Monday, September 21, 2020

Interview - Tempted by Brandi Evans #PNR #angels #authorinterview


- What is your “day” job if you are not a full-time author?

I wear scrubs to work, saving the world one sleep disorder at a time.  

- If you wrote a book about your life what would the title be?

Ramblings of an Insane Mind

- What is the hardest thing about being an author?

Making the characters tell me their story when they don’t want to. 

- What is the best thing about being an author?

Creation. Living vicariously inside my characters for just a little while…

- Have you ever been starstruck by meeting one of your favorite authors? If so who was it?
  
No. Unfortunately, I’ve never met Nora Roberts, LOL. Or Neil Gaiman. Or Marissa Meyer. 

- What book changed your life?

Not so much a book but a series: Harry Potter. I’d kinda gotten into a rut where I didn’t read much anymore. That world drew me in and reawakened my love of the written word. 

- What were some of your favorite books growing up?

I loved the Ramona Quimby series!

- What books are currently in your to be read pile?

Every book Nora Roberts has ever written! Not JD Robb’s books, but only because I’ve read all those already, LOL. 

- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audiobooks?

Yes!!! All of them. 

- If you could live inside the world of a book or series which world would it be and why?

I cannot answer that! 

Tempted
Redemption Harbor Quartet
Book One
Brandi Evans

Date of Publication: September 15, 2020
Word Count: ~40,000
Cover Artist: Premade Ebook Cover Shop

Tagline: The only thing standing between this fallen angel and redemption is the woman he loves.

Book Description:

Eons ago, Seth fell for another angel—literally—and was cast down from the Heavens. Seeking redemption, he went to work for the Angels of Death, taking the lives of people destined to die. His only desire is to return home, but everything changes when a foul-mouthed brunette walks into his life and plunges his ordered world into chaos, tempting him with the one thing he hasn’t felt in longer than he can remember: love.

A busted radiator strands Lyndi Garrison on a deserted stretch of coastal Maine and puts her in the path of a violent madman. She expertly fends off her attacker just as a stranger arrives offering assistance. She’s instantly enamored by her gentle giant hero, and before the evening is over, they share a devastating kiss and a knockout round of sex unlike any she’s ever known. But happiness and Lyndi have never been long-term friends, and Lyndi can’t help but wonder if she is finally getting a second chance at happiness or if Fate is planning to coldcock her again.



Excerpt:
Seth didn’t know which was worse. Spending eternity in hell or working his way out of damnation by becoming a murderer.
Okay, in his defense, he technically wasn’t a murderer, at least not in the terms mortals used. He had, however, been responsible for the termination of more lives than he could count—all in the name of finding redemption. And no, the irony wasn’t lost on him, but at the moment, he didn’t have time to contemplate his penance. He was on the clock.
Franklin Michaels jogged around the bend. Each footfall brought him closer and closer to Seth.
To death.
With the dropping temperatures, the coastal park in Redemption Harbor, Maine, was all but deserted. Seth was grateful for the privacy. Not because he feared his target might see him—the job was easier if Seth didn’t think of his victims by name—but because this termination necessitated solitude. The target had to die alone. No exceptions.
Why? Because his bosses, the Angels of Death, deemed it so. And Seth’s job wasn’t to question but to do. To fulfill his obligations without emotion and with as little deviation from the plan’s parameters as possible. Simple.
Ha! There was nothing fucking simple about carrying out a person’s death, even a scumbag like this one.
For reasons Seth didn’t understand, this asshole hadn’t been slated for termination two years ago when he’d had his first heart attack—with the coronary Seth would cause tonight being the second. No, fate had allowed him an additional two years of blessed breath. Time to see his daughter get married, to see his son welcome his own child into the world.
To rape four more women.
He’d beaten one woman with such animalistic rage that she’d later succumbed to her injuries. Another had died by her own hand when she could no longer withstand the black void Michaels had punched into her soul.
Seth hovered toward the target. A lone spiritual “touch” was all it would take to send this bastard into a lethal episode of cardiac arrest and straight to hell where he belonged. Seth reached out and—
“Son of a bitch! I’m gonna set a blowtorch to your ass and turn you into a goddamn sculpture!”
Seth pulled back. Curiosity had him turning toward the furious, yet sultry, female voice, a strikingly odd combination.
Just off the main road near the park entrance, a woman stood with her back to him as she kicked the shit out of a hybrid car’s tire. White smoke billowed from the vehicle’s engine. Caught in the soft glow of the streetlight above, she ran her fingers through long chestnut hair that had just a hint of auburn undertones, as if she’d spent much of the previous summer camped out on one of the nearby beaches. No pants protruded from the hem of her dark, calf-length jacket. The skin of those toned legs set off a creamy contrast to her coat—so okay, maybe no long hours spent on the beach.
Wild thoughts flashed through his mind as he wondered what she wore beneath that jacket. A dress? A skirt? Would the material cling to her body like a second skin? Or maybe she wore nothing at all?
Concentrate, he scolded. You’re here on a job.
Seth turned to his mark, but the mark was gone.
Damn it. Seth opened his mind, searching out and instantly finding the target. Up the walk, he’d folded himself into the shadows, his dark arousal filling Seth’s being like onions wrapped in ripe gym socks. Beautiful-Potty-Mouth was exactly this animal’s type. A pretty little brunette who was all alone. The Guardian in Seth would be damned if he’d let the fiend hurt her. Not on his watch.
Yet even as the noble notion entered his mind, so did the warning against intervention. Death Code and Angelic Code both forbade interference in the affairs of mortals, except by Divine Order. Seth had one purpose here tonight. To make sure his target died in the manner his bosses foresaw. No more. No less. To disregard the Code was to risk all hope of ever returning home.
To assure his banishment would, indeed, be for eternity.
Still, he moved toward his target. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what the other man was doing: stalking. Dark anger welled inside Seth. How was he supposed to sit back while this creep raped and possibly killed an innocent? If Seth killed the target now, before he made his move—
Beautiful-Potty-Mouth turned from the car—toward Seth— and something happened that he hadn’t experienced since he’d lost his wings.
His soul stirred.

About the Author:

Brandi Evans was raised by a caravan of traveling Gypsies. She spent her days learning the ways of her people and her nights lost in legends as old as time. Okay, not really, but that's way more interesting than the truth!

In reality, Brandi grew up the oldest child of an ordinary family. Grade school, middle school, high school. Nothing extraordinary happened until she left the nest. She joined the military, went to college, got married, and became a mom. And somewhere along the way, she discovered she liked to read—and write!—stories hot enough to melt eReaders.








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Friday, September 18, 2020

Interview - Below Dark Waters by Katie Zaber #authorinterview


- What is your “day” job if you are not a full-time author?

I’m a full time author.

- If you wrote a book about your life what would the title be?

From Waretown—Pronounced Where-town

- What is the hardest thing about being an author?

Marketing and promoting. I’m not very good at sales and I’m shy on social media, so it’s a challenge, but I think I’m getting better. 

- What is the best thing about being an author?

I love having my own schedule. I mainly start writing at night and end up typing sometimes till dawn. So it’s nice being in charge of my own hours. Plus, I get to do what I love.

- Have you ever been starstruck by meeting one of your favorite authors? If so who was it?  

Nope, I’m not that lucky.

- What book changed your life?

I honestly don’t know if there is a particular book that changed my life. I’ve read so many and have gone on countless adventures that I think I take a little bit from each one. 

- What were some of your favorite books growing up?

I first started reading historical books as a child. Cut and dry books. I know it’s weird, but that’s where my love of reading and history began. Books on evolution, Pompeii, Atlantis, lost civilizations—I loved them all. Then I started picking up historical fiction books, diaries of women throughout time. The further back in time with more cultural variations the better. In high school, I started reading fantasy mainly, but I also read all of Chuck Palahniuk’s books.

