Tag: Sin City Writers

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.

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

A YA Novel from a Buddy… RH Bird

I have loved being in a writer’s group here in Las Vegas. Sin City Writers has introduced me to a lot of excellent writers. We support each other, especially when their work gets out in the world. That brings me to my buddy… well the name doesn’t matter because his first book is out under his nom de plum R H Bird. He writes YA fiction, which is usually anathema to me. But his stuff is funny and worth checking out.

We talked about his novel, Promposal. Don’t let the cover fool you, it’s not just about a girl who wants to go to prom, although it is. The main character is a male wrestler who’s trying to navigate high school in the late 80s. It’s hysterical.

So, RH (ahem) tell us about yourself.

After graduating with a degree in Business Administration from Oswego State, I did what every college graduate in the New York area did, I tried getting a job in Manhattan. I had three offers, a construction supplies firm, a transportation company, and one as a stockbroker. The movie Wall Street came out when I was in college, and that career sounded the most fun and exciting.

After a few years, my firm promoted me to Branch Manager of the Honolulu office, luckily, my wife and I were already big scuba divers. Later, they brought me back to New York as a senior executive. I arrived in my Aloha shirt during a blizzard that shut the City down for days. My lifestyle went from 82-degree weather to 28-degrees.

The cover is a bit misleading. What’s Promposal about?

Promposal, combines timeless teenage angst with the eternal drama surrounding senior prom, and adds a ticking clock to the mix to create a fast-paced and relatable story of high school romance, regret, and redemption.  In morning detention, high school wrestling star, Luca Esposito is horrified to discover that his ex-girlfriend, Piper Kraft, is about to voluntarily relinquish her chance of attending John Marshall High School’s senior prom of 1990 solely because he’s an idiot.  A big idiot.  Huge idiot.  But self-berating can wait until later, because he only has six class periods to fix things and give Piper the senior prom of her dreams.  Sounds simple, but to achieve his goal, Luca must navigate through a fight during lunch with the school’s star quarterback, a trip to the principal’s office, an attempted apology (his!) that spectacularly backfires, and find his ex-girlfriend that’s better at avoiding him than Ferris Bueller is at avoiding Principal Rooney; not to mention getting egged by ski mask-wearing jerks on the way to prom, and a ride-or-die brawl between the wrestlers and football players in the parking lot at prom.  Yeah, Luca is having one of those days for sure, but hopefully a day he’ll always remember – if he can just survive it.  The fast pace, fully developed characters, and genuine emotions presented makes Promposal one of the most exciting and satisfying YA novels of the year.

You’re a middle-aged straight dude. Where’d the idea for a YA romance come from?

The idea for the story came about during a writing retreat, called the Ink Drop Space. The prompt the writing coach gave us was – For the next ten minutes write about something you accidentally overheard.

We must have been discussing high school because detention came to mind. I imagined a junior overhearing in first period detention that his ex-girlfriend, who’s a senior, is selling her tickets to that night’s senior prom. They broke up ten months ago and haven’t spoken since. He spends the rest of the period agonizing about what to do. The breakup was his fault, and she can’t stand him for it. He’d love to take her, but is afraid of being rejected. He’s not sure he has the courage to face her in the hallway.

Even if he can convince her to go, tonight’s the prom. How could they possibly find a dress, rent a tux, buy flowers, get her hair and makeup done, and hire a limo in a few short hours?

I read that to the group and moved onto the next prompt, not giving it much more thought. After the session was over, a friend of mine at the retreat named Lauren Tallman, emailed and said she thought I had an idea for a novel, and she’d like to hear how the story progresses.

I said, “Really?”

She answered, “Yeah, I think you have something there.”

When I sat at the computer, she was right, and the words flowed out of me. It was one of those things where the story wrote itself. Later, when I brought scenes to be critiqued at the Sin City Writer’s Group, the feedback I received was so positive, I felt like Lauren might be correct, and that I had a shot at a book.

Who do you read? Who inspires you?

J.K. Rowling is one of my favorites. Every now and then I have to go back to Hogwarts. I even read it in reverse order once. As for my writing style, Ernest Hemingway has the biggest influence. Margaret Mitchell with Gone With the Wind is great. F. Scott Fitzgerald with The Great Gatsby is great. Mark Twain too.

James Patterson, Stephen King, Wayne Turmel, and Vince Flynn to name a few modern authors. ( EDITORS NOTE Quit sucking up, you have the interview already.)

Of course, the greatest superhero of all time is William Shakespeare. I’ve probably read more of his works than any other.

Where can we find you and learn more?

On Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook, I’m @rhbirdauthor

My website is RHBird.com

My Amazon link is https://www.amazon.com/stores/R.H.-Bird/author/B0CV5ZD97S

Did George RR Martin scar you forever and make you afraid to buy a series of books until they’re done? Guess what?

The third (and final) book in the Werewolf PI Series is now available for Pre-Order. Buy it from my publisher and get a 15% discount. Just use the promo code PREORDER2023. You can also order the whole Werewolf PI series on Amazon. Use the form on the left side to get on my newsletter and learn more.