An Interview With Wendy Russo and January Black

January 17, 2013 by

Wendy_C_300

Today on the blog, I have fellow Crescent Moon Press author Wendy Russo.

Her book, January Black, was released this week by Crescent Moon Press and it was an honor to get the opportunity to ask her a few questions about the book, her writing, and what she reads.

So, help me welcome Wendy…

Tell us a little bit about the inspiration for January Black?

I have a shelved rewrite of a shelved novel. It’s a personal junk yard, and one of the spare parts was a still-frame image of a boy in an overgrown garden. When NaNoWriMo came around in 2009, I started with that image. I fed in my frustration at the banking collapse and the busted economy. My appreciation for America’s Founding Fathers plays a role. I listened to a lot of Dream Theater and Taylor Swift, which contributed to Matty and Iris respectively.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Not really. That strikes me as odd, now that you mention it. Maybe if I picked up a few, I could get my muse off her lazy butt and pick up my word count. I’ll have to think about that.

 Can you name a book or two that has influenced you as a writer?

The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson. The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge. Foucault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco. And, it’s not a book, but Pulp Fiction made a huge impression on me.

 Who is your go-to author, the one who you know will always deliver a great story?

Depends on my mood. I’m finding Crescent Moon Press’s catalog to be a great place for quicker reads. When I’m looking to challenge myself, Eco is my guy. I’ve read Foucault’s Pendulum three times, and each time it gets better. The Island of the Day Before was great as well. For action and wit, Neal Stephenson is always at hand. Snow Crash, The Big U, and The Diamond Age keep your brain engaged while pulling you along for a ride. Timothy Zahn has written several books for the continuing Star Wars universe. He’s a very good story-teller.

What book are you reading now?

Christine Ashworth’s Demon Hunt (A Caine Brothers Novel #2). I read Demon Soul last week while my husband drove from Gadsden, Alabama to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The second that I had internet access, I bought Demon Hunt and the Little Moon novella, Blood Dreams, which is next on my To-Be-Read list.

My Currently-Reading list is kind of embarrassing. I’m about one-third of the way through Steven Montano’s Blood Skies and SM Boyce’s Treason. Neuromancer, by William Gibson, has been waiting for me to pick it back up since before my son was born five years ago. And I’ve been a pitiful fan of my favorite author, Neal Stephenson. I’m a hundred pages or so into both Anathem and Reamde. One day I’ll get back to them. *hides face in shame*

What was the hardest part of the publishing process for you?

Researching agents and publishers to find a good home for my story. January Black didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. The people who were looking for YA science fiction rejected my queries mostly by form letter. One of the few bites I got was from an agent who said that everything about the book was great…the characters, the setting, my voice…but it wasn’t literary enough. Rejection didn’t bother me so much. They were rejecting a letter, after all. Steadily running out of places to send a query to was stressful.

 What’s next? Are you working on a new project?

I’m working on two ideas, both series.

The first is Nick Jackson’s Error. It’s NA Science Fiction about a DJ with Asperger’s and stolen nanotechnology stuck in her brain, and her friend Sam, who takes it on himself to protect her from the people willing to kill to get the tech. The first book is called Virgo.

The second is The Choir Boys. It’s NA Paranormal about a Redeemer, a special op angel charged with hunting down fallen angels and bringing them back to heaven. His US-Army instilled sense of honor and duty, while normally a virtue, gets him into trouble with his boss, (archangel) Gavriel. The first book is called Glitch.

January Black

JanuaryBlackCoverSixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor. After his school’s headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief, Matty’s future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a challenge: answer a question for a master’s diploma.

More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.

What was January Black?

It’s a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty’s journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He’s been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost…or call the king’s bluff.

Special Giveaway:

Hidden in this post is a link to an extra excerpt to the book. If you find the link, the password is matty. Commenting on that excerpt post will enter you in a giveaway for a signed copy of January Black.

 

 

Links:

You can also connect with Wendy at the following places:
Blog |  Facebook |  G+ | Twitter |Goodreads
Filed Under: Books, Crescent Moon Press, Fiction, Writing Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Cover Reveal: January Black by Wendy Russo

January 4, 2013 by

I pleased to share the amazing cover for January Black from fellow Crescent Moon Press author, Wendy Russo.

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Wendy S. Russo got her start writing in the sixth grade.

That story involved a talisman with crystals that had to be found and assembled before bad things happened, and dialog that read like classroom roll call. Since then, she’s majored in journalism (for one semester), published poetry, taken a course on short novels, and watched most everything ever filmed by Quentin Tarantino.

A Wyoming native transplanted in Baton Rouge, Wendy works for Louisiana State University as an IT analyst. She’s a wife, a mom, a Tiger, a Who Dat, and she falls asleep on her couch at 8:30 on weeknights.

Now on to the cover!

JanuaryBlackCover

January Black

Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor. After his school’s headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief, Matty’s future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a challenge: answer a question for a master’s diploma.

More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.

What was January Black?

It’s a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty’s journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He’s been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost…or call the king’s bluff.

Check out the Trailer:

Add January Black to Goodreads:

January Black

Filed Under: Books, Crescent Moon Press, Writing Life Tagged With: , , , ,

The Blog Tour Continues…

September 5, 2012 by

First I would like to thank everyone who stopped by the release party on Facebook yesterday.  I had so much fun and I hope all of you did too.

Congratulations to my giveaway winners: Karry Baker Gorsegner and  Katie O’Sullivan!

My blog tour, hosted through Bewitching Book Tours continues today. Please check the tour page for all the details.

Today, I’m pleased to be blogging at Flutey Words about music and writing. Here, you can enter the tour wide giveaway for a fairy door.

I’m also at Wendy Russo’s blog, talking about fairydust.

Filed Under: Books, Crescent Moon Press, fairy gardens Tagged With: , , , ,

Character Playlist: Wendy Russo’s January Black

May 16, 2012 by

Featured in today’s Character Playlist, is my fellow Crescent Moon Press author Wendy Russo.  Since becoming a part of the CMP family in March, I’ve discovered that Wendy is a wiz on the internet and social media as well as a supportive peer.  I’m so pleased she agreed to be here.

Welcome, Wendy!

January Black Playlist

Hi everyone! And thank you, Constance, for inviting me to share my playlist. January Black will be released by Crescent Moon Press, and I hope that you will all check it out.

I began writing January Black during November 2009. (Yes, it was a NaNoWriMo project. I fell short of 50k.) Anyhow, at the time, I had a single image in my head…a boy in an overgrown garden. And, I was listening to Dream Theater’s new album, Black Clouds and Silver Linings. I have been a huge fan of the Knights Templar since reading Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum. Anything regarding them, the Rosicrucians, the Freemasons, etc., immediately catches my attention.

A Rite of Passage (Official Video) (Warning: Obligatory commercial followed by corny video.)

A key and a forbidden door play key roles in January Black. They were sparked by this line: Turn the key, walk through the gate…

Also at the time, Taylor Swift’s Love Story was getting overplay on the radio. Couldn’t drive around the block without hearing it. When I gave Matty a girl to obsess over, I used Taylor as a model…hair, eyes, and personality. But, while “Love Story” was on my playlist, it was “You’re Not Sorry” that influenced the tone and direction of middle of the book.

“You’re Not Sorry” (Live)

Apocalyptica’s Faraway vol.2 has been on most of my playlists since I first heard it. It is one of my favorite songs of all time. After Matty does something reckless, Iris begs him, “Don’t slip away from me.” The line is from that song. (Embedding has been disabled by YouTube. The video was shot in a desert. The band dresses up as Bedouin to play their cellos in a desert. And there’s a blond chick singing.)

I finished January Black in April 2010, but during my first major edit, I was listening to Christian Kane. I’m a Leverage fan; Elliot is my favorite of the crew. This song was featured in Season 3, and I played it to death while editing the last third of the book.

Christian Kane: “Thinking of You”

While I was writing January Black, my son turned 2. Songs that he wanted to listen to ended up on my playlist, and got more play than mine, to be honest. They didn’t influence the story much (or maybe they did), but they are a part the story’s creation so I’ve included the videos. I have added what he calls these songs before the titles.

(Baba Riley) The Who: “Baba O’Riley”

(The Guy Ra-Ra) Sam Tsui: “Lady Gaga Medley”

(The Friends Ra-Ra) Glee Cast: “Bad Romance”

Yes…these were my son’s favorite songs for more than a year. (If that seems unusual, try his fear of Disney films. The only one he’ll watch is Cars, but not on a screen larger than an iPhone.) He’s four now. His favorite song is Adele’s “Rollin’ in the Deep,” although “Rumor Has It” recently made a big impression. I think it’s all the hand clapping.

So…I gave you Dream Theater, Taylor Swift, Apocalyptica, Christian Kane, Glee and Sam Tsui. What else? Oh yeah…King Hadrian has a habit of changing subjects mid-conversation. This might have had some influence on that….

Rock Sugar: Don’t Stop the Sandman

January Black blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Matty Ducayn is a disappointment to everyone who knows him. As the son of The Hill’s commandant, he is expected conform to a strict, unspoken code of conduct. Small acts of defiance over years—like playing in the dirt and walking on the grass—have earned him a reputation for being unruly, but it’s his sarcastic test answers that finally get him expelled from school. Instead of punishing him, King Hadrian offers Matty a diploma, with a catch. He must answer a question: What was January Black?

 

With the help of Iris, a gardener on his father’s staff, Matty takes his quest beyond The Hill’s walls and tightly controlled media. But trying to solve the puzzle puts him on a collision course with the Janus Law, a royal decree mandating death to those who trespass in a forbidden garden. Has Hadrian set him up from the beginning to lose?

 Wendy’s Bio

Wendy Russo got her start writing in the sixth grade. That story involved a talisman with crystals that had to be found and assembled before bad things happened, and dialog that read like a homeroom’s morning roll call. Since then, she’s majored in journalism (for one semester), published poetry, taken a course on short novels, and watched most everything ever filmed by Quentin Tarantino. It’s possible to see his influence in her work if you look.

After spending her formidable years in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin, Wendy moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she now works for LSU as an IT analyst. She’s a wife, a mom, a Tiger, a Who Dat, and she falls asleep on her couch at 8:30 on weeknights.

Filed Under: Books, Crescent Moon Press, Life, Music, Writing Life Tagged With: , , , , ,