Hello and welcome both veteran and new followers! We're so glad you've decided to be a part of JLB Creatives imagination.
Have we ever got a treat for you this week!
Get ready all you sci-fi buffs because I had the privilege of
interviewing Sci-Fi/Fantasy author
Daniel Carter.
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WEEKLY VIDEO
Introduction to Author Daniel Carter
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WEEKLY TOPIC POST:
Interview with Author Daniel Carter
Interview with Author Daniel Carter
(Please excuse the inconsistency of spacing, fonts, coloration, and the likes...it's technology - were you expecting something more?)
ENJOY!
DANIEL: Let me start by saying thank you so much for asking me to do this interview.
JANET: I'll be honest, it took guts to ask a great author such as yourself to appear on this blog. I'm normally not "star struck" (in fact the only other one who has "star struck" me is Mel Brooks) but through the madness I found the courage, and I’m so glad I did! You seem like a truly dedicated author with a great sense of humor. Why don’t you share with the readers what you’ve told me, about yourself. You know, like where were you born, raised, live now. And anything else you'd like people to know right off the bat.DANIEL: I've been a New Yorker (New Yawker) all my life. I was born in Po Town ( JANET: Well there you go folks! You guys are already getting a taste of the great Daniel and we’ve only begun! Back to you Daniel...as a science fiction/fantasy author there's certainly a "being" you wish you could be if you weren't a human. What one "being" would you most like to be and why?DANIEL: I think that I'd like to be a genie and I'll tell you why. I have a very strange sense of humor and I'm very literal. I'd love to mess with the 3 wishes. "What is your wish master?" (me)
"I want a billion dollars!" (master)
Poof...a billion dollars in Monopoly money appears.
"I don't want fake money, I want real money idiot!" (master)
"Oh sorry..."(me)
Poof...a gift card appears.
"What's this?" (master)
"That's a gift card to Bass Pro Shop so you can buy a reel." (me)
"NOT REEL YOU MORON
OK. Maybe, on second thought...What was the question again?
JANET: You’re making me laugh out loud, and I’ll bet others are joining in! Besides, that sounds like a novel in the making: “The Literal Genie.” OK - next. When it comes to good vs. evil, which do you cheer for in a story and why?DANIEL: This is an interesting question because it depends on your definition of good and evil. Let's take the movie Ransom for instance with Mel Gibson. At the end of the movie you want the father to kill the man who abducted and traumatized his son. Now am I cheering for a good or evil act? Just thought I'd throw that out there but I know what you're ultimately asking. I am a strong advocate for good in a story however I find as an author I have more fun writing the antagonist's character. I'm just weird that way. =) JANET: I know what you mean. I did a blog post on making the bad guy the main character and how to get readers to like them. For me…not easy. Here’s another over-asked yet under-rated topic. Tell us your take on the difference(s) between what makes sci-fi sci-fi and fantasy fantasy. DANIEL: Ah yes, the age ole question... is it sci-fi or fantasy...that is the question. There will never be a definite answer for this however I think there are guidelines washed over with many shades of grey. Sci-fi tends to lean toward futuristic technology based off of scientific fact and theory. That does not mean that a sci-fi story can't be set in the past or on another world entirely or simply lost in space. =) It means futuristic in that the science has not yet become fact but could be a possibility.
Fantasy leans more toward less scientific theories and focuses on pure imagination and invention. The elements of the story are less based on science and more on the unbelievable. From races, magic, landscapes and civilizations anything is possible.
Now having said that let me ask a rhetorical question back. Was the movie Avatar a sci-fi or a fantasy story? (It's OK there's no right answer.)
JANET: Oh man – I knew you’d ask me that. I’d have to go with Sci-Fan. And be it known, I thoroughly loved that movie!!! But this isn’t about me…this interview is about you. So, let’s get back to allowing these fine folks to get to know you better. What is your favorite restaurant and why? DANIEL: Red Lobster hands down. I love sea food! I get The Ultimate Feast every time. Lobster tail, King Crab Legs, Jumbo Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi and a baked potato! Yeah Baby!!! That's what I'm talking about. Oh and the cheese biscuits are to cry for. I like to order Alfredo sauce as a side dish and dip the biscuits. OK I have to take a break and raid the refrigerator now................................................................................................OK I'm back.JANET: Oh great! I hope you realize I could hear your left over crab legs cracking and slurping through the butter! Now everyone will have to wait on me while I raid our fridge………………………………………………………..OK, I’m back. Here we go. If you were a chef creating the incredible dish, “Daniel's personality,” what ingredients would be in your dish?DANIEL: Well I would create a base first mixed with compassion and understanding. Then I would cut up 2 pounds of fresh imagination and brown it in a skillet with chopped quirkiness. Now take 1/2 to 3/4 cup (depending your preference) of geek and add that along with the base into the skillet. We're not done yet!
