Thursday, June 27, 2013

Chatting with Jennifer Oko - Head Case (Book Tour & Giveaway)



Head Case
by Jennifer Oko

Welcome to BK Walker Books Etc. I'm so happy I could join you today at your subtegmento. 
It's apparently, the Esperanto word for attic. It sounds much more interesting this way, no?)

BK: Yes, it does. Looking out the nearest window, (are their windows?) describe the scene you see.
I am sitting a small desk in the attic/playroom, and it only has skylights. In order to see out, I have to look up. It’s gorgeous, so long as I can hold my head that way. I see a few tree branches, a beautiful blue sky, and a little bit of rust around the frame.

BK: Tell us about your office. Is it a mess like mine, or is everything in its place?
Here’s a sneak peak of a passage of the book I am working on now, in which my home office plays a cameo:
Resigned, I closed my laptop and walked across the makeshift home office I had crammed into the corner of our small semi-finished basement, stepping across the detritus of a rambunctious play date that had occurred two days prior, careful not to impale myself with a stray Lego block.  It took dexterity to get to the bookshelf behind the train table without causing myself physical harm, but I got there. I moved aside the tattered Dr. Seuss tomes and a half dozen half-chewed board books and laughed at my own obvious metaphor as I plucked my twenty-five-year-old copy of Crime and Punishment off the shelf.

BK: What is a must-have, such as coffee or a favorite pen, that you need to write?
Electricity. The story of my laptop’s battery could be a murder mystery unto itself.

BK: Haha. I hate laptop batteries myself.  Do you like to write in silence, or do you need music or background noise?
My most focused writing usually happens in noisy cafes. That’s why the battery situation is such a bummer. My favorite cafe just got rid of all the public AC outlets.

BK: Tell us a bit about your hero/heroine, and their development.
The narrator/heroine of Head Case is the ghost of a murder victim named Olivia Zack. In life, Olivia was a PhD candidate in neuroscience who had a penchant for experimenting with psychopharmaceuticals and buying designer clothing she couldn’t afford. In death, her ghost tries trying to figure out both how she was murdered, and in doing so, how her relationship with her best friend had fallen apart. It’s her investigation of her own murder that become the narrative.

One of my friends said HEAD CASE is like a mystery mashup of Prozac Nation and Bridget Jones Diary, which makes me laugh because there is probably some truth there.

BK: As a writer myself, I'm always curious how other writers get through stumbling blocks. When you find a story not flowing, or a character trying to fight you, how do you correct it?
Oh! If I had a good answer for this I might have to patent it! Mostly, I just try to push through, writing scenes that usually have nothing to do with the plot, but that might give me a better sense of how my character moves about in the world. I often write myself into crazy corners this way, but at least I am writing something.

 BK: Using the letters of your first name as an acronym, describe your book...
This is funny to me because for my day job I have been consulting at an enormous multinational NGO and there EVERYTHING is an acronym. I can never figure out what anyone is talking about.
How’s this:
Jealous
Energy
Never
Negates the
Intensity of
Friendship
Even after a drug-fueled
Rub-out

BK: How did your writing journey begin?
My professional writing journey began when I realized that a diary I was keeping during a rather bumpy period in my life read a bit like a novel. Long story short, I took a memoir writing class, cleaned it up, and ultimately it got published! The reviews for Lying Together were really nice, and that helped me sell my second book (Gloss) before it was even half written.

I think that I always wanted to be a writer, but I just didn’t know it.  I co-wrote a novel with my best friend when I was eight (the title was It’s Nice to Be Together and it featured a “together monster” as the central character), but it wasn’t until my late twenties that I really started to embrace the idea of becoming a professional author. Now, being an author is a huge part of my identity. When my son was in kindergarten, he wrote me a card that said (his spelling) “my mom is a good mom bcus she rote books.” I love that!