- What books are currently in your to be read pile?

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher, Ink and Sigil by Kevin Hearne, Dune by Frank Herbert, Blackbringer by Laini Taylor, and a year’s worth of Nat Geo Magazines. But really the list goes on and on.

- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audio books?

I used to love holding a printed book, but after a neck & shoulder injury, it was too difficult to hold them up for more than twenty minutes. So now I use an eReader or my phone. One day I’ll start buying print again.

- If you could live inside the world of a book or series which world would it be and why?

Hmm, that’s a hard one. My first thought is, what world is made of chocolate and how do I get there? But that’s because I have a huge sweet tooth and sadly, I have yet to read a book where everything is made out of chocolate and candy. Plus, I think I’d be considered a monster because I’d be eating everything.

I wouldn’t want to live anywhere that didn’t have indoor plumbing. That’s a deal breaker for me. I need a toilet and toilet paper. So anywhere that has an outhouse is out. Most of the series I have read, the world is a hostile place. There are overlords, gods, and beings with terrifying power who can control the masses and destroy them at their whim. Again, this eliminates another huge portion of the books I’ve read. 

After much contemplation I think I’d live in The Iron Druid’s world. Normal citizen’s live in ignorant bliss and have no clue that gods are real. Plus, I get the comforts of our world and Witches are real. So I could have access to spells and still have hot water piped into my tub. Of course there are Vampires and Werewolf’s but they aren’t abundant and can be avoided. So, it’s probably one of the safest worlds to live in. 

Below Dark Waters
Dalya Series
Book Two
Katie Zaber

Genre: Fantasy
Date of Publication: Sept 17th
ISBN: 9781005138066
ASIN:  B08GTX3MFP
Word Count: 85,997

Cover Artist: Agata Bukovero

Tagline: A wayward princess, a lethal woman, and a madam trained in espionage—all strangers to each other, but their fates are entwined. Each choice they make will impact the world of Dalya greater than any man’s decision.

Book Description:

Princess Megan, who never had a reason to assume she was anything but human, has been on the run, protected by her friends. With each step toward the city of Delmont, she hopes they will have time to regroup before setting sail to the Ka’Pamau Islands, their final destination.  Instead, her bad luck shadows her and chaos continues to ensue everywhere she goes—including a new part of the world that most air breathers have yet to explore. Confronted with another royal family and a smitten prince whose advances turn cold, she faces another life-altering decision with ramifications she can’t possibly begin to guess at.

Back on land, Lilly reveals more of her secrets, her story, and her goals. Monumental changes and challenges are headed her way as she embraces her new role in life.

On the sea, Aunt Carmia is stirring up trouble while continuing her hunt for the treasure she most desires. She experiences upheavals, but she is always prepared for the unknown.

As their stories unfold, they remain unaware how fate connects them in the world of Dalya.

Amazon     Smashwords     BN     Kobo
Excerpt:

Megan

There’s no point in me lying in bed all night. It’s not like I’m trapped in a Dalya dome. At least there’s a bar for me to sit at while I can’t sleep. Moving as quietly as possible, I change and sneak out of the room. Kilyn is fast asleep and Mana is either asleep or is pretending to be. The hallway is still. There are no voices coming from the other rooms, so I’m going to assume everyone else is asleep.
Downstairs, Meeka sits at a table, chatting with another white-haired man. Two other tables are occupied, but there are at least ten empty tables to choose from. By the fireplace, a low fire crackles and I decide that a seat by the fire is not what I want. It looks inviting but reminds me of too many dark things. I shudder and take a seat on a stool at the driftwood bar. There’s one other man at the far end of the bar, cloaked in shadow, not bothering to look up from his drink as I sit down.
Heda comes from the back of the kitchen with a mug in her hands. She takes a sip before setting it down on the counter. “Can’t sleep, dear?”
“No. Can’t remember when I did,” I say. “Got anything to help with that?”
She gives me a sly smile. “I think I can help.”
Heda slides bottles out from under the counter and starts pouring them into a glass. Most of them are clear, except two. She adds a drop of amber and green liquid. I can’t say if it’s alcohol or not. Last, she takes out a glass jar and takes out a pinch of ground orange powder.
I’m not sure if I should drink this otherworldly concoction.
“Here you go. You’ll sleep till sunrise and feel refreshed, guaranteed.”
I stare down at the eight-ounce glass of mystery. “What’s in it?”
“A bit of everything, plus a little something extra. I make it for Meeka when he can’t sleep.”
“Are you normally this busy at night?” I ask.
“Sometimes. Sometimes busier. The regulars are here, plus an unfamiliar face or two.” She scans the room, glancing over at the two I suspect are new.
The one man her eyes stop on has long, scraggly black hair past his chin and an unkempt beard. He is wearing a hat that reminds me of a witch; it even has a pointy top and wide brim. With his back to us, he faces the fireplace with his shoulders hunched. The other man is the one at the other end of the bar. Neither looks talkative. Good. I’m not in the mood for a conversation either.
The door swings open. A scowling human woman stands in the threshold wearing a brown buttoned-down blouse and pants tucked into calf-high boots. At her hip is a dagger, on her back is a quiver secured tightly to a harness, in her hand an unstrung shortbow. Strands of messy brown hair unravel from a semicontained braid that I’d guess hasn’t been paid attention to in at least a week. Her clothes also reveal that she hasn’t changed them, and the smell confirms she hasn’t bathed. She searches the bar and lands on me.
She dashes across the tavern and my heart pounds. This is it. My father sent her to kill me. I made it easier for her by coming down here all by myself. I have no clue if Mana can sense what’s happening or if I’m too far away from him. I’m not sure if he cares right now.
However, she steps past me and gawks at Heda, who is already mixing another drink. In the few seconds that passed, I didn’t realize that I had held my breath. I let out a lengthy sigh of relief and inhale fresh air that tastes slightly sweeter than before. Relief will do that, especially when moments ago, death seemed so imminent. To help calm myself, I decide to take a sip of the strange drink Heda made me. Surprisingly, it has a peach sangria flavor, like a fruity, potent wine, with maybe a shot or two of something stronger. I could get used to having a drink of this at night, if it helps me get some sleep.
Heda leans across the bar, passing the traveler a drink. “Rough journey?” she asks. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere fast,” the woman replies. Her scowl melts away as she cracks open a smile and laughs full-heartedly, throwing her head back.

Carmia

I watch groups of gulls fly back out to sea among the masts, warbling above the crew. They float adrift on the breeze. Their wings don’t pound against the unforeseen air but glide on invisible currents, as my ship does on the waves. Smart birds know when to flap, when to spend their resources, and how to manipulate the world to make their journey easier. They can glide for hours without movement. I crave their knowledge.
To know when to use my strength and when to be weak. When to be bold or meek. When to strike or anticipate.
The birds know. We are so stupid. Driven by destructive emotional impulses and not natural instinct. Once you calm the voices, quiet the bitter arguments feuding from within, becoming deaf to all the voices internal and external, all that’s left is a sensation. A feeling. A truth buried deep inside. A spoken language no one can utter aloud. A forgotten language. One so primal, it is impossible to speak or interpret in any other capacity besides a sense. Born with us, but slowly forgotten when we learn to utter our first words. Almost as if when we learn the spoken tongue, we forfeit our instinctual one.
What makes us so different from the birds? How did our minds become cluttered with pointless information that nags us to change our minds or relinquish a thought?
Gods, I want to be a bird. Free my mind and body of stupidity. Let me base my life on instinct, not sentiment.

Lilly

I walk these city tunnels every day. It keeps me sane, besides healthy. Sometimes, I even run. I haven’t left Uamh, or Capo’s Secret, in decades. The last time I was above ground, not including my job, was well over thirty years ago. I long for the opportunity to run through the fields of flowers that flourish outside the town’s walls. But the woman who I portray to the citizens of Capo doesn’t do such things. Lilly would never frolic through the meadow and pick wildflowers to weave into her hair. She wouldn’t dance in the river, splashing the cool water over her naked body, and then let the sun’s heat dry the water off her skin. No, she wouldn’t behave in such childish ways.
Nirva would. She would run free in the woods barefoot. Feel Dalya breathe life back into her soul. Nirva would climb the tallest tree and gaze upon the town below, pretending she was a bird, soaring high above the forest. She’d hunt alongside the nunda and sleep in their den, her body and soul free to swim with the fish and river bears in the morning, and flutter on the breeze with the glow bugs at night.
Not now. No, she is locked up for safekeeping. There will be a time and place to bring Nirva back to the light of day. Until then, she must continue to be patient. Our job isn’t done. It’s only begun.


About the Author:

Katie Zaber knows the best way to decide who is cooking dinner is with a Nerf gun fight in the living room. Her boyfriend is an exceptional cook. When she isn’t baking, going to wine tastings, or reading, she’s busy planning her next trip to Six Flags Great Adventure or Long Beach Island, New Jersey. As a child, her mother would read stories about Atlantis and other fictional places that she dreamed of exploring, fueling her love of history, adventure, and fantasy. After spending her days working in a coffee shop, she moved up the ladder getting an office job where she unfortunately was involved in a filing accident. Unable to move, bored out of her mind, and desperate for entertainment, she turned to her imagination and began writing. These days, she finds herself captivated by her many projects and enjoys quiet nights at home.








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Cover Reveal Second Chance Fate by Ella J. Smyth #coverreveal



Second Chance Fate
Second Chance Academy
Book One
Ella J. Smyth

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance / PNR
Publisher: Unapologetic Romances
Date of Publication: Oct 30, 2020
ISBN: 979-8664544787
ASIN: B08CSXWG72
Number of pages: 252
Word Count: 63,800
Cover Artist: Ella J. Smyth

Tagline: Homework on top of a life sentence for murder? You've got to be kidding me.

Book Description:

"My name is Amber Whitman, and I’m seventeen years old. Just over one month ago, I was taken from my home, from my parents and everything I’d ever known. The reason? I’d killed three strangers.

Not on purpose, you understand. It was an accident. But the government decided I was too dangerous to be kept around normal people. I now live at the Farkas Academy for Magical Advancement. I was told I’ll be here for years. Until somebody decides I’m no longer a menace to society. My only solace are three boys who are as trapped as I am.

But things are not as they seem. My survival may depend on figuring out quickly who to trust and who to run from at the Second Chance Academy."

This is book one of the Second Chance Academy series, a #whychoose medium-burn novel with a HFN, a grumpy cat, and three men trapped by their past.





