Coming For Money by F.W. Vom Scheidt

About the Author:

F. W. vom Scheidt is a director of an international investment firm. He works and travels in the world’s capital markets, and makes his home in Toronto, Canada. He is also the author of a new book, Coming for Money (Blue Butterfly Book Publishing), a remarkable and provocative novel about the world of international finance and the human quests for success, understanding and love.

You can find out more about his book at http://www.bluebutterflybooks.ca/titles/money.html.

About the Book:

How much money is too much? And how fast is too fast in life?

International investment firm director and author F. W. vom Scheidt, writes from his first hand-hand experience of the world of global money spinning with candor and authenticity in his remarkable literary novel Coming for Money.

As investment star Paris Smith steps onto the top rungs of the corporate ladder, he is caught between his need for fulfillment and his need for understanding; trapped between his drive for power and his inability to cope with his growing emptiness where there was once love. When his wife disappears from the core of his life, his loneliness and sense of disconnection threaten to overwhelm him. When he tries to compensate by losing himself in his work, he stumbles off the treadmill of his own success, and is entangled in the web of a fraudulent bond deal that threatens to derail his career and his life.

Forced to put his personal life on hold while he travels nonstop between Toronto, Singapore and Bangkok to salvage his career, he is deprived of the time and space necessary to regain his equilibrium.

In the heat and turmoil and fast money of Southeast Asia, half a world from home, and half a life from his last remembered smile, he finds duplicity, friendship and power --- and a special woman who might heal his heart.

A talented author, vom Scheidt has confidently crafted a fast-paced, highly readable and intelligent novel. His details are fascinating. His characters are real, and not easily forgotten. A deeply felt story about the isolation of today’s society, the prices great and small paid for success and the damages resulting from the ruthless exercise of financial power, Coming For Money is a taut literary page-turner about a man who refuses to capitulate to the darkness in his journey into the light.

I was lucky enough to get the author to answer some interview questions. Here's what he had to say:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

In summary, Coming For Money is a novel about the world of global finance and a human quest for success, understanding and love.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?








How I came to write it is much like a montage of photographs, all taken of the same subject, but all taken from several perspectives.

I have always written.

Following the adage of write from what you know best, I wrote from my first hand-hand experience accumulated as a director of an international investment firm. I wrote as truthfully as possible of the world of international finance — not with the over dramatization so common in film and television, but with an intimate telling through a first-person narrative ... of what it can be like to labour in the world of money spinning ... of how the money’s immense leverage for triumph or disaster doesn’t so much corrupt people as corrupt the way they treat each other ... of how the relentless demands of the money so often deprive you of sufficient time and energy to live through the events of your emotional and interior life.

In addition to this witnessing of the world of international finance, Coming For Money is also a provocative literary novel.

That flows, I think, from the fact that, throughout my life, I have always sought to maintain my integrity in a struggle with questions that have no answers.

So the novel flows from some of the questions I continually ask about life. The plot advances along questions arising from how we relate to our careers: How much money is too much? And how fast is too fast in life? And the central character advances along deeper questions in his own life: How do we cope with love and loss?

Moreover, because our societies equate financial success with a successful life, we are often blind to the inner stories of countless people in all endeavors who, in their desperate search for inner happiness, endlessly repeat a formula for financial success even while remaining deeply unhappy due to unresolved emotional and psychological issues at their core. I wanted to bring one of these inner stories to life.

The result is a deeply felt narrative about the isolation of today’s society, the prices great and small paid for success and the damages resulting from the ruthless exercise of financial power.
I also wrote the Coming For Money to be a good story well told.

The story is event-driven. It follows Paris Smith. As he steps onto the top rungs of the corporate ladder, he is caught between his need for fulfillment and his need for understanding; between his drive for power and his inability to cope with his growing emptiness where there was once love. When his wife disappears from the core of his life, his loneliness and sense of disconnection threaten to overwhelm him. When he tries to compensate by losing himself in his work, he stumbles off the treadmill of his own success, and is entangled in the web of a fraudulent bond deal that threatens to derail his career and his life.

