Kasper's Ramblings from Kasper Beaumont

Steampunk author E.A. Hennessy stops by for a #FSFNet interview @ea_hennessy

9/18/2016

Ever since she was a child, author E.A. Hennessy has wished for adventures. Now's she's all grown up, her love of travel and adventure hasn't dimmed. It has morphed into adventurous fantasy writing in her Steampunk adventures and also a love to travel.
Now EA works as an environmental engineer (which sounds very Steampunky) too, and she lives in Buffalo, New York.
EA cites her hobbies as making nerdy candles and dancing.

We got the cogs in motion and reeled E.A. in for a Fantasy Sci-Fi Network author interview.
Here are a few of the best bits:
*   Grigory's Gadget came out of a previous story of EA's called The Necklace of Time with the addition of pirates.
*   There are some real-life inspirations for some of her steampunk ideas.
*   EA enjoys listening to soundtracks such as The Pirates of The Caribbean while writing.
*   American Tribal Style dancing is not what I had thought it would be.
*   I had no idea EA's favourite food was a thing. Lesson learned.
*   We'd better duck if she gets her superpower wish

You can read all of this and more at our interview here.

EA's latest release is Grigory's Gadget

Lodninsk, Morozhia is a frozen, industrial wasteland. Isolated by steep mountains and ruled by an authoritarian government, it isn’t anyone’s idea of home-sweet-home.
Zoya and her friends Demyan, Lilia, Anya, and Nikolai decide to leave their freezing home to start a new life. They set their sights on the tropical paradise of Mirgorod, Vernulaia, where they can study at its prestigious university while taking in the sun and sand…but nothing ever goes so smoothly.
When pirates attack their passenger ship, the friends are shanghaied and forced to be part of their crew. What’s more, the pirates have a particular interest in Zoya’s family heirloom: a small gadget of compacted wires and gears. Unsure what power the gadget holds, Zoya knows she must protect it with her life.
Trapped with pirates, caught in the struggle for the mysterious gadget, will Zoya and her friends be able to make it safely to their new home?

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Fun fantasy writing with the Intricate Worlds Group

9/17/2016

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Writing groups come in all shapes and sizes from social get-togethers to full-on professional assistance sessions. I'm looking for something in the middle of those two extremes and I think the group I attended today has the perfect balance.
Intricate Worlds writing group is for fantasy and science-fiction authors from around South East Queensland.
Today we had a critique session and a writing activity. I was really excited to receive some constructive feedback on my Eventful First Kiss story. The other short stories and excerpts read were very well written and I enjoyed hearing them. There are very talented writers in the group.
The writing exercise was to write for 10 minutes about a randomly-drawn character, genre and setting. My was a haughty middle-aged man with a murder in a Synagogue, written in a post-apocalyptic world. Apart from me getting tongue-tied trying to pronounce 'post-apocalyptic,' it was loads of fun.
I look forward to our next catch up.
Write on.
Kasper

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Bonnie Ferrante surprised me with her interview answers @BonnieFerrante #FSFNet

9/10/2016

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Bonnie Ferrante describes herself as a hybrid author, having published both traditionally and self-published in a variety of media including: novels, short stories, newspaper articles, columns and picture books.
Bonnie lives in the awesomely-named Thunder Bay in Canada and has hobbies of illustrating, sewing, reading and being with her family which includes great-grandchildren.

Being one of our most experienced members at the Fantasy Sci-Fi Network, I was very keen to interview Bonnie and uncover the details of her career and what makes her tick.

Here are some highlights of our interview:
* I was surprised to discover that Bonnie has Parkinson's Disease and is soldiering on with her writing and illustrating with some adjustments to accommodate her condition. Total respect from me to this brave lady.
* Bonnie's reason for using a pen name made me chuckle
* I'm not sure what a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Lay Leader does, but she sure sounds very zen and knowledgeable
* Bonnie is currently working on 4 new books. Wow!
* Total silence is required for Bonnie's writing and she has a very good explanation
* The story of Leya: Sphere of Vision Book 1's cover was a good lesson in genre-advertising
* I am totally on-board with Bonnie's idea of her book club being a wine club.

Click here for the full interview.

Title: Leya: Sphere of Vision Book 1
Genre: Young adult fantasy
Publisher: Single Drop Publishing
Release Date: October 19, 2014

In a world where eye color may determine your future, Leya is born with one green and one blue eye. Will this diminish her potential or provide the exceptional opportunity to become a Double Vision Mistress? Even if she fulfills her gifts, Leya must learn to control her impulsiveness and quick temper or she will be stripped of her powers in a painful and crippling ritual.

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Twitter follows - are you a wolf or a sheep? #SocialMediaTips

9/4/2016

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It's a minefield out there, trying to navigate your way between tweeps (Twitter users) who follow back without a second thought, and others who are so selective you must practically complete an entrance exam before they follow you back. This may include clicking on a Truetwit link, which is generally the sign of a Twitter newbie, not an experienced tweep. More here.
I quickly sort tweeps into categories in my own mind.

There are the wolves, who follow thousands of folks per week and unfollow them just as quickly.
Another type are the sheep who appear to follow everyone including the obvious 'buy 5K followers' or the 'hey big boy, look at my boobs and follow this link to my porn page' type. More fool them, for they lose the respect of real tweeps. It's not the number of followers you have which is important, it is how actively they engage with you that counts.
There are also tweeps I refer to as the owls, who check a follower's profile, retweet history and topics of interest before following. I try my best to be an owl, as it saves a lot of work in the long run.
One program I have found useful is Crowdfire (www.crowdfireapp.com). This enables you to see who has followed you, who has unfollowed you, and you can copy the followers of tweeps you respect. I have found this quite a useful tool.
Just remember to have a look at each profile before following and try to avoid the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing types.

Next time on Social Media Tips I'll talk about Auto-retweeting.
Kasper is on Twitter as @KasperBeaumont

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Fantasy Sci-Fi Network interview with the hilarious Will @macmillanjones #FSFNet

9/3/2016

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Author Will Macmillan Jones lists his hobbies as: hunting for dragons; getting lost with the aid of his SatNav and filling his home office to the ceiling with books.
Will is the author of the popular series of fantasy comics: The Banned Underground. The series begins with The Amulet of Kings and The Mystic Accountants, then running on to The Vampire Mechanic, Bass Instinct, The SatNav of Doom, and Have Frog, Will Travel.

Will dropped by the FSFNet and chatted with me about his writing.

Here are some of the best bits:
* Will comes across in the interview as funny as he sounds in his books...and that is seriously funny.
* He's a self-proclaimed authorholic. I don't think there's a cure for that.
* Will says he wrote another book because there were so many good jokes left over from the previous book.
* There's such a thing as a Wolverine frog, who knew?
* His planned title for the next novel is ludicrous. I bet he'll do it though.
* Will also writes Gothic horror and has managed to freak out his own family.

Read the full interview here

Will has a new release coming very soon, but in the meantime, you can read Will's latest instalment: Have Frog, Will Travel

"Tolkien Meets Spinal Tap!" More speculative fiction from The Banned Underground collection: Grizelda the off-white witch is forced to speculate about her future in fiction when the Dark Lord tempts her with his cookies, and threatens her with eviction from her cottage if she doesn’t join The Dark Side.
Tempted, Grizelda sets off on a journey of self-discovery, but whatever is she likely to find, apart of course from a few frogs?
Is it Good to be Bad? Or is it Bad to be Good? Or could there be a Third Way? Frogs, Vampires, and assorted Witches all have a different view on her predicament; and the only certainty is Grizelda’s uncertainty … and the usual stream of gags, one-liners and slapstick jokes provoked by her thoughts on philosophy.

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Steampunk author E.A. Hennessy stops by for a #FSFNet interview @ea_hennessy

Fun fantasy writing with the Intricate Worlds Group

Bonnie Ferrante surprised me with her interview answers @BonnieFerrante #FSFNet

Twitter follows - are you a wolf or a sheep? #SocialMediaTips

Fantasy Sci-Fi Network interview with the hilarious Will @macmillanjones #FSFNet

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