First Saturday Sci-Fi - June 2019

My apologies for this late start for June... I was expecting to spring a big surprise this month but things didn't work out. Maybe July will be our month! We'll see.

So as luck would have it E.J. Dawson has graciously offered to save my bacon!!

My mother read LOTR aloud to me twice growing up and it is her that I both credit and blame for my complete absorption with the world of fiction. Growing up in a haunted mansion sandwiched between an abandoned mine and endless pine plantation should have been

all the fuel my imagination needed, but then my parents filled my life with stories. About themselves, their lives, and the ones they had found through the pages of books.

Writing all through my early years and completing my first book at sixteen, I let a wonderful past time fall into a vague hobby. When I turned thirty, and doctors told me I might not be able to have children, I had to find meaning again in my life. My sole focus turned to the one thing that made me happy; writing.

I started afresh with a simple story that true to my inner explorer turned into a twenty one book novella series called the Last Prophecy. Instantly knowing no one would be interested in publishing it, but driven to write it anyway, I chose to self-publish. I went out and found a professional editor to teach me to be a better writer, and came to learn the self-management and dedication of an author.

While there are several books currently out in this series, and many more on hold, I found I needed a break from it, and decided to write other stories.

One of which was Behind the Veil, a standalone currently with indie publishing group Literary Wanderlust.

I’ve also been working on another book trilogy called Queen of Spades, starting with Awakening.

When I’m not writing or working in a small country town processing permits for sheds, I’m walking my two rescue special needs dogs, spending time with my husband, or curled up with a book.

1. Tell us about your favorite work… what makes it special ?

At the moment my favourite work is the Queen of Spades trilogy. Ayla can see when anyone is going to die; not the cause or time, but the day and the month. Death day. But when she wakes up in a cryotank three thousand years in the future, she’ll have to use all of her wits to survive. Relying on the dark and silent Leith, Ayla finds him to be part gentleman, part ferocious killer, and thinks perhaps she may have met her match after all this time. Except if she wants to stay with him she’ll have to help him fight the spectre of his own past, even as hers is lost to time.

2. What do you think makes for good Sci-Fi ?

Science Fiction is just those two words, science and fiction. It’s what makes steampunk an amazing genre being able to blend the two, and I like to think that my series, the Last Prophecy, is an excellent steam flavoured fantasy. I also like about the genre that I’m able to create a psychically gifted character from here and now and throw her three thousand years in the future. Science fiction is just fantasy that has some semblance of sense added to it through the believably of facts. Ultimately, the story is good because its characters are real, and its plot keeps you turning the pages.

3. Do you think your books can help shape the future and if so how?

Absolutely! Every single one of my books has a thought or passion behind it. The Last Prophecy series has a deep underlying current that is about man’s attraction to power, and his “good” intentions, despite how wrong it can possibly go. My scifi romance, Queen of Spades, is about strong women but also good men; Leith refuses to take advantage of Ayla’s dependence on him while she learns about the future. All stories walk away with a lesson, one we sometimes don’t see until the end, but it is still incredibly important to have a purpose behind it, so the reader leaves the story feeling empowered.

4. Do you have inside jokes or true events hidden in your writing?

Yes. Every single story I’ve written is actually set in the same reality. It will take years for all the little ways I’ve tied them all together, but at the moment there are a few golden Easter eggs for anyone who’s read my works to tie it into other stories. Part of the reason for that is one of the most enjoyable parts of my own reading experiences is coming across little “aha!” moments from authors I love, and I wanted to emulate that.

5. Which do you prefer… model your characters after people you know or just make them up?

Never people I know. Traits, descriptions, personalities, quirks, can all get mixed up into one character. Mostly the characters who speak to me the strongest are their own voice and not a copy on someone else. I have however, gone to great lengths to put one person in one of my books, mostly because he’s a dear friend and I wanted a permanent and integral way to include him in my series because he’s stood by me through some very rough times.

6. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to take away?

That there is hope. It seems every generation says we live in perilous times, but I believe not in people as a whole but every single person. One person can be given a choice, to stand by morals or let something slide for whatever reason; money, cowardice or even confusion. I want to empower them so if the day comes they disagree, they have the courage and strength to stand up for what they believe in, even if that doesn’t mean we all agree, or get along.

7. What is your favorite review?

I don’t have a favourite review yet, I have many for my two novellas and my book in the last Prophecy series, but all of those came out over 2 years ago now, and I’ll be more curious as to what people think of my gothic noir. Behind the Veil¸ about a psychically gifted woman able to read the veil between life and death, as well as Queen of Spades when it comes out, which is undergoing polishing and editing.

What comes next?

You can find me at http://www.ejdawson.com and I spend a lot of time on Twitter, encouraging other authors, writing, and when I’m not complaining about the state of home affairs (mine, not the governments) I’m helping and reviewing indie authors.