Junior Inquisitor

Junior Inquisitor

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The Uroboros Saga, Brunette Sonya likes to party, and Rick Astley is dissed once again.


I'm cranky, maybe even more than that I'm might even be rancorous or even prickly. “Why?” you might ask, and mostly it's my own damn fault. To get Brunette Sonya used to all the strange and wondrous sounds outside of the womb I played music for her. I guess I must have included Eddie Murphy's 80s hit “My Girl Likes to Party all the Time,” because Brunette Sonya has taken to staying up until the wee hours of the morning drinking and carrying on, and sleeping all day. I'd do the same but my boss is a bit of a hard ass when it comes to me napping on the job. I'm not a rabbit, I need some rest, I'm tired.

Play "Never gonna give you up" one more time and I will cut you.

The Vampire of Rome has not moved much between long work days, Reserve Weekends and Sonya jamming to “London Burning,” at two in the morning, but I'll be all over it this weekend and with some luck I will be close to wrapping it up. As far as I can tell, I'm still on track for the October release.

Lynn Lamb's post went so well I thought I'd continue with apocalyptic fiction, and toss in some genetic manipulation, and there's only one author who can do that, Arthur H. Walker. He's stopped by to talk about the latest in his Uroboros Saga.






Book Series Blurb:

The Uroboros Saga is character driven science fiction, published three times per year. Each book continues the story with an array of colorful characters and environments. It is written to address and explore the idea of technology that extends and expands the modern notion of identity, and the sort of dystopia that such technology could create. The global fiscal apocalypse that occurs in the midst of that exploration is just there to be charming window dressing.



Uroboros Saga Book 6:


Book six marks the conclusion of the second story arc in the Saga. In this installment Silverstein and his allies make a last stand against the militant arm of the Cabal across the solar system. There will be lots of big reveals and secrets exposed from even the first three-book arc. Expected release is sometime late July or early August!



Excerpt:

I followed along, watching Perfidy clear side rooms and crew compartments, winding his way toward the cargo bay where Kaspersky was supposed to be locked into a medical gurney. I was about ten feet from him when he cleared the threshold into the cargo hold. Kaspersky, bloody from the skin on his arms and legs being stripped away, leapt on him. I rushed forward but the compartment lost pressure suddenly, dropping a thick airlock door between me and the compartment.

“PERFIDY!” I screamed, banging a fist on the door.

I watched helplessly as the outer wall of the cargo compartment blew open. The sudden pressure loss ripped Kaspersky and Perfidy out of the hold, along with anything else that wasn’t secured. I sank down to my knees feeling the craft begin to shake violently, alarms sounding all around me as air masks dropped from the ceiling at intervals. We were at more than thirty eight thousand feet, no chance Perfidy or Kaspersky would survive that fall.

I wept, uncontrollably for my lost friend. I gripped the hammer he’d given me only minutes before, but there was no one to take vengeance on. The world fell away for a moment. Heavy Dub grabbed my shoulder, pushing past me as he donned a grav-chute.

“What are you doing?” I asked, wiping tears from the face.

“I’m going out to get our boy. Take the wheel. Just try to set down anywhere safe. Now, hold onto something solid,” Heavy Dub said, punching in the override code for the airlock door.




Arthur H. Walker is an American writer, artist, and game designer. He spent his childhood wandering the wilds of his home State of Idaho. Encouraged to be creative by mentors and circumstance, he filled many composition books with stories and doodles. After college, he took a job at a glass company to help his wife attend college, acquire an advanced degree, and chase her dreams. Task complete, he reconnected with childhood friends to produce games and novels.

 
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/arthur.h.walker

Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6071363.Arthur_Walker

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arthurhwalker/

Tumblr: http://arthurhwalker.tumblr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArthurHWalker

Vine: https://vine.co/u/1258949016796962816

 
 


 
Main Character’s Motivations?

There’s a trio of main characters that share the story the way Flash, Dale Arden, and Doctor Zarkov often do in Flash Gordon stories and comics.

