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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Interview with Tobias S. Buckell and Giveaway - February 29, 2012

Please welcome Tobias S. Buckell to The Qwillery. Tobias' latest novel is Arctic Rising, which was published yesterday.


TQ:  What is your most interesting writing quirk?

Tobias:  I guess it's that I'm a pretty hard core night owl and get my most creative work and planning done after midnight. I have no particular pen that I like. No special paper. I'm sorta boring!

TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Tobias:  I'm a little bit of both. I like to have a rough skeleton so that I know what I'm working toward, and I have lots of pieces of research that I've saved that are pertinent to the whole piece that need to be slotted in by chapter relevance. But at the same time I build a lot of the structure as I go along in better detail. It works for me, but it means I really don't have a strong feeling about one or the other, as I steal elements of both as I need.

TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Tobias:  The same thing as many others: building my life around the time to write. It's very easy for life to knock me out of the groove and allow me to fall behind, and then you start drowning a bit.

TQ:  Describe the Arctic Rising in 140 characters or less.

Tobias:  Anika Duncan, a UNPG airship pilot, has just been shot of the sky and into the no-longer frozen Arctic Ocean. She sets out to find out why.

TQ:  What inspired you to write the Arctic Rising?

Tobias:  I've always been fascinated about the Arctic North, and the attempts that ended in such failure to cross the Northwest Passage by ship. Now shipping companies are looking into shipping over the Northwest Passage. It's quite clear something is fundamentally changing. In some ways that will be a good thing (cheaper shipping, more resources uncovered as the ice leaves) and in many other cases, not so good (drought in some areas, too much snow due to rain fall in others due to disrupted cycles, and overall more chaos). Conflict powers books, and this a pretty interesting potential conflict.

In some cases, if we do figure out how to fix and halt global warming through some clever human trick, it'll be like having written a novel about acid rain; it'll seem less compelling. On the other hand, we seem to have passed our moment to halt it with using anything like the cap and trade system that really blunted acid rain so effectively. So it looks very likely we'll have to deal with this fallout. And since looking at future extrapolation is what I love about being an SF/F author, I really wanted to explore all that.

I mean, how could I ignore the fact that some in the US Navy are worried about the budget implications of adding an entire new ocean to their patrol area already? Finding out the the US military is the largest investor in green technology and attempts to reduce its reliance on fuel because it's one of the larger consumers of oil, well that's fascinating.

TQ:  What sorts of research did you do for the novel?

Tobias:  I read some freely available commentary and articles by the US military, fascinated by what I'd just mentioned above. A lot of books about the Arctic North. My favorite gem was a geological survey the Canadian government had detailing the resources up there, which led me to the story of the currently shut down Bent Horn refinery.

TQ:  Which character in Arctic Rising was the most difficult for you to write and why? Easiest and why?

Tobias:  Well, there's only one point of view character, which is Anika. One of the things I wanted to show was that she came from Nigeria, one with the scars of modern day Nigeria, but that after the forty or so years that have passed, one that has participated in the same transformations that seem to be going on in many African nations right now, which is a burst of GDP growth, a fall in number of births per woman. Africa is one of the more ignored growth areas during this current recessions.

I often show Westerners pictures of an East African skyscraper skyline, and ask them where they think it is, and they're always shocked when I say Africa. Africa has skyscrapers. It has a rapidly building middle class in some areas. Sometimes tipping points are hit and things change rapidly, like India or China's rise. So trying to depict that in a few brushes led to a lot me second-guessing how readers would interpret what I drew. It isn't a big piece of the novel, but the idea that Lago was a world city was important, even if I hinted that other parts of Africa were still having some issues.

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Arctic Rising?

Tobias:  My favorite scenes take place on Roo's little live aboard catamaran yacht. I want to live on it. I actually used a catamaran I found online that I just adored and used it as a reference. I grew up on a yacht in the Caribbean, so I became very homesick, but loved writing it.

TQ:  What's next?

Tobias:  My novel Apocalypse Ocean is being written directly for fans of the Xenowealth series, if you're interested in seeing some far future science fiction adventure, there are details on how to pre-order the book on my website!

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Tobias:  Thanks for having me over!