Forced to put his personal life on hold while he travels nonstop between Toronto, Singapore and Bangkok to salvage his career, he is deprived of the time and space to mourn the absence of his wife and regain his equilibrium.

In the heat and turmoil and fast money of Southeast Asia, half a world from home, and half a life from his last remembered smile, he finds duplicity, friendship and power --- and a special woman who might heal his heart.

As much as I want to write a literary novel, I wanted to write a story that was fast-paced and highly readable.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

I sat down at the keyboard. Although I have always been a literary writer, I had no idea how I would capture my experiences in international finance in literary fiction. Without thinking, the first sentence came to me. I typed it. Then I looked at that sentence for a long time.

Instinct told me that the sentence had risen from something that was deeply absorbing me, and that it was something I had to tell. I knew I had to find some way to tell it truthfully. From that point, I knew there was no way out . . . except to construct the novel.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My wife.

Your biggest critic?








Me.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?








I was fortunate to come from an environment that valued reading and education. As a result I absorbed a broad spectrum. Having the experience of so much writing from so many writers was a far greater influence that any single author.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on a new novel; and on bringing a new institutional investment fund to market.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?








For writers … write.
For readers … read whatever interests and entertains you regardless of what it may be, but never stop reading.

What are some of your long term goals?

Value the gift of each new day by working at what I love, learning something new, being grateful for those in my life; and, before the day runs out, somehow becoming a better human being than I was yesterday.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

Being able to see what I want to paint on the canvas of my life while it is still blank.

Biggest weakness?

Succumbing to the seduction of working too much.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

At last count, I was not aware of many literary novelists coming from the international investment industry. I imagine I bring a unique perspective to a unique setting for storytelling.

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

The collected works of Shakespeare, to populate my world with characters and stories.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

If we are not here for each other, then we are only here to die.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

I was thinking the other day about how I came to writing.

When I was in the eighth grade our history studies focused on how colonists came from England to settle in Canada. It was mentioned that some immigrants came as indentured servants, working on farms for several years to pay off their passage; and it was pointed out that some of these indentured servants were the same age as we were in the eighth grade. Our assignment was to imagine that we were indentured children newly arrived in the Canadian colonies, and to write a letter to our families left behind in England.

It was assumed we would write about clearing the land, planting crops, building farm houses and everything else from our history lessons.

When I began the assignment, the first words I wrote were: “Dear Mother and Father, it is with great regret that I write to tell you that my sister, your daughter, died of typhus on the ship to Canada.”

I went on to express remorse over not sharing food with her and to describe the loneliness of the dark winter nights without her.

Later in the day, when the teacher was reading the assignments, something happened without expectation or warning.

The teacher took me and my assignment to the principal’s office.

The principal demanded to know what was wrong with me.

It was generally accepted in the eighth grade that the ultimate calamity was to be dragged to the principal’s office. And worse than that was to be asked by the principal to explain yourself when you had no explanation.

As I sat between the principal and my teacher, and resigned myself to the misery of their demands and derision, it occurred to me that I was the only one in my class who had caused so much trouble with something I written ... and maybe I had something that the others didn’t have.

Coming For Money by F.W. Vom Scheidt

About the Author:

F. W. vom Scheidt is a director of an international investment firm. He works and travels in the world’s capital markets, and makes his home in Toronto, Canada. He is also the author of a new book, Coming for Money (Blue Butterfly Book Publishing), a remarkable and provocative novel about the world of international finance and the human quests for success, understanding and love.

You can find out more about his book at http://www.bluebutterflybooks.ca/titles/money.html .


About the Book:


How much money is too much? And how fast is too fast in life?

International investment firm director and author F. W. vom Scheidt, writes from his first hand-hand experience of the world of global money spinning with candor and authenticity in his remarkable literary novel Coming for Money.