Excerpt
 “Welcome to my class, Amber. I expect you’ll get great benefit from it. I hear your powers are elemental in origin?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer this. Aware that every student in the classroom was staring at me, I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what my powers are.”
Other than calling down lightning. I wasn’t going to say that out loud, though.
Mrs. Palmer nodded. “That’s okay. That’s what this class is for. To help you figure it out, and, more importantly, how to control it.”
Behind me, somebody hissed, “Before she kills us all.”
The teacher looked up sharply and said, “Ah, yes. Sharon. Why don’t you come forward and show us how much control you’ve learned after your first lesson.”
A shocked, “But—” was quickly interrupted by Mrs. Palmer. “No ‘but.’ Come on. Show us.”
Sharon walked past the front row to stand next to the teacher. As she passed, she threw me a nasty glare as if it was my fault the teacher had her up front to demonstrate.
Mrs. Palmer clapped her hands. “Right, class. Pay close attention. Sharon, please create three water bubbles above your head. One large and two slightly smaller. You don’t have to move them in any way. Just keep them in position for thirty seconds.”
Sharon’s face tightened into an expression of pure focus. Clearly, she’d done this before. She closed her eyes and brought her palms together. I stared at them, wondering if I was imagining the light-blue glow around her skin.
But no, the light grew in intensity. Sharon pulled her hands apart, and between her palms, a shimmering bubble grew. When it was the size of a child’s head, she stretched her hands high and released the bubble. It rotated slowly, catching and reflecting the light, creating fantastic reflections on the walls of the classroom.
This was the first time I’d seen practical magic at play. Sharon had created a water ball out of thin air, right in front of me. The other students were equally spellbound by the beauty of the creation.
But they’d witnessed this before. To me, it was brand-new. Would I be able to do something similar? Could I control lightning the way Sharon seemed to juggle water so effortlessly?
She had created a second, smaller bubble, and was about to finish her task by doing a third one. Soon, all three balls rotated above her head, bathing her in an eerie, blueish light.
That’s when Mrs. Palmer clapped her hands again sharply. “Well done, Sharon.”
My roommate gasped, clearly not expecting the smacking noise. Her concentration broke, and the three bubbles disintegrated above her head into a torrent of water. Her outraged scream was drowned out by howling laughter. Our hysteria increased at Mrs. Palmer’s sheepish, “Oops.”
Sharon’s pretty hair hung around her face like a curtain of beetroot-colored noodles. Her designer top clung to her like a piece of plastic wrap, showing her bra and belly-button piercing. She looked like a drowned rat.
I would have felt sorry for her, had she not acted like such a bitch to me ever since we’d met. Mrs. Palmer rushed to console her, her expression one of concern. Except when she passed me, I could have sworn she winked at me.
My jaw dropped. Had I seen this right? Had my new teacher set this up to embarrass Sharon? Her next words confirmed my suspicion.
“Class. Quiet, please. Before Sharon gets a new change of clothes, I would like you to consider this: You’ve all had several lessons in Elemental 101 already. And yet even a star student like Sharon finds it difficult to control her water powers when distracted.
“I would like you to consider how difficult this is for somebody who’d never had any formal training. If I hear anybody else attempting to make new students feel uncomfortable or bully them, I will not hesitate to bring this to the head witch’s attention. Am I making myself clear?”

And just for one moment, the harmless, middle-aged Mrs. Palmer looked dangerous enough to make us think twice about messing with her.

About the Author:

Ella J. Smyth writes steamy urban fantasy romance, full of adventure and excitement. Ever since she discovered #loveislove and #whychoose, she has embraced her motto “Unapologetic romances because love needs no excuses.” She guarantees a happy ending, even though she puts her characters through hell to get there.

Ella is currently working on a Reverse Harem Academy series called Second Chance Academy. Book one of the series, Second Chance Fate, will be released on the 30th of October 2020 and is available on preorder.






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Thursday, September 17, 2020

Cover Reveal Sirens Unbound by Laura Engelhardt


Sirens Unbound
Fifth Mage War Series
Book One
Laura Engelhardt

Genre: Epic Urban Fantasy
Date of Publication: July 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1071259191
ASIN: B07VZXVSDY
Number of pages: 424
Word Count: 125,000

Cover Artist: Rena Violet

Tagline: A magical epic about sirens, fae, and family ties.

Book Description:

Dr. Amy Bant faces the challenge of her career as she seeks to develop a cure for magical blindness. Manipulated by the mages and military alike, she devotes herself to perfecting a procedure that will unleash magical powers not seen since the days of Aphrodite and Morgan le Fay. In pursuit of the medical answer, Amy will uncover truths that have been hidden by mages, fae, and even her own family. Actions have consequences, and the decisions made by the Bant family will set off the most destructive war the world has ever seen.

In this first book of the Fifth Mage War urban fantasy epic, the Bant family is pulled onto opposing sides of a looming war. Born protectors, they will travel the world to save the people they love from those who would destroy them. In this tumultuous time of prophecies, politics, and magick, can the family stay together?

Meet the Bant Family:

Cordelia crosses oceans in her quest to save the Yorkshire fae from extinction.
Amy single-mindedly pursues medical answers, ignorant of the secrets others are keeping.

Thomas discovers inner strength as he breaks with his familiar life to protect the mage he loves.
Mary attempts to hold her family together, unaware that her mother is still watching over them all.

Mira, the matriarch who sacrificed everything to keep her family together, is now forced to confront her painful past in order to keep her children safe.




About the Author:

An avid sf/fantasy reader, Laura Engelhardt writes the kind of book she likes to read: fantasy with intricate worlds and complex characters facing moral dilemmas. She started writing plays in college, then moved to Germany, where she continued to write while teaching ESL to executives. After moving back to the U.S., she supported her playwriting by teaching ballroom dance and working retail. Deciding that living in her parents' attic wasn't for her, Laura went to law school and then spent the next seventeen years as a lawyer and compliance officer in New York City. In 2017, she quit Wall Street and began helping people resolve disputes as a mediator and arbitrator. She now lives in New Jersey with her family.





Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Interview & Release Day Blitz Knight in Paper Armor by Nicholas Conley #releaseday #dystopian


- What is your “day” job if you are not a full-time author?

At this point, I am a full-time writer and editor, working for numerous freelance publications, which is a dream come true. There are still days where I marvel at the fact that I made it here—it really is amazing, you know? Before I was able to make the jump into freelance writing, though, I previously worked in healthcare, particularly in long-term care units with Alzheimer’s patients, as well as with people who’d experienced TBIs, strokes, and so on. These experiences absolutely reshaped me as a person, shaking me from my privilege, and forcing me to have a fuller view of the world. They also inspired my previous two novels, Pale Highway and Intraterrestrial.

- If you wrote a book about your life what would the title be?

Oh, who knows? Probably, say I Forgot the Title of This. Seriously, though, I take titles extremely seriously, so if I were to write such a book, I’d need to know the deeper themes, key moments, and the ending, well before I figured out the title!

- What is the hardest thing about being an author?

To be fair, it probably depends on what kind of author you are, what your genres and/or subjects are, what level of success you’re reaching, and the various privileges, luck, systemic prejudices, and coincidences that shape a person’s career. I’ve been very lucky, in many regards, particularly compared to so many writers out there who are struggling to pay the bills, or still haven’t gotten their first piece published despite working tirelessly at it. I think no matter what, though, the hardest thing—particularly before you “make it,” per se – is never letting go of that dedicated piece of insanity that tells you that you’re going to succeed if you just keep writing. Not everyone who has that unshakable passion does succeed, of course, but everyone who succeeds does have this passion, if that makes sense.

Besides that, if you’re a natural storyteller, I think there’s always the struggle of bumping up against the limits of being, you know, a human being, I.E., a fleshy body of bones and muscle that gets tired, stressed, needs to eat, et cetera. Because of these limits, you’ll always have more stories rattling around in your head than you’ll ever have the time to write. At least, from my experience.

- What is the best thing about being an author?

The feeling of holding a hard copy of the book you spent all those years dreaming of. Seriously, nothing tops that feeling. Nothing ever could, I think.

- Have you ever been starstruck by meeting one of your favorite authors? If so who was it? 

I don’t know if I’m particularly susceptible to that classic “starstruck” feeling, per se, but there are a number of authors who I truly admired before meeting them, enough that the whole experience was pretty exciting. Rick Hautala, who passed away in 2013, was someone I felt immensely honored to meet, particularly because of what a humble, genuine guy he was.

- What book changed your life?

So, so many. Where to even begin? Books have probably changed my life, broadened my perspective, and enhanced my views more than just about anything else. Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein was a big one. Orwell’s work was also profoundly influential. I can probably credit my writing career itself, on some level, to my young adult passion for Stephen King’s Dark Tower books. Anything by Kurt Vonnegut, for sure, but I’ll admit I like Slaughterhouse Five the best. Night, by Elie Wiesel, was particularly impactful for me, as a Jewish person, and likewise for Art Spiegelman’s Maus. The Autobiography of Malcolm X was a big one, as well as Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. Then there’s Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo, Kindred by Octavia Butler, Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay …

- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audio books?

