NIGHTSIDERS: THE ORPHAN ARMY and BITS & PIECES by Jonathan Maberry

I met Jonathan Maberry at the Tuscon Festival of Books earlier this year. While he's known for his Rot & Ruin  books, a new series, Nightsiders, debuted May 19. If you're a Rot & Ruin  fan, not to worry--the next installment, BITS & PIECES, will hit the streets on September 22.

From Goodreads:

In a world filled with Bugs, monsters that ceaselessly ravage the Earth, Milo Silk has a hard time keeping his dreams separate from reality. So he keeps them locked up in his dream journal and hopes they'll never come to pass. But too often, they do, like when his father disappeared three years ago. Lately, the Witch of the World has been haunting his dreams, saying he is destined to be the hero who saves everyone. But all Milo can think about is how he fears the Bugs will attack his own camp, and bring something even more terrible than ever before.

What Milo doesn't know is that the Earth is already fighting back with its own natural power in the form of Nightsiders, magical creatures who prefer shadows to sunlight and who reside in trees, caves, and rivers. And the Nightsiders are ready to find an ally in Milo.

From Goodreads:

Benny Imura’s zombie-infested adventures are well-chronicled in the gripping novels Rot & Ruin, Dust & Decay, Flesh & Bone, and Fire & Ash. But what else was happening while he was on his quest? Who were the others navigating the ravaged landscape full of zombies?

Bits & Pieces fills in the gaps about what we know about First Night, surviving the plague, and traveling the land of Rot & Ruin. Eleven all-new short stories from Nix’s journal and eleven previously published stories, including “Dead & Gone” and “Tooth & Nail,” are now together and in print for the first time, along with the first-ever script for the Rot & Ruin comic books.


Jonathan was also kind enough to answer some interview questions: 

KAREN McCOY: According to your website bio, you write in several genres. What is your favorite genre to write in, if any, and what do you like most about dabbling in different mediums?

JONATHAN MABERRY: At heart I’m a thriller writer, and even when I shift gears to write in different genres most of my works are built on the model of a thriller. That means there are usually high stakes and some kind of race against time to prevent a catastrophe. That can manifest as a rescue, trying to prevent a biological outbreak, a zombie invasion, or just about anything else.

The reason I move around from genre to genre is because I love to experiment, to try new things, and to stretch as a writer. I read across genre lines, and always have. When I made the switch from writing mostly nonfiction (feature articles, nonfiction books, etc.) to writing novels, comics and short stories I knew that ‘fiction’ was the driving force. Not one particular kind of fiction. Sure, I have a bias toward horror and suspense, but I haven’t parked my car there. If I have a good idea that’s not in one of the genres in which I’m currently publishing, I discuss it with my agent and we go from there. If it’s something I become truly passionate about, then nothing will stop me from writing it and finding a good market for it.

Short stories are particularly good for allowing a writer to stretch and to try new things. Over the last few years I’ve written in so many different genres that it’s surprised even me! I’ve written mysteries, horror, psychological thrillers, weird science, westerns, epic fantasy, urban fantasy, dark fantasy, military science fiction, comedy, historical fiction, and more. And I’ve done a lot of stories tied to existing characters or licenses, including tales set in the worlds of the Wizard of Oz, Sherlock Holmes, John Carter of Mars, Auguste DuPin, Cthulhu, Planet of the Apes, Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood), and many others. And experimental fiction allows me the chance to introduce new characters and test-drive them with my readers.

KAREN McCOY: Glad to know your genre car's still moving! I love the premise of NIGHTSIDERS: THE ORPHAN ARMY. How did the idea come to you, and what do you want readers to notice most in the story?

JONATHAN MABERRY: NIGHTSIDERS is a direct collaboration with my eleven-year-old self. You see, I kept a dream diary from age seven all the way through high school. I had very vivid dreams and even then I wanted to be a storyteller. So I wrote everything down. I had one particularly frightening series of dreams involved an invasion of insect aliens. And around the same time I dreamed that I was friends with kids who were monsters (faeries, ogres, sprites, werewolves, and like that). So I combined those two sets of dreams and used them as the foundation for a new series of books. Since I was eleven when I had those dreams, it seemed appropriate to write that series for kids in 4th, 5th and 6th grades.

I recently finished the second book in the series, VAULT OF SHADOWS.

KAREN McCOY: Should have definite appeal for middle-grade audiences. Your YA horror series, Rot & Ruin, was named in Booklist’s Ten Best Horror Novels for Young Adults. Aside from your well-deserved acclaim, what has been the most rewarding part of writing this series?

