The Crimson Path of Honor by M.B. Tosi

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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to review for BookLook Blogger.

I was hesitant to read this book when I noticed it is “Book Three” of The Indian Path Series.  However, I read that each book in the series is about a different group/tribe of Native Americans.

This is the story of Luci Garling and her life from young girl to woman.  It follows her from her privileged life in Boston to traveling west and being captured by the Lakota (Sioux) who called the Rocky Mountains their home.  Luci faces many trials but continues to put her faith in God throughout the story.

I was really enjoying the story and the characters until just after chapter 28, when suddenly the author created some tragedies that came one right after the other that I felt rushed and felt that Luci, (known as “Morning Star” by this time), was also rushed and her response to the tragedies seemed very unrealistic to me, even for a strong woman.  It seemed to me that Ms. Tosi wrapped everything into a neat, little package for the outcome she desired, but it wasn’t necessarily the outcome her readers (at least this reader) desired.

All in all, I enjoyed the story, but found myself quite disappointed in many of the author’s decisions.  However, I do recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a story that has some good information about the life of some of the Native American people, as well as anyone who enjoys a story where faith in God is exemplified and shared.

How Do You Inspire Others

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How do you inspire others?  Have you ever thought about it?

I don’t think I have ever thought about inspiring others.  I think about helping others, encouraging others and persuading others.

Well, I recently found out that I do inspire others, especially writer friends.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have had a couple of writer friends tell me that the encouragement that I offer them and my enthusiasm for writing “inspires” them and they have been writing more or coming up with more writing ideas since speaking to me about writing.

Wow, that was quite a compliment.  Compliments usually make me uncomfortable, but that compliment made me feel good because I am always glad to help others, especially in a common interest.  I get excited to see their progress!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now for an update on my writing journey.  I posted on June 23, 2015 about Lisa Lawmaster Hess speaking at our last Lancaster Christian Writers’ group meeting.  Well, in that meeting, she also mentioned that she is a “pantser”!  You have no idea what a relief and encouragement that was to me!

I have been studying writing very diligently for the past two years as I continued to write.  Most of what I learned was about the “Planners”.  I have always been a pantser — ever since I began a love of writing in the 5th grade.  However, I was afraid that since I heard so much about the “planners” and not much about the “pantsers”, that only the “planners” were successful.  So imagine my surprise when Lisa Lawmaster Hess, a published writer, confessed to being a “pantser”.

Woo Hoo!  My spirit leaped for joy!  I had been trying so hard to force myself to become a “planner”, and I was miserable and I was so unhappy with my writing.  Thanks to Lisa Lawmaster Hess I was free!  I could go back to being a “pantser” and worry about edits after my story is down!  Well, I started my work-in-progress over a-gain, for the fifth time, and this time I am going all the way back to my roots and writing with pen and paper.  And, guess what?!  It is making a tremendous difference!  I now LOVE writing again!  I get excited about the next time I get to sit down and write, and when I do, the story flows out of me, and it’s so much better than what I was producing when I was trying to write in a way that is completely opposite of my nature and talent.

Why all the way back to pen and paper? you ask.  Well, I find that when I type on the computer, I tend to go back over what I wrote every time I sit down to write and I am changing and tweaking constantly.  It becomes quite counter-productive.  I find that writing with pen and paper seems to have the opposite effect — I can simply start where I left off and still hit that groove that keeps my story moving and keeps me writing.  I am a happy writer again!

What about you?  Have you been trying to fit a particular mold?  Know that you can be free to be you and write in whatever way allows you to get your story out and write your best and do your best editing later.

A Heart’s Betrayal by Colleen Coble

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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through the BookLook Blogger program, in exchange for my honest book review.

A Heart’s Betrayal by Colleen Coble is Book Four in the “Journey of the Heart” series.  Each of these books is a quick, easy read.  Each contains romance and suspense.  In A Heart’s Betrayal, we get to know more about Emmie, the sister of Ben Croftner, who was a thorn in Rand Campbell’s side.

Emmie learns some shocking news about her husband of only three months, after he is killed in an accident; news that will negatively affect her life in many ways if she remains in Wabash, Indiana.  She has no family near to help her in any way, so she remembers that someone in town mentioned that Sarah Campbell was lonely for some woman friends, as she was living at a military fort in the west with her husband, Rand Campbell.  So, Emmie decides to go west.

When Emmie reaches the fort, she is not impressed with the surroundings, although she does think that men in uniform are attractive.  However, she has decided that she will never trust another man and wants nothing to do with one.  But then she meets Isaac Liddle, and her resolves starts to waiver.

Then she is hit by more news that she sees as negative for her situation — she’s pregnant!

I really enjoyed this story.  I finished reading it in about two or three hours.  I couldn’t put it down.  I just felt so bad for Emmie and all that she is going through in this story.  I couldn’t wait to find out how things will work out for her.  Then I reached the end of the book and found that Colleen Coble left me hanging again!  This was the norm when these books were first published — writers would end a book in a series in a cliff hanger, to assure that his/her readers would not be able to resist the next one in the series when it came out.  It’s definitely effective for a writer, who can pull it off well, and Colleen Coble is one of those writers.

If you haven’t read any of the “Journey of the Heart” series, I highly recommend it.  If you have been reading it, I highly recommend you read A Heart’s Betrayal, even though, A Heart’s Danger – Book Three seemed to have a good ending.  You won’t want to miss Emmie’s story.  It’s just as good as Sarah’s.

I recommend this book to anyone who has read the first three books in the “Journey of the Heart” series.  I recommend this book even if you haven’t read the first three books, as this is about a new main character, even though many characters from the first three books are a part of the story.  I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book that is easy to read and doesn’t take a lot of time to finish reading, as well as anyone who enjoys stories of the old West, and stories of romance and suspense.

The Big House on Adams Street by Alberta Sparks

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I received this ebook free from BookLook Bloggers in return for my honest review.

The Big House on Adams Street by Alberta Sparks is a wonderful book about one man’s dream.  There are many characters in the book who are easy to love and care about, many who have experienced hardships, some who have cause hardships for others.

Fritz, whose birth could have been considered an abomination, grew into a Godly man who had a dream; a dream for helping others.  He traveled by boat to America in hopes of fulfilling his dream, and on the way, met some people who took an interest in his dream and expressed a desire to help him.

In America, he built The Big House on Adams Street, otherwise know as “Huber Haven”.  Not long after the house was finished, it’s first occupants arrived, and Fritz assigned rooms to them.  He explained is plan for those who live in the house to work together to run the household.  Everyone must do their part.

In no time at all, “Huber Haven” had established a wonderful reputation, and in just a few short years, the house was filled with adults, children and babies.

I encourage you to read The Big House on Adams Street by Alberta Sparks if you enjoy heartwarming stories about family and people with struggles who overcome and people who have a heart for helping others.  You will find all of those things between these pages.  I assure you that by the time you are finished reading this book, you will have a desire or, maybe even a longing, for a place to live — a place to belong — like “Huber Haven”, or, maybe you’ll want to create your own “Huber Haven”.  This story touches both the heart and the soul.

Realistic Ways to Fit Writing in Your Day plus a Brief Update

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I was able to attend our last meeting for Lancaster Christian Writers for the year this past Saturday.  Our guest speaker was Lisa Lawmaster Hess and she shared ways that ANYONE can find some time to write most, if not all, days.  She presented the material and a fun way and shared some of her personal experiences.  Basically, the following is the plan and you can use it and tweak it any way you need to:

Ready   —     Set    —    Sprint!

1 hour

1,000 New Words   (These 3 items, above the line are the Gold Standard)

Daily

____________________________

Split Sprints

Set a Timer

Half Sprints

Double Sprints

You may be wondering what all of this means.  Well, so many people tell you that you MUST sit down and write EVERY day.  They say your goal should be 1 hour and/or 1,000 new words a day.  This is a great goal, but it’s not really realistic for most writers who have many other responsibilities in their families and lives or who still have to work a full-time job, outside of writing, in order to pay the bills.

So, look at the ideas below the line:

Split Sprints — This simply means that you do your best to try to get an hour in, but you may not be able to do it all at once,

so you split it up into pieces that work for you, which may be only fifteen minutes four different times

throughout the day.

Set a Timer — This is to help you meet your goal time.  Set your timer for one hour when you sit down to write.  If you get

interrupted and can’t complete the hour all at once, stop the timer, but record the amount of time you did

spend writing.  Then try to get back and finish the hour later, but even if you don’t get the hour finished that

day, you will still see that you have made progress, because you did spend some time writing.

And,  * “Any time you can put into your writing, is better than no time at all.”

