#CyberMonday 2017: Give the Gift of Books this Christmas

As I've done every year, this is just a list to make your shopping lives easier -- for Black Friday, or for the upcoming Cyber Monday. Because giving the gift of books is always a good thing.

You might want to try some of these items below. I've even reviewed a few of them.

In short: give the gift of books to people you care about. They're cheaper than iPods. Heh.

As with last year, I will start with suggesting my own novels. Not even all of my own novels, just some of them. The newest ones, for starters.

To start with, there's the Dragon Award nominated Love at First Bite series.  Because everyone loves this novel. Is it because it's romance? It is because it's vampires? Urban Fantasy? A little YA-ish? A little Christian-fic?

I have no idea.

But if you're new here, it's about a boy meeting a girl.  One of them is a homicidal monster. The other's just a vampire. It has Vatican Ninjas, and holy water burning vampires, and sunlight killing unholy monsters AND NONE OF THE VAMPIRES SPARKLE, DAMNIT.

Ahem. Anyway.

For the record, we mustn't forget the Set to Kill. Which is basically taking Sad Puppies Bite Back, and taking it to a whole new level of insane. It's another part of the Murder Con Series, including It Was Only On Stun!

Basically, take insane security agent who is a "mundane" at an SF convention

Drop him head first into the culture.

Drop the bodies to the floor.

Hilarity ensues.

Codename: Winterborn .... the "other" novel, also strangely well reviewed. Genre: character-driven scifi espionage. While on a mission to the Islamic Republic of France, Lt. Kevin Anderson's team is betrayed by the politicians who sent them. As the only survivor, Anderson must stop the senators involved before the next team is slaughtered on the altar of political greed. He's certain he won't survive, but he will make this sacrifice, for his Codename is Winterborn.

 I recommend this for all fans of Baen novels -- like John Ringo, David Weber, and even your straight up thriller writers, like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, et al.

There is, of course, the sequel: Codename: UnSub, which only just came out.

For those of you who might think that distopias aren't dark enough, I bring you....

Dystopias plus a superpowered serial killer.

Yes. Because I like making things even harder than they already are.

Buahahaha.

Anyway....

Several of the following books you may have seen before.

Torchship / Torchship Pilot by Karl Gallagher: For anyone who really wanted Firefly to be good, this should be your cup of tea. Heck, for fans of: Firefly, David Weber, early David Weber, and people who would be really entertained by protagonists in an SF novel doing their calculations by slide rule.

Iron Chamber of Memory - For adults only, really...or any mature 12 year old, like I was. I don't care in what format you buy it, but you owe it to yourself to buy at least one copy for yourself, though I recommend buying half a dozen, just so you can immediately hand out copies to your friends.
Review here

The Big Sheep - Perfect for anyone who likes SF mysteries, mild dystopias, and Terry Pratchett. As far as I'm concerned, if Rob Kroese wants to keep putting out books about Erasmus Keane for the rest of his life, I'll happily use him as a substitute for Sir Terry Pratchett. (Review Here)

Chasing Freedom -- for anyone who sees the USA falling to fascism, but also sees some small hope in our future. A Dystopia that doesn't make you want to slit your wrists. Yay. (Review here)

Murder in The Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes -- if you've been reading my blog for a long time, you know that I loved this one, and I can't possibly recommend it enough.... and then there's The Watson Chronicles, which is even better.  The only books I will recommend over my own, and I'm told my books are pretty awesome, so, yeah...

The Book of Helen -- dang, this was a kickass little novel.  The West Wing meets the Trojan war, this novel goes beyond the "they all lived strangely ever after" of Helen of Troy, and follows the rest of her life after she came home from Troy.  Yes, Helen did have an "after Troy."  You know the mythology, and now, this is the rest of the story.

Black Tide Rising -- For those people who hate zombies ... you can like this, at the very least.

[Review here]Ordinance 93:  I've reviewed this book (on Amazon), I've interviewed this author back when Examiner.com still existed. Ordinance 93 is a thriller that sort-of centers around abortion, but is mostly a fun chase novel. I'd actually like the next one to come up.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II .... a Catholic scifi-anthology, so, yeah...fun.

Greater Treasures -- Imagine the Maltese Falcon with dragons. Nuff said.

Stealing Jenny, by Ellen Gable: After 5 miscarriages, Jenny is about to have a pregnancy come to full term... until a psychotic woman kidnaps her and chains her in her basement with the intention of taking the child for her own. I liked this one.

Amy Lynn and Amy Lynn: Golden Angel.  Just buy them. Read them. The first one could be dark YA.  The second ... yeah, for adults only. One's a solid novel, the second one is a solid thriller. Just go with me on this one, okay?

Night Machines by Kia Heavey .... this one was interesting.  Almost Doctor Who-ish by way of Rod Serling.

And, of course, there is an endless list of books I can recommend, which happen to be a different tab at the top of the page -- includes Flynn, Ringo, Weber, Thor, etc, etc.

Tears of Paradox, by Daniella Bova, reviewed here

End of the road, by Amy Bennett: This looks like a fun one, a straight up, old fashioned murder mystery...Yes, I know I haven't read it yet, but I've been busy...

By the Hands of Men, Book One: The Old World.

Also, here's everything I suggested for the Dragon Awards in 2016

And here's everything nominated for a Dragon Award in 2016.

