Month: October 2024

Body-Swapping Romantic Fantasy with L A Hilder Jones

If you haven’t figured out by now, I love living in Las Vegas. One of the biggest reasons is the people I’ve met through Sin City Writers. We are an odd little group but supportive of each other’s efforts and we rejoice when one of our own gets published. Thus, I bring you L A Hilder Jones and her new novel, “It Happened One Morning.”

Okay, I know you under another name, but who is L A Hilder Jones and why should people care?

I’ve always been a storyteller ever since I was a teenager. Wrote two books. One was about a sensuous vampire exacting revenge on three annoying classmates (8th grade, you know?). The other was an 18th-century soap opera-type story which took place in Wales. Never published them, but the whole point was to create a world I wanted to be part of. Escape the annoying, humdrum reality that is life, and control the fate of characters in my hands.

But, gotta have a day job. In my case, several day jobs. After college, I landed a mailroom job at KNBC-TV, then a gig working Hollywood Squares. Typing their contracts for prizes and such. Then after about five years at Lockheed as an editorial assistant for an aerospace magazine, I headed to Washington, D.C., where I eventually landed two jobs at Gannett. Left there, joined another company writing for their newsletters and eventually their proposal center. Then moved to Las Vegas, where I became a communications consultant to MGM Mirage, then joined a government contractor where I wrote for and oversaw their company publication. Twelve years of that and I said, “That’s enough,” took early retirement and now write what I want to write and publish.

Your book has a unique premise. What’s it about?

“It Happened One Morning…” tells the story of Boz Studebaker, a famous but burned-out on-air relationship coach who, one morning, suddenly turns into a woman. Now’s he forced not only to live a woman’s life, but also take his own advice. He–Bonnie–does everything she can to turn back to Boz, even enduring problematic “woman-y” situations and two little shapeshifters. But a horrific event leads her to the love of her life. For the first time, Bonnie doesn’t want to return to being Boz. Problem is, the Universe has other plans for her.

The novel is a mix of laugh-out-loud entertainment, poignancy, and wise advice, while Boz/Bonnie learns what makes and breaks even the most promising relationships.

The ebook version launched Oct. 12. The paperback version will launch Dec. 1, 2024, just in time for the holidays.

What about the magic or character appealed to you? What are the roots of this unique story?

When I was very young, I was inspired by actors I had crushes on, or TV shows and movies. Never books, oddly. Now, I write from experience and the experience of others. When I imagined Boz, his looks and personality reminded me of Bruce Willis’s wacky but astute character in “Moonlighting.” Liz, his producer, was inspired by my hairdresser. Morgan Pacek, Bonnie’s lover, was a composite of men but he ended up being his own man in the book. And the story itself was inspired by all the male relationship coaches I watched on YouTube and the internet. They give really smart advice, mainly for women. But one component was missing: They, as straight men, never dated men. We women have, so their advice only goes so far. That observation inspired the Boz character, who does go through that gender shift, to his horror and dismay.

Who did this to you? Who did you read that made you the writer you are?

I loved Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre.” She brings you into that 19th-century world so easily and beautifully. Today, I’m reading Kristin Hannah’s “The Women”. I much admire her writing style, because she simply tells a story with intriguing characters, without getting prose-y and long-winded. Her writing style is “seasoned,” for lack of a better word. Another writer I admire is Nathaniel Philbrick, particularly his “In the Heart of the Sea” non-fiction. I love non-fiction the most, particularly when the author forgets his or her research and delves into the story, the real reason why that story was written.

Where can we learn more about you and your work?

You can learn more about my book by reading it. I recommend that readers buy my books directly from my website, www.lahiderjones.com. They can get a personally autographed copy with a bookmarker. Otherwise, the ebook is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, Apple Books, all the big players. When the paperback goes live Dec. 1, folks can come to Copper Cat books in Henderson, where I’ll have my launch party, selling “It Happened One Morning…” at a discount. And, we’ll get to meet and chat!

Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder was a finalist for the 2024 American BookFest Fantasy Book award. Check it out, along with the rest of the series on Amazon in Audible, Kindle or Paperback, or through Black Rose Writing.

Johnny Lycan is now an Award Winner

I know that book awards aren’t supposed to be a thing. We’re supposed to be cool and arty and above all that nonsense.

That said, look what just happened. Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder is a finalist for the 2024 Best Fantasy Book from the American Book Fest.

Yes indeed, the grand finale of the Werewolf PI series is officially an award winner (or at least a finalist, darn it.)

Thanks to the team at Black Rose Writing for their help with this book and the whole darned series.

Order the AWARD WINNING Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder now, available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible.

Multi-generational Chinese Historical Fiction with Wendy Chen

Like most NAWPS (North American White People,) my family history was never greatly recorded until most of the old aunties were gone. That’s one reason I’m fascinated with historical fiction that connects different generations across multiple countries. Living in Las Vegas, which has a plethora of excellent HF writers, I was excited to learn about Wendy Chen and her new book, Their Divine Fires.

Although we share geography, this is the first time I’ve had a chance to “meet” her. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Hi Wendy. We’ve never had a chance to meet, even though we share a town. What should we know about you?

I am a writer, translator, and teacher, with a background in the visual arts–specifically bronze and marble sculpture. I am interested in writing across genres, and my work often pushes against genre conventions as well. For example, I write poetry that has elements of prose, and vice versa. My first book, Unearthings, was a book of poetry, and I recently published my debut novel–a work of historical fiction titled Their Divine Fires–in May 2024. Next year, my translations of the Song-dynasty woman writer Li Qingzhao will be out in a poetry collection titled The Magpie at Night with Farrar, Straus & Giroux. I’m really excited about that collection, as Li Qingzhao is considered one of the greatest poets in Chinese history and wrote and published during a time when women were discouraged from doing so. Currently, I teach creative writing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

What is “Their Divine Fires” about?

My book follows four generations of Chinese and Chinese American women in one family. Beginning in the early 1900s in China and ending in modern-day America, the novel traces the journeys of these family members as they each figure out how to survive amidst revolution, resistance, and adversity. Each generation faces challenges unique to their period, such as the Chinese Revolution of 1911 or the Cultural Revolution of the 60s, but they are all unified by a common spirit of persistence. The novel is particularly interested in the ways individuals grapple with love–its vulnerabilities and its pains–against, despite, or because of history. This is a book for readers who loved Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko or Marquéz’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.   

What is it about that time period that appealed to you? What are the roots of the story?

The novel has personal significance to me, as it draws on the history and lives of my ancestors. The inspiration for this novel is the stories my grandmother would tell me when I was a child, stories about her mother and her grandparents. It always fascinated me to think about how the lives of my ancestors and my own life were so different from one another, and yet how their lives led inextricably to my own. How could my grandmother, a peasant girl from a rural village in China, end up in America in the 80s? How could China have changed so much over the last century? How did my ancestors live through revolution, civil war, famine, disaster, dictatorship, and come through it all on the other side? Those were questions I was working through while writing Their Divine Fires. 

What’s your favorite scene in the book?

One of my favorite scenes in the book is the opening, when a brother asks his little sister to cut his hair. At that time in the early 1900s in China, men typically kept their hair long and untouched, a symbol of respect and reverence for their bodies which their parents gave them. It was, therefore, an act of filial piety to preserve your hair. However, the sister helps her brother cut his hair, an act which defies tradition and angers their parents. I struggled a lot with figuring out how to open this book, as I wanted to give a sense of the ways a family was beginning to fracture across the generations without hitting the reader over the head with the symbolism. Finally, I landed on this scene, which demonstrated the fracture as well as the love between the siblings–a bond which is eventually tested as the novel develops. 

Where can we learn more about you and your work?

My website wendychenart.com provides information about me, my publications, and my latest projects. You can also find me on Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook under the profile name wendychenart. Their Divine Fires is available at Amazon here. 

Part of the fun of being a multi-genre author is meeting readers with diverse tastes. If historical fiction, rather than werewolves, is your cup of team, consider The Lucca Le Pou Stories. It’s a two-book series about a young orphan in the Crusades who becomes a spy. There’s intrigue, violence, leprous knights, and heroics ala Kipling’s Kim.

You can find the series on Kindle here. If you’d like a signed paperback copy, drop me a line. Of course, you can find all my work; fiction, nonfiction, and just plain goofy at my Amazon Author Page

More Than the Usual Parental Brainwashing with SJ Carson

One of the perks of being in an inclusive writers group like Sin City Writers, is the chance to see so much good work while it is still nascent, then celebrate when it comes into the world. Such is the case with SJ Carson’s new novel, Aveline. I’ve read bits and pieces of it for a long time, and now it’s out in the world October 9th.

Okay, lady. Who are you and why do we care?

Originally from Long Island, New York, I have been a writer since the age of five. I began writing illustrated storybooks, making covers out of the cardboard backs of legal pads. In junior high, I started keeping a diary in which I wrote short stories and vignettes based on my life. Then, in high school, I started writing poetry. In English class, I read the work of the Romantic poets and thought, naively, “I can do that!” I spent the next fifteen years or so honing my craft as a poet. I went to Boston University to earn my MFA in poetry and taught English briefly at the College of Southern Nevada.

Around the age of thirty, I decided to focus on fiction and become a novelist. I started probably ten or fifteen different manuscripts, just trying to teach myself the craft of fiction. I am excited that my first novel, Aveline, will be coming out on October 9, 2024!

I read your first book of poetry, which is something I rarely do, and enjoyed it. I’m excited to see the book out in the world. What’s Aveline about?

It’s about a thirteen-year-old girl named Aveline Fleur, the granddaughter of her country’s Leader, and the daughter of its Lightminister (i.e., chief propagandist). Aveline grows up believing that she lives in the most prosperous, most peaceful country in the world. In reality, its dictatorial government suppresses dissidents by brainwashing them using powerful new drugs. When Aveline discovers what’s really going on, and that her best friend’s mom has been disappeared by the government, she has to leave her comfortable, safe world behind and take action. Her journey is a coming-of-age story as much as it is a struggle to protect the people she loves. When we first meet Aveline, she is a timid girl, but by the end she has blossomed into a confident young woman.

It has a very Divergent kind of feel to it. Where did the story come from?

Back in 2012, I began writing a short story about a young woman named Allyn and her troubled relationship with her daughter Aveline. Both were members of their country’s ruling family. Allyn was not a very good role model for Aveline since she was hungry for power at all costs. Allyn even manipulated her boyfriend, a lower-class man, for political gain. However, I didn’t get beyond a few pages when I ran out of steam. I wasn’t sure at the time where the story was going or what my goal was in telling it.

I let the idea stew for about seven years while I worked on other projects. Then, in early 2019, I started working on it again and developing the plot. How would Aveline react if she learned that her mother, a powerful governmental figure, was up to something wicked that affected the entire society? How would their relationship change? Would it even survive? With these questions in mind, I began the manuscript that would eventually become Aveline. I worked on it for five years, on and off, before it was accepted for publication by The Wild Rose Press.

What are the authors who helped form you? I’m going to assume it’s an eclectic list.

The first author I fell in love with was Sylvia Plath. My twelfth-grade English teacher gave me a copy of The Bell Jar, and I devoured it, along with Plath’s Collected Poems. Never had I read prose or poetry that resonated so deeply with my personal experiences as a teenage girl. I still read Plath to this day and find something new in her work every time.

Currently, I also really enjoy Janet Fitch (her best-known work is White Oleander), Robert Jordan (The Wheel of Time series), Frank Herbert (Dune), and Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials series). Each author is very different, but each has taught me about the craft of storytelling, character development, and world-building.

How can we find out more about the wonder that is you?

You can connect with me at my author website, www.sjcarson.com, and on social media as follows:

If you hate starting series that aren’t complete, consider the Johnny Lycan: Werewolf PI series. The grand finale, Johnny Lycan & the Last Witchfinder is available now on Amazon and from Black Rose Writing. All three books are now available on Audible.

“I’ve been a fan of this series since the beginning, and while I’m slightly devastated that this is the end of it, I LOVED The Last Witchfinder.” S G Tasz