Half Sprints — This simply means splitting your hour long sprint of writing time into two half-hour time slots.

Double Sprints — This is a bonus for the times when you sit down for you hour and find that after your hour, you are still

going strong and have had no interruptions, and you manage to put in two hours!

With all of this said, you have to understand that “writing requires intention and planning”.  Therefore, you need to plan some things before you sit down to write:  1) Will you use your entire writing time to work on just one particular project or will you divide it between two or three projects; 2) Will you use your entire writing time to write all new words or will you spend some of your time editing a project; 3) Or will you spend some of your time marketing?

Stopwatch vs. Timer — Use a timer when you have to be done at a specific time; Use a stopwatch when you want open-ended space to just keep track of time spent writing.

I hope you will find all of these wonderful ideas helpful in your writing life as well.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, for the update for anyone who wants to know about me and my health.  I am healing very well from my surgery and feeling quite normal.  I am able to eat anything without getting sick, but still need to be careful with sugar and carb intake because of my diabetes.  I also am trying to be careful because I don’t want to gain back the weight that I have lost, and would like to lose some more.  My doctor still wants me to lose more weight as well.

I am able to live my normal lifestyle again, but must limit the amount of weight I lift to 25 pounds (my surgeon said that needs to be my limit for the next six weeks).  I told my husband I think I’m going to make that a permanent limit for myself because I am getting older and I really don’t want to experience another hernia of any kind.

Thanks to any of you who have been praying for my recovery.  I hope to be posting regularly here again,  now that I am feeling healthy again.

When Mockingbirds Sing by Billy Coffey

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I received a free ecopy of this book to review for BookLook Bloggers.

What marks the boundary between a miracle from God and the imagination of a child?

Leah is a child from Away, isolated from her peers because of her stutter. But then she begins painting scenes that are epic in scope, brilliant in detail, and suffused with rich, prophetic imagery. When the event foreshadowed in the first painting dramatically comes true, the town of Mattingly takes notice.

Leah attributes her ability to foretell the future to an invisible friend she calls the Rainbow Man. Some of the townsfolk are enchanted with her. Others fear her. But there is one thing they all agree on-there is no such thing as the Rainbow Man.

Her father, the town psychologist, is falling apart over his inability to heal his daughter . . . or fix his marriage. And the town minister is unraveled by the notion that a mere child with no formal training may be hearing from God more clearly than he does.

While the town bickers over what to do with this strange child, the content of Leah’s paintings grows darker. Still, Leah insists that the Rainbow Man’s heart is pure. But then a dramatic and tragic turn of events leaves the town reeling and places everyone’s lives in danger. Now the people of Mattingly face a single choice:

Will they cling to what they know . . . or embrace the things Leah believes in that cannot be seen?

I found When Mockingbirds Sing by Billy Coffey very intriguing.  Leah’s family are not church goers and her father doesn’t want to hear anything about God or religion.  Her mother has interest in the idea of spiritual things but not necessarily in a God who is in control of the things that happen in life.

Therefore, when Leah begins talking about The Rainbow Man and insisting he is real, she can see him, and he sings to her and tells her what to do, her father is frustrated with the idea.  Her mother sees it as a normal part of a child’s life, inventing an imaginary friend.  But, when Leah starts to paint pictures with incredible detail, both of her parents are baffled.  When the event depicted in her first painting comes true, her parents begin to question what is causing this new, surreal ability their daughter seems to have.

Her parents aren’t the only ones struggling to figure out what is enabling Leah to paint these pictures.  The town minister suspects that instead of hearing from God, Leah may be connected to evil forces instead.

Is Leah good or evil?  How could Leah be prophetic when she knows nothing of God?

Read Billy Coffey’s When Mockingbirds Sing to find the answers to these questions.

I enjoyed this book.  I couldn’t wait to get to the end because the story drove a desire within me to know if Leah was evil or good because as I read the plot, I kept flip-flopping in my opinion, so I just wanted to know, so it definitely kept me turning the pages.  I also was pleased to find study questions at the end of the book because the story left me with a couple of questions about the author’s thoughts in writing the story, and when I read the study questions, I found the answers to the questions I had.

I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys stories that involve the supernatural and give cause to think about the spiritual realm and stories that hold your interest and keep you turning pages.

Centralia by Mike Dellosso

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Picture

Things are not what they seem.

