The Qwillery

Please welcome Myke Cole to The Qwillery. Myke is the author of the Shadow Ops military fantasy series. Control Point (Shadow Ops 1) was published in January 2012 and Myke was a featured author in the 2012 Debut Author Challenge (Guest Blog here and Interview here). Fortress Frontier (Shadow Ops 2), his second novel, will be published on January 29, 2012.






TQ:  Welcome back to The Qwillery!

Myke:  Thanks, great to be back.


TQ:  FORTRESS FRONTIER is the second novel in your SHADOW OPS series. Was writing FORTRESS FRONTIER harder, easier or just the same as writing CONTROL POINT (SHADOW OPS #1)?

Myke:  Much easier. I wrote a chunk of it while deployed to Cape May, NJ assisting with the evacuation and relief operations for Hurricane Irene. I spent my precious few hours of leave at a coffee shop near the shore. There was something about the drama of my work at the time and the atmosphere of that shop that just made things click. By contrast, writing BREACH ZONE (SHADOW OPS #3) was like sawing off my own leg.


TQ:  What do you wish you’d known when the first book came out that you know now?

Myke:  That it’s the marathon, not the sprint. Success is a thing built slowly, over long years of toil. I thought that when I landed the book deal, I had arrived. Now I understand that was just the starting line.


TQ:  Which character in the series has surprised you the most so far?

Myke:  Well, I’m talking about BREACH ZONE now, but it’s got to be Harlequin. When you meet him in CONTROL POINT, he’s a hidebound, by-the-book soldier. I had some ideas about his past, but it’s only when I sat down and really explored it that I came face to face with the real man. Jan Thorsson, like most soldiers, is a hell of a lot more complicated than his immaculate uniform would lead you to believe.


TQ:  Which character in the series is most like you?

Myke:  It kills me to say this, but it has to be Oscar Britton. Like him, I have made a lot of horrible decisions based on fear, and as with him, those decisions have had consequences. Like him, I have bumbled through my live, and eventually found success and a footing that I’m comfortable with. But I definitely took the long way there. Now, if you’d asked me which character I wish was most like me, it would have to be Alan Bookbinder. If you read FORTRESS FRONTIER, you’ll see why.


TQ:  Tell us something about FORTRESS FRONTIER that is not in the book description.

Myke:  The book gives you a fairly in-depth look at the magic-using military arm of the Republic of India. Mihir Wanchoo, the only Hindi speaking fantasy fan that I know, threw in and gave lengthy and in-depth consultations on mythology and language. I honestly don’t think I could have pulled it off without his help. Thank heavens for the Internet and the amazing, wonderful, generous people it connects us to.


TQ:  Which character in FORTRESS FRONTIER was the easiest to write and why? Hardest and why?

Myke:  I’d say Colonel Bookbinder was the easiest to write. I simply had to cycle through my memories of every great officer I’ve ever served under and build a composite. The guy practically sprang fully formed from my brain. The hardest was the naga prince Vasuki-Kai. Not only is a multi-limbed, multi-headed snake god monster thing, but he’s also royalty who has been raised on the belief that he is a divine being with a responsibility to look after the idiot, bumbling humans that he’s been saddled with having to interact with. Oh, and he only speaks a hissing variant of Hindi. That alienness, that fantasy background did NOT excuse me from my obligation to make him real and believable. His words, actions and most importantly, his interactions, had to be compelling and believable, but his makeup was so foreign to my experience that I hardly knew where to start. Once again, thank god for Mihir Wanchoo.


TQ:  Without giving anything away, which is favorite scene in FORTRESS FRONTIER.

Myke:  Well, it’s on the jacket copy, so it’s hardly a spoiler. I love the scene where Bookbinder first realizes he’s going to have to take command of the outpost, cut off and facing hopeless odds. It’s that ultimate moment when a man finally comes up against the greatest challenge of his life and gets to see if he’s up to it. Is he? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out.


TQ:  Are there any other genres in which you like to write in addition to military fantasy?

