Author Interview with Theodore Singer - "Jabberwocky: A Novella"

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1.  What was your motivation in writing a book featuring such an enigmatic creature as the Jabberwocky?


I was simply inspired by the poem.  It describes the monster physically, but doesn't really say more than that.  It doesn't say what its essential nature and purpose are or where it comes from.  This left a lot of room for filling in the details and telling a story.

2.  How much did you try to mimic Lewis Carroll's style when writing your book - or wasn't that a consideration?

It wasn't a consideration.  I've been very careful to say that the book is inspired by the poem, rather than based on it.  I took the poem as a starting point and wrote my own story from there.



3.  Other than Astreus - who is your favorite character from the book and why?

Gssa.  I love cats, as you may have guessed, and Gssa is based on a cat I once owned.




4.  Do you have any other works floating around your head that you are going to be working on next?

Right now I'm working on a novel inspired by classic Sword and Planet (e.g. Edgard Rice Burroughs' Mars books) and Sword and Sorcery.  It's set partly on the moon and partly on a prehistoric earth where Atlantis still stands.  What makes it a little different is that the heroes are magicians rather than warriors.  This is obviously meant to be a light, fun book, and the first of a series, but I also have an idea for something longer and more serious - something that takes the poetry and melancholy of Jabberwocky and extends it further - which I will write at some stage in the future.


5.  What piece of advice do you wish someone would have given you when you started writing this book? 

Be disciplined!  Set aside time every week and push yourself to write during that time.  Even if it's rubbish, you can always edit it later.  It's better to write rubbish than nothing.

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In Search of - that most myterious literary cryptoid - the Jabberwock!!

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There are some who have all the choices of the world open to them, but for some there is but one choice.  That choice:  to fetch up the old family Vorpal Sword and heading out to track down the namesake of your house - the Jabberwock.

And that is just what the young Astreus does, much to the despair of his father.

And where to start a quest for this creature who, beforehand, is only know through the memory of a chance encounter over centuries before.  In true Lewis Carroll-like fashion - if you don't know where you are going - then any road will get you there.

One does not simply walk out of their home and run into the Jabberwock and cleave off its head.  That would not be a quest worthy of such a legendary recluse creature that is known only to the world but through a poem.  One must go through ill-fated romances on strange islands, become a servant to a chess playing cat, and learn the fate of the person who brings plight to a land that you have never heard of before you started your adventure.

After all of this - you will go through a mind bending trip that will have you thinking "maybe I shouldn't have ordered the mushrooms in that omelet" and cross over into yet another odder world.  Astreus may have second thoughts and may be content about just staying in an odd world, but when you have blood on your hands, the odder and unknown looks like a better choice every minute.

What will our young hero find at the end of this journey?  Will he even know what to do when he finds what he thinks he should find?  Why can't you ever just find a Mad Hatter and sit back with some tea to discuss things and sort them out when you need to?

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Jabberwocky:  A Novella by Theodore Singer is a story that picks up on the poem of the Jabberwock that was written by Lewis Carroll and included in the "Through the Looking Glass" installment of the Alice in Wonderland books.

Never has such nonsense created so much seeking for sense.  What is the meaning of this? Why?  I am sure a doctoral thesis has been done on this cryptid who only walks on paths of parchment in children's books.

And that brings us to this wonderful novella that Singer has created.  I am not going to fall into the trap of trying to look for the deep meaning of the quest of Astreus - that is for the wonkheads to wonk about.  They need to get paid for coming up with wonkish thoughts that only they can understand.

Sometimes the thing that makes the most sense to do with nonsense is to sit back and enjoy it for what it is - a fun and entertaining story designed to put a smile on the face of all who are lucky enough to pick up the book and lose themselves down a rabbit hole for a while.

Buy at Amazon!

(This book review is part of a paid advertising package - this has no bearing on what I choose to include in the review)

Take the "Wool" off your eyes and get into this series!

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The air outside is toxic, and no one remembers how it got that way - but that is to be expected after living in an underground "silo" long enough to see generations come and go.  Underground living isn't for the faint of heart (or the weak of legs), but it sure beats asphyxiating on toxic fumes.

Every once in a while the sensors need "cleaned" - and this is a process that is truly on the job training since you only get one shot at doing this job.  Then the "protective" suit seems to deteriorate to the point of the cleaning turning into a literal death sentence.  But when you live underground, this is cause for celebrations and festivities.  Really, the people deserved to be sent to cleaning because the broke the #1 rule of silo fight club - and that is that one simply doesn't speak about anything outside of the silo.

But every twenty years or so, people start wondering what is REALLY outside of the silo.  People start to get a form of "silo fever" that starts to make them think that maybe things are not really what they seem.  And who is the evil empire who controls everything?  Howey goes straight to the depths of hell to pull out the ultimate bad guys - IT techs.......  

It really doesn't get any scarier than that, folks.  (shudder).

"Wool," by Hugh Howey is one of those books that should be on every science fiction fan's e-reader!   Do yourself a favor and just buy the Omnibus.  Howey is a self published author who started selling his short stories online - and then they went viral.  He has sold the movie rights to the book, and I think this would be a huge hit.

The plot, characters, and setting is enough to draw you into the world that Howey creates, and in a strange way makes you want to grab a shovel and start digging your own silo in your back yard.  I mean seriously - who can make a freaking underground silo sound interesting as a setting.  Hugh Howey can - and that should tell you all you need to know about this man's talent as a writer.....

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This was an unsolicited review.  I purchased this book out of my own interest and curiosity - and very happy that I did!

Are you an author? Put your work up against the best!!! Writers of the Future Contest!

The future is here…the future is now!  Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now, you can, too.

A constellation of the brightest lights in the Science Fiction and Fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.

From Alien Invasion to Alternate History, from Cyberpunk to Comic Fantasy to Post-Apocalyptic Worlds, these are the winning writers who have mastered every version and vision of sci-fi and fantasy.

Don’t be left behind. Get a read on what’s next.

“The Writers of the Future contest looks for people with the best imaginations who can see through the possibilities of the strangest and best ideas and tell stories that intrigue us and involve us.” —ORSON SCOTT CARD

Celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Writers of the Future contest and the 26th anniversary of the Illustrators of the Future contest.

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Contest Rules

Videos's to check out!

Who Will Win? https://youtu.be/UrgN61Qe8zA

What the Judges Have to Say . . .https://youtu.be/5eFHe7PXmEQ

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I was contacted by someone representing the Writers of the Future Contest about an advertising package.  After looking over their contest and website - I felt that I wanted to help.  Because they don't charge for their contest - I am not charging for the ad package.

This group certainly seems to have writers best interest at heart.  They are one of the "good guys" that I have come across - not looking to fleece new authors - just trying to give a little "boost" to those whose work stands out among the rest.

You will notice some well known names associated with this contest - and after celebrating 31 years of this - they have to be doing something right.

If you are an author - Give it a shot!

If you are a reader - Buy the book!!!  Where else are you going to get a ton of great stories for under $12???

May Jabberwocks, JubJub Birds, and Bandersnatches dominate your dreams.......

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"Jabberwocky: A Novella"  by Theodore Singer

Inspired by the Lewis Carroll poem, this is the story of a quest by young Astreus to find and slay the monster known as the Jabberwock.  It is the simple tale of a journey undertaken by a lone hero through strange places: an island inhabited by immortal aristocrats who play games with love; a city ruled by chess-playing cats; a land where evil has triumphed; a mysterious bridge across the ocean that saps your will to live with strange dreams; the edge of the world; and finally, the house of the Jabberwock itself, where Astreus must discover the true nature of his quest.

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(This book blurb and cover are part of a paid advertising package) 

Hard Luck Hank will break your streak of rolling craps on book selections

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Hank is self-employed - and business is good.  He is a hired gun living on a space station where there are more organized crime bosses than all of the Godfather series put together.  As hired muscle, Hank is a little different - he is a mutant that has an uncanny ability to stop bullets with his bare skin and heal rapidly for everything else.  This talent, well-known to all of the bosses, also allows Hank to solve many of the issues with a "discussion" since everyone knows it is pointless to try and kill him.  
And being over 300 years old, Hank has learned most of the tricks of the trade.

Lately though, Hank is having his paying jobs being interfered with by a series of crappy luck.  Killer robots have made a visit after not being seen for thousands of years, a couple of travelling mutants are knocking out all but a few on the space station by unleashing a pulse wave, blocks of a rare element which can blow up a planet is sitting on Hanks dining room table with no way of unloading it, and now the police are starting to crack down because the space station has caught the attention of the military. 

 

Guess who everyone is coming to looking for help in solving these problems?  You got it – Hank.  Everyone’s favorite “muscle” is no faced with solving all of this and saving everyone in his galaxy when an even worse threat shows up that casts an ominous shadow over all the other issues. 

I LOVED this book!  The characters, the setting, and the story – this author has it all.  If you think of action / humor like “Guardians of the Galaxy” – you will have some idea of the world that Steven Campbell is bringing you.  With a lovable lug like Hank (who, despite his mutation of being to withstand bullets always seems to be getting sent to the hospital) it is easy to get fully immersed into this book.  I would love to see this series made into a movie – I think it would appeal to almost everyone.

If you are a fan of light hearted, fun, and action filled sci-fi – you need to check out this series.  You won’t come up rolling craps with Hard Luck Hank!

(This was an unsolicited review)

Grab a spot in the shade of the hanging tree and learn something new about American history

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So you thought the Godfather movies showed how organized crime "really" was.  You believed that the "mob" came from families with Sicilian roots.  Well, say hello to my little friend, Philip Alston.  Never heard of Alston?  Then you might not know as much about organized crime as you think.

One thing that all criminals look for is opportunity.  The new world that was to be known as the United States of America would have been like a light to a moth.  Alston began counterfeiting before the American Revolution - laying down the groundwork for counterfeiters, horse thieves, prison escape artists, and those who hunting them for more than a century after him.

"Counterfeit Justice" by Eric Alli may have the distinction of being the definitive book when it comes to the origins of organized crime in America. Don't believe me - look at the appendix and you will find a lengthy list of characters who were involved in giving Al Capone a blueprint on how to operate. 

How did Alli become interested in such an eclectic topic?  Well - you could say he is "family".  As in a blood relative of one Gregor McDougall - whose execution at the hands of a mob of "Regulators" may have been the start of the downfall of the Blacklegs.  

What is a Blackleg, you ask?  That depends - he could be a horse thief, a counterfeiter, a person with a double life and multiple identities, a snitcher of fellow Blacklegs once a noose was placed around his neck, or just a cold blooded murderer.  One thing that they did all have in common was the shared fear that turned into hatred by everyone not associated with them.  Having to sleep in a barn with a shotgun just to make sure you still have horses in the morning will eventually do that to you.

Fortunately for you, instead of living through the terror of pioneer organized crime syndicates, you can choose to read about them instead. I am a fan of history, and I thought I had a pretty good handle of US History.  A book like "Counterfeit Justice" is an exciting reminder that there is always something interesting to learn.

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