James Young will be awarding a 9 x 12 print of the cover painting, "Death of Kongo" signed by the author and the artist Wayne Scarpaci (US ONLY GIVEAWAY) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
On Seas So Crimson
by James Young
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Alternate History
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTERVIEW:
1.
What or who inspired you to start
writing?
I’ve
always been an avid reader from when I was little. Growing up on a small farm that was miles to
the nearest neighbor, I used to sometimes act out things that I read in
books. (John Carter was a favorite…darn
Earth gravity.) Eventually I also
started writing things long hand, and the rest is history.
2. What elements are
necessary components for your genres?
I
think the biggest components for any genre, not just sci-fi or alternate
history, is that you have to have a compelling set of characters. In the case of the former, that is followed
by some aspect of escapism that will allow readers to separate from their daily
drudgery into a different universe. The
reasons why Star Trek and Star Wars have been so successful is
we’ve come to care about the individuals involved.
Alternate
history is a bit different in that the main compulsion lies in the historical
pivot. Most of the “characters” are
already known to the readers, but the changing situations are not. For instance, in my Usurper’s War series,
most World War II historians are familiar with Heinrich Himmler as the head of
the SS. However, knock off Adolf Hitler
and Hermann Goering, and suddenly he’s in a vastly different role as
Fuhrer. That what if transitioning to what
now is the genre’s foundation in my opinion.
3. How did you come up with
the ideas for your novels?
A
lot of time it’s a combination of what I’ve read and random inspiration. For On Seas
So Crimson, it was a discussion back in the ‘90s about how World War II
could have been different. For An Unproven Concept, it was being a fan
of the old Robotech novels, Star Wars, and the old school Battlestar
Galactica.
4.
What expertise did you bring to your writing?
I’m actually getting my doctorate in U.S.
History and majored in Military History from West Point. I’ve placed in historical essay contests and
have been published in both Proceedings
(the United States Navy and Coast Guard’s professional journal) and the Journal of Military History. So in the alternate history arena, it could
be said that “I’m a professional.”
Alas, I have no experience with
commanding a starship or flying mecha
in real time. If any travelers from the
future or distant galaxies want to change that…
5.
What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
I’m blessed to be part of a community of
writers in Kansas. Everything from Star Trek to Sherlock Holmes through
zombies, I’ve got people who can hook you up.
6.
As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?
At the moment, I’m working on Though Our Hulls Burn…, the sequel to An Unproven Concept. I should have my dissertation done by the end
of the year, so that will give me more time to work on the third book in the Usurper’s War as well.
7.
If you could be one of the characters from your books, who would it be and why?
This is the point I see a few of my local
writer’s group chuckling, as I have a reputation for being a little brutal to
my characters. I’d have to say Jason
Owderkirk, the Commander Air Group (CAG) for the C.S.S. Constitution. Mainly because
he has it relatively easy (so far) in the Vergassy Universe.
8.
Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your
writing?
Yes and no. My local library is incredibly supportive of
local authors, with one of the librarians being the Municipal Liaison for
Nanowrimo. This has created a strong
community of writers, and we’ll help people out if asked. So yes, I’d say that finding a critique group
is definitely a fruitful exercise.
9.
When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged
you to take this big step?
If we’re talking originally, I submitted
my work to agents and publishers back when I was in high school. Looking back, I think the main impetus was
that I had no idea how publishing worked, so I figured there was no harm, no
foul in submitting.
10.
Do you outline your books or just start writing?
A little of both. I’ll often have a scene just come to me while
I’m driving to work or doing something else.
For example, the ballroom scene from An
Unproven Concept just popped into my head.
I was fortunate enough to find a great concept artist, Justin Adams, who
was able to convert words to picture (see below).
With the Usurper’s War series I have to be a little more careful due to it
being alternative history. I have to
make sure I don’t completely mess up the timeline because I was not paying
attention. Therefore I keep a loose
timeline and do my best to adhere to it.
11. Are your plotting bunnies angels or
demons?
I will
answer this by relating the fact that my wife and fellow author Anita C. Young
has never finished An Unproven Concept
because I went dark. Not graphic
violence dark, just may have lovingly caressed a potential third rail. So maybe saying they’re demonic might be a bit of a stretch. However, make no mistake—my plot bunnies may
or may not have been on the Marquis de Sade’s “For a good time, call…” short
list.
12. Anything else you might want to add?
I usually hang my hat over
at vergassy.com. I discuss everything from warships to heavy metal in my posts,
plus you can find samples of my writing there.
In addition, my novellas “A Midwinter’s Ski” and “Pandora’s Memories”
are available for free electronically on Amazon, B&N, and several other
book outlets. Try before you buy!
BLURB:
Adolf
Hitler is dead. Great Britain has
fallen. The Royal Family has fled to
Canada, and the United States stands alone against the Axis.
On Seas So Crimson collects both
novels of the Usurper's War into a single package. Acts of War (Amazon Bestseller in alternate
history) begins this universe with London on fire, while Collisions of the
Damned (recommended by Alternate History Weekly) continues it with the
desperate defense of the Dutch East Indies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
It’s never
a good day when you become commander of a vessel simply because no one else was
left. From what he understood, Keir had started the
day as chief of Hood’s Navigation Division.
That had been before the vessel took at least three 15-inch shells to
the bridge area, as well as two more that had wiped out her gunnery directory
and the secondary bridge.
Captain Gordon
was right—she was a very powerful warship.
Unfortunately that tends to make you a target.
“Commander,
you are certain that…” Gordon started, then collected himself. “You are certain His Majesty is dead.”
“Yes
sir,” Keir said. “His Majesty was in the
conning tower with Admiral Pound when it was hit. The Royal Surgeon positively identified His
Majesty’s body in the aid station before that was hit in turn. We cannot get to the aid station due to the
spreading fire.”
“Understood. His Majesty would not have wanted any of you
to risk his life for his body,” Gordon said.
“I
just…” Keir started, then stopped, overcome with emotion.
“It
is not your fault lad,” Gordon said.
“Her Majesty will understand.”
Gordon
turned and looked at the Exeter’s clock.
“Very
well, we are out of time. Stand by to
fire torpedoes.”
“Torpedoes
report they are ready.”
“Sir,
you may want to tell your torpedo officer to have his weapons set to run deep,”
Keir said. “She’s drawing…”
There
was a large explosion aboard Hood as the flames reached a secondary turret’s
ready ammunition. Eric saw a fiery
object arc slowly across, descending towards the Exeter as hundreds of helpless
eyes watched it. The flaming debris’
lazy parabola terminated barely fifty yards off of Exeter’s side with a large,
audible splash.
“I
think we do not have time for that discussion,” Gordon said grimly. “Fire torpedoes!”
The
three weapons from Exeter’s starboard tubes sprang from their launchers into
the water. Set as a narrow spread, the
three tracks seemed to take forever to impact from Eric’s perspective. Exeter’s torpedo officer, observing Hood’s
state, had taken into account the battlecruiser’s lower draught without having
to be told. Indeed, he had almost set
the weapons for too deep a run, but was saved by the flooding that had occurred
in the previous few minutes. In addition
to breaking the battlecruiser’s keel, the triple blow opened the entire aft
third of her port side to the ocean.
With the audible sound of twisting metal, Hood started to roll onto her
beam ends. She never completed the
evolution before slipping beneath the waves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
James Young is a Missouri
native who escaped small town life via an appointment to the United States
Military Academy. After completing his
service in the Army, Mr. Young moved to Kansas to pursue his doctorate in U.S.
History. Fiction is his first love, and
he is currently the author of the Usurper’s War (alternate history), Vergassy
Chronicles (space opera), and Scythefall (apocalyptic fiction) series, all of
which are available via Amazon or Createspace.
Currently living in the Midwest with his loving, kind, and beautiful
spouse, Mr. Young spends his time completing his dissertation while plotting
new, interesting ways to torment characters and readers alike. As a non-fiction author, Mr. Young has won the 2016 United States
Naval Institute’s Cyberwarfare Essay contest and the U.S. Armor Center’s Draper
Award for a battle analysis of the Golan Heights. He has also placed in the James A. Adams Cold
War History contest held by the Virginia Military Institute and been published
in the Journal of Military History (“The Heights of Ineptitude”).
Blog: https://vergassy.com/
FB Page:
https://www.facebook.com/ColfaxDen/
Twitter: @Youngblai
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
James Young will
be awarding a 9 x 12 print of the cover painting, "Death of Kongo"
signed by the author and the artist Wayne Scarpaci (US ONLY GIVEAWAY) to a
randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2175
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Angel's blog. I hope you have a great tour. Allana Angel
ReplyDeleteThank you! I had previously replied, but it was apparently ate by the internet gnomes!
DeleteNot what I usually read, but great interview and intriguing concept, so I've added this to my ever-growing stack of books to be read. Hope your tour is successful!
ReplyDeleteThank you much! Hope that it's a good branching out.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDelete