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Author Update 2021: Robert D. Kidera

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Robert D. Kidera is a retired teacher turned award-winning author of the Gabe McKenna mystery series. A LONG TIME TO DIE (May 2021), released through Black Range Publishing, is the fifth and final book in that series. Bob is a member of SouthWest Writers, Sisters in Crime, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and International Thriller Writers. You’ll find him on his website RobertKideraBooks.com and on Facebook. Read more about Bob and the Gabe McKenna series in his 2015, 2017, and 2019 interviews.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in A LONG TIME TO DIE?
A LONG TIME TO DIE is the culminating novel in the Gabe McKenna Series. It relates the final reckoning for Gabe in his struggles against evil that began six years ago in RED GOLD. He faces daunting questions about himself and all that he has done. Ultimately, it’s the problem of how we can confront and combat evil without becoming evil ourselves.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
Since this book concludes the series (at least for now) it presented the challenge of how to tell a taut, self-contained story while at the same time wrapping up the story arcs that have been going on for all five books in the series.

Who are your main characters, and what would their best friends and worst enemies think about them?
Gabe Mckenna is my protagonist, as he has been throughout the series. In each of my books, I have given him a different “side-kick” and a different challenge. Gabe’s best friends know him as a guy to be counted on, one who has a basic honor and decency to him, even if he does tend to go off recklessly from time to time. His enemies are frustrated in their desire to put an end to Gabe’s efforts to thwart them once and for all. A former boxer, Gabe is the kind of guy who can be knocked down, but not out.

When did you know the protagonist or his story was strong enough for a series?
I realized this when Suspense Publishing not only accepted RED GOLD for publication but asked me to make at least a three-book series out of Gabe McKenna.

How did A LONG TIME TO DIE come together?
This book came together more gradually than its predecessors. It took me about two years to get the concept together, tell the story, and go through the editing cycle, and this process was further stretched out because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a resulting backlog at my publisher. This was one of the reasons I came to the decision of forming my own publishing company and taking greater control of the process.

Tell us about the “journey” of choosing the title.
I had several different working titles before settling on A LONG TIME TO DIE. Gabe has struggled with accepting loss throughout this series. I wanted this book title to reflect what he has come to realize. That is, Gabe realizes that the toughest loss is the loss of love in his life, and that pain takes a long time to die.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
The best part was putting it out under my own imprint, and then reissuing all the previous Gabe McKenna novels through Black Range Publishing, my new company.

What do you want to be known for as an author?
Most of all, I’d like to be known for my latest book being my best.

What is the greatest tool in a writer’s arsenal?
Aside from the ability to tell a good story, the writer’s greatest tool is the willingness to put in their best effort every day.

What typically comes first for you: a character, a setting, a story idea?
The characters always come first. Always.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I am currently working on a historical novel, HELL SHIP, about a young man from Northern New Mexico who endures captivity as a Japanese POW during World War II.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I now have my own publishing company, Black Range Publishing, and will be starting my own twice-monthly podcast, THE BLACK RANGE PUB, at the end of August. I hope my readers will also enjoy my podcasts, which celebrate the people, history and culture of the American Southwest.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Elaine Soto

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Author Elaine Soto is a retired psychologist and an artist originally from New York who now makes her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her debut release, My Journey to the Black Madonna: A Memoir (November 2020), is an exploration of her search for healing — a journey that “helped her to become whole and to integrate and transform her feelings of pain, grief, and anger into strength and compassion.” You’ll find Elaine on her website at ElaineSoto.com and on LinkedIn.

What is your elevator pitch for My Journey to the Black Madonna?
This memoir weaves pantoum poems, paintings of the Divine Feminine, and vignettes about my search for the Black Madonna in Puerto Rico, Spain, China, Italy and France with stories about growing up Puerto Rican in the United States. I became aware of the Black Madonna as a child and it became a metaphor for my search for my father and for a positive identity as a Puerto Rican woman. As I accomplished my goals to become a psychologist and an artist, my unconscious memories of separation and betrayal became more and more conscious. I had visions and dreams of the Black Madonna. According to Jungian Psychologists, one becomes aware of the Black Madonna when dealing with the dark experiences of one’s life. Meditation, poetry and art were some of the tools I used to help myself and others to heal.

When readers turn the last page in the book, what do you hope they’ll take away from it?
I want the reader to be placed for a time in my life (the good and not so wonderful events in it) and to learn from my experience that one can heal from the past. And also to learn about the Black Madonna and early Christianity.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
My life story and my search for the Black Madonna evolved as I wrote. It took 30 years to write.

How did the book come together?
I started writing from an inner desire to tell my life story from my point of view. It started as como fue — how it was. The stories I heard about my father did not match my inner experiences, and I searched for the truth about him. I was also curious about the Black Madonna who I saw as a positive symbol of my Puerto Rican culture. When researching the Black Madonna, I took notes and kept them in a folder. I also painted the Black Madonnas I found while I was an artist in residence at the Puerto Rican workshop in New York. I took several workshops with Natalie Goldberg in New York and in Taos, and I kept daily journals for many years. Art and writing were healing for me and I shared these tools with clients and counseling students.