If you’re reading Books 4, 5, and 6 (coming soon!) the character to watch is Brook. She appears in the first story arc in books 1-3, and is the “sleeper” in the story that eventually awakens. The point of view follows her around quite a bit and she’s motivated by a desire to belong, find love, and discover things about herself.

Kale, the nanotechnological replica of the main character from the 1st book probably feels like the primary protagonist given his connections. I’ll let the readers draw their own conclusions there.

Perfidy is a cyborg soldier and mentor for them both, safeguarding them on their adventures. Like Kale, he’s been a constant through all the books, but he really steps into the spotlight in the 4th and 5th installments.

What is their secret strength/weakness?

Brook knows things. She has special knowledge that was given to her from the moment she began her journey. Her weakness is that she doesn’t realize that she has that knowledge, or how critically important it will become later.

Kale has an immense intellect and has great compassion for all sentient creatures. However, he is ruthless, and tends to employ the most extreme measures when dealing with rivals and adversaries.

Perfidy is an old man by Book 4 and weary of the world. His experience and emotional resilience are double edged swords as they guide him through complex problems, but haunt him in quieter moments.

Any philosophical issues in this story? If so, how do you address them? How does the MC live and overcome them?

Book 6 was hard to write. There was some debate among my proofers as to whether it required a trigger warning for a particular scene. Mental illness and social equality factor heavily as there are many artificial intelligences, genetically-tailored creatures, and similar with sapience equal to human beings. I chose to address them in portions of the book that are told from a third-person perspective in a clinical and dispassionate way so the reader could draw their own conclusions about what happened. The main characters are hardcore altruists, and they’ve grown to value one another greatly, but you can’t have freedom or equality without sacrifice.

Any offbeat or obscure 80s references?

I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in their original comic book form. All the Metasapient characters are a subtle tribute to Erick Wujcik’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness” tabletop role-playing game via Palladium Books. I have all the game supplements and loved the way animals were personified to tell stories. How’s that for obscure?

The “Rats of Nimh” movie had a profound effect on me, and I tried to give the Drone characters that live underground a similar vibe.

When did you start to write this one and why?

I started in December of last year. It’s my intention to continue to write the Uroboros Saga as long as I have stories to tell in that universe.

Uroboros Saga started out as test material to see how self-publishing worked. It garnered a small following and I’ve been writing for those folks since 2013.

What’s next in this series or in your next book?

Book Six is coming up next. 7-9 should follow over the next eighteen months or so. I’m pulling together everything that hit the cutting room floor from the last six books and writing new novels that will showcase what happened at the street level. If Books 1-6 constitute something like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then Books 7-9 will be like the stuff Marvel Studios is releasing through Netflix.

Smaller scale, pulpier, but hopefully every bit as good and interesting to readers.

Preview of your next book?

I tried really hard to keep Book 6 from feeling like a series of boss fights, and if that was going to happen, that there be tremendous payoff. I think I struck a good balance between settling all the business from the last five books, and letting the characters grow and do things. There is some real-deal reveal when it comes to the Cabal, Vance Uroboros, and all the high level intrigue. Questions people have had since the beginning of Book 1 will get answered.

When will it be available?

My editors, proofers, and designer are all working on it right now and have had the principal components for a few weeks. I’m expecting late July or August depending on how quickly everything gets approved and so forth.

Sounds like a series worth reading again and again. Speaking of series and authors who have mean “no sleeping on the job,” bosses, how about buying my stuff so I can become a full time author, and take a nap as needed?
Junior Inquisitor Book One
  
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8
 
 
Soulless Monk Book Two
  
 Smashwords - https://goo.gl/NXw3Gr
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/5lCyaX
 

 The Witch’s Lair Book Three
 
Smashwords - https://goo.gl/MokJnC 
 Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8
Last week's hidden quote was from Magnum Force. This week's is up and the usual points will be awarded for whomever gets it right first.
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Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Lullaby of the Dead, new picture of Brunette Sonya, and more about The Vampire of Rome


As everyone should know by now Sonya arrived on Thursday, the second of June 2016. She came out with blue eyes, brown hair, almost as dark as mine, and with my widower's peak, although on her it would be a widow's peak. Stats for those who care 7lbs 10oz, 20 inches long. Her older sister is – adjusting to the situation.
 

