We Were Heroes Author Interview: Chris Allinotte

Hello, and welcome to an all new series of author interviews.  The long anticipated anthology "We Were Heroes" will be coming out in 2016, and in preparation for this release we'll be running interviews of various contributors.

MTI:  Today I'm interviewing a returning contributor, Chris Allinotte, who has crafted the compelling story Faded Instincts this time around.  Thank you for being here, Chris.

It's been a while since we did one of these interviews.  Why not tell our new readers a little bit about yourself?

CA:  Well, the basics are that I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with my wife and children, but I grew up in northern Ontario, and went to University in Toronto, where I stayed for awhile.

I’ve always loved creating stories, but I got serious about it during theatre school, when I wrote my first play, Late Last Night. I later staged the production at the Staircase Café Theatre in Hamilton.

It was awhile after that that I got back into writing fiction, joining a writing group in Toronto. One of the pieces I came up with in that group later won first place in the Toronto Star short story contest. I’ve written pretty constantly since then. Two years ago, I published a collection of short fiction, called Gathering Darkness, which I’m very proud of. 

MTI:  Your story, Faded Instincts, appears in We Were Heroes, an anthology devoted to the theme of aging, retired, or out of their element superheroes and villains.  Tell us a little bit about your contribution to this collection.

CA:  Faded Instincts is about a father coming to terms with the son he left behind. So much of superhero mythology is dependent on the protagonists having no responsibility other than fighting evil in the name of justice which, while admirable, is sort of a juvenile mindset. I thought it would be fun to explore what happens when real life catches up to the mythology. The fact that the son finds himself developing the same powers as his father provided a nice catalyst to get them together.

MTI:  Who's your favorite superhero (or villain)?

CA:  I find myself going back to Batman a lot. When I was younger, I loved Spiderman and the X-Men, but as I’ve aged, I keep coming back to Bruce Wayne. I particularly like the Frank Miller books (The Dark Knight Returns, Batman:Year One), as well as Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, that expose the hero as being nearly as damaged as the villains he fights. There’s something intensely gripping about Batman’s sense of urgency – that he cannot rest until the job is done – but it’s never done.

MTI:  If you, yourself, could have any superpower, what would it be?

CA:  I think it would be great fun, actually, to have the powers that “Animal Man” in my story has – to transform into any creature that’s ever lived, at will.  Just exploring the possibilities of that would take a lifetime.

MTI:  Shifting back to your writing, can you tell us a little about what you're working on right now?

CA:  I’m nearly through the first draft of my first full novel. It features characters I’ve used before in short stories, so it’s been really great to find out more about them as they stretch out to fill the greater space.

MTI:  Other than Faded Instincts appearing in We Were Heroes, do you have any other stories being published in the near future?

CA:  There is a novellette that I’ve done which may border on fan fiction (it takes place in the world of the Wizard of Oz), so I’ve been hesitant to send it out – but I like it a lot, so I may polish it up and release it myself on Smashwords. Everything else I’ve been doing has been to try and finish a book length manuscript for once, so my editing/submitting pile is pretty robust right now.

MTI:  On a lighter note, have you watched any good tv lately?

CA:  I’ve really been enjoying this season of American Horror Story, much more so than previous seasons. The story seems about a thousand times more consistent, with real stakes. I was also very satisfied by Series 9 of Doctor Who.

MTI:  How about music?

CA:  A friend told me he liked to create a playlist devoted to his work in progress, and fill it up with related songs that could help inform the tone of the book. I tried to do that with my current WIP, so it’s a lot of classic rock and  Alice Cooper, Epica, Within Temptation and Tool for example.

MTI:  What was the last movie you saw, and what did you think of it?

CA:  Most recently, the new Star Wars. I absolutely loved it. It was everything I hoped it would be, and everything that made the original movies great. Mostly, it was a movie that was about something, rather that simply being the product of a “create your own Star Wars movie” CGI kit.

MTI:  Readers love samples.  Do you happen to have a story excerpt you'd like to share with us today? 

CA:  Not at this time. The most new work I have is the novel manuscript, and it’s still in ‘just for me’ stage.

Thanks for having my story in We Were Heroes, and for a very enjoyable interview!

MTI:  And thank you for a great interview, Chris.  Those who want to read your work can get a copy of We Were Heroes.

Author Interview: Joseph Conat

Martinus Publishing’s latest anthology, VFW: Veterans of theFuture Wars, is now available!  To kick off this new book release, I’ll be interviewing some of the authors who have stories featured in this collection. Today, I'm interviewing Joseph Conat, the entertaining author who contributed “Conversations with Monsters.”    Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed.

MTI:  Starting off, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Joseph Conat:  Well, let's see. I have a gorgeous and tolerant wife, a beautiful and wonderfully insane daughter... two dogs, one of whom is affable and well-trained and the other is a loudmouth lunatic... two cats, one of whom is affable and invisible while being the approximate size and weight of a Ford F-150, and the other is a frustrated evil genius who I'm pretty sure has been building either a death-ray or a plasma can opener in the basement for the past fifteen years.

I've gotten brave enough with my writing to begin showing it to people other than my family and friends. I'm happy to have "Conversations with Monsters" in VFW.

MTI:  Now, getting down to business; what first compelled you to weave fiction, and what's your favorite type of story to write?

JC:  I've written since I was small. When I was four or five I wrote a six page book involving King Kong and... something. Lasers? Anyway, it was illustrated.

I tend to write science fiction. I'm a big fan of futurism and how technology changes society and the human condition. A lot of my stuff lately has had a strong "what if" sense. Alternate histories and whatnot.

MTI:  Tell me, if you had to pick just one author who has influenced or inspired you, who would it be?

JC:  Neal Stephenson. The man is a genius. The cyberpunk satire Snow Crash, the World War II/1990s cryptographic "history" Cryptonomicon and its epic follow-up/prequel The Baroque Cycle... they're all massive tomes, but worth the effort.

MTI:  “Conversations with Monsters” appears in VFW, an anthology of military science fiction that honors soldiers and veterans.  Was there any particular inspiration for this story?

JC:  I actually started writing a different story for this anthology, but found I'd painted myself into a corner. This one just came to me in one of those rare, but miraculous flashes of "what the hell am I gonna wri—ooh! OOH!"

I may still use some of the ideas for the original story somewhere.

MTI:  If you could go back to any point in history, when would you visit?

JC:  World War II, Bletchley Park. Turing and Colossus. That would be cool.

MTI:  If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

JC:  Can I say Neal Stephenson again? Eh, overdone. Batman.

No, that's ridiculous. Arthur Conan Doyle, though. Yeah. Or, Joseph Bell, the man from whom Doyle drew inspiration for Sherlock Holmes.

You know, let's just have an "all of history" party and I'll mingle.

MTI:  Shifting back to your writing, can you tell us a little about what you're working on right now?

JC:  I've been writing, on and off, a kind of alternate history novel exploring if superheroes had shown up during WWII. What would the world be like today if we had really had those tropes around for seventy plus years? It's fun.

MTI:  Other than your contribution to VFW, do you have any other stories being published in the near future?

JC:  Not yet, but here's hopin'.

MTI:  Your bio places you in Ypsilanti, Michigan.   I’m something of a car guy, and whenever I hear of Ypsilanti, I’m reminded of automotive innovator Preston Tucker, who lived there and created a very nice car after WWII.  I was just wondering if you’d ever taken an interest in the man.

JC:  Tucker was the man. They have one of his cars at the Henry Ford Museum and I always rush to find it when we take our daughter there. There used to be one in the old Hudson museum down on Cross St., but I'm not sure if it's still there.

I loved his innovation. The turning headlight sticks with me, an innovation that they now tout on newer cars like they just thought of it. I saw a commercial recently showcasing this "new feature" and yelled "Stolen from Tucker!"

My wife rolled her eyes and turned up the volume.

MTI:  On a lighter note, have you watched any good tv lately?

JC:  Almost Human. Doesn't go quite as deep into robot/human relations issues as, say, Asimov or Philip K. Dick, but the interplay between Karl Urban and Michael Ealy is priceless. Plus, good Blade Runner-esque production values.

MTI:  What sort of music do you enjoy?

JC:  Movie scores. I'm such a nerd.

Hans Zimmer RAWKS!!

MTI:  And if you would, name three movies that you could watch over and over again and not be bored.

JC:  Kick-Ass, Dredd (the new one, not the Stallone) and Serenity.

MTI:  You have the attention of potential readers.  Are there any great words of wisdom you’d like to share with them?  Perhaps something that would persuade them to purchase your work?

JC: Argh. Wisdom? Um. Purchase my work. Um.

Look, I tell stories. I think they're pretty good, the ones I let people see. The others are being re-tooled and will see the light of day if I can get 'em right. Like any other writer, I hope folk like my stories, like my ideas, like my characters...

If you do, buy them. So I can write more.

And do the same thing for any other writer you like. Throw 'em some bones and they can do more of that stuff you like.

MTI:  Readers love free samples.  Is there anything you’d like to share with us today, perhaps something new or recent that you’ve written?

            Grim was on Mars when that office building in New Jersey exploded.

            Sitting at the conference table, he stifled a yawn. Bad form; as a Captain in the Protectorate of District 6 (Americas Northeast), he should have been presenting an image of alert seriousness, ever vigilant for potential security gaps through which Threats Against the Crown might slip, wreaking havoc on the Royal Personages and rocking the foundations of the world government. But there were no serious Threats Against the Crown, and anyway the Crown was, to everyone's knowledge, completely invulnerable.

             Besides, Lord Windrunner, Vice Commissioner of His Royal Majesty's Global Constabulary Protectorate, had veered wildly from the agenda (Security Preparations for the Convocation of Petitioners at the Vatican Ruins) into an impromptu treatise on the motivations of now-extinct terrorist threats and how they might be relevant to new, but still undiscovered (and thus, to Grim's mind, probably the fevered imaginings of Windrunner himself) terrorist threats.

            "For instance," Windrunner was saying as he gestured at a holographic enlargement of Europe, "despite laws specifically criminalizing the depiction of Todesengel, Death's head imagery has been found defacing buildings in Bonn..."

            "Imagery that is not specifically referencing Todesengel." Windrunner was interrupted by Lord Thursday.  Thursday claimed to be the earthly incarnation of the Norse god of thunder, but declined to call himself Thor in deference to the Church of Asatru and His Imperial Majesty's unspoken but ironclad edict against supers allowing themselves to be worshipped as individuals. Thursday was Regional Commissioner of Europe Southwest 2, which included the former Germany.  "It lacks the peaked cap and SS insignia...it is, in fact, just a common skull motif. We believe it to be referencing that band...what's it called?"

            "'Ende der Zeiten,'" supplied Thursday's aide de camp, a weaselly little spastic that went by the name of Sparks.  "It means 'End of Times.'"

            "Yes." Thursday stroked his magnificent golden beard and fingered the rough and beaten hammer at his waist. "Cape-thrash, if I recall. All the members have minor Gifts.  Anyway," the not-a-god shook his flowing mane. "Why is Lord Wyrm not running this meeting?"

            Lord Windrunner flushed. "His Majesty's Royal Protector has more pressing business," he admitted.

            "More pressing than assuring nothing scuffs His Royal Majesty's indestructible rump?" Thursday guffawed. "It must be important indeed!"

            In truth, this level meeting was well below Wyrm's status. As Viceroy of the Empire, Wyrm was head of the Privy Council and his duties spanned the Solar system and beyond. Windrunner was a minor official in the Global Protectorate, Wyrm's particular sphere of influence. He was embarrassed that he'd been relegated to a mere functionary, running meetings instead of making policy.

            Grim could empathize, though he was coming at it from the opposite way. As a mere Captain, this meeting was not only well above his pay-grade, but outside his purview. He had nothing to do with Rome, or Southern Europe District 2, the zone in which it lay. He was acting as an amanuensis for *his* boss, who was scheduled to be there, but had decided to do something, or someone else.

            He was, in fact, pretty upset about it all. He'd been up for close on twenty-four hours catching his mettings, then filling in for the Duchess Shockfront at hers. He was tired, wired and thinking about how to get fired.

            And that's when Grim's artie buzzed at him.

MTI:  That one looks promising.  Thank you for sharing that snippet, and thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable interview.  Readers who want more of Joseph Conat’s work can pick up VFW: Veterans of the FutureWars, in either Print or Kindle format.

Author Interview: Mel Obedoza

Today, I'm interviewing Mel Obedoza, the talented author who contributed a pair of short stories to "Quests, Curses, & Vengeance," the upcoming anthology from Martinus Publishing.  Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed, Mel.

MTI:  For starters, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Mel Obedoza:  I’m a part time writer, programmer, and virtual assistant, and full-time mommy from the Philippines. I like to keep busy, but in my downtime I love to read, write, watch TV, and play boardgames. I have a soft spot for romance, fantasy, anime, and manga.