While you were writing your memoir, did you ever feel afraid you were revealing too much about yourself or your life? If so, how did you move past your fear?
I was painting and writing to express myself. I did not plan to publish this work. In my writer’s group, I shared my writings and they listened. It was healing for me. I was concerned about sharing trauma and abuse stories. In Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy I was able to clear some of the trauma so I didn’t need to share it anymore. When I finally integrated my searches for my father and the Black Madonna, I was able to share stories that were truthful and relevant to my journey.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Being able to look at my life experiences and what I learned and to share those that might be helpful to others on their life journey.

How did your art and your writing help you work through your life issues?
Writing my memoir helped me to bring together unconscious and conscious memories of my childhood and life. Art helped me to express myself and to share images of what I learned about the Black Madonna and early Christianity.

What is the best encouragement or advice you’ve received in your writing journey?
The best advice I received as a writer was “just sit down and write anything on the page” and “let it rip.” The first was by my college English teacher and the second by Natalie Goldberg.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: BR Kingsolver

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BR Kingsolver is a prolific author of 19 novels published in the speculative fiction genre since 2012. Readers find Kingsolver’s books to be “engrossing with great world building, believable characters who enlist your emotions, and masterful storylines.” BR’s latest release is Soul Harvest (June 2021), the third and final installment in The Rift Chronicles. Find all the author’s books on BRKingsolver.com and Amazon, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and read SWW’s 2020 interview.

What would you like readers to know about The Rift Chronicles?
It’s a science fiction fantasy cross, set about two hundred years in the future. The premise of the book was having technology that can be manipulated by magic.

Between the three books in the series, which was the most challenging to write?
The last one—Soul Harvest. The first book in a series is always the easiest. The premise, the characters, are all new and exciting. By the time I get to the last book, there are a lot of things that have to be dealt with. Plot lines, characters, things that have happened in previous books, and making sure I tie up all the loose ends.

What was the inspiration for the first book, Magitek?
The idea of magic manipulating technology. In most fantasy, you either have technology or magic. Very rarely do the two things interact.

Tell us a little about your main characters.
Danica James is a cop, a detective, who deals with the Magi—the magicians who rule the world—and the Rifters, the monsters who crossed a rift in space-time from other dimensions. She’s from one of the wealthy ruling families, but feels like an outsider because she’s a magitek. Her best friend is her roommate, Kirsten, a witch who owns a shop that sells magical potions, charms, and that sort of thing. Kirsten thinks Dani is too serious, works too much, and has too little love life.

What is the main setting, and why is this the perfect place for your story to unfold?
The primary setting is Baltimore, which is a place I know well after living there for a dozen years. The books take place after a series of nuclear wars and pandemics. Washington was bombed, but Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware, survived as two of the only major port cities on the East Coast. Since the ruling magical families are all about business, trade, and wealth, seaports are central to control of trade and wealth.

How did the books come together?
I started Magitek in the spring of 2020 and published it the end of August. The second book, War Song, was published in December, and Soul Harvest was released in June 2021. So, three books in a year. That’s a little slow for me. I prefer to publish four to five times a year. The editing cycle usually takes about a month. I send a manuscript to my editor, she returns it with corrections and comments, and after I work through that, she takes another swing at it. I’ve worked with the same editor for twenty-three books, so we know each other pretty well.

What did you do to make your world, with its social structure and magic system, believable and logical?
The big thing with world building in science fiction and fantasy is consistency. Reality has rules, and so should a fantasy world. An author can’t violate the rules or just use handwavium to get around problems unless that handwavium fits within the rules. The social structure I used in these books is an oligarchy with a magical class system. As in most social systems, the powerful rule and reap the riches. Everyone else serves them.

You have five complete series so far. What key issues do you focus on to keep readers coming back for more?
Relatable characters and an interesting story. Good writing is third. There are lots of poorly written best sellers, but they tell a story that interests people.

What are the hardest kinds of scenes for you to write?
Sex scenes, so I stopped trying to write them.

Any advice for beginning or discouraged writers?
Some of the best advice I received when I started was BICHOK—Butt In Chair, Hands on Keyboard. There is no substitute for writing. You have to do it to get better at it.