As investment star Paris Smith steps onto the top rungs of the corporate ladder, he is caught between his need for fulfillment and his need for understanding; trapped between his drive for power and his inability to cope with his growing emptiness where there was once love. When his wife disappears from the core of his life, his loneliness and sense of disconnection threaten to overwhelm him. When he tries to compensate by losing himself in his work, he stumbles off the treadmill of his own success, and is entangled in the web of a fraudulent bond deal that threatens to derail his career and his life.

Forced to put his personal life on hold while he travels nonstop between Toronto, Singapore and Bangkok to salvage his career, he is deprived of the time and space necessary to regain his equilibrium.

In the heat and turmoil and fast money of Southeast Asia, half a world from home, and half a life from his last remembered smile, he finds duplicity, friendship and power --- and a special woman who might heal his heart.

A talented author, vom Scheidt has confidently crafted a fast-paced, highly readable and intelligent novel. His details are fascinating. His characters are real, and not easily forgotten. A deeply felt story about the isolation of today’s society, the prices great and small paid for success and the damages resulting from the ruthless exercise of financial power, Coming For Money is a taut literary page-turner about a man who refuses to capitulate to the darkness in his journey into the light.

The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark

About the Author:

Elle Newmark is an award winning writer whose books are inspired by her travels. She prowled the back streets of Venice to cook up The Book of Unholy Mischief and explored India by car and elephant to conjure The Devil’s Wind. She calls California home.

For more information on Elle or her work visit http://www.ellenewmark.com/


About the Book:

It is 1498, the dawn of the Renaissance and Venice teems with rumors of an ancient book that hold the secrets of unimaginable power. Rich and poor alike speculate abouthe the long buried secred tht might be scrawled in its pages and where the book might be hidden in the labyrinthine city. While those who seek the book will stop at nothing to get it, those who know will die to protect it.

As a storm of intrigue percolates in Her Most Serene Republic, Luciano, a penniless orphan, is plucked off the street by the doge's chef and taken in as the chef's apprentice. In the palace kitchen Luciano is initiated into the chef's rich and mysterious world where recipes are more than they seem.

It is not long before Luciano is caught up in the madness. Torn between loyalty to his street friends and his passion for Francesca, a convent girl, Lucianco's worthiness is tested. Armed with a precicious mind and insatiable curiosity, Luciano embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth. What he discovers will swing opent he shutters of his mind, inflalme his deepest esires, and leaven an indelible mark on his soul.

I was fortunate enough to get Elle to agree to an interview with me. This is what she had to say:


Could you please tell us a little about your book?

The Book of Unholy Mischief is a historical mystery with a culinary twist. It is 1498 in Renaissance Venice. The city is abuzz with rumors about a mysterious book that might hold secrets of alchemy and immortality. In this tumultuous atmosphere, the doge's chef takes an urchin off the street and makes him his apprentice. But there is more cooking in the the palace kitchen than food. It soon becomes apparent that the chef has ulterior motives for taking on Luciano and soon they are both swept up into a delicious but dangerous maze of secrets and intrigue.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

I had just finished writing my first novel (which is still unpublished) and thought my writing career was finished. I had no new ideas. Zip. Nada. So my writing coach asked me to think about what I like, what interests me, and what I know about. I like Venice and I like a good story with an element of mystery. Also, since my father is a chef I know about good food. But that did not a novel make, so I slouched around the house for weeks, reading other people's novels and watching movies. One evening I watched The Name of The Rose and that night I had a dream. I woke up at 5 a.m. with a broad notion for a book about a chef in Renaissance Venice who mentors to a young man with the intention of grooming him for a larger purpose. The story revolved around a mysterious book, but I did not know what the book contained. I wrote and re-wrote The Book of Unholy Mischief for two years before it became clear what was so important about the chef's fictional book. I started with a foggy plot idea and two characters; the rest evolved in the writing.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

Life and my own interests are the inspiration for all my books. I take things I know and things I'm interested in and mix them together. In the case of this book it was my love of Italy and food and my personal belief in Humanism.

Who is your biggest supporter?

Other writers. One of the things I love about writers is how we support each other. In other fields people doing the same work might be inclined to compete and trample each other in a bid to get ahead, but the writers I know are incredibly generous. Without the feedback, expertise and honesty of other writers I doubt I could ever have written a book.

Your biggest critic?

Me. I can be a real pain.

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

The cause that resonates in Unholy Mischief is humanism. No matter what anyone might or might not believe about the meaning or purpose of life, it cannot be denied that we are all stuck on this planet together. If we poison the earth or our children's minds we all suffer. But if we try to leave things better than the way we found them we all benefit. It sounds so simple; I don't know what it's so difficult to carry out.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

I have been privileged to work with a very fine editor at Atria, Emily Bestler, and . I've learned a great deal from her. Emily was able to pinpoint what was needed where with surgical precision and the book was much improved for her input. I believe that working with her has made me a better writer.

Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

I take a shower, sit outdoors and breathe deeply.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

Again, other writers. There are so many great writers, past and present, it is inspiring to read them and know that there is room in literature for many voices. That knowledge has given me the freedom to develop my own.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

Becoming a better writer.

What are you currently working on?

I recently delivered my new novel (working title The Devil's Wind) and am about to start revisions with my editor. It is a tale of parallel love stories in India set against a backdrop of parallel wars. I spent last March in India researching.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

For readers: Don't read junk; be picky. Insist that an author leave you with something valuable. For writers: Never give up.

Is there an author that inspired you to write?

John Steinbeck is the first author that made me wonder how ink on paper could cause me to laugh and cry and make the world disappear. I wanted to know how he did that and I'm still trying to figure it out.

What are some of your long term goals?

To never retire and to never stop learning.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

Not giving up in the face of 20+ years of rejection from traditional publishing. I love to hear from readers who say they were discouraged and ready to give up until they read my story. That's the best!

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

The food. There are lots of historical novels out there, but one that makes its points with culinary metaphors is something different. I feel rather clever about that.

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

Stuck on an island? Horrible thought, but okay. Probably Sohpie's Choice by William Styron. It has everything: Fine writing, fascinating characters who come to life completely, a fully imagined setting, and a heartbreaking comment on the human condition that I could think about for a very long time.

If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?

None. Everything I've experienced has been necessary to who I am.

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?

Yes. I have a job.

Visit me at www.ellenewmark.com

Scattered Leaves by Richard Roach

Join Richard E. Roach, author of the suspense mystery novel, Scattered Leaves (Multi-Media, Sept. '08), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in April on his third virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!

About the Author:

Suspense/Mystery author Richard Roach was born in 1931 in Galveston, Texas. Short stories of his have been published in Man’s Story 2, Happy 2007, Vol. 20 and Bibliophilos 2006, Vol. 42. His first novel, Scattered Leaves, hit the book stores on September 1, ’08, and his second novel, Scattered Money, will be published in 2009.

You can visit his website at http://www.richarderoach.com/.

About the Book:

When Ben McCord comes home from a business trip to find his young wife raped and murdered, he starts out on a journey of death and destruction. Clues lead him to a dark world of drugs and violence in action that spans Texas, Colorado, and the Mexican border. McCord hooks up with a beautiful doctor, who was also victimized by members of the same drug cartel, and together they track down the killers, surviving bloody confrontations, and ending with a suspenseful climax in the Big Thicket of Texas.

I was lucky enough to be able to interview the author. Here's what he answered:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

Ben McCord comes home from witnessing a blow-out on a drilling rig to find his wife raped and murdered. At first he’s overcome with grief; but soon the sorrow is replaced with black anger. Ben vows vengeance and starts looking for the perpertratiors.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

No, but the murder of a family in Georgia caused me to realize it could happen to anyone.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

I had no choice in the matter, I felt compelled to write.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My wife. She reads what I write, the poor soul, and never condemns me.

Your biggest critic?

Oh! Boy! The worst critics are the editors that tell me where I went wrong, rearrange the plot, and drive me crazy in general.

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

This is a loaded question! I would never finish this if I were to cover all my passionate causes but just to pick one is hard to do. However, I’ll go with this. I have little faith in the political situation concerning law making and law enforcement. Too much corruption, the media news is full of it every day. Look at Madoff and the trillion dollar debt.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

I like to think I have.

Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

A big sigh of relief and satisfaction.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

John D. MacDonald

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

My health. I hate going to the hospital for operations.

What are you currently working on?

Cecilia—Another crime novel. I have just finished Perverse Judgment.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

Beware of opening your door to strangers. Always carry a gun, keep your emotions in check and remember—if a thug comes in your domicile while you are there, HE’S COMING AFTER YOU! Burglars don’t rob home while people are there unless they’re drug mad.

Is there an author that inspired you to write?

Gardner , MacDonald, Short, Lamour, Hamilton , McBain and Charteris.

What are some of your long term goals?

To continue to write better novels.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

I don’t feel as if I’ve accomplished hardly anything but the best so far is to get SCATTERED LEAVES published.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

My imagination.

Biggest weakness?

Lack of formal education. I should have studied English: Lit and Grammar and writers.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

If you read it, I believe you’ll agree, Action! Violence!

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

Any of the Travis McGee books. The reason: Simple. I could read it over and over. I have read the twenty-one books in the McGee series over and over as is. I also have a complete set stored in plastic containers where light never shines on them. I’m saving them for when I get old. I’m only 7711/12 at this time.

If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?

June 1, 1945 That’s the day I was forced to leave Livingston and go to Houston and work in a grocery store. I was fourteen.

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?

Definitely! I have studied the art and written about ten books in that length of time

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

I’m still learning things . . . the most important thing so far, has to be, get a damn education! Money can’t buy happiness but an education coupled with hard work and perseverance can allow you to suffer in luxury.

Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?

Thinking I was smart enough for this world and quitting college.

What is your favorite past-time?

Writing a good story. You can control everything that happens, that’s called heaven.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Yes! I love you for asking all these questions. It was my pleasure to answer them. I wish you and your family good health, happiness, and piles of nice crisp one-hundred dollar bills.

Win Prizes!!!

SCATTERED LEAVES VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on April 1 and end on April 30. You can visit Richard's blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in April to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Cry of Justice by Jason Pratt

About the Author:

Jason Pratt is a native of West Tennessee, and the systems manager for Dyer Fiberglass, Inc. He holds a bachelor of communications degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

When he isn't freelance editing other people's books or writing philosophical treatises as a respected guest on various Internet sites, he can be found pondering tactics and strategies in the lates war game or studying metaphysics and world history. Occasionally he finds the time to instruct, judge and compete in the art of fencing; and has been known to write cinematic epic fantasies when people aren't looking.

Cry of Justice is the first book of an initial trilogy, the third book of which he is currently composing.

I was fortunate enough to be able to ask Jason some questions - this is what he had to say:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

Cry of Justice_ (CoJ hereafter) is an epic fantasy novel, the first of an initial trilogy, concerning an ambitious young woman leading a small ragged brigade in a world still suffering aftershocks from a vicious international war.She plots and battles against a series of increasingly ruthless adversaries, with help from her colorful sub commanders, while finding herself irreconcilably drawn to a charismatic, kind and hopeful stranger. Or, to give a 50 word description: Complicated anti-heroine. Angsty elite killer. Cheerfully average do-gooder. Wretched egotistical bully. Quiet brilliant giant. Lanky droll 'cowherd'. Brash paladin thief. Dedicated folk historian. Paranormal romance. Erotic ethical mysticism. Logical conundrums. Clever duels. Daring rescues. Innovative tactics. Climactic multi-brigade Macro-Fight Sequence. Arrogant villains. Shoulder beasts.Aasvogels. Army-slaughtering walking plateaus. Weepingly cool orcs. That's in the first book. The series gets better as it goes along... {g}

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

Nothing specific that I can think of. I had been ginning up a huge plot in the back of my mind for about 20 years, and in 2000 I was helping a friend of mine edit her first novels (Orbit author Marie Brennan, whose fourth novel, In Ashes Lie is scheduled for release in June this year,plug, plug. {g}) It just seemed time to start pulling everything together and putting it on the page. CoJ was my solution for how to introduce the story. Ironically, very little of my main overarching story is in CoJ though! (But the little that's there is super-important. Also rather hidden.)