About Arctic Rising

Arctic Rising
Tor Books, February 28, 2012
Hardcover, 304 pages

Global warming has transformed the Earth, and it's about to get even hotter. The Arctic Ice Cap has all but melted, and the international community is racing desperately to claim the massive amounts of oil beneath the newly accessible ocean.

Enter the Gaia Corporation. Its two founders have come up with a plan to roll back global warming. Thousands of tiny mirrors floating in the air can create a giant sunshade, capable of redirecting heat and cooling the earth's surface. They plan to terraform Earth to save it from itself—but in doing so, they have created a superweapon the likes of which the world has never seen.

Anika Duncan is an airship pilot for the underfunded United Nations Polar Guard. She’s intent on capturing a smuggled nuclear weapon that has made it into the Polar Circle and bringing the smugglers to justice.

Anika finds herself caught up in a plot by a cabal of military agencies and corporations who want Gaia Corporation stopped. But when Gaia Corp loses control of their superweapon, it will be Anika who has to decide the future of the world. The nuclear weapon she has risked her life to find is the only thing that can stop the floating sunshade after it falls into the wrong hands.


About Tobias

Photo by Jan Hilty
TOBIAS S. BUCKELL is a Caribbean-born writer who grew up in Grenada, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Halo®: The Cole Protocol.

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The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a coy of Arctic Rising from Tor Books!

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question:

What is/are your favorite book(s), movie(s) or TV show(s) about natural disasters?

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3)   Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. You MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*

Review - Arctic Rising by Tobias S. Buckell - 4 Qwills

Arctic Rising
Author:  Tobias S. Buckell
Format: Hardcover,  304 pages
Publisher: Tor Books (February 28, 2012)
Price:  $24.99
Language:  English
Genre:  SciFi
ISBN:  9780765319210
Review Copy: eArc provided by Tor Books

Global warming has transformed the Earth, and it's about to get even hotter. The Arctic Ice Cap has all but melted, and the international community is racing desperately to claim the massive amounts of oil beneath the newly accessible ocean.

Enter the Gaia Corporation. Its two founders have come up with a plan to roll back global warming. Thousands of tiny mirrors floating in the air can create a giant sunshade, capable of redirecting heat and cooling the earth's surface. They plan to terraform Earth to save it from itself—but in doing so, they have created a superweapon the likes of which the world has never seen.

Anika Duncan is an airship pilot for the underfunded United Nations Polar Guard. She’s intent on capturing a smuggled nuclear weapon that has made it into the Polar Circle and bringing the smugglers to justice.

Anika finds herself caught up in a plot by a cabal of military agencies and corporations who want Gaia Corporation stopped. But when Gaia Corp loses control of their superweapon, it will be Anika who has to decide the future of the world. The nuclear weapon she has risked her life to find is the only thing that can stop the floating sunshade after it falls into the wrong hands.

My thoughts

Arctic Rising is a near-future SciFi thriller set against the back-drop of global climate change. In the novel, global warming has claimed most of the Arctic Circle as well changed the entire planet. Anika Duncan, has left her life in Africa behind for a calm job working for U.N. Polar Guard. Things are going smoothly for her until someone smuggles a nuclear weapon into the Arctic Circle area.

Arctic Rising presents a possible future should global warming be unchecked. The world has changed. Some countries are damaged, some are gone and some are better off. The balance of power has shifted. We learn a lot about this world via the characters and their lives. The action in the novel takes place in area surrounding and what's left of the Arctic Circle, and I found Mr. Buckell's future Arctic fascinating.

Anika Duncan is a wonderful main character. She's tough and determined. Her back story is incredibly interesting. Her life before the UNPG has given her the ability and skills to kick ass when she has to. She's also a thinker who has just the right amount of vulnerability to make her believable. She has some tough decisions to make. While Annika is the main character, Mr. Buckell also has created a wonderfully diverse and well written supporting cast.

Arctic Rising is action-packed with explosions, gun battles and a frightening superweapon. It's a fast-paced thrill ride. It's also thought provoking without being a screed about global warming. The bottom line is that Arctic Rising will keep you on the edge of your seat as Anika races to find the nuclear bomb and possibly save the world.