What writing projects are you working on now?
My new project is an urban fantasy novel in a cozy mystery setting. I know there’s a market for that kind of book, but I have to pull it off. I’ve read lots of mysteries, and I think they’re difficult. Cozies are very hard because the tropes are so specific. I’m hoping to catch people who read both urban fantasy and also like cozy mysteries.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I didn’t start writing fiction until I was sixty years old. I always wanted to, but didn’t think I had any talent. Whether I do or don’t, people seem to like my stories. You’ll never know if you can do something until you try.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Holly Harrison

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Retired university research scientist Holly Harrison devotes her time to writing mystery novels set in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. Her debut novel, Rites & Wrongs (Golden Word Books, January 2021), has been called “a thrilling mystery” that keeps “readers riveted with a great story, fascinating characters, and exceptional writing.” You’ll find Holly on her website at HollyHarrisonWriter.com and on her Amazon author page.

What is your elevator pitch for Rites & Wrongs?
Pascal Ruiz, a Santa Fe detective, becomes disenchanted with his job after solving a high-profile case that involved a stolen Stradivarius violin. That is, until the captain asks him, off the record, to look into the disappearance of his niece’s boyfriend, Bobby Pilot. Ruiz finds Pilot alive but unconscious in an abandoned pueblo, clothed in a Jesus costume and tied to a cross. It’s Holy Week and Ruiz suspects the Penitentes. He also believes the costume is the one recently stolen from the Santa Fe Opera Storage Building. In desperation to link the two cases, Ruiz crosses the line and puts his career in jeopardy.

Who are your main characters, and what do they have to overcome in this story?
The main characters are Pascal Ruiz, a Santa Fe police detective, and his friend Gillian Jasper. Ruiz needs to solve two crimes that are linked, by discovering who broke into the Opera Storage building and took the Jesus costume and who dressed Pilot in the costume and tied him to the cross. Jasper needs to decide whether to stay in New Mexico with Ruiz or return to her life in Washington, DC.

Why did you choose New Mexico as the setting for the book?
I wanted to write a mystery rooted in New Mexico’s history, land, and people. I placed most of the action south of Santa Fe between the town of Golden on Route 14 and San Felipe’s Black Mesa Casino off of I-25. I set the story during Holy Week, between Palm Sunday and Easter, so I could write about the Penitente reenactments and the Good Friday procession to Chimayo.

What sparked the story idea?
The story idea came to me one day as I worked in my garden. I uncovered an old brick from the Tonque Tile and Brick Company. Part of it was broken off but the name Tonque was etched on the front. The brick factory had been built in the early 1900s and remained active for thirty years. In the 1980s I had picked up the brick near Tonque Pueblo, a fourteenth century pre-Columbian abandoned pueblo. I decided that Ruiz’s next case would take him to that area south of Santa Fe.

Tell us how the book came together.
I spent three years writing the book. Then another year editing, getting feedback, and rewriting. When I started looking for a publisher, the pandemic hit. The world of publishing came to a halt, book conferences were cancelled, bookstores closed, book releases were pushed back. Pitching the book to editors and agents unsolicited became a daunting process. I decided to go with a hybrid publisher. The publisher does the edits, layout and design, publishing and distribution. The author shares some of the costs but reaps more profit from sales.

Was there anything surprising you discovered while doing research for Rites & Wrongs?
Growing up on the East coast, before coming to New Mexico, I had never heard of the Penitentes or their practices. I was intrigued with the group’s devotion to God as well as their community. There is an abundance of lore surrounding the Brotherhood’s beliefs and practices. My research on the lay Catholic group revealed how and why they came about and dispelled many of the myths and negative stereotypes.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Writing. I love the writing process, creating characters and turning them loose in different situations, letting them get themselves in and out of trouble.

Why do you write in the particular genre you’ve chosen?
I find mystery the perfect genre to unfold crimes and misdemeanors in New Mexico’s multicultural landscape.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
Ann Patchett, Louise Penny, Tana French, Lily King, Susan Orlean, Patti Smith. I guess I have been reading a lot of women.

What are the hardest kinds of scenes for you to write?
Sex scenes. I find them tedious to write and easy to leave out. When writing mysteries, sex often takes a backseat to murder and mayhem.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I am trying to balance the promotion of Rites & Wrongs with work on New Territory, the third book in the series. Ghost Notes (about a stolen Stradivarius violin) is the first book in the series but it hasn’t been published. I have finished a draft of New Territory and am in the process of editing and rewriting. Next task will be to find a publisher.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: Lynne Sturtevant

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Lynne Sturtevant is primarily a nonfiction author of how-to guides. But in her most recent release, The Good Neighbors (September 2020), she takes readers into the fantasy genre with a different look at fairies and their folklore. Find all of Lynne’s books on her website LynneSturtevant.com and Amazon author page, and connect with her on her blog HiddenNewMexico.com and on Facebook. Read more about her work in SWW’s 2020 interview.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in The Good Neighbors?
The Good Neighbors is a different kind of contemporary fantasy. It’s a story about what happens when magic bubbles up in a normal place and disrupts the lives of ordinary people. No witches, wizards, vampires or misunderstood teenagers with magical powers. Just an overweight middle-aged woman and some feisty elderly residents in double-wide trailers trying to tamp down an outbreak of dangerous magical beings.

What sparked the idea for the book?
I was reading a lot of Celtic fairy folklore, not fairy tales, but 19th century rural folks’ descriptions of fairy encounters. My tag line for the book — “People used to know the truth about fairies and they were afraid of them.” — grew out of that research. I wondered what kind of situations would arise if a group of these self-absorbed, capricious, obnoxious creatures appeared in our world and refused to leave. Once I started imaging them roaming around the hills of West Virginia, I was off and running.

Who are your main characters, and what will readers like most about them?
My main characters are strong, smart older women. The narrator is Ginger. She’s blue collar, snarky, smokes and drinks too much and has financial problems. She is a home health aide traveling the countryside calling on elderly clients. And that brings us to Violet, a wealthy, erudite lady in her late 70s. Fairies have taken up residence on Violet’s property, but she doesn’t want anyone to know. Ginger discovers her secret when the fairies vandalize her car. There’s Henry, a retired banker who is romantically interested in Violet, as well as an assortment of other eccentric clients scattered through the hills. And, of course, there are the fairies themselves. They are not tiny, glamorous, sparkly creatures with gossamer wings that flit from flower to flower. They’re scrawny, about four-feet-tall, and they have personal hygiene issues. Plus, they really like artificial sweetener.

People love Ginger for her voice, her attitude, and the fact that she tries to apply a normal world problem-solving approach to an otherworldly dilemma: How to neutralize the increasingly violent and aggressive fairies before they create even more mayhem than they already have.

What is the main setting, and how does it impact the story?
The story is set in and around Parkersburg, West Virginia. I needed a place that was decidedly unmagical but within striking distance of an area that was remote, hidden, and possibly enchanted. Those are the sparsely populated hills and the village of Oberon, which is completely imaginary, about an hour south of Parkersburg. The setting reinforces the contrast between the regular world and the magical one, which is the theme underlying the entire story.

Tell us how the book came together.
I wrote the first version of this book about 20 years ago. I had a literary agent at the time who tried to sell it for two years. No takers. My favorite complaints from publishers were the fairies were too folklorish and Ginger was too old. I was disappointed, but I put it away. I never forgot about it, though.

The years went by, as they say, and I ended up in Albuquerque. I had several short nonfiction titles I wanted to self-publish. I took the SWW workshop on publishing last year and learned how to do just that, as we discussed in an earlier interview. I highly recommend that workshop, by the way.

When the nonfiction titles were finished, I took a deep breath and read my fairy novel for the first time in ages. I was surprised how much I still liked it. The good news was I saw flaws that I couldn’t see before. The even better news was I knew how to fix them. So, I did a rewrite, added two subplots and intensified and expanded several scenes. It only took a few weeks. Then I published it.

Is there a scene in The Good Neighbors that you’d love to see play out in a movie?
The fairies live in a mound. Even though the entrances are concealed, and no one is supposed to come inside, Ginger figures out a way to get in. The Fairyland she manages to get herself trapped in is not the magical realm described in classic fairy tales. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll mention a few elements: A dented Walmart shopping cart. Filthy shag carpeting. An amateurish sunset painted on black velvet. Lots of mud.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together? 
The bottom line is this story is fun. The characters are funny. The fairies are despicable. Crazy things happen. I loved writing it. I loved rewriting it. Taking the flawed original version, turning it into something better and helping it finally find the light of day was a very satisfying experience.

What writing projects are you working on now?
Several women told me they wanted to hear more from Ginger. They hoped she would have further adventures in the world of the paranormal, the supernatural, and the just plain weird. So, I’m writing a sequel! It will be book two in a series. I started it in November 2020 during NaNoWriMo. Ginger has a new territory. She’s been assigned to a small college town, which just happens to be the most haunted place in West Virginia. Rather than Celtic fairy lore, this time she’s steeped in the food, legends, folkways and magic of Appalachia. She’s also dealing with an increasingly frantic ghost. I plan to publish by the end of September. After that? I have one or two more ideas . . .

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?
I love helping other writers develop web content and copy, a totally different writing style for many of us. I also design beautiful websites. You can find out more at www.magicwordscreative.com or visit my author’s site at www.lynnesturtevant.com.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update 2021: Larry Kilham

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Retired engineer and entrepreneur Larry Kilham is a novelist, poet, and nonfiction author based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His latest nonfiction release, Destiny Strikes Twice: James L. Breese Aviator and Inventor (November 2020), is the biography of his grandfather who was the flight engineer on the first transatlantic flight in 1919. James Breese went on to develop 130 patents for home and military space heaters and built an oil burner business in Santa Fe with millions of dollars in sales. Lessons from Breese’s adventure-packed life will appeal to all readers, including aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs. You’ll find Larry on his website LarryKilham.net and blog, on Facebook and Twitter, and on his Amazon author page. Read more about Larry’s work in his 2017 and 2019 SWW interviews.