And everything I talked about for a Dragon Award in 2017.

And everything NOMINATED for a Dragon in 2017.

That should cover a fairly wide net.

If you have something you'd like to suggest for gifting opportunities, please feel free to mention it below.

You can also click one of the above tabs for suggested books.

Good luck with shopping, everyone.

#BlackFriday, 2016

Black Friday is coming, and we must be prepared. This is just a list to make your shopping lives easier -- for Black Friday, or for the upcoming Cyber Monday.

You might want to try some of these items below. I've even reviewed a few of them.

In short: give the gift of books to people you care about. They're cheaper than iPods. Heh.

As with last year, I will start with suggesting my own novels. Not even all of my own novels, just some of them. The newest ones, for starters.

To start with, there's Honor At Stake.  Because everyone loves this novel. Is it because it's romance? It is because it's vampires? Urban Fantasy? A little YA-ish? A little Christian-fic?

I have no idea.

But if you're new here, it's about a boy meeting a girl.  One of them is a homicidal monster. The other's just a vampire. It has Vatican Ninjas, and holy water burning vampires, and sunlight killing unholy monsters AND NONE OF THE VAMPIRES SPARKLE, DAMNIT.

Ahem. Anyway.

People like it. We have over fifty Amazon reviews. And almost everyone likes it. Even people I don't know like it. I'm not sure why, but there you go.

If you were a fan of Honor at Stake, I have no choice but to recommend the next book in the series...

Yes, yes, Murphy's Law of Vampires. This is the point where I answered everyone's problem of a weak final villain from Honor at Stake ... and then gave them everything they asked for and more. Bad guys? Why, yes, I can make you a bad guy. BWAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHA

Ahem.

Anyway.

For the record, we mustn't forget the newcomer Set to Kill. Which is basically taking Sad Puppies Bite Back, and taking it to a whole new level of insane. It's another part of the Murder Con Series, including It Was Only On Stun!

Basically, take insane security agent who is a "mundane" at an SF convention

Drop him head first into the culture.

Drop the bodies to the floor.

Hilarity ensues.

Codename: Winterborn .... the "other" novel, also strangely well reviewed. Genre: character-driven scifi espionage. While on a mission to the Islamic Republic of France, Lt. Kevin Anderson's team is betrayed by the politicians who sent them. As the only survivor, Anderson must stop the senators involved before the next team is slaughtered on the altar of political greed. He's certain he won't survive, but he will make this sacrifice, for his Codename is Winterborn.

 I recommend this for all fans of Baen novels -- like John Ringo, David Weber, and even your straight up thriller writers, like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, et al.

There is, of course, the sequel: Codename: UnSub, which only just came out.

For those of you who might think that distopias aren't dark enough, I bring you....

Dystopias plus a superpowered serial killer.

Yes. Because I like making things even harder than they already are.

Buahahaha.

Anyway....

Oh, yes, we have a mailing list now. Free stuff if you sign up. Also an opportunity for selling ARCs, and whatever else I can come up with

Sign up for my mailing list! Emails may include Vatican Ninjas, explosions, holy water, throat punches, magic, serial killers, vampires, midgets, Pope, pre-release notices, book deals, and did I mention, explosions. No they won't explode in your in-box...I don't think.

* indicates required

Email Address *

Signed copies and gift sets can be ordered here. Order early so they arrive on time for Christmas. Order two of everything, and you should have something for everyone on your list.

Several of the following books you may have seen before.

Iron Chamber of Memory - For adults only, really...or any mature 12 year old, like I was. I don't care in what format you buy it, but you owe it to yourself to buy at least one copy for yourself, though I recommend buying half a dozen, just so you can immediately hand out copies to your friends.
Review here

The Big Sheep - Perfect for anyone who likes SF mysteries, mild dystopias, and Terry Pratchett. As far as I'm concerned, if Rob Kroese wants to keep putting out books about Erasmus Keane for the rest of his life, I'll happily use him as a substitute for Practhett.
(Review Here)

Chasing Freedom -- for anyone who sees the USA falling to fascism, but also sees some small hope in our future. A Dystopia that doesn't make you want to slit your wrists. Yay
(Review here)

Black Tide Rising -- For those people who hate zombies ... you can like 

[Review here]

Murder in The Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes -- if you've been reading my blog for a long time, you know that I loved this one, and I can't possibly recommend it enough.... and then there's The Watson Chronicles, which is even better.  The only books I will recommend over my own, and I'm told my books are pretty awesome, so, yeah...

The Book of Helen -- dang, this was a kickass little novel.  The West Wing meets the Trojan war, this novel goes beyond the "they all lived strangely ever after" of Helen of Troy, and follows the rest of her life after she came home from Troy.  Yes, Helen did have an "after Troy."  You know the mythology, and now, this is the rest of the story.

Ordinance 93:  I've reviewed this book (on Amazon), I've interviewed this author back when Examiner.com still existed. Ordinance 93 is a thriller that sort-of centers around abortion, but is mostly a fun chase novel. I'd actually like the next one to come up.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II .... a Catholic scifi-anthology, so, yeah...fun.

Greater Treasures -- Imagine the Maltese Falcon with dragons. Nuff said.

Stealing Jenny, by Ellen Gable: After 5 miscarriages, Jenny is about to have a pregnancy come to full term... until a psychotic woman kidnaps her and chains her in her basement with the intention of taking the child for her own. I liked this one.

Amy Lynn and Amy Lynn: Golden Angel.  Just buy them. Read them. The first one could be dark YA.  The second ... yeah, for adults only. One's a solid novel, the second one is a solid thriller. Just go with me on this one, okay?

Night Machines by Kia Heavey .... this one was interesting.  Almost Doctor Who-ish by way of Rod Serling.

And, of course, there is an endless list of books I can recommend, which happen to be a different tab at the top of the page -- includes Flynn, Ringo, Weber, Thor, etc, etc.

Tears of Paradox, by Daniella Bova, reviewed here

End of the road, by Amy Bennett: This looks like a fun one, a straight up, old fashioned murder mystery...Yes, I know I haven't read it yet, but I've been busy...

By the Hands of Men, Book One: The Old World.

Also, here's everything I suggested for the Dragon Awards.

And here's everything nominated for a Dragon Award.

That should cover a fairly wide net.

If you have something you'd like to suggest for gifting opportunities, please feel free to mention it below.

You can also click one of the above tabs for suggested books.

Good luck with shopping, everyone.

ON THE CATHOLIC GEEK: KARINA FABIAN RETURNS!

The Catholic Geek: Karina Fabian returns to talk Mind Over All 08/09 by We Built That Network | Books Podcasts

Yup.  We're almost "out of the woods" with Karina Fabian this week -- tonight, at 7PM, we're going to have her on the air, talking about the conclusion of her "Mind Over" trilogy.

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with We Built That Network on BlogTalkRadio

Interview with Karina Fabian: Mind over All

We're back with Karina Fabian. This time I get to ask her some questions on her book. You might remember this one, it's the series I described as being the best treatment of a planet since Dune.

 I'm even going to be talking on the radio show with her this coming Sunday, August 9th.

Q: So, it's over. Now what? 

I expected to be a little sadder than I am, actually. I started writing and imagining these adventures – wow - 30 years ago, so really, I’m just glad they are out in print. I hope they find their way into the hearts of many readers.

Q  Have you ever met someone who looked just like one of your characters? What did you do? 

I am not a big visual thinker, and prefer not to define my characters’ looks too closely. That’s one reason I hate playing the “what actor would you have play…” game. Having said that, it did happen once. The closest I ever came was when I was actively trying to find someone who looked like Joshua, and I saw a man in a restaurant. I surreptitiously tried to memorize his features…then decided he didn’t look as much like Josh as I’d thought.

Guest Post: Saying Goodbye: Mind Over All and Ending a Trilogy, Karina Fabian

You all remember Karina Fabian. 

I've reviewed her books before. 

I've interviewed her before. 

She's even posted here before.

 I'm even going to be talking on the radio show with her this coming Sunday, August 9th.  

But now, she's posting one something that's very near to me right now.

Saying goodbye.

Saying Goodbye: Mind Over All and Ending a Trilogy

I first met Deryl in 1986. He was a college sophomore: smart, self-assured with just a hint of snark. He was studying psychic powers because he himself had them, and when his professor decided to kidnap him for study (of a more biological nature), he and his roommate fled to another world and had great adventures.

At least that’s what I thought at the time. The Miscria never sold, so I put it and my dreams of being an author aside and went on with my life.

Ten years later, as a mother and former military officer, I brushed off the manuscript and gagged. Really, a guy who suddenly manifests telepathy during puberty grows up well adjusted? That kid needed some real issues before the story would sell. By the time I got done messing with his mind, he was living in a mental institution instead of a dorm and his roommate turned into a psychiatric intern hired to befriend him because Deryl was sullen, snarky, and without hope. The Miscria became a trilogy because it took an entire novel just to convince Deryl he wasn’t crazy.

Mind Over Mind, the first in the trilogy, came out from DragonMoon in 2011, with MindOver Psyche following in 2013. And now, Mind Over All finishes out the trilogy. Over the three books, Deryl conquers his abilities and his personal demons with the help of his friend, Joshua. Then the duo teleport (by accident) to another planet, where Deryl confronts his real-life “demons”: The Master who manipulated him in hopes of making him a weapon and the Miscria who had thought he was an oracle to guide her in protecting her world. With Joshua as his back-up, he defeats the Master and wins over the Miscria (Tasmae). They marry, and he takes Joshua back to Earth and his own fiancé, Sachiko. In Mind OverAll, Deryl returns to Earth to fetch Joshua and Sachiko and takes them to Kanaan where they work together to stop another planet from crashing into Kanaan. Finally, in the companion novella, Hearts Over Mind, Joshua and Sachiko finally get their wedding day.

It has been a wild ride of love and adventure, exploring psychic communication, neuro linguistic programming, and orbital mechanics. For over a decade, I’ve lived with and in some ways as these characters. Deryl fought his way back to sanity to discover he didn’t want to live a “normal life.” Tasmae discovers not all prophesies are inevitable. Joshua, a small-town boy from Colorado, had adventures like he’d only read in SFF novels, and gets to be a rock star. Sachiko heals at least from the trauma of her abortion. Even the Master turns out to be something other than the manipulative monster Deryl had loathed and feared. A centuries-long war has ended, and at last two worlds can rebuild and grow in peace.

I’ve had my own wild ride as an author. Working on these novels has introduced me to so many wonderful people and ideas. My astronomy professor in college helped me work out the dynamics of crashing planets. Friends from all over the Internet jumped in with psychiatric and medical advice. I’ve had the privilege of working with several wonderful editors at DragonMoon, each of which not only made the book better but made me a better writer. And Mind Over Mind’s cover is still my all-time fave. I’ve written and had published nearly a dozen books and hundreds of stories.

The journey with the Mind Over trilogy is over. (Although I may write about their kids. We’ll see.) My own writing journey continues on, with dragon detectives, nuns in space, and zombie exterminators. Who knows what else? It’s been very satisfying, however, to have finished the project I began as a college Freshman.

By day, Karina is a mild-mannered reviewer of business software and services for TopTenReviews.com. After hours, she’s a psychic intent on saving the world; a snarky dragon who thinks he saves the world all-too regularly, a zombie exterminator who just wants her world clear of undead vermin, and nuns whose callings have taken them off our world. Needless to say, her imagination is vast, her stories legion, and her brain crowded. When she’s not converting her wild tales to stories, she’s enjoying time with her husband, Rob, their four kids, and their two dogs.

Find Karina at:

Website: http://fabianspace.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karina.fabian

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/KarinaFabian

Google +: https://plus.google.com/103660024891826015212

Black Friday blog: book shopping

I love Christmas, but I hate the Christmas shopping season. In my neck of the woods, Christmas decorations went on sale in August. August, blast it.

Anyway, realizing that, and that black Friday is coming up, I won't be doing a Thanksgiving day blog, and I don't have too much to add to my past blog entries on the matter.  However, if you want to know about cooking for 93, or the authors I'm thankful for.... you can check those out.

While I finished my Christmas shopping months ago (writers do it all year round -- write your own joke here) I understand that there will be an onslaught of people who are going to be trampling each other in order to get gifts for family and friends.

With that in mind, it occurred to me that this is going to be a great time to compile a list of suggestions to make your shopping lives easier -- if not for this Friday, then for the upcoming Cyber Monday. Some of these are books I've reviewed, and others are new even to me, but have come recommended to me. So, unless you're going to go out and buy some Darren Brown tickets, you might want to try some of these items below.

A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller -- of course I'd start with my own novel. It's surprisingly well reviewed, no one hates it (yet, give me time), where I take the war to Dan Brown, and every other nimrod who thinks they can write bad history in a thriller and get away with it.

Codename: Winterborn .... the "other" novel, also strangely well reviewed. Genre: character-driven scifi espionage. While on a mission to the Islamic Republic of France, Lt. Kevin Anderson's team is betrayed by the politicians who sent them. As the only survivor, Anderson must stop the senators involved before the next team is slaughtered on the altar of political greed. He's certain he won't survive, but he will make this sacrifice, for his Codename is Winterborn. I recommend this for all fans of Baen novels -- like John Ringo, David Weber, and even your straight up thriller writers, like Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, et al.

Murder in The Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes -- if you've been reading my blog for a long time, you know that I loved this one, and I can't possibly recommend it enough.

Mind Over Mind -- The short version? "No, he's not crazy, aliens really are messing with his brain."

Greater Treasures -- Imagine the Maltese Falcon with dragons. Nuff said.

And, of course, there is an endless list of books I can recommend, which happen to be a different tab at the top of the page -- includes Flynn, Ringo, Weber, Thor, etc, etc.

Stealing Jenny, by Ellen Gable: After 5 miscarriages, Jenny is about to have a pregnancy come to full term... until a psychotic woman kidnaps her and chains her in her basement with the intention of taking the child for her own. I liked this one.

Now, as far as books I haven't looked at yet.... [Below the break.]

Review: Mind Over Psyche, by Karina Fabian

Some days, it feels like Karina Fabian is being reviewed on this blog every three months. It's not entirely accurate, but close enough for government work.  Especially government right now.

So, if you remember Mind Over Mind, you don't need much of an introduction.  If not....

Deryl isn’t crazy; he’s psychic.  Desperate to escape the insane asylum, Deryl  teleports to Kanaan, a world of telepaths who regard him as an oracle.  But freedom comes at a price.  The Kanaan expect their oracle to teach them to use their powers to wage war.  Meanwhile, he’s falling in love, but to be with her means to share his psyche, which could drive her insane.  Most dangerous of all, he hasn’t escaped the Call of the Master, enemy of the Kanaan, whose telepathic manipulations were why Deryl was committed in the first place.  Now, the Master will forge Deryl’s powers into a weapon to kill all he loves or destroy his mind trying.

First, I must say that I like this world she's created.  It's one of the most comprehensive scifi worlds I've seen in a while -- one of the better planet-as-character routine I've seen since Dune, and possibly one of the better Christian science fiction premises I've seen in print since C.S. Lewis penned Perelandra.  We've got flora, exotic fauna, aliens who mate for live, like wolves or Catholics, and did we mention that there's a war coming?

At the end of the day, one of the more interesting threats is Deryl himself.  Sorry, I've got a thing for where the hero is one's own worst enemy. And in his case, if he's not careful, he's going to develop psychokinetic abilities and level Tokyo....

Oh, wait, he already has telekinetic abilities.

Yes, everyone's in trouble.

We also have an interesting introduction to the Twilight Zone. Season 1 to be precise. Literally, there's a section narrated by Rod Serling. And it's quite awesome.  Not to mention that there's a large segment of the novel that looks like The Last Temptation of Christ meets The Prisoner.

The book can be broken down into three sections, so much so that they're almost like vignettes strung together.  First, there's the incident that precipitates the accidental teleportation to an alien world.  Next, we have the Oz effect -- as in "we ain't in Kansas no more" -- complete with your standard writing conflicts of man vs. nature, man vs. self, and a man vs. society, all to varying degrees along the way. Much of it is interesting, though there are moments you might want to take Deryl and smack some sense into him. The book's strengths lay in the exploration of the alien world via the two "sidekicks," Joshua (Deryl's friend/shrink in the last book), and Tasmae, the local alien contact.

Then, part three, we actually have man vs. man .... if "the man" in this case is an alien who can kill you with his brain and throw you into a nice, ready- made nightmare. So, fun.

I like the world, I like the characters ... though there are some scenes that were exceptionally drawn out. I liked The Prisoner as much as the next guy -- maybe more than the next guy -- but when we, the readers, already know what is and isn't real, hallucinations can get tedious.

Thankfully, by the end of the day Mind Over Psyche is the payoff we wanted from Mind Over Mind.  Round three should be interesting.

Interview with Karina Fabian of Mind Over Psyche.

If you don't remember Karina Fabian ... that's too long a story to get into here, just click on "Fabian" keyword below, and you'll find her quick enough.

If you don't remember the first book in this series, Mind Over Mind, you can see my review of it here.

Now for a look at Mind Over Psyche.

Deryl isn’t crazy; he’s psychic.  Desperate to escape the insane asylum, Deryl  teleports to Kanaan, a world of telepaths who regard him as an oracle.  But freedom comes at a price.  The Kanaan expect their oracle to teach them to use their powers to wage war.  Meanwhile, he’s falling in love, but to be with her means to share his psyche, which could drive her insane.  Most dangerous of all, he hasn't escaped the Call of the Master, enemy of the Kanaan, whose telepathic manipulations were why Deryl was committed in the first place.  Now, the Master will forge Deryl’s powers into a weapon to kill all he loves or destroy his mind trying.

Interview Questions for Mind Over Psyche by Karina Fabian

1.  In Mind Over Mind, you had a romance between Joshua and Sachiko.  Will we see more of that in Mind Over Psyche?

No.  It’s Deryl’s turn to fall in love, and it will be a very different experience from Joshua’s.  For one, Tasmae is an alien.  Kanaan mate for life and when they meet their soul mate, it’s usually a compulsion.  They know, on a biological and telepathic level, that this is their soul mate, and they figure out the rest later.  Of course, Deryl being human makes things a little confusing for both him and Tasmae.  There’s more danger involved, as one or the other could drive each other insane in the literal sense.  Kanaan bonding is more than joining hearts or bodies.  They link minds.  Readers of Mind Over Mind know that’s traumatic enough for Deryl even with limited human contact.  What’s worse, however, is that Tasmae is under the psychic influence of her ancestor’s memories—her ancestor who had gone mad.  Add to that the fact that some of the Kanaan close to Tasmae see Deryl as a threat, not an oracle, and you can understand why Joshua is really worries about Deryl and Tasmae ever having the chance to be alone together.

2.  Joshua practices a form of psychiatry called neuro linguistic programming.  He used it extensively in Mind Over Mind.  Will he use it in Mind Over Psyche?

Some, but it really doesn’t work with aliens.  He will, however, save a child’s life with it, and will use some techniques to help Deryl and Tasmae out of danger.  This book, he also gets to exercise his musical talents.

3.  What is your favorite scene?

Tasmae is deeply under the influence of her ancestor’s memories and the pain and confusion have made her violent.  They’re causing Deryl pain a well, and he begs Joshua to help her.  He’s a psychiatric prodigy, right?  Never mind that he’s 19, an intern, has no drugs or orderlies as backup and oh, yeah, is dealing with aliens.  I loved imagining what Joshua, Deryl, and especially Tasmae were thinking and doing.  Crazy can be a lot of fun…when it’s not real.

4.  What’s the challenge about writing about a psychic people?

They don’t communicate just in words, but also images, emotions, and simple knowing.  For example, why have a name for a person when you can pass on the knowledge of who that person is?  Ditto for places.  However, to reach a reader, I have to use words.  No one wants to read “the captain of the Kanaan guard” ten times a page, so some characters needed names, and I needed a reason for them to have one.  In the end, humans and the Barin (who also have verbal language) name certain things.  This will be fun in Mind Over All, because Joshua will joking name a young boy who clings to him, “Axel,” and it sticks, to Sachiko’s ire.

Also, with no written language, there needs to be a way to preserve history.  This is vital in Mind Over Psyche, as memories are stored in psychic plants.  You experience things as the person experienced them—no sanitizing, no skimming, no skipping the yucky parts (unless the plant allows it.)

5.  Tell us about the everyn.  They’re more than just small dragons, right?

Oh, yes.  The everyn are part of the sentient animals species called Bondfriends.  They have a symbiotic psychic relationship with certain Kanaan (also called Bondfriends).  Without this psychic bonding, an everyn reverts to a fully animal state, while a Kanaan will ignore their physical state until they die before they reach puberty.  Bondfriends life separate from “regular” Kanaan, who don’t’ really understand their psychic relationship.  Also, because they are an animal/person mind, so to speak, they are a bit wilder than the Kanaan.

