INTERVIEW OF ROBERT PIELKE AUTHOR OF THE NOVEL THE TRANSLATOR (GIVEAWAY)

 I want to welcome Robert G. Pielke to Books R Us. Robert is the author of the novel A New Birth Of Freedom: The Translatorbook two of the trilogy. Thanks for stopping by.

 Interview

Can you tell me who or what was the inspiration for the book?

** There were many things that led to this trilogy, but it all came together when I discovered the underlying issue of the story – fundamental rights. What criteria should we use when deciding who has such rights? It was over this the fundamental issue that led to the Civil War and the issue that will arise in our eventual contact with extraterrestrial intelligent life. Stephen Hawking recently raised the issue again, when he counseled against having any contact with other ET species. Although my trilogy is an alternate-history and a time-travel tale, the story is driven by this concern.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

** I don’t think such a thing exists. Either someone has something they want to write or they don’t. If you have nothing to say…then it stands to reason that you won’t be able to write anything.

Can you tell me your experiences in finding a publisher for the book?

** My first publication was a nonfiction book on rock music in American culture – in the 80’s of the pervious century. Nelson-Hall, a traditional publisher picked my proposal up right away and another publisher immediately picked up its sequel. So I thought getting published was going to be a snap! Not so with fiction – especially genre fiction, and even more especially when I combined a few different kinds of genre fiction. For my trilogy, I had to shop the proposal around to TONS of publishers before one was willing to take something a bit odd.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?  Where do you like to vacation?  Can you tell us briefly about this?

** I usually give a kind of cavalier answer to this….”sex, drugs and rock and roll.” But, to be specific, I cook, ski [blues and greens], watch loads of movies, swim daily, listen to all kinds of rock music, and then do it all over again.

How long did it take you to write the book and how long did it take to get the book released?

** It’s difficult to be precise, because the real beginnings are never written down – there are a bunch of ideas just rolling around in your head and you “play with them” for a long time. Suffice it to say, the “playing” with this book began many years ago. From the typed words to release – probably about 3-4 years.

Who is your favorite character in the book and why?

** I don’t think I have one. I enjoy writing “for” all of them, but that’s not to say I “like” [or “dislike”] any of them. Writing for my female character was, of course, challenging, but since the Point of View is from my protagonist’s perspective [“universal limited,” I believe is the precise term for what I’m doing, I have an “out.” The reader “sees” her through the eyes of my protagonist.

What are your current / future projects? 

** Right now, I’m working on the final book of the trilogy. AND I’m collaborating with a screenwriter for converting the first book into a film. But in the more distant future, I have two books under consideration: One is a fantasy sci-fi about humans discovering that there is a species here on earth that has been trying to contact us for millennium…they finally succeed! The other is a literary novel about the relationship between Viet Nam vets and Viet Nam protesters.

Do you have any tips for a young writer just starting out?

** Just write!! Write anything! Write all of the time! Consider ALL of what you write a writing exercise.

If your book was to be made into a movie, who would you like the main character to be played by and why?

** “When” perhaps!!?? Hahahahah I have no one in mind for the lead – But I wouldn’t ‘t mind Daniel Day Lewis do Lincoln!!

A New Birth of Freedom: The Translator (Book 2) blog tour site:
Books R Us review of The Translator.

Purchase the book:

Amazon.
Whiskey Creek Press.

CONTEST:

Thanks to the author I am able to giveaway a ebook of the Translator to one of my readers. Contests ends on 2/23/13 @ 11:59 PM EST. See Rafflecopter for rules.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR AND GIVEAWAY OF ROSES IN ECUADOR BY HEATHER HUFFMAN (WORLDWIDE- 18 YO +)

 I would like to welcome Heather Huffman to Books R Us. Heather is the author of Roses in Ecuadora romantic suspense novel. Thanks for stopping by.

Becoming a Writer

I’ve always been a writer; I just didn’t know it. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the written word, but I didn’t consider seriously pursuing publication until my early thirties.

I learned a few lessons on my path to becoming a writer. Whenever I’m asked to share advice with a new writer, my response is the same: The most important thing you can do is write. Finish the book. I know too many people who have been working on the same novel for five or six years. Make time to write on a regular basis, even if you don't feel inspired. I've often sat down feeling completely blah and surprised myself with what I was able to turn out.

When you finish your book, find someone you trust to give you honest feedback on it. The first person I shared Tumbleweed with was cruel with her feedback; I almost stopped writing. After I finished licking my wounds, I made some changes and shared it with a coworker I respected and trusted. Her feedback was kind but honest and it helped me make it a better book. There were actually two coworkers, the inspiration behind Kate’s colleagues in Ties That Bind, whose feedback and encouragement made all the difference. I know I wouldn't have become a published author without them. If they had just said "yep, it's great" I wouldn't have gotten any better. But their approach made a huge difference because no matter how many books you write, it's always tough to share them. A piece of you is in it; it hurts when the book is rejected!

To that end, know now that your book will be rejected before it's accepted. When I first started getting rejection letters and they were form letters, I knew the book must not have been ready to send. I worked on the books some more then submitted again. That round I got personalized letters telling me why it was rejected, so I knew I was getting closer. I took their advice, worked on the book some more, then submitted again. That time I got personal conversations. I was told the writing was beautiful, but they didn't know how to market my books. One agent in particular told me that if I'd write to a formula, she could give me an amazing career as a writer. I chose to stick with my books, the ones I wanted to write. I went indie with them and my publisher found me - once I'd proven there was a market for my novels.

I also tell aspiring authors to learn all they can about the market. There are a few different paths to publication now - traditional, small publishers and indie, but that’s an entire conversation by itself. If you’re willing to work hard, it's a great time to be a writer!

 
ABOUT THE BOOK:

Unknown to each other, they escaped to the heart of Ecuador to make the world a better place, having sworn off the possibility of love... until disaster brings them together.

Jane Russell is certain she's had enough heartbreak for one lifetime, and love is the last thing on her mind when she arrives in Ecuador to study the cats on the local jaguar preservation.

Devon McAllister, the wealthy and handsome son of a well-known corporate mogul, has broken his share of hearts, but he found a new purpose in life when he opened a fair trade rose plantation in Ecuador.

When the jaguar preservation comes under attack by what appears to be a group of angry locals, Jane's search for the missing animals leads her to Devon's backyard. As they sort through the destruction, an unexpected visit by a charming yet secretive U.S. senator reveals the identity and motives of the attackers to be much more sinister than she could have ever imagined.

Through it all, Jane finds her desire for Devon growing ever stronger. But will she ever be able to trust him enough to truly love?

CONTEST:

Thanks to the Author, I am able to give away a E copy of the book ( epub, mobi or pdf
18 Years old +, Open World Wide.)
  

 

INTERVIEW OF NINA CROFT AUTHOR OF BREAK OUT

 I want to welcome Nina Croft to Books R Us. Nina is the author of Break Out (Blood Hunter) a Paranormal/Sci-Fi romance. Thanks for stopping by.

Can you tell me who or what was the inspiration for the book?

Break out is a mixture of sci-fi and paranormal romance, and there were actually two things that inspired it.

The first was watching the sci-fi series Firefly for about the third time. I love the series and I decided I wanted to write a space opera, because they’re fun and absolutely anything can happen.

The second was a serious case of paranormal deprivation. A while back, my husband asked me—why didn’t I write a good book? By ‘good’ he actually meant without any romance, vampires, werewolves or aliens. So, I wrote him a thriller, which I loved doing (it’s called The Descartes Legacy and will be out early next year!) And while a little (okay, a lot) of romance sneaked into it and maybe just a little bitty alien, there were no vampires and no werewolves, and by the time I’d finished writing I was in desperate need of a paranormal fix. So when I started plotting Break Out, and the pilot of my space ship turned out to be a vampire, I wasn’t too upset and actually welcomed him with open arms.

So there I was – vampires in Space.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

I go through stages where I find it difficult to get the words down. When that happens, I tend to just force myself to work through it. Usually though, I’ll give myself a change of scenery and perhaps try a different method from typing into my laptop. I’ll maybe take a notebook into the garden or up the mountain or… and I’ll write longhand for a change. It usually gets me going again.

Can you tell me your experiences in finding a publisher for the book?

I always knew that Break Out would be hard to find a publisher for, because it’s such a mixture of genres: sci-fi, romance, paranormal. I’d had another book accepted by Entangled Publishing through a pitch competition on the Savvy Authors site (that book was Bittersweet Blood, a paranormal romance to be released this December). I’d loved my dealings with Entangled up to that point and so when I saw that they were actively seeking space opera submissions I thought why not—maybe they’d like my space opera with a vampire. My manuscript found its way to Liz at Entangled who got back to me within the day. She asked me if it was part of a series, and if it wasn’t could it be? It was one of the nicest days of my writing career!

How long did it take you to write the book and how long did it take to get the book released?

Break Out was first released last July as a novella. The first draft took me probably a month to write and then another to edit. It was accepted in April last year and released in July so things moved pretty fast.

Who is your favorite character in the book and why?

Definitely the hero of the book, Ricardo Sanchez or Rico. He’s probably my favourite of all my characters. Rico turned up almost fully formed. He just about wrote himself and in fact, has a tendency to take over every scene he’s in (which was okay for Break Out, as he’s the hero but a bit of a pain for the later books.)

What are your current / future projects? 

I tend to have a few things on the go at once. I’m contracted to write another three Blood Hunter books so I’m planning those, but right now I’m working on a paranormal romance, a sequel to my December release, Bittersweet Blood.

Do you have any tips for a young writer just starting out?

Write what you love, because that’s what will sustain you when the going gets tough—which it will.

If your book was to be made into a movie, Who would you like the main character to be played by and why?

This is so hard. I think as writers we get such strong images of how are characters look that it’s hard to accept a real person. But I think for Rico, maybe a young Antonio Banderas (Rico is Spanish) or maybe Ian Somerhalder (I’ve just started watching The Vampire Diaries!) he could pass for Spanish.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?  Where do you like to vacation?  Can you tell us briefly about this?

I live on an almond farm in southern Spain with my husband and a whole load of animals. So when I’m not writing, I’m usually either walking the dogs, riding my horse, Gencianna, or lying under an almond tree reading.

We used to travel a lot before we moved to Spain, and we loved getting off the beaten track. We visited Africa, India and South East Asia. But we don’t really get to go on holiday anymore, it’s just not possible because of all the animals, so we spend holidays at home. But as we live in a spectacularly beautiful part of the world, that’s not really a hardship.

Can you tell me where we can purchase your book?

Buy Links

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

About the Book:

The year is 3048, Earth is no longer habitable, and man has fled to the stars where they’ve discovered the secret of immortality—Meridian. Unfortunately, the radioactive mineral is exorbitantly expensive and only available to a select few. A new class comprised of the super rich and immortal soon evolves. The Collective, as they’re called, rule the universe.
Two-thousand-year-old Ricardo Sanchez, vampire and rogue pilot of the space cruiser, El Cazador, can’t resist two things: gorgeous women and impossible jobs. When beautiful Skylar Rossaria approaches him to break a prisoner out of the Collective’s maximum security prison on Trakis One, Rico jumps at the chance. Being hunted by the Collective has never been so dangerous–or so fun! 

 About the Author:

Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia, which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.

Nina writes all types of romance often mixed with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.

Find me at:

Website

Twitter

Facebook