What would you like readers to know about Destiny Strikes Twice?
Although Jim Breese was a great achiever in aviation and technology, he was challenged to find a lasting relationship with a woman. This deeply troubled him and led to some degree of self-doubt. With his last wife (whom he did love very much) and the sale of his business, he ultimately restored his sense of self-worth.

Why did you feel compelled to share your grandfather’s story?
The primary reason I wrote my grandfather’s story is that he was an important 20th-century industrial entrepreneur in Santa Fe who seemed to be slipping away into obscurity. I also hoped he would be an inspiring role model for current emerging entrepreneurs.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
One unique challenge was talking to family members about taboo events. One was my grandmother’s apparent suicide. Another was gathering enough evidence to convince a family member that their version of an event was wrong. For example, my grandfather landed his plane in Santa Fe because he was down to his last spoonful of gas. Years later he drove me to the spot where it really happened—not where and how family legend said it happened. There’s no airport there now.

Did you have any “Oh, wow!” moments while doing research for the book?
My “Oh, wow!” moment was to discover that without hesitation my grandfather decided to give up a successful and glamorous naval aviation career to become that most uncertain of pursuits, an inventor. I never found a rationalization of why he decided on this abrupt career change.

Tell us how the book came together.
The basic research and organization of files took about three months. Some of that was talking by phone and by email to historical societies, museums, and individuals who had special knowledge. That process was more tedious than normal because most places were essentially closed due to Covid-19. The writing took another three months—there’s only 127 pages—and my wife was the editor. Luckily, all the family photos had been digitized so they were easy to retrieve, review, and edit.

How did you choose the title?
Of course, I wanted an attention-grabbing title for an adventure story. I thought of all those early comic books and broadcasts of heroic adventures and recalled that many had “destiny” in their title such as Destiny Rides Again. For my grandfather, with his first transatlantic crossing and loads of lucrative patents, destiny struck twice.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing Destiny Strikes Twice?
Reviewing all the boxes of family files, letters, news clippings and books forced me to put all the people and incidents together. Sweeping family history came alive, and I will certainly understand those reclusive relatives and other characters better.

You’ve authored 13 books among the genres of science fiction, memoir, and other nonfiction. Which of your books was the most challenging to write, and which one was the most enjoyable?
My science-based novel Free Will Odyssey was the most challenging to write, based on emerging science and events from my life, and it was fun to compose. Unfortunately, it was my worst seller. Ah, well.

You’re also a poet. Do you think writing poetry has helped you become a better writer overall?
Definitely. Poetry forces the discipline of the economy of words to make an engaging but succinct story.

What do you want to be known for as an author?
Honesty. I didn’t make anything up and in my novels, I tried to stick to what reasonably could have happened. I have revealed nature, technology, creativity and invention based on personal experience in ways that will make the greatest impact on readers.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’ve just released a new poetry collection called Dirt Road Poems (April 27, 2021). It’s available on Amazon along with my other books.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update 2021: Sarah H. Baker

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Sarah H. Baker is a retired engineer turned author of more than 20 published novels and numerous novellas and short stories. In 2020 she released The Prisoner, book one in her Promise Me Tomorrow speculative fiction series. Visit Sarah’s website at SarahHanberryBaker.com and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter. Read more about Sarah in her 2015 and 2019 interviews for SouthWest Writers.

What do you want readers to know about the story you tell in Promise Me Tomorrow?
I wrote Promise Me Tomorrow in order to create a positive picture of the future of human beings. I spent much of the last decade of my career working in sustainability and studying issues like climate change. The whole thing can be depressing. But I believe humans will live on after society as we know it now changes to something totally different.

Who are your main protagonists, and why did you choose them as point of view characters?
Kole is the Protector of New Village. He protects a society based on love and kindness. Shylah, who starts out as a bandit injured and left behind when a group of bandits raids New Village, has never known the concept of love. All her life she’s had to fight to survive and can’t imagine a different world. These two characters represent opposite views of humanity, so they are naturally in conflict.

What is the main setting? How does it impact the story and the characters?
The main setting, New Village, is in the mountains of Colorado, founded at the opening to a cave housing a hot spring. After New Village is attacked, Kole leads a group into the ruins of Denver, looking for the rest of the bandits. He must find them in order to make New Village safe again.

Staying in New Village and watching the way villagers treat each other has a profound effect on Shylah. After a while, she realizes she doesn’t want to go back to her violent past. And when chasing the bandits, Kole must face the fact that he, too, can be violent when he’s protecting the villagers and their peaceful way of life.

Tell us how the book came together.
The spark for the story was the setting—a world based on love and peaceful coexistence. Kole came to me quickly; Shylah I had to work at. The story came together over several months, but then I had a break from writing while battling cancer. Several years later, I picked it back up and finished the story. After editing with beta readers’ feedback, I self-published the book as the first of a series.

