I’ve had a couple of requests to share this interview with people. My buddy, Phil Gerbyshak, interviewed me on his video podcast about how to make big changes in your life and tackle challenges like completing your first novel at age 54.
Here’s the whole thing on YouTube. I hope you’ll find some inspiration and a little entertainment.
If you’re properly inspired, you can get The Count of the Sahara on Kindle or Paperback from Amazon or direct from my publisher, The Book Folks.
Full disclaimer: I view Westerns like I view Super-Hero movies: I know that most of what I’m seeing or reading is as much mythology and wish-fulfillment as history, but that’s okay as long as they’re fun. I’m also aware that there are political and social ramifications associated with them. I just maintain a healthy skepticism/cynicism about it all and enjoy the ride. Some people, though, take the whole “Wild West” thing very seriously and that’s where today’s interview comes in.
Anthony Whitt is a darned good writer from the Austin, Texas area. He’s currently working on a trilogy about the hardy settlers that scratched a living out of the Texas Hill Country surrounding Austin after the Civil War. Hard Land to Rule is first in the trilogy that takes the reader on a ride through treachery, greed, lust, and death in a riveting tale that’s more than just another western. Cold Hard Ride continues the story as the characters battle their inner demons and devious enemies in the hills and the hellhole known as Austin. His goal is to create a trilogy with continuity, but make sure each book delivers a compelling story in its own right. The third book has a release date planned in the spring or summer of 2016.
So briefly, what’s the Hard Land to Rule trilogy all about?
Hard Land to Rule is a story of faded love, forbidden temptations, treacherous adversaries, and the conflict of competing interests on the Texas frontier. Returning from the Civil War where he served as a sergeant, Matt is forced to deal with a marriage complicated by a tragic death and the alienation of his wife. He can’t seem to find the right combination to patch things up despite his dedicated efforts to provide for his family and maintain his ranch in the hills. The times are economically tough after the war and opportunistic carpetbaggers prowl the countryside searching out targets for their aggressive efforts to secure ranchlands burdened with overdue taxes. Raiding Comanche complicate the harsh conditions he faces in the Hill Country while he is also forced to battle the unscrupulous politicians and businessmen that call Austin home. Surrounded by overwhelming problems it’s no wonder that an attractive neighbor with a struggling marriage of her own tempts him with her siren song of seduction. A proposition to serve as a Texas Ranger seems to offer an answer to his tribulations, but opens him to a plague of personal doubts and uncertainties that threaten to undermine the life he has worked hard to mold out of an unforgiving land.
Besides a higher than usual loathing for Texas politicians, what is it about the story that grabbed you?
Throughout the early years of my youth, my grandparents and their tales of the old days exerted a heavy influence on me. My grandfather often talked about his time as a cowboy working the ranches in the rugged hills west of Austin. During the first years of his marriage to my grandmother they actually traveled and lived out of a covered wagon to follow the work wherever it was available. As a young boy on family drives through the Texas Hill Country I can still recall them pointing out the locations of Indian trails they remembered seeing in their younger years.
My grandfather also regaled us with tales of his grandfather, a sergeant in the Civil War and a famous Texas Ranger with a colorful history. One of the favorite stories I grew up hearing from him was about an Indian raid on his grandfather’s homestead west of Austin. Despite my great-great grandfathers reputation as a well-known Texas Ranger the Indians gave him little respect and singled his place out for a raid. The tale always fascinated me and I set out to write a fictionalized short story about the event unaware of where the decision would lead. After the story received early praise, it transformed into a full-length novel that needed room to grow. As a result, the decision to write a short story became a life changing moment that gave birth to the Hard Land to Rule Trilogy.
What’s your favorite scene in the book?
It’s hard to pick a favorite scene in Hard Land to Rule because I strived to stitch the chapters together in a cohesive flow of storytelling. But if I have to select my favorite scene it would be the one where three innocent characters are oblivious of their danger as they stroll into a Comanche ambush guaranteed to inflict death and perhaps rape if things proceed as the warrior plans. The reader is fully aware of their impending peril and is forced to take the walk with them unsure of their collective fate. The buildup of tension is such that my editor advised me not to change a single word in the scene. Naturally I was delighted to receive this kind of advice.
For what it’s worth, I think your strongest writing is in the action scenes, so I tend to agree. Where can people learn more?
His website www.anthonywhitt.com
Twitter www.twitter.com/AnthonyWhitt_
Facebook www.facebook.com/AnthonyWhitt.Author
Goodreads www.goodreads.com/author/show/7334347.Anthony_Whitt
If you read enough history, especially military history, you realize that while every war is different, each also is similar. There’s bravery, individual heroism, and personal battles within the bigger ones. There’s also the death of innocents, the death of innocence, destruction and an aftermath seldom sung about in legend. That’s where Don Kean’s book, “I Didn’t Sign Up For This” comes in.
