Authors Are People Too! - Joseph Flynn

Good day everyone!

Last week we got a great response to our new sub-blog, so hopefully we can keep the ball rolling with this weeks segment... Joseph Flynn, author of the political thriller The President's Henchman.



Q. What one question have you always wanted to be asked?
A. Would you like a villa with your movie deal, sir?

Q. What is your favorite question that you have been asked?
A. Will you be doing a book signing in my town?

Q. What about your career?
A. I'm all in favor of it. =)

Q. Is there any one thing you'd like to get out there, Variance Related or not?
A. As I've mentioned in my Hip Pocket blog posting, I'd like to see Variance replicated in 30 towns around the country. Great for writers; great for readers.

Thanks Joe! Do you have questions for him? Comment them here or pass them along to me and I will get them to him. He's got a great sense of humor - as witnessed above - and quite an intelligent squash on his shoulders. Be sure to check out The President's Henchman, along with his smart Hip Pocket Thoughts blog... I know he hooked me on both!

On docket next week, Paul Byers. Have a great week.

MEG: Hell's Aquarium Shark Bite Contest!

Good day, Zealots!



With less than one month until the release of MEG: Hell's Aquarium, life is getting electric here at Variance. What better way to kick off an amazing novel but with an even more amazing contest? Combining forces, Steve Alten and Variance Publishing bring to you the MEG: Hell's Aquarium Shark Bite Character Contest, as well as a Schools Edition (in association with Adopt-An-Author).

Prizes for winning individuals include: a signed copy of Hell's Aquarium, a signed MEG poster, and their name forever immortalized in MEG 5: Night Stalkers!

Prizes for winning schools include: a visit from Steve Alten, classroom copies of MEG and The LOCH, and signed MEG posters.

For full details, be sure to visit the applicable pages posted above.

Good luck!

Authors Are People Too! - James Somers

Good week to you!

Here begins the first of what will be a few months of Monday posts on our authors. James Somers, author of The Chronicles of Soone - Heir to the King, starts us off with a glimpse into his life.



Q. What other authors do you read and why?
A. I tend to like action and adventure, fast paced is a must for me and I always write in that style myself. I've enjoyed novels by Variance's own Jeremy Robinson very much and YA author Wayne Thomas Batson. I usually end up enjoying things that have a touch of the fantastic to them. R. W. Ridley's Oz Chronicles books are creepy and fun and Golem by Greg Vilk was really cool too. My favorites seem to be those that are rooted in the real world but venture into the unknown.

Q. How disciplined are you as a writer?
A. I write when I can find the time! Since I work a regular job and also pastor a church, I pretty much utilize breaks in the action to find writing time. I rarely find myself just sitting still doing nothing. Since I've written seven novel manuscripts in the three years since my first novel, The Chronicles of Soone, was published by Breakneck Books, I guess I must be pretty disciplined :)

Q. How difficult is it to break into the publishing world?
A. In my experience, very difficult. A lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time with the right manuscript and knowing the right people...sound complicated yet? There are various ways to go about it from self publishing to getting a Literary Agent and shopping to the big publishers. Personally, I've been glad for smaller publishers like Variance who obviously put out a professional product and yet stay pretty accessible to their authors and fans alike. In a constantly changing techno-landscape, there seems to be a lot of opportunity for the innovative individual to move ahead so long as they possess patience and perseverance!

Do you have a question for James? Feel free to post one here, or send it to me and on the next go around we will be sure to get it answered for you. By the way, if you have a young adult reader who is into Sci-Fi, be sure to give James Somers, and The Chronicles of Soone, a try!

Up next week is Joseph Flynn! Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed your first shot of voyeurism into the Variance family.

MEG: Hell's Aquarium - More Reviews Posted

Good Thursday to you!

On another amazing day here in New England, I bring great news to fans of Steve Alten's MEG series. Have you been interested in hearing what people have to stay about this fourth, and greatest, book of the series? Well, I posted some of the newest reviews on the MEG: Hell's Aquarium page for your viewing pleasure.



The countdown continues to May 19... 33 days until the ocean's baddest predator makes landfall, again!

Authors Are People Too! - Intro

Good day, zealots!

Kind of an odd title, huh? Well, not that we thought that you would think we had androids for authors, but my goal for this new subset of blogs is to introduce you to them... they are regular people like you and I. They have mental blocks, goals and dreams, families and hardships - everyday lives. Subjects answered by them that you may see over the following weeks can include:

• Questions they always wished people asked them
• Their favorite questions people have asked them
• Their career
• Whatever floats their boat related to their Variance published books
• Etc.

Here are a few sample questions that people have asked them:

To Jeremy Robinson from Dawson V. -
Q. Would you have lunch w/ me if I came out there?
A. Yes, but who is buying? =)

To Joseph Flynn from Anonymous -
Q. Your novels seem to be quite the revolutionary pieces of work... the first black president in The Next President, the first female president in The President’s Henchman... what's next?
A. My writing schedule for the next year or two includes: finishing the sequel to The President's Henchman; writing a novel of psychological terror set in a small wealthy town; writing the first book of a trilogy featuring a lawyer in Texas.

So, over the next few months on Mondays, there will be one new author a week letting you into their lives. Do you have questions for them? If so, enhance the posting by emailing them to me and I will pass them along to have them ready for when their time comes. The schedule for the rest of April is:

April 20: James Somers
April 27: Joseph Flynn

Don't procrastinate - get your questions to me soon (granted, they are normal people, but they are busy too)! Have a great week.

Another Great Interview!

AJ Tata does it again. Recently, he was on The Daily Buzz, a tv show out of Winter Park, FL. The interview went extremely well and the host was quite the comedian =)>.



Once again, Sudden Threat is a great book whose proceeds receives get directly gifted by Tony to the USO Metro-DC to help our wounded American heroes bounce back from their injuries received while fighting to keep us safe. If you haven't bought the book yet, not only will you get a great read, but you will be giving to a great cause.

Have a great weekend everyone! And if you go out and buy it today, you are sure to with this great read.