This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card. Click on the tour to see the other stops on the tour.
If you could have one paranormal ability what would it be?
If Hank and Marlene had a paranormal ability we would like to see into the future so we would know what was hot on the writing market before we started our next book.
What is the one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?
Hank has a doctorate in biology and teaches anatomy, but his master’s degree is in agronomy and his earliest job was developing new varieties of peas. Marlene managed her family’s business as a third generation florist.
When writing descriptions of your hero, what feature do you start with?
In “Moon Life” we were conscious about developing all characters’ physical appearance with regard to body shape and clothing because we compared them to species of birds. But our first description of our protagonist Charlie Adamson is his gruff voice which sets the tone for how he speaks.
Are you a plotter or pantser?
We like to think of ourselves as logical plotters and have tried to adhere to outlines but we invariably go off-line to pursue another thread in the plot that often proves more fascinating than our original premise.
Did you learn anything from writing this book?
We learned it is imperative to hire a professional editor. No one else is skilled enough to give you insightful guidance.
Charlie found himself drifting on a cosmic wind toward a mound of skulls that looked curiously familiar. His pain had vanished, but he felt disoriented. The skulls appeared to be gigantic but he couldn’t be sure if they were large or if he had become exceedingly small. A swift, turbulent wind carried him into one of the skulls, through the orbit of an eye then its optic canal.
A dazzling light appeared before him, gradually fading into an aerial view of Sleeping Woman Mountain. Now he discovered he was a mere speck riding between what he perceived to be two enormous insect eyes. He immediately thought of the Ngala totem and concluded these were the eyes of a dragonfly.
Rainforest shadows parted below him to reveal the ruins of his former camp filled with soldiers lounging casually near the bloodstone, the site of Gnesh’s murder. Their arrogance fueled Charlie’s rage.
On his command, thousands of wasps flew out of the forest and descended on the soldiers.
The men screamed as the insects stung them. They swatted at the horde, firing their weapons uselessly. Desperate to escape the swarm, they dived into the river where they met a pack of hungry crocodiles. The waters ran red with blood.
Now Charlie saw Prime Minister Jahuara’s distinctive helicopter appear, hovering above the carnage. Charlie directed his dragonfly into the cockpit. The insect buzzed up to the head of the prime minister sitting at the helicopter’s controls, repeatedly biting the tyrant’s eyes with its great mandibles. Jahuara tried to swat it away but the dragonfly was too quick. He shrieked in pain as blood flowed from his sockets.
Flying blind, he lost control and the helicopter plummeted into the trees. Charlie and the dragonfly escaped the craft in time to watch it explode in a mass of flames.
Charlie found himself drifting above the forest canopy. He turned his gaze toward the black sky shimmering with starlight. One by one, stars fell from the night like droplets of a celestial mist. The Pleiades constellation was the last to fall. Merope lingered for a moment, then disappeared into the darkness. A feeling of immense tranquility settled over him as he relished the embrace of this sacred void.
The world was back in balance. He closed his eyes…and succumbed to peace.
The family that writes together stays together, so siblings Marlene Fabian Stiles and Hank Fabian co-authored a science fiction adventure that explores Jupiter’s moon Europa as two rival astrobiologists race to be the first to find extraterrestrial life. This discovery should ensure the winner fame and fortune, but the Universe has other plans.
Hank is the guy walking around with a long lens camera and binoculars, a tourist of the world fascinated by every creature that moves and every plant that grows. He teaches biology and helped devise a college genetics program. As a scientist he likes to work with facts, so there's a possibility that the creatures he’s created actually exist!
Marlene is the president of a nonprofit, The I Will Projects, dedicated to advancing educational venues that include a middle school aquaponics program in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club which received a NASA grant. She writes in multiple genres and also has published “Elderchild,” an Alzheimer’s narrative written in the first person. She shares Hank’s love of the natural world and is dazzled by the interconnectivity of all living things.
Goodreads - Marlene
Goodreads - Hank
Amazon Author Page
Hank's TV interview
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for joining us on our adventure from the wilds of Papua New Guinea to Jupiter's intriguing ice moon Europa. Our astrobiologist Charlie is searching for extraterrestrial life but what he discovers is much more mysterious.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting Marlene and me.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds intriguing. Great cover!
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt sounds really good.
ReplyDelete