6. Where do you get your ideas? 

All over—from TV, from conversations with friends, from something on the news (or Facebook), from another book I’ve read, from a call for submissions for an anthology… There’s actually a psychological term for it: cognitive disinhibition. People with CD do not organize/file away information as well as people who don’t have it. As a result, we have a lot of stuff floating around in our minds, synapses snapping around until they link up with something else, and BOOM! Idea! Interestingly, schizophrenics also have CD, but on a more extreme level. So to all the people in college who thought I was inhibited—HA!


7. What’s a common mistake new writers make?

Following “rules” too closely. Really, there aren’t rules, just guidelines. For example, I had a friend who tried to remove every single adverb in her novel because “the rules” say “No –ly words.” Those words are a legitimate part of the English language and used judiciously (Look! -ly word), they can have an impact.

8.  You write a lot of different stuff—horror, fantasy, science fiction, comedy, devotionals…  What won’t you write?

Erotica, for one, or anything with an excess of gratuitous sex or violence. I have a rule for writing: If I’m not comfortable reading it aloud to my kids, I won’t write it. I've put aside novels because the characters want to share more than I’m comfortable writing.

Also, I won’t write something deliberately hurtful or insulting. I don’t hold back my opinions, nor do I resist a good joke just because it might offend someone. People are too prone these days to take the most innocuous stuff personally—or “personally” on behalf of someone else or some particular demographic. I spent too much of my childhood with a thin skin; life is more fun when you realize a joke is a joke.

I sometimes take on controversial subjects. The Mind Over series has a subplot concerning abortion, for example. I try to put myself aside and stay true to my characters’ feelings and attitudes. I won’t go so far as to say I’m always balanced; again, I write what I’d want my kids to read. So, while I won’t write a pro-abortion story I also don’t cast the woman who had one as the obvious villain. Life is complex, but there is a right and wrong.

9. You often decry on Facebook that you have too many ideas. How do you decide which to write first?

 

I have a rubric:
1. Will I get paid? (as in right away)
2. Am I on deadline?
3. Do I have a contract or an expectation from a publisher?
4. Will it sell more books?
5. Has the story grabbed me?

Sometimes, these blur, and once in a while, they go out the window. For example, I had an idea for a flash piece that I sent to a friend’s website. It will earn me nothing, and no one was expecting it, but the idea did not want to let go.

10. Is there a world of another writer you’d like to write in?

Madeleine L’ Engle’s Time Trilogy. Daydreaming up stories about Charles Wallance is what got me started. In fact, Mind Over Mind started in high school about Charles Wallace as an adult. Of course, it has radically changed! Deryl is nothing like Charles Wallace now, and the worlds are totally different. However, I still have one story that would work best with Charles Wallace. It takes place when he’s in his seventies and must again go in and out of people like he did in Swiftly Tilting Planet. One day, I plan to write it and use technology instead of withining—unless, of course Madeleine L’Engles’ estate wants to contact me about it!

I have been invited to write a novel in another author’s universe, incidentally. I don’t want to say more, though, until we have something more concrete. Let me just say, it’s a very interesting world premise and potentially a lot of fun.

Interview with author Karina Fabian on "Live and Let Fly."

We've had a few interviews with Karina Fabian before.  She's appeared as a guest blogger once or twice. She's tolerated interviews from here for at least two of her books -- ISIG II, and Mind Over Mind.

And, now, we're on her novel Live and Let Fly.

What I'm going to do is simple.  This interview will not appear on the blog, but on my Examiner.com page.  Since the word count on the articles is supposed to cap at only about 500 words, it's been broken up into a four part article.

I asked how she came up with a dragon and a magic-wielding nun as a heroic duo.

I asked her about writing the novel, in part 2

World building was much of part three

And part four was on being Catholic and writing this book.

However, I'm not going to let you, loyal reader, and newcomer, leave here empty handed. No.  For coming here today, I'm giving you excerpts from the novel.

First, some background.

For a dragon detective with a magic-slinging nun as a partner, saving the worlds gets routine. So, when the US government hires Vern and Sister Grace to recover stolen secrets for creating a new Interdimensional Gap--secrets the US would like to keep to itself, thank you—Vern sees a chance to play Dragon-Oh-Seven.

No human spy, however, ever went up against a Norse goddess determined to exploit those secrets to rescue her husband. Sigyn will move heaven and earth to get Loki—and use the best and worst of our world against anyone who tries to stop her.

It's super-spy spoofing at its best with exotic locations (Idaho--exotic?), maniacal middle-managers, secret agent men, teen rock stars in trouble, man-eating animatronics, evil overlords and more!

And now, some snippets, and extra data.

Short:

Festival was Friday. We had two days to stop a Nordic demigod evil overlord—overlady, overbeing, whatever—from blowing up a nuclear power plant, possibly destroying half an island full of revelers in the process, and creating an Interdimensional Gap through which she can bring the rest of her giant relatives to set up housekeeping where the Faerie Catholic Church didn't have the power to control them. In other words, two days until Hel broke loose.

I've had worse deadlines. I could afford a long bath in our whirlpool tub and a good meal first.

