Chaos changes everything!

Shane Delaney, a burned-out mercenary with a troubled past, returns home to small-town Kansas to heal his scars and quiet his demons, not planning to stay long enough for the townsfolk to reject who he has become.

He never expected the town to need his deadlier skills.

When a terrorist attack on distant cities abruptly transforms life as they knew it, the people of Emmaus must forge their own disaster plan to survive.

What would you do if the world as you know it ended today?

The people of Emmaus will find out.

Available on Amazon. Join the On-Line Launch Party Monday, March 30 all day (Alaska Time)

Or check out Lela's website at AurorawatcherAK

https://aurorawatcherak.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/interview-with-ted-cross/

Lela Markham Presents

Fellow Breadwater Harbor Books author Ted Cross is my guest today. Ted is the author ofThe Immortality Game, a science-fiction dystopian fantasy, and about to publish a second book The Shard.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

First of all, thanks so much for doing this, Lela! I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised mainly in Tucson. I graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Russian Studies in 1992, and the next year moved to Moscow, Russia to work in the embassy. I met and married my wife there–we’ve been married nearly twenty years now, and we have two sons, ages 16 and 14. Besides reading and writing, my hobbies are chess, guitar, photography, soccer, basketball, and traveling. I’m allergic to most cats and dogs, so we just have a pet parakeet, named Sheldon after the character on Big Bang Theory.


What was the first story you ever wrote?
An epic fantasy novel called The Shard. I started it while living in Beijing in 2006 and completed it in Iceland in 2009. I’ve never quite been satisfied with it, so I keep tinkering, and I’m hopeful I can publish it next year.


What in life really motivates you?
Other than taking care of my family, I love creativity and I have a desire to do something that people will enjoy. The Immortality Game touches on the theme of immortality, and that has long been a motivation of mine. I’ve long been very aware of how short life is, and I admire those people, from Michelangelo to Mozart to the Beatles, who create something that lasts far beyond their own lifetimes. I dream of doing that.



So, I’m going to strand you in a remote Alaskan cabin for a month (in the summer, so you don’t have to worry about stocking the woodstove, and you have sufficient food, ghiardia-free water and plenty of bug spray). Do you spend the time hiking around or do you bring a collection of books to read? If you’re bringing books, what are they?
I would love to visit Alaska! I got to live in Iceland for two years and it was fantastic, it had no real trees. I’d love to go hiking in those beautiful forests you have. But I’d have to have books with me, of course. There are shelves full of great books that I long to read but haven’t been able to get to yet, so I’d love to bring many of those. Then I also like to re-read old favorites, so I’d bring the Rome series from Colleen McCullough, the Earthsea series from Ursula Le Guin, Tolkien’s various books, the Song of Ice and Fireseries by George R.R. Martin, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, and Patrick Rothfuss’s Kvothe series.


What are the major writing influences in your life?
Tolkien was the biggest early influence, as he is with so many fantasy writers, but the one who actually got me to sit down and start typing out my first story was George R.R. Martin. I loved his gritty realism as applied to fantasy, and I liked the method he used of rotating chapters between POV characters. I mimicked that in my fantasy novel, but I found that wouldn’t quite work in The Immortality Game. It’s a thriller, so it’s too fast paced for only a single POV per chapter. I had to switch between characters too often to be able to create a satisfying chapter arc.



Tell us about the Immortality Game.
I got to know Moscow and the terror of the Russian mafia very well while living there for four years in the mid-90’s. I’ve long wanted to convey that in a story but couldn’t figure out how to make it work for a whole novel. Later I had some ideas for some twists on old sci-fi tropes, and I realized I could make the story work by combining these ideas with my old mafia tale. I really wanted to take a couple of normal, innocent people and throw them into absolute hell–sort of a Quentin Tarantino story done in Moscow–and make them either sink or swim. I wanted them to face their horror like we all would, and come very close to giving up, but though of course it doesn’t make for a good story if they don’t find some inner reserve and choose to fight for their lives.


What gave you the idea for this story?
Besides what I already mentioned above, I had a wizard character in my epic fantasy with a fascinating backstory. He had been a Russian scientist from Earth who arrived with the first mission to colonize a planet outside of our solar system. The new planet has a moon made of an element that isn’t present in our solar system, and this element works on the body in a way that can seem much like what we call magic, but it doesn’t work on the natives of the planet, so only those who arrived from Earth end up being ‘wizards’. As I fleshed out this character’s backstory, I used the previously mentioned elements, and his backstory became so intriguing to me that I ended up having to write it.


Given the subject, is there any sort of message in it?
I am not huge on deep messages, so there’s nothing in the book that purposely conveys anything deep. If it’s in there, it’s a byproduct of having a full story with characters that feel real to me. Of course the story touches on many themes, from what technology may be doing to us as humans to wondering if there limitations we should impose on ourselves, if we could. I happen to believe that if we CAN do something (as a race), we will, regardless of the consequences. Wishing we could stop certain things from developing won’t work, because even if we (the USA) decide not to do something, someone somewhere else in the world will still do it.


Oh, so true! How did you develop your stunning cover?
I have long loved two particular living artists, Alan Lee and Stephan Martiniere. I have Martiniere prints on my wall at home. I didn’t even check with him initially, because I assumed it would cost far too much for me to afford. So I checked with other artists, since I really wanted a cover that would follow my vision for it in a high-quality way. In the end I got bold enough to ask Stephan, and he was more reasonable than I expected. He was also a pleasure to work with, and he really nailed what I was after. I did worry that it might have too many elements in it, making the artwork too busy, but it actually turned out great. I don’t know if you’ve pulled it up to larger size, but there is so much to see in there. The Pyramid and twin hotel towers are the mafia base. The air cars in their various lanes are all over in my future. You can see Zoya crouching on the right side, with a nice cathedral behind her. And there are flurries of what look like snow but is actually poplar seeds, a symbol throughout the book and something I wanted in the story since poplar seeds are a big part of each Russian summer.


It’s a great cover, Ted! Well worth the effort. What are some of the pitfalls you’ve encountered as an indie author?
The biggest one is simply getting noticed. The development of indie writing has opened the floodgates, meaning that while there is good work out there, there is far more mediocre to bad work, and this tidal wave has made readers wary. They look to the already famous authors for the most part, and they are very nervous about paying their hard-earned money for someone they have never heard about. That’s part of why I insisted on paying for such a high-quality cover–I needed to demonstrate to readers that I have a commitment to quality, and I hope they will believe that this commitment extends to my writing and not just the cover.


What are your plans for the future?
I have a bunch of stories ready to work on, and while they are all set in the same ‘universe’, they are all meant to be able to stand alone while still contributing to the particular flavor of my universe. I plan on some characters appearing in each novel so there will be some continuity, but I don’t have plans for a traditional trilogy with a long single storyline.


Anything else you would like to add.
I’m truly grateful that Scott Toney and Cara Goldthorpe built Breakwater Harbor Books and allowed me to join! Indie writing is tough enough without doing every last thing on your own. Having a support group is tremendously helpful.


I feel the same way. I was very pleased when Scott invited me in. I think a cooperative imprint is the best of both possible worlds for an indie author.

Ted’s book The Immorality Game was released a few months ago.

Moscow, 2138. With the world only beginning to recover from the complete societal collapse of the late 21st Century, Zoya scrapes by prepping corpses for funerals and dreams of saving enough money to have a child. When her brother forces her to bring him a mysterious package, she witnesses his murder and finds herself on the run from ruthless mobsters. Frantically trying to stay alive and save her loved ones, Zoya opens the package and discovers two unusual data cards, one that allows her to fight back against the mafia and another which may hold the key to everlasting life.



Links:
Blog: http://tedacross.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: Ted.Cross.Author
Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9846871.Ted_Cross
Twitter: tedacross
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ted-Cross/e/B00PH5AB7K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

My friend Dyane Forde visited me following her decision to end contract with her publisher and become a fully independent author. She is now a newly-minted Breakwater Harbor Books and I am glad to have her aboard.  In celebration, I am running my interview with her from February. Lela Markham

Talk a bit about the Purple Morrow and where the sequel is in process.

The idea for The Purple Morrow started a few years back when I wanted to explore themes related to loss, redemption, and moving forward. The story of a man unable to deal with the past while being thrown into a crisis demanding that he settle things and move on seemed a good place to start.

The Purple Morrow started very simply; I’d intended it to be a solo book. But as the story developed and the characters matured, I knew the full tale had to be explored. The world of Marathana blossomed, becoming multi-cultural, each people group following their own cultural or religious beliefs. Magic and spirituality are also firmly rooted in this world and play essential roles in determining which side–good or evil–will prevail. I had a full-fledged trilogy on my hands.

At the moment, Wolf’s Bane, the sequel is is scheduled for release February 23! I’m really excited about its release, as I’ve been wrestling with this book for a while. It was hard! The scale and scope of the story is larger than Morrow. This book takes the reader deeper into the conflict developing across Marathana, introduces the reader to new players and people groups, and drastically raises the stakes. Questions of identity, and individual choice versus the greater good are explored. Jeru struggles to take difficult steps forward in his destiny while Kelen fights a new evil dogging his every move, all of it leading to a devastating end. It was the biggest challenge yet, but I am thrilled with the result.

Why did you choose to leave your publisher and go independent?

In honest truth, there were a few reasons. First, I didn’t like dealing with the limits. I like to be in control, and having to go through someone else to organize a giveaway or set up a coupon, or upload the book to other distribution platforms, for example, were major problems. Second, I didn’t like not knowing exactly how many sales I was making. I am sure they were honest, but money is money and when it comes to that, I want to see the details, real time. Third, I had to buy my own books to sell. Now to be fair, this is how I sold the most books and made the most money, BUT producing paperbacks and shipping them over the border (I live in Canada) was expensive. I only ordered one shipment because the second time around the cost of production had gone up. At that point, I said, “This is crazy. I can’t even afford to produce my own books!” Fourth, splitting sales with a publisher whom I had already paid to produce the book when I was essentially doing all my own marketing and publicity was another big issue for me. So I decided enough was enough. I’d learn to produce my own books to the best of my ability and manage the whole shebang myself. Voilà!

Talk a bit about your experience with going independent.

See all that bravado up above? That got me to the point of getting out of the contract with the publisher and to produce an ebook and print version of Morrow (the latter is not yet available), but it didn’t prepare me for the burden of carrying the whole thing by myself. Yes it was good to be in control, but it was also frighteningly discouraging to suddenly be aware that sales might not be as swift as I had hoped/thought (maybe ignorance IS bliss). I was faced with the reality that in order to sell I had to get my act together more now than ever. It was a taste of reality I hadn’t been ready for.

Also, getting books into stores (brick and mortar) is harder without a publisher backing you. So that is also something to be aware of, for those who are looking to see their books in a storefront or something.

That being said, for the time being, I don’t think I would want it any other way. I like the flexibility to write the books I want to write, without having to conform to an editor or publisher’s expectation of what will sell. I used to be stressed out that, without a publisher, I wouldn’t be taken seriously or that I wasn’t a legitimate writer. But through this experience, and others, I’ve come to realize that I like who I am as a writer, and that the stories I tell best are those that come from me. My voice and style are unique to me, as are the ideas and themes I choose to explore. Some people will ‘get’ me and some won’t. That’s okay. I might never be famous or see my books sell tons of copies, but for those who do enjoy my books and stories, I can rest in the knowledge that, for the hours they came along for the ride, we connected. Maybe even had a few thrills and shared some laughs, too. And maybe, when they put the book down, they’ll want to see what’s in store for them in the next one. :) What more can a writer ask for?

Whatever else you would like to add.

I love chatting with readers, so if you’ve enjoyed reading about my writing journey, I’d love to hear from you. My contact links are below. Oh, and my blog is open to featuring writers of all levels who are trying to get themselves ‘out there’, so drop me a line if that’s you. It’s been said that writing is a lonely art, but it doesn’t have to be. We are a community, so let’s connect! :)

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