Over the next week or so I'll be publishing interviews with my fellow Love Dust authors.

Third writer is some douche, author of To the Moon and Back:

***Love Dust Blog Tour***

Alan lives in the North of England and has had short stories accepted and published in Wicked Karnival’s Halloween Horrors, Thirteen Magazine, Black Petals, and All Hallows. Later this year he hopes to publish his debut novel DEAD PETALS. Alan also enjoys sculpting and is well known in the ‘garage kit’ world for his sculptures of various movie monsters and characters including The Terminator.

www.alanianson.co.uk

1. Where did your inspiration for your story come from?

When I first heard about Love Dust, an anthology of romance stories, I had no interest in contributing because I don’t write romance. To me, romance is You’ve Got Mail or something, which I love, but is not generally something I want to write… or so I thought, because then ‘love stories in any genre’ was mentioned which made me think ‘oh right so you can have a horror or a Sci-fi love story’. So the inspiration came from that muse really. Unfortunately, I don’t remember now how I finally came up with the idea for To the Moon and Back.

2. Who is your favorite character in this story and why?

Characters are a bit thin on the ground in my story so I guess I’ll have to go with the protagonist, who is never actually named. It’s difficult to talk about him without talking about the story, which I would rather the reader discovers for themselves. He is a tragic character though, my characters often are, who has never really gotten over losing the woman he loved on the night he was going to ask her to marry him.

3. When you aren’t writing, where can we find you?

Home most of the time, watching movies or TV shows. I play video games and recently got into VR, which is pretty amazing. When I’m not doing any of those things I enjoy sculpting. Over the last few years I’ve been creating my own tributes to the Terminator movies by creating half-scale busts of the main characters. I also mould and cast them which is a whole art-form in itself. When my son got married earlier this year, I made the topper for their cake.

4. What author has influenced you the most?

Stephen King, without a doubt. I remember reading Night Shift, his first book of short stories, and being blown away, especially by a story called Battleground. Since then I’ve read most of his work and he’s taken me on some incredible adventures. Honourable mentions must also go to James Herbert (who could forget The Rats and that quivering baby’s arm), Dean Koontz, and Clive Barker with his amazing Books of Blood: “Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we’re opened, we’re red.” Genius.

5. Where do you write? Is there a special place? Share a picture if you wish.

I write in the ‘study’ which sounds very grand until you see it’s just the back bedroom with a desk and a computer in it. It’s also very nerdy and full of movie memorabilia and figures and models. There is a book case behind me with a spread of books on display, but they are obscured by an unpainted bust of Regan from the Exorcist, C3PO from Star Wars, and lots of other nerdy stuff including my own Terminator busts and other stuff I’ve made over the years. The picture of the desk there is when I tidied it ages ago, it’s a bit messier at the moment.

6. Do you consider reading as part of your job as a writer? Why or why not

I think King expressed it best in On Writing when he said: “Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

For me, writing is the same as any other art form: a painter studies the brush strokes and colour pallets of other artists. A sculptor wants to learn about the tools and materials and techniques used to create a statue or bust. If you don’t read, not only are you missing out on all those wonderful stories, you are also missing shortcuts to techniques and styles you might otherwise have taken a long time to discover on your own, or may even never have discovered at all.

On a side note, my sister never read a novel her whole life, but now she has retired she has discovered the joys of reading and regrets all the reading time she has missed. Every time I see her she tells me how many books she has read now… 59 I think it was last time I saw her.

7. Other than family, what are five things you cannot live without?

Movies, video games, art, stories, and my sound system, because the movies are sooo much better with great sound.

8. What is your all-time favorite TV show?

There are so many great TV shows, but Breaking Bad has to be my favorite. Walter White’s character arc is amazing and not something you often see so clearly defined in a TV show. I have also enjoyed Fringe, True Detective Season 1 (Matthew McConaughey is mesmerising), and Walking Dead (especially the first 3 seasons), and the deliciously viscous Game of Thrones. I’m currently watching Scrubs from the beginning (I can’t do this a-all on myyy own…), and am going to follow that up with Grey’s Anatomy.