We need to talk about this hair line of mine
 

While I did get to pick out the name, the lovely Dr. Farish would not budge completely, so it's Sonya with a “y” and not a “j,” sorry Robert E. Howard.

The Vampire of Rome continues along. I'm near 60K, there are a few more showdowns to write, some monsters who need to be purged, firefights, explosions, and mayhem. With luck I'll actually be on time to get it to my editor in July. Then comes the drinking, I mean editing. Couple rounds of that, a cover design, some promo ads, and a few other odds and ends, and you should be able to read it October-ish.

October!
Yes, October. A man's gotta know his limitations, and I'm not a fast typist, nor a full time author. But one day that will change...one day. As I am busy feverishly typing and sleeping when no one is crying, I have recruited another horror writer for you to discover and enjoy, Lynn Lamb. Despite her name and living in California, she will scare you with her stories. Take it away Lynn -


Coming Summer 2016


Lullaby of the Dead, Book 1 of the Opus of the Dead Series

Are you willing to entertain a different vision of the afterlife? Landry Sinclair has a story to tell—listen carefully.

I played the strong, professional career woman. Beneath the façade, I was lonely and ashamed. My plans for upward mobility were squashed when I fell into the hands of a ruthless serial killer. I became entangled in his rich web of heinous acts. After he slipped a date-rape drug in my drink, then brutally tortured me, I awakened to an inescapable nightmarish realm on the wrong side of the mirror.

And I was not alone.

Will I be forced to idle here for an eternity, peering through the mirror into my former world, helplessly watching as a homicidal monster butchers woman after woman?

We watch life through windows, mirrors, and doors—pay attention.

I know because I sing the opus of the dead.

Coming Summer 2016



Prologue to a Life Unlived


Life begins with tears, and it ends with tears.

Birth is joyous for the parent, but not for the infant. We begin existence alone in a quiet world. Heartbeats and the rushing music of amniotic fluid carry us in a perfect weightless suspension. We are torn from the only true peace and are painfully pushed into the harsh light, sound, and touch of life. We know not what to expect—therein lays fear. Mothers cry in elation and relief. Infants bellow at their first experience in the severe truth of the living realm: the excruciating knowledge that the exquisite darkness of the womb can never be theirs again.

As soon as we become used to life—it is time to depart. Then the tears come from others if we are lucky enough to have anyone love us. On the brink of the abyss, we are likely to weep in mourning for what was, even if our past unraveled bleakly. We are about to arrive at this unknown, if there is anything on the other side. No one living knows, no matter how faithful their declarations are to the contrary. Only in death do we find our next reality.

We watch life through windows, mirrors, and doors. Pay attention.

I know because I sing the lullaby of the dead.
 
Coming Summer 2016

Bio:

Did you ever wonder how you would survive a global nuclear apocalypse? Lynn Lamb imagined it into existence on the written page!

Lynn Lamb is the author of the post-apocalyptic Survivor Diaries Series, The Oxymoron of Still Life, a Short Story Anthology, and Mechaniclism, an Apocalyptic~Horror novel. Lamb was inspired by the characters in her hometown of Monterey, California. She is also an independent filmmaker and scriptwriter.

She is excited to announce her next novel, Lullaby of the Dead, a Horror-Dark Fantasy, coming in the summer, 2016!

The Survivor Diaries explosive series and Mechaniclism’s chilling novel have made a big bang and a scream on the literary scene. Grab some of these incredible titles, and don’t miss out on this rapidly rising, chart-topping author!

Social Media and Web Links:
Author's Website: http://www.lynnlamb.com/
Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/1Je5New
Twitter: @DiariesSurvivor

Coming Summer 2016
 
Main Character's motivations:

Landry Sinclair is a murdered woman trying to make it in the world of the dead while she watches her murderer through the mirrors in the house she is trapped in. She is motivated by an intense need to find a way she and her fellow ghosts can escape their limbo. Landry also wants to make sure the man who took her life pays for his actions.

