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Saturday, February 28, 2015

Mechanized Masterpieces 2: West End by Neve Talbot



AUTHOR BIO

As a child, Neve Talbot developed the habit of lulling herself to sleep by dreaming up continuations of her favorite books too soon ended. She never left off the habit, and eventually gained confidence in worlds of her own creation. She first cracked open a spiral binder in high school, and has spent the past decade dutifully penning her prerequisite one million words of bad writing before getting to the good stuff.

Now author, editor, story coach, and journalist, Neve currently lives with her husband under the pseudonym of Penny Freeman, in a quasi-reality filled with fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, Regency romance, the classics, and history books, suspended between the piney woods and sprawling metropolis of southeast Texas. She plans on exploring the world when she grows up.

“West End” is Neve’s third outing with The X, the others being “Crossroads” in Shades and Shadows, and “Tropic of Cancer” in Mechanized Masterpieces, of which “West End” is a sequel.

Q/A for featured author

1. Please share how you came up with the concept for your story? 
Little Women was probably my first 'adult' reading experience. I must have been in the 4th grade. It's held a warm place in my heart ever since. It seemed a natural choice to expand into Steampunk. Since my protagonists tend to be male, Laurie's story got the nod. Finally, since this book is the sequel to Mechanized Masterpieces, I decided to tie this story into "Tropic of Cancer,", my expansion of Jane Eyre.

2. Please name some of your other published works?
I have three short stories in Xchyler anthologies: "West End" in MM2, "Tropic of Cancer" in MMSA, and "Crossroads" in Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology.

3. What is your preferred writing genre?
Historical fiction

4. And preferred reading genre?
I am a literary omnivore, but my favorites are biography, history, and historical fiction. I also have a fond spot for the classics. Fantasy and Steampunk have really strong historical components, with the world-building, etc., which is why I think I enjoy it. I'm a sucker for a good map. Maps are graphic history.

5. What are your top 3 favorite books?
That's like asking who's your favorite child. The book that has had the most impact on me in recent years is Shadow of the Last Men by J.M. Salyards, recently the CYGNUS winner for science fiction.

6. Do you have any particular writing habits?
I seem to do my best writing late at night, I think because my imagination has more room to maneuver in my brain. Traffic is much lighter. I also tend to write a lot, then delete at least half, then compress that into as succinct a text as possible.

7. Do you have a playlist that you created while writing your story?
No. I usually need the quiet so I don't get distracted. When I do listen to music, I listen to The Writer's Trance, Orson Scott Card's writing music on Pandora. Lots of emotive music without the distraction of lyrics.

8. Panster or plotter?
I used to be a pantser, which is how I made up my first million words of really bad writing. Now, I'm more a plotter, which makes a more finely crafted story. I believe in allowing a character to reveal themselves as the story evolves, which in its turn helps the plot itself to evolve. As they say, even the best battle plans mean nothing once the shooting starts. The same goes for writing. An author needs to be flexible enough to reevaluate and restructure their outline as they go, but having a general direction to travel and a goal to reach really helps. Also, plotters really are pantsers at heart. They just do it in a lot fewer words.

9. Advice for writers?
Follow your passion. Let your characters live you, and they will become real to your readers. Never stop learning. Every author deserves a good editor. If you find yourself telling others, "You just don't get it," you need to ask yourself what you can do to change it. The responsibility of communication is yours, not the reader's.

10. What's up next for you?
Gosh. Here's a partial list: my historical fiction I've sworn to finish this year; develop Tropic of Cancer story into a full-length Steampunk novel; a long-nurtured sci-fantasy that I've finally muddled out. I'm ready to start outlining that as well.

Neve Talbot's Favorite Things



Quote:  
"You can never get enough of what you don’t need, because what you don’t need won’t satisfy you.” Dallin H. Oaks

TV show: 
Don't have one. Inordinately fond of the BBC, though, from murder mysteries to costume dramas to Dr. Who.

Comic book characters: 
Don't have one. I don't like comic books, as a general rule, because they objectify women and glorify violence, often both at once.

Movie-book: 
Are we meant to choose a book made into a movie? or one or the other? Favorite book made into a movie, if your'e going by the number of versions I've watched, is Pride and Prejudice, hands down. That said, there are a lot of great more contemporary books-to-film, like The Help, The Color Purple, etc. Harry Potter hasn't done a terrible job either.

Candy bar: 
Ferrero Rocher.

Place visited: 
Never traveled much, unfortunately. I would LOVE to spend at least a year in the UK, just living, and another in Europe. I have a huge list of places I'd like to go.

Restaurant: 
Any place with tablecloths and cloth napkins.

Island: 
Bali has always intrigued me, although I've never been there.





Pre-Order Links:


FACEBOOK BOOK TOUR LINK:


About Xchyler Publishing

And their books:


Tour Schedule:

February 22: 
Book 1: 
A Princess of Jasoom by J. Aurel Guay

February 23: 
Book 2: 
Winged Hope by Megan Oliphant

February 23: 
Book 3: 
The Van Tassel Legacy by Jay Barnson

February 24: 
Book 4: 
Invested Charm M. Irish Gardner

February 25: 
Book 5: 
Payoff for Air Pirate Pete by D. Lee Jortner

February 26: 
Book 6: 
Rise of the House of Usher by J.R. Potter

February 26: 
Book 7: 
The Silver Scams by M. K. Wiseman

February 27: 
Book 8: 
Nautilus Redux by Scott E. Tarbet

February 27: 
Book 9: 
Mr. Thornton by Scott William Taylor

February 28: 
Book 10: 
West End by Neve Talbot


Friday, February 27, 2015

Mechanized Masterpieces 2: Mr Thornton by Scott William Taylor



AUTHOR BIO

Scott William Taylor grew up in Utah living on the side of a mountain and lives on that same mountain today with his family and a dog that loves cheese. Scott is married with four children. Scott is a contributor to Flash 500 e-book, and creator of A Page or Two Podcast. He also wrote the award-winning short film, Wrinkles.

Scott’s first work with The X, “Little Boiler Girl,” appeared in the first Mechanized Masterpieces anthology. His short story, “Split Ends,” which appeared in Shades and Shadows, and “Mr. Thornton” tie him at second for number of contests won at The X.

Q/A for featured author

1. Please share how you came up with the concept for your story? 
I first thought of classic American works in the public domain and remembered when I read “Call of the Wild” of the Mr. Thornton character and I wondered what his backstory could be—how he ended up in Alaska. I created his story and made steampunk sled dogs as his invention.

2. Please name some of your other published works?
I have short stories published in “MMSA” “Shades & Shadows” and “MMAA” I have also self-published my first collection of short stories “Speckled"

3. What is your preferred writing genre?
I enjoy writing in the steampunk genre but I don’t feel I’ve nailed down one particular area that excites me. I’ve tried some fantasy and my next project is a science fiction romp consisting of 10 short stories.

4. And preferred reading genre?
Since grad school I’ve been drawn to the classics—things I failed to read in either high school or an undergrad. I’ve also begun reading many middle grade and YA titles from authors local to my area.

5. What are your top 3 favorite books?
Les Miserables, The Devil and White City, Seabiscuit

6. Do you have any particular writing habits?
I write everyday, though many times not on my WIP. I have two days a week when I can have large blocks of time to write. Most of my productive writing occurs on these days.

7. Do you have a playlist that you created while writing your story?
No. I usually never write while listening to music, however, I am sometimes inspired while listening to music.

8. Panster or plotter?
Admitted panster, however, I see the good being a plotter can be and I’m trying more to convert.

9. Advice for writers?
Write for yourself first. Write for the story second. Write for the audience after that. Success may not follow, but if you follow those rules, you’ll create something that’s satisfying.

10. What's up next for you?
I’m hoping to create an e-book science fiction series and publish a novel this year, be it with a publisher or I’ll self-publish, as well as continuing my daily blog posts.







Pre-Order Links:


FACEBOOK BOOK TOUR LINK:


About Xchyler Publishing

And their books:


Tour Schedule:

February 22: 
Book 1: 
A Princess of Jasoom by J. Aurel Guay

February 23: 
Book 2: 
Winged Hope by Megan Oliphant

February 23: 
Book 3: 
The Van Tassel Legacy by Jay Barnson

February 24: 
Book 4: 
Invested Charm M. Irish Gardner

February 25: 
Book 5: 
Payoff for Air Pirate Pete by D. Lee Jortner

February 26: 
Book 6: 
Rise of the House of Usher by J.R. Potter

February 26: 
Book 7: 
The Silver Scams by M. K. Wiseman

February 27: 
Book 8: 
Nautilus Redux by Scott E. Tarbet

February 27: 
Book 9: 
Mr. Thornton by Scott William Taylor

February 28: 
Book 10: 
West End Neve Talbot