Don, tell us a bit about yourself, and where the idea for the book came from.
I was practicing General Dentist for 25 very long years. I gave it up in 2012 and have since been employed in retail management . I enjoy reading and writing about the American Civil War. I love that time period in history and I find so many of the people who served on both sides of the conflict to be truly inspiring. I also enjoy automobile racing and fishing. My greatest passion is fishing at Kentucky Lake. While their on my honeymoon in 2008 I took a sightseeing trip to Fort Donelson. While visiting I was deeply moved by the fact that this terrible war happened in my home state of Kentucky. The background for the story in “I Didn’t Sign Up For This” takes place in that very region.
In a nutshell, what’s the book about?
The book tells the tale of a young man from remote Western Kentucky who
decides to join the Confederate Army at the war’s outbreak. Young Joshua takes part in many of the largest battles in the Western Theater of the war. He is deeply traumatized by the carnage and destruction. His self-worth and Christian faith are challenged. At war’s end he reluctantly returns home feeling that it will not be the same. He begins to struggle with recurring nightmares and terrifying flashbacks about his experiences in the war. He struggles greatly to cope and his faith and sanity hang by a thread. An old childhood friend begins to romance him much against his will. She remains strong and persistent despite his rejection of her advances. Along with the aid of unseen spiritual forces he slowly heals The spiritual intrigue is a slowly unraveling mystery throughout the narrative. He eventually finds love joy and blessing seeing that his life has truly always been blessed.
While the war itself is a strong theme of this story it is not the central one. It’s about choices in life and the fruit they may bear. Young Joshua’s post war struggle with a P.T.S.D. like illness is a terrible fruit of his earlier choice to go to war. Ultimately it is a story about the love of an almost angelic like woman who nurtures a hurt mans heart. It is a story of triumph over heart rending tragedy. It is a story of God’s unconditional love, Redemption and Deliverance.
There’s probably a three-beer conversation to be had about the confluence of faith and warfare… I’m dealing with that in my own new book set in the Crusades, and I suspect we differ on that, but styles make fights… and books. What’s your favorite scene?
I think my favorite scene would be the one where he spends his first evening at a field hospital after the bloody Battle of Shiloh. He awakens in the middle of the night to a chorus of suffering. He compares it to what Hell might be like, a place of unending pain and suffering, a place where there is no hope.
Where can people learn more about you and your book?
The book can be found at Amazon.com.
I’m always looking for stories I don’t know, in time periods or characters that aren’t familiar to me. Enter Ed Morawski’s book, Goddess of Grass. It tells the tale of the fateful meeting between the Spanish and Aztec kingdoms, through the prism of a young female interpreter. Don’t read that every day, do ya?
Ed Morawski has written numerous works of fiction and non-fiction. After
serving in the U.S. Air Force for 8 years, seeing action in Vietnam, he returned to the U.S. to Edwards AFB and after his discharge began a career in security and law enforcement. He became an expert in physical and electronic security, alarms, and video surveillance. He resides in Southern California.
So tell us about Goddess of Grass…
Before there was America, before there was even Mexico, there were the Aztecs. Back in the 16th century, they were not called Aztecs, but known as the Mexica, a Nahua people who founded their metropolis capital city Tenochtitlan on a raised islet in Lake Texcoco. The Mexica came to dominate the other tribes of the land south of what would someday be North America and formed a vast and feared empire ruled by Montezuma, which probably consisted of a million or more subjects. While sophisticated and cultured, the Aztecs had a bloodthirsty dark side: they practiced human sacrifice on a scale never before known. These sacrifices consumed so many victims that the Aztecs waged war solely to obtain captives for their rituals.
In one of the most fateful events in history, Hernando Cortes arrived in that land we now know of as Mexico in 1519, the exact year an ancient Aztec prophecy predicted a god would return from the land of the rising sun. With less than 500 men and a few horses and cannon, Cortes conquered the Aztec empire in a blindingly short time. What was his secret weapon? A 17 year old native slave girl named Malinalli, who would come to be known as La Malinche. This teenage girl was given to Cortes as a gift to be his slave. But instead of accepting her fate, Malinalli used her own abilities to seize upon a unique advantage, thereby making herself indispensable to the Spanish Conquistadors. Goddess of Grass is the story of Malinalli, the unknown heroine who fought alongside professional soldiers, who negotiated with hostile native tribes, who stared down Emperor Montezuma, the most feared man in Mexico, and who bore as her child the first offspring of a Spaniard and native Indian: the first Mexican.
This story doesn’t seem a natural for someone with your background. What drove you to tell this story from such an unusual point of view?
I was inspired to write Goddess of Grass solely by Malinche. Here was a young teenage girl who instead of remaining a slave, turned her fortunes around to become the most powerful woman in Mexico for a period of time and literally changed the course of history. Unfortunately, though Spanish and native history records Malinche’s exploits, there is little known about her.
Without giving away the goods, what’s your favorite scene in the book?
Probably my favorite scene is when La Malinche comes face to face with Emperor Montezuma and instead of looking down as the law commanded, she eyes him directly as she translates for Cortes. Montezuma is so unnerved by her actions and the prophecy, he willingly becomes a prisoner in his own palace.
Where can folks learn more about you and your book?
You can find me on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1126615.Ed_Morawski
The book is on Amazon in Kindle and paperback
I am thrilled to be part of two panel discussions and a book signing at the Elgin Literary Festival January 29-30 in Elgin, IL.
I’ll be part of a panel on “How your real job influences your writing” as well as one on various methods of publishing. I’ll also be talking about how working with a “middle way” publisher like The Book Folks helped me get The Count of the Sahara out into the world.
Not for nothing, but I’ll also be signing and (hopefully) selling the book as well.
Join us!
Every human being sees history through their own eyes, but too often readers get to see it from essentially one side… a cynic would say the winners’, but more likely those who write primarily for an English speaking audience. However, we all know any time human beings are involved, everyone has their own take. That’s what makes historical fiction so fascinating. Case in point… when was the last time you read about a WWII battle from the German side?
Christoph Fromm studied at the film academy (Hochschule für Film und
Fernsehen) in Munich from 1977 to 1981. He has worked as a full-time screenwriter since 1983. He started early with writing prose alongside his work on screenplays.
In 1984 he published the short story collection “Der kleine Bruder”. After working on several movie and television screenplays, he founded the publishing house Primero Verlag together with children’s books author Tina Lizius in 2006. In the same year he published the political thriller “Die Macht des Geldes”. In 2013 he published his novel “Stalingrad: The Loneliest Death” which was a great success. In 2015 it was translated into English.
His third novel “Amoklauf im Paradies” will be published in spring 2016.
In a nutshell, what’s the book about?
In September 1942, the few survivors of a Sturmpionierbataillion stationed in Northern Africa are sent to the Eastern front. During the decisive battle of Stalingrad – which claimed more than two million victims – the soldiers lose all their moral inhibitions and confronted by trench warfare, close combat for every single house, hunger and arctic cold, madness is their only remaining refuge before dying anyway…
Young lieutenant Hans von Wetzland is forced to recognise that these conditions do not allow him or his soldiers to stick even to the most basic moral principles.
What is it about that time period or character that intrigued you and motivated you to write about it?
My novel is based on extensive research in the course of which I was also able to talk to numerous contemporary witnesses. I was especially fascinated by the letters from my mother’s former fiancé who was stationed at the Eastern front as a lieutenant of the German general staff, later as an artillery captain, and who went missing in action in February 1945. It is alarming to recognise how contemporary his longing for personal happiness, romance, and his escape into religious, conservative, apolitical areas appears.
What interested me most about my fictive protagonist was his transformation from a war romantic to a war defector. The cauldron of Stalingrad shocked me with its existential and extreme situations. The vast majority of the soldiers could not remain human under these inhuman conditions, but were overpowered by madness which did not even stop at cannibalism and taking the law into their own hand.
Stalingrad was a nightmare for all participants, although most Americans know little about it. What’s your favorite scene in the book (without giving away any spoilers)?
That would be chapter 48 in which the soldiers are demoted and have to shovel snow off a street inside the cauldron of Stalingrad. When they are completely exhausted and finally achieve their target for the day, they recognise that the murderous strain was completely in vain as they cleared this street only because of an administrative error.
Where can people learn more about you and your work?
You can find my eBook on Amazon and if you have a Kindle Unlimited account it is also available for lending.
I am also on Goodreads and Library Thing.
You can find more information (only in German) about me and my publisher at
https://www.facebook.com/primeromuenchen
What a nice surprise. The Count of the Sahara has been awarded Honorable Mention as “General fiction book of the year” at the 2015 Great Midwest Book Festival.
Below is the book’s place on their Table of Honor Page.
It’s so gratifying that the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, if a bit mixed. If you’ve enjoyed the story, please tell the world on Amazon or Goodreads.
Oh and my favorite review so far? A 4-star that started with “I liked this book and I don’t know why…”
One of the most mythologized/lied about/ accurately reported periods in history is the opening of the American West. So much that’s true is fascinating and so much of what is “known” is uhhhhhhh utter nonsense. That said, it’s ripe for good historical fiction. That’s where Janet Squires comes in.
She began her career writing short stories and nonfiction articles for national periodicals. However, my work as a Library Media Specialist for a school district inspired me to shift by attention to children’s books. Her first picture book, The Gingerbread Cowboy, is the Arizona Governor’s 2007 first grade book. A special edition of 100,000 copies was printed and distributed to every first grade student in the state.
Since then she’s broadened her focus and now writes fiction and nonfiction for both children and adults, which brings us to her novel, “Desperate Straits” She teaches writing workshops, volunteers for literacy events at libraries and schools, tend a large organic garden. In whatever time she has left, she likes to saddle up and ride, or hike with her dog.
Okay, so in a nutshell, what’s “Desperate Straits” about?
Irish immigrant Sarah Ryan’s hope for a new life in the Arizona Territory is shattered in an instant by gunfire. Suddenly, she has to rebuild an uncertain future with her orphaned nephew, Will, and take on the challenges of a cattle ranch, be it installing cattle guards or fending off poachers. Just when order returns, veteran lawman, L.T. McAllister rides in. He’s a dangerous man determined to do what’s right regardless of the personal cost. L.T. believes himself ready for anything until he meets Sarah. Her ideas about the man he’s become soon pit his lifetime of duty against desire.
L.T.’s and Sarah’s loyalty to Will catapults them into a life for which neither one is prepared. When L.T. and Sarah stand between one man and his obsession with the Lost Adam’s Gold, they trigger a firestorm of retaliation. Kidnapping and murder escalates into a battle for justice… and their lives.
What is it about that time period you find so fascinating?
The American frontier has always been a passion for me. I grew up listening to tales of how my Irish/Cherokee ancestors pioneered their way West as ranchers, miners, and lawmen. Later, research into my family history uncovered personal accounts of life in the eighteen hundreds — Kentucky during the civil war — wagon trains from Texas — lives that inspired me with examples of fortitude, courage, and humor. Frontier life is personal for me.
One of my fondest childhood memories is waking in a creaky old iron bed to the sound of my Dad chopping wood so Grandma could cook breakfast on the wood burning stove she used til the day she died. I’m a daughter of the West… it’s the place where I’m at home.
Without giving away spoilers, what’s your favorite scene in the book?
Oh, wow…this is a tough question. Certainly, one of my favorite events is Sarah’s arrival in the Arizona Territory from Ireland. She defends herself against a shotgun wielding ranch hand with nothing but a broom, teaches herself to ride astride, and confronts the challenge of befriending her newly orphaned nephew. Each trial speaks to Sarah’s strength of character, courage, quick wits, and sense of humor. A quick poll of some of the men who’ve read my book puts L.T.’s action scenes at the top of their favorites list.
Men, what’re you gonna do with them? Where can people learn more about you and your work?
People can learn more about me and my books through these Social Media Outlets —
Website: http://www.janetsquiresbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janetsquiresbooks?ref=hl
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Janet-Squires/e/B001IGQIQK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1445792569&sr=8-1
Blog: All About the Books with Janet Squires: http://janetsquires.blogspot.com/
Twitter: Janet Squires Author@Janet Squires
I’m also on GoodReads and Riffle.
In a moment of snark in a previous post, I posed the question, “Why does it seem like every other historical fiction novel is set in ancient Rome?” (By the way, Rome is the new Middle Ages if the list of new books is any indication.) This is not terribly new in traditional “histfic”, but there are more and more fantasy books set in this time as well. In a Goodreads discussion, author Chris Northern, author of the Price of Freedom/Freedom’s Fool series took me to task.
I asked him, using small words that even I could understand, to explain why that was. Here’s his answer. Enjoy.
I enjoy the mix of history and fantasy, but some people are uneasy with it. Why do you think they go together so well?
political structure must be based on something, and picking a historical period is the simplest method available. The high medieval period has been the default choice for a good while, but it has become far more common to reach further afield geographically and temporally for a framework to define fantasy stories.
And we are kind of burned out on the pretend-medieval theme, I grant you. So why Rome?
Still, Rome burns bright in history as one of the longest lasting empires, territories of economic and social stability, that the world has ever seen. Little wonder that it resurfaces in the collective psyche when our own times become increasing unstable. Perhaps we recognise the parallels and subconsciously fear Rome’s ultimate fate – a decent into barbarism and poverty that we know can persist for centuries. Not a cheery thought, but perhaps one worth a little more than a passing glance.
Hey all. The Count of the Sahara is available in both paperback and Kindle, but if you’re a Kindle reader–or know people who load up their Kindle for cheap
(guilty!) please spread the word.
If you wonder why a publisher would give an ebook away, so was I. Then I looked at my sales ranking an hour after the announcement:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,837 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
I’m going to assume Erik and the folks at TheBookFolks.com know what they’re about. If you’ve read it and enjoyed it, please tell your friends, fellow readers and the world.