I’ll always be a diehard for print books. Ebooks are cool, too, and I read them from time to time, but print books just feel right to me. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean. I’m not a huge audiobook person, unless I’m doing long drives, but I do have massive respect for them as an artform. My wife listens to audiobooks throughout the day, which is pretty cool.

- If you could live inside the world of a book or series which world would it be and why?


Most of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy worlds are pretty dangerous places! If I had to choose something, though, I can’t imagine any fictional location being more fun than the Marvel Universe. I mean, there’s a reason kids love superheroes so much.

Knight in Paper Armor
Nicholas Conley

Genre: Dystopian

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Date of Publication: September 15, 2020
ASIN: B08CLSSX8Z
Word Count: About 113,000

Book Description:

Billy Jakobek has always been different. Born with strange and powerful psychic abilities, he has grown up in the laboratories of Thorne Century, a ruthless megacorporation that economically, socially, and politically dominates American society.

Every day, Billy absorbs the emotional energies, dreams, and traumas of everyone he meets—from his grandmother’s memories of the Holocaust, to the terror his sheer existence inflicts upon his captors—and he yearns to break free, so he can use his powers to help others.

Natalia Gonzalez, a rebellious artist and daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, lives in Heaven’s Hole, an industrial town built inside a meteor crater, where the poverty-stricken population struggles to survive the nightmarish working conditions of the local Thorne Century factory. Natalia takes care of her ailing mother, her grandmother, and her two younger brothers, and while she dreams of escape, she knows she cannot leave her family behind.

When Billy is transferred to Heaven’s Hole, his chance encounter with Natalia sends shockwaves rippling across the blighted landscape. The two outsiders are pitted against the all-powerful monopoly, while Billy experiences visions of an otherworldly figure known as the Shape, which prophesizes an apocalyptic future that could decimate the world they know.

Excerpt:

“So,” Roseanna said, “according to my superiors, young Billy came to the attention of Thorne Century due to his long medical history.” She opened her folder and riffled through. “Dozens of child therapists, doctors, prescriptions, treatments… wide range of disease symptoms and ailments as well as wild mood swings but no evidence of any physical illness or precise mental disorder. The word psychosomatic is bleeding from these papers. I don’t buy it.” Roseanna leaned forward. “I think it all fits a certain pattern.”
“The doctors don’t understand.” Tzeitel bit her lip, paused, then spoke again. “Neither do his parents, though I love them. No. They merely say that he imagines things. Hallucinations, they claim.” She glanced at her frail grandson still shivering in the humidity. “I disagree. He often gets sick, but the sickness comes not from him.”
“Can you explain?” I think she gets it.
“As a baby, he constantly changed personalities, like this”—Tzeitel snapped her fingers—“depending on who held him. Smiling or shrieking, it flipped constantly, and whenever he cried, all of us cried with him for no reason. Not like a normal baby. His brother was not like this, either.”
“I see.”
“It was not so extreme when he got older. But when others are sick…” She knotted her fingers. “He goes to them, touches the place it hurts, and the pain goes away. It goes inside him, instead, until it fades. Very strange.” She frowned. “When people are sad? He walks into a room, makes himself smile—poof, no one is sad anymore, except he becomes sad. Sometimes, I catch him sneaking out across town to help people who are troubled.” She eyed him. “I don’t like it when he does that, though it is very nice of him.”
 “He senses things?”
“Doctor, my grandson has a gift. Yes, he senses things. He feels things. He does things to people… things that, perhaps, the world is not ready for.”
Despite the heat, Roseanna felt chills. “I believe you.”

About the Author:


Nicholas Conley is an award-winning Jewish American author, journalist, playwright, and coffee vigilante. His books, such as Knight in Paper Armor, Pale Highway, Intraterrestrial, and Clay Tongue: A Novelette, merge science fiction narratives with hard-hitting examinations of social issues. Originally from California, he now lives in New Hampshire.