Myke:  Sure, but I think it’s going to be a while before I can get to them. After FORTRESS FRONTIER, I’m under contract for 4 more SHADOW OPS books and only one of those is actually written. I’ve got a plot outline for a straight up medieval fantasy (dark tone) which my agent thinks is solid. I also would like to try my hand at romance some day (http://mykecole.com/blog/2013/01/romance-editors-adjust-fire), but I’ve got a lot of learning to do before I’m good enough to put my hat in the professional ring.


TQ:  What’s next?

Myke:  I’m going to save this file, back it up to my thumb drive and board the plane to Detroit and Immortal Confusion, one of my favorite cons. There, I will DM the Author D&D Game with the help of Saladin Ahmed. The players will include Peter V. Brett, Pat Rothfuss, Jim Hines, Sam Sykes, Diana Rowland and Mary Robinette Kowal. I swear, there are some times I feel so incredibly lucky that I don’t know what to do with myself.





About Shadow Ops

Fortress Frontier
Shadow Ops 2
Ace, January 29, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 368 pages

The Great Reawakening did not come quietly. Across the country and in every nation, people began to develop terrifying powers—summoning storms, raising the dead, and setting everything they touch ablaze. Overnight the rules changed…but not for everyone.

Colonel Alan Bookbinder is an army bureaucrat whose worst war wound is a paper-cut. But after he develops magical powers, he is torn from everything he knows and thrown onto the front-lines.

Drafted into the Supernatural Operations Corps in a new and dangerous world, Bookbinder finds himself in command of Forward Operating Base Frontier—cut off, surrounded by monsters, and on the brink of being overrun.

Now, he must find the will to lead the people of FOB Frontier out of hell, even if the one hope of salvation lies in teaming up with the man whose own magical powers put the base in such grave danger in the first place—Oscar Britton, public enemy number one…

Shadow Ops 1
Ace, January 31, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

Lieutenant Oscar Britton of the Supernatural Operations Corps has been trained to hunt down and take out people possessing magical powers. But when he starts manifesting powers of his own, the SOC revokes Oscar's government agent status to declare him public enemy number one.

About Myke

Photo by Tim Lundin

As a secu­rity con­tractor, gov­ern­ment civilian and mil­i­tary officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Coun­tert­er­rorism to Cyber War­fare to Fed­eral Law Enforce­ment. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deep­water Horizon oil spill.

All that con­flict can wear a guy out. Thank good­ness for fan­tasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dun­geons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing.



Website : Blog : Facebook : Twitter : Goodreads











The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a copy of Fortress Frontier (Shadow Ops 2) from The Qwillery.

How:   Answer The Qwillery's Question:  


Please remember - if you don't answer the questions your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

There are a total of 3 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry) and Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry).  This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook or Twitter mentions. You MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Friday, February 1, 2013. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

Myke Cole recently revealed the UK cover for the second novel in his Shadow Ops series, Fortress Frontier.

As we've seen many times US and UK covers often take different approaches to conveying information about novels.  I find Myke's covers interesting because the US and UK covers are similar but really have a different feel (to me at least).















Without knowing much about the novels (notice I included no descriptions), which cover or covers is/are more appealing to you? Do any of them make you think "fantasy" or "science fiction" or something else?





THE GIVEAWAY

What:  One commenter will win a US Mass Market Paperback copy of Control Point (Shadow Ops 1) from The Qwillery. And another commenter will win a copy of the the UK version of Control Point from Myke Cole! Thank you to Myke.

How:   Answer the questions posed above: 


Please remember - if you don't answer the questions your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

There are a total of 3 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry) and Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry).  This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook or Twitter mentions. You MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Saturday, November 17, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

And the winners are....


Control Point (Shadow Ops 1) by Myke Cole and SOC Challenge Coin - Ended February 6, 2012 - Read the interview here.


Question:  What's your magical power?

booklover0226 who said:

My powers would be to "tele-port" from point A to point B in a blink of an eye.




Giant Thief (Tales of Easie Damasco 1) by David Tallerman - Ended February 7, 2012 - Read the interview here.


Question:  Who is (are) your favorite bad guy (or guys)?

Tore who said:

My favorite bad guy. I liked Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I always thought he was funny.




King of Darkness (Chronicles of Yavn 1) by Elisabeth Staab - Ended February 8, 2012 -Read the interview here.


Question:  What is/are your favorite vampire movie(s)?

Proserpine who said:

Hi!
I love the classic: Dracula : the one with Anthony Hopkins and Keanu Reeves! I really like the Underworld movies and the Queen of the Damn too but my fav interview with a vampire: the ultimate vampire movie!




Deliver Me from Darkness (Paladin Warriors 1) by Tes Hilaire - Ends February 11, 2012 -  Read the interview here.  US/CANADA ONLY



Question: What is/are your favorite HEA(s) (Happily Ever After) from 2011?

StacieD who said:

My favorite HEA was Adrian Brown's in Never Enough by Lauren Dane. Through the entire series he had to watch as his siblings and friends found their HEA. Adrian finding the woman he loves and the son he never knew was lovely.




The winners have been notified and have until 11:59PM US Eastern Time on Monday, February 20, 2012 to respond or The Qwillery will very randomly pick a new winner or winners.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

The results are in and the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars winner for January is Myke Cole's Control Point (Shadow Ops 1) with 240 votes equaling 46% of the votes cast. The winning cover artist is Michael Komarck. 




The final results:





Thank you to everyone who voted, Tweeted, and participated. The 2012 Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars will continue later this month with voting on the 15 February debut covers.

Please welcome Myke Cole to The Qwillery as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Interviews. Myke's debut, Control Point (Shadow Ops 1) will be published tomorrow.


TQ: What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Myke:  I apply military discipline to my writing process. I have an internal Company Commander (what they call Drill Sergeants in the other services) who never stops screaming at me. When I really think about it's a little crazy. I actually have a voice in my head shouting things like: "Oh, are you tired? Don't feel like working? Well, guess what? Your fans don't care. Your publisher doesn't care. Go ahead, take a break. The market will move on without you!" I actually picture the campaign cover (Smokey-the-Bear hat) and the gritty voice shouting at me. Odd, I know, but it works. While my routine is frequently interrupted, I am always, always, always working.

The guard expects nothing less from me when I'm in uniform, and the reading public expects nothing less from me when I'm out of it.

TQ: Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

Myke:  I have to single out Peter V. Brett, who is the single greatest positive force in my writing life (and, frankly, in my personal life too). He's a *stellar* writer, and much of my economical prose styling and tight pacing was learned at his feet. If you haven't read his DEMON CYCLE (THE WARDED MAN and THE DESERT SPEAR), then you must.

Other favorites include Joe Abercromie, Scott Lynch, Richard K. Morgan and China Mieville. With the first two, I really appreciate the dark, gritty realism and incredibly engaging dialogue (Sam Sykes is also one to read in this regard). With Morgan and Mieville, I am swept away by the incredible florid prose styling that is pure liquid poetry. I could never do it myself, but I love reading it. Mieville is the most original writer I've ever encountered. He pushes the SF/F envelope to incredible degrees. Morgan shares a lot with Lynch and Abercrombie in his ability to portray flawed/broken characters and make us love them anyway.

On the nonfiction side, I'd like every artist out there to read Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art." It is, in my opinion, the only self-help book worth the paper it's printed on.

TQ: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Myke:  Plotter extreme. The military is all about planning, so I have that drummed into me. Also, I find when I pants it, I find mistakes 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the manuscript that have sent unfixable ripples all the way to the beginning, and I wind up having to toss entire manuscripts. My writing process is extremely regimented, with regular pauses to solicit input throughout. Before I write a lick of prose, I have 100-150 pages of bulleted outline completed first. And I only do that after I've done 20-30 pages of "treatment" (rough concept).

TQ: What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Myke:  The pressure to be perfect. The market has never been less forgiving. I am committed to making a full time living as a writer (hard to do in the best of times), and I am convinced that the key to success in this business is in the quality of your manuscript. There are no prizes for second place, and all the marketing in the world cannot cover up shoddy work. There are SO many incredible writers out there setting the bar ever higher (I have named a few already), and I have to meet or exceed the standard they set or it's back to cubicle hell for me. I worry about whether or not my work is good enough CONSTANTLY. It is the first thing I am thinking of when I wake up in the morning, and it is the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep at night.

TQ: Describe Control Point in 140 characters or less.

Myke:  Peter V. Brett already did that in his outstanding blurb - It's Blackhawk Down meets the X-Men. If you want another twitterable description, I'd say "Harry Potter just joined Delta Force."

TQ: What inspired you to write Control Point?

Myke:  The military is a fantastic force for good and I love being a part of it. But, like all large bureaucracies, it's intensely conservative, slow to change and more than happy to crush decent people in its efforts to adhere to "proper procedure." While I was working in the Pentagon, I began to wonder how such a culture would handle the existence of magic. What if there were elves wandering the halls of the E-Ring? What if there was a Sorcery Bureau? How would that go?

TQ: What sort of research did you do for Control Point?

Myke:  I went to Iraq 3 times. I responded to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. I helped evacuate the Jersey Shore in advance of Hurricane Irene. When you're writing about war, there's no substitute for a front row seat. For everything else, there's google.

TQ: Who was the easiest character to write and why? Hardest and why?

Myke:  Oscar Britton (the protagonist) was probably the easiest. He's a soldier, good-hearted and a bit naive. I'm more cynical than he is, and probably less brave/instinctively ethical, but I know his type. I've seen them and worked with them for years.

The hardest was probably Therese Del Aqua (which I suppose some folks will call Britton's "love interest," though I like to think she's a lot more than that). She's a Puerto Rican woman from California who wound up in New York City for a spell. She's had a range of experiences from her earliest days that I was incredibly unfamiliar with. I interviewed several latina women to try to wrap my heard around the cultural/gender distinctions. I really hope I got it right. We'll see what readers have to say about that. On top of that, Therese has a reservoir of compassion that I can only envy. She's been through hell from her childhood, and she hasn't let it touch who she is at her core. She gets angry, but has never let anger take her. That's so far from who I am that I had to constantly check and recheck myself to make sure I was writing her character and not my own.

TQ: Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Control Point?

Myke:  Oh, wow. That's really hard, because my favorite scenes totally give the book away. Let's just say there's a fight scene that pits a lot of state of the art military hardware against some classical fantasy creatures, and another where the antagonist unleashes the full fury of her magical abilities on a modern military facility. Both are sooooo cool.

TQ: What's next?

Myke:  I have another original series fully plotted/outlined with 75 pages of the first book written. I am looking to pitch that to my publisher some time soon. I am also doing some writing for a media tie-in franchise with the hope I can be a regular for them. My real goal is to diversify and write for video games and comic books as well. I'm hoping the media tie-in work can be a step in that direction.

The last thing I'd like to share is a call for your readers to stand with me in the military reserve. I'm not blind to the horrors of war or the problems with the military, but I believe it is ultimately a positive force for social justice, mobility and the common good. If you want to help, it's one of the best ways to do it. And remember, if you (for physical, background, or other reasons) aren't qualified to join the reserve, all branches have auxiliaries that will take you. I can't do it alone.

TQ: Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.


About Shadow Ops

Shadow Ops 1
Ace, January 31, 2012
Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages

Lieutenant Oscar Britton of the Supernatural Operations Corps has been trained to hunt down and take out people possessing magical powers. But when he starts manifesting powers of his own, the SOC revokes Oscar's government agent status to declare him public enemy number one.

About Myke

Myke Cole is the author of the upcoming military fantasy SHADOW OPS series. The first novel, CONTROL POINT, is coming from Ace (Penguin) in February, 2012. As a secu­rity con­tractor, gov­ern­ment civilian and mil­i­tary officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Coun­tert­er­rorism to Cyber War­fare to Fed­eral Law Enforce­ment. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deep­water Horizon oil spill. All that con­flict can wear a guy out. Thank good­ness for fan­tasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dun­geons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing.

Myke's Links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter



The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of Control Point (Shadow Ops 1) from The Qwillery and an incredibly wonderful SOC Challenge Coin from Myke:

Photo from Myke Cole's Blog

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question:


Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3)   Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Monday, February 6, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

As part of this year's Debut Author Challenge I thought it would be fun to choose a favorite cover from each month's debut novels. At the end of the year the 12 monthly winners will be pitted against each other to choose the 2012 Debut Novel Cover of the Year.

But I'm not going to choose the winning covers - you are. Welcome to the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Cover Wars!

Here are your choices for January 2012:

Please welcome Myke Cole to The Qwillery. Control Point (Shadow Ops 1), Myke's debut novel, will be published in January by Ace.



Science Fiction and Fantasy are violent genres. It seems that every inhabitant of a genre world is armed to the teeth and ready to go down fighting. The peaceful Hobbit Frodo carried Sting, bane of slavering Orcs. The Ewoks of Endor knocked Imperial scouts off their speeder bikes and then gleefully speared them to death. The crew of Serenity were mostly interested in peaceful trade . . . which is why they were always getting into gunfights.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that genre fiction surrounding organized violence on a grand scale is hugely popular. From Heinlein to Webber to Ringo to Haldeman to newcomers like T.C. McCarthy, genre books dealing with the military fly off the shelves. Heck, publishers like Baen practically stake their whole business on it. A lot of the newer, edgier fantasy hitting the market these days has a military cast to it (Joe Abercrombie’s work deals largely with medieval warbands, the military of their time. George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is a decidedly military epic in many respects).

So, the short question: why? Why do stories about large bodies of people organizing to kill one another in a fantasy or science fiction setting have such broad appeal? I can’t give you the full answer here. If I could, I’d be founding a publisher of my own. But I do have a theory I’d like to put forward.

In May, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen told the graduating class of West Point cadets that he was concerned about the growing gap between civilians and the military. Military service is founded on a tradition of citizen-soldiery. The idea is that, when we’re not in uniform, we’re in our communities working, living and playing alongside everyone else. We are you and you are us. This is essential in preventing military dictatorships and ensuring that armies remain servants of their civilian governments. But that is changing. In the United States, currently 70% of youth are ineligible for military service due to health problems, criminal records, or other reasons. Of the remaining 30%, 99% elect not to serve. Currently, less than 1% of Americans serve in uniform.

Since the attacks of 9/11, the military has worked hard to lower its profile in the name of “force protection.” Men and women in uniform can be targets for terrorists or criminals, so our military wears their uniform less and less off-post or outside active operational zones. We do our jobs unseen.

So what does this have to do with why folks like military genre fiction? In a world where seeing or meeting a member of the military is increasingly rarefied, we have become a thing of genre fiction ourselves – exotic, unusual, often whispered about but seldom glimpsed outside the news.

Fans of science fiction and fantasy come to the genre for that very reason. They want to explore realms outside their normal range of experience. The opening line of Star Trek classic says it best (as it always has). We want to boldly go where no one has gone before. We see and hear a lot about the military on an ever proliferating news-cycle, but that sense of intimacy, of knowing the life and rigors of armed service, is dwindling at the same rate as vinyl records. You know the guy who delivers your mail, the cop on your corner. You shoot the breeze with the lady who makes your breakfast sandwich, maybe have a drink once in a while with that cool bookseller you met while browsing at B&N. But the opportunity to establish that kind of casual familiarity with a man or woman in armed service grows smaller each year (and promises to grow even smaller with looming budget cuts).

Without that familiarity, whisper and rumor replace reality. Fighting men and women become the stuff of legends. I mourn this. It’s not conducive to the proper relationship between a free country and the military that protects it, but it is absolutely conducive to great genre fiction.

When it comes to science fiction and fantasy, the stuff of legends is what it’s all about.


About Shadow Ops

Shadow Ops 1
Ace, January 31, 2011
Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages

Lieutenant Oscar Britton of the Supernatural Operations Corps has been trained to hunt down and take out people possessing magical powers. But when he starts manifesting powers of his own, the SOC revokes Oscar's government agent status to declare him public enemy number one.

About Myke

Myke Cole is the author of the upcoming military fantasy SHADOW OPS series. The first novel, CONTROL POINT, is coming from Ace (Penguin) in February, 2012. As a secu­rity con­tractor, gov­ern­ment civilian and mil­i­tary officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Coun­tert­er­rorism to Cyber War­fare to Fed­eral Law Enforce­ment. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deep­water Horizon oil spill. All that con­flict can wear a guy out. Thank good­ness for fan­tasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dun­geons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing.


Myke's Links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter