A Fragile Peace on a Divided Mars: An interview with science fiction author Cindy Borgne

1) Please tell us about your book. 

Visionary of Peace is the second book in the “The Vallar Series.” It starts two years after the first book ( Available for free download on the day of this posting). Here is the blurb:

Ian Connors had planned to use his visions to spy on Marscorp in order to maintain peace, but flashbacks and nightmares make it impossible. Since two years of peace have passed due to a stalemate, Ian decides to try and live a normal life, until one day he has a vision so horrifying he has no choice but to become the seer he once was or Vallar will have no future. While he struggles to regain his ability, the Marcs plot to capture him alive in order to complete a deal for their return to Earth.

2) Please tell us about your main characters.

Ian Connors is trying to live a normal life on Mars, however, he’s a psychic. He killed Admiral Beacon, the antagonist from the first book, and he lives in fear of being captured by his enemies the Marcs. He also has visions of the future that haunt him. This time he sees a war that will destroy his people unless he finds a way to stop it. When he’s not completely stressed out, he spends his spare time repairing ships.

Kayla Merceir has been a diplomat, a spy and now she is engineering contained biospheres. She has a lot of trouble admitting she loves Ian because of a prior relationship that went wrong. From her spying experience and other training, she is a strong woman who joins Ian in stopping the war. She loves to paint pictures of oceans, forests, and other Earth-like places.

3) Was there anything you encountered during the course of research that altered how you decided to lay out your story?

One of the goals in the story is to generate a wormhole so the people of Mars can reach the Earth-like planet of Hinun. I did a lot of research about how to generate a wormhole and how they react. Also, I was looking for the newest ideas regarding wormholes because in real life we don’t have this technology. So yes, I was constantly tinkering with wormhole details.

4) This book alternates between two first person POVs. Why did you choose to do that, and did you encounter any special challenges with it?

Seer of Mars (Vallar 1) is written entirely in first person from Ian’s point of view. I found myself wanting to bring in another viewpoint, but I didn’t want to switch to third person. A few years ago, I would have never considered two first person POVs, but I had recently read some good books written the same way. I found out it could work, so I went with it.

5) This is a sequel. Did you always intend a sequel? Were there any special challenges you faced writing a sequel?

The first book has a definite ending. However, I did leave a few hints that there could be a sequel, even though I wasn’t sure if I would write one at the time. A lot of people asked me about a sequel, so I ended up writing one. Then the struggle began. There were two other versions written halfway through that I scrapped. However, being stubborn, I pressed on. I feel pretty satisfied that I finally finished it.

6) Do you have another book planned for this series?

Yes, but I want to switch to a different project for awhile. The third book would involve settling on the new planet.

7) What sort of future projects do you have planned?

I have two ideas. The first one is something post-apocalyptic, except the disaster would most likely be man-made, rather than from zombies. A possible title is The Middle of Nowhere.

Then I would like to do something historical, yet have something scientific involved. Most likely it would involve Native Americans obtaining some sort of technology before its time.

8) Where can people find more from you?

Readers can find everything on my blog. http://dreamersperch.blogspot.com/

Thanks for having me today, JA.

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Please note that Seer of Mars is free today (Feb. 26, 2013) for download on Amazon, if you haven't had an opportunity to read Cindy's first book.

Summer Speculative E-Book Giveaway Contest

Over at my friend Cindy Borgne's blog, there is a giveaway for various eBooks. The books in question vary in genre (mostly science fiction, urban fantasy, et cetera) and type, so there is something there for almost everybody.

The giveaway itself is pretty painless. You just have to leave a comment on the post and mention which two books you're interested in.

The contest link is http://dreamersperch.blogspot.com/2012/07/enter-summer-speculative-e-book.html.

Good luck.

Inspiration from a Musical, Cover Controversies, and Interrogations from Cypriots and Martian Lovers

I'm zooming around the internet promoting THE EMERALD CITY. One of the more pleasant ways to do that is via interviews. Here's some I did in the last few days:

Over at Chrystalla Thoma's blog, I discuss, among other things, how a cover controversy over a book I didn't write made me decide to alter some aspects of my lead's background.

Over at Cindy Borgne's blog, I discuss, among other things, my favorite characters in the story and some of the underlying themes.

Please stop by and join the conversation.

Look, I'm a versatile blogger

My friend and sci-fi author Cindy Borgne awarded me the above. Thanks, Cindy.

Now according to the rules I have to list seven random facts about me. 

Here are the rules:

Award Rules:
1) Thank the person that gave you the award.
2) List seven random facts about you.
3) Pass it on to three other bloggers.

Random Facts:

1. I'm currently working on my Ph.D. in microbiology.
2. I have two kids.
3. I lived in South Korea for two years.
4. I love cheese.
5. I've been to Canada but not Mexico.  
6. I'm an American, but I prefer the metric system. ;)
7. My favorite books (at least today) are One Hundred Years of Solitude and Midnight's Children.

I'm passing the award on:

Tess St. John

Tiphanie Thomas

OxyJen

Author Interview: Cindy Borgne

For my second interview, I talked with Cindy Borgne, author of the science fiction YA tale, Vallar.

1) Tell us a little bit about your novel.

Sixteen-year-old Ian Connors works for Marscorp, using his psychic ability to give the organization an advantage over other groups angling for control of the embattled planet. The people of Earth have abandoned the colonies of Mars due to a dwindling of their own resources. The leaders of Marscorp believe that by pooling the planets assets, they will be able to gain enough power to force their way back to Earth.

Ian's job is to use his visions to locate smaller organizations in order to plunder their valuables and incorporate their masses. But a disturbing vision and a horrible loss cause Ian to doubt his loyalties to a corrupt, dictatorial admiral.

Unwilling to be a pawn in the Admiral's dangerous game, Ian must find a way to escape and protect a girl he sees himself with in the future. His only hope may lie with a new organization known as Vallar - an alliance of rebel organizations willing to fight for their survival.

2) What inspired your current novel?

It was a combination of two things. In the story, the main character Ian has the ability to foresee the future. So I put him in him a situation where he uses his ability for the wrong reasons, but he doesn’t realize it at first because he’s being manipulated. When he doesn’t realize it, he has to get away from the people using him for their own greed. The second reason is in the beginning of the story Ian sees himself with a girl he’s never met. I enjoyed experimenting with his desire to be with her based on a vision. It’s also is a forbidden type of love, and I had fun writing it.

3) Though your story is ultimately focused on an individual, you have a very intricate setting with a lot of implied history. Is the setting something you carefully considered before starting to write the book or was it something that you developed as your story unfolded?

This story has been with me so long it’s evolved a lot. Originally the setting was a future Earth that was overcrowded with both people and factories. Then I began experimenting with the idea of it being on Mars and things grew from there. I wrote some of the scenes on Mars and I enjoyed the challenge of it. As the story progressed, it became tied to the setting. Now there are scenes that won’t work anywhere else. So yes, you could say I carefully considered the setting.  

4) Tell us a little bit about your writing process.

I always flesh out the plot and characterization first, so my first drafts are light on description. Once I know the plot is solid, I go back in and add all the details. Then I edit it several times. I put it up for critique, and I continue to edit it. I even listen to it on my Kindle to catch errors. I pretty much pound the thing before I publish it.

5) What made you decide to self-publish?

Mainly I liked the idea of price control. I see so many traditional publishers pricing their e-books way too high. I’m still not certain if I went the right route, and I will know more eventually because I do have one novelette out from a small publisher. I wish there was a different way to submit to agents and traditional publishers where you don’t have to write a whole book before finding out none of them want it.

6) If you had one piece of advice for an aspiring author, what would it be?

Waiting for inspiration doesn’t always work. You have to keep working until you find it.

Cindy's novel, Vallar, is available at Amazon.

Good Book Alerts: New Independent Self and Small Press eBook Review Site

After realizing that current internet review capacity isn't matching demand due to the torrent of independent self and small-press published e-books, author Cindy Borgne organized a small group of like-minded associates to start a new e-book review site.

I give you: Good Book Alert.

Just to get the full disclosure out there (though it's a bit obvious from the front page), I am also a reviewer at the site.

Given the number of submissions we've received in the last week, it's obvious there really is a high demand for e-book reviews.