JONATHAN MABERRY: ROT & RUIN started out as a novella for adults. It was my response to a challenge from editor Christopher Golden, who was putting together an anthology of zombie stories that tweaked the standard model. The book, THE NEW DEAD, had great stories. Until that point I’d never written anything post-apocalyptic and hadn’t written from a teen’s perspective. So I combined those two elements. And, I’ve been a zombie fan since I was a kid. When I was ten years old, my buddy and I snuck into a movie theater to watch the world premier of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. That was October 2, 1968. That movie left a mark on me. It scared me crazy but at the same time it kick-started a speculation that still lingers today: How would I survive a zombie apocalypse?

So, ROT & RUIN is an extension of decades of thinking about that question. However I wanted to give it some of my own twists. Instead of writing about the apocalypse, I jumped forward fourteen years later and started there. The zombies have already consumed most of the world and even after all these years they haven’t rotted away. There are seven billion of them and only thirty thousand humans. The lead character was a kid growing up in a fenced-off town and we follow him as he looks for a job in that world.

The novella, “The Family Business”, was very favorably reviewed and received, and my agent nudged me in the direction of turning it into a novel for teens. It was something I’d never done…and so I had to try. Now we have the fifth ROT & RUIN book coming out –BITS & PIECES, which is a collection of short stories. There’s also a graphic novel, WARRIOR SMART, that’s set between books #2 and #3. And we have a movie in development.

KAREN McCOY: I was excited to learn about the movie, as well as the prospect of Louis Ozawa Changchien playing Benny Imura. At the Tuscon Festival of Books, you were on a panel entitled, "Undying Appeal of the Undead." What, in your opinion, makes the undead so appealing to readers, and what about them appeals to you as an author?

JONATHAN MABERRY: Zombies are a perfect vehicle for metaphorical storytelling. You can say ‘zombie’ and people immediately understand you’re saying and they can envision the scope of the problem. They allow a writer to create a massive, shared threat that negatively impacts the lives of every single character in the story. Everyone is shoved out of complacency and out of the affected versions of themselves they wear every day. What’s left are people reduced to their true selves, stripped down and unable to hide behind pretension. That allows for deep character exploration, and the essentially generic nature of the crisis gives us a blank canvas on which we can paint any kind of image we want. Zombie stories can be used to talk about social issues (consumerism, political extremism, etc.), psychological issues (loss of identity, etc), global threats (pandemics or misused technology), and so on. The zombies represent the threat, but once introduced they usually fade to the background and we focus on the dynamics of people in crisis. That is the foundation of all drama, which means there is no end to the kinds of stories you can tell.

And zombies themselves are frightening because they unreasonable, unrelenting, and physically repellent while still representing people who once knew. That is delightful paranoia.

KAREN McCOY: And who knew zombies could be so malleable? What are some of your current projects?

JONATHAN MABERRY: I’m in the busiest phase of my career, juggling dozens of projects, large and small. I wrote three novels so far this year –VAULT OF SHADOWS, the second NIGHTSIDERS book; KILL SWITCH, the 8th in my Joe Ledger weird science thriller series; and GHOSTWALKERS, an alt-history old West steampunk supernatural thriller with zombies and undead velociraptors based on the Deadlands role-playing game. I’m writing a science fiction novel for teens (the details of which are under wraps!), and then I’ll wrap the year by writing GLIMPSE, a standalone horror-suspense novel for my adult readers. I’ve written a slew of short stories and novellas this year, including several audio exclusives. I wrapped my second V-WARS graphic novel, and am in discussions to do three new comic book limited series. And I’m writing a pilot script for a possible TV series based on my first novel, GHOST ROAD BLUES. I’m also working on three Hollywood projects: the movie version of ROT & RUIN; a TV series based on my V-WARS vampire apocalypse series; and a feature film based on KING OF PLAGUES, the 3rd of my Joe Ledger novels. And we have a V-WARs board game coming out for Christmas. While doing all of that I’ve been traveling around the world doing writers conferences, comic conventions and other events. Next up is Lucca Comics & Games in Tuscany. So…like I said, it’s a crazy time.

For more information on Jonathan and his books, feel free to click the links below.