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

Hm. Lots of inspirations. Two of the most important for the immediate story, though,are the medieval enchantress/paladin paradigm, and the Jewish story of Israel's relationship with God (which is alarmingly rocky! {g}) I wanted to do something different with the enchantress/paladin trope than to have her simply be the bump in the road or pitfall for the hero, or to have him simply be the bump in the road or pitfall for the heroine. So she's the main protagonist, and the story is really mostly about her; but she isn't always (or even usually) a heroine. She can be downright evil sometimes. In other words, a very challenging character to write!

Who is your biggest supporter?

That would certainly be my parents,under heaven, God bless them.

Your biggest critic?

I try to make sure that that's me!--but I've seen some reviewers who thought nothing I did was worth more than derision.I'm not remotely famous enough to have a nemesis opponent, though, or anything like that.

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

Oh, good question. Um. The fact that I'm temporizing here is a bad sign... {lol!} If I had to choose, that would be the mistreatment of women. (With mistreatment of children close behind; but for some reason mistreatment of women I'm more passionate about. Probably because I'm a romantic chivalrist. {s}) However, I make a point not to be passionate about even that, in practice,so as not to lose sight of fair judgment on topics. That being said, I would certainly be most passionate about caring for my wife--if I knew where she was and could be with her. The devotion of men to women in my novels strongly reflects that; and I would go so far as to believe that this is the single most crucial social issue of human history under heaven.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

My first two novels I composed simply as prose with some poetic flourishes here and there, but later I redrafted my first novel (CoJ) as one large rhythmically varying poem (which, interestingly, helped me trim the word count down substantially!) And I'm in the process of editing my second novel, Edge of Justice (EoJ), the same way. This past year, however, I completed probably 2/3 of my third novel, Song of Justice (SoJ), while composing it that way from the outset. Which I'm very happy about, because going back and doing a phrase-by-phrase rhythmical polish of a whole book is by far THE single hardest thing I've done for the first two books!(And SoJ will be larger than either of the first two, as befits the grand finale of a trilogy. {g})

Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

I wish I had some actual rituals I followed when I finished a book! That would be quite unutterly cool; but also far more likely to develop with a wife than not. {wry g} Unfortunately, what actually happens is very mundane: I verbally dictate the thing out loud as my first editing pass (though I'll have done lots of partial editing passes before then). With SoJ I'll start a new habit of doing a statistical analysis for figuring out the Action Scene Percentage(which I've already done for the first books, but long after their composition), so I can concentrate on making sure that the current book is at least as good as previous books (if not better) at giving reading audiences more than just a bunch of plotty talking heads. I'm a plotty kind of guy, so I tend to overwrite that way if I'm not careful. On the other hand, and rather schizophrenically, I would write the whole story as endless butt-kicking if I could figure out a way to do so while actually having a story in there somewhere! {lol!} Those two sides of my head have to come to terms; managing both inclinations is the job of my superego maybe.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

Lots andlots of people and authors. Like many fantasy authors, I hew back to George MacDonald for his use of mythopoeic design. (Phantastes,Lilith,the Curdie novels, various short stories and novellas.) Brian Daley's Coramonde duology, though almost forgotten now, is a yardstick of high-efficiency plotting, characterization and entertainment value that I routinely aspire to. There's a lot of H. Rider Haggard running around in the back of my mind for sure. Stephen King for his internal characterizations (and general imagination). J. M. Straczynski, Peter David and Jim Starlin for their ability to run epic plot lines with great characters and characterizations. Josh Whedon, ditto. Robert Jordan sets a good bar, pro and con (PAY ATTENTION TO HOW TO AVOID PLOT CREEP IN AN EPIC SERIES!!!) When I first wrote CoJ I knew very little anime outside of an early childhood adoration of Space Battleship Yamato_, but there's so much good work out there to try to stand up along side with: Rurouni Kenshin,Trigun, The Irresponsible Captain Tyler, and Giant Robo still top my list there, but there's tons more (including Bruce Timm and Paul Dini's work on the Justice League animated series several years ago). I have to mention Marie Brennan again here (Doppelganger, Warrior and Witch, Midnight Never Come, several other novels of hers I've read but which haven't been published yet): I'm always comparing the quality of what I'm doing by the light of whatever it is she has done or is doing recently, whether I'm measuring up or not. (We kind of grew up as baby writers together. {g} So she's like a big sister, only 10 years younger.)