I give Arctic Rising 4 Qwills.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

March 2012 Book Releases

Here is The Qwillery's list of books being published in March 2012. If there is something that I've missed, please leave a comment below. Any genre mistakes are mine. Leave a comment below if you feel that the genre is wrong. Also note that this list is always under revision. Publication dates change. I try to keep this as accurate as possible. The most accurate lists can be found for each week in The View From Monday posts.


March 1, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Ivey and the Airship Cheryl Ammeter SF/PNR - Aether's Edge 1
Darkness Bound Stella Cameron PNR - Chimney Rock1
Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction Grace L Dillon (ed) SF - Anthology Sun Tracks 69
The Kingdoms of Dust Amanda Downum F - Necromancer Chronicles3
Ghost Music (ri) Graham Masterton H
Exogene T.C. McCarthy SF - Subterrene War 2
A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing Terry Spear PNR - Heart of the Wolf 9
The Ruby Kiss Helen Scott Taylor PNR - Magic Knot Fairies 3
A Light on the Veranda (ri) Ciji Ware TTR



March 5, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
High Rise: A Novel (ri) J. G. Ballard SF
Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain A. Lee Martinez F



March 6, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Wicked Edge Nina Bangs PNR - Castle of Dark Dreams 5
Now or Never Michele Bardsley PNR - Wizards of Nevermore 2
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 6 Jonathan Strahan (ed) SF/F Anthology
Bridge of Dreams Anne Bishop F - Ephemera 3
Twilight's Dawn (h2mm) Anne Bishop F - Black Jewels 9
The Illustrated Man (ri) Ray Bradbury SF
The Martian Chronicles (ri) Ray Bradbury SF
Fair Game Patricia Briggs UF - Alpha and Omega 3
Dying Wish Shannon K. Butcher PNR - Sentinel Wars 6
Betrayer (h2mm) C. J. Cherryh SF - Foreigner Universe 12
Intruder C. J. Cherryh SF - Foreigner Universe 13
The Pillars of Hercules David Constantine F/AH
The Yearning Tina Donahue PNR
The Vampire Files P. N. Elrod F/H - Vampire Files Vol 5
Witches: Wicked, Wild & Wonderful Paula Guran (ed) F - Anthology
Night Hunter Vonna Harper PER
Dead in the Family (mm2tp) Charlaine Harris UF - Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire 10
Oracle's Moon Thea Harrison PNR - Elder Races 4
Donor Elena Hearty H
The Star Beast Robert A. Heinlein SF
The Slipstream Con S. Reesa Herberth
Michelle Moore
SFR - Ylendrian Empire
The Sorrows Jonathan Janz H
Eventide Elle Jasper PNR - Dark Ink Chronicles 3
The Drowning Girl Caitlin R. Kiernan F
The Mask (ri) Dean Koontz H
Jane Carver of Waar Nathan Long SF
Far From Heaven Cherrie Lynn PNR - Sweet Disgrace 2
Discount Armageddon Seanan McGuire SF - InCryptid 1
Deep Magic (ri) Joy Nash PHR - The Druids of Avalon
The Forerunner Factor Andre Norton SF - Forerunner Omnibus
Crucible of Gold Naomi Novik HF - Temeraire 7
The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity Joshua Palmatier (ed)
Patricia Bray (ed)
F - Anthology
Haunting Warrior (tp2mm) Erin Quinn PNR - Mists of Ireland 2
The Haunting of Maddy Claire (d) Simone St. James Hist/GS
Darkness Undone Jessa Slade UF - Marked Souls 4
A SEAL in Wolf's Clothing Terry Spear PNR - Heart of the Wolf 9
Anchor Jorrie Spencer PNR
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume 6 Jonathan Strahan (ed) SF - Anthology
Doubletake Rob Thurman UF - Cal Leandros 7
Dire Needs Stephanie Tyler PNR - Eternal Wolf Clan 1
Nightborn Lynn Viehl PNR - Lords of the Darkyn 1
A Rising Thunder David Weber SF - Honor Harrington 13



