I just wanted to give a quick shout out to those who have subscribed to my website. I greatly appreciate it! I think I have sent everyone their free gift with a few exceptions.
Today I just discovered that I have others who have followed through WordPress.com. That is great! I’d love to send you your free copy of “Unwanted Ghost”, but there’s no email address attached. Anyone who follows the site through WordPress, please contact me via email so I can send your gift! Just send to maer(at)maerwilson(dot)com and I will get it out to you. 🙂
Thulu & La Fi have inherited an old, furnished Victorian. What they weren’t expecting was that the furnishings included a ghost.
Usually the Thulukans are happy to take on supernatural clients for their detective agency. But there’s something about Darla Redding that bothers La Fi – and with good reason. They discover that Darla has a much darker past than hinted at by her “normal” life. She’s definitely not a ghost they want haunting them. So, if they want to be rid of their unwelcome house ghost, Thulu and La Fi need to solve her murder.
“Unwanted Ghost” is the second prequel novelette to Relics in “The Thulukans Chronicles.”
The talented author, Louann Carroll, has tagged me in a blog challenge. Louann writes in several genres: sci fi, paranormal and children’s books. You can find Louann’s work at her Amazon Author Page.
Now here are my Q&As!
What am I working on?
I’m waiting on the edits from my fabulous editor, Jen Ryan, for Book 3, Magics, in my series, The Thulukan Chronicles. Meantime, I’m writing a Biography/Memoir on the years I was friends with author Philip K. Dick, the last ten years of his life.
I’m also working on a new sci fi series set a couple hundred years in the future. Set during a time when violent crime is rare, it’s about a woman who is a Truthsayer, called upon to go off-world to solve a rare murder.
How does my writing differ from others of its genre?
As far as The Thulukan Chronicles goes, it’s a little warmer than most Urban Fantasy novels. My heroine is happily married. The couple faces some very tough cases to solve for others, but at the end of the day, they have a large and loving family for support.
Also I love apocalyptic novels, but I always want to know how they got there. That’s usually only a small portion of the story – if it’s explained at all. In this series, we see the entire process – from an Earth as we know it to the first glimmerings of magic returning to Earth and finally to the chaotic repercussions when magic is the norm and those without magic are a minority.
Why do I write what I do?
My first series is genre-bending Urban Fantasy / Science Fiction / Paranormal Mystery. I adore these genres, so it was natural to write something that blends them. I love creating “what ifs” and seeing where the characters take me.
Of course, the Bio/Memoir will be non-fiction, which is a departure for me. That one is taking a lot more work.
I have several other projects in various stages of completion…all fantasy or sci fi.
How does my writing process work?
I’m quite organic in my process. The characters come first for me. It’s all about who they are as people – what makes them tick. I put them in a situation and let them take me on their journey. I sometimes will keep a list like a timeline, but I do not outline. Too often my characters surprise me, so I like the freedom to let them go where they will.
I haven’t even outlined the Bio/Memoir, although I probably should. For that one, I’m going back to the 1970s. The overall events are very clear, but there are little details I’ve forgotten over the years. To help with that I’m immersing myself in the time as much as I can: playing the music I listened to back then, looking at pictures from the time and even burning strawberry incense.
Time to tag my three authors, in case they care to play:
That’s right! Simply subscribe to my website over there at the top of the right column and I’ll send you a FREE copy of the novelette, “Unwanted Ghost.” Why subscribe? Because I spotlight some great authors. I have author interviews, books blasts and cover reveals. Plus you can stay up to date on my own series, The Thulukan Chronicles. You might even get a newsletter now and then! 🙂
Unwanted Ghost
Thulu & La Fi have inherited an old, furnished Victorian. What they weren’t expecting was that the furnishings included a ghost.
Usually the Thulukans are happy to take on supernatural clients for their detective agency. But there’s something about Darla Redding that bothers La Fi – and with good reason. They discover that Darla has a much darker past than hinted at by her “normal” life. She’s definitely not a ghost they want haunting them. So, if they want to be rid of their unwelcome house ghost, Thulu and La Fi need to solve her murder.
“Unwanted Ghost” is the second prequel novelette to Relics in “The Thulukans Chronicles.”
And don’t forget that you can get the rest of the series over at Amazon!
Okay so another obvious one. But one of the things I remember as a kid was when our enormous family all got together for barbecues and dinners. I remember chasing fireflies with my cousins, while adults sat and chatted on the back patio, eating steak and hamburgers and watermelon. And sneaking sips of my Uncle John’s bourbon and coke. You can read more about that in my post Mint Juleps and the Time Machine.
I tried to capture that feeling with the Thulukans. La Fi’s husband is Erik Thulukan, III, but started calling himself Thulu at a young age and it stuck. While La Fi has only her grandmother, Nana Fae, Thulu has this gigantic family. One brother, two twin sisters and a large assortment of cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.
Their Saturday afternoon barbecues are an important part of the family dynamics. It’s where La Fi got her nickname. It’s where she met her best friend, Ally, Thulu’s cousin and Ally’s friend Lynda-Jean, who figured so prominently in Relics.
When I write those barbecue scenes, my own memories of summer nights out in the backyard, running and yelling with my cousins bring back the smells of fresh-cut grass and the ease of a simpler time. I wanted that for my series – a respite from the chaos that surrounds Thulu and La Fi.
What will tomorrow’s word be? Come back for the letter “U” in the challenge.
Be sure to check out the rest of the cool blogs in the challenge! A to Z Challenge.
One of my fave characters to write is Reo Malone, aka Brandy Malone. Reo is an empath, telepath and psychic whose abilities make for an impressive track record. Hiding in plain sight with a show at a 5 star hotel in San Francisco, Reo masquerades as the delightful chanteuse, Brandy Malone. The wildly popular show covers magic and singing, with Brandy weaving her way through the audience and those who come for help.
But one of the things I love most about Reo is that when the show is over his work just begins. Shedding his alter ego, he wanders through the seamier sides of San Francisco helping those he can. Using his abilities and his dynamic personality to help those who need it most, he makes a difference where he can.
Reo is one of the most popular characters form The Thulukan Chronicles, and I hope to one day tell more of his stories.
What will Monday’s word be? Come back for the letter “s” in the challenge.
Be sure to check out the rest of the cool blogs in the challenge! A to Z Challenge.
Yes, yes, I know you saw that one coming. 🙂 But hey! It fits! In Relics, Thulu, La Fi, Reo and Jones need to find the ancient relics to close a dangerous portal. Meanwhile other portals start opening all over the world and the magical Elder Races come back to Earth on TV!
In the second book of The Thulukan Chronicles, appropriately name Portals, our heroes go off-world for the first time…using portals of course. Once again portals begin to arbitrarily open all over Earth, making our heroes rethink their previous theories.
In Magics, the third book, portals are again used to get around, but that’s all I’m saying about that. Spoilers and all, you know?
So portals are an integral part of the series and not just as modes of transportation. They figure into the story in ways I never expected when I first began the series. I love the idea of portals and wish I ahd Jones’s ability to create them. It’s one of his handier talents for sure.
What will tomorrow’s word be? Come back for the letter “Q” in the challenge.
Be sure to check out the rest of the cool blogs in the challenge! A to Z Challenge.
Finding the right names for my characters is very important. In The Thulukan Chronicles each name has some sort of significance, some more than others. Thulu and La Fi were names actually inspired by nicknames I thought up for some gaming friends who shared similar names. Just as I was ready to tell these friends their new nicknames, I realized that these names instead belonged to characters. At that point, I simply had to write about them. So I did. 🙂 From there I had to create where these nicknames came from, so La Fi was Fiona, with the story of her hamburgers which she named Burgers a la Fi. That in turn caused the other kids to start calling her La Fi and the name stuck to her.
Thulu is actually Erik Thulukan, III. As a small child he began referring to himself as Thulu. Again the name stuck.
Nana Fae came about because I liked the name Fae for its ethereal meaning, tying it to Nan Fae’s empath abilities.
Brandon Arreo Malone, aka Reo Malone, was named by his eccentric parents. The name also gave me the obvious choice for his stage name and alter ego, Brandy Malone.
Tyler Jones’s real name, Dhavenbahtek, came about with me just playing around with sounds. I also wanted a name that began with “D” and had a slightly Egyptian feel to it.
Parker came about simply because I liked the name.
For the elves and fairies, I went to Celtic influences and names, using them as a basis to use ancient names and sometimes to create new names: Aela, Keiron, Aurelia, Belus and Sloane are the major players.
This is just a few of the names from this very large cast of characters. By now, many of them feel like family, and their names reflect the way their personalities feel to me.
What will tomorrow’s word be? Come back for the letter “O” in the challenge.
Be sure to check out the rest of the cool blogs in the challenge! A to Z Challenge.