What was the most difficult aspect of world building for the book?
The most difficult aspect was putting a group of people with a modern understanding of the world into a stone-age existence. I did a lot of research on edible plants and making clothes from native fibers.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
Creating the vision of New Village. I’d want to live there if I were alive at that time.

Promise Me Tomorrow is a departure from your romance releases. Why did you choose to go in this new direction?
The book isn’t a romance, but it certainly has a central romance running through it. Still, you’re right; it is a departure. I chose this because of my need to create a vision of the future that didn’t include zombies or a nuclear apocalypse.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update: RJ the Story Guy

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RJ Mirabal (aka RJ the Story Guy) is a retired high school teacher building a second career as a writer. He’s the author of an adult fantasy series (the Rio Grande Parallax trilogy) and a children’s book (Trixie Finds Her People) inspired by his adventurous rescue dog. His newest release is Dragon Train (2020) which takes young adult readers on a unique quest in a different kind of dragon story. You’ll find RJ at RJTheStoryGuy.com and on Facebook at RJ The Story Guy and Dragon Train Quest Book Series. Read more about RJ and his writing in his 2015, 2017, and 2020 interviews for SouthWest Writers.

­­­What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Dragon Train?
This is a story that brings together a motherless boy and a mother who fears she will lose her family. The boy’s mother died while he was a child, but he has no memories of her. The mother in the story (not related to the boy) has three children and a mate who are enslaved. She escapes bondage but fears her escape will mean death to her family unless she can rescue them. The boy and the mother team up to attempt a rescue mission. There’s adventure in that quest, but the relationship of a mother without her family and a young man longing for a mother allows them to develop a close bond. I want readers to quickly understand that and watch how the two work together to achieve their mission and find a meaningful relationship with each other.

Who did you write the book for?
The book is aimed mainly at young readers from ages 11 to 15, though advanced younger readers and typical young adult and older readers should find this appealing. Because of the main character and the many action scenes, I suspect boys would enjoy the story the most. The story’s audience includes anyone who likes dragons, a satisfying adventure, and those looking for stories of how mutually rewarding relationships can develop. Readers who enjoy fantasy and elements of magic will like the story because of the existence of dragons in a pastoral society much like the 18th Century. In addition, the fact that Blue Dragons are intelligent and can communicate with humans telepathically makes the story appealing for most any fantasy reader.

What sparked the story idea?
After writing a fantasy trilogy clearly aimed at mature readers, I wanted to write something more appropriate for young readers. I surveyed a number of books in that genre and realized that dragons appealed to me more than vampires, zombies, and the like. However, I wanted to take a new approach to the usual dragon stories, but what?

One evening, as I was dropping off to sleep thinking about dragons, the words “dragon train” popped in my head. Wow, where did that come from? I researched the internet and Amazon and didn’t find anything to do with dragon trains. Later, on an online European book site, Rakuten Kobo, I found a book with that title, but it was a very different instructional story for children. So, I was convinced I had a fresh idea. But do dragons ride on this train or… It occurred to me that because dragons are big, powerful, and can fly, maybe they could tow a train by pulling it as they flew a few feet above the tracks. Dragons could be a source of power in a world where steam power had not been invented yet. But would dragons really want to do that? If they were intelligent — and I was convinced they wouldn’t be interesting characters if they weren’t highly intelligent — would they put up with that? The answer is “no.” They would resist, but clever and devious humans could develop ways to control the dragons. And on went the thought process.

Who are the main characters in the story?
To avoid writing complicated explanations about how the whole situation in the story developed, I decided Skye (a Blue Dragon) and Jaiden (a fifteen-year-old boy) would first become friends. Jaiden, who lives in a small farming town, wouldn’t know much about the world and how dragons were forced to tow trains. This allowed Skye to explain all this through family stories about how the dragons lost control of their lives. Since I needed a major female character, I decided the Blue Dragon would be a mother. The boy begins to think of her as a positive mother-figure and the story develops from that. Jaiden immediately proves himself to be resourceful and fearless when he helps her escape. He continues to be useful as he helps Skye avoid capture by the humans. Her storytelling and their exploits allow the two to bond since each satisfies a need in the other. And since Skye wants to rescue her family before it’s too late, that provided an adventurous quest to attract a decent-minded, but bored, young man who longed for excitement.

What was the most difficult aspect of world building for this book?
Since I had decided I needed a world whose technology didn’t include steam power, I needed to develop details of that world which meant research and some careful thinking about how Blue Dragons (the size of a barn) could be controlled by humans. The fun of fantasy is to create worlds, but you have to make it logical because sharp readers can find flaws if you make it too easy for one group of beings to control another group. However, the intelligence of my dragons, their ability to fly, and their strength allowed them to have dominance over humans just a generation or so before my story takes place, so there is considerable tension between these formidable enemies.