March 13, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
The Isis Collar Cat Adams UF - Blood Singer 4
The Steel Seraglio Mike Carey
Linda Carey
Louise Carey
F
Wide Open (d) Deborah Coates F
Witches of East End (h2tp) Melissa de la Cruz F - Beauchamp Family 1
A Crown Imperiled Raymond E. Feist F - Chaoswar Saga 2
Dark North Paul Finch F - Malory's Knight of Albion 2
Bound by Desire Jaymie Holland PER - Taken by Passion
Game of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than Swords William Irwin Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series
The Vanishers: A Novel Heidi Julavits H
Infamous Sherrilyn Kenyon UF/YA - Chronicles of Nick 3
The Games (d) Ted Kosmatka SF
The Company of the Dead (d) David Kowalski SF
Shoebox Train Wreck John Mantooth H - Short Stories
Chrysanthe Yves Meynard F
Autumn: Aftermath David Moody H - Autumn 5
The Book of Lost Fragrances: A Novel of Suspense M. J. Rose PS - Reincarnationist 4
Commedia della Morte Chelsea Quinn Yarbro HP - St. Germain 25



March 16, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Under the Harrow (h2tp) Mark Dunn F
Apocalypse and Post-Politics: The Romance of the End Mary Manjikian Literary Criticism



March 20, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Afterglow Cherry Adair PRS - Lodestone Trilogy 2
Born to Darkness Suzanne Brockmann PRS - Fighting Destiny
Death Sentences Kawamata Chiaki SF
Darkest Knight Karen Duvall UF - Kinght's Curse 2
The Werewolf's Wife Michele Hauf PNR
Spooky Campfire Stories, 2nd: Outdoor Myths and Tales for All Ages Amy Kelley Hoitsma H/ Ghost Stories
The Navidad Incident: The Downfall of Matías Guili Natsuki Ikezawa F
And Blue Skies from Pain Stina Leicht UF - Fey and Fallen 2
Warrior Rising Pamela Palmer PNR - Esri 4



March 21, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse Steven C. Schlozman H



March 26, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
The Outcast Blade Jon Courtenay Grimwood F - Vampire Assassin Trilogy 2



March 27, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel: Volume One Daniel Abraham GN/EF - Game of Thrones 1
Shadow and Betrayal Daniel Abraham EF - Long Price Quartet Omnibus
Armored John Joseph Adams (ed) SF - Anthology
Temptation Rising A.C. Arthur PNR - The Shadow Shifters
Deliverance Dakota Banks UF - Mortal Path 3
Back from the Undead DD Barant UF - Bloodhound Files 3
Range of Ghosts Elizabeth Bear
F
The Master of Heathcrest Hall Galen Beckett F - Mrs. Quent 3
Strange Divisions and Alien Territories: The Sub-Genres of Science Fiction Keith Brooke Literary Criticism
Sly Mongoose Tobias S. Buckell SF - Xenowealth 3
Jack of Ravens Mark Chadbourn F - Kingdom of the Serpent 1
To the Galactic Rim A. Bertram Chandler SF - Galactic Rim Omnibus 1
Into the Black Evan Currie SF - Odyssey 2
Wicked as They Come (d) Delilah S Dawson PNR - Blud 1
The President's Vampire (h2mm) Christopher Farnsworth Th/H - Nathaniel Cade 2
1636: The Saxon Uprising Eric Flint SF/AH - Ring of Fire 10
Body, Inc. Alan Dean Foster
SF
The Unseen Heather Graham PT
Phantom Evil (h2mm) Heather Graham PRS - Krewe of Hunters 1
Omega Point Guy Haley SF - Richards and Klein 2
Dead Reckoning (h2mm) Charlaine Harris UF - Sookie Stackhouse 11
Secrets of the Fire Sea Stephen Hunt F - Jackelian 4
Blood on the Bayou Stacey Jay UF - Dead on the Delta 2
Three A.M. (d) Steven John Th/AH
Sacrificial Magic Stacia Kane UF - Downside Ghosts 4
Retribution Sherrilyn Kenyon PNR - Dark-Hunter 21
Bear Meets Girl Shelly Laurenston PNR - Pride 7
Age of Aztec James Lovegrove SF - Age of 4
The Gathering of the Lost Helen Lowe F - The Wall of Night 2
The Alchemist of Souls (d) Anne Lyle F - Night Masque 1
Hemlock Grove (d) Brian McGreevy H/Gothic
Silent Voices Gary McMahon H - The Concrete Grove 2
Lady-Protector L. E. Modesitt, Jr. F - Corean Chronicles 8
Blood Secret Sharon Page PER - Blood 5
Liminal States Zack Parsons SF
Sins of the Son Linda Poitevin UF - Grigori Legacy 2
Quicksilver Amanda Quick PRS - Arcane Society / Looking Glass Trilogy 2
Time and Again: Time Was\Times Change Nora Roberts TTR - Time and Again Omnibus
Wonder (h2mm) Robert J. Sawyer SF - WWW 3
Fuzzy Nation (h2mm) John Scalzi SF
Wanted: Undead or Alive Kerrelyn Sparks PNR - Love at Stake 12
Shadow's Master Jon Sprunk F - Shadow Saga 3
The Kingdom Amanda Stevens UF - Graveyard Queen 2
The Seduction of Phaeton Black (d) Jillian Stone PNR - Phaeton Black 1
Lover Reborn J.R. Ward PNR - Black Dagger Brotherhood 10
A Game of Groans: A Sonnet of Slush and Soot George R.R. Washington EF - Parody



March 27, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Mr. Monster (h2mm)     Dan Wells YA - John Cleaver 2



March 30, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
10,000 Zombies: Create More Than 10,000 Zombies and 10,000 Stories Alexander Cox
David Hartmann (illus)




March 31, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Indomitable Terry Brooks EF



d - Debut
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
mm2tp - Mass Market Paperback to Trade Paperback
ri - Reissue
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback

AH - Alternative History
EF - Epic Fantasy
F - Fantasy
GN -Graphic Novel
GS - Ghost Story
H - Horror
Hf - Historical Fantasy
Hist - Historical
HP - Historical Paranormal
PER - Paranormal Erotic Romance
PHR - Paranormal Historical Romance
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PRS - Paranormal Romantic Suspense
PS - Paranormal Suspense
PT - Paranormal Thriller
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
Th - Thriller
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
YA - Young Adult

Interview with Elspeth Cooper - February 28, 2012

Please welcome Elspeth Cooper to The Qwillery as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. Songs of the Earth (The Wild Hunt 1) is published today in the US. Happy Release Day to Elspeth.


TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Elspeth:  I don't know about interesting, but I seem to find writing easier in the afternoon and evening - a hangover from the days when I had a day job and I had to cram as much as possible into the evening, so I burned a lot of midnight oil. Since I've been writing full-time for over 18 months now you'd think I would have broken that habit by now but no, it appears to have stuck.

TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

Elspeth:  I will forever have an author crush on Guy Gavriel Kay, and Pat Rothfuss is coming up hard on the rails - I think he could write a shopping list and it would be interesting. Terry Pratchett, too, for his ability to mix astute social commentary with laugh-out-loud humour. Too many people dismiss his books as slapstick when he has some utterly profound things to say about people.

My influences are many and varied, but here's a few: Tad Williams for his richness, Melanie Rawn for the way she imbues her characters with a sense of humour, Robert Holdstock because he helped me understand where stories come from.

TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Elspeth:  Pantser, all the way! I usually have the beginning, the end and a few high points hit along the way, but that's the limit of my planning. I cannot rein myself in to think through all the courses of a story from soup to wafer-thin mint before I begin. If I get a story idea and start making notes for it, I last about a half a page before I throw the notes away and just start writing the damn thing. It's more fun that way.

TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Elspeth:  Maintaining my focus. Since I was diagnosed with MS I've noticed that my concentration starts to wander when I'm tired or stressed, and on really bad days I can stare at a page of manuscript for hours, knowing that there's something I have to do with it but unable to see it through the fog. That's *really* frustrating, if I let myself think back to how I used to be when 14-hour orgies of creativity, like the one in which I wrote the first draft of the finale of Songs, were common. I have to pace myself a bit better these days.

TQ:  Describe Songs of the Earth in 140 characters or less.

Elspeth:  Oh crikey, I hate questions like this. I couldn't write an elevator pitch if my life depended on it. "Prime organic British fantasy. GM free. Contains 100% of your Guideline Daily Amount of magic, adventure, religious bigotry and drama." There, 135 characters.

TQ:  What inspired you to write Songs of the Earth?

Elspeth:  I'd been playing around with ideas of organised religion vs. faith, and a Church with a dirty secret that was about to surface - the child abuse scandals were just coming to light in the UK at the time. But I couldn't seem to get any traction with it, the characters didn't want to gel and I had no real overarching story.

Then something happened in my personal life which shook me up quite badly: I broke up with my then-fiance and spent a horrible, dark week utterly unable to sleep because of all the ugly emotion bubbling up inside me. I felt like it was about to burst out of me like the monster in Alien.

I started writing as a form of therapy, burning up all this negative energy. I found myself writing about a young man alone in the dark wrestling with this hugely destructive force inside him that he couldn't control, and there was Gair in his cell in the opening scene of Songs of the Earth. Of course, once he was there, I had to find out where he'd come from, and where he was going when the guards came and dragged him away. I had to know What Happens Next.

TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Songs of the Earth?

Elspeth:  I research as things crop up, rather than planning it all out in advance. For Songs I looked into the history of the Inquisition, methods of torture, the background to the Pendle witch trials in Lancashire and so on. Most of it never got used, but just having it in my head added a bit of flavour. The book built slowly over a number of years, so I've probably forgotten most of the information I looked up!

TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? Hardest and why?

Elspeth:  Easiest to write was probably Aysha. She leapt onto the page fully-formed, like Athene from the brow of Zeus, *poof*. The way she looked, the attitude, everything. The hardest character, I think, was Gair. He's a closemouthed young man and didn't want to tell me much about himself; it took me a while to find what was making him tick.

I'm a very instinctive, organic sort of a writer, so I used to find myself running into walls where what I was writing didn't feel right, and I worked out it was because I was asking him to do something that didn't fit his character. Some writers are able to consciously build characters like they're made out of Lego; others, like me, do it subconsciously and find characters just show up in their heads as people - and like real people, they occasionally down tools, fold their arms and say "Nope."

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Songs of the Earth?

Elspeth:  It's hard to pick favourites. It's my first book, my baby. Um, playing chess with Darin; Ansel and Danilar reminiscing over the desert war; the farewell on the docks.

TQ:  What's next?

Elspeth:  Next is the second part of the trilogy, Trinity Moon. I'm slaving over the edits as we speak; it should be out in the UK in June 2012 (USA release dates TBC). The story gets a good bit darker as Gair tries to come to terms with the events of Songs. The action takes him south into the deserts of Gimrael and he finds himself sorely tested: physically, emotionally, magically, as his world teeters on the brink of irrevocable change.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Elspeth:  Thanks for having me - it's been a pleasure.


About Songs of the Earth

Songs of the Earth
The Wild Hunt 1
Tor Books (February 28, 2012)
Hardcover, 480 pages

The Book of Eador, Abjurations 12:14, is very clear: Suffer ye not the life of a witch. For a thousand years, the Church Knights have obeyed that commandment, sending to the stake anyone who can hear the songs of the earth. There are no exceptions, not even for one of their own.

Novice Knight Gair can hear music no one else can, beautiful, terrible music: music with power. In the Holy City, that can mean only one thing: death by fire—until an unlikely intervention gives him a chance to flee the city and escape the flames.

With the Church Knights and their witchfinder hot on his heels, Gair hasn’t time to learn how to use the power growing inside him, but if he doesn’t master it, that power will tear him apart. His only hope is the secretive Guardians of the Veil, though centuries of persecution have almost destroyed their Order, and the few Guardians left have troubles of their own.

For the Veil between worlds is weakening, and behind it, the Hidden Kingdom, ever-hungry for dominion over the daylight realm, is stirring. Though he is far from ready, Gair will find himself fighting for his own life, for everyone within the Order of the Veil, and for the woman he has come to love.


About Elspeth

Elspeth Cooper is a British fantasy writer, author of The Wild Hunt trilogy. Her love of fantasy took root at an early age: her parents read her Ivanhoe as a bedtime story, and it was all downhill from there. After increasingly poor health forced her to give up a 21-year career in IT she became a full time writer. She currently lives in Northumberland with her husband and cats in a house full of books.

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Foreign editions

Monday, February 27, 2012

Authors After Dark Author Spotlight Interview - Cat Johnson

Please welcome Cat Johnson as part of The Qwillery's Authors After Dark Author Spotlight Interviews.




TQ:  What inspired you to become a writer?

