Category Archives: Interviews
It’s Such Great Escapism
Maids of Maddington: Welcome To The Madhouse follows two women from the servant class, one on trial for loving a noble, the other her friend and defender. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
As a reader, I always like to be transported to another time and place. It’s such great escapism. I deliberated on many different eras in history before finally deciding on Victorian times. And choosing to write about women of the servant class provides so many possible scenarios!
Eliza shows a lot of character and dedication to those she deems her friends. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Along with many people of her class in the Victorian era, Eliza had a tough life. As the eldest child in her family, she was forced to take on a lot of responsibility, but never once questioned this. She had an innate sense of duty and felt obliged to help others—a common trait amongst women, no matter what century they were born in!
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I did a lot of research on the Victorian era, and was horrified to discover how working-class people in the big cities lived. Many of them didn’t even know where their next meal was coming from. So, poverty and the living conditions of the poor were a big focus for me, along with the abysmal working conditions of servants at that time.
What can readers expect in book two of the Maids of Maddington, and when will it be available?
In Book 2, the reader will be thrust forward seven years to 1905. Many of the same characters will appear, with some interesting new additions. Some of the themes will include the Suffragette movement and the London underworld.
It should be available in August, 2022.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
When young Eliza first joins Maddington House, known locally as ‘The Madhouse,’ as an under housemaid in 1895, she finds herself alone in the world of the rich and privileged.
A world where everyone takes what they want and no one takes responsibility…
Enter Annie.
Kind, pretty, vivacious Annie. The housemaid everyone loves to be around. Eliza’s new friend and close confidante.
Annie’s beautiful aura and charming spirit are hard to resist, so it doesn’t come as a surprise when Edward Montague takes notice.
Edward, the only son of the house, is handsome, charismatic, and manipulative, but Annie doesn’t seem to see him for who he really is. Charmed by his relentless pursuit and bold promises, she falls in love with him hard…
Only to crash even harder.
Eliza knew right from the start that their secret meetings and love confessions would not end well, but she never expected her friend to end up on trial because of that man.
As hidden secrets, back-door deals, and scandalous love affairs unfold before the shocked circle of high society and her friend is accused of a horrible crime, Eliza must do what she knows is right: stand by Annie even if no one else is willing to.
After all, her friend is innocent.
It’s someone else that should be put on trial.
The Journey Into The Unknown
Frankie follows an AI woman that is shockingly lifelike who may be behind the strange murders that are showing up around town. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
Several years ago I dreamed about seeing a woman on the other side of a highway, wearing a raincoat, drifting along. Was she being chased? Wait, could she be a robot?? I liked the mystery, the many possibilities. Some people see this book as something you can solve in a minute but it’s not possible. We don’t know how the people die. We don’t know anything about motives. In my dream, the woman seemed to be running from something, and I carried that feeling into the book. Frankie, by the way, is not a villain. I doubt there is a sentence in the whole book suggesting any malevolence in Frankie.
Did you create an outline for the characters in the story before you started writing or did the characters personalities grow organically as you were writing?
Mainly, Simon falls in love with Frankie, whom he thinks is pursued by her husband (!); because one of the themes here is that things can go wrong, this being the name of Chapter 1. So Simon focuses on laying low and hiding her, exactly as other major characters want desperately to find her. Probability, whether high or low, is actually a theme throughout the book. A major character and his historical hero are big-time gamblers.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The most important thing is the journey into the unknown, as that is a good description of AI. Every character in this book is drawn into a sort of quest. What’s going on, that’s what everyone says again and again. And I think readers will say the same thing if they don’t settle for easy guesses. I call this book “a unique mystery.” I believe I could present it to a theater full of Hollywood people, and almost nobody would understand what’s happening.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I do have another complex intellectual thriller in mind. Meanwhile I am preparing a book of poems for children.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Experts baffled as many people die in university town. Cause of death: unknown.
Frankie is a look into the future of AI. The smarter the robots, the more likely that strange, unanticipated things will happen.
Raymond Mason, AI genius, rarely brings his work home. Then late one afternoon he brings his latest, most humanlike creation. Raymond knows his wife will be charmed. No way! Julia Mason feels competitive and threatened. For one thing, Raymond touches Frankie in a romantic way.
Julia is hostile and drinks too much. She passes out as Professor Mason runs upstairs to find a gun. An hour later Julia wakes to find her husband dead and Frankie gone. Julia, semi-hysterical, races into the night to find the missing masterpiece.