Jonathan Maberry

NY Times Bestseller and 5-time Bram Stoker Award winner

Website & Blog: www.jonathanmaberry.com 

www.facebook.com/jonathanmaberry  www.twitter.com/jonathanmaberry

IMDB http://www.imdb.me/jonathanmaberry

Sign up for free NEWSLETTER: http://www.jonathanmaberry.com/contact.cfm 

THE CURIOUS CAT SPY CLUB by Linda Joy Singleton

I first got wind of Linda's books when a few copies showed up on my library work desk. She's local to Sacramento, and not only did I like the premise of her first book, THE CURIOUS CAT SPY CLUB, but I found out the sequel, THE MYSTERY OF ZORSE'S MASK will debut September 15. Have a look:

From Goodreads:

No one at school knows that Kelsey, Becca, and Leo are secretly friends. They have nothing in common--until they rescue three kittens and form a club to help animals through volunteering, spying, and solving mysteries. In the first book of this series, Kelsey helps catch a runaway zorse (horse + zebra) with the help of another girl from school named Becca. The two are walking home when they happen upon a litter of kittens trapped in a dumpster and Leo Polanski is the only person around who can help get them out. The three unlikely friends decide to work together to help solve animal crimes with their secret club!

When a mysterious stranger claims to own Becca’s beloved zorse, Zed, something seems suspicious. Besides, if this person is Zed’s real owner, the Curious Cat Spy Club fears he might be responsible for abusing Zed in the past. Kelsey, Becca, and Leo are determined to uncover the truth before they have to give Zed away. But when a daring rescue attempt puts Kelsey in danger, does the CCSC have enough spy skills to save her or are they in over their heads?






Linda was also kind enough to answer some interview questions:

According to your website, you sent out short stories as early as age 14. What got you started writing, and can you tell us more about your journey toward publication?

I still have stories I wrote when I was 8. No one told me to write; it just happened. I believe I was born to write. I always loved series books best and read any juvenile mystery my parents could find for me. I enjoyed Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, Beverly Gray, Vicki Barr, etc, but my favorite series was the Judy Bolton mysteries by Margaret Sutton. When I was 14, there were no writing classes for me so my Dad, who also had an interest in writing, took a college class then came home and told me how to format my manuscripts and how to submit. I submitted teen stories to American Girl Magazine, and received nice personal rejections.

 Also, I wrote a fan letter to my favorite author, Margaret Sutton, and she not only responded to me but continued a friendship that lasted until she died at 98.  I co-wrote a Judy Bolton mystery with her called THE TAKING SNOWMAN. A fan’s dream come true!

Life took over for about a decade then I came back to my passion for writing in my late 20’s. Hearing about a writing conference on the radio, I attended and this led to my joining Romance Writers of America (RWA). I learned SO much, listening to editors and agents and published authors speak at local meetings. I submitted a lot! In just over 2 years, I sold my first book, ALMOST TWINS, to a small school fair publisher. It was probably the most exciting moment of my career.


I know what you mean about life taking over--and I'm glad you returned to writing. I love the concept for the Curious Cat Spy Club series. How did you translate the club you had as a child into such an engaging read for kids?

My best friend Lori and I were crazy about animals so made up a club called the Curious Cat Spy Club.  We wanted to take care of animals, spy, and solve mysteries like the books we were reading. We both had cats and at least one dog.  She sometimes helped her cousin clean a dog kennel and I’d go along. When a staple gun was stolen, we wanted to solve this mystery and eavesdropped on a neighbor through a fence and actually heard proof about who stole the gun. I think his parents made him return it soon afterwards – back then neighbors backed up each other if one of their kids did something wrong.

And there really were three kittens that had been dumped that were brought to Lori’s home, by her brother, I think. I have this vague memory that I saw one of the kittens grown up much later and it was a happy, chubby cat.  The kittens were found in a box in a ditch; not a dumpster. But that’s the fun of writing a story; I take the facts and mold them into a story.

I never thought of using my childhood club in a story until one day during critique group, I mentioned the club to one of my writing friends, and she said it sounded like a great idea for a book. Zing! This stuck in my head, and a few months later when my editor invited me to send her ideas for a mystery series, CURIOUS CAT SPY CLUB was the first one on my list.  My editor LOVED it and I received a contract for 3 books to start this series.


It's great to know there will be more in the series! On your website, you also offer a “writing advice” tab for aspiring writers. What is one piece of writing information you wish you’d had sooner in your career?

Don't be too impatient to get published, and to make sure your work is written the best it can be. I was often so impatient; I’d rush to send my work out when it was still rough. I was lucky to make some of the sales I did because they needed more editing afterwards. I’m still impatient but now I’ve learned so much about editing/rewriting that I write slowly and rewrite each chapter until it feels right before going on to the next one.  This is my process and everyone will work differently. Many writers I know like to just write a sloppy first draft then go back and fix it.  Still I do believe it’s best to rewrite many times and have the help of a critique group to shine your rough draft into a polished book.


Wonderful advice. What are some of your current projects? 

I’m currently writing the 4th Curious Cat Spy Club book.  The working title is "The Secret of the Shadow Bandit." The first three books has each kid one-by-one able to keep their kittens. So my plan is for book #4 and any after that to have a new story arc about finding the right house to move into. Kelsey’s kitten, Honey, has a big part in book #4 too, as she’s the one who discovers the Shadow Bandit. Book #3 is called Kelsey the Spy and is a tribute to Kelsey’s favorite book, Harriet the Spy – so readers may guess what happens to Kelsey’s Notebook of Secrets--which leads to a ransom note and a dramatic cliffhanger.  There’s also a 130-year-old tortoise named Albert and a Humane Society Fundraiser.

NOTE TO ANY LIBRARIANS/TEACHERS:  Choose CURIOUS CAT SPY CLUB for your kid book club selection and I will give each child a Spy Pack (puzzles, badge, etc.) plus donate a signed book and offer a free Skype with your kids.  More information at www.LindaJoySingleton.com under Teacher/Librarian link.

SHACKLED by Tom Leveen

I've featured Tom Leveen before, and he always has such super-smart things to say. So when I found out his new book SHACKLED came out August 18, I immediately ordered it for my library system and contacted him for an interview. Have a look:

From Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Pelly has a master plan. After years of therapy, medication, and even a stint in a mental hospital, she’s finally ready to re-enter the world of the living. Pelly has been suffering from severe panic attacks ever since her best friend, Tara, disappeared from a mall six years ago.

And her plan seems to be working, until an unkempt girl accompanied by an older man walks into the coffee shop where she works. Pelly thinks she’s seen a ghost, until the girl mouths “help me” on the way out, and Pelly knows she’s just seen Tara.

Too shocked to do anything, Pelly helplessly watches Tara slip away again as she steels herself against a renewed spiral of crippling anxiety. But rather than being overcome by anxiety, Pelly feels more energized than she has in years. Determined to track down enough evidence to force the police to reopen Tara’s file, Pelly’s master plan takes a turn for the dangerous.

Pelly decides she cannot be shackled by her past—and the anxiety, fear, and grief that comes with it—any longer if she wants to save Tara. But in seeking answers through whatever means necessary, she’ll come face-to-face with true evil. And not all the shackles are in her head...

Tom was also kind enough to answer some follow-up interview questions:

I love that you're addressing PTSD issues in SHACKLED. What inspired the story, and what do you hope teens gain from reading it?

The suspense/thriller aspects of SHACKLED were originally inspired by a strange dollhouse display at the library where I used to work. It had a furnished attic...but no way to get to it. I thought that was an odd detail to be left out, and imagined two people noticing it and talking about who might be secreted away in such a place if the dollhouse was a real house somewhere. That led to a story about a girl being kidnapped while running away from home and finding this part-time library job, which ultimately morphed into the plot of SHACKLED. As for the thematic elements of Pelly's psychological issues, those are completely based on my own experience. After a lifetime of distressing and disruptive symptoms, I've finally been diagnosed with PTSD stemming from some things that happened in childhood; additionally, I had a severe panic disorder for many years in my twenties which has since mostly resolved. Combining those two elements is where the novel finally sprang from.

The greatest stories are derived from personal experiences--and you always bring such unique perspectives to your work. Your last book, RANDOM, had a brilliant tagline: "Not guilty doesn't mean you're innocent." In what ways does this relate to Tori's story, and how did it develop as you wrote it?

The thing about RANDOM that I wish I'd made more clear at the outset is that Tori is, in literary terms, the villain of the piece. She is certainly the protagonist, but she is also a villain. She refuses for most of the novel to accept her role in a tragedy, like so many people do. Whether or not a court would find her guilty of a crime is one thing; whether or not she's morally culpable - whether by action or inaction - is another thing altogether. I did not set out to write a novel about the redemption of a bad guy, and it's "easy" to write from a victim's point of view. I was interested in getting into the head of a villain and trying to figure out her motives. Tori is very young and has a lot to learn; I think the story of RANDOM is only the first step in her learning to accept the wrongs she's done, and how and why she can make better choices in the future.

I like that she doesn't fit into any particular mold--I think that's what makes your protagonists so compelling. In our last interview, you mentioned a possible supernatural YA in the pipeline. How has that project developed since?

Yes! I'm happy to announce that my novel HELLWORLD has been picked up by Simon Pulse for a Fall 2017 release. It basically asks the question, What happens if all literal hell breaks loose and there's nothing you can do about it? A group of teens goes looking for their ghost-hunting parents who went missing five years ago and inadvertently open up a hellmouthy kind of portal that unleashes Lovecraftian monsters into the world. Thematically it's about how we deal with things that we cannot control, like illness or other tragedies. Apart from that, it's a pretty scary horror story!