Cat:  I've always written, since grade school. I won my first writing contest in First Grade and the prize was that I got to ride in the Chief of Police's car in the town's Memorial Day Parade. Once you stroke a writer's ego like that, it pretty much clinched it that I would always want to write. LOL

TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Cat:  Conquering my tendency to procrastinate. It's easy to bargain with myself and say, Oh, I don't have to write today, I'll just write double tomorrow... All you fellow procrastinators out there know what I'm talking about. And it doesn't help that because I work from home, most often in my PJs with the laptop in bed, it doesn't seem like I'm working to my friends and relatives, even when I actually am, and disruptions are everywhere.

TQ:  What writing achievement are you most proud of?

Cat:  Things in this business are so fleeting, I mean the sales ranks on Amazon.com literally change hourly, but I am very proud that my first cowboy menage Rough Stock reached #1 in the Western Romance Category on Amazon Canada. Obscure, I know, and it's possible I'm the only one that saw it there, but it was there. LOL. I've won a number of awards too and of course, I'm proud and amazed at every one of those. I was totally blown away at Authors After Dark Philly 2011 when I won the Bookie Award for Best Western Romance for UNRIDDEN. I was up against some very tough competition for that one.

TQ:  What one thing should everyone know about your writing?

Cat:  Even though it is fiction, I do research a lot to try and give it realism and accuracy--then sometimes I change things anyway to make the plot work. Writer's prerogative...

TQ:  Please tell us about your latest and upcoming works.

Cat:  I just had 2 stories release in December: A Cowboy for Christmas which is a full length contemporary erotic romance novel from Ravenous Romance and a short story Cole (Book 5 in my Red, Hot & Blue series with Samhain). For February, Cowboy Shuffle released from All Romance eBooks on February 2nd. It's part of ARe's Perfect Strangers series that launched in February last year. Cowboy Shuffle is the sequel to my story from last year Texas Two-Step. Then also in February is Valentine Cowboys, a novella length threesome, a sequel to A Cowboy for Christmas from Ravenous Romance. I've been busy! LOL You can always keep up with me on my site at CatJohnson.net. There is a Coming Soon page as well as a Series Reading Order page.


TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Cat:  Thank you for having me!!


About Cat

As an author of contemporary romance in genres including military, cowboy, ménage and paranormal, Cat Johnson uses her computer so much she wore the letters off the keyboard within a year. As a self-proclaimed promo 'ho, she is known for her creative marketing and research practices. Consequently, Cat has sponsored bull riding rodeo cowboys, owns an entire collection of cowboy boots and camouflage shoes for book signings and a fair number of her consultants wear combat or cowboy boots for a living. In her real life, she's been a marketing manager, professional harpist, bartender, tour guide, radio show host, Junior League president, wife and avid animal lover. Find out more at www.CatJohnson.net

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The View From Monday - February 27, 2012

Happy Last Monday in February. Don't fret. We get a bonus day in February this year.  It's going to be yet another busy week at The Qwillery.

Monday -  Authors After Dark Author Spotlight Interview with Cat Johnson.

Tuesday -  2012 Debut Author Challenge Interview with Elspeth Cooper. Songs of the Earth (The Wild Hunt 1) will be published on February 28, 2012.

Wednesday -  Interview with Tobias S. Buckell. Arctic Rising will be published on February 28, 2012.

Thursday -  2012 Debut Author Challenge Interview with Chris F. Holm. Dead Harvest (The Collector 1) will be published on February 28, 2012.

Friday -  2012 Debut Author Challenge Interview with Benedict Jacka. Fated (Alex Verus 1) will be published on February 28, 2012.

Saturday -  Authors After Dark Author Spotlight Interview with Judi Fennell.

Sunday -  Authors After Dark Author Spotlight Interview with BA Tortuga.


There are a lot of books out this week! A book shopping list in PDF format may be found by clicking HERE. Click "File" on the left and then "Print (PDF)."


February 28, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Know No Fear
Dan Abnett F - Horus Heresy 19
Sir Dominic Flandry: The Last Knight of Terra
Poul Anderson SF - Omnibus
Into the Darkness
V.C. Andrews H
How to be Death
Amber Benson UF - Calliope Reaper-Jones 4
Burn Me Deadly (h2mm)
Alex Bledsoe EF/M - Eddie LaCrosse 2
The Ruined City
Paula Brandon F - Veiled Isles Trilogy 2
Arctic Rising
Tobias S. Buckell SF
The Gravity Pilot (h2mm)
M.M. Buckner SF
Overkill
Robert Buettner SF - Orphan's Legacy 1
Path of the Renegade
Andy Chambers SF - Warhammer
Spellbound Falls
Janet Chapman R w/ PE - Spellbound Falls 1
Songs of the Earth (d)
Elspeth Cooper F - The Wild Hunt 1
The Helios Conspiracy
Jim DeFelice Th/SF
The Flood
William C. Dietz SF - Halo
Singularity
Ian Douglas SF - Star Carrier 3
The Scar
Sergey Dyachenko
Marina Dyachenko
F
By a Thread
Jennifer Estep UF - Elemental Assassin 6
A Kingdom Besieged (h2mm)
Raymond E. Feist EF - Chaoswar Saga 1
Carpathia
Matt Forbeck F/AH
Jane Vows Vengeance
Michael Thomas Ford PNR - Jane Bites 3
Joe Golem and the Copper Girl: A Short Story (e)
Mike Mignola
Christopher Golden
SF
Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors
Molly Harper PNR - Jane Jameson 4
Black Howl
Christina Henry UF - Black Wings 3
Dead Harvest (d)
Chris F. Holm UFN - Collector 1
The Hunger Games and Philosophy: A Critique of Pure Treason
William Irwin Philosophy
My Lord Vampire
Alexandra Ivy PNR - Immortal Rogues 1
Fated (d)
Benedict Jacka UF - Alex Verus 1
Night Games
Crystal Jordan PS
Curses! A F**ked-Up Fairy Tale (d)
J.A. Kazimer F/Humor
Kings of Morning
Paul Kearney EF - Macht 3
The Amazon Legion (h2mm)
Tom Kratman SF - Desert Called Peace 4
Witchful Thinking
H. P. Mallory PNR - Jolie Wilkins 3
The Medusa Amulet (h2mm)
Robert Masello Th w/ PE
Iron Warriors: The Omnibus
Graham McNeill SF- Warhammer 40,000: Ultramarines
A Sliver of Shadow
Allison Pang UF - Abby Sinclair 2
Shadow Chaser (h2mm)
Alexey Pehov EF - Chronicles of Siala 2
Touchstone
Melanie Rawn F - Glass Thorns 1
The Clockwork Vampire Chronicles
Andy Remic EF - Clockwork Vampire Omnibus
Don't Kill the Messenger (tp2mm)
Eileen Rendahl PNR - Messenger 1
The Man from Primrose Lane (d)
James Renner H
Knight of the Blazing Sun
Josh Reynolds EF - Warhammer
Red Harvest (h2mm)
Joe Schreiber SF - Star Wars
The Darkest Seduction
Gena Showalter PNR - Lords of the Underworld 11
Angels' Flight
Nalini Singh PNR - Guild Hunter Novellas
A Distant Tomorrow
Bertrice Small HFR - World of Hetar 2
Hybrids (h2mm)
Whitley Strieber SF
Fever (d)
Joan Swan RS w/ PE - Phoenix Rising 1
Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance, Volume Two
Jack Vance SF
That Which Divides
Dayton Ward SF - Star Trek
Vortex (h2mm)
Robert Charles Wilson SF - Spin 3



March 1, 2012
TITLEAUTHORSERIES
Ivey and the Airship
Cheryl Ammeter F/PNR - Aether's Edge 1
Darkness Bound
Stella Cameron PNR - Chimney Rock1
Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction
Grace L Dillon (ed) SF - Anthology Sun Tracks 69
The Kingdoms of Dust
Amanda Downum F - Necromancer Chronicles3
Exogene
T.C. McCarthy SF - Subterrene War 2
The Ruby Kiss
Helen Scott Taylor PNR - Magic Knot Fairies 3
A Light on the Veranda (ri)
Ciji Ware TTR



d - Debut
e - Ebook
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - Reissue
tp2mm - Trade Paperback to Mass Market Paperback

AH - Alternate History
EF - Epic Fantasy
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
HFR - Historical Fantasy Romance
M - Mystery
PE - Paranormal Elements
PNR - Paranormal Romance
PS - Paranormal Suspense
SF - Science Fiction
Th - Thriller
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
UFN - Urban Fantasy Noir