Let that simmer. Now we're going to spice up the meal. Let's throw in a tablespoon of abused childhood,1/4 teaspoon of abandonment and a dash of insecurity... oh who am I kidding, a cup of insecurity and put the lid of Jesus Christ on the skillet and let simmer for 42 years.
What you get is Daniel L Carter author of The G-6 Chronicles. =)
JANET: As a retired food industry professional, I’d have to say that is one of the best recipes EVER! Love the Jesus lid and let simmer. A brilliant life “cooking”tip. One more crazy question – then it’s off to hit the books! Do you have pets? If so please tell us their names, and if or why they've become part of your family. What's your fav? Dog, cat, fish, reptiles, bugs, whatevers?DANIEL: (thinks to himself) This will be a simple question. If this cat jumps up on my desk one more time while I'm working… Did my inner voice just type that?JANET: Yes, Daniel. That was out loud. 
DANIEL: Hmmm. Anyways, I have but one animal and that is my cat Cuddles. I'm a cat person who is allergic to cats. Cuddles came to live with us because at the time, when my dog Joy was still alive, my wife and I had to go to the vet to get my dog's allergy medicine. Let me repeat, my wife and I went to the vet to get allergy medicine for my Bluetick/German Shepard hunting dog that is meant to live outside and run through the forests and swim with her webbed feet. Apparently Joy was allergic to humans. Anyways... (shakes head) the vet had a little kitten roaming free around their office and the little grey creature jumped up onto the counter and proceeded to climb up my chest and snuggle under my chin. I gave a blank stare at my wife who went, "Aaaawe! She loves you!" Meanwhile the cat's claws are dug into my skin and I was pretty sure blood was being drawn. I believe one of the cats claws struck a nerve and temporarily caused paralysis because I was unable to object. It's all a blur now... That reminds me I have to feed her. She gets grouchy if I'm late with her meal. I'll be right back...........................................................OK I'm back.
JANET: Perfect timing – I just got back from hand feeding the dog who is missing 6 teeth and can’t get the food out of his bowl. :( So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. You’re an author, and a darn good one at that! (I’ve read your stuff – I know). Please share the title of your latest release and give us brief synopsis too.DANIEL: The Unwanted is book 1 of The G-6 Chronicles: The Unwanted Trilogy. I'll give you one of my short synopsis's that I use for queries.Born out of vengeance, five unwanted children are forced to face a darkness spawned from the beginning of time. Their family must now fight to stay together while saving the world. Heroes are born as sacrifices are made.
JANET: This is EXACTLY what led me to read your book. Now, I'm sure the readers would love to sneak a peek. If you'd like to include an excerpt please do so. DANIEL: Most people start at the beginning but I'll share a bit of (my character) Janet's Journals from the middle of the book. Just for you Janet! =) (JANET: Ahhh thanks Dan)Janet’s (my character) Memoirs
We celebrated the children’s first birthday today. Wow. I can’t believe how time flies. Each of them looks like they are at least two years and Sampson looks more like three. I keep asking myself the same question day in and day out. What did they do to these children to make them like this? Michele and I talk a lot about it with Uncle Leigh when he comes to visit.
To be honest none of us really knows. You see these movies and TV shows about people playing God by experimenting with human tissues and genetic alterations but having lived with these five children over the last year I’m beginning to wonder how much of this stuff if fiction and how much is real. All of the stories tell about superhuman abilities that are used for good or evil but they rarely show you the downside of the gifts.
I am sure we haven’t seen the extent of the children’s abilities but so far Anna cries at the slightest raise of your voice and has nightmares all the time. Marcus sleeps maybe five hours a night, if that. Michele and I have to take turns getting up early with him just so he isn’t running around unsupervised. Sampson is one of the strongest children I have ever seen but he is constantly breaking toys. I’ve lost count at how many times Uncle Leigh has fixed his bed. It got so bad that we finally just put the mattress on the floor and threw out the frame. Angie gets stuck in between the staircase railings and chairs in the dining room when she tries to slip through them. I don’t think I ever mentioned she is double jointed. Unbelievable.
Zack is constantly running into walls or furniture because he is too fast for his own good. Every day I hear him crying because he ran into something. Marcus is a whole other ball game. The seizures have not stopped and fits of rage that precede them are getting worse as he is getting older. One minute he will be happy and playful and the next he is trying to break a toy or starts pounding on the sofa, screaming. He hasn’t really hurt anybody or himself yet but they are all getting so big and I worry about what damage he will do if he doesn’t get control.
I haven’t written in a couple months so I thought I had better give an update. Nothing much has changed with the children. They are still growing at an accelerated rate and all of them are suffering for it. There isn’t a day that goes by that each of them doesn’t complain about being in pain, Sampson especially. I think they are getting used to the pain to some extent but it’s got to be hard. I can’t imagine.
Uncle Leigh came to the cabin with Blake to celebrate Thanksgiving. I was wondering where Blake’s daughter Rachael was. When I asked, it was clear I hit a sore spot with Blake. Apparently Rachael’s mother had her this Thanksgiving, and it was written all over Blake’s face he didn’t approve.
A strange thing happened after that. Michele flirted with Blake a little during the evening. I don’t know if Michele was trying to get his mind off of his ex-wife or just her normal behavior coming out like usual, but I found myself getting upset. Blake was very polite to her and didn’t reciprocate any feelings, which made me happy. I don’t know why I felt that way.
I know I have harped on this several times but I really want to emphasize what is happening with these children. They were all born on July 17th 2007 except for Marcus who was born the day before. In a couple weeks these children will be only a year and a half but you would never know it by looking at them. All of them look more like three-year-olds and Sampson even older, of course, but even more difficult to explain is the intellectual development of each child.
Even though they look three they sound more like six-year-olds with IQs that I can’t begin to measure. The only thing holding them back is Michele’s and my lack of knowledge to teach them. For Christmas Uncle Leigh bought a bunch of learning CDs for the computer to teach the children math, English, social studies and some science programs. Already they have mastered each of them. What I think we are going to do is start looking up some material on the Internet for them. It should be interesting to see just how smart these children are. I find myself having conversations with Anna sometimes and I almost forget that she’s just a small child.
Speaking of Anna, there is a wisdom that comes from her at times way beyond someone with a high IQ. For instance, the other day we were both sitting in the dining room finishing our lunch while the rest of the children played in the living room and Marcus kept throwing his football up in the air. Several times I called out and told him to stop but he ignored me. Finally I said that he had till the count of three to stop. As I started counting Anna asked me why was I giving him till the count of three.
I didn’t really have an answer for her and said the first thing that came to my mind, that I wanted to give him a chance to obey me. Anna replied that I had already given him more than enough chances to obey and that giving him a count only gives him control, not me. I sat for a moment looking at her, she was right. I immediately took the ball away from him and sent him to his room. Marcus has been quicker to listen to me since I did that. How can someone so young have that kind of insight? Excuse me, one-and-a-half-year-old.
JANET: This is one of the best things I loved about The Unwanted – the journaling. It was really effective. I know this is a trilogy, and I’m patiently(?) waiting for more, so my next question is this, “What have you currently got going on the drawing board? DANIEL: Book 2 Children of Anak should be out hopefully in time for the holidays and I'm currently writing book 3 Unholy Resurrection. What we have in the works is a prequel to The G-6 Chronicles: The Unwanted Trilogy. The book is tentatively named Spirit Walker which will tell the story of the founder of The G-6 group (GSIX: Global Security from Inter-dimensional Xs. Xs represents the creatures that are found in the ten known dimensions.). Sean Welken's arrogance and obsession rips his family apart and changes his world forever. Now forced to walk in two worlds Sean must come to terms with what he has done and become more than a man. To save the universe he must become the Spirit Walker. Dum Dum Dum.... (fade to black) =) JANET: I'm gasping! So very cool! Does Halloween count as a holiday when it comes to release time? I can’t wait! What drew you to the genre of edgy Christian fiction?DANIEL: Many people have asked me similar questions and I usually answer something like this: I find the genre of Christian fiction to be inaccurate to describe my stories. Steven King writes about Christians in his books or writes about Biblical topics yet no one categorize his books as Christian fiction. Take the Damian Omen series. This was based off of Biblical prophesy yet still not placed under the genre Christian fiction. Now I don't write like Steven King and my books are not about the Anti-Christ. LOL! My stories grew from a love for science fiction and fantasy stories and my fascination with the strangeness of The Bible. When I say strangeness I mean the parts of The Bible that most people don't mention on Sunday mornings yet....there it is. Witches, demons, giants, fallen angels, ghosts, angels, zombies (Talks about the dead rising from the grave and walking about Now that makes for some fun writing material. =)
JANET: Awesome answer! I’ve wondered about some of the things you’ve mentioned above several times. Back to the interview…like all novelists, I'm sure you'd love to see your books as a movie. If so why, and if readers want to see The Unwanted on the big screen is there any place on the web they can go to cast their votes or voice their opinions on such? DANIEL: LOL! You are wonderful Janet! You know I do. =) If you'd like to cast your support to make The Unwanted into a movie you can go to my website to Want The Unwanted. I am taking people's support and gathering it together when I present the book series to the major movie studios. JANET: And might I add here, you’d be casting a worthy vote! What about links to your book(s): Where can geeks, freaks, fans of the wild imagination and cool people buy them?DANIEL: You can order The Unwanted at any book store or order online @ Amazon.com, B&N, Christianbooks.com or if you'd like an autographed copy, you may order off of my website. Go here http://theunwantedtrilogy.com/order.html
JANET: If that cover doesn't make you want to buy - I highly suggest visiting his website because the eerie, soft, intense background music will! Where can we find you online? Twitter, Facebook, Blog, etc.DANIEL: You can find me all over the place. =) Blog: A Christian Man's Perspective
JANET: One more question for fun before we part...if you could alleviate one thing in this current world what would it be? Mean people? Mosquitoes? Coconut? Be creative and sign off with style!
DANIEL: Interesting question to finish on. LOL! Hmmmm......The world would be a much better place for me if there were no more peas. I hate peas! I'm using the word hate here. Despise, loath are too small a word to describe the hatred I have for them. Peas are like small crispy balls with death flavored cream inside that explode in a poisonous spray upon my tongue and cause involuntary....things to happen. So on that note I will bite into my apple.....mmmmmm......OK much better now. My heart is humbled and honored that you would have me here today, Janet. Sending lots of love your way!
JANET: So let me get this straight…what you’re saying is, you are not a supporter of “World Peas” - buh dum-ching! Daniel, it has been my pleasure to have you here – and I’m sure there are several who would band together with me in sending tons of love right back your way!
Over and out…
~ ~ ~JANET: One more question for fun before we part...if you could alleviate one thing in this current world what would it be? Mean people? Mosquitoes? Coconut? Be creative and sign off with style!DANIEL: Interesting question to finish on. LOL! Hmmmm......The world would be a much better place for me if there were no more peas. I hate peas! I'm using the word hate here. Despise, loath are too small a word to describe the hatred I have for them. Peas are like small crispy balls with death flavored cream inside that explode in a poisonous spray upon my tongue and cause involuntary....things to happen. So on that note I will bite into my apple.....mmmmmm......OK much better now. My heart is humbled and honored that you would have me here today, Janet. Sending lots of love your way!JANET: So let me get this straight…what you’re saying is, you are not a supporter of “World Peas” - buh dum-ching! Daniel, it has been my pleasure to have you here – and I’m sure there are several who would band together with me in sending tons of love right back your way! Always ReTweet - Never Surrender!
Over and out…Blessings,
Dan
Pic n' Thought
by
Janet Beasley
to take a chance on something
special!
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NOVEL NEWS: Still waiting to hear some news from the publisher...accept? reject?...it's a 50/50 chance in today's world. But not to fear - The Hidden Earth series Volume 1 "Maycly" is still on the cutting edge of being published. The story has by no means died - but has enhanced as the next 5 novels in the series continue to come together!
If you're not certain what I'm babbling about - please feel free to visit the YouTube link titled "Meet the Author" and you'll up to speed in no time. ;-)
If you're not certain what I'm babbling about - please feel free to visit the YouTube link titled "Meet the Author" and you'll up to speed in no time. ;-)
Janet Beasley
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LINK OF THE WEEK:
When it comes to ice cream, there's nothing better than homemade. But how did ice cream ever come to be? I'm definitely an ice cream lover with most of the world - soft serve, scooped, pies, how ever it is served I'm happy to get some! This week's link will take you to a site where you can discover the history of ice cream. Be sure and leave me a comment on what your favorite flavor is when it comes to this creamy, dreamy, stuff!
Of course I don't endorse this site, get commissions or money for clicks, I don't get nothin' but braggin' rights that I found this site to share with all of my cool followers. Enjoy!
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SUMMARY:
Great - now I'm just drooling for ice cream...I hate when I do that to myself. Anyway - we did have another full week! I mean come on...that Daniel Carter is one cool author! To say nothing of the giraffe photo - what a cutie, huh?
Again, please be sure and pick up a copy of Daniel's outstanding work - available as hard copy or ebook. Once you've read it, leave a review for him on Amazon and let him know you discovered him through the JLB Creatives Blog.
Please continue to keep up the awesome job of sharing us and asking others to do the same. You'll find some "easy" buttons at the top and bottom of the blog for you to use to give us a shout out - HINT: A good week to do so with Daniel's interview.
Until we meet again -
Stay casual...live life to the fullest...and have some chocolate ICE CREAM for me ;-)
~Janet~
