It's been a little
while since I've hosted an author interview (and if you're thinking of doing
one with me, I am considering moving the format to video via G+ Hangout) but
today we welcome chris Mentzer, author of The Askinar towers trilogy. thanks
for joining us today, Chris. Could you share a little bit about your recent
projects?
My
trilogy The Askinar Towers is
completed and I’m waiting for book 1 release in December by Tiger Dynasty Publishing. In addition
to these, I’m working on a new Towers
story featuring a supporting character that appears in both book 2 and book 3
of the trilogy. I’m also working on a blog series called Observations of a Café Waiter. This features a waiter named Chuck
and his employment at the Floor 17 Café found in the Tower of Water.
Busy, busy! Do you
tend to put messages or themes in your novels?
Adventure
can be found everywhere and anywhere you look. A simple trip to the grocery
store can be made exciting just by using your imagination. But always remember
that when you are out on an adventure, home is the place you always want to
return to in the end.
What was your
favourite chapter (or part) to write and why?
From
book one, I would say my favorite chapter to write was How To Rescue a Damsel in Distress. The reason being that first, it
is an off-the-wall title, and secondly, the chapter gives a breakdown of the
rescue but it doesn’t go as planned.
From
book two, my favorite part would be the Black Friday scenario in a sleepy town
called Pleasington. I won’t say anymore for fear of spoilers.
From
book three, it’s a toss-up between the chapter called Angry Villagers 101, and the pirate scenario. Both were fun to
write and the outcome is somewhat unexpected.
Did you choose your genre,
or did it more choose you?
I
got interested in Fantasy primarily from reading the Chronicles of Narnia
series in junior high. From there I progressed to David Eddings novels and the
Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. The
Askinar Towers trilogy was greatly inspired by Narnia in that it too is a
Portal Fantasy series.
Some of my own
early favourites! I would have read The Chronicles of
Narnia before I even knew what fantasy
was, and David Eddings was my first 'real' fantasy as I understood it. I
pinched Castle of Wizardry off Dad when
I was ten. I was well into Discworld
by age twelve.
What book are you
reading now?
Currently
I’m reading The World of Karov by
Elyse Salpeter. It’s book 1 of the Children of Demliee Series. I recently met
her online and picked up an e-copy of her book. Very inspiring story.
I'm not familiar with
that one. I might need to check it out. Are there any other new authors that
have seized your attention?
In
addition to Elyse, I’ve been following Kayla Curry, Scott Bartlett, and Ciara
Ballintyne. I’ve haven’t read much from them but I’m in the process of making
the rounds.
Awww, me? I'm
flattered! I have to say this is a first for me.
Who is your favourite
author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Hands
down it would have to be M.C. Beaton. She write small village mysteries
featuring a local constable by the name of Hamish Macbeth. What I love about
her writing is her ability to make the fictional town of Lochdubh seem real
including the residents. I’ve read all her Macbeth books and hope to collect
them all and reread them in the order that they were released.
That got my
attention! Although the Scottish angle always does that for me. No, I do not
have a 'men-in-kilts' fetish, just some relatively recent Scottish roots, as my
Dad was born in Edinburgh.
I imagine like many
authors (myself included) you have a day job as well. Are you happy to share
that with us?
Yes,
I’m currently serving a life sentence in retail. Been with the company for 17
years and I hope to survive long enough to reach 20. Time will tell.
Yikes, that's a long
time. I hope you make 20 as well.
If you were a Star
Trek® character, which one would it be?
Definitely
a Red Shirt crewmember; Ensign Expendable. I can’t see myself surviving any
particular mission down to a planet (hostile or non) and most likely would die
shortly after arrival.
That has got to be
the funniest answer I've ever received, although I certainly hope you are not
that expendable!
What would I find in
your refrigerator right now?
Surprisingly
this is a difficult question to answer. We have two refrigerators in our house.
My wife is a diabetic and has a gluten intolerance and she (and our youngest
daughter) has control of the main fridge. I have the secondary one which houses
basic things like bread, tortilla shells, and other items that can’t be eaten
by the other two. Of course if you look in just my fridge, you’d probably
wonder how I survive!
If you looked in my
second fridge, you'd think I survived on a steady diet of beer and ice cream...
If you were a car,
what kind would you be?
A
4x4 car crushing monster truck. I am so sick of the way people drive on the
road these days, I’d rather just run right over them to get to my destination.
Plus I’d enter competitions on the weekend.
*makes a note
not to annoy Chris*
Thanks for
joining us today, Chris.
If
you'd like to know more about Chris and his work, keep reading and check out
his contact details at the end. Nexus of the Worlds, Book 1 of The Askinar Towers Trilogy is being published by Tiger Dynasty Publishing and is
expected to be released on December 3, 2013. Watch Chris's Facebook Page and Twitter account for details of the release.
About Nexus of
the Worlds
Sara and Erika weren’t looking for an adventure but when but they are
given a special key, they find a portal that takes them into a world dominated
by four towers. They soon realize the towers themselves are the center of every
known world. Their quest is to locate the legendary fifth tower, encounter the
entity that lives within, and then find a way back home. Meanwhile a sinister
cloaked figure is watching from the shadows and following their every move. Are
they ally or foe? Do they want the girls or the special key? Find out in book
one of The Askinar Towers.
About Chris Mentzer
Chris has been interested in writing ever
since 1982 when he was given an English assignment in the 9th grade.
He had to write a paragraph using a lot of detail. Although he wasn’t sure he
completely understood the assignment, he wrote a scene in a bank where a guy
was coming out of the bathroom and witnessed a robbery in progress. The detail
portion came in when the witness described the robber to the police. From that
moment Chris decided he wanted to be a writer.
Between 1982 and 2005, he made several
attempts to write a story; it was his goal to write the great American novel,
you know the one that everyone wants to own and read. The majority of his work
lay incomplete in a personal slush pile in a filing cabinet.
Having read The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and all fantasy books by
David Eddings, he took a stab at Fantasy with minimal success. Even tried his
hand at Science Fiction with a couple of buddies while he was in college. The
bottom line was he lacked discipline and the desire to stick with any one
project. But that was all to change in 2005.
In November of that year, Chris entered his
first writing challenge held by the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
website. Although the goal was 50,000 words, he obtained his personal goal of
25K, which went on to be the foundation of book 1 of The Askinar Towers Trilogy. He later wrote foundations for books 2
and 3 in ’07 and ’09 respectively. His inspiration for the Towers books came from John DeChancie’s Castle Perilous
series and Doctor Who’s Paradise Towers.
Chris lives in Mesa, AZ with his wife and
two daughters. He is currently employed in the retail industry working in the
produce department. In his spare time, when not writing or stalking the social
media streams, Chris loves to hike out in the Lost Dutchman area and Saguaro
Lake.
Here’s
another interview with Chris Mentzer
Contact
information
Platform
Blog: http://2150.wordpress.com
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/Chris.Mentzer.3D
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/Mentzer.Author
Askinar Towers Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/Askinartower
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chris_Mentzer
Email: fifth.tower@gmail.com
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