Well my birthday was yesterday and I was originally going to post this then but I fell asleep before I could.
I have two books left to giveaway though, the first one being Tiberius Found by Andrew Goodman. Here is an interview with the author himself to tell you a little more about his book and himself.
Tell me about yourselfI’m a tutor from England who’sbeen writing since I was a child. Although it’s only since 2008 since I’vereally been developing the craft of writing. I’ve written a number of shortscreenplays (and was as semi-finalist in the British Short Screenplaycompetition in 2009) and have recently written a commissioned 90-minute featurefor SeeView Pictures.
Apart from Tiberius FoundI have three short-story collections available on Amazon for the Kindle, andnumerous short stories on other websites such as Littlerature (http://www.littlerature.com/).
Tell me about your book/s
Tiberius Found is an action/adventure set in 2028, and stems from mylove (as a child) of reading action/adventures. I always wanted to be the boyin the story; to have adventures and eventually win through.
“On his sixteenth birthdayDaniel Henstock’s parents are murdered and he discovers that his life, so far,has been a lie. He’s been genetically engineered and those responsible want himback. To survive Daniel must run. And run hard. But it was never going to beeasy or simple.
When his liberator iscaptured Daniel returns and puts his life on the line to re-pay the debt.”
Tiberius Found started life as a short story, for a genetics-themedcompetition, and grew from the initial idea of what a teenager would do iffaced with an awful truth: his life has been a lie; that he’d been created asan experiment and the group of shadowy, government, scientists responsiblewanted to finish the job. Overnight he’s forced to leave everything he knowsbehind and flee the country. What would he do? How would he react?
As a youngster I lovedreading The Three Detective mystery novels, and wanted to write an adventurestory that incorporated elements of science, mystery and action. Daniel was agreat character to write and very soon took on a life of his own, and when theaction stepped up a gear it was Daniel who showed me what was going to happennext.
What are your favorite books?
How long do you have?
The Alex Rider novelsof Anthony Horowitz; Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series; BernardCornwell’s Warlord Trilogy (his re-working of the Arthurian legend); andanything by Henning Mankell (the author of the Wallander stories).
Pretty diverse, huh?
Basically what I most like ischaracter. An author can have the most cunningly-crafted story in theworld but if the main character is two-dimensional then what’s the point inreading?
Who is your inspiration?
Anthony Horowitz and MichaelCrichton – both because of their range of scope.
Horowitz is probably bestknown for his Alex Rider novels but he’s also written extensively for TV,across many genres. He’s a great story-teller and really knows how to hook a reader.
Crichton, because the man wasa genius. He never let him self get pigeon-holed and wrote technological sci-fistories as well as period fantasy. He wrote what he wanted and was so skilledthat he pulled it off.
Are you working on anybooks we should look out for in the future?
There’s going to be a sequelto Tiberius Found (as yet untitled) which will reveal more aboutDaniel’s past and the nature of his ‘evolution’. Also – without giving too muchaway – there’s at least one character that’s going to be seeking revenge, andsome of the other character’s motives will be explored in more depth.
And as well as the next Tiberiusstory, I’m in the process of finishing of an historical YA supernaturaladventure titled Oliver Drummond and the Four Horsemen, set in 1926.Oliver Drummond is a fourteen year old schoolboy who finds him self embroiledin having to prevent the horseshoes from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypsefalling into the wrong hands – murder, betrayal, ghosts and a girl get in hisway. Oh, and then there’s the Four Horsemen themselves, of course.
Similar to the Tiberiusstories, there will be continuing Oliver Drummond adventures, with thenext one already in out line.
What is your favouritequote?
It’s from John Wayne(allegedly) – “Life is hard. It’s harder if you’re stupid.”
If you could be anycharacter from any book who would you be and why?
I think I’d like to be one ofthe Wizards in the Unseen University from TerryPratchett’s The Colour of Magic. It’s very similar to old-school Englishuniversity mentality that the Professor’s needed be in touch with the ‘realworld’ and were almost oblivious to anything outside the walls of theiruniversity.
What is your favouritegenre?
I love Young Adult, thoughI’m not a big fan of the Vampire supernatural stuff. But I’m also a huge fan offantasy and historical fiction. Basically, I’m a bit of a Magpie.
Who are your favouriteauthors?
Horowitz, Cornwell, Crichton,Pratchett, Mankell and Derek Landy (author of the Skullduggery Pleasantnovels). Great writers, great story-tellers.
What tips would you giveyoung aspiring writers?
Read, extensively – and notonly in their chosen genre; study structure and how good writers craft theirstories; identify how characters are defined; practice ‘show’ rather than‘tell’. Realise that writing is a skill – like any other art form – that can bedeveloped through experience and knowledge.
Give yourself permission towrite a bad first-draft – but never let that first-draft be finished copy.
Above all – keep writing anddon’t let rejection or the knock-backs stop you.
If you could live in anystory world what would it be?
It would have to the Discworld.Everyone there seems mad or just at ease with the madness around them.
If you wanted adventure thenyou’d just have to go outside your door, and if you didn’t then all you’d haveto do is sit in your favourite chair and choose which biscuits you wanted withyour tea.
What is the worst bookyou've ever read?
Stieg Larsson’s The Girlwith the Dragon Tattoo. I couldn’t get past about five pages. I know thatit’s done huge business and been feted worldwide but I found the opening soheavy, so dull that it killed my interest.
What do you do aside fromwriting?
I’ve participated in LiveAction Role-Playing (LARP) here in the UK since I was twenty; so quite awhile. After several years of playing I decided that I’d like to write and runevents, which was just an extension of story writing – I’d create a storylineand weave it into the existing framework of the ‘world’ that others had alreadybuilt.
More recently I’ve run my ownrestaurant – after close to twenty years of being a chef, I thought it wasabout time – and I now teach. I’ve run writing workshops and in 2009 started‘Meridian Writing’ (www.meridian-writing.co.uk)– a UK-based short story competition website – and act as its main judge andcritique writer.
The FINAL book of my Bonanza is The Caregiver by Astrid Cruz, here is an interview with the author to tell you a bit more.
Tell me about yourself
Even though I was born, raised, and still live in the tropical island of Puerto Rico, I'm not tanned and dislike piña coladas. I'm happily married to a professional photographer who, like me, can't dance salsa even if our lives depended on it. I've been writing since very early in my life, it's the only hobby I've held on to since collecting stamps only lasted a month or so and piano, flute, and painting classes turned boring after a couple of sessions. I'll read almost anything but horror (whatever it is that pursuits me down dark corridors, stop it!) but my preference in writing is thrillers with strong female characters, psychological twists, and lots of blood. Also, I write in both English and Spanish.
Tell me about your book/s
The Caregiver is the first in a series. In it we follow undercover Interpol agent Scarlett Lang during a mission where she's assigned as a caregiver for London's biggest drug lord, Armand Sayer. But she's no ordinary agent. She comes from a family with strong ties to the drug trafficking world and, since the age of 12, was trained by her grandfather (the famous hitman, Adrian Lang) to become a hitwoman herself. She has one foot on either side and must decide which road she'll take.
What are your favorite books?
'Perfume' by Patrick Suskind, 'O Matador' and 'In Praise of Lies' by Patricia Melo and 'Anna Karenina' by Tolstoy are up there in the top, holding on against the cold gusts of wind. 'The Harry Potter' saga follow closely behind along with Gary Shteyngard's 'Super Sad True Love Story', Ernesto Sábato's 'The Tunel', Ken Bruen's 'London Boulevard' and the book that got me into reading when I was a kid: 'The Story of a Seagull and the Cat who Taught Her to Fly' by Luis Sepúlveda.
Who is your inspiration?
If I had to pick one person that truly inspires me that would be my grandmother Helen. She passed away last year and even to her last breath, she thought she could take down any man in a fight. Once, when my mother was still a child, she set out to kill a man that had pulled on my mother's long blonde locks with only a pair of scissors. He was lucky she never got to him.
Are you working on any books we should look out for in the future?
Right now Book 2 of The Caregiver Series is on the works and will be out before the end of the year. Book 3 should be out before next summer. Also, there are a couple more outside the series awaiting thorough rewrites that I hope will see the light of day soon enough.
What is your favourite quote?
"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." -Abraham Lincoln
If you could be any character from any book who would you be and why?
That would be Lisbeth Salander, from Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy, because she's the perfect combo of a badass, yet flawed character.
What is your favourite genre?
I don't think I have a favourite genre per se, but I love thrillers of any kind, grit, and romance. I'll even give erotica a chance if it's got a good story. In the end, it doesn't matter the genre if it is an intriguing, well-written story.
Who are your favourite authors?
It's hard to choose, although I believe Patricia Melo would be the first one in the list. Her characters, male or female, don't always follow the conventional routes for getting around.
What tips would you give young aspiring writers?
Write until your fingers bleed, read until you're seeing double. Really, the only way to better yourself is to do it over and over again. Also, don't be afraid to put your stuff out there. At first it may seem like nobody cares but, with time, you'd be surprised at the responses you'll get.
If you could live in any story world what would it be?
That's a tough one. Actually, what I do know is in what world I wouldn't live in, and that's Hogwarts. They may have magic, but no computers, smartphones, or Internet? No thanks.
What is the worst book you've ever read?
I don't think any of the books I've read have made it into that bin yet. Even if the book is really bad, there's always something to take from it (either a do or a don't).
What do you do aside from writing
When I'm not writing I'm either working on finishing my Masters in Communication Theory and Research, keeping up with the day job, helping the hubby with his photography, watching British gangster movies, or playing around with our 2 year old Scottish Terrier.
So listen up, here's how you enter. I'm bored of rafflecopter so to win leave me a comment about your perfect birthday as wacky as you like and the one I find most entertaining will win simple as that. Also don't forget to tell me which of the two books you want. I will pick two winners, one for each book so get writing! It doesn't have to be long at all. Ends July 30th.
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