A.J. Maguire

Tag: LJ Cohen

  • Meet My Character Blog Tour

    Shen Hart tagged me in the “Meet My Character Blog Tour” and I’ve been sitting on this for a couple of days, trying to decide who I was going to “tag” in response. I’ve decided on Lisa (LJ) Cohen, RJ Blain, and Skye Taylor. Good luck and have fun! 

    1) What is the name of your character?  Is she fictional or a historic person?

    Johanna Rorry — otherwise known as Jorry. She is purely fictional. 

    2) When and where is the story set?

    The story is set many, many, many years into the future. We get to go spelunking on Pluto, lay siege to a space station orbiting Neptune, and infiltrate a military base on Europa but in between all of that the characters are on board the hauler-class vessel known as the Zephyr. 

    3) What should we know about him?

    Ahem. You mean “her.”

    And you should know that when she sets her mind to something she doesn’t waver. She’s a complicated mix of soldier and mother, capable of hacking into computer systems and constantly focused on the safety of her family. 

    4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his her life?

    Her son Devon wants to go to University, but because Jorry and her counterpart (Seach Barlow) are both deserters from the military this poses many problems. Sending Devon to school could reveal their whereabouts to the military they’ve been running from. So Jorry makes a black market deal to get Devon some security tags that won’t alert the Universe that she’s still alive and still allow him to go to school. 

    And … you know … things go very, very wrong. 

    5) What is the personal goal of the character?

    She wants to see her son safe and happy. 

    6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

    The tentative title is Tapped and you can read a snippet of it on my main website ajmaguire.com. (HINT: It’s under the science fiction tab.)

    7) When can we expect the book to be published?

    Well, I have a rule that I send out everything to the traditional market first and if it doesn’t get any bites then I look into Indie publishing. So I’m really not sure. It could be out sometime in 2015 or it could be later.

     

  • Alphabet Soup Blog Thingy

    Alright!  So about a week ago my friend Lisa Janice Cohen — author of The Between — challenged me to write a post about ten things I love that begin with the letter “P”.  It seriously took me this long to come up with my list, but here it is!

    Potatoes!  — Anyone who knows me at all will laugh at that this.  I love potatoes in just about any form I can get them.  Except chips.  I’ll eat chips, but I just … yeah.  Not a huge fan.

    Philanthropy — Honestly, we’re all on this planet together and we have a responsibility to each other.  There’s no reason any child should ever go hungry.  We all just need to step up and help where and when we can.  (I’ll even share my potatoes if I need to.)

    Puppies

    —  Oh, come on.  Who doesn’t love puppies?  Just look at them!

     

     

    Panda’s  — Well, I’m kinda cheating here.  I love Red Panda’s especially.  My local zoo just got a new pair and they are so fuzzy and adorable I would just love to take them home and snuggle them.  If I wasn’t afraid of the big teeth, of course.  They do have some sharp chompers.

    Procrustean — Just the word, I promise.  But I mostly love the word because of the history behind it.  And in case you weren’t aware of it, I think I’ll educate you!  In Greek mythology there was this dude called Procrustes.  He was a bit of a bandit, but not in the fun Robin Hood way.  He would put his victims on an iron bed and if they were too short, he would stretch them until they fit.  If they were too tall, he’d start lobbing off appendages to get everything to conform just right.  Thus leading to the definition of Procrustean as ::  marked by arbitrary often ruthless disregard of individual differences or special circumstances.

    And now I’ll bet you’ll never forget what that word means.  And yes, if I’d been given the letter “H” for this, I would likely have chosen History as one of my great loves.  Since I couldn’t, I get to torture you with that image instead. 

    People — Generally speaking, I love people.  We are all so weird.  I mean, just watch us for a day.

    Patterns — I like ivy patterns the best, but when it comes to decoration I do like anything colorful and patterned to give a sense of diversity to a room.

    The Princess Bride — I’m cheating here, too.  But, eh, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the Princess Bride.  In fact, my son and I just watched it the other night.  He’s insistent that he is the man in the black mask.  But I wouldn’t worry too much.  He insisted that he was Spok when we watched Star Trek, too.

    Paper & Pens — It’s a dangerous thing to let me loose in the office supply section of any store.  Seriously.  I write my first draft via pen and paper.  Every story.  Every time.  I’m sure I’ll have horrible arthritis when I’m older, but for now it works.

    And last but not least …

    Parenthood — There are moments when my son drives me crazy.  When he won’t listen and I have to sit him down and have a discussion with him about what he did wrong and why he can’t do it anymore and all that jazz … but on the whole, being a parent is one of the most fulfilling, wonderful things in this world.

    That’s my list!

  • The Between

    Before school starts next week and I get bogged down with more work than any one person should ever take on — e.g. school, full time work, mother of a four year old child, editing, and writing — I wanted to take a moment to cheer on a friend of mine.  Her first novel came out on Friday (yes, she picked Friday the 13th on purpose, but if you read the book you’ll totally understand) and I am super-pleased for her.  In fact, I’m throwing confetti for her …

    OK, so I’m not really throwing confetti.  I have a four year old and that’s plenty of mess to clean up after.  But I am stoked that she’s taken this step and is published.  I’m even more stoked that she’s published this particular work.  I had the privilege of reading an earlier draft of it and absolutely fell in love with the story.  I’m going to be a brat and wait to write a full review on GoodReads until I’ve read this shiny-new-Kindle version, but I’m sure I’ll love it as much as I loved it the first time around.

    But while I’m at it … I’m going to flaunt the book at all of you dear, dear friends.  You should read The Between by LJ Cohen.  You can find several different formats of the book HERE!