Great Summer Reads - Day 8

William C. Tracy is a North Carolina native and a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy. He has a master’s in mechanical engineering, and has both designed and operated heavy construction machinery. He has also trained in Wado-Ryu karate since 2003, and runs his own dojo. He is an avid video and board gamer, a reader, and of course, a writer.

In his spare time, he wrangles three cats. He and his wife enjoy putting their pets in cute little costumes and making them cosplay for the annual Christmas card.

You can visit him at williamctracy.com.

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On a bright August day, the sun disappears.

Sam van Oen barely escapes freezing to death in his house, as his watch stops and fire ceases to burn. He is pulled into the Nether—a nexus between ten diverse alien cultures—where he meets two maji who can control the musical foundation of the universe. While coping with anxiety attacks prompted by his new surroundings, Sam must learn to hear and change the Symphony, and thus reality, in order to discover what happened to his home.

Sam is surrounded by aliens, both strange and familiar. Soon, he meets sister and brother twins, also new to the Nether, who support him during his anxiety attacks. Sam finds he is attracted to both of them, and does not want to choose.

But more freezing voids like the one that started his journey are appearing, and Sam’s chances of getting back are fading. The Assembly of Species is threatening to dissolve and the maji are being attacked by those they protect, while rumors grow of an ancient, shape-changing species of assassins, returning to wage war.

The Dissolution is coming.

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Author Interview:

1.     What is your favorite book that is not yours?

a.     That’s a hard one. It changes because I keep coming across really great new books. If I have to pick one I come back to again and again, I’d go with Sir Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods, with Pyramids being a close second.

2.     Do you write in multiple genres? Which genre is your favorite to write?

a.     Yes and no. I generally write Science Fiction and Fantasy (which I consider to be the same genre) but within that umbrella, I’ve written a space opera, an epic fantasy, a coming-of-age adventure, a political thriller, a mystery, a superhero story, a time travel story, a collection of alternate reality short stories, and a mid-grade adventure. My favorite genre is probably the adventure-style stories. They flow a lot easier, and I enjoy the sense of wonder while I write.

3.     How young were you when you started writing?

a.     About 14. I noodled around with creative writing, then didn’t do much in college, then picked it back up after I started my day job.

4.     If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be and why?

a.     Sir Terry Pratchett, because by all accounts he was a very kind, genuinely witty man, and Jules Verne, because I’d love to know how he came up with his ideas.

5.     How long does it take you to write a book, and what was your fastest book to write?

a.     This depends on size and topic. I wrote The Seeds of Dissolution in almost exactly one year, from start to publication date. However one of the other books I have out to agents has taken about 2 years, on and off, and I’m still not sure it’s right. They’re both similar in length.

6.     What is your favorite thing to do in the summertime?

a.     Tend my garden, and harvest and eat the different fruits I grow (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, and pears). I also enjoy the summer con schedule. I’ll be attending 5-6 cons this year between June and September.

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Great Summer Reads - Day 7

Marcia was born and raised in Argentina during the military regime which ended with the loss of many young lives in the invasion of the Falkland Islands. Amidst the devastating effects of military government and war, reading and writing became a passion which expanded and transported her imagination with the possibility of a brighter future.

At the age of eighteen, she moved to the United States, where she studied English and started her own family. She soon discovered that the love she has for her husband and children would naturally unfold towards her European roots, leading her to become a genealogist and family historian. A decade of searching, compiling, and learning the stories of thousands of people has instilled in her a profound gratitude for the strong ties that can be achieved in families through personal sacrifice.

So it is that through fiction, Awaken explores and exposes the characteristics of true love and loyalty in times of fear, war, and finally, death. But perhaps the most captivating element in the story is the battle within the souls of the main characters as they search to know who they really are and how they are connected.

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Could there exist a love powerful enough to overcome the grave?

Hard times during the Great Depression force nineteen-year-old Florence to leave her service at the monastery and seek employment. Fate brings her to work for a wealthy recluse, General Alexander Sterling. Despite many daunting events and a meddling housekeeper with dark secrets of her own, Florence and the General find themselves falling deeply in love.

What she doesn’t know is that General Sterling has left his native country escaping a painful past, one he yearns to forget. Destiny won’t allow it as he meets Florence, whose resemblance to his deceased wife is unbearable. Could Florence actually be the same woman who still owns his heart and haunts his dreams?

When their blossoming romance is shattered by an explosive truth, a mysterious stranger gives her an opportunity to go back in time to unlock the secret to her existence. Florence must strive to return to the present time to save their relationship from the imminent danger that awaits them.

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Author Interview:

1.     What is your favorite book that is not yours?

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie

2.     Do you write in multiple genres? Which genre is your favorite to write?

I love writing a combination of genres. Awaken is a mixture of romance, mystery, time travel, and action with a supernatural twist.

3.     How young were you when you started writing?

I started writing short stories when I was about eight years old.

4.     If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be and why?

I would meet Agatha Christie. She had an incredible ability to capture the reader’s attention. She was a master of showing through her writings the difficulties facing society. So believable were her characters that when her famous detective, Hercule Poirot, passed away, The New York Times honored him in their obituary page.

5.     How long does it take you to write a book, and what was your fastest book to write?

Awaken took me a few years to write since I was doing it for fun and didn’t have much time to work on it. Awaken’s sequel took me about nine months.

6.     What is your favorite thing to do in the summertime?

In the summer I enjoy traveling, swimming and being outdoors.

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Great Summer Reads - Day 6

Emily-Jane Hills Orford is an award-winning author of several books, including Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. She writes about the extra-ordinary in life and her books, short stories, and articles are receiving considerable attention. For more information on the author, check out her website at: http://emilyjanebooks.ca

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There are so many possibilities that affect the course of history. One change, one small item overlooked, can make a world of difference, not only in a person's life, but in the history and well-being of an entire nation. And then there are those multiple scenarios of what if? 

What if King James VI of Scotland didn't succeed in amalgamating Scotland with England? What if there had been another heir to the throne of Scotland? One who would secure its independence? Would Scotland have remained free and independent and a nation of its own well into the twenty-first century? And would Scotland, this independent version, make its own decision to join the European Union when its southern neighbor was choosing to pull away?

"Queen Mary's Daughter" presents another plausible timeline, one that incorporates both historical fact and fiction with the endless possibilities of time travel.

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Author Interview:

1.     What is your favorite book that is not yours?

a.     Hard question. I have so many favorite books. So here's one of my many favorite books: Jude Morgan's "Symphony".

2.     Do you write in multiple genres?

a.     Yes. I write memoirs, creative nonfiction, historical fiction, fantasy, Middle Grade novels. Which genre is your favorite to write? Creative nonfiction.

3.     How young were you when you started writing?

a.     As soon as I could write my name, I was writing stories. Probably about 6. 

4.     If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be and why?

a.     Susan Vreeland - I love her passion for the visual arts and her ability to weave a painting and a painter's life into a story.

5.     How long does it take you to write a book, and what was your fastest book to write?

a.     My first novel took ten years to write. A complete first draft usually takes about six months. That doesn't include all the months of editing, which is an endless task.

6.     What is your favorite thing to do in the summertime?

a.     Work in my garden and sit in my garden reading.

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Great Summer Reads - Day 5

Lauren H Salisbury was an English teacher for sixteen years with an MA in Education. She is now a writer who dabbles with tutoring and lives with her husband and a room full of books in Yorkshire, England. 

She likes to spend winters abroad, following the sunshine and becoming the seasonal envy of her friends. When she’s not writing, she can be found spending time with family, reading, walking, crafting, or cooking. Courage is her debut novel.

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Can one woman evade an alien empire to save her son's life?

Gilla and Elias have the perfect life—or as perfect as life can be for slaves living deep in the Esarelian Empire. Elias wants freedom for his precious wife and daughter, and the rest of their people, and he is willing to fight to get it. Pregnant with her second child, Gilla only wants a happy, healthy family who share a strong faith in the God of Old Earth and to get through her workload each day. 

When the Esarelians decide to teach their rebellious slaves a lesson they will never forget, Gilla’s entire life is turned upside down. She must trust that God has a plan to protect her new-born son, and have the courage to follow it, choosing the strangest of allies in an effort to ensure his survival.

Courage is a science fiction retelling of the Biblical story of Moses’s birth. It has strong, quirky characters, strange alien worlds, and a gripping plot with a twist on the original.

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The next book in this Series is available in September! Find out more about that book HERE!

Author Interview:

1.     What is your favourite book that is not yours?

a.     It’s so hard to choose just one. If pushed, I would have to say the Firebird trilogy by Kathy Tyers. It was the first Christian science fiction I’d ever read, and it opened my eyes to a whole new genre. It was also exactly what I needed at the time I read it and has had a larger impact on my life than I ever could have guessed back then.

2.     Do you write in multiple genres? Which genre is your favourite to write?

a.     My debut series is a space opera. That said, each manuscript has its own flavour. The first is action based, the second more of a romance, the third involves political intrigue, and the fourth is a coming of age story. I wanted the freedom to write different types, if not genres, of books and found this series to be a good way to do that.

b.     My favourite to date was the romance, which surprised me, as I’ve never been particularly drawn to romantic plots in the past. I think it was the characters that made it such fun to write. They’re more complex than even I first realised until I started writing it. Conviction should release in September of this year.

3.     How young were you when you started writing?

a.     I’ve told stories for as long as I can remember—first to my teddies and then to other kids in church. I remember writing a whole series of short stories for the younger sister of a friend when I was about ten. They were a page long each, had illustrations that I’d drawn, and were tied with a ribbon.         

I went through a brief phase of writing poetry while at university but returned to prose fairly quickly. As a working adult, I wrote for years for two main reasons. First were the children’s stories for my local church, and second were the examples of creative writing for my English students in school. I wish I’d kept more of these, but the majority were wiped off the board at the end of the day for me to start again fresh each morning.

4.     If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be and why?

a.     I would love to meet someone like Shakespeare one day. What can I say? I’m an ex-English teacher. I’d be interested in finding out definitively whether one person wrote his entire collection or not, but also just to be able to fill in some of the gaping holes in our knowledge about him. I’d want to get the stories behind some of his characters, discuss the many plot holes in Romeo & Juliet, and ask whether he missed his kids.

I think he’d be surprised to discover how his work has been viewed through the years—canonised, reimagined, turned into films, and studied in schools. I’d also like to see his reaction to our technology and wonder how he’d use that if he could. Of course, we’d probably need a translator, so maybe I could invite another couple of writers to sneak in and bridge the gap.

5.     How long does it take you to write a book, and what was your fastest book to write?

a.     The idea for my debut series came to me all at once. I spent a few months, while looking after a friend with cancer, jotting down notes and ideas for the entire series as well as each individual book. All the world building was done up front, and a lot of the characters and plots for later stories were fleshed out before I began to think about writing the first.

Once I had all the planning done, it took one or two months to draft each manuscript and another three or four to edit them until I was happy. The fastest I’ve been able to write the first complete draft was just under four weeks for Conviction, book two and the next to be released. I worked for about five hours a day, five or six days a week on that one.

6.     What is your favourite thing to do in the summertime?

a.     I have an entire day mapped out in my head for this one. I love to drive out into the country with my music on, go for a walk, and stop for a picnic somewhere peaceful. Then I like to relax and either read or write for a while, preferably while enjoying a great view, before finishing the walk and driving home for a takeaway and film. Essentially, I like to be outside soaking up the sunshine, and it’s something I try to do as often as possible each year.

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Great Summer Reads - Day 4

I’m a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. 

Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. 

Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those Young-at-Heart to read more through my Tales and Legends for Reluctant Readers set in these worlds.

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 If they fail...

She could die over 3300 years from home!

Tackle the elements & evil of Ancient Egypt...
A history-changing battle & Time Travel Thriller...


Fifteen-year-old Rosa doesn't see dead people...
She hears them & talks to them.

When she agrees to help King Tut's ghost find his lost queen & clear his family's name, she doesn't count on falling for him.

She & Tut must also outwit an evil pharaoh determined to stop them...
Even if it means one of them must die.

Get it today and see who triumphs.


2015 IAN Book of the Year Finalist YA
2015 CAL Book Award Finalist YA Fiction
2014 Literary Classics Seal of Approval

2015 Readers' Favorite Finalist YA
2014 Literary Classics Silver Medal for PreTeen/Tween

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Author Interview:

1. What is your favorite book that is not yours?

The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye.  This was my first foray into historical fiction, that I bought in back in the 1980s. Dealing with the British occupation of India, it follows a young British soldier, Ash, through his tour of duty, his meeting with the Indian princess Juli, their forbidden love and the bindings of tradition and duty. At nearly 1200 pages, it was by far the biggest book I had read outside of my college classes. I’ve read it a few times and will read it again.

2. Do you write in multiple genres? Which genre is your favorite to write?

I write Arthurian fiction and time travel historical adventures set in the ancient worlds. I love doing the Arthurian stories, but I find the time travel historicals my favorite. I love learning about the ancient countries in my writing and research, when I can, exploring these ancient worlds today.

3. How young were you when you started writing?

I remember writing a poem about the rodeo—I was horse crazy from an early age—in the 8th grade. I thought it was good. My 8th grade Language Arts teacher wanted to know if it was my own work. Not too encouraging.

4. If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be and why?

J.R.R, Tolkien. His extensive knowledge of classical and medieval literature; his use of mythology, particularly Norse; and his understanding of language spread throughout his stories is fascinating. I would love to sit down with him to discuss all that. Also, I would love to get his opinions on my next time travel series set in the ancient worlds.

5. How long does it take you to write a book, and what was your fastest book to write?

From the initial idea to printed book takes me about a year and a half. I haven’t written anything faster than that, however, it did take about 8 years to write the second book of my Guinevere trilogy. I never planned to do a book 2, but over the years young Cedwyn kept pestering me until I wrote his story!

6. What is your favorite thing to do in the summertime?

I enjoy being in the water, be it a pool or the ocean, although I much prefer the ocean!

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