"The Exchange Box" soon to be released as a Mystic Signals Exclusive Story

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In May my short story "The Exchange Box" is slated to be released as a Mystic Signals print exclusive story.

To the right is art related to the story (which may also be the cover for the print anthology).

Teaser: A single mother is approached by a strange man with a very unusual business arrangement. Thinking only of the money and providing a better life for her son, she agrees, but what will the ultimate cost be?

I'll be sure to let you know when it becomes available.

Easter Egg Hunt 2011

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This morning was the local Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Federation of Churches. A great time for all of the kids in town--especially as the rain held off.

The picture to the right shows just a small section of the event, with a some of the Kindergartners. There are four areas set up by age group.

It's fun to watch. Most of the kids start out going for certain colors. Then they get serious and, as a dense pack, move across the the field in unison, almost like locusts, snatching up every egg remaining in sight.

Inside the eggs, a note reminding the children that Jesus loves them, a piece of candy, and a small percentage have a tag for a prize to claim. My daughter (the Kindergartner) got a kazoo, a notebook and a small puzzle. My older daughter (Jr. High) helped set up and distribute the prizes. Smiles and laughter everywhere.

An Interview with Action-Adventure and Fantasy Author David Wood

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Welcome to Up Around the Corner, David. Please, tell us a little about yourself and your writing:

I’m a father of two, teacher by day, author by night. Under my “real” name, I write action-adventure novels with a bit of an Indiana Jones flavor. Under my pen name, David Debord, I am the author of the fantasy series, The Absent Gods. When I need a break from writing, I coach youth sports and co-host the ThrillerCast podcast (No, it’s not about Michael Jackson) with friend and author, Alan Baxter.

Can you tell us a little about your action-adventure novels, and why you decided to author them using your “real” name, unlike with your fantasy series?

My action-adventure novels feature two former Navy SEALs who keep finding themselves caught up in searches for an artifact of religious or historical significance. I describe them as Clive Cussler meets National Treasure meets Indiana Jones. I think I chose to use my real name because deep down I feared no one but friends and family would read my books, and I wanted to make them easy to find. Fortunately, that has not turned out to be the case at all. By the time I completed The Silver Serpent, the first Absent Gods novel, I had gained a following in the thriller genre, and didn’t want to create any confusion. Consequently, I went with Debord, my maternal grandfather’s surname, to retain a family connection.

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration for the locations and artifacts in your action-adventure novels?

Locations are usually a mix of places I’ve visited and places I’d like to visit. I chose most of the sites included in Cibola while my wife and I were on our 10th anniversary trip to the American Southwest. As far as the artifacts go, it’s a mixed bag. The central artifact in Dourado was inspired by a single Bible verse I stumbled across. In Cibola, the artifact that sets the plot in motion was inspired by a brief article about the discovery of an old Spanish outpost, and I let my imagination run wild from there. The book in-progress is a bit different. It was inspired by a book on the psychology of killing, and worked backward, asking “what if” questions until I came up with a MacGuffin that could work for what I had planned.

You indicated, you’re a teacher. Do your students know you’re an author? If so, has your experience as a writer and published author in any way impacted how you teach—has it affected how you approach reading and writing in the classroom?

I didn’t say anything about it for a long time, but I kept copies of my first David Debord book in my classroom library. One day, a student picked it up and said, “Cool! My dad has this book!” I couldn’t resist admitting that I had written it. After that, the word spread quickly. Now most of my students already know about me before they get to my classroom at the beginning of a school year. I now co-sponsor the Authors’ Club at school, and the fact that I write seems to encourage and inspire my students. In the classroom, I think it buys me a little extra credibility in the minds of student and parents alike. I think being a writer actually made it harder for me to teach writing. It’s difficult to teach someone how to do something that you do so naturally that you don’t really know how you do it. It forced me to dissect the writing process and understand what it was I was doing. That made me a better teacher and also a better writer.

The student must have picked up your first novel in The Absent Gods series, The Silver Serpent. What is the series about and what age range would enjoy reading it, and your action-adventure novels?

In The Absent Gods, I explore the concept of what happens when the thing you want most in the world, and the fate for which you are destined, are at odds? The story begins with the classic motif of the dissatisfied young people in a remote village who get caught up in what seems to be a traditional quest story, but it soon becomes much more. The book is geared toward adults, but teens would enjoy it as well. The same is true of my action-adventure novels.