MTI:  Getting down to business; what first compelled you to weave fiction, and what's your favorite type of story to write?

MO:  I’ve always loved to read and it often pained me to reach the end of a story, knowing that it would be some time before I could buy another book. So I thought to myself, why not make my own story? I still think that way when I reach the end of a good book. I like to write fantasy stories that almost always end with a dark or horrific twist (most of the time, I don’t really mean for that to happen. Really.)

MTI: Tell me, if you had to pick just one author who has influenced or inspired you, who would it be?

MO:  Roald Dahl. His books introduced me to the realm of fantasy.

MTI:  Ah, yes, James and the Giant Peach was one of the first books I ever read.

Your stories, “El Dorado” and “Be Careful What You Wish For...” appear in Quests, Curses, & Vengeance, an eclectic collection of stories ranging from high fantasy to imaginative sci-fi adventures and even supernatural horror.  You had the opportunity to read many of the other stories that appear in Quests, Curses, & Vengeance in their original, rough draft form.  If you could, point out a few of your favorites.

MO:  This is a tough one. They were all excellent reads. If I have to choose some favorites, it would be (in no particular order) Poetic Justice, More Precious Than Rubies, Odin’s Spear, and Curses May Not Be Returned, Refunded, or Exchanged.

MTI:  Shifting back to your own writing, can you tell us a little about what you're working on right now?

MO:  I’m always trying to finish my first novel (or at least a novella). Unfortunately, it’s a tale that involves heaven, hell, and something in-between, which I’ve been told won’t make for a popular read. I’ll probably have to shelve this at some point and start anew.

I’m also currently co-authoring a story for a hidden object game. It’s slow-going (Alas! Real life keeps getting in the way for all those involved in the project), but it is still persistently moving at its own pace and may yet be realized as a published app someday...

MTI:  Of everything you’ve written thus far, do you happen to have a “favorite” piece of fiction?

MO:  Yes, ‘Death Wish’, which was published by New Asian Writing in 2011. Oddly enough, despite enjoying light-hearted stories and movies, and detesting tragedies, I seem to have more success getting my darker (typically tragic) short stories published. This one, at least, had an upbeat ending, despite the ‘death’ theme. You can read it here.

MTI:  Other than your stories appearing in Quests, Curses, & Vengeance, do you have any other works of fiction being published in the near future?

MO:  Sadly, not at the moment, no. I’m catching up with my day job and other projects (or should I say, they’re catching up with me?). I’m sure the writing bug will come back to bite me again. Eventually. I did recently have a piece of flash fiction published in Dagan Books’ FISH anthology, which is available here.

MTI:  When you have the chance, what kind of television program do you enjoy, if any?

MO:  I watch TV to unwind and relax, so I prefer comedies such as The Big Bang Theory and Psych. I confess I’m also a fan of Downton Abbey.

MTI:  Regarding music, is there anything special you like to listen to?

MO:  Nothing in particular. I listen to any type of music that catches my fancy, be it sentimental, Christian songs, pop, K-pop, J-pop, classical, or instrumental. At one point, my brother had me listening to heavy metal. I don’t think I ever took to rap, though.

MTI:  If you could name three movies that you could watch over and over again and not be bored with, what would they be?

MO:  I can watch any movie by Hayao Miyazaki over and over again (except maybe Ponyo).

MTI:  You’ve got the attention of potential readers.  Is there anything you’d like to say to them, perhaps something to pique their interest in your work?

MO:  If you’re actually reading this, THANK YOU for your interest in my stories. They do so love to have an audience! If you would like to read more, hop on over to my humble list of published stories. There are a couple of tales that are readily available online, as well as a few other misfits in my free stories page that don’t quite fit anywhere, but still insist on having their tales told.

MTI:  As we wrap up this interview, do you happen to have a short sample for our readers?  Nothing too long, but maybe a few fresh paragraphs?

MO:  Sure, here’s a short excerpt from novella-in-progress entitled, ‘Netherworld’:

“Create…what exactly?” Paul asked. “What could you possibly need here?”

“Weapons, of course,” Richard said, sparing Paul a pitying glance for forgetting such an obvious thing. “The ones you warriors wield. We find that the weapons of the mortal world are quite useful against demonfolk.”

“Demons? Here, in heaven?”

“No, no, no!” Richard shot him an exasperated look. “Haven’t you been listening? This is not heaven. This is Netherworld. That is heaven!”

He pointed towards a simple wooden gate that was as big as a house. It was surrounded by a long stretch of pristine white walls. From his vantage point, Paul could not see where it ended, no matter where he looked.

“Well, it’s heaven’s gate, anyway,” the boy amended, looking quite sad. “But it hasn’t opened in many, many years.”

MTI:  Thank you for that excellent interview and free sample, Mel.  For those who want to read two of her latest stories, they can be found in Quests, Curses, & Vengeance.

Author Interview: Stacey Jaine McIntosh

Continuing with our series of contributing author interviews, today I'm interviewing Stacey Jaine McIntosh, the talented author who contributed three short stories to "Quests, Curses, & Vengeance," a Martinus Publishing anthology.  Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed, Stacey.

MTI:  Starting off, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Stacey Jaine McIntosh:  I live in Perth, Western Australia. I’m twenty-nine and I’ve been married, coming up seven years in September, and together almost fourteen. I have four kids between the ages of seven and two, along with two rabbits, who go by the names Peach and Harry, and sometimes Mario.

I have a Diploma in Spatial Information Services, I did genuinely want to be a Cartographer at one stage, but it just wasn’t to be. I now use the skills I learnt to create rather elaborate maps of the worlds that feature in my novels and short stories.

Aside from all that, I love genealogy and the medieval era. I’m a Pagan, with my roots firmly set somewhere in South Wales.

MTI:  I’ve dabbled in genealogy myself, and have a very extensive tree on many of my family lines.  There are a few Welsh ancestors among them, but that’s going back to the 1700’s.

Getting down to business; what first compelled you to weave fiction, and what's your favorite type of story to write?

SJM:  I was thirteen and I was compelled to write, because... because my mother was an alcoholic. I didn’t understand her, or the disease, one bit. I still don’t, and she’s been dead five years. I hated her and loved her all at once, something which I realized way too late. It’s weird how those emotions can co-exist. It was the one constant thing in my life—writing, so now I keep up with it, because there’s no one, with the exception of my husband, to tell me to stop, not that I listen when he does.

My favourite type of story to write is Young Adult fiction, for sure. It hasn’t changed. The only difference between now and then is that now I like to put some kind of supernatural spin on things and I’ve gotten into speculative fiction. I like playing the what-if game and making people think; it’s fun.

MTI:  I can personally relate to the alcoholic mother influence.  Been there, done that; so very sad.  But getting back to the interview, tell me, if you had to pick just one author who has influenced or inspired you, who would it be?

SJM:  I think for me it has to be Anne Rice. There’s just something about her style of writing, not to mention the characters—Mona Mayfair or Claudia, personally—that keep me going back and reading her books over and over again.

MTI:  Your stories, “Life or Death,” “Exiles of Eden,” and “Morríghan” appear in Quests, Curses, & Vengeance, an eclectic collection of stories ranging from high fantasy to imaginative sci-fi adventures and even supernatural horror.  You had the opportunity to read many of the other stories that appear in Quests, Curses, & Vengeance in their original, rough draft form.  If you could, point out a few of your favorites.

SJM:  The ones that stood out for me were: Burn It Up, Burn It Down (by Philip Overby) and Curses May Not Be Returned, Refunded, or Exchanged (by Lauren A. Forry).

MTI:  Shifting back to your own writing, can you tell us a little about what you're working on right now?

SJM:  I'm currently working on a series of YA Paranormal Romance Novels, although I much prefer Arthurian Fantasy, but only because Morgan is so much fun to write.

MTI:  Of everything you’ve written thus far, do you happen to have a “favorite” piece of fiction?

SJM:  My favourite piece is probably the short story that had me accused of plagiarism in the tenth grade. It was my first attempt at writing sci-fi and I was totally out of my depth because I hadn’t read any sci-fi, so I didn’t know the ins and outs of the genre. Needless to say, I failed, but I kept the story anyway.

MTI:  Other than your three stories appearing in Quests, Curses, & Vengeance, do you have any other works of fiction being published in the near future?

SJM:  I wish, but no, I don’t. My focus is a little all over the place, torn between family obligations and actually getting the words written. I might look at submitting something in the New Year but for now I’m just happy to be writing.

MTI:  When you have the chance, what kind of television program do you enjoy, if any?

SJM:  I’ll watch anything as long as it’s not too scary. After watching “Little Shop of Horrors” in primary school and being pretty much traumatized I’ve steered clear of horror. Shows that make my short list at the moment are: Bones, Glee, Supernatural, Lost Girl, Revenge, Merlin, Once Upon a Time and almost everything Joss Whedon has ever put his hands on.

MTI:  Indeed, Joss Whedon is a cult favorite.  Damn those Hollywood execs who cancelled Firefly!  But I digress...

What about music.  Anything special you like to listen to?

SJM:  I have a rather eclectic taste in music, as I grew up listening to 80s Country music and Enya. I eventually developed my own taste, including Madonna, The Cranberries, and Silverchair. I still love Enya and I’ve grown to appreciate the country music I grew up with.

MTI:  The Cranberries were one of my favorite bands in my mid-teens.  I recently reviewed their most recent album, which is not quite as good as their first couple of albums (Everyone Else is Doing it... and No Need to Argue, true classics), but it’s still pretty good.

If you could name three movies that you could watch over and over again and not be bored with, what would they be?

SJM:  Empire Records. I came across this movie in high school, and it soon became a regular feature among my friends and I, to the point we had the movie practically memorized word for word.

10 Things I Hate About You, solely for Aussie actor Heath Ledger, there is no other reason. When you come from Perth, just as he did, it’s impossible to not get behind local talent.

Merlin starring Sam Neill, I think this one is self-explanatory. Arthurian Legends and Helena Bonham-Carter, are probably one of my favourite combinations. I’ve followed her work ever since.

MTI:  You’ve got the attention of potential readers.  Is there anything you’d like to say to them, perhaps something to pique their interest in your work?

SJM:  I hope I leave an impression, I really do, because, I like turning things on their heads, making people think of how something could have been portrayed. It’s fun, and I hope it’s fun for whoever is reading. If I take my writing too seriously, I stop having fun and there’s no point writing when that happens.

MTI:  As we wrap up this interview, do you happen to have a short sample for our readers?  Nothing too long, but maybe a few fresh paragraphs?

SJM:  I do, actually, it’s taken from my work-in-progress “Dandelions”

The sickening crack of the gun makes me jump, my heart running away with my confidence. All I can hear is the rush of blood in my slightly deafened ears. The fear is immediate, and real. It sends shivers down my spine, faster than the bullet can pierce its victim.

My adrenaline spikes and I feel a wave of relief wash over me, before it crashes, bringing me back down to reality and the realisation of what I had just done.

The gun I had been holding falls though my fingers to the floor, and I glance down, my eyes settling on the blood that’s now pooling on the floor, all sticky and red, it shimmers like rubies, rubies encased in iron.

My stomach heaves, and bile rises to my throat, and I swallow, hard, in an effort to stave off the nausea I know is coming. But it’s no good and I’m off running to the bathroom to empty my stomach of its meagre contents into the porcelain bowl of the toilet.

I stumble outside and take a deep breath. The cool air hits me all of a sudden. It’s colder, by far, than what I’d been expecting for early September and I shiver in an attempt to stay warm.

My eyes stray back towards the house, but I don’t dare go back inside, lest I be sick to my stomach all over again. I just killed my father, and that thought alone is a little unnerving. It only takes a moment for me to remind myself that he deserved it. He’d killed my mother, so it’s only right he gets what he deserved.

I walk along the highway, mulling it over, on my way to a local bar, clearly not paying close attention as I narrowly miss being run over.

A growl erupts from my throat, my head feels as if it’s splitting in two, while my body is on fire.

What the hell? My vision blurs, as I sink to the floor in the middle of the intersection, greeted by the renewed sensation of nausea and bile rising to my throat. And when I look down I see paws where my hands used to be.

Oh Frick!

MTI:  Intriguing stuff!  Thank you for a great sample and an equally entertaining interview.  For those who want to read more of Stacey’s work, Quests, Curses, & Vengeance awaits!

The Authors of The Temporal Element

As the Martinus Publishing endeavor continues, I'm pleased to announce our "Authors Page," which gives you a brief look at the people behind the stories.  Check out their brief biographies and some of their faces here:

http://www.martinus.us/authors.html

The list currently features every author who contributed to the Temporal Element, and as more anthologies are produced and more authors are published, the list shall grow!

I'm currently toying with the notion of several more anthologies this year, and I'll keep you up to date as we move forward with them.