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

Logically, I would always have to say "God". But below that, my family is always the most important thing in my life, even though I don't always show that enough.

What are you currently working on?

Well, this week I'm scrambling to answer interview questions for my virtual book tour! {wry g!} More broadly, I'm very busy as a guest author along with Gregory MacDonald(not to be confused with George MacD) and Thomas Talbott, over atwww.evangelicaluniversalist.com. The back of my head is meanwhile busily composting on how the heck I should integrate a new plot development into my long-detailed plans for the final third of Book 3. (This book tour may help jog me back into creative-writing mode for the grand finale there.)

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

For readers...honestly, I can't imagine any advice I could ever give to readers. Every reader is so different... For writers: writing and sex are both creative disciplines, and very dangerous ones because of their power. They are, in fact, both quite literally magical enchantments which affect other people, which is why you should be careful (in the fullest senses of that word) in what you do with them. Are you serving the other person by helping them become more completely and cleanly the person they are, expanding their person-ness,empowering and actualizing them, fulfilling their fertility--helping them walk according to whatever light beyond you they can see, looking for more light thereby? Or, are you only trying to create effects in them with your power, putting yourself into them or calling them into yourself, for your own purposes, making them react to you? One of those is a dark enchantment, and is damnable, regardless of how pleasureable it might be for the other person, even regardless of whether the other person is seeking that pleasure from you. The other is a mystical union, and is the human contribution to the generation of healthy interpersonal relationships. Which, now that I think of it, might constitute advice to readers, too. Be careful about who you curl up with, and why. {s} Make sure he or she is someone you can trust to care for you, and not abuse you.

What are some of your long term goals?

Finishing the Mikonese Saga would be nice! {g} And in fact, I don't think I should responsibly have any long term goals as an author (of fiction anyway) beyond that. One thing at a time. Whether I'm successful, in the sense of ever being bought by large numbers of readers, is not a long term goal for me. I care about it, of course, but I can't make people do that, and would be rather horrified to learn that I could make people do that. If I'm ever popular, I'll certainly appreciate it. But I have work to do.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

So far, that would be CoJ winning the 2007 retailer poll held by the CSPA for Novel of the Year. As a publisher, that would be creating a fine product and being able to send it out (including to people I care about),after so many years of working on it.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

My humility? {rimshot!} Sorry. Um. I really don't think about myself in those terms. Which makes it hard for me to market myself, sometimes. Who gives a hoot what I think my greatest strengths are!!? Me, maybe, the end. I'm far too egotistical to safely answer this question. When I keep coming up with answers and then going, "No, that one is! No,that one!" then it's time to move on.

Biggest weakness?

Here we go! This question I can answer! {g!}Amending to 'weakness-es'... I have far, far too high an opinion of my own cleverness; I have to constantly watch to make sure I'm not doing something in a story simply for cleverness sake. I don't always distinguish well between necessary detail, color detail, and minituae. While I think I can objectively say I've gotten better about this overtime, I still worry that my character voices and characterizations aren't distinct enough. (A major problem in the first several chapters of CoJ.) I'm worry that I don't do enough research to properly present things in my story. (Yes, this is despite being overly picky about details. It's possible to have both kinds of shortcomings.) I worry that I'm being too vague for readers when they really need the extra info to understand what's going on. I worry that, thematically, I keep beating the reader over the head with a dead horse... or, y'know, words to that effect. {g} I could go on with this for a while, but I don't want to give the impression my novel is crap. {lol!}