Oooh, sounds fantastic! Thanks, Tom, for yet another excellent interview!

SHACKLED is now available at Amazon, and you can view and buy Tom's fabulous other books here. 

I CRAWL THROUGH IT, by A.S. King

I've been fortunate to feature A.S. King in the past, namely here, and here. With each interview, I learn something new, and this time was no exception. I even won this from thenovl.com:

Notice the helicopter pilot key chain.

Here's some more information about I CRAWL THROUGH IT:

From Goodreads:

Four talented teenagers are traumatized—coping with grief, surviving trauma, facing the anxiety of standardized tests and the neglect of self-absorbed adults—and they'll do anything to escape the pressure. They'll even build an invisible helicopter, to fly far away to a place where everyone will understand them... until they learn the only way to escape reality is to fly right into it.


And here are her answers to some follow-up interview questions!

I love the beginning of I CRAWL THROUGH IT, especially the part about Gustav's invisible helicopter. What books did you read while you wrote I CRAWL THROUGH IT, and in what ways, if any, did they influence the story?

What a great place to start. Surrealism has always been one of my favorite types of writing and when I started I CRAWL THROUGH IT, I hadn’t read surrealist fiction in more than a decade. So, I pulled out a few classics from my bookshelf (Kafka and Burroughs) and then went looking for contemporary surrealist books. The two I enjoyed the most were Daniel Fights a Hurricane by Shane Jones and The Man Suit by Zachary Schomburg. I still read bits and pieces of Schomburg’s book daily. It’s wonderful and very strange. I also swam inside a Gabriel Garcia Marquez short story collection at the time. Magic realism, I know, but some of those stories were completely awesome and messed up. “Eva Is Inside Her Cat” is just so great.


Marquez is fantastic. I've heard his story "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" is definitely worth reading as well. I CRAWL THROUGH IT also explores the pressure teens face. How were you able to tap into these anxieties, and what do you hope readers will gain from reading about them?

I think we all face very real pressures when it comes to violence in our culture. Whether it’s random gun violence or other types of crime, I think all humans no matter their age can relate to feeling anxious at certain times or in certain situations. As for the pressures of standardized testing, I tap into that by talking to teenagers who have to take too many tests—or more saddening, who have to prep for those tests all year long rather than explore education in a a more organic way led by trained and enthusiastic teachers. I guarantee you those teachers do not want to be teaching to tests any more than the students want to be learning to them.

I meet many students who ask me what the answers are to my books—as if there are clear answers to any piece of fiction. They need the answers. It’s for the test. This is a great way to learn about many things. As a math nerd, I fully support trying to find the right answers. But in fiction, which is art, “right” answers are often fleeting, varied, or just not there. I suppose I hope that readers of I CRAWL THROUGH IT realize that if they are in school, stuck doing these tests, they can crawl through it and come out the other side knowing they can be free to think what they want when they are done. They are free to be what they want when they are done. They can finally realize that maybe no one was asking the right questions, especially in a real-world arena where violence and fear are very real…and yet never on the test.


Exactly. I'm reminded of REALITY BOY, and how Gerald's TV life isn't a reality at all. It shows how all your books offer an opportunity to discover the beauty of painting outside the lines. In our last interview, you mentioned that the opening of GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE was inspired by an example of your own writing during a revision workshop. In what other ways, if any, does teaching writing inspire your creativity?

Teaching is fantastic inspiration. Conducting workshops in high schools brings me closer to my teen self because even though I’m well past my teen years, I can see clearly that students today face similar challenges to what I did…and so much more. Interacting with students is always helpful because it reminds me about why I write books with teens in them. I want them to have a voice. I want them to be taken seriously. I had neither of these things as a teen and I think our culture of condescension toward teens is really damaging. So I like to inspire students when I see them in schools, and they, in turn, inspire me.

I recently taught three semesters of grad school at Vermont College of Fine Arts and the effect it had on me was mind-blowing. Not only did I get to interact with other writers for two-week-long residencies twice a year but I got to work with some very talented students who made me realize that I could do things I’ve never tried before. For example, I don’t think I would have had the confidence to write a middle grade book had it not been for my time at VCFA. Also, my 2016 YA book was inspired by a student lecture at VCFA—by a writing exercise. Soon after that exercise, I got the idea for the book and the exercise (an expanded version) is one of the main working parts of the book. That book wouldn’t exist if it were not for that student’s lecture. Teaching opens my mind. I think that in itself is a big plus for any writer.