What is their secret strengths/ weaknesses?

Landry has trouble relating to others. As she is finding her way amongst an established nest of apparitions, she is learning to work with this group of varied personalities from different eras.

She is extremely intelligent and motivated to make it in her new world. As she figures out her mistakes from life, she is determined not to continue them in her afterlife.

Any offbeat obscure or 80s references?

There’s a Partridge Family reference that flies over the head of the main character who is only in her early thirties. I sure hope some of my readers are old enough to get it. I also have some Easter eggs for the fans of the Survivor Diaries series. In Lullaby, there’s a chapter entitled Moving Mountains—also the title of Book 3 in that series.

When did you start to write this one and why?

I began writing Lullaby of the Dead in January of this year. I was working on Book 5 of the Survivor Diaries series, but this one screamed at me until it got my attention. I actually saw a piece of art by the very talented woman who designed the cover of Lullaby, Consuelo Parra. It depicted a distressed woman in a mirror, trying to press her way through. I tried to imagine what she was going on inside her backwards world when I realized, perhaps she was trying to stop something from happening on the other side.

What's next in this series or in your next book?

Well, I would love to finish Wanderers on the Wind (Survivor Diaries), but I need to see which book demands me to work on it the loudest. The next in the Opus of the Dead series is Dissonance of the Dead. So, your guess is as good as mine. ;)

Now that sounds like a book worth reading! I'm already wary of mirrors, you can always see something move in them out of the corner of your eye, when you look at one from an angle. After I read this...

Speaking of dead things walking, check out the Inquisitor Series, supposedly best read during the day, for at night, the monsters come out, and things go 'bump' for no reason.
 
Junior Inquisitor Book One
  
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8
 
 
Soulless Monk Book Two
  
 Smashwords - https://goo.gl/NXw3Gr
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/5lCyaX
 

 The Witch’s Lair Book Three
 
Smashwords - https://goo.gl/MokJnC 
 Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8

BTW last week's hidden movie quote was from The Maltese Falcon.
This week's hidden movie quote should be easy and I'll award the usual bonus points for whomever gets it.


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Wednesday, June 1, 2016

A Door Never Dreamed Of, Red Sonya, and the Vampire of Rome


Unless you're up late waiting for my next blog post, and part of me is hoping that you are, you'll be reading this on Thursday morning, or later, and thusly my latest daughter has been born. I have to get up at 4 AM to get the wife to the hospital on time. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day.

As I type I have no idea if Red Sonya will be red, or bald or even a brunette. Photos will probably go up on my facebook site https://www.facebook.com/lincoln.farish.7 or https://www.facebook.com/authorlincolnfarish/ and twitter of course, https://twitter.com/LincolnFarish.

I will try to get in some more writing, if I have free time (possible), as I am up to 50k now on The Vampire of Rome and things are gelling nicely. Bodies are strewn about, betrayal has occurred, Sebastian finally finds out about Brother Malachi's black ring and what it means. I think you'll like it. While I'm all kinds of wrapped up, I have another author here to entertain you.

J. Edward Neill is the author of close to 30 books, ranging from Sci-Fi to dark fiction to philosophy books best read at a party, like Cards Against Humanity, only more high brow, and fun. Take it away J. Edward -

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1UbNJ6V
 
Blurb:

A thousand years from today, nearly all of humanity is jacked-In.
We sleep, connected to machines, dreaming our lives away.
For most people, it's the perfect life.
But for the few who never jacked-In, it's exile.
Abandoned, persecuted, and betrayed, the Outs plot their vengeance across the centuries.
And when they open the Door, only one way of life will survive...

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1UbNJ6V


Waking Rafe

When Rafe sat up in his breather chair and gazed at the people surrounding him, the first thing he remembered hearing them say was, “You’re different, son.”

“Where am I?” he murmured.

From somewhere in the mass of people crowding the tiny room, he heard someone answer. “Alta Sur.” The woman craned her neck to see him. “Near the fault-line.”