9. Not picking your own, which story in Love Dust is your favorite?

I can’t answer that, I admire all of them in each of their uniquely engaging ways.

10. If you could meet one writer in the history of the world, who would it be? What would you talk about?

Stephen King. After my starry eyes stopped twinkling and I finished gushing about how wonderful his stories and characters are, we’d chat about writing in general and what makes a good story, oh, and drink lots of beer.

11. What are you working on now?

My debut novel, Dead Petals is with my editor at the moment, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into that when it comes back shorty. I’m hoping to release it in October or November. I’ve also been working on completing a short story that has been knocking around without an ending for too long, and allowing myself some thought-time to another novel I have planned.

12. Where can we find more about you and your work?

I’m on Twitter and Facebook, and have a website where you can read the beginning of my first novel, Dark Destiny and see some of the models and masks I’ve made over the years. It does need updating with the last sculptures though. I’ve also resurrected my old blog.

http://www.alanianson.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/Alaneye72

https://alanianson.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/authoralanianson/

https://www.instagram.com/alanianson/?hl=en

Over the next week or so I'll be publishing interviews with my fellow Love Dust authors.

Second writer is Susan Gibbons, author of Peppermint Kisses:

***Love Dust Blog Tour***


AUTHOR BIO: Susan Gibbons is a romance writer and author hailing from Ohio with her husband and children. "The Mirror" is her first published romance novella. Besides Love Dust, she has written short stories and flash fictions for A Journey of Words, Flireburst, and A Flash of Words. She's shy, believes in Karma, and does what she can in living green. Outside of writing, she is a complicated, but thrifty, mess who enjoys an eclectic array of hobbies including cleaning, organizing, cooking, music, traveling, the Philadelphia Eagles, and theme party planning.

1. Where did your inspiration for your story come from?

My daughter and her great-grandfather. She was his baby-doll and he always had a Starlight mint for her.

2. Who is your favorite character in this story and why?

Serena Joy. She's so innocent and you never what's going to come from her.

3. When you aren’t writing, where can we find you?

Either in the kitchen cooking (I love to cook) or in my car (I love to travel).

4. What author has influenced you the most? Lois Lowry.

The Giver series is the best.

5. Where do you write? Is there a special place? Share a picture if you wish.

I do a lot of writing in my car - at soccer practice, at tennis lessons, at Boy Scouts, or in the park parking lot. It's only me with music blaring lost in my thoughts.

6. Do you consider reading as part of your job as a writer? Why or why not?

Absolutely. I'm not an avid reader, but I try to keep something on hand at all times. Reading helps writers grow. I see things I like and things I don't. I've seen the same mistakes in my own writings as in books and it reminds me to fix them.

7. Other than family, what are five things you cannot live without?

I'm a simple person. 1. Hand sanitizer 2. Index cards; 3. Socks; 4. Some sort of transportation (a bike, a car, a train...I like to travel long distances); and 5. Aquaphor

8. What is your all-time favorite TV show?

The Donna Reed Show.

9. Not picking your own, which story in Love Dust is your favorite?

They're all so good! It's a toss-up between Brandy Bonifas's The Beech Tree Carving and Alan I'Anson's To the Moon and Back.

10. If you could meet one writer in the history of the world, who would it be? What would you talk about?

Henry Winkler. Yes, he was the Fonz, but he also writes children's books for dyslexics - The Hank Zipzer series. We would talk about his dyslexia and what he wishes his education would have included since my own son is profoundly dyslexic.

11. What are you working on now? I'm editing book 2 of The Dreamers Trilogy (I lost a few pages and it's just not coming back to me properly). I have a few short stories and flash fictions in the works for which I'm excited to find homes.

12. Where can we find more about you and your work?

Facebook or my website. https://www.facebook.com/authorosusangibbons or seuglea.wixsite.com/authorsusangibbons

Over the next week or so I'll be publishing interviews with my fellow Love Dust authors.

First up is Brandy Bonifas, author of The Beech Tree Carvings:

***Love Dust Blog Tour***

Brandy Bonifas

Author Bio
Brandy Bonifas lives in Ohio with her husband and son. When she isn't busy reining in her rambuctious preschooler, she spends late nights at her laptop working on her next story. Her speculative fiction spans several genres and her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in anthologies by Clarendon House Publications, Pixie Forest Publishing, and Zombie Pirate Publishing. She is also working on an epic Sci-Fi/Fantasy series. To find out more, visit her at brandybonifas.com.

1. Where did your inspiration for your story come from?
When I was seven or eight years old, my dad and I would go for these long walks in the woods behind my grandparents' house. One day, we found a huge beech tree and he carved my initials and the year into it. It became our tradition to hike back to that tree once a year and carve the year below my initials. As I grew up, the tradition fell by the wayside, until a few years ago when my cousin and his wife were hiking in the same area and came across the tree and they carved their initials into it. When my uncle passed away earlier this year, my cousin added his initials and the date to the tree also. This beech tree marks a lot of memories for my family and became the inspiration for my story "The Beech Tree Carving".

2. Who is your favorite character in this story and why?
That would have to be Nick, but I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll let readers wait until the end of the story to find out why.

3. When you aren’t writing, where can we find you?
I'm a stay-at-home mom, so you would probably find me on some adventure with my four-year-old son, whether it's fossil hunting by the lake, exploring old railroad tracks, or making up wild tales on rainy days at home.

4. What author has influenced you the most?
I can't pinpoint just one. There have been many. When I was younger I had a hard time finding books that I connected with. Not because they weren't out there, but because I hadn't stumbled upon them yet. This is part of what made me want to write. If someone else didn't write what I wanted to read, I would write what I wanted to read myself. I remember when I was 11, my mom had just finished Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel and handed it to me saying, "Here, you're probably old enough for this." It was the first book I really remember devouring from cover to cover. The author did a lot of research for her historical fiction, and it was the first time I really made the connection that sometimes the best fiction is based on facts and the process of stretching those facts into what could be possible. I followed up this revelation by reading a lot of Michael Crichton during my high school years. Frank Herbert was another major influence for me when it came to world building.

5. Where do you write? Is there a special place? Share a picture if you wish.
For now, it's just me and my laptop at the kitchen table after my son is in bed for the night and my husband goes off to the gym. It's the only time our house is quiet enough for me to get any writing done.

6. Do you consider reading as part of your job as a writer? Why or why not?
Absolutely! I do a lot of reading for research purposes, but even when I'm reading for pleasure, I'm always thinking in the back of my mind about what the author did that really worked or stood out to me in a story or novel. I learn something from everything I read whether it's some idea I'm purposely researching or simply noticing an author's style or way of telling a really good story.

7. Other than family, what are five things you cannot live without?
1. Writing, for sure. Even during periods in my life when I've been busy with work or family and not focusing on writing seriously, I would still do some writing here and there. I've thought of myself as a writer since I was in grade school. I don't think I could give it up completely if I tried.
2. Books, of course. I thrive on them.
3. Nature. Getting out into nature is a huge source of inspiration for me.
4. Art. Drawing and painting are other creative outlets for me. Most of the time, I'm a perfectionist. I like being organized and in control, but art is a great way to let go, get messy, and see what happens. If I'm having a dry spell with writing, art is a great way to get the creative juices flowing again.
5. Needlework. It's a hobby I picked up from my mom when I was younger and it's still my favorite way to unwind and relax, especially when combined with an audio book or a podcast.

8. What is your all-time favorite TV show?
I would have to go back to my college days for this one and say Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not only because I am a huge Joss Whedon fan, but also because I had a creative writing professor in college who taught an evening Vampire Lit class. After class she and a group of us would meet to watch the latest episode of Buffy and discuss it. So not only did this show have some very clever writing, but it brings back good memories with good friends. This professor has since passed away, but she was one of my first mentors and taught me a lot about the craft of writing.

9. Not picking your own, which story in Love Dust is your favorite?
I don't think I could narrow it down to just one. Love Dust showcases some really talented authors and each story is beautifully written in its own right. But a few of my favorites include "Sugar and Ink" by Alisha Massinet, "Tootsie" by M.R. Ward, and Alan I'Anson's "To the Moon and Back". I think because I'm drawn to the type of speculative fiction presented in these stories, they stood out to me in particular.

10. If you could meet one writer in the history of the world, who would it be?What would you talk about?
That's a tough one. Maybe Jules Verne. I would be curious to know his thoughts on modern day science in relation to his works. Also, if he could continue writing, what ideas would he take from the scientific revelations of today and where would he go with them?

11. What are you working on now?
I'm currently focusing on short stories, but I also have an epic Sci-Fi/Fantasy series in the works.

12. Where can we find more about you and your work?
You can visit my website at brandybonifas.com and sign up for my blog to receive writing updates on my latest projects and releases. You can also find me on Twitter @BonifasBrandy and on Instagram @brandy_bonifas where I also post pics of some of my artwork and needlework projects.

Pixie Forest Publishing

September 1st sees the release of Love Dust, an anthology of twelve love stories from twelve authors.

 Among them is my own story, To the Moon and Back. Here's a teaser for it created by the great people over at Pixie Forest.

The stories are rich and varied and well worth a read. You can pre-order now at Love Dust for just £2.33 for the Kindle version. Paperback with be available on the day of release if you still like your books 'old shool'... and why wouldn't your

Keep creating folks!

Alan

Dead Petals

My wonderful editor, Dannii Breeze, has returned the edited manuscript of Dead Petals to me. Frankly, I was scared to look at it. It's weird. You hire an editor to edit your work, but in really you don't want her to find much of anything wrong with it. You want to have gotten it right on your own and have very little in the way of comments (unless it's to tell you how wonderful this scene is) or corrections. In reality there is red pen on every page: corrections, notes on clarity, pacing, characters, grammar.

So I'm now working through the edits. It's a slow job, but I'll get there in the end.

Logos

Pixie Forest Publishing, who will be publishing their first short story anthology Love Dust on September 1st (which includes my story To the Moon and Back) asked me if I could step into the breach and come up with a last minute logo for their new publishing company. Based on a brief from them and some ideas of my own we can up with this design:

It's been a while since I drew anything and I was a bit rusty, but the end result turned out okay I think - Pixie Forest owners, Jensen and Donise loved it anyway, so that that's what counts.

I also also, on Jensen's request, created one with some colour, though I'd like to make something better somewhere in the future.

Keep writing and drawing and sculpting, or which ever other avenue your creative muse takes you.

Best

Alan

Eleven years later and I'm back!

Well, kinda. Let's see how it goes.


Work
Lots have changed, but I'm still working in IT and have to commute to work every day on the train since they moved offices to another town. Not ideal, but waddya gonna do?

Art
More interestingly is that I’ve been sculpting on an off and have created busts of my favorite Terminator characters: Arnold in The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese in The Terminator (1984). I also have a Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in the works. I'll show you some photos in another blog, maybe talk a little about how they are made.

Writing
More importantly though, I've returned to writing. It was odd to read down there a ways, from 2007, that I was working on a short story called Dead Petals. That story turned into a novel that I plan to self-publish soon.

Before that happens though, I wrote a story called To the Moon and Back for an anthology put out by new publisher Pixie Forest Publishing which was accepted and is coming September 1st (pre-order now: Love Dust).

So I have plans, which may or may not work out, who knows... but I'll blog about the journey.

Best

Alan