Simon, a grad-school drug dealer, falls in love with Frankie. He realizes he can build a cult around this spiritually evolved woman. First, he has to hide her.
For different reasons, many people search frantically for Frankie. Meanwhile, more unexplained deaths are reported. Panic sweeps the state of New Jersey. Some experts think that humanity is dealing with an alien invasion.
Dr. Jamison, the pathologist, notes that he has never seen so many beautiful corpses.
A Hero With A Different Origin
Longsword: Edward and the Assassin follows an orphan who after saving a prince becomes a trusted member of the Prince’s men and heads on a journey to find a powerful healer. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
My son, actually.
I’ve found that 7-year-old boys, besides playing with knight figures, really like a game that is backed up with a good story. Especially if it’s based on a real one.
Thanks to my history and literature teachers, I’ve kept my interest in the subject. I had just read an article about the most famous assassination attempts in history, and I shared Edward’s story with my son and he started > What happened next?
It became a good bedtime story.
Being a historical fiction novel, how much research did you undertake for this book and how much time did it take to put it all together?
It took me a year to complete the book and a year to research and gather material.
For me, I found that I actually enjoyed the research process a lot and sometimes you can get pretty bogged down and lost in the subject you’re looking for. All I needed sometimes was a book, warm socks and the sound of the rain on the windows makes you forget about everything else.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The different classes, their roles and motivations.
One day my son asked me what the word orphan meant, which he had heard from somewhere.
It’s hard to explain to a child what an orphan is, and how a child can grow up without parents. For this reason, my son and I decided the main character was an orphan.
And last but not least, one of the most important themes is that even a hero with a different origin can be brave and decide other men’s fates.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am currently working on the next book about the adventures of Peter and his friends.
I hope to have it ready for publication by the end of the year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
“The War must be for the sake of Peace” —Aristotle
City of Acre, Holy Land, Friday, 17th of June, in the year 1272 of the incarnation of Christ, on the eve of Edward’s birthday. The Crusaders and Mamluks have recently signed a peace treaty when Peter Longsword, an orphan raised in a monastery, is caught in the storm of an assassination attempt on the royal Crusader. When he saves the life of the crown prince of England on his first day as a guard in the royal household, Peter is drawn irreversibly into a deep plot to discover who ordered the assassination and why. Peter encounters knights, mercenaries, infidels, and nobility and he learns about treachery, love, and loyalty in his journey toward the truth of his own origins as well as the truth of the murder attempt. With the help of his new friends, Peter will ride to the edge of the realm to prove the strength of his bloodline. Enemies will unite and new alliances will be forged in the struggle for power and peace. Longsword shows you the world of sword brothers’ bravery and the power of friendship.
The Crimes My Wife Suffered
Truth is Indestructible is an emotional memoir of the abuse your wife sustained at the hands of family, and your journey to help others in situations like hers with social reform. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I was stimulated to write the book because of two main challenges. First, the crimes my wife suffered were so horrible, indeed so evil, that I found it hard to express them in words. I have found that music, as a non-verbal language, can express what usually lies beyond articulation. But I sought nonetheless to search for language suitable to convey the evil of the events. The second challenge was the ongoing cover-up of the crimes: I was horrified that my wife’s extended family chose to brush the crimes under the rug, and I felt compelled to bring the truth out into the light of day.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
I wanted to narrate the story without giving too many details of the crimes. I hint in the narrative at the nature of the attacks on my wife, but I decided against providing the awful details. Instead, I looked at the significance of the crimes and how they relate to concepts of justice, retribution and truth.
What advice would you give to others that are in a situation like your wife was in?
I would suggest focusing principally on the victim’s healing. The search for justice is very important, but protecting the victim from further trauma is – in my view – perhaps more important.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
I hope the reader will take from the narrative the importance of protecting children, as prevention is certainly better than after-the-fact detection. Also, even in the bleakest of situations, one can always salvage something positive, if only bringing out hidden truths.
Author Links: Amazon | Website
Stuart Nagero was born in the United Kingdom. He earned a doctorate from a British university and has worked in the United Nations system for more than two decades.
A Quick And Easy Fix
Rasputin’s Scorn follows a teenage boy who considers taking a dangerous drug in an effort to keep his family together when his mom dies. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
A friend of mine was given a terminal diagnosis, and she had three children who loved her dearly and depended upon her for their financial and emotional support. I was inspired by her situation and my role in my large family. I wondered how my children would feel if I were given a similar diagnosis. Without available family members, would the older children shoulder the responsibility of the younger ones and struggle to find a way to stay together?
Also, I have witnessed the effects of drugs in my area, and it is heartbreaking. Drugs are often offered as a quick and easy fix, but in my story, the repercussions are often immediate. Under what circumstances would a young person seek them out, and would he or she be able to overcome the pull of increased physical power with the right amount of friendship and emotional support?
Rasputin is a relatable teenager, with all the mood swings and concerns of real-world teens. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Razz, or Rasputin, was patterned after my eldest son. It was important for Razz to be intelligent, as his decisions reflected either careful consideration, or revealed the rashness of his age. He needed to be fiercely loyal, too, as his devotion to his family was the driving force behind most of his decisions. In addition, Razz had a good friend base. Razz had developed friendships with a number of people from varying backgrounds who showed him a different way of looking at his situation, even when they didn’t realize how deeply their words affected him.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The coming-of-age theme was important in this book, as it is usually the one that helps show a tremendous amount of mental and/or emotional growth in the character. Family and friendship were also important, as they are usually the nucleus that helps shape a person and influence his/her/their decisions.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
My next book is Solomon’s Tears, and it will be released on August 2, 2022. The story follows a mother who battles with the disembodied crying in her home and wonders if the sounds she hears and the shadows she sees indicate that her family is living in a haunted house or if a genetic mental illness is beginning to infect her life.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Fourteen-year-old Razz enjoys the freedom of his single-parent household until his mother becomes ill. Without involved relatives, he worries about what will happen to his sister, Lexi, and him when their mother dies.
Feeling powerless, he seeks out Scorn, a drug that can give the user unlimited strength, but its effects are short-lived and the consequences of taking it are high. The user may seem unaffected by it for some time, but eventually, almost all those who take the drug become exceedingly aggressive, using their new strength to tear apart anyone in their paths, especially those closest to them. The government collects the users who have pushed past the limits of their strength and taken a life or lives, and places them in a facility from where only one person has returned.
Simply feeling the vile in his hand makes Razz feel more dominant, and he decides to keep the amber powder close to him. He starts having dreams about blood, and strange physical changes make him wonder if he’s going through the natural stages of adolescence, or if touching the Scorn in the vile has caused an irreversible reaction.
Will Razz use Scorn to help him cope with his mother’s failing health, and keep Lexi and him together after his mother’s death? Or is there something more to Scorn, and is his family somehow responsible for it?
*Content warning* Readers should be advised if a sensitivity to discussions about drugs, their effects, and child abuse is present.
Unleash the Vampire Tribes
The Wandering Tribes follows an itinerant starship captain as he enacts an intricate plan to manipulate the Mercantile Empire. What was the thing that most excited you about writing this book?
The most exciting thing to me was being in position to unleash the Vampire Tribes.
The first two books in the series laid the background. Wandering Tribes started introducing some of the active plot lines acting within the background. We meet a variety of characters who are unleashed on the Mercantile Empire to implement their schemes. Some are faster and more successful, some take longer to develop, some will fail. Some will have unexpected consequences in the future.
What were some questions that you kept asking yourself as you were developing Milo Sapphire’s character?
Milo always goes through three phases:
- I see what needs to be done. I’m the best man (vampire) for the job. Let’s get after it. Who knows, could be fun.
- Ohmigod! You want me to do what? This wasn’t what I thought it was. This is way freaking harder than I thought it was!
- I don’t like the alternative! You wanna try and force me or manipulate me into doing it? Fine! If I’m gonna do it, then get the hell out of my way! Oh yeah, how can I cheat the system?
The other thing that’s always in the back of Milo’s mind is his insecurity about the absurd levels of personal power he can wield. Without giving too much away, Milo’s past has made him very (overly) sensitive to manipulation of others. If it’s part of the plan, he’ll bull forward. If the other person is overtly challenging him for supremacy, sucks to be them.
In his personal life, he’s always second guessing the responses of the people closest to him, especially in romantic relationships. Are they there because he didn’t give them a choice and they’re just making the best of a coercive situation? Are they there because they really, really want to be?
Part of the growth of his character is learning to actually trust the members of his (growing) inner circle; realizing that he has intrinsic value beyond his capabilities as the First.
It’s also a lot of fun to skewer the current harem fad; Milo thinks he has a harem. Whether every member of the group agrees with his definition remains to be seen.
This seemed like a fun book to write. What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
It was a blast! The first scene that came to me was the Emperor’s Ball scene. It’s my favorite scene because it encapsulates everything about Milo’s highly convoluted and overly complex plans. It drops Milo right into the middle of the snake pit and he barely gets out. The ramifications of that scene will extend well into the future.
This is book three in The War Against Infinity series. What can readers expect in book four?
Books 1 and 2 went really fast (okay, normal speed for Milo). Book 3 had to slow the pace a touch simply because a lot of the elements that came into play just took a lot of time. Even Milo can’t cheat the laws of physics (most of the time).
Book 4 resumes the pace. The excrement has made contact with the oscillating air acceleration and distribution device, on a cosmic scale. The schemes introduced in Wandering Tribes impact reality. Milo has to react accordingly, in his own inimitable, convoluted, overly complex style.
Gotta keep things interesting.
You never know who might be watching. Heh.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
I’m the CEO of Interstellar Products. We make stuff for Sentient Ships.
I’m also the Chosen of the Deity. I’m supposed to save the fricking Universe.
So I need a little help.
I used to be the leader of all the Vampire Families back on Old Earth.
So I’m gonna invite them to join the party, so to speak.
But vampires need lairs.
And this is space, so lair hunting is a little challenging.
And there’s a lot of’em, so I gonna need a lot of space (see what I did there?).
But it’s kinda boring building a lair from scratch. Lotta planning, lotta zoning meetings, you get the idea.
So how am I gonna keep a lot of extremely competitive, obsessively compulsive, highly energetic, easily bored, apex predators occupied? Hyperactive kindergartners strung out on meth. With flamethrowers?
Well, I’m also taking on the Mercantile Empire.
They’re never gonna know what hit’em.
Heh.
Peering Into The Dark
Shacklady follows a group of friends as they investigate an abandoned mine that holds a mysterious train buried within and uncover dangerous secrets that could cost them their lives. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The inspiration for ‘Shacklady,’ was based on a trip I took as a child with my parents, to explore the Blue John Mine in Derbyshire. For some reason the caverns scared me, more than a little. I constantly found myself peering into the dark, looking for ‘something’ that was never there. I felt that the darkness was watching me and even though it happened many years ago, that fear never left me. So much so that I still occasionally have a repeating nightmare based around the events of that day and when the nightmare occurs, I usually wake up pouring sweat and disorientated. To this day, caves still fill me full of unnatural dread and I try to avoid them if at all possible.
What was your favorite character to write for and why? Was there a scene you felt captured the characters essence?
Nick, is nearly always my favourite character to write because of his self doubt, which often hinders his case work.
What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?
I am constantly looking for that elusive, ‘I can’t stop turning the pages but am afraid of what I might find there when I do,’ moment.
I’ve always thought that a fear unknown yet anticipated, is the ultimate heart stopper and that the greatest fear factory resides inside ones own mind.
A major challenge in this story was to write from within semi darkness as it renders most of sight redundant. The characters have to employ all their other senses to paint the landscape within.
Will there be a fourth Nick Swann book, if so when will it be available?
Yes, I’m working on it now and it’s working title is, ‘Krownyn Point.’ I anticipate publishing it by next Summer.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
The mystery of how this happened and the strange presence of The Lady Emily, an ancient steam engine, draws Nick, Wendy and Alan into a dangerous underground adventure. One which finds them trapped in a battle between malevolent forces, risking all their lives and creating profound consequences for many.
If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.
The Change Agent – Paradigm Shift in Consciousness teaches readers how to live a life through personal values by evaluating their life experiences, genetic makeup, and social programming. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I watched in horror at the Jan. 6th, 2021, US Capital Insurrection wondering how as a Nation we could have gone astray. What messaging had these individuals internalized so that they would attack our beloved Republic. For if Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.
What is one piece of advice someone gave you that changed your life?
What you see you learn, what you learn you practice, and what you practice you become. And if, Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your book?
That we have the ability to Change, create paradigm shifts in prior thinking or behaviors that we may have once believed, espoused, supported, or lived. These paradigm shifts are the difference between repeating patterns blindly, or conversely inspiring us to future growth.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have no current ideas, but I do take notes when something inspires me, mental book notes, so that when the right moment of inspiration is there the next natural logical write will transpire. Inspiration, not perspiration – – – always.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
LITERARY TITAN 