Long:

Charlie started to close the door behind us, his other hand gripping the handle of his dagger so tightly I could hear the leather wrap on the handle strain, as we listened to the footsteps coming our way, slow, bored. My predator's instincts rose; then I had a great idea. I shook my head at Charlie and winked, and he shuffled out of my way, leaving the door ajar. I settled myself with my back to the door, just inside the shadows and let the script play itself out:

CLUELESS MINION enters Stage Left. He pauses, hearing a noise, but does not report it. Instead, he fondles the stars on his nametag and moves toward the empty hallway, his mind on adding another. (Probably saying, "I was proactive today!")

CLUELESS pauses at door, hesitating. He stands and, back to the door, reaches for his walkie-talkie.

Suddenly, a well-muscled and gorgeously scaled tail whips out from the crack in the door and wraps itself around his neck. He only has time to grab ineffectively at the tail before he's drawn into the darkness. The door shuts behind him.

Pan shot of the empty hallway.

FADE TO BLACK

I slammed my victim on the floor and pinned him with my forelegs, then I leaned my face in nice and slow, making sure he got a good look at my fangs before he saw my eyes. "Where's the girl?" I growled low and menacingly.

"Wh-What g-g-girl?"

Charlie crouched down by Stutterboy and glanced at his nametag. "Look, Philip, we're in a bit of a hurry. We know Rhoda Dakota's being held captive somewhere nearby. Now you can be a good survivor and tell us where…or you can be dinner."

"I-I don't—"

"Phil A. Minion." I mused and drooled a bit for effect. I live for these moments, I really do. I licked his cheek and asked Charlie, "Can I have fries with that?"

"Why not? This is Idaho."

Month in Review: September, 2011

Ah, another month shot to Hell.

So, where are we?  Ah, yes, it's been a very strange little month.  Since I've cut back on the daily ... and weekly ... output, it's been interesting.  I don't even though I've gotten around to posting a music blog in a while.

So start with, we opened the month with a new concept from August: Characters answering Surveys.  In this case, I used Scott Murphy.

Then I looked into how terror can also be a form of communication: sometimes, the most intimidating characters are the ones you least expect. And, sometimes, they're just in your face.

Then there was how to torture characters: with some JMS, and some Jim Butcher.  Muwhahahahaha!!!!!

Yes, I've been having too much fun around here.

Can you tell?

Speaking of which, there was also my Impossible Odds blog, focusing on million to one odds.

Anyway, there was also another Self Defense review.  In this case, I covered how I spent my 9-11; mostly it was learning how to save a life.... no, I'm not joking.  How to save someone from chokes, and guns, and knives.  I also covered the latest in bulletproof clothing, and how to spot a concealed weapon, and such ...

Oh, and I also looked back on September 11, 2001.

Also: DC Comics rebooted their universe, and I'm not that happy about it. Though I'm told I'm dead wrong.

I did a review of The Expendables..... The Pain! The Pain!

And, there was Talk like a Pirate Day, where I got to be lazy ... in other words, I had nothing for that day, and I was saved by the realization it was September 19th.

And, finally, we had the return of Karina Fabian, discussing her new book Mind Over Mind. She gave us Ten Reasons to Love Science Fiction, an interview, and my review of the novel.

Anyway, I thought this was a good, fun little month.

And I've already started on the blogs for October.

Enjoy, all.

Review: Mind Over Mind, by Karina Fabian

For those of you who missed yesterday's interview with guest Karina Fabian, the author of Mind Over Mind, a little recap.

Deryl (the name is NOT mispelled) Stephen is a teenager with a few issues. He has great powers of empathy .... so great, that he will occasionally experience other people's feeling exactly as they if they were his own.  The butler to his rich aunt and uncle is a drunk, so Deryl smashes the liquor before he goes on a binge. Deryl finds and stops a rape, and has to knock himself out before he exchanges one rapist for another.

And, oh, yeah, he's being contacted by space aliens.

So, one or two people have considered him more than a little insane, which is why his address at the start of Mind Over Mind is the local insane asylum.

Enter one Joshua Lawson, who's just there for the summer, a quick job before moving on to other things.  His method of therapy: accept the delusion, and teach patients to work within their own little world.

Which is a good thing, because it looks like some of Deryl Stephen's delusions are actively trying to kill him.

If I read the book correctly, it looks like Deryl's father came for a one-night stand from another galaxy, and Deryl had inherited a sacred position -- he is the all-knowing, all seeing Ydrel (I said the name wasn't misspelled), of the planet Kanaan.  The job of the Ydrel is to provide answers to anything asked of him.

Anthony Ainley from the
original Doctor Who

However, Kanaan is in the middle of an interplanetary war.

The people who ask Deryl for information think he's an angel to help them against their enemies – an alien race who thinks that their world is the promised land.

On the other side, there is "The Master," an alien who seems quite interested in training Deryl as a weapon ... and may get him killed doing it ....

However, every time I read about "The Master," I immediately saw Anthony Ainley from the original Doctor Who.

One would think that this would make for more than enough of a science fiction epic, and move on.  It's certainly a great foundation for it.

However, the book is mostly told from the perspective of Joshua Lawson, who has enough trouble with his new job. His boss hates him, especially when Joshua is right; and Joshua seems to be developing feelings for one of the nurses, Sachiko Luchese ...

Yes, the nurse is named like a cross between a General in the Japanese Imperial Army, and a mafia godfather -- something I suspect may have been done for the express purpose of one bad pun in the middle of the novel. But that's neither here nor there.

In fact, Joshua and Sachiko's romance takes up a good chunk of the plot, though it really doesn't mention "romance" on the back of the book.

Enough of the summary, time for the review (below the break).

Interview with "Mind Over Mind" Author Karina Fabian

Yesterday, we had guest blogger Karina Fabian, author of Mind over Mind (editor of Infinite Space, Infinite God II, etc, etc) give us her views on writing science fiction.

Today, we get another shot at Madam Fabian, were we get to ask about her latest novel Mind Over Mind.  Because, apparently, she seemed to enjoy the last interview we had with her.

I'll see if I can do better this time .... muwhahahahaha....

Sorry, I had the switch jammed on "evil" for a moment....

Before we begin, the back cover of the book reads as follows:

Deryl Stephen’s uncontrollable telepathic abilities have landed him in a mental health institution, where no one believes in his powers.

But when Joshua Lawson, a student of neuro linguistic programming, takes part in a summer internship, he takes the unique step of accepting Deryl’s reality and teaches him to work with it. As Deryl learns control, he finds his next challenge is to face the aliens who have been contacting him psychically for years—aliens who would use him to further their cause in an interplanetary war.

On the one side of said war, there is Tasmae, the Miscria, of the planet Kanaan, who seeks out and contacts Deryl (not a misspelling, but the way) for information on everything from growing crops to making explosives (which goes over well in an insane asylum). On the other side is a being known simply as "The Master," who trains Deryl for combat, whether he wants it or not.

On with the interview .... (below the break)

Guest Blog: Karina Fabian on Writing Science Fiction.

Once upon a time, very long ago (okay, back in April), we had a guest blogger -- Karina Fabian, author of .... a whole lot of novels, and editor of Infinite Space, Infinite God II.

Guess what: she's back, with a new book, Mind Over Mind, a science fiction / fantasy piece (and there are reasons it's a bit of both), so I decided to keep her blog topic simple.

I asked her to blog "On the joys and wonders of writing SF."

She gave me a top ten list.

Here we go.....

Top Ten Reasons to Love Reading or Writing Science Fiction

From the Home Office in FabianSpace

1. Explore Strange New Worlds. Whether it's traveling to another planet, exploring the future, or even seeing how the past would change if you altered some aspect like, say sticking a small West Virginia town in the middle of the Black Forest in 1632, you will find something completely new.

2. To seek out new life. This doesn't have to mean alien life, either. A science fiction setting can give new life to an old plot, or a new way at looking at our own society. Recently, I revisited an old favorite, ALIEN NATION. A sci-fi cop show from the 90s, it was really more about racial issues in a big city.

3. To boldly go! It's sometimes easier as a writer to explore a controversial issue in a way that will make people think when you put it in a setting that's removed from the present day society. Science fiction also gives you a means to take chances. Nichelle Nicols (Uhura from Star Trek) was one of the first black women on television to have a substantial role, and was as a result a role model for thousands of women and Blacks.

4. Because it's part of our culture. How many of you recognized the lines from the first three reasons? We know without an explanation what someone means by warp speed. Ray guns, transporters, aliens, time travel--none of these are unknown concepts, even when they aren't everyday objects.

5. To explore the impossible. Or at least the impossible right now. Did you know a lot of technology we take for granted and are developing right now was first suggested in science fiction? We have 3-D faxes--replicators! Arthur C. Clark first talked about satellite communications years before we launched our satellites. NASA is working on VASIMR drives for spaceships, and Japan recently launched its first solar sail craft--ideas made known in science fiction stories while still far-off theories in scientific journals.

6. To explore ideas. How would humans act if a plague knocked out 90 percent of the population? What if we always fought wars through computers? What if humans could live forever? What if you could go back in time--but only for eleven minutes a shot? Some ideas can only be examined in a science fiction setting.

7. You can learn a lot while enjoying the adventure. Science fiction writers often have to do a lot of research into everything from physics to genetics to animal sciences in order to craft convincing stories. Writing is a great way to learn things--but many times, much of that information comes out in the text, too, and not in a boring "just the facts" manner of a textbook.

8. We are a technological, forward-thinking society. Why shouldn't our literature reflect that?

9. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Science fiction and fantasy are a big genre. Eighty percent of the top grossing movies in the US are science fiction or fantasy (source: http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10131), and the number of books--and readers-continues to grow.

10. It's sheer escapist fun. 'Nuff said! 

****************************

About the Author: Karina Fabian

After being a straight-A student, Karina now cultivates Fs: Family, Faith, Fiction and Fun. From an order of nuns working in space to a down-and-out faerie dragon working off a geas from St. George, her stories surprise with their twists of clichés and incorporation of modern day foibles in an otherworld setting. Her quirky twists and crazy characters have won awards, including the INDIE book award for best fantasy (Magic, Mensa and Mayhem), and a Mensa Owl for best fiction (World Gathering). In May 2010, her writing took a right turn with a devotional, Why God Matters, which she co-wrote with her father. Mrs. Fabian is former President of the Catholic Writer’s Guild and also teaches writing and book marketing seminars online.