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

Heck, I'd be happy if the book is 'just as good as others in the same genre! Not many other writers, even in epic fantasy, are making their books as one long piece of rhythmical poetry, but I don't necessarily consider that a selling point. (It might be considered eye-bleedingly pretentious, as one casual reviewer basically said last year...!) Look, the field of epic fantasy is small enough that I'm not terribly interested in setting myself apart from what other people are doing. I try to come up with interesting things to do and to talk about and to explore in interesting ways, in a big melodramatic story with lots of characters being slowly introduced over time and interacting with one another and occasionally kicking butt (for better or for worse), presenting various mysteries for readers to debate among themselves while waiting for new installments and then resolving those mysteries along the way. Some readers want to read that kind of thing; and in fact there aren't a lot of such things out there. (A lot of trilogies, yes. Not a lot of multi-book epics.) Some readers don't. I do try to avoid a tendency among modern epic writers to plot-creep as they complexify things. (Hint 1: DON'T SCATTER THE PROTAGONISTS ALL OVER CREATION!! um... okay, admittedly, that's on schedule for Book 4... crap... {lol} But at least I know enough to get them the heck back together, or else settle them down somewhere that they don't have to be kept an eye on, asap!) And I try to write according to the anthrax-airliner principle: if an airliner full of anthrax crashed on my head tomorrow, would people think my series as it stands was still worth their time reading? If I can't answer that question in the affirmative, I'd better dang well be doing something about it in whatever book I've arrived at currently!

You know the scenario; you're stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

You know the stereotypical answer now: "How To Survive And Hopefully One Day Escape From A Deserted Island"! (Ideally the "For Dummies" version...) However, if the question is 'only one book to read if I only had one book ever': the Bible. In some non-pretentious but still artistic but accurate translation. With plenty of footnotes for alternative translations and an apparatus showing all even-remotely-pertinent textual variants along with rationales for and against their prominence in the main text. And interlinear with the original languages. And with exhaustive cross-referencing between textual references, whether quotes, allusions or just thematically. Then I could build a paddle and a sail, and use the blessed thing as a raft. {g}

If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?

I wouldn't. As bad as things are, I'd have to be omniscient to know what could be changed that wouldn't somehow be worse in the long run. (And someone else already has that job. {s} Glad it isn't me!)

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?

5 years ago? Winter of early 2004... I don't even remember the winter of early 2004. I'd have to go look things up that I was writing and doing at that time. I doubt I've changed much personally. I hope I'm more charitable to opponents than I've been in the past. I'm sure the pain I continually live with was a lot closer to the surface at that time, but I can't say that's really changed; only submerged. Less distracting, but not really a change. I'm increasingly more tired every year (comes from living with that pain every waking hour and then having constant stress dreams and nightmares every night. I'm always exhausted or near exhaustion.) But that's not a personal change. One day my brain will finally just stop, and then maybe God willing I'll be able to rest. Good Lord that was horribly depressing. Next question! {g}

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

Hoping for the death of someone else's good hope, and wishing evil of another person, is an ultimately evil and entirely damnable thing to do. So I mustn't do that. No matter what. Ever. (Quite a few Bible verses about that, btw. {s}) Okay, sorry, that was still depressing. Something equally pertinent but more upbeat: it matters almost nothing whether I ever receive my rights. It matters everything whether I acknowledge the rights of other people.(Thanks George MacD!) True love really is the most important importance in all reality. Justice without true love to the object isn't justice, but is only evil tyranny.True justice, even in wrath, seeks fair-togetherness and reconciliation;and never stops seeking it. When all other things have passed away, these three will be remaining: faith and hope and true love. (And the greatest of these is the love.)

Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?

Too many sins to list. But kind of answered already in principle. {s}

What is your favorite past-time?

Creative writing is certainly on top, at this time. Serving someone else would be better, though. {s!}

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Just incase readers don't know, those little letters in the fancy brackets are astyle of 'emoticon'. {s} means smile; {g} means grin. And no, I don't usethose in the book. {g