Greetings, Wayne: “This is just a note to say that the editorial team chose your piece, “A Simple Purse,” as one of their six Pushcart Prize nominations. Congratulations!All the best, Heather”
Great Oogly-woogly. I have always envied the people who can post on Twitter about Pushcart nominations or other awards. Now one of my stories has made that list.
A Simple Purse is my attempt to capture what it was like watching my father go through my mother’s belongings after her death. it’s deeply personal. It first appeared in 300 Days of Sun, the lit mag at Nevada State College.
I have posted it on my website now, so you can read it.
I’m a sucker for a good spy thriller, and the Second World War has no shortage of opportunities for espionage, thrills and great stories. But how many heroines of those stories double as both spy and professor of botany? I’ll wait, because there’s only one I know of. My fellow Black Rose Writing author, Karen K Brees, tells this story in her new novel, Crosswind.
Karen, what’s your story?
I’ve lived long enough, seen enough, and done enough, that I’ll never run out of ideas for books. I’ve been a librarian on a bookmobile, a cattle rancher, a goat herder, a reluctant boater, a Harley biker babe ), and an enthusiastic, if clumsy, horsewoman. I knit well and hand quilt. To paraphrase Michael Travolta in Michael, “I listen. And I take copious notes.” I love history and especially love writing historical fiction. I can use the past as a framework and create a world that never was or might have been.
What’s Crosswind about?
Crosswind: The WWII Adventures of MI6 Agent Katrin Nissen is, at its roots, a story of the Nazi fascination with native plants that became their rationale for attempting to obliterate everyone and everything that didn’t fit their definition of “native.” The plot, of course, revolves around the search for a missing MI6 agent and the microfilm he possesses. The MI6 agent sent to find him and retrieve the microfilm is Yale Professor of Botany, Katrin Nissen. It flows from there, as she steps up to the plate to wage her own war against the Nazi agenda.
Where’d the story–and maybe more importantly, Karin, come from?
Strong female characters with a dry sense of humor have always appealed to me. Katrin is one of those women. She knows who she is and she does her job. Does it quite well, actually. But she always finds herself in some form of danger that requires her to use all her wits to escape.
Putting Katrin in a WWII setting just seemed natural. It was a time when ordinary people did extraordinary things to conquer pure (or impure) evil. Right and wrong were clearly delineated, and the fate of humanity hung in the balance. My WWII fiction tells the stories of these people. They’re composites, but they’re drawn from real life.
Totally unfair question, but what’s your favorite scene in the book?
My favorite scene, without giving away too much, is the night at the Blue Danube, a Bohemian bar, where Katrin meets two young women who have been targeted by the Nazis. What Katrin does at that meeting is pivotal to the outcome of the story.
I liked that scene a lot. Where can people learn more about you and your work?
Crosswind is my latest book. I’ve written several others both fiction and nonfiction. My website is www.karenkbrees.com. I’m on FB and Goodreads as Karen K. Brees.
The Second Book in the Werewolf PI series, Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker is out December 8. Preorder now from my publisher, Black Rose Writing, and save 15% with the code PREORDER22. You can also preorder it on Amazon
If you follow my work, you know how much I love short stories, and I write in a lot of genres. One of my favorite things, since I was a kid, was the horror short story. I like them quick, bloody, and a bit transgressive. I tried my hand at one recently, and it’s found a home at a charming little ezine called (seriously) Horror Sleaze Trash.
The Voyeur is sexy, nasty, and probably NSFW. If it’s safe to read where you work, I want your job. I hope you enjoy it. Don’t read if you’re easily yukked out, consider yourself warned. I do, however, hope you enjoy the heck out of it. Share on your socials, help get the word out.
This is the worst humble brag ever but I can’t tell you how many books I’ve written or contributed to. If you just count books with my name on the cover as author or co-author it’s 14 (you can check my Amazon Author Page for yourself.) But I’ve also contributed to a bunch more, both fiction and nonfiction. The point is, that moment when the box or envelope arrives and the first time you hold your baby in your hands… it never gets old.
That said, here’s the latest story filling the house with that new book smell. Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker is officially born on December 8, but I got some early copies for reviews and the like.
I love all my children equally, but this is some of the best work I’ve done and certainly has a couple of the best new characters. In particular, Lemuel Collins, the Las Vegas psychic pawn broker, and Cree Jensen, a badass witch who trains in MMA. Johnny is in all kinds of trouble. The kind you’ll love.
If you are a reviewer and want a copy, drop me a line. If you want to buy a signed copy, I can hook you up. If you want to wait til the due date, God love ya. I hope you enjoy Johnny’s latest adventure. I mean, how much trouble can a guy get into in Las Vegas, right?
If you’ve read Johnny Lycan, you know that I”m a sucker for genre stuff that understands it’s genre stuff. I first came across Charles Phipps’ work through his Supervillainy Saga. It’s a hilarious but affectionate look at all the Superhero tropes we love, and also know are just damned silly. With his new series, Space Academy Dropouts, he does the same to Science Fiction. Here’s my interview with him.
So who are you and why do we care?
When the churning black ooze of the primordial soup created the enzymes that would evolve life on Earth, I was already old. Eventually, I became trapped in a human host when my cult failed the proper summoning ritual. So I am pretending to be a chubby geek from Ashland, Ky in the meantime. I own two dogs, am married, and am the world’s biggest fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek. I have multiple science fiction and fantasy series. I also review books at Booknest.EU, Grimdark Magazine, The United Federation of Charles, and the Before We Go Blog. Whoo!
What’s the book about?
Space Academy Dropouts is a delightful homage to all the sci-fi influences of my life from Star Trek to Star Wars to Mass Effect and Halo with a side order of Mel Brooks on the side. Vance Turbo, HERO OF SPACE is initially kicked out of Space Academy when he’s dragooned into a secret mission for the Interstellar Community’s security service. Unfortunately, it’s to serve as a decoy along with the worst crew in the galaxy. Events conspire to force poor Vance into doing what needs to be done even if he has to be dragged kicking and screaming to do it.
What is it about Vance that appealed to you?
Vance Turbo is my attempt to do Captain Kirk if he had the personality of William Shatner. No, just kidding. No, that’s Zapp Brannigan Poor Vance is a genius at what he does but what he does isn’t very smart. No, that’s Wolverine. Well, he’s a guy who would be a massive science fiction nerd in our world but lives in a science fiction universe so he has some advantage over his fellow cadets even though he really shouldn’t. He’s a snarky wiseass of the Harry Dresden vein but also a lot more idealistic than he lets on (or even admits to himself).
All books like this start with loving the genre, I know mine did. What are the roots of this particular story?
As mentioned, I’m a huge science fiction nerd and I feel like it’s always fun to take something familiar and put your own spin on it. In this case, I really enjoy the idea of a Deep Space Nine-esque take on a utopian scifi future. Yes, the Community is a great place to be and a massive improvement over the current world. However, you have to wonder what sort of challenges a place like the United Federation of Planets faces as well as what needs to be done to maintain such a place. Getting into that while doing all my comedy and twists was a lot of fun.
You are really active in the Urban Fantasy and Sci-fi communities. Who did this to you? Who are the authors you really enjoy?
I am a huge fan of Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, and other urban fantasy authors. For my space opera fandom, I’m a huge Jack Campbell fan and David Weber. I’m also a reader of both the Star Trek and Star Wars Expanded Universes. If I was going to recommend any indie authors, I’d recommend M.L. Spencer, Glynn Stewart, Rick Gualtieri, and Drew Hayes.
The Second Book in the Werewolf PI series, Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker is out December 8. Preorder now from my publisher, Black Rose Writing, and save 15% with the code PREORDER22.
Ever since I started writing fiction and nonsense, I’ve been told I needed a separate Facebook page for that purpose. Until now I’ve resisted because keeping up with Social Media is freaking exhausting. Between the grind of the day job and my fiction addiction, I spend too much time tweetfacelinkblogging as it is.
But, with Johnny Lycan 2 coming out soon (December 8 to be specific, but who’s counting?) it is time to make sure I can promote my work without annoying the people on my personal Facebook page. For purely mercenary reasons, mostly so I can advertise my work, I needed to bite the bullet.
So (trumpets blare) I introduce you to my Facebook Author Page with the very clever and inventive name, Wayne Turmel Author. If you’re inclined, please like it and follow me. Over the next few months, there will be special posts, contests, and a chance to win signed copies of Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker.
Stop by, like the page, and tell your friends. If you care about my personal life, yeah, you can still follow me on my regular page, but this is my big-boy author page. Enjoy and welcome to my orbit.
Hey all. Just an update on the second book in my “Werewolf PI” series.
Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker will be out on December 8. We are mere weeks from a sneak peek at the cover, but I was editing it for publication today and came across one of my favorite bits:
“Yeah, sorry. But what is that thing?”
She looked and shrugged. “It’s a Chupacabra.”
“But aren’t they-” I swallowed the sentence. I was a werewolf standing in a room ninety miles from his body, holding hands with a witch. The “those-aren’t-real” ship had sailed.…
Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker
Yup, our boy is off to Las Vegas. You’ll find more laughs, gasps, and urban fantasy adventure coming December 8 from Black Rose Writing.
If you’re paying attention, you know that one reason it’s so long between novels is that my employer/co-author Kevin Eikenberry and I also write business books. In fact, today we sent the final draft of The Long-Distance Team: Designing Your Team for the Modern Workplace to our publishers at Berrett-Koehler.
Here’s the cover:
The Long-Distance Team is off to the publisher and will be out on February 28, 2023
I am going to go radio silent for a couple of weeks. The Duchess and I are fulfilling a bucket list item and going to London and Paris for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Try to get along without me.
Before I go, I wanted to share one of the more fun interviews I’ve done lately. Who would I want cast in the Johnny Lycan movie? What books corrupted me? You can learn all about it here. Thank you James Quinlan Meservy
When I return I hope I’ll have an interview or two to post, and maybe even a sneak preview of the cover for Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker. Be good to each other, read something, buy a book and leave a review.
Normally if you make someone cry, it’s because you’re a terrible human being and have done something awful to that person. Last week I made a couple of people tear up and got a couple of audible sobs. It felt great. Like really good. Yay me.
Okay, this probably requires some explanation.
As a writer, we hope to elicit emotional responses from our readers. We want them to laugh, gasp, get excited, or otherwise go on the emotional journey our characters are on. Is Lucca going to survive? Will Johnny beat the bear-shifter and make it out of Las Vegas (plug for book 2 there. Pay attention.) The problem is that the very fact they are reading means we aren’t with them when they consume our product.
Most of you know, and are tired of me saying, that I spent over 15 years as a standup comedian. For anyone who has ever stood on a stage, you understand the addicting nature of that art form. You write something, perform it in front of a live audience, and get an immediate response. Hopefully, they laugh. Maybe they chuckle, but not the roar you expected, so you need to tinker with that joke in the future. Maybe they get up and slap you on national television. Either way, there’s instant feedback on if that piece was any good or not.
Me in my glory days. You can actually watch this performance on “Evening at the Improv.” It’s on Amazon but it’ll cost you 99 cents.
I would give credit if I knew who said it, but somebody once wrote that “writing novels is like telling a joke and waiting a year for the laugh.” It’s true. While I hope my audience responds to what I create, you seldom really know. Maybe you get a good review. Once in a blue moon, I get an email or Twitter message from someone who enjoyed my work. (I can’t suggest doing this strongly enough. On any given day a writer may need validation. Trust me.) Mostly, I topple the tree in the forest and hope someone hears it fall.
So what happened the other day? How did I make someone cry and enjoy it?
This year’s issue contains “A Simple Purse.”
A few months ago, I channeled one of the saddest moments of my life into a Flash Fiction Piece called, “A Simple Purse.” It meant a lot to me. In the interest of transparency, it captures a moment more than 35 years ago when my mother passed away. I watched my father have to clean out her handbag for the last time. It’s the only time during that ordeal I ever saw him lose it. I’ve waited all this time for a way to tell that story and do it justice.
To launch the 2022 edition of the publication, I was invited to read on a Zoom call with over a dozen talented writers (mostly poets, which is intimdating as hell. Anything more complex than a dirty limerick is outside my wheelhouse.)
The reading was in alphabetical order. When your first name is a “W” and last name is a “T” you’re used to waiting your turn. I was blessed to hear some very moving, creative, and angst-ridden work. Then it was my turn.
It was a Zoom call, not a typical literary event. I was looking at a bunch of tiny boxes with faces in them. I ignored them and began reading my story from a piece of paper in front of me. Out my voice went into the void, and it was met with silence, as expected. Then I heard something unexpected.
Everyone was supposed to have their microphones muted, but I heard a distinctly audible sniff. Then another one. I looked at the screen and saw two people wiping their eyes, and they weren’t the sniffers. There was a long pause.
Then Heather, the Editor and Faculty Advisor (blessings upon all who take that job on, especially in schools) thanked me. She also told me a little about how the staff reacted when reading my submission, and how they’d hoped my story wouldn’t get picked up anywhere else so they could publish it.
My little flash story, which I doubted anyone else would understand, made grown-ass people cry. 565 of my words moved them.
This may sound ridiculous, but this was one of the most validating moments of my writing career. I have published a lot of work in my time, and most of it just goes out into the void. An unpaid piece in an obscure literary magazine I only found through Submittable reminded me my words matter. They can move people. They are important to someone besides me.
Support your local lit mags and the writers who contribute to them. Let people know you like their work. Just saying.