“But don’t worry, kid,” a squat, sweaty man blurted. “Fault’s been contained. Gravity pods. No earthquakes here, not unless the Outs make 'em."

Rafe swung his legs over the side of the breather chair. His feet hurt. His eyes hurt. He felt tired for a reason he couldn’t fathom. He looked at his hands and at the people crowding him in. Everything about the room, the crowd, even his skin felt dirty. An hour ago he’d been floating wraithlike through a thousand corridors of time and space.

And now this.

A man in a white lab-coat walked up to him. His collar was stained and his hair greasy.

Never seen anyone so filthy before, thought Rafe. Everyone and everything…unclean.

“How do you feel?” the man in the lab-coat asked. “The chairs are better than ever, but even so…most people say they feel sticky for a week or two. And your eyes will probably hurt, too. When they peel the retinal pads off, it tends to sting for a few days. But your muscles…your body…those should be fine. Especially for you, Rafe. Your jacks were state of the art.”

“I’m hungry,” was all he could muster.

The room laughed at that. It felt like they were watching him, judging him. During his two decades of being jacked-in, he had studied all the Berlitz rules of human psychology, and in his mind he remembered all the emotional challenges of un-jacked.

Doesn’t matter.

Knowing it…not the same as feeling it.

Because this is the real world.

Isn’t it?

“What’s the matter, kid?” The squat man stared at him. “You sick? Maybe you’re not who they say you are. Happens all the time. Geniuses in the ether ain’t shit out here.”

“No,” he said. “I’m really just hungry, is all.”

In silence, he counted the people in the room. Nineteen. In a room made for just one. What do they want?

After another breath, he knew he’d been un-jacked. He’d consumed all the history books. He knew this room was one of billions in the real world. The only thing he couldn’t figure was; why’d they pull me out?

Why me?

Why now?
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1UbNJ6V
 

Author Info and questions

J. Edward Neill

Links


What are their secret strengths/ weaknesses: A Door Never Dreamed Of features two heroes who oppose each other. Neither one believes he is heroic, and yet both of them are. Rafe, a jacked-In young man, relies on his intuition and creativity, but once he's unjacked, he's at the mercy of the physical world. Moz, an exile, is all brute strength and passion, and yet these qualities mean little when faced with superior In technology.

Any philosophical issues in this story? If so how do you address them, how does MC live and over come them? I'm a philosophy nut, and so A Door Never Dreamed Of features several deeper themes. Does humanity possess a mandate to pursue maximum technology? Are we human if we don't exist in the physical world? Is morality real...or is it completely subjective? Both Rafe and Moz must face these and many more. And it's not assured they'll overcome anything. :)

Any offbeat obscure or 80s references? - I riff on The Matrix, Ender's Game, Norse mythology, and the popular sci-fi book, Hyperion.

When did you start to write this one and why? - To be direct, this is the story (along with another) I've dreamed of writing my whole adult life. I needed to finish it. And so it was the easier...and hardest book I've ever written.

What's next in this series or in your next book? - A Door Never Dreamed Of won't have a sequel (not now anyway) but my next book is also an extreme sci-fi affair. Darkness Between the Stars will be a bit more typical of modern sci-fi, in that it'll have grand fight scenes and cool technology.

Preview of your next book? The blurb for Darkness Between the Stars is:

Little Joff…always dreaming of the stars.

He knows something is out there, but he’s not sure what it is.

Because there is something out there.

And one day, after all the dreams of his childhood fade, Joff will sit on a ship as it spirals through the void.

Alone.

With all the time in the world to count the stars.

And measure the darkness growing between them.

When will it be available? - Late Summer, 2016.


Good stuff there for y'all. And speaking of the stuff dreams are made of how about giving my books a gander.

Junior Inquisitor Book One
  
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8
 
 
Soulless Monk Book Two
  
 Smashwords - https://goo.gl/NXw3Gr
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/5lCyaX
 

 
The Witch’s Lair Book Three
 
Smashwords - https://goo.gl/MokJnC 
 Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8

Bonus points for whomever guesses correctly the movie my quote came from, read carefully.




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