Peter Ryan can’t find his wife and daughter.  Everyone keeps telling him they died, but he doesn’t believe them.  He does, however, have memories of their funeral.  When his house is invaded, he discovers that he has survival skills he was not aware he had.  He doesn’t understand what is going on, and do the disconnected memories have anything to do with what’s happening?  And, what about the nightmare he has almost every night?  Is it significant?  Centralia is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat suspense story where “things are not what they seem”.

This story is very well-written and the characters, down to the very minor characters who only appear in one chapter, are very well-developed.  One of the best minor characters in the book is Ronnie.  He’s only in one chapter, but Mike gave me so much information about Ronnie that I immediately cared about this character.  I would like to see Mike continue Ronnie’s story in another book sometime.

The story grabbed my attention right from the start and held it in a strong grip right up until the very end.  Mike Dellosso has a talent for giving great descriptions of people and settings without making it too wordy or slowing the action and suspense down.  The story is action-packed, suspenseful and frightening.

I’ve been a Mike Dellosso fan for a year now, and though I haven’t yet read all of his books, I think this could be his best work yet.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to be kept up late because you just can’t put this book down; to anyone who loves a story packed with action and suspense, you won’t want to miss this one.

A Curve in the Road

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I have missed posting here once again.  We wrapped up our school year and had our end-of-year homeschool evaluations so I was gearing up for more time to write and post here, then I hit a curve in the road.  Yesterday I was admitted to the hospital with pancreatitis and gall stones.  I went to the ER because of severe pain just under my breastbone and into the middle of my back and ended up being admitted.  The rest of the day yesterday and today, and, possibly tomorrow, I may not have anything by mouth except that I may use a little sponge on a stick to dip in water and use it to wet my mouth.  Otherwise, I have an IV in my wrist.  Surgery will happen sometime between Monday and Wednesday.  Some of the gall stones have moved into my bowel duct and I am hoping they will pass because if they do not, the surgeon will have to put a tube down my throat to try to remove them before removing my gall bladder.

Most of the day yesterday, I felt extremely tired because I didn’t get much sleep Friday night, as that is when the pain began.  I was also dehydrated and my mouth and throat were dry and parched until last evening.  This morning I am feeling fairly well.  I have no pain and I actually got a decent amount of sleep last night, and yesterday we found out the hospital has free wifi, so my dear husband was kind enough to bring my laptop for me.  He said, “Now, for the next few days, at least, you will have lots of time to write.”  I love how helpful he is and how he encourages me in my writing, and he tries to help me make time for writing.

The nurses and aids here at the hospital are wonderful.  They treat me so well.  My day nurse brought me a cup of water with ice and mint this morning for me to use with my little sponge on a stick and it’s very refreshing.  My night nurse upon introducing herself to me last night said that she heard that I am a popular patient, as I received many visitors.  She also said that she heard that I am an easy patient, and later in the evening, she said I was “the best patient ever!”  I guess they think that because I never push my call button needlessly.  I’ve only pushed it once since I’ve been here.  I know they have a lot of people to care for and I don’t want to take up their time needlessly.  Also, anyone who knows anything about writers, knows that we are used to, and often prefer, being alone.  Most of us are introverts.  That doesn’t mean we don’t like people or spending time with people.  It just means that we also need time alone, a break from people.  Being alone is where I regain energy and keep my sanity.   🙂

As to all my visitors, I had quite a few yesterday:  my husband and three sons, my mother-in-law and one sister-in-law, a couple and another gentleman from church, my parents, and our newly “unofficially adopted” daughter.  I am blessed with a loving, caring church family, some close family members and a handful of really, good, close friends.  My other sister-in-law, who lives in Massachusetts called me on the phone to see how I was doing last evening, and I called one of my long-time friends to tell her that I was in the hospital, and we talked for an hour.

This is certainly not how I prefer to spend my time, but I am grateful for the wonderful caregivers I have and for all of my loving, caring friends and family.  I am also extremely grateful to God, whose hand is definitely in this situation, for the timing couldn’t be better as my husband is still off of work recuperating from hip replacement surgery, and though he is limited on what he can do, he walks with a cane and can drive and do the basic tasks of day-to-day life, so I am not sitting in this hospital stressing over who is taking care of our children and who is getting them to the places they need to be.  I praise God for His timing and His faithfulness, provision and care.

20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno

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I received an  ecopy of 20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno free from BookLook bloggers to write a review for them.

I haven’t read very many short stories, and I had read that romance stories don’t really work well as short stories.  However, in 20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno, Dan debunks that statement.  The stories in 20 Short Ones are all relationship stories — some friendship and some romance.  His characters are interesting and his plots are sometimes quirky, but between his characters and his plots, he kept me reading.

I loved how in these stories offered so many different aspects of relationships and the problems that can be part of a relationship, whether that problem is caused by both people, an external force, or an internal conflict in one of the two people or even both of the people in the relationship.  These short stories did a good job of exploring many different relationship conflicts and possible resolutions.

There were a couple of stories in this collection that seemed a bit difficult to follow either because the author bounced from one character’s point of view to the other’s quickly and without warning or offering a page break or something to alert the reader.  Also, sometimes long passages of dialogues caused me to have to go back and figure out which character said which part of the dialogue because there were no tags or beats to help clarify who was speaking.  I understand too many tags take away from a story, but beats can actually add to the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed nine of the stories and felt that nine of the stories were good.  There were only two stories in the collection that I found I didn’t really care for and two that I absolutely loved.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading stories about relationships with characters and situations that may remind them of relationships in their past or present, or maybe one that they hope will be part of their future.  I will definitely hold on to this collection and read most, if not all, of these stories again.  I found that short stories can satisfy me and can be a pleasure to read.

Meet Author, Mike Dellosso

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I met Mike a little over a year ago at a one day writers’ conference.  I had the pleasure of having fifteen minutes one-on-one with him to pick his brain about writing.  I found him very kind, helpful and encouraging.  I purchased every book that he had written and for sale in the bookstore that day.  I have to confess that I haven’t read them all, yet, but I love what I have read, and definitely look forward to reading the rest.
Mike has a new book coming out on June 1, 2015 — Centralia.  I suggest that you don’t miss it.
I recently had the privilege of interviewing him for this post, so sit back, relax,  and get to know author, Mike Dellosso.

Me:  What inspired you to become a writer?

Mike:  My brother-in-law’s motorcycle accident. I’d always hated writing. All through school, writing just wasn’t my thing. When Darrell wound up in a coma and near death I turned to the only outlet I could think of: I grabbed a pad of paper and pen and began to write my feelings and emotions, what I was struggling with, fears, doubts, anger. I fell in love with writing then and haven’t stopped since. That was 1998. Darrell is fine now and he and my sister have four kids.

Me:  How did you decide what genre to write?

Mike:  I’ve always enjoyed thrillers, especially with a supernatural twist. Alfred Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, X-files . . . fan of it all. So when I started writing it was a natural genre for me to fall into. Also, I kind of cut my Christian fiction teeth on Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker.

Me:  How did you learn to write books?

Mike:  I’m mostly self-taught. I didn’t go to school for writing or anything like that. Once I got into writing I began reading A LOT and reading to learn. I studied the way novelists created characters, wrote dialogue, handled action scenes and pacing and plotting. I read “how-to” books as well, did research online. Anything I could do to learn the craft. And I also wrote A LOT. Practice, practice, practice. I have whole novels that will never see the light of day. They were practice for the real deal.

Me:  How many books have you had published so far?

Mike:  Counting my newest, CENTRALIA, I’ve published eight full-length novels and one novella. I’m working on number nine. My other full-length novels are THE HUNTED, SCREAM, DARLINGTON WOODS, DARKNESS FOLLOWS, FRANTIC, FEARLESS, and A THOUSAND SLEEPLESS NIGHTS (written as Michael King). The novella is REARVIEW, a part of the 7 HOURS series.

Me:  How long does it take you to complete a book?

Mike:  Generally speaking, the first draft takes me about four to five months, then there’s a month or so of subsequent drafts. All in all, it’s a good six to seven months. And when I’m really going I write seven days a week.

Me:  Do you write everyday, and if so, for how many hours or do you set a word quota to reach each day?

Mike:  When I’m working on the first draft and life isn’t all that crazy, yes, I write everyday, usually about an hour a day. If I can get a day where I can get more than an hour I jump at the opportunity.

Me:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Mike:  Both, I guess. I begin with a basic plot in my mind and I know where I’m going to start and where I’m going to finish. Then, I work one to two chapters ahead in my mind so I can keep the plotting going that way. I don’t outline,  though, and don’t do extensive plotting. It’s basically whatever I can think about and remember from day to day.

