Interview with Author Tiffany McDaniel

Tiffany McDaniel

Author of

The Summer that Melted Everything!

1)      Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m an Ohio poet and novelist.  Other than writing, I love plants and gardening.  I also love art, and dapple in everything from charcoal to watercolors. 

2) In your own words, please describe the book.

The Summer that Melted Everything is about a man who one day puts an invitation in the newspaper, inviting the devil to town.  A boy, claiming to be the devil, answers the invitation, only this boy is not your stereotypical devil of red flesh and horns.  This so-called devil’s arrival coincides with the start of a heat-wave that threatens to destroy the town’s very sanity.  As the summer unfolds, the boy’s presence has tragic consequences on the town and everyone in it.  Who is the real devil?  That is a question The Summer that Melted Everything sets out to answer.

3) What was your inspiration behind your book?

I always say what inspires me are the characters.  I’m inspired by them to write their story and truth to the best of my ability. 

4) How did you come up with this title?

It was one of those hot Ohio summers that I felt like I was melting.  Out of true heat, the title was born.  I usually start writing a new novel with two things: the title and the first line.  These two things really lead the entire rest of the story.   

5) When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I’ve been writing since I was a kid.  Writing is the first thing I remember doing as a child without being told to do so.  There was an innate desire to write down what was in my head.  I’ve always written short stories and poetry.  When I was eighteen was when I wrote my first novel. 

6)Is there any author or book that influenced you in anyway either growing up or as an adult?

I came late to reading the authors who I consider to be among my favorites now.  I’ve always written more than I’ve read.  For some authors, they read more than they write.   Some of my favorite authors are Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, and Donna Tartt.  There is also the poet James Wright, who is from my land of Ohio.  I can’t say these authors have inspired me, because by the time I came upon them I already had a few novels written, but they are authors who I rank among my favorites thus far and authors I recommend everyone check out. 

7)How long does it take you to finish a novel?

On average it takes me about a month to write a novel.  When I say it’s a quick process to lay the bones down, you have to understand writing a book is like building a body.  You lay your bones down, and then you began to build up the layers of tissue, muscle, and skin in your drafting stages.  Then you add the cosmetic features, like freckles and moles, fingernails, and all those particular swirls of fingerprints.  These other layers can take longer as you’re drafting through.  In addition, the quality control comes during the cosmetic stages when you read the novel a million times to make sure everything is as it should be. 

8)  So far, what has been the greatest moment in your writing career?

 For me, getting published has been an uphill battle, so I'd say one of the greatest moments has been seeing one of my books on the shelf.    

9) Have you written a book that you love, but you have not been able to publish?

I have eight completed novels.  One day I hope to see all of these stories and characters out in the world.

10) What Advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Never give up.  While The Summer that Melted Everything is my first published novel, it’s actually my fifth or sixth novel written.  I wrote my first novel when I was eighteen, and wouldn’t get a publishing contract until I was twenty-nine for The Summer that Melted Everything.  It was a long eleven-year journey to publication, full of rejection and perseverance.  My writing is dark, and I was often told I was risky to publish.  If I had given up, I wouldn’t be where I am today, with a book on the shelf.  So to all the writers out there on the journey to publication, I say, don’t let rejection destroy you.  Let rejection empower you. 

  

FUN QUESTIONS!

1) If you had to describe yourself in three words, it would be….

I think the true test of our character is how others describe us.  But I know the things I would like to be thought of as being, which is kind, creative,and thoughtful.   

  

2) If you could be a character in any novel you’ve ever read, who would you be and why?

There are a few characters I’d like to step into the shoes of, so perhaps this is why my answer changes every time I’m asked this.  Today I’d say Hercule Poirot.  I love Agatha Christie and her detective is one character I always love to spend time with, so to actually be him solving these murders would be a pretty wonderful way to spend the day.

3)What’s your favorite movie?

I have a hard time pinning down my absolute favorite because I love film, but some of my favorite movies are Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, Little Shop of Horrors, and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

4) If you were written about in the newspaper, on the front page, what would the headline say?

I’ve always wanted wings and to fly, so perhaps one day a headline will read: “Writer sprouts wings and flies away”

5) If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be and why?

There are lots of people I’d love to meet.  Today I’ll say I would like to meet Howard Carter.  But more than meet him, I would have liked to have been there when the tomb of Tutankhamun was unearthed.  I love archaeology so it would be pretty incredible to be present in a moment when one of the most astounding archaeological finds was discovered.  

Tom Leveen Author of Hellworld!!

Author Spotlight!

This week I was able to interview the awesome Tom Leveen author of Hellworld which will be released on March 21st! 

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Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born, raised, and still live in Scottsdale, Arizona. It took me 20 years to earn my Bachelor's Degree. I've finished a marathon (in under 7 hours!), finished a Spartan Sprint, and studied fencing, Aikido, Tae Kwon Do, and Kenpo. I'm a Buffy fan, I read mostly non-fiction these days, and as of February will have spent a total of seven years working for various libraries in various capacities. Certainly not least, I've been happily married for more than 10 years and am expecting my second kid this summer!

In your own words, please describe the book.

A girl goes in search of what happened to her mother, the co-host of a ghost-debunking TV show, after she went missing five years ago. What she finds is far worse than any supernatural encounter the world has ever seen. 

Now, that's the plot. Thematically the book is about what we can do when our world feels like it has "gone to hell." It's about Alzheimer's disease and cancer and divorce and anything in life we cannot control and that we are powerless to change. It's very much a scary horror novel, to be sure, but there's more happening underneath the monsters and dark caves.

Have you written a book that you love, but you have not been able to publish?

Oh, sure. There's a middle-grade or two out there that I still hope will find a home. One in particular I've been coming back to for more than 10 years now, trying to fix the biggest problem: The main character doesn't struggle for anything! It's a sweet story but not intriguing because there's no conflict. It's the kiss of death.

Is there any author or book that influenced you in anyway either growing up or as an adult?

I was stealing Stephen King story ideas at a very early age. (I don't do that anymore.) Judy Blume, too, was a big influence, because she used BAD WORDS sometimes! Whoa. Later on, three books really impacted me and made me realize that stories about teenagers were not only legitimate stories, but could be more powerful than any adult novel. They were STARGIRL by Jerry Spinelli, CUT by Patricia McCormick, and SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Since become an author I've gotten to meet and thank Laurie and Patty but not yet Jerry Spinelli. Here's hoping!

When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?

I began writing stories in 2nd grade and never stopped. My first full-length story was a novella called DERRO THE WARRIOR in 8th grade, and I finished my first science fiction novel in high school. I wrote ZERO my first year of college, and that ended up being the second novel I published.

How did you come up with this title?

"Hellworld" is meant to be both literal and metaphorical in this particular novel. The characters really do open a doorway that leads to what we'd think of as "hell," but the monsters and creatures that come out of it are only part of the "hell on earth" the story is really about.

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Yes: I'd like to say that no matter how dark it might get out there, we have to find our tribe and stick together to get through it.

So far, what has been the greatest moment in your writing career?

A high school student won a writing award; I happened to be one of the guest speakers for the ceremony. During her acceptance speech, she told a story about how a year before, she'd been to one of my writing classes at a local library and that was what motivated her to write this story she'd just been given an award for. That was .... humbling. I had her sign one of my books. It was an unreal feeling of like, "So I did make a difference? Even if only this once?" That's not something that's easy to replicate.

How long does it take you to finish a novel?

That depends on the definition of "finish." I can write a rough draft in two to three months, but with revision and editing that's about six to nine months, depending on all sorts of things. When you include the publishing part, it's usually no less than three years from writing the first sentence to it showing up on bookstore shelves.

What are you working on at the moment?

Many things, many things...a lot of non-YA stuff, although I did just submit a YA fantasy sample chapter to my agent. I've wanted to work in some new genres lately, like horror and other speculative genres, but as always, that is dictated by the publishers. I've also had the opportunity to write for the SPAWN series of comic books under Todd McFarlane which has been a lot of fun.

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead characters from your book?

I am old and out of touch, so I'm open to suggestions! Having said that, by the time the filming was being done, I'd take the entire cast of STRANGER THINGS to make HELLWORLD. That would be cool!

Fun questions:

If you could be a character in any novel you’ve ever read, who would you be and why?

The first one that comes to mind is Tom Fitzgerald in THE GREAT BRAIN series. Total smart-aleck boy genius. I was only half of that, and you're free to guess which half. On that note, Encyclopedia Brown would be pretty cool.

If you were written about in the newspaper, on the front page, what would the headline say?

"Some Random Guy Found Weeping in Gutter Clutching Worn Copy of Kirkus."

What mythical creature would you want to be? 

I've always thought minotaurs were pretty cool. Big and scary!

If you could meet anyone from history, who would it be and why?

Very possibly Shakespeare. Which may sound cliche, but he was a total nut, he'd be fun to hang with for, like, a day. Or, closer to home, Carl Sagan.

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Interview with Hugo Valentin Negron Author of Forging of a Knight, The Stolen Thief

Author Interview! 

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Synopsis: 

Legend has called them the Ruinous Ones, the Dokahlfar and the Vartahlfar, evil elves and their dwarfish minions that controlled an unknown technological magic, daring to seek power beyond that of the tree and the root. They warred against their own kin, the high elves, and were defeated, fleeing into the dark, driven from the light they had wished to corrupt.

Glaive has gone missing – a secret assignment for the King gone awry. Qualtan decides to search for his half-orcne friend, and in the process, uncover the truth behind the Ruinous Ones. The knight must risk all to escape from a strange new land, fraught with perils and danger, without the benefit of his magic sword. Worse, he will be accompanied by others, servants of Those That Stand in Shadow, in a fragile truce to find freedom…or die.

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• What’s your book about?  

The Stolen Thief continues a sub-plot from the prior book, The Prison Planet of the Mah-Lahkt. Glaive the thief has gone undercover for a special mission for the King which falls apart and he seemingly disappears. Qualtan insists on finding him, but the King, who has some bias against the thief because of his half-orcne heritage (orcnes being these bestial creatures they usually war against), won’t allow it, so the knight decides to go against his wishes and find him anyway.  In the process, he uncovers the truth about the legend of the Dokahlfar and the Vartahlfar, evil elves and their dwarfish companions that controlled an unknown technological magic, and ends up having to forge a truce with a band of servants from Those That Stand in Shadow (evil creatures that are recurring villains in the series), to attempt escape from the clutches of the Dokahlfar, while not trying to kill each other in the process.

There’s adventure, excitement, and further developments in Qualtan’s growing schism with the King, especially from the way his close friend Glaive has been treated because of his mixed orcne race. In addition, there is the return of a knight that fled from a battle back in Book Two. In each book since then, I’ve been showing snippets on what has been happening to this character. His fate, along with that of a mystery character revealed in the last few pages of The Stolen Thief (a mystery character, by the by, that was referenced way back in Book One that probably no one will ever catch, heh heh), will lead to what happens to Qualtan in Book Five of Forging of a Knight – Knighthood’s End.

• Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead characters from your book?

That is a toughie! No one specific comes to mind, but someone along the lines of a David Wenham (who played Faramir in the Lord of the Rings movies) would have the right “look” and presence for Qualtan.

Glaive the half-orcne thief would be even tougher. Being this sarcastic, distrustful, glass half-empty kind of a character, and yet still loyal to Qualtan and their friendship, would require the need for a combination of the snarkiness and deadpan comedy of a David John Battley (sadly deceased), similar to his role as Ergo the Magnificent from the movie Krull, and Roddy McDowall ala his role as Cornelius in the old Planet of the Apes movies (another great actor that has long since passed). Maybe your readers can help me out on that one, lol… 

• What are you working on at the minute?

The rough write-through for Book Five of the Forging of a Knight series, Knighthood’s End! The so-called curse Qualtan has been dealing with since the start seems to finally come through at last. Will he betray his knighthood, become a hunted fugitive, and lose everything he has, all for the sake of a love forbidden? The title might just give it away…

• What was the hardest part of writing this book?  

When you build up an ongoing series, you want to ensure that (a) the characters grow and the storyline progresses, built up by sub-plots and the actions of one story to another, but at the same time you want to make sure that (b) the next book in the series can still stand alone and be accessible to a new reader without getting bogged down with too many bits from the books that went before it.  Having all these references to strange names and stranger places from prior tales can only confuse a new reader and make them lose interest.

• Do you write every single day? 

I try to – sometimes I can be really productive and get a handful of pages in, other times maybe just a thought or paragraph to expand on later. If I hit a wall, I’ll take a few days off to recharge.

• Do you have any advice for other writers?

Write what you have a passion for, and not just to follow a theme or fad – the honesty of your writing will definitely shine through. Also, be patient with your ideas, and take the time to hear what your characters have to say. For some variety, I switched a supporting male knight in Book Two of the series into a female knight, not thinking much beyond that, but she literally took a life of her own, taking the storyline into a whole different area I hadn’t thought of and becoming a bigger part of the overall saga, improving it as well.

• Is there any person/s that has inspired you to write Forging of a Knight, The Stolen Thief?

Notwithstanding the aforementioned cartoon, for the entire series, I have given thanks to quite a few people – of course, my wife for giving me the gumption to write the stories now, not later, my mother and father who had always supported and encouraged my voracious reading habits, but especially my 7^th grade teacher. She introduced her class to the creative wonder of role-playing games as a means to teach leadership and teamwork, and was also a big fan of fantasy herself. After that, I was really blown away by the concept and never looked back.

• Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

There is usually a subtle hint of acceptance and redemption in my stories, where the worst is assumed from certain individuals or groups until they are given a chance – such as Glaive in the first book, a certain Giant in the second, and of course, the wild and crazy band of orcnes in the fourth – another life lesson I wanted to touch upon, and one that really hits hard when you get to book five…

• What books have most influenced your life most?

Tolkien, of course, with regards to the introduction it gave me to fantasy. Although I write fantasy, I have always loved the intellectual battles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, which helped me to think of questioning things in a logical manner and not just be taken in by the passion of an argument vs. the facts behind it, and the atmospheric detail of an H.P. Lovecraft where there was such a blend of invented mythology and real life locales the reader could easily become confused on what was real and what was not if they didn’t dig deep enough – another life lesson to be wary of!

• What genre do you consider your book(s)? 

Fantasy, epic fantasy. Action and adventure could be included with that, I would guess.

Interview with Stephen Leather author of New York Night!

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What inspired you to write the Jack Nightingale series?

 I always loved the Black Magic books of Dennis Wheatley when I was a kid and I’m a huge fan of the Constantine character in the Hellblazer comics (graphic novels as they prefer to be called these days). And I just love supernatural films, especially haunted houses and things that go bump in the night. With the Nightingale series I wanted to explore the supernatural world but with a hero who is very much grounded in reality. The first three books – Nightfall, Midnight and Nightmare – really explain his backstory, how he became the man he is. The next two – Nightshade and Lastnight – explain why he had to leave the UK and the subsequent books will be set mainly in the United States, hence San Francisco Night and New York Night.

What is your favourite theme/genre to write about?

 I love writing present-day thrillers that feel as if they have been ripped from that day’s newspaper headlines. I have lots of contacts in the police, the army and the intelligence services and I love using the information they give me in my stories. Often I hear of things long before they reach the papers. In my book Soft Target I wrote about four Islamic suicide bombers going down the Tube system in London. Several months later it actually happened – it wasn’t that I was psychic, it was the people I was speaking to told me it was the thing they feared happening most.

How did you come up with the title?

 As Jack Nightingale is the hero, I decided it would be neat to have the word ‘Night’ in all the titles, though after Nightfall, Midnight, Nightmare, Nightshade and Lastnight I have to confess I was running out of options. I don’t think Nightdress was going to cut it as a title!  The rest of the titles will be the name of a city, plus Night. So I have already published San Francisco Night and New York Night, and later this year I hope to publish Miami Night.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

 The knee-jerk answer is that my books are to entertain and that I’m not trying to teach my readers anything, I just want to tell them a good story. But on reflection I do think most writers want their readers to put down a book having at least learned something. With my Spider Shepherd thrillers I do try to point out the way the world is changing, how it is becoming a more uncertain and dangerous place and how the authorities are trying to deal with that. With the Jack Nightingale books that mission to explain is less pronounced and really I am trying to tell a good story, though there is of course an underlying moral that good always triumphs over evil. The problem with that moral, of course, is that it isn’t true – evil often wins, which is sad.

What does your family think of your writing?

 I think they just regard it as my job, actually!  I gave my 17-year-old daughter a copy of New York Night two weeks ago and said she might enjoy it and it’s still on the coffee table, unopened. 

Which writers inspire you?

 These days I’m inspired by the self-published writers who have built their success without the input of agents and publishers, writers like Joe Konrath, Tim Stevens, Nick Spalding and Conrad Jones. I’m very unimpressed by writers like James Patterson who turn their name into a brand and get other writers to write their books, and I’m even less impressed with those writers who continue to produce books after they die. It seems to me that a writer’s career should end with their death, but the likes of Tom Clancy and Vince Flynn obviously don’t agree. I doubt I’ll be producing books from beyond the grave, but we’ll see.

 What are you working on at the minute?

 I’m writing the 13^th Dan “Spider” Shepherd novel for Hodder and Stoughton. It’s called Dark Forces and is about an Islamic State sniper who is sent to London to carry out a terrorist atrocity. It’s hard work (40,000 words done with 80,000 still to go) but I’m enjoying it.  Once that’s done I’ll be writing a stand-alone novel about an arson investigator and then I’ll start Miami Night.

 What’s is your latest book about?  

The latest book I’ve self-published is New York Night, where teenagers are being possessed and turning into sadistic murderers. Priests can’t help, nor can psychiatrists. So who is behind the demonic possessions? Jack Nightingale is called in to investigate, and finds his own soul is on the line.

Hodder and Stoughton are publishing my thriller First Response on February 25, though I will be self-publishing it in the United States. In First Response, London is under siege. Nine men in suicide vests primed to explode hold hostages in nine different locations around the city, and are ready to die for their cause. Their mission: to force the government to release jihadist prisoners from Belmarsh Prison. Their deadline: 6 p.m. Today. But the bombers are cleanskins, terrorists with no obvious link to any group, and who do not appear on any anti-terror watch list. What has brought them together on this one day to act in this way? Mo Kamran is the Superintendent in charge of the Special Crime and Operations branch of the Met. As the disaster unfolds and the SAS, armed police, and other emergency services rush to the scenes, he is tasked with preventing the biggest terrorist outrage the capital has ever known. But nothing is what it seems. And only Kamran has the big picture. Will anyone believe him?

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead characters from your book?

Hmmm.  For Jack Nightingale I think I’d go for a younger Clive Owen. Nightingale is mid-thirties in the book and the wonderful Mr Owen is a tad older. As we speak, James Bond director Martin Campbell (Goldeneye and Casino Royale) is filming my book The Chinaman. Jackie Chan is playing the title role and Pierce Brosnan is the IRA guy he’s up against. Brilliant casting, I think!

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Synopsis:

Teenagers are being possessed and turning into sadistic murderers. Priests can’t help, nor can psychiatrists. So who is behind the demonic possessions? Jack Nightingale is called in to investigate, and finds his own soul is on the line.


Jack Nightingale appears in the full-length novels Nightfall, Midnight, Nightmare, Nightshade, Lastnight and San Francisco Night. He also appears in several short stories including Blood Bath, Cursed, Still Bleeding, I Know Who Did It, Tracks and My Name Is Lydia.