 BK: Using the letters from the word, Summer, how would friends and family describe you?
I am struggling with this one, so I outsourced it.
Here’s what my friend Maureen offered up (can you tell she’s also a writer?):
Smart as a whip
Unflappable
Merry, but
Mordant
Energetic
Raconteur

BK: I loved it, lol. What is the craziest thing you've ever written about, whether it got published or not?
I think Head Case might be it! As one reviewer said, “there are drug-dealing grannies, pill-popping celebrities, Russian mob bosses, eccentric ex-Soviet chemists, feuding roommates, faltering friendships, bad bosses and a rat named Raskolnikov - so how can you not have fun?”

BK: Tell us one thing you've done in life, that readers would be most surprised to know.
When I was 18, my friend and I stowed away on a sailboat in Italy for a couple of nights. It was a pretty stupid thing to do, but since nothing terrible happened, it’s a good memory.

 BK: What can we expect from you in the future?
The above excerpt is from the novel that I am currently working on. It’s still at that point where I can’t really talk about it though... not so much because I am afraid that someone will steal the idea or that I will jinx it, but more because I am still trying to figure out where I am going with it. But there is a mom, a murder, and a whole bunch of allusions to morbid moments in classic Russian literature.

This or That...

Coke or Pepsi?
seltzer

Night Owl or Early Bird?
night

 Fantasy or Mystery?
 Mystery

Pen/Paper or Computer?
 Computer

Pizza or Burger?
Burger--if my husband is grilling. Otherwise pizza, preferably from Sals.

 Rock or Country?
Rock

Chocolate or Vanilla?
 Chocolate

Beach or Mountains?
Mountains, if there is snow to ski on. Otherwise a beach and a book!

Thank you so much for having us as one of your stops today. It has been great getting to know more about you and your book, and wish you the best of success!
Thank you for hosting me!


About The Author:

Jennifer Oko's first book, Lying Together: My Russian Affair (written under her maiden name, Jennifer Beth Cohen), was published in 2004 and received numerous positive reviews. The New York Times Book Review called Lying Together "riveting" and twice named it an Editors' Choice. The San Francisco Chronicle raved, saying it was "a heady cocktail" and "a quick, juicy read." Her second book, a satirical novel about morning television news entitled Gloss, was a Marie Claire "pick of the month" in 2007 and chosen as a "hot summer read" by USA Today.

Currently working as a freelance writer and media consultant, Jennifer is a "recovering" journalist and award-winning television news producer. A graduate of Columbia University's Journalism School, her career has taken her across the country and around the world.

Additionally, Jennifer's writing has been published in a variety of magazines, including The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, Maxim, Self and Allure.

Jennifer lives in Washington, DC with her husband and their son and daughter.

Website | Facebook | Twitter


Head Case

Genre: Humorous Mystery

Publisher: Jennifer Oko
Release Date: February 2013

Book Description:

As one reviewer states: "HEAD CASE is an enjoyable gem of a mystery, and more...There are drug-dealing grannies, pill-popping celebrities, Russian mob bosses, eccentric ex-Soviet chemists, feuding roommates, faltering friendships, bad bosses and a rat named Raskolnikov - so how can you not have fun?"

HEAD CASE is a new, exciting and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny mystery from an author whose work has been called "SIMPLY RIVETING" by The New York Times and "SHARP AND FAST-PACED" by Publisher's Weekly. It's like Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones meets Carl Hiaasen's Nature Girl (with a dash of Janet Evanovich's One for the Money) as Olivia embarks on a postmortem quest to deconstruct the remarkable events that lead up to her mind-altering death.

A comic satire of the influence of the psychopharmaceutical industry on American life, HEAD CASE takes Olivia and her estranged friend and roommate Polly Warner on a collision course involving ethically challenged executives, spotlight-hungry celebrities, third-rate mobsters and drug-dealing babushkas. A smart and savvy page-turner, HEAD CASE explores the meaning of personal relationships, emotional intelligence, and mental health while taking the reader on a synapse-stirring, neurotransmitting rollicking ride.

Praise for Head Case

"Head Case is an enjoyable gem!" ~Dan McGirt, Amazon Reviewer

"Oko's writing is as addictive as the pills she pokes fun at!" ~ElevenelevenAM, Amazon Reviewer

"All I can say is that if you don't put ALL YOUR OTHER BOOKS AWAY and read just the FIRST chapter you are NUTS; you will find yourself going and going and I will just say it now --your welcome!" ~Jennifer Elizabeth Hyndman, Amazon Reviewer

Excerpt

EXCERPT one:

It's all very dramatic. Although I suppose on some level, in the end, that is what Polly wanted. I mean, she didn't want anyone dead, certainly not anyone she knew. The opposite really. She once told me she just wanted it all to be very alive. Life. Which is drama, right?
I think she was probably right, that to some degree that's what we all want. Or wanted. If we were going to be satisfied just living our lives with the dull drudgery of the everyday, then why would we spend so much time fantasizing about what's next, what's in, what's hot? If dull drudgery made us fly, Polly wouldn't even have the silly career she has. Celebrity publicists wouldn't exist. No one would aspire to anything. And without aspirational living, who would care about celebrities, luxury goods, or, hear me out now, the pursuit of happiness. Right? So maybe there's a very direct link between our celebrity culture and our societal eagerness to pop a pill.
I know it might sound like a stretch that there could be a connection between designer psychopharmaceuticals and, say, designer fashions, but if you stop to consider that, with the exception of certain celebrity Scientologists, just about everyone who is anyone in the world of the aspirational has certainly popped a few in their time, it makes sense. We live by these assumptions that overnight success is possible, that shiny happy people are models to uphold, that tomorrow any of us could be the next A-lister, the next gazillionaire. Couldn't there be a connection here? If there is a pill for every little micro-problem in our brains, why not believe that there's a quick fix for everything else too? I'm sure Polly used to believe that. I know she did.
This is what's so nice about being dead.
I get to play the role of wise sage, and with an amazing perspective. Because when you die, not only can you flit around the present, you also get to watch stuff in rewind. You get to go inside peoples' heads in the past tense and follow the firings of their synapses, medicated or not, as they spit them toward the present. Yes, Cher, it turns out that you can turn back time. But the catch is-drum roll please-you can't be alive to do it. And so, proverbial remote in hand, I'm now able to backtrack; I can take a look and try to figure out how this all happened to my best friend. And by extension, of course, how this happened to me. How, at the ripe age of twenty-eight, with a future as bright as whatever cliché the tabloids will soon be gushing, my body-the body of Olivia Zack-is lying down there in the back of a black Lexus SUV (license plate NYX1KZ, in the event anyone can do anything with this information) while I'm up here, floating around bodiless in the ether, shape-shifting, wall-transgressing, house-haunting, and whatever else it might be that you imagine we ghosts can do. I'm trying to figure that out as well. After all, this is fairly new for me, too. I've only been like this for a few minutes, just long enough to zip up to Polly's apartment and witness her flailing about, waiting for me to come and comfort her once again.
Anyway, in order to figure this out, it seems logical that before I can fully focus on my ending, I need to go back to the source of the whole mess. Because it's very clear, especially considering the other blood that was spilled near my remains, that I seem to have gotten caught up in a drug war. And I'm not talking crack cocaine. I'm talking Prozac. I'm talking Ritalin. I'm talking Adderall, Lexapro, Zyprexa, Klonopin and what have you. The good stuff. The blockbusters. The billion-dollar babies.
Go get some popcorn. The show's about to begin.







Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Book Tour & Kindle Fire Giveaway: The Presley Thurman Mysteries by Laina Turner



The Presley Thurman Mysteries
by Laina Turner


Writing to a deadline

Like a lot of people I love to procrastinate. It is a lot of fun to think about a task and talk about a task and even worry about a task but not actually do the task until the eleventh hour. Deadlines not only give me something to complain about but also give me the motivation, albeit sometimes at the last minute, to get the job done. If I didn’t know I had to get something done at a certain time it may never get done. I would just think about it for a long time.

When I have a deadline for a full novel, I first look at the time I have to complete the task and break my writing up into chunks and set mini deadlines. As much as I like to procrastinate I am a realist and know I can’t expect to wait until the night before and dash out 50,000 words. So if I set myself those mini goals which makes the larger goal seem easier and keeps me more focused and on track.

Those mini deadlines also keep me motivated, as each time I reach one, it gives me a sense of accomplishment that I have achieved something and makes me excited to work toward the next level. I also rewarded myself for each mini goal that keeps my motivation going. We all hit those tough spots where it seems like we can’t get a word out and if we did it’s not any good and I feel I deserve it when I am able to reach my goal.

How to you motivate yourself to reach your goals?


About The Author:


Who am I? It kind of depends on the day. I am a human compendium of unrelated things. I used to think I was just weird, had shiny ball syndrome and couldn’t focus, scattered, you name it. Then I decided it was OK to be all over the place as long as each avenue I wanted to explore had meaning and purpose or was fun. So I embrace the fact I am a college professor, a writer of fiction and non-fiction, promoter of other authors, human resource professional, business consultant, mom, and all around interesting person (according to my closest friends).


When I’m not working toward my goals I like, ok fine, LOVE wine, coffee, shopping, and books. I enjoy my kids, they are awesome. I hate the cold but yet live in the mid-west. Vegas is one of my favorite spots as I love to people watch and if I ever get married again it will definitely be in a drive through chapel by a fake Elvis.



Genre: Mystery Romance
Publisher: Five Seas Ink
Release Date: July 2012

Book Description:

This six-book set includes...

Stilettos & Scoundrels

Presley tells her boss what he can do with her job in HR and embarks on a new career as a freelance journalist. What seems like a simple interview with a Senator turns to murder when the day after her interview the Senator turns up dead. Does the fact that Presley was one of the last people to see him alive make her a suspect? Her ex-boyfriend Cooper, who was in charge of the Senators security, might think so. Presley is determined to clear her name but can she do it and resist Cooper’s charms?

Necklaces & Nooses

When Presley’s boss is found hanging she thinks its suicide until the police discover its homicide. Who would want to kill a boutique owner? Presley’s not sure but she’s determined to find out. The cute detective assigned to the case makes it all the more exciting.

Handbags & Hooligans

Presley went to Vegas to watch her friend Anna get married and the event turned into solving the mystery of her brothers girlfriend disappearance. But Ashley wasn't exactly the schoolteacher she appeared to be. Who was she and was she kidnapped?

The holiday short…Mistletoe & Murder


In this holiday short story, Presley goes home for Christmas expecting it to be a relaxing holiday until her old boyfriend, Brian, asks for her help finding out who has been stealing from him and it turns from theft to murder. Why would anyone want to kill Tommy and what was he hiding?

Gems & Gunshots

Presley heads to San Diego to hang out with Cooper and enjoy the great west coast weather. She didn’t expect that while hanging out at the local coffee shop she would be a witness to a robbery and murder at Gemstone’s Unlimited. Much to Cooper’s dismay Presley feels compelled to investigate. She discovers that not only was the store owner a womanizer but also was filing false insurance claims for diamonds that weren’t really stolen. Was that why he was being blackmailed? Was that why someone robbed his store? Presley is determined to find out!

As a bonus get the short story prequel, A Day in the Life of Trixie Pristine.

In this short story prequel, Trixie and her friends Berklie and Sophie, considered themselves typical thirty something females until someone turned up murdered in their newly opened bookstore/wine bar. They thought they would be living out their dream in their new shop not trying to catch a killer. Who killed Sylvia and why? Or was one of them the intended target?


Excerpt One:


Stilettos & Scoundrels “Hello?” “Presley! I need to talk to you right away!” It was Helen Daniels, hysterical. I could hardly understand her. “What is it, Helen? What’s wrong?” I had fallen asleep, but the sound of fear in Helen’s voice quickly woke me up. “Just meet me at Gardner’s old warehouse in thirty minutes. If you’re not there, I will not be able to wait. It’s not safe. You have to hurry!” “Helen! Calm down, safe from whom? Why all the drama? Helen…Helen?” She’d hung up. I glanced at my watch. Crap! I’d never make it there in thirty minutes. All I could hope for was Dirt and his deputies were out investigating the Senator’s murder rather than trying to keep the streets safe from speeders. I ran out of the house, running past my mother still working in her garden. “Presley, where are you going? “I’ll be back in a bit.” “For dinner?” “I don’t know.” I said exasperatedly. I didn’t need the third degree. “Where are you going?” “I’ll explain later. Just eat without me if I’m not back.” “Pres!” “Bye, Mother.” I pushed seventy in a forty-five mile an hour zone, my Kia humming, just hoping to get there on time. I was surprised my car could go that fast. In Chicago, the traffic was so bad you didn’t really have a chance to speed this much. My phone rang again, but I didn’t look at it. I needed to concentrate on my driving. Gardner’s warehouse, located about twenty miles outside of town, used to be a production plant for some automotive part. The plant closed years before, when I still lived here. It was so long ago that I couldn’t remember what the company actually produced. I pulled in the parking lot, gravel flying, hoping Helen was still here. The clock on my dash said it had been thirty-three minutes since she called me. I pocketed my keys, not wanting to weigh myself down with my purse, and jogged around to the front entrance. I had on flip-flops, not the best jogging shoes, but I was so startled when Helen called I just ran out of the house without paying attention to what I had on. This was a big place, and I huffed trying to catch my breath. I really must get in shape, I wheezed to myself. Helen hadn’t specified exactly where to meet her, so I assumed she might be at the front entrance. She wasn’t waiting outside for me, so I tried the front door or what I presumed was the front door. It was unlocked, which I thought strange for an abandoned building, but I assumed Helen had unlocked it. Though had it been locked, I could have crawled through one of the many broken windows. I carefully stepped inside the building and the darkness engulfed me. The little bit of light in the building was let in by the broken windows, and it took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. It smelled dank and musty, and I could hear the scurrying of what were probably little furry rodents. I shuddered involuntarily and didn’t want to think about what type of creepy crawlies were in this building, especially with me in flip-flops. I wasn’t thrilled about stepping any further into the building. “Helen,” I called softly. No answer. Where the hell is she? I tiptoed a little further into the building in an effort to be quiet, though I still couldn’t see very well, so tiptoeing wouldn’t do me any good if there was anything in my way. All of a sudden, I felt a hand on my arm; I jumped about ten feet and started to scream. “Shh, Presley. It’s just me,” Helen said. “Do you think you could be a little quieter?” “Then don’t ask me to come to an abandoned building and grab me when I’m not expecting it. I can’t see! You could have been anyone or anything,” I retorted. “I am not a big fan of the creepy things I am sure are in this building.” I took one look at Helen and grew concerned. She was usually one of those women who always looked impeccable, but her dark brown hair, usually in a knot at the nape of her neck, was disheveled and loose. I could tell Helen had been crying, from her smudged make-up. She definitely wasn’t her normal well put together self. I could see that, even in this poor light. I still felt a stab of jealousy because, even a little worse for wear, Helen looked better than most women. Not fair at all. “So what is going on, Helen? Why all the cloak-and-dagger stuff? Why did we have to meet here, of all places?” I asked, looking around and waving my arms. “Should we even be here? The place looks about ready to fall down. I’m sure the owners wouldn’t be too happy if we fell through the floor or something. This building is quite a liability.” “It’s the only place I could go where I could easily see if I was being followed. Besides, we own the building. Or rather, I do now,” Helen, replied giving a little laugh—the hysterical kind, rather than the ha-ha kind. “Why would anyone be following you?” I took a step forward, concerned Helen might really be in danger. It seemed so surreal. Helen tried to keep herself from crying again. “They called my house, Presley. They called my house and demanded money. They said if I didn’t pay up, they would make sure I met the same fate as Tom. I knew they would want their money, but I didn’t think it would be like this. I thought I would have some more time. I can’t get my hands on that kind of money right now. It would look too suspicious; besides, I don’t even know yet where I am going to get it!” Helen then burst into tears. I waited for a few uncomfortable moments for the tears to subside. To help Helen, I needed her to calm down and tell me everything she knew. Plus, I had a few questions of my own. “Do you know who it was that called you, Helen? Who did the Senator owe money to?” “I don’t know specifically who the caller was, nor who Tom owed money to. I didn’t recognize any voices and they didn’t tell me their names. Tom tried to hide as much as he could from me about this aspect of his life, I told you that already, and when I forced the issue, he told me as little as possible. Usually just enough to get me to shut up. To be honest, it got to where I didn’t even ask much because I didn’t really care.” “Who else knows about the Senator’s gambling problem? Maybe that’s who called you. Could it be blackmail?” I thought blackmail seemed as good a reason as any. “The only people who know about this, besides the people he owed the money to, are me and Tobey. As the Senator’s assistant, Tobey was privy to a lot more information than I thought he should have been,” Helen explained. “Tom said he would find out anyway, and that we could trust him. I don’t think Tobey is the type to try to blackmail anyone. Other than that, there is no way Tom would have told anyone else. He might have been a gambler, but he wasn’t stupid. At least not that stupid.” “What about Garrison Palazzo.”





Friday, June 21, 2013

Chatting with Dead Cow Girl, Mona Darling - Glitter (Book Tour & Giveaway)



Glitter
by Mona Darling

Welcome to BK Walker Books Etc. I'm so happy you could join me today.

BK: Looking out the nearest window, describe the scene you see.
I think it's Arizona. I'm on a plane so it's hard to tell.

BK: Tell us about your office. Is it a mess like mine, or is everything in its place?
It's a disaster. I have "clean off desk" on top of my todo list and have had for several weeks. But still, it's hard to tell that it's a desk.

BK: What is a must-have, such as coffee or a favorite pen, that you need to write?
My trusty macbook air and a quiet moment. Unfortunately I rarely get a quiet moment.

BK: Do you like to write in silence, or do you need music or background noise?
I like a bit of background noise. 

BK: As a writer myself, I'm always curious how other writers get through stumble blocks. When you find a story not flowing, or a character trying to fight you, how do you correct it?
I leave and come back. My brain seems to work on it while I'm cleaning, playing with my son, or a spanking a client, it will come to me. Then I just hope I can get to my computer to work it out. Sometimes that means starting over and saving the scene I had been working on for another story, time or place.

BK: Using the letters of your first name as an acronym, describe your book...
Moving
Observation
Normal
Authentic

BK: How did your writing journey begin? 
When I was 10 and got my first locking diary.

BK: Using the letters from the word, Summer, how would friends and family describe you?
Silly
Unusual
Mostly Harmless
Mothering
Esotaric
Retro

BK: What is the craziest thing you've ever written about, whether it got published or not?
That would probably be my life. I'm dragging out old diaries and letters in preparation of writing about my time as a Dominatrix and am pretty amazed at the crazy things that I've done and forgotten about. 

BK: Tell us one thing you've done in life, that readers would be most surprised to know.
I used to sell tupperware. 

BK: What can we expect from you in the future?
I'm just now accepting submissions for my next anthology which will be stories from women who chose sex work as a career. I want to clear up the misconception that all sex workers have pimps, drug problems and no other options.

This or That...

Coke or Pepsi?
Homemade Drinking Vinegar. 

Night Owl or Early Bird?
Night Owl, although I find myself waking earlier lately as my son is a night owl and likes to sleep in until 9 or 10. Sometimes it's my only free time. But I do miss going on a creative bender and being up until the wee hours.

Fantasy or Mystery?
SciFi!

Pen/Paper or Computer?
Computer

Pizza or Burger?
Salad

Rock or Country?
Rock

Chocolate or Vanilla?
Either with carmel topping

Beach or Mountains?
As long as my family is with me, I'm good.

Thank you so much for having us as one of your stops today. It has been great getting to know more about you and your book, and wish you the best of success!


About The Author:

Mona Darling aka Dead Cow Girl, spent close to twenty years as an A-list professional dominatrix before becoming a D-list mommy blogger. After spending many years traveling the world being told that she is fabulous, she now spends her days being told she doesn’t drive fast enough by her three-year-old son.
Dead Cow Girl was a nickname she received in grade school after a humiliating morning involving a mobile butcher and a school bus. She chose to use that name to reclaim the part of her that spent much of her childhood red-faced with shame, embarrassed for her unique childhood. She also likes it because it is readily available on nearly every social media platform.

She writes, sporadically, about food, sex and toddler-related mayhem at DeadCowGirl.com.


Genre: Women's Studies

Publisher: Darling Propaganda LLC
Release Date: Feb 2013

Book Description:

Glitter is about the female sexual experience, which contrary to what the media would have you believe, is not all bubble baths and chick flicks.

Women are constantly judged as slutty, or uptight, but the reality is somewhere in between those two, and sometimes, nowhere near either. We have secret shames and private desires and we all feel we are the only one.

We are good church-going girls with a fondness for the paddle, PTA moms who hire escorts, feminists who like to bottom in the bedroom, slutty virgins, bi-curious married laddies and women with a past. We are gay, straight, and undecided.

We are all over the map, and we are amazing.



Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Interview, Review & Giveaway: Epsilon AR by Zackery Humphreys (Book Tour)


Epsilon AR
by Zackery Humphreys

About The Author:

Zackery Alexander Humphreys is a Novelist, Actor and Poet who occasionally dabbles in Screen Writing and Play Writing.














Book Description:

Hundreds of years into the future, mankind has gone under ground to relocate to the beautiful city of Epsilon. Epsilon is run by a strong, secretive government that keeps its citizens in check by subtle manipulation and strict schedules. No one questions its authority and no one is unhappy. ALN-896, an average man who is just trying to live a normal life, begins to have dreams; something strange and rare in Epsilon. In his dreams, he meets a man named Harry and everything is fine- until Harry dies. When ALN-896 wakes up, he shrugs it off as if nothing has happened. It was only a dream. But then the next day, he is suddenly arrested and sent to prison for killing Harry, whom ALN-896 assumed was just a figment of his imagination. Now inside prison, ALN-896 begins to learn about everything the government of Epsilon has been doing and he plans on escaping. Not only from prison, but from Epsilon. This one decision turns him against everything he has ever known and forces him to face against centuries of lies. To escape means to live. But what will it cost?



Imagine...Living in a world where you did the exact same thing, going to bed by 7pm and waking up by 8am, showering and brushing your teeth then heading to work, at the exact same time, every day and that was all you knew. 

I think I would hate it!

That is the world of Epsilon! 

BUT...

When Alan, or as we first meet him, Aln-896, starts having dreams, he can no longer differentiate between dream and reality. He's seeing things like black ties, he's meeting people he doesn't know, he's accused of murder...

Kill Me Now!

The story only grips you from there. As you read on, you just have to know how it all ends. Is he put on Death Row or does he survive the madness that is now his life?

Humphreys did a fantastic job with this story! He grabs you from the first sentence and compels you to read more until you know. Keeping you guessing through the entire book, really has you feeling like you are actually in Alan's shoes.

Brilliant!

I think there are still some unanswered questions and I hope we get those answers in a next book, but I have to say that this is a read you won't want to miss, especially if you're a lover of science fiction. 

Fast paced, drawing  you in, keeping you turning the pages, I have to say that this is the exact book I have been looking for, for a long while. I really miss books like this, full of action, tension and turmoil. I highly recommend you get your hands on a copy right now and read it. 

OR...

Win yourself a copy! Either way, just read it :)





Excerpt:

A black-and-white tie...
----
Thoughts froze within his mind. Spit bubbled through his pursed lips.
ALN-896 finally managed to pull away from the exposed wire. He fell to the ground and wiped away the spit dribbling down his cheek. His heart raced, and sweat poured down his body.
That was the most painful sensation he had ever experienced.
I never should have grabbed that wire...
ALN-896 stood up slowly and looked around. No one saw what had just happened. He was alone on the desolate stretch of Simov Street.
Fortunately, I did not get hurt.
Instead of continuing, he decided to get back into his car and let a nice cup of tea calm him.
From the center console of the car, green tea was automatically dispensed into a cup. He let the liquid slide down his throat, easing every muscle that had tensed. He melted into his plush seat as he let his mind come to a halt. Then the silence was interrupted by a robotic voice. “ALN- 896, your vitals are irregular. Is everything all right?”
Everything is fine. I went to inspect one of the house's trashcans as I was instructed to, but I noticed an exposed wire on the ground. I went to cover it back up when it...”
ALN-896 wasn't quite sure what had actually happened when he touched the wire. He hadn’t been electrocuted, but something strange had occurred. The only thing he could get out of the experience was that he had seen a black-and-white tie floating in the darkness behind his closed eyelids. Nothing surrounded it, but he knew it had been attached to a body. One he hadn’t been able see, but one he knew existed somewhere within the black.
Irrelevant.
When it...,” ALN-896 stumbled. “When it shocked me,” he lied.
Your job still needs to be completed. You still need to inspect the trashcans for Monday's workday. After your tea, you need to continue.”
Yes, I understand.”

Our Chat...

Many authors relate their characters to people they know. Is this the case with your characters and do you see yourself in any of them?

I think each of my characters have a little bit of me and others in them. I tried not to base them off of any individual person though. I let their personalities shine through without thinking about it too much. We are all complex people but we only perceive small amounts of what another person is like from the outside. Basing my character off of others would put them in a box I would rather not stuff them inside. Hopefully that worked!
I see myself a lot like ALN-896. He's an everyman (almost literally), but he has a strong moral compass.

Who is your favorite character in your book and why?

I feel a little guilty not saying ALN-896, but I personally really liked INSN-3396 (Twitch). He had a heart that not a lot of people have, especially if they've gone through as much as he has. He just a great best friend.

Who is your most favorite character from any book of all time?

I really loved Eddie Dean from Stephen King's Dark Tower. I am also pursuing a life as an actor and playing him is my ultimate goal as of right now. He's just an amazing written character.


If you could dive into the pages of any book, which book would it be and what character would you be?

I would dive into the world of Harry Potter for sure. Magic? Sign me up! I would even ask to be 11 again so I could go to Hogwarts. Who wouldn't love that?


If your book was to become a movie, which actors/actresses do you see playing the parts of your characters?

I've thought about it a little bit. I could see Ewan McGregor playing ALN-896, although after working on The Island he may want to pass up another Dystopian setting. Ian McKellan would be perfec for Chief Joseph Freedmen. Twitch, surprisingly, reminds me of Eminem. Strange choice, I know, but it might work!


What can we expect from Zackery Alexander Humphreys in the future? Any new projects?

Plenty of new projects are on their way. I just finished up a staged reading of a One-Act play I wrote entitled, “Split Decisions,” we are in pre-production for a Short-Film script I wrote entitled, “Seamless,” I just finished with my final edit on my illustrated poetry-novel called Splintered, and now it's onwards to finish my sequel to Epsilon A.R.!


Where can readers connect with you?


The best place to get to know me is either on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zackery-Alexander-Humphreys/370275879738503 ) or on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Zhumphreys ) I give plenty of updates on projects, sneak-peeks and just random tid-bits from my crazy life.

Thank you so much for stopping in Zackery...Keep on writing so I can get my hands on the next book :)