Indeed it is! Thanks so much for yet another excellent interview!

You can pre-order copies of I CRAWL THROUGH IT using the links below:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Or these other online retailers.

Before I Crawl Through It, Amy's YA novel, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future garnered six starred trade reviews and landed on several end of year best lists since its release in October 2014. Reality Boy (October 2013) was a A New York Times Editors' Choice, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and School Library Journal Best Book of 2013, a Junior Library Guild Selection, Amazon Best Books for October, and a Winter 2013-2014 Kids' Indie Next List Top Ten pick. 2012's Ask the Passengers (Little, Brown October 2012) is a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner, a Junior Library Guild selection, a Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly & School Library Journal Best Book of 2012, an Indie Next List pick and has been called "Another thoughtful, and often breathtaking achievement" by Booklist in one of six starred trade reviews for the book. Everybody Sees the Ants (Little, Brown October 2011) was an Andre Norton Award finalist, a Cybils finalist, and a 2012 YALSA Top Ten book for young adults. Her 2010 YA novel, Please Ignore Vera Dietz was a 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor Book, an Edgar Award Nominee, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book for Teens 2010, a Junior Library Guild selection and a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. Her first YA novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an Indie Next pick and a Cybil award finalist. Her short fiction for adults has been widely published and was nominated for Best New American Voices 2010. Her short fiction collection, Monica Never Shuts Up is available in paperback and all ebook formats. Amy now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and children, teaches  writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program, and is a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut, corn on the cob, libraries, and roller skating.

Visit her full website here.

A NIGHT DIVIDED by Jennifer A. Nielsen

I featured Jennifer A. Nielsen's books earlier this year, and I read THE FALSE PRINCE, which was fantastic. And, wouldn't you know, when I exited my office today, I happened to see this "Book Club in a Box."

Open the box!

I was all set to review THE FALSE PRINCE, but when Jennifer told me the plot of her newest book, A NIGHT DIVIDED, set to debut August 25, I knew it had to take center stage. I even bought some copies for my new library system.

From Goodreads:

With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family divided overnight. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, to think forbidden thoughts of freedom, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city.

But one day, while on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Then, when she receives a mysterious drawing, Gerta puts two and two together and concludes that her father wants Gerta and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom?

Jennifer also answered some follow-up interview questions!

In our last interview, you talked about the value of courage. Which of your characters do you feel is most courageous, and why?

Courage is a persistent theme throughout all of my books, and each of my heroes is at some point required to stand and face the thing they fear most. In fact, in A NIGHT DIVIDED, the main character, Gerta, discusses this exact concept with her brother, Fritz. She feels trapped behind the Berlin Wall in Cold War East Germany and mentions to Fritz that she wonders if there is any way to escape. When he asks if she would ever attempt to leave, she says she would only try escaping if she knew she would succeed, because “that’s all the courage in me.” Fritz answers, “Courage isn’t knowing you can do something. It’s only being willing to try.”


Wise words from Fritz. As mentioned above, A NIGHT DIVIDED takes place during the rise of the Berlin Wall. What about Greta's story do you feel will most resonate with readers?

At the heart of the story is Gerta’s desire to have her family all together. Gerta’s father and middle brother are in the west, and if they try to come home they will be arrested. Greta lives in the east with her oldest brother and mother, and if they try to leave, they could be shot. Despite that danger, Gerta feels constantly divided between the east and west.

I think readers will identify with Gerta’s love for her family. We all have families, and while some might struggle more than others, we tend to want the best for everyone in our family circle. Gerta wants that too, and readers will resonate with that.

I'm sure they will! If you could take five books to an island with you, what would they be and why?

1. Scriptures (If I’m on the island long enough I might actually finish it all!)
2. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (The 3 books-in-1 edition, of course!)
3. The Art of War by Sun Tzu (I learn more every time I read that book)
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Until I have it fully memorized, I can always re-read it)
5. A blank journal, which I would use to write the next book! Better hope I don’t forget the pen!

Thanks, Jennifer! Definitely don't forget your pen!

Links to order A NIGHT DIVIDED are included below:

Indiebound.org
Amazon.com
BarnesandNoble.com

And for more on Jennifer and her other books, be sure to visit her website: http://www.jennielsen.com/

BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC and INDUCTION DAY by PK Hrezo

After collaborating with her on Operation Awesome, I was excited to finally meet PK Hrezo at UTopYAcon back in June. And when I found out about her Butterman Time Travel Inc. series, I knew I had to feature it:

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated; a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. We're a family owned and operated business with one hundred years of experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first. Anxious to attend some special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds? You've come to the right place. We're a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do apply. Use our Web conferencing to contact our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, who will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip. We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.