I decided against incorporating a lot of magic because so many fantasy stories depend on it for nearly everything. My challenge as a writer was to find ways that interesting beings and civilizations can overcome one another by means other than magic. However, I did give the dragons the ability to communicate telepathically so that Jaiden and Skye can communicate. That also allowed me to develop the dragons into complex characters. I also included other kinds of dragons such as Gold Dragons and Silver Dragons who are smaller, less intelligent, and have different behaviors than the superior Blues. More will be developed about those dragons in a sequel.

Tell us how Dragon Train came together.
From the inception of the idea to the finished book was a little over a year. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but with help of the critique group I belong to, the book fell into place quicker than I expected. Their careful reading and suggestions gave me confidence I was on the right track, if I can be allowed to make a pun on Dragon Train! I was concerned about cover art because I didn’t know anyone who could design and draw dragons. Through Divergent Art, a website collective of artists, I found a young lady known by the name Celebril, who creates beautiful dragons very much like what I imagined when I thought of Skye. I had an image in my head of Skye towing a train with Jaiden in the lead car holding the reins on Skye as if he were the pilot. Celebril was able to create a remarkable cover matching my vision and her rates were very reasonable.

What did you learn in the process of completely this project that you can apply to your future work?
To format this book and a previous book, Trixie Finds Her People, I acquired a program that allowed me to format the book precisely the way I wanted it to look. Since publishing Dragon Train, I have also learned how to completely format and create print-ready PDF files using a new program that works the same way as In-Design. I’m now ready to produce my own books from beginning to end and use Ingram Spark as my printing/distribution service provider.

Looking back to the beginning of your writing/publishing career, what do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
First, I eventually realized a writer must learn everything he/she can about writing before trying to get published. Not just the grammar and mechanics, but the process of writing smooth, economical sentences and paragraphs that clearly convey the vision of your story, characters, setting, and theme. And it’s important to find your “voice.” What is, and how do you communicate, your unique perspective of the universe and life as a human being? I found that exploring and discovering those things through writing short works and gaining feedback from fellow writers is how you can learn to write effectively. Without feedback, you’re existing in an echo chamber and may not communicate with anyone beyond the confines of your head. This is what SouthWest Writers, SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), and my critique group have done for me.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



An Interview with Author Edith Tarbescu

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Edith Tarbescu is a produced playwright and the author of children’s books published by Clarion, Barefoot Books, and Scholastic. Her debut novel is One Will: Three Wives (Adelaide Books, December 2020), which Anne Hillerman says is “packed with a large array of interesting suspects — any one of whom could be a murderer — and a roller coaster ride of plot twists.” You’ll find Edith on her website at EdithTarbescu.com and on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Tell us about One Will: Three Wives?
It’s a who-done-it, and those who’ve read the book were unable to guess, which is the goal of a mystery.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I was totally unfamiliar with police procedure and how the police solve a mystery. I had to familiarize myself with the NYPD (New York Police Department).

Who are your main characters, and why will readers connect with them?
My main characters are two detectives: male and female. They are partners and lovers. I think they are both likeable. The female detective moved to New York from Montana and is part Native-American, and the male detective is a native New Yorker.

What makes this novel unique in the mystery market?
It has hints of romance and betrayal between the two detectives and a fair amount of humor mixed with adventure and murder.

How did the book came together?
I wanted to write something different for me and hit on the idea of a murder mystery. After I finished, I sent it to several agents. A few said it lacked tension. I hired a freelance editor, formerly an editor at Harper. He said it lacked tension because I was in everybody’s head. So I made the female detective my protagonist and everything is seen through her eyes.

Did you discover anything surprising while doing research for the book?
I realized how much research I had to do. I went to New York (my home town) and visited the police station I was writing about. Luckily, a policeman offered to show me the squad room, answer questions, etc. I was incredibly grateful to him and the time he spent with me.

What was the most rewarding aspect of writing One Will: Three Wives?
I came to love my protagonist, Cheri, and her partner, James, and loved spending time with them. They were very real to me. The research I did in New York was also rewarding. In addition to visiting the police station, I also visited a dog shelter. A character in my book is a dog walker and later becomes a person of interest. She was one of the three wives.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
When I attended the Yale Drama School, I saw my plays performed and got positive feedback from the Head of the Playwriting Department. Then I called myself a playwright.

What kinds of scenes do you find most difficult to write?
Scenes with a lot of description. I am a playwright and best at dialogue, so I have to work at descriptions.

Do you prefer the creating or editing aspect of writing? How do you feel about research?
Definitely creating. I also enjoy research and use Google a lot.