Taking a wide view of writing and being a published author, what is one bit of advice that you would like to share with other writers, especially those early in their career or seeking to get their first novel published?

Being a writer is both a wonderful endeavor and a lonely one, and it’s important to have a support system. The internet makes it very easy to connect with other writers. Depending on where you are in the process, you might want to join an online critique group, meet other writers who are seeking representation or publication, or self-publishing. Just don’t make the mistake of spending all your time online visiting writing-related sites, listening to podcasts, and not actually getting around to writing.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m also the co-host of ThrillerCast, a podcast devoted to the thriller genre. Check it out at http://www.thrillerpodcast.com/, or download it on iTunes. If you’d like to learn more about me and my work, visit me at http://www.davidwoodweb.com/ or http://www.daviddebord.com/.

My thanks to Terry for the interview. Looking forward to reading Blood Sword!

You're welcome! And I know you're busy working on your next Action-Adventure novel. Don't hesitate to let us know when it's available.

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If you are an author or know one who might be interested in being interviewed for Up Around the Corner, please contact me through my website.

Disquieting Visions Published: Goal--A Sequel that Compliments while Truly Standing Alone

I'm a little behind...

Disquieting Visions published my article, Goal: A Sequel that Compliments while Truly Standing Alone way back in March.

They also posted my Book Trailer for Flank Hawk as Freebie Friday post: Disquieting Visions Freebie Friday from Terry Ervin

SFS Presentation Follow-up

I had a great time returning to SFS. I enjoyed the opportunity to speak to eight groups, varying in size from 20 to nearly 100 students. It's hard to tell exact numbers because, for one session, my discussion was electronically channelled to an overflow room, and another session consisted of a group viewing the recording of my first period presentation (while I ate a quick lunch). But the overriding reason--I was too busy to count!

In addition to meeting students and talking to them about writing, answering questions, and giving away signed copies of Flank Hawk, I had the opportunity to speak with a few of my former teachers from back when I attended St. Francis.

If you're interested, here is the link to view my the first session, which was recorded (obviously). It's pretty good, but like anything else, I improved over the second and following sessions. Running time is about 43 minutes.

A big thanks goes to Virginia Rodeman and Kathy Gullette for doing what it took to make it happen, to Sue Kenny for photos of the event, Joe Sweeney and Steve Loomis for catching me up on what's happened at SFS over the years, and Carl Janke--it was good to see you again and hope you enjoyed a stroll (even if fictional) down memory lane with "Skull Face Returns."

And, SFS Students, keep those email questions coming!

An Interview with Dark Urban Fantasy Author Erica Hayes

Welcome to Up Around the Corner, Erica. Please, tell us a little about yourself and your writing career thus far.

Hi Terry! Thanks for inviting me. I started writing when I was at high school. I read mostly fantasy – my favorites were Dragonlance and Janny Wurts, I guess that dates me, huh? – so that's what I tried to write. But I didn't get serious about it until many years and several boring jobs later. I finished a few manuscripts, and joined some writers groups, both online and in real life. Swapped some critiques, learned some stuff, got a couple of short stories published. When I first started submitting novels to editors, I got some really constructive rejections that helped me a lot.

So by the time I reached the point where I was submitting to agents, I was pretty confident that my work was good – it was just a matter of finding someone who thought it was commercial. I signed with my agent in mid-2008, and we made my first sale – my Shadowfae series – later that year. Now, I've written four books for that publisher, and I'm working on a few more projects in the background.

You’re more than welcome for the invite. You’ve worked hard to improve your skills and hone your talent so as to find a publisher. Where did you get the idea for the Shadowfae series and how did you design the world created for it?

Melbourne – the setting for the series – is the nearest large city to where I grew up, and it's a place where the murderous clashes between the local gangsters get a lot of publicity. They're front page news, and get TV shows made about them, that kind of thing. I started wondering why these guys would behave like that, and being a fantasy nut, of course I decided it was because they were controlled by warring demons. And that's the basic premise of my series – Melbourne is ruled by a demon lord and his vampire mafiosi, only no one realizes it, because the supernatural creatures hide themselves from human eyes with magical glamour.

After that, designing the world was easy. I knew I wanted it to be a dark and sensual place with very few rules. Most of the locations are real. Only there are insane fairies and vampires and who knows what else lurking on every street corner!

The world of the Shadowfae Chronicles is definitely filled with a variety of magical creatures. If you were destined be such a creature inhabiting that world, which would you choose to be and which type of creature would you definitely not want to be, and why?

Well… all their lives kind of suck, actually :) The demons are the toughest, but they're self-absorbed and lonely, and always under attack from other demons who crave their power. No one messes with vampires, because they're hungry and violent and can kill you without breaking a sweat, but it's not a very nice life. Fairies are cool and funky, and they're mad so they have a lot of fun, but they're mostly poor, because they can't hold down a job, and get pushed around a lot. Maybe I'd be a banshee, like Mina from Poison Kissed. She's tough and pretty and takes no nonsense, and she can kill people with her magical song. That'd be cool!

I’d have voted for a fairy, maybe a water one. But you’re right. They do get pushed around a lot. The world of the Shadowfae Chronicles is dark, filled with sex and violence, with characters plotting--some vying for power or revenge, while others simply struggle to survive or escape. When you write, who do you see as your readers or audience, and does this have any influence on the novels you produce?

Absolutely it does. There's no point in trying to sell a book if you've written something no one will want to read. I'm aiming at readers of dark urban fantasy and romance, because that's what I love to read. But those two groups aren't always the same people!

So for the romance readers, I have to make sure the ending is satisfying, and that the romance part of the plot stays front and center. Romance readers also like a certain kind of romance hero – he's basically a strong, sexy, decent guy, even if he's got a dark and twisted streak. I have to make sure I don't buck those expectations too much, or I'll alienate that audience. Some of my heroes are a bit left-of-center – I've done a snake shapeshifter, for instance, and a serial killer. Not your typical romance heroes! So it's a lot of fun trying to make those characters strong and sexy and desirable, while still staying true to themselves.

Whereas for urban fantasy readers, it's more about the rich world-building, and the heroine, who needs to be a strong, take-charge kind of girl. My heroines tend to be the little people – they’re not the toughest or most powerful character. So it's cool fun bringing out the strength in those characters, even when they think they haven't got any. That's more interesting to me than a heroine who kicks everyone's butt all the time – but again, that's kind of an expectation in that genre. So I stray too far from it at my peril.

When you began writing, what were your goals and where are you at with respect to achieving them? At this stage in your writing career, have you updated and/or established any new goals to shoot for?

Oh, yes. The goal-setting never stops! When I began, I was doing it for fun. I subbed a few short stories to some small e-zines and they got accepted, and I started to think my writing wasn't too bad. Boy, was I wrong :) There's such a big leap in technical skill from almost-there to selling professionally. I mean, it's a subtle leap, but it's huge.

So I decided I wanted a pro sale. I never made one, not in short stories. But by then I was writing novels, which really appealed to me – I'm a strategic, rather than a tactical, thinker. I like the big picture. I decided I needed an agent. Then the goal was to sell a book. Then to sell more books in that series. Now, I want to sell another series, diversify, reach more readers. Win a RITA, make the NYT list… ha ha! One day…

But also personal writing goals. My Shadowfae series has new main characters for each book, but one day I'd really like to write a series with a continuing MC. That's a different challenge.

For those who might not know, the RITA is a major Romance Writers of America award.

Okay, the next question isn’t really writing related. If you could go to lunch with anyone, living or deceased, who would you choose, where would you dine, and what would you hope to discuss?

Well, if God's available, I'd really like to have a chat! We could go to the pub, have a few beers… Or Genghis Khan. He'd have some good stories to tell over a nice roasted pig or something. If I had to pick an author, probably Stephen King, just because I love his books and he seems so weird.

Quite an array of choices, Erica. Each would definitely be interesting. As we’re approaching the end if the interview, is there anything else you’d like to add?

Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog. It's been great fun!

You’re most welcome!

You can learn more about Erica through the following links:

Erica Hayes: Urban Fantasy Author Website and Blog

Her work can be found in bookstores everywhere as well as online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com

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If you are an author or know one who might be interested in being interviewed for Up Around the Corner, please contact me through my website.

Coming Soon: Author Interviews

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I have a number of author interviews in the pipeline. I intend to include them as a regular occurrence here at Up Around the Corner. I hope you find them of interest: A variety of authors representing an array of genres, with questions that aren't 'run of the mill' and answers along the same lines.

If you're an author, or know of one, use the contact page via my website to inquire about an interview (if there is an interest).
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