Me:  Have you ever had writer’s block, and if you have, how did you get through it?

Mike:  Yes. Some say there’s no such thing as writer’s block but it is real. I know that beast firsthand. When life is hectic and you have a full-time job and family stuff and church stuff and “other” stuff going on it’s tough sometimes to focus on the book. Distractions work their way in and you lose touch with the story, you lose your groove or inspiration. Usually, I let things rest. I release the pressure of having to write, of having to keep up with my schedule and just separate myself some from the story. That usually does the job.

Me:  Have your ever participated in NaNoWriMo?  Why or why not?  If you have, what did you think of the experience?

Mike:  I haven’t. I don’t need that kind of pressure. I have enough pressure as it is and need to write with as little as possible. I really don’t want to invite more pressure.

Me:  Where did you get the idea to create the Darlington Society where you connect with your readers and allow them to be participants in your work?  Do you find this effective?

Mike:  First, yes, it’s very effective. For them and me. The Society has become an entity in and of itself, so much more than I’d ever envisioned.The folks in it are great, they’re interactive, they care about each other. They’ve blessed me in so many ways I can’t even count them all. I came up with the idea as a way of getting a core group of readers to support my efforts and lift me up in prayer. They’ve done so much more than that. They’re really incredible.

Me:  Have you ever done book signings and, if so, has it been a positive experience?

Mike:  For me, not a very positive experience. I’ve found that multi-author signings work a lot better than solo ones. And I’ve also learned to take my wife and one or more of my daughters. Family relaxes things and my wife is very outgoing and extroverted. She helps draw people in. Solo signings are lessons in humility. I don’t have a household name so people usually steer clear of my table and try their best to avoid eye contact. I spend a lot of time counting passersby.

Me:  What do you consider the most important writing resource?

Mike:  A writer’s mind and the discipline of observation. Seriously. Imagination is lacking these days. We have so much technology at our fingertips that there’s no need for imagination. But imagination is like a muscle, the more you work it the better and stronger it gets. And observation is a discipline every writer needs to hone. We’re so busy, so distracted, so preoccupied we don’t see what’s going on around us. Fiction writers say “tell the truth” and the truth is right there in front of us everyday. We just need to see it.

Me:  Do you continue to study the writing craft?

Mike:  I do by reading and studying how the masters do it, those writers who write what I write and do it well. I also read other genres and study how they do it. Learning from those who do it well is the best way to learn.

Me:  What would you consider the most important advice that you could offer to new writers?

Mike:  Write and don’t give up. Read great writers. Be aware of your surroundings and observe. But mostly, don’t give up. 100% of published authors didn’t give up. That’s a fact.

Me:  Now, changing the focus from writing, to your upcoming new release, Centralia.  Where did you get the idea for Centralia?

Mike:  I read about this town called Centralia in Pennsylvania. It’s about three hours from my home. It was a coal mining town and back in the sixties one of the coal veins ignited. It’s been burning ever since and could continue burning for the next 200 years. The government has spent millions trying to extinguish the fire and finally gave up and evacuated the town. The last holdout residents left just a couple years ago. The ground is cracked in places and spews sulfuric gases. Roads are cracked and split. The town is literally falling apart. Many of the buildings have been razed by a few still stand. The government re-routed the main highway around the town and is pretty much letting nature reclaim it. I thought, what a great setting for a story. I usually begin my story ideas with a character but this one started with a setting.

Me:  Did you have to study a lot of fight scenes with and without weapons in order to accurately portray the fight scenes in Centralia?

Mike:  I love action and military movies and drew  much from them for the choreography of the fight scenes. And research, research, research.

Me:  You included quite a few interesting minor characters in Centralia, some of whom you gave quite a bit of detail about.  One of them was named Ronnie and I was really intrigued by him.  Is there any chance you may include him as a main character in another book?

Mike:  No. My secondary characters are just that, secondary. I like to give them more detail, though, because “a person’s a person no matter how small.” They’re people, too, with lives and stories to tell. In my stories, everyone’s important.

Me:  There’s been a rumor that there may be a sequel?  Would you care to comment on that?

Mike:  Yes, KILL DEVIL, will release in 2016. It’s pretty wild and that’s all I’m saying

9781414390413_p0_v1_s260x420 Centralia

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