What advice do you have for beginning or discouraged writers?
Persevere. Join a writers group, if possible, and try to attend meetings at SWW (zooming for now). And read a lot — books and magazines.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m working on a memoir titled Beyond Brooklyn.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



Author Update 2021: Joyce Hertzoff

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Author Joyce Hertzoff writes mystery, science fiction, and fantasy in every length from flash fiction to novels, and for different audiences including middle grade, young adult, and adult. Her newest YA fantasy release is Homeward Bound (2020), the fourth and final book in her Crystal Odyssey series. You’ll find Joyce on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, as well as on her website at FantasyByJoyceHertzoff.com and blog at HertzoffJo.blogspot.com. Read more about Joyce in her 2015, 2017, and 2019 SWW interviews, and visit Amazon for all of her books.

What would you like readers to know about the story you tell in Homeward Bound?
In Homeward Bound, I’ve wrapped up Narissa Day’s story. Nissa, her siblings and friends are sailing back to Solwintor from Fartek with devices and information that the scientists at the Stronghold need. But first, she and her group have to get past an island that wasn’t there before. When they reach home, they’ll have to fight the Legion that threatens to take over the continents of Solwintor and Leara. There are also two weddings that take place.

What unique challenges did this work pose for you?
I had to wrap up a few loose ends. I always have a problem coming up with an ending. And, as usual, I had a hard time with the fight scenes, making them as realistic as possible. I also didn’t want to be saccharine in the romantic and wedding scenes.

How did the book come together?
There had to be at least one more story after the third book in the series. The gang finished their mission in Fartek and had to go home. It took about seven or eight months to write what happened along the way, and then another year or so to get feedback and revise the story. I rely on critique groups, both online and local, and a few of those critique partners helped me.

Tell us a little about your main character and what she has to overcome in this story.
The main character, as in the previous three stories, is Narissa Day, called Nissa. She’s learned quite a bit about her world since her eighteenth birthday when she left home for the first time with brother Blane to find Madoc, her missing magic teacher. She’s definitely grown up. In this particular story, she mainly has to overcome the threat of the Legion on Solwintor, the East Islands and her home continent of Leara. Her sword-fighting skills come in handy in the story, along with the ability to harness the energy all around with her mind.

What did you do to make your story world, with its fantastical elements, believable and logical?
As a former scientific abstracter, I believe in building my story worlds on sound scientific bases. I have a need to explain everything and make fantastical elements scientifically possible. For example, the world of my series relies on crystals to power devices and engines. In the past, crystal radios used similar crystals to change which sound frequencies they were tuned to. In my stories, the crystals are used to focus the energy around us as a power source.

Did what-if questions help shape your series?
All speculative fiction starts with what-if questions. The consequences of those suppositions should be logical, yet interesting for the reader. Those consequences lead to more what-if questions, and so on. For example, if you ask, “What if you find two books written in a strange language that show star patterns different from those where you are?” Then the next question is: “What would you do?” In the second book of the series, Nissa, Madoc and their siblings travel north looking for the source of the books and a place where the stars look like the patterns in the book.

What was your favorite part of putting this project together?
I surprised myself with some of the places the story went, and that I needed four novels to finish the whole story. But my favorite part was brainstorming all the obstacles the characters had to overcome to achieve their goals, and then brainstorming ways to get past each obstacle. Characters, not just mine, have a habit of taking a story places it wasn’t supposed to go. I enjoyed dreaming up ways to bring them back to where I wanted the story to end up. I love solving puzzles, even ones I create for myself.

Looking back to when you wrote book one, The Crimson Orb, when did you know the story was strong enough for a series?
As I wrote the first story, ideas occurred to me that I couldn’t include in the first adventures. But it was those two books that Nissa and Blane found in Madoc’s rooms that made sequels imperative.

If the stars aligned, what past or present television or movie series would you love to write for (or be involved with in any capacity)?
I just finished re-watching the first four seasons of Eureka, and I’m currently watching season five. It appeals to my sense of mixing science and fantasy. Sure, a lot of the science is made up, but so is the crystal-based science in my series. I would have loved to have written for Eureka.

I’ve written fan fiction for other TV shows and movies, including The Princess Bride, Twister, Winnie the Pooh, Northern Exposure, and even the British mystery series Rosemary and Thyme. Always a fun activity. But those were for fanfic exchanges, not as real continuations of the movies and TV shows. Still, I would want to write for them for real.

What are the key issues when writing a series to keep readers coming back for more?
At least two things are needed: a premise large enough that it can take you through a series and characters that readers can relate to. Recurring details can also be good. And, of course, the world building has to be solid and consistent.

What writing projects are you working on now?
I’m working on the sequel to my award-winning novella A Bite of the Apple. I have two near-future/post-apocalyptic series in the works, one for middle-grade students and one for adults. I even have a crime/mystery series that’s partly finished. Finally, I’m writing a few short stories.

KLWagoner150_2KL Wagoner (writing as Cate Macabe) is the author of This New Mountain: a memoir of AJ Jackson, private investigator, repossessor, and grandmother. Kathy posts to a speculative fiction blog at klwagoner.com and writes about memoir at ThisNewMountain.com.



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