One of the best parts about being an Author is being on the up and up when it comes to great new releases! Today I’m bringing you fellow CMP Author Eilis Flynn for an interview, but most importantly sharing with you her great new release, Static Shock!
Check out the cover for this baby, doesn’t it just grab your attention? And what about the blurb? It has bestseller written all over it!
Can you live without your computer? Can you wear a watch? Do you know anyone who can't?
In a time not long from now, there are people whose life paths are determined by such simple details. Legally recognized as electromagnetics, or "Readers", they are a twist in evolution, an anomaly in a society that has become technologically dependent. Considered second-class citizens because of their heightened electromagnetic fields, Readers can't wear watches, get too close to a TV, or even drive for fear they will shut down the car's electrical system. Computers become worthless doorstops quickly around Readers. Career prospects are limited.
Reader Jeanne Muir decides to expand her horizons when she's unexpectedly offered a new job opportunity. But she hasn't been told that her job description includes being framed for a crime she didn't commit. Because Readers are not held in high esteem, Jeanne's an easy scapegoat, and law enforcement definitely is not on her side. Knowing she was set up and the odds are against her, Jeanne can't let herself be taken in-and risks asking mysterious, sexy Ran Owata, a fellow Reader who is no longer accepted among their kind, for help. The problem is: Can she trust him? Does she have a choice?
In a time not long from now, there are people whose life paths are determined by such simple details. Legally recognized as electromagnetics, or "Readers", they are a twist in evolution, an anomaly in a society that has become technologically dependent. Considered second-class citizens because of their heightened electromagnetic fields, Readers can't wear watches, get too close to a TV, or even drive for fear they will shut down the car's electrical system. Computers become worthless doorstops quickly around Readers. Career prospects are limited.
Reader Jeanne Muir decides to expand her horizons when she's unexpectedly offered a new job opportunity. But she hasn't been told that her job description includes being framed for a crime she didn't commit. Because Readers are not held in high esteem, Jeanne's an easy scapegoat, and law enforcement definitely is not on her side. Knowing she was set up and the odds are against her, Jeanne can't let herself be taken in-and risks asking mysterious, sexy Ran Owata, a fellow Reader who is no longer accepted among their kind, for help. The problem is: Can she trust him? Does she have a choice?
Welcome Eilis! Can you tell us a bit about yourself? How about in five words or less.
I love writing fantasy adventures.
Now why don’t you tell us a bit about Static Shock? In five words or less, of course J
Blow things up without trying! (Hey, you said five words!)
So many interviews tend to have the same questions, let’s shake things up a bit, shall we?
Every little store has those cheap five-cent candies. If you had to choose, what would be your favorite kind?
The chocolate peppermint things. They’re sweet, they clear your sinuses, and they wake you up! And it’s chocolate, so it’s got it all!
You’re a craving a treat that would remind you of your childhood. What would it be and why?
Japanese udon noodle dishes delivered by a kid on a motorcycle!
Let’s say you’ve been forced to live in a house with tons of roommates. Between their clutter and yours you only have room to keep two books from your prized collection. What would they be and why?
The Oxford Dictionary (the version with the magnifying glass) and the Narnia anthology (in one book! Yes, it’s an oversized illustrated version that has the stories in proper chronological order).
But wait, you can also keep one more important item with you (for fun let’s say it can’t be any bigger than a loaf of bread) what would it be?
My iPad! Yeah, I know, it’s a cheat, but it takes care of the writing, the reading, the computering. Very efficient!
Where do you see yourself as an Author in five years?
I see myself writing fantasy adventures and building a name for myself doing it. Also, fifty pounds lighter, but that’s for another list.
Can you give us a teaser from Static Shock? You know, something that will hook and send everyone out to go buy the book right this second.
In Static Shock, people with heightened electromagnetic fields, nicknamed “Readers,” are a twist in evolution, an anomaly in a society that has become technologically dependent. Readers, who are second-class citizens in that society, can’t wear wristwatches, get too close to a TV, nor drive for fear they will shut down the electrical system of a car. As you’d expect, computers become worthless doorsteps quickly around Readers. Career prospects are limited.
I glanced up at the gigantic digital clock on the university’s neurosciences complex. I had work to get to. If I made the walk lights to cross the street, I wouldn’t be late for my assignment—but I couldn’t count on it. I could, however, arrange for it.
There wasn’t a sky bridge connecting this side of the campus with the applied sciences complex, and it so happened the street that ran between those two parts of the university saw a lot more traffic than the surrounding streets. Sometimes, pedestrians who wanted to cross had to wait as long as five minutes before the lights changed. Anyone who had to cross when it was raining could be soaked by the time the lights changed.
Considering how many pedestrians jaywalked at this crossing, it was a minor miracle no one had been killed yet. And as far as I was concerned, it wasn’t going to happen today, either. At least not to me.
I looked up at the traffic lights.
A moment of discord shot deep through my mind as I focused. A low buzz tickled the back of my throat as the timer that controlled the lights and the “walk/don’t walk” signs clicked and flashed, but it was at a gut level that I sensed the power feeding into the simple timed system. I closed my eyes for a moment, reveling in that familiar sensation of the electricity I could connect with. In this way, electricity wasn’t my enemy; it was an ally.
The traffic lights blinked once, then went out of sequence. Unless you were watching closely or you knew what to look for, it wasn’t noticeable. I didn’t have to look around to know the other traffic lights up and down the street weren’t affected. It was only this one I was in sync with, the one I controlled right now. All the other lights could flash green, but this one would flash …
Red. Green. Yellow. Red. And it stayed red.
The pedestrian light flashed “walk.”
“Aces,” I whispered. Maybe I couldn’t lock down my abilities the way I was supposed to, but I could play with the traffic lights. And I was good at it.
I hurried across the street. A glance at the clock told me I had two minutes till my appointment. Once I crossed, I looked back to see the traffic light click back into its usual routine, with no one the wiser.
I couldn’t wear a watch, but I could control traffic lights for a few minutes. I could live with that.
I had to hope Ran Owata would think it was a handy talent if—when—he found out.
I didn’t want to have my brain cut into if he didn’t.
My assignment took more time than I expected, even though it was a simple problem I was asked to consult on—electrical power was leaking out of what should have been a closed system. It wasn’t hard to determine what the problem was, but I still had to track down where the problem was in the wiring and make a recommendation on how to fix it. It was boring work, but it paid the bills.
By the time I made it back to the crosswalk, it was rush hour and the sleet had turned into a cold, hard rain. Waiting for the light to change meant I was going to get soaked.
Shoving wet hair off my face, I tried to estimate how long it had been since the last time the walk sign had flashed. Reaching out, not intending to influence the traffic light pattern—yet—I tried to figure it out by the feel of the electrical patterns coursing through the wires and cables.
Crap. The light had changed right before I got to the crosswalk. I’d be waiting a while unless …
“It’s either do it or drown,” I muttered as the rain ran down my face.
I closed my eyes and, just like that, I turned the traffic light, as if I had flicked a switch.
The walk light flashed. I knew it, I didn’t even have to look to confirm it. I started to cross …
And had to jump out of the way when car tires screeched, water splashed, and a car horn blared. Next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the sidewalk, drenched.
A car door slammed, followed by the splash of footsteps. “Are you all right? Don’t move,” a voice said.
“I’m okay,” I muttered. I wiggled my shoulders; no problem there. I might be sore later, but not now. “What happened?”
“You didn’t look both ways before you tampered with the traffic lights, Ms. Muir. And you did, right?”
Shit. I knew that voice. I pushed my hair back and looked up. Damn it.
Ran Owata, looking annoyed. Son of a bitch. It was not my day. “I was getting wet waiting for the light to change.”
“And you’re real dry now, aren’t you?”
Raindrops splattered across my nose. I wiped the moisture away with my jacket sleeve. “So I’m not a genius. Was anyone hurt?”
“Depends. Can you get up?”
“I’m fine,” I said. This was my life. Of all the times for the light-changing trick to work against me, it would have to be in front of the new director of the Geller Institute. The one with the lobotomy fetish.
How did you get your start in writing, was it always your dream? I always wanted to tell stories, but it wasn’t until I was already an adult that I got a chance to pursue the dream. I sold my first few stories to DC Comics (yes, the home of Superman et al.), but then settled down to tell stories in narrative form, because that way I got to describe things and the reader had to figure stuff out.
Finally, do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring authors? Maybe a lesson that you’ve learned that you’d like to share.
You can dream all you want, but you have to put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard to tell your stories!
Thank you so much Eilis for stopping by! You can find Eilis on her website, or buy her book from Amazon!
29 March 2012 at 18:27
Cute post ladies! Best of luck with your book Ellis!
2 April 2012 at 19:26
Great interview, guys! Static Shock sounds fabulous. I can't wait to read it!