where the comment threads will be waiting for you to return & share your experiences & thoughts about the story as you read it! I look forward to hearing your recollections & to dig a bit deeper into the heart of the narrative!!

{SOURCES: Book Cover art for “Portals, Passages, & Pathways”, B.R. Maul photograph and book synopsis were provided by JKS Communications Literary Publicity Firm and used with permission. I requested an Author Guest Post via Samantha Lien at JKS on behalf of B.R. Maul’s new Young Adult Fantasy series Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Thursday, 27 March, 2014 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Book Spotlight of E-Book (ahead of POD/print edition), Bookish Discussions, Bullies and the Bullied, Debut Novel, Fantasy Fiction, Heroic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Indie Author, Indie Book Trade, JKS Communications: Literary Publicity Firm, Passionate Researcher, Reader Submitted Guest Post (Topic) for Author, Self-Published Author, The Natural World, The Writers Life, Wordsmiths & Palettes of Sage, Writing Style & Voice, YA Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction

+Editor Interview+ Penny Freeman (Xchyler Publishing) stops by for a conversation about fantasy anthologies!

Posted Tuesday, 25 March, 2014 by jorielov , , 2 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

{: Editor Interview : of Indie Publisher :}

{: Penny Freeman is welcomed to Jorie Loves A Story :}

Moments in Millenia edited by Penny Freeman
Artwork Credit: Dale Pease (of Walking Stick Books) http://walkingstickbooks.com

Today, I have the honour of interviewing the Editor-in-Chief at Xchyler Publishing, Ms. Penny Freeman! I approached Xchyler Publishing after reading a tweet by Marian Allen on behalf of “A MidSummer Night’s Steampunk” by Scott E. Tarbet, which led me to a lovely blog Guest Post about this unique new spin on the Shakespearean classic play! Being a huge appreciator of Shakespeare, I decided to pursue finding out a bit more about the Indie publisher the novel was published by as much as the author himself! My search led me to the homepage of Xchyler, and from there, I choose to contact them directly about receiving a book in exchange for an honest review! I must say, I was welcomed by a gracious staff and I have been assembling my extra features to post in compliment to my forthcoming book reviews on their behalf!

I chose to interview Ms. Freeman because I know a lot of work goes into producing anthologies as much as I oft am curious about an Editor’s point-of-view overall! They dedicate themselves to bringing out the best a writer can give and they tirelessly seek out new voices which carry literature across genres & spectrums of diverse story-telling mediums to new horizons of excellence! Let us pause whilst reading over the conversation which commenced between Jorie & Ms. Freeman directly.

Anthology Synopsis:
Travel with seven talented authors as they glimpse through
time into Humanity’s future. Will mankind blossom and
flourish, conquering the stars and time itself? Or, with
selfishness, greed, and just plain bad luck send us all to the
brink of destruction?

Throughout your career, which medium of writing whets your palette the most? Expository or Creative?

I love creative writing, as the most engaging is also expository in nature but still engages the imagination. The best fiction writers are those who have something to say but do so within their narrative. You run the risk of losing your credibility (and/or your audience) when attempting the reverse.

I am not sure if I ever considered there is a measure of ‘expository’ within the creative fiction world! I suppose partially because I never found ‘expository’ writing to be my niche, as I always felt creative narratives and fusing characters into their settings was my gift in writing. You have given me something to be pensive about and I thank you for that!

I am also a wordsmith who is passionate about the way in which writers can paint with a palette of words. What do you personally seek as an editor when selecting a writer for an anthology?

Communication and engagement are of primary import to me. How difficult is it for the reader to “get” what the author is trying to say? How easily does the writer disappear into their narrative, allowing the reader to immerse themselves solely in the tale? These two things go hand in hand. Without good communication, the reader will always be aware of the author’s craft (or lack of it).

I couldn’t concur more heartily as being enraptured inside of a story is paramount to my reading enjoyment!

What types of stories do you favour? Which ignite your enthusiasm?

I love any type of story that really delves into the human condition, whether it’s fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, romance, classics, historical or contemporary fiction. One of my favorite modern authors is C. S. Lakin because she has a terrific ability to cross multiple genres, infusing her stories with deep, universal humanity—and yet find that combination of qualities that make each of us unique. She also writes a bang-up writer’s column.

I agree with you as the stories which resonate with me the most are the ones in which the writer has conveyed the humanity and heart of their characters! I love soaking into stories in which every facet of the human condition is either examined or hinted at being a key ingredient of the story! I love seeing the journey a character takes whilst carrying through a specific moment of adversity, life shift, or unexpected deviation on their lifepath! Like you, I agree, the genre and expanse of where the story is set and placed isn’t as important as the writer’s ability to give us a story which is at its best thought-provoking and ruminate in closure!

I have not yet come across Ms. Lakin’s works and will be seeking her out. Thank you for the recommendation!

I noticed you have a strong emphasis on historical fiction and literature. Which authors and books still speak to you on a personal level? And, why?

You’ve been doing your homework. I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. My first series was probably Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I can remember trying to figure out what would happen before I got there in the book, then greedily moving on to the next volume, scarcely drawing breath after the end of the one I just finished. Then, I moved up to Louisa May Alcott, also a serial writer. Those two authors were my favorites of childhood, so they will always stay with me.

My “firsts” reading adult literature always linger: The Brontë sisters, Leo Tolstoy, James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Honoré Balzac, Alexander Dumas, and Victor Hugo didn’t come until I was an adult myself, but I will never tire of their works. I love prolific writers and will go on “binges”, but I’m very eclectic in my taste.

I can tell we each grew up on the same literary wanderings as the other! I vividly remember my “Little House” days of being an adventure to read through as quickly as I could but with the ability to still savour the ‘moments’ spent with the Ingalls at the same time! I loved certain passages and key events in their lives, such as the makings of sugar candies and how they always rallied together when life grew difficult! They celebrated the simple joys but they also had such a wonderful ability to live well too! One of Ms. Alcott’s novels I discovered in my early twenties was “An Old Fashioned Girl” which opened my eyes to the further breadth of her gift in stories. I must confess, once I found a ‘favourite’ I would continue to re-read them whilst younger!

As you might have gathered on your visit today, I have a curious attachment to “the classics” myself, and have undergone a massive reading of said classics whilst participating in “The Classics Club“! (top menu of my blog links directly to the books I hope to dig into over my first five years into the Club!) I picked up “Jane Eyre” for the first time this past September (its a reading-in-progress!) and on the encouragement of the participants of #LitChat I am embarking on reading “War and Peace” by July!

My heart was happily overjoyed finding a like-minded reader in you!

I completely agree about the important role social media plays in the promotion of writing, book bloggers, and the world of publishing as the sphere of readers to publishers has knitted closer together. What do you feel is the key strength of reaching audiences in our technologic world?

Key strength . . . well, the beauty of social media is that it puts within an author’s or publisher’s hands the ability to reach a very specific market. The most important thing is to know your audience and know the best way to reach out to them. That’s where social media plays a key role. Where does your specific virtual audience congregate? With what medium are they most active? How can you capitalize on that knowledge?

While the Internet is a fantastic tool, never discount the power of real, personal contact. Conventions, book fairs, personal appearances all make the author more “real” to the reader and so make them feel more connected to the story.

Have you ever read something so powerful that you thought, “that had to be a real life experience”? And that set you to speculating about the author’s personal life? That can be a compelling motivator for a reader to pick up the next book, and the next, and the next, whether or not any of them exist in the same construct as any other.

I am thrilled to hear your speaking out about the balance between appearances in real-life and virtual settings! I, myself, harken back to celebrating the interpersonal connections readers can make with writers at independent book stores, library meet & greets, literary festivals, and the events you’ve mentioned as well! There is such an enriched movement with books and bookish culture, that I believe striking a balance to highlight what works for each individual author and their readership is the best possible avenue to explore! I am personally enjoying expanding my own offerings on Jorie Loves A Story, as the day before this interview posted I held my first-ever *LIVE* Author Q&A in the comment threads of an Author Interview! I must say, each new way authors can make a direct connection to their readers is a step forward towards keeping the circle flowing and intact!

In regards to book trailers, I was quite impressed with the motion picture quality of “Moments in Millennia” where the undercurrent score and cut-away sequences where the broadcast is nearly being cut-off draws the reader into the scene. The vortex of how ‘time’ itself draws a circle around the necessity of ‘now’. Of being in a position to react and effectively impact the state of ‘what is happening right this instant’. How as an editor did you draw a stitching of continuity inside the anthology, where stories were brought together whilst giving freedom to the writers to explore the premise in their own vision?

The continuity is a product of several different factors. The first, of course, is the theme we set. When we come up with something we think might spark the imagination (in this case, back to the future), we announce it as part of our writing competition. Writers will often ask us exactly what we mean by that. Our answer is always the same: what does that mean to you?

This particular project was interesting to me in that so many of the entries (and ultimately the winners) focused on dark scenarios. Going in, I rather expected some fun fantasy romps, and I think the fact that we didn’t have anything of that nature reflects society’s outlook as a whole. We seem to be a rather cheerless bunch at the moment.

The next influence is our judging algorithm. Because each individual judge has their own likes and dislikes, the stories that suit their aesthetic will rank higher, so that tends to influence the overall outcome. Finally, the editorial process itself plays a significant role. We look at the entries as first drafts, and then we work with the authors to polish their work. Because the same content editor works with every author, that influence is felt within each story.

For instance, I like stories to get inside people’s heads and ask questions: how do situations and events affect the characters emotionally; what are the ramifications of an event? My mantra: dig deeper! Another editor may have wanted more emphasis on technical details or more “atmosphere”. The editor’s own “what does this mean to you” comes into bear and becomes that consistent thread that runs through everything.

Thank you for giving me such a beautiful insight into the production of  “Moments in Milliennia”, as the scope of the project is as multi-dimensional as I had forethought it might have been! I do agree with you on the ‘dark undertones’ throughout the anthology itself, as I was quite curious when I first picked it up to read on how each writer surprised me in turn by giving me a revelation inside their story I had not expected to find after having read their individual premises. I believe its going to the heart of what you revealed yourself: there is an undercurrent in our society for focusing more on the dark than the light; even if those of us who are reading fantasy have a penchant for seeking out the light at each possible turn! For without the Light, where then do we find the Hope!? Yet. Despite this, the anthology gave me numerous sociological implications to ponder about and for that, I give the writers credit for taking up the bold challenge of answering your submission call in a way which will stand out to the readers who pick up the anthology!

What do you personally feel is the impetus of fantasy resonating within the heart of readers?

I think fantasy does two things: first, it provides an escape from the everyday problems of reality. If we feel hemmed in on every side and struggle with finding solutions in our lives, fantasy allows us to leave the stress and tension behind.

Conversely, fantasy allows us to examine those troubles from a “safe” distance. It allows us to examine the dark places in the world and within ourselves but comfortably within the confines of the unreal. It’s rather ironic: we often best deal with reality when allowed to escape from it.

The best fantasy writers know that truth resonates in us no matter the setting. That’s how their works become classics. It can unfold in the swamps of the Degoba System, the deserts of Dune, or the blasted plains of Mordor. Orson Scott Card wrote the short story that became Ender’s Game more than thirty years ago, but it couldn’t be more topical or relevant had he written it today.

I also feel the realms in which fantasy writers create give us a uniquely parallel impression of where our technologic advances could have taken us if we had taken a right turn verse a left! On the level of Steampunk specifically, I am keenly fascinated by the elemental innovations surrounding ‘steam’ and ‘clockwork’ and how if we as a society had opted for a lesser impactful way of industrialising our world, perhaps then the greater impacts felt now could have been lessened. In this vein, I am always excited about stepping into a realm not yet explored and seeing how fantastical and how real that particular realm purports itself off the page!

How does our fascination with bending time and exploring topics within time’s continuum strengthen our resolve to explore the unknown dimensions of our living universe?

Memory, recollection is time travel. Every time we muse on a happy moment in our lives, regret a mistake of the past, ponder roads not taken, mourn the loss of a loved one, we place ourselves in a different time and place—at least in our minds. But, “I think, therefore I am.”

Because we are so curious as a species, and stubborn, and imaginative, we demand to know not only the way the universe works, but how we can make it work for us. And once we know, we do. We do before we know. We have unbounded faith in ourselves and our own cleverness. We can conceive it, so there must be a way to make it happen.

A most eloquent reply I cannot top, even if I dare to try!

The cover-art design held my eye and attention from the moment I first saw it within your catalogue of books online. The way in which the design alludes to the stories held within its covers grabbed me and I would imagine would evoke a similar feeling in another reader. How is a cover as striking as this created to envelope the stories within the anthology?

That would be telling. Seriously, we have great graphics support in Dale Pease of Walking Stick Books (who is also a fantastic author). He puts all our covers together. We also draw from the works of a wide pool of artists. This cover, in particular, is a mixed media rendition using photography and digital art/photo-manipulation. The artist’s vision perfectly expressed our own, so we used it.

I am most encouraged to have learnt a publisher is open to mixed media art, as I am a mixed media collage hobbyist who enjoys dabbling in Victorian & Vintage themes on small scales! I like the creative outlet of bringing together different materials as much as the interpersal of distressed inks! Whilst combining photography, mixed media, and photo manipulation the artist’s keen visionary eye perfectly creates the best portal towards opening the door on this anthology because the mind is already half way shifting into the possibilities therein!

Do you find readers are more receptive to reading novels within the backlist of Xchyler Publishing whilst tempted by the short stories within exclusive Xchyler Publishing anthologies?

I believe so. I hope so. An anthology is like a box of chocolates . . . it’s really easy to pick and choose what you like, explore new flavors, and skip over what doesn’t suit. You also invariably make value judgments on the chocolatier from the experience. Hopefully, our anthologies leave our readership drooling for more.

This is by far the most clever way of expressing how a reader selects and delves into the shorts contained within anthologies! As being a recent appreciator of anthologies myself, I must confess, that what you said here has validity as I too, find that there are those which spark out a deep response within me and others which might not touch me towards exploring further than what was given. It’s the journey towards finding a new writer whose imagination lights up inside us that is the key motivation for me! As a connoisseur of chocolat myself it was especially creative in describing the joy!

Anthologies have a long history of being ‘gateways’ into a writer’s work and/or a publisher’s vision for their fiction wanderings. What have your observations been throughout your career on the mainstay attraction on behalf of anthologies and the Renaissance appeal for them today?

See above. I think anthologies by single writers are snapshots into their brains, while books are portraits. Portraits can be works of art, but a lot of snapshots put together can turn into a motion picture.

I love the way in which you convey your thoughts as to express the inner workings of a reader’s experience as they taste and dapple through different offerings of literature! You have a knack for visceral expressions which give a vision of your thoughts in such a dynamic way! I must agree with you on this, as to me, stories read in print always opened my mind’s eye to seeing the story lit alive as though a film-maker’s reel were running within me; where I could choose to pause or carry-on quite easily once I was secured within his world.

I read you’re a writer in your own right (on your website): where does your muse lead you whilst creating your own stories?

Gah! I need to take down some stuff on that website! Some of it is too old and embarrassing for the light of day. I love writing historical fiction, but I do other stuff as well. I find I write men far more realistically than I do women. I think that’s because I was surrounded by brothers growing up, and have a male-dominated home (three sons and a husband).

Curiously, I ought to claim the same as I grew up a tomboy, always on one adventure of another yet within my own family’s close-knit origins we were the opposite of your family! More women than men to go around! I used to find my weakness in writing was not within the characters themselves but in the inclusion of dialogue against narrative and how to intersect the two without losing the essence or flow of the other! I find this a most fascinating response! You could always be the literary David E. Kelley who writes women far better than he does men! Your simply in reverse!

Which genres do you enjoy reading for pleasure whilst on holiday from Xchyler?

I love reading history. For me, looking back into history is very much tracing the why and how of where we are now. I never read a history book that didn’t make me want to go dig out the next thing that author wrote. I love connecting the dots. I also love well-written biographies.

You take after my Mum on reading biographies! Do you ever seek out historical biographies!? My Mum has a deep passion for the Revolutionary War era and in so, the Adams are her number one focus! Except to say, when the biographers delve a bit too close to their realities as some of their lives were a bit harder pulling to get through than others. Her favourite bits though are the correspondences between Abigail & John, and the ability of Abigail to overtake her husband’s estrangement from his best friend Thomas Jefferson! As much as her confidence of being a land-owner, which was completely unheard of at the time! Her resolve and strength was a testament of her strong will of character.

Which authors inspired your heart to become enraptured by wordsmiths whose language and tone of exploring stories through words enlivened your reading experience?

That’s a really good question but equally difficult to answer. I’m a literary omnivore, so while I’ve grazed serenely on the verdure in many a bucolic pasture, I admit to the occasional bloody, adrenaline-rushed hunt. Jane Austen sits next to Earnest Hemingway on the shelf. But, if I were to pick out one specific author whom I truly admire for his wit and turn of phrase, it would be Oscar Wilde: “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.” — The Important of Being Earnest

I think if I were to comment on which writers have defined my own path towards seeking out wordsmiths, at the very top of the list would be William Shakespeare and Jane Austen. Equally bent against the tides as leading their audiences into crevices of humanity not always willing to be observed much less recognised, they gave a path of enlightenment where you truly had to seek the meanings within the heart of their legacies as much as in-between their words to fully grasp their messages. I recollected on Jorie Loves A Story I am like a dancer who graces herself through genres and literature, and in that, I believe I express as best as I can my hungry appetite like you for writers and stories which engage the wholeness of our beings whilst giving our minds a thought or two to ponder at their conclusions!

What is your favourite blessing as an editor?

My absolutely, positively most favorite thing about being an editor/publisher is helping authors’ dreams come true. I love it when they post pictures of their very first contract, their first shipment of books, their first fan. It’s such a rush. It feels like being the cool mom on the block.

You’ve captured the essence of Jackie Kennedy Onassis and her ability to seek out the good in each writer who crossed her desk. To encourage and to guide, yet to champion the journey they all take to print!

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I want to thank Ms. Freeman for her wonderful response to my Questions, whilst giving my readers & I a glimpse into the life of an Editor at an Indie Publisher! The insight was greatly appreciated, as much as having had the privilege of peering into your own writer’s heart! The depth and thought which organically moved throughout the conversation is one I will surely not soon forget! This is a moment I shall always remember in having found a kindred spirit as we wander through literature seeking the stories which become a part of collective memory and give us a heightened sense of who we are. My gratitude is given freely to Ms. Freeman who has left a deep impact on her interviewer!

This Editor Interview is courtesy of:

 

Xchyler Publishing

check out my upcoming bookish events and mark your calendars!

Drop back on Jorie Loves A Story, on 30th March, when Jorie interviews the author of “A MidSummer Night’s Steampunk” Mr. Scott E. Tarbet! The book review for “Moments in Milliennia” will post on 8th of April! You will not want to miss my ruminations!

Be sure to leave a note in the comment threads for Ms. Freeman! And, thanks for dropping by Jorie Loves A Story!

{NOTE: Similar to blog tours, when I feature a showcase for an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog.}

{SOURCES:  Moments in Milliennia Book Cover, synopsis, and Xchyler Publishing badge were provided by Xchyler Publishing and were used by permission. I requested an Editor Interview with Ms. Freeman and kindly received her responses to my Questions directly. Blog News badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Tuesday, 25 March, 2014 by jorielov in Alternative History, Alternative Reality, An Editor Point of View, Anthology Collection of Stories, Bookish Discussions, Fantasy Fiction, Futuristic Fantasy, Good vs. Evil, Quantum Physics, Reader Submitted Editor Interview, Space Science, The Writers Life, Time Travel, Writing Style & Voice, Xchyler Publishing