Guest author. James W. McAllister. Science-Fiction at its best

Hi all:

Friday again and it’s time to have another guest author. James W McAllister is a writer of a group I’ve joined recently and is an indefatigable worker, always trying to find new ways to promote books, reading and writing, not only his own, but also that of other writers. I was sure you’d like to know more about his work and his books, and I invited him here. And he agreed!

First a little bit about James:

Author James W. McAllister

 

My name is James Warren McAllister.  I am a Registered Respiratory Therapist living near Syracuse in Central New York State. Currently I am employed in Healthcare Accreditation. I have extensive experience in both the hospital and the home care aspects of Respiratory Care, including management in both settings.

I have been interested in science fiction since reading the Lensmen Series of books by E. E. “Doc” Smith in Junior High School. TV shows like Star Trek and  Battlestar Galactica, and movies such as Robinson Crusoe on Mars and Star Wars further peaked my interest in the genre.

My first novel, THE BEST LAID PLANS, has been selected as a Runner-Up in the 2013 MARSocial Author of the Year Competition.

If you want to keep informed of all his work and follow James, here are some of his links (and I know well that he will happily post stories and share his progress, so don’t hesitate!):

Website: http://fortiterpublishing.com

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/StarclanAdmiral

FaceBook:  https://www.facebook.com/FortiterPublishing

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/James-McAllister/e/B00DA1ZSFI

Blog: http://fortitersstarclanforum.wordpress.com

MARSocial’s Lagrangian SciFi Lounge:  http://marsocialauthorbusinessenhancementscifi.wordpress.com

And now, a bit more information about his books:

The Turret: Starclan Foundation

The Turret: Starclan Foundation by James McAllister

 

It has been generations since the Earth survived the alien invasion. Politicians have cast a greedy eye on the funding of unused defenses, eyeing the reallocation of the funds as a way to pave their path to reelection.

Young Jock MacAlister’s life long dream comes true with his assignment to ADS 1437, the last operational Asteroid Defense Station.

The capture of an alien scout vessel changes everything. Jock is thrust into a prominent role in planning Earth’s defense. He must overcome personal tragedy, political corruption, and devastating treachery to build the forces needed to save the Earth.

Along the way, something unexpected takes root, something crucial to Humanity surviving as a greater struggle between good and evil follows Humanity to the stars.

Link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ITVK7KK/

Watch the book trailer:

THE TURRET:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vsKN8aB48Q&feature=youtu.be

The Best Laid Plans: the Birth of the Starclan

The Best Laid Plans: The Birth of the Starclan

In two weeks, when the Fleet arrived at Earth, the man known to a quarter of the galaxy simply as “The Admiral” would officially retire. What Admiral MacAlister faced was no where near his plans: Fierce battles in space; Tragic losses of dear friends; Bloody combat with strange aliens; Daring rescues; Failed revenge; Assassination attempts; And, a little romance.

Angus MacAlister finds himself the default leader of what is left of mankind. His actions and reactions to all of this, and the foundations he has placed, fuels the birth of something much larger, and much more important, among the few million surviving humans.

Link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D92HG5S/

And the book trailer:

THE BEST LAID PLANS:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC2cgrRuK80&feature=youtu.be

The Page: The Year of the Dragons

The Page by James McAllister

A disillusioned, war-weary hero becomes a reluctant king. His rule is such that he becomes known as the Good King.

While defending his people from one of the incessant attacks from the North, the Good King takes an orphaned child as his page, and raises the boy by the ideals of a more promising time.

Grown into a young knight, the Page sets out to find his overdue king. Along his way he finds a village controlled by a tyrannical sheriff. The secret behind the sheriff’s power is unleashed when Page tries to free the village.

Dragons.

As the knight fights off the dragons, one captures a maiden as revenge. Page pursues, and thus begins or tale.

Heroes grown old try to pass on the Way of a more civilized time. Have they taught the young ones enough?

Link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I7H06RK/

And here the book trailer:

THE PAGE:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSRYoo0aTxs&feature=youtu.be

Thanks so much to you all for reading, to James for visiting us, and if you’ve enjoyed it, remember, please like, share, comment, and of course, CLICK!

Guest author and filmmaker: Magda Olchawska

Hello all:

If you remember a while back I talked about Magda Olchawska and how she was one of the first people to offer me advice and support in this task of not so much writing, but trying to promote your own books. Magda writes, is a very talented filmmaker and offers professional advice on how to promote your books (including creating book trailers. She did a wonderful job with the trailer for ‘The Man Who Never Was’), how to turn your book into a script, and many other things. She’s very generous with her advice and tips and after only a few months I consider her a good friend.  Did I forget to say? I met her through Twitter. Yes, another one of my Twitter treasure finds.

As I’ve said we’ve kept in touch and Magda has kindly agreed to be a guest in my blog. She has replied to some questions for us and at the end of the post I’ll include some links and also the link to the trailer for ‘The Man Who Never Was’ she created for me.

Here I leave you in the very capable and kind hands of Magda!

When did you first start writing?

I started writing when I was pretty young. I read a lot of poetry so, naturally, I started writing poetry. However seeing no success in my writing or rather not believing in myself too much I gave up writing for few years before I came back to it full time.

What inspired you to write?

The film scripts I write are usually based on my observation of daily life with a pinch of my imagination.

 

The children books I write are mostly based on my son’s stories and my experience & observation of his behaviour and life.

 

The novel I’ve just started to write is based to some extent on my experience, with rather huge dose of my imagination.

Have you always been intrigued or wanted to write a particular genre?

No, not really.  When it comes to writing scripts I write various genres.

 

When it comes to books I write for children and just recently extended my writing to more grown up writing.

 

What I definitely don’t want to write & won’t write is horror, or zombie or vampire stuff.

How did you come up with the idea for your newest/current project?

“Untitled Novel for Women Only” has been on my mind for some time. However, I couldn’t get the form just right. So it took me quite a bit of time to figure out what would be the best format for the novel. After I had the right format in my head I started writing. To write one novel post it takes me up to a week. I’m planning to post novel posts once a week.

Every week it’s going to be a continuation of the previous post. However, if readers decide to read just one post they will still be able to find their ground in the novel.

Do you write as a full time occupation? If no, do you think your everyday job provides you inspiration for writing or is it a necessary evil?

I’m a full time film director and writer. I also run social media management business so these three related occupations keep me both, busy & inspired.

If you could meet any writer (or writers) in the history of literature (dead or alive) who would you choose? And why?

Oh, dear it’s a difficult one. I guess at the moment I would love to meet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

 

I just love “The Little Prince” and it reminds me so much of my childhood.

What do you think about social media? Do you use it mostly as a promotional tool or is it an integral part of your life?

Social media has become a big part of my everyday life. I work with social media on daily basis to promote both my clients’ work as well as mine. I think social media are time consuming but at the same time give artist the freedom and opportunity we have never had before.

 

If the social media are used in a coherent & wise manner I don’t see the reason why they wouldn’t work to the artist’s advantage.

Any tips for people thinking about writing/publishing?

Just keep writing and re-writing. Don’t give up and don’t waste time on people who try to put your down.

Tell me a new thing you have discovered recently that you think should be shared.

Working hard 4 hours a day is fantastic & very productive .

Tell me an old thing you’ve rediscovered that you think shouldn’t be forgotten.

 

Importance of family in one’s life as well as taking time off and relaxing makes life not only more pleasurable but also more productive.

Magda is so right…Here are her links:

This one takes you to ‘Untitle Novel for Women Only’ that as Magda explains she’ll be posting every week:

http://magdaolchawskablog.wordpress.com/

This is her webpage where you can find more information about her, her projects and her consultation services:

http://magdaolchawska.com

This link is to her page about her children’s books (where she also shares her thoughts and posts):

http://mikolayandjulia.com

Check this link for her online media management:

http://originalmediamanagement.com/

I hope you enjoyed reading about my friend Magda and I leave you also a link to the video she created for my novel ‘The Man Who Never Was’

http://www.youtube.com/embed/qvUitFG2D20

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