Book One: BUTTERMAN (TIME) TRAVEL, INC.

It’s the year 2069 and even though eighteen-year-old Bianca Butterman is heir to the family biz, she may never see the day her time-craft license becomes official. When a government agent starts nosing around the operation, Butterman Travel, Inc. gets stuck with a full audit—part of a government take-over scheme to shut down all private time travel agencies. Enter former boy band superstar, Tristan Helms, desperate to retrieve a lost item from his past and willing to pay triple fare for a time-trip to get there, and Bianca has to find a way to complete the job and return home before the government gets wind and shuts down the family biz for good.




Book Two: INDUCTION DAY

The year 2069 is coming to a close, and eighteen-year-old Bianca Butterman's time-craft license is finally official. She's ready for the Induction Day she's waited for since she was a kid-the one that will secure her name on the Butterman family tree of time travelers. But ever since the media discovered Bianca is pop superstar Tristan Helms' latest new honey, everything Bianca does or says becomes a target of criticism. Having her professional credibility topping the gossip sites across social media is an open invitation for the government to step in and regulate Bianca's Induction. Now she will have to ask herself if saving 1500 people from drowning is worth losing everything she's ever worked for, including the Butterman family biz.



PK also answered some interview questions:

In addition to writing speculative fiction, you craft pixie ornaments called PK's Pixies. In what ways, if any, do these different art forms inform one another, and what do you like most about each?

I get creative fulfillment from both, but each are so different from one another. Writing requires lots of sitting still and thinking. Crafting lets me move around, work with my hands, and work with tangible colors and textures. Yet they both filter into the other. Taking a break from writing so I can craft opens up my creative vein even more which leads me to story revelations and epiphanies because I'm letting it simmer in the back of my head while I craft. I think sometimes we try to force the stories out, when what they need is time to breathe in between.

So true--must be why writing ideas (and solutions) come to me after I allow myself some mind space. How has the Butterman series grown over time, and in what ways has it informed your writing process?

I wrote the first three volumes fast, and I never expected it to go beyond book 1 when I wrote it. I realized I needed to give Bianca her induction day since it's such a big part of who she is, so I knew if I didn't write book 2, Induction Day, I'd be missing out on really developing her character. I plotted out ID, then got the idea to write a prequel of Bianca's earlier years in diary format and put it up on Wattpad as I went. It gained a large following and was featured there for a few weeks. I ended up with a 30K word novella afterward, and later published it on its own. Writing Diary of a Teenage Time Traveler BEFORE writing Induction Day was huge in so many ways. For one, it slowed me down, and although I hated that, it ended up giving me so much insight into Bianca's character. I knew her inside out by the time I was ready to take on the sequel.

I highly recommend that process for anyone hoping to better their character development. Write a journal in whatever character's point of view you want to get inside the head of and don't force any rules, just write, considering what wounds your character may have that helped developed the way they are and the goals they seek to achieve.

I'll definitely give that a try--especially since character development is something I'd like to improve on. You also have an email list. How have you found this useful in reaching readers, and what would you recommend to authors wanting to start an email newsletter?

I took a marketing class after indie publishing and the biggest take away from it was having that newsletter and adding to it. It differs from all of social media because it guarantees your readers see it (as long as they open the email) whereas social media platforms tend to pick and choose newsworthy info. If you treat your newsletter readers like loyal fans, they'll continue to support your work.

I recommend starting an email and growing it organically. Don't worry about having contests and other gimmicks to get people to sign up for it. You want REAL fans who really are interested in your work, or else you have an email list of people who don't care and unsubscribe anyway. I also recommend sticking to the AIDA concept with your newsletter content.

AIDA is Attention, Interesting, Desire, Action

Get your reader's attention with interesting content and create a desire in them to take action.

I think I need to tack that to my wall! What are some of your current projects?

I've been wrapped up in a narrative nonfiction project for awhile now. It's for a local mom of a victim of a brutal crime, and it's been a heavy project, but it's also developed my writing skills well beyond what they've ever been. Emotion is an enormous element in crafting a story that grips readers, and this story is teeming with emotion. It's really helped me learn how to better convey it, and how to move my reader with ups and downs of real life suspense and heartache and joy.

I'm also just finishing up a contemporary commercial fiction project that I hope to go on submission with in the fall. Here's the tagline for it:

Former fatty finds more than a romance with the plaza handyman when she takes on her health guru's challenge of facing temptation by working in a beachside upscale cupcakery all summer.

Great tagline! 

All books in the Butterman series, as well as PK's other books can be found on her Amazon.com author page.

And to find out more about PK herself, click the below links:

PK Hrezo

 ~Author and Artist~

            

* Follow Me Down the Rabbit Hole *  

     NEWSLETTER ~ WEBSITE  

HOUR OF MISCHIEF by Aimee Hyndman

Welcome to August! I'm settling into my new job as Youth Services Selector, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that my new library was recently featured on Buzzfeed! I'm so proud to be a part of such an amazing group of collaborators.

On to our August authors! First up is Aimee Hyndman. Aimee and I met when we collaborated on Operation Awesome, and when HOUR OF MISCHIEF found a publisher, I knew I had to feature it.

From Goodreads:

Born in a whorehouse in the slums of Fortuna and burdened with a prosthetic arm, seventeen-year-old JANET REDSTONE doesn’t think she owes the Clockwork Gods anything—which is why she makes a living stealing from their temples. But when she lands her team in prison, making a pact with the God of Mischief, ITAZURA, is the only way to right her wrongs and free her friends.

Janet doesn’t trust Itazura as far as she can punch him, but with her soul in his hands, she has no choice but to do what he says. The clockwork gods and the bad-tempered elder gods of the ancient past are locked in a game of cat and mouse and the human realms are caught in the middle. If Janet can’t somehow convince the gods to step in a save the world, humanity is in an abyss of trouble.

Using her unconventional wits, an impressive tolerance to alcohol, and a strong right hook, Janet has to convince the gods that humanity is worth saving. Unfortunately, it’s a lot more difficult to stop an apocalypse when you’re slowly being driven crazy by the Lord of Mischief, especially when he starts growing on you.

Aimee also answered some interview questions!

According to your bio, you are currently attaining a double-major in Creative Writing and English. What led to this decision, and can you tell us more about your journey toward publication?

I've always loved writing since before I could write actual words. I loved to invent stories with my stuffed animals, usually with dramatic, tragic plots. So I think I always knew I wanted to major in creative writing and since I also love to read, English was an obvious supplement.

I started my journey toward publication back in high school when I queried my first novel which didn't get much attention. I wrote HOUR OF MISCHIEF my senior year of high school and one year later decided to start querying it on sort of a whim when I saw #pitmad happening on twitter. A few months and several email mishaps later, I got the call from the amazing Laura Zats. I signed with her that February and we began to work toward getting the MS into submission shape. Then that next fall she called me again to tell me about the offer from Curiosity Quills Press. I don't think I responded coherently. In fact, the words 'are you serious' were probably used at least five times.

And now we're only a couple months away from publication. It's all happened so fast. It's kind of crazy but I'm SO excited to have gotten to this point.

And we're excited for you! I love the premise of HOUR OF MISCHIEF. How did the idea come to you, and what do you want readers to take away from the story?

The idea for HOUR OF MISCHIEF came to me during my final year at Shared Worlds, a fantasy based writing camp for teens. We were split into world building groups and had to create worlds from scratch. On the very first day, a thought occurred to me: Thief teams up with the God of Mischief to save the world. And it stuck like glue. I wrote that idea as my final short story for camp but 8,000 words was nowhere near enough to tell the story like I wanted to. To me, HOUR OF MISCHIEF is fun even though it deals with some weightier topics. For the first book at least, I wanted the more serious themes to blend well with the humor. There's an overarching theme and message to the series I think, but it's not as prevalent in book one. More than anything, I want the reader to have fun and feel something as they're reading the book. I want them to laugh and panic with the characters. Because the books I attached to hardest were the ones that make me feel something.

Shared Worlds sounds fantastic! (Here's a link for those interested in finding out more about it.) And Janet Redstone, your main character, will definitely resonate with readers. If you could have lunch with Janet, where would you go (and what would you have for lunch)?

I think I would take Janet to a nice burger joint. She strikes me as someone who likes greasy food. She would order too much for her stomach but she hates wasting food so she would eat it all and get sick.

Poor Janet! What are some of your current projects? Will HOUR OF MISCHIEF have a sequel?

HOUR OF MISCHIEF is the first book in a four book series. I recently finished editing book 2, currently titled SEASON OF WIND. As for other projects, I'm working on rewriting my first ever novel (it needs some major improvements). I'm also working on a collaborative Urban Fantasy project with some friends. It’s a pretty massive endeavor so it will be awhile before that is finished!

Sounds like you'll have your hands full! Thanks again for such a great interview.

To pre-order HOUR OF MISCHIEF on Amazon, feel free to click the icon below: