Welcome to our Wednesday book chat!
Today's guest is Ceri London, author of the Shimmer in the Dark series.
Nice to have you visit, Ceri. How do you take your coffee?
CERI: First let me thank you so much for inviting me to chat on your blog!
Coffee? I love filtered coffee with hot milk. I always seem to ask for a cappuccino though. The cocoa sprinkled on top sways me.
Ally: Since you love both, why don't I surprise you. :) Meanwhile, please show readers your bio and tell them something unique about yourself.
Today's guest is Ceri London, author of the Shimmer in the Dark series.
Nice to have you visit, Ceri. How do you take your coffee?
CERI: First let me thank you so much for inviting me to chat on your blog!
Coffee? I love filtered coffee with hot milk. I always seem to ask for a cappuccino though. The cocoa sprinkled on top sways me.
Ally: Since you love both, why don't I surprise you. :) Meanwhile, please show readers your bio and tell them something unique about yourself.
BIO:
Ceri London (pen name) is an author of science fiction / fantasy who has just published the second volume in her Shimmer In The Dark series. She is a member of ASMSG, a league of international writers.
Back on Earth, life is very normal. Ceri lives in the UK, is married, a mother of two girls, and a piano tutor following a fifteen year career in IT within the international financial industry. She holds a BSc Honors degree in Chemistry & Computer Science, but acknowledges that in no way provides her any authority with regards to the science in her fiction writing, relying on research and drawing on the experience of others far more qualified.
Looking forward, Ceri is committed to completing her Shimmer In The Dark series and developing a range of related short stories and spin off novels.
And something unique? Wow, this proved to be a fascinating question. Anything about me is boring, but my grandfather was a children’s illustrator and my grandmother won Miss England back in the 1920’s/30’s. Curiosity piqued, I just did some research and unearthed several comics and books including artwork by my grandfather published from the 1930’s right through to the1970s. My grandfather illustrated the Wombles in the Jack & Jill comics and I often remember seeing him at work or looking at his latest painting when we visited as children. I also came across a French postcard of my grandmother as Miss Angleterre published to celebrate Miss Europe. So she entered that too, in Paris. There is something very exciting about finding memorabilia from your ancestors and discovering that a part of their lives has been captured online for future generations to discover.
Author Links:
Amazon Author Page
Smashwords Author Page
Website
Facebook Page
Goodreads
Google+
Twitter
Author Email: cerlondon@yahoo.com
Ceri London (pen name) is an author of science fiction / fantasy who has just published the second volume in her Shimmer In The Dark series. She is a member of ASMSG, a league of international writers.
Back on Earth, life is very normal. Ceri lives in the UK, is married, a mother of two girls, and a piano tutor following a fifteen year career in IT within the international financial industry. She holds a BSc Honors degree in Chemistry & Computer Science, but acknowledges that in no way provides her any authority with regards to the science in her fiction writing, relying on research and drawing on the experience of others far more qualified.
Looking forward, Ceri is committed to completing her Shimmer In The Dark series and developing a range of related short stories and spin off novels.
And something unique? Wow, this proved to be a fascinating question. Anything about me is boring, but my grandfather was a children’s illustrator and my grandmother won Miss England back in the 1920’s/30’s. Curiosity piqued, I just did some research and unearthed several comics and books including artwork by my grandfather published from the 1930’s right through to the1970s. My grandfather illustrated the Wombles in the Jack & Jill comics and I often remember seeing him at work or looking at his latest painting when we visited as children. I also came across a French postcard of my grandmother as Miss Angleterre published to celebrate Miss Europe. So she entered that too, in Paris. There is something very exciting about finding memorabilia from your ancestors and discovering that a part of their lives has been captured online for future generations to discover.
Author Links:
Amazon Author Page
Smashwords Author Page
Website
Facebook Page
Goodreads
Google+
Author Email: cerlondon@yahoo.com
Ally: Your series appears to be a unique blend of scifi, epic fantasy and thriller. How did you develop the concept?
CERI: Shimmer in the Dark dates back more than ten years to a story I wrote where the antagonist crossed timeflows to her advantage. I thought how amazing it would be to live an entire life in the blink of an eye where that blink is a physical action in a slower timeflow.
At the time, I was reading Francis Hitching’s book The World Atlas of Mysteries. Researching some of the unexplained and connected events over the course of Earth’s history led me to the idea of using a planet’s natural geomagnetic energy to affect the brain. I stumbled upon Sedona’s magnetic anomalies with its four vortexes of energy and then found an article discussing the brain’s EM output and how that magnetic output increases over the central nervous system. I also love films and TV serials where huge distances can be shortcut – stargates, wormholes, portals crossing space-time, jumping to alternate dimensions and universes – and so I incorporated all these different aspects into my first draft of Rogue Genesis.
I wanted Rogue Genesis to be a fantastical story, but have it evolve from a scientific base. Niall’s abilities derive from his brain’s ability to interact with and interpret its surroundings, only he does this way better than everyone else. The sequel Destiny Nexus goes on to explore why his brain is so much more advanced than the rest of the human race and leads him to darker times and faraway places.
Ally: What do you intend as the future of this series? Do you have a set number of books in mind?
CERI: I intend there to be four main volumes for the Shimmer in the Dark series, but there is huge potential for spin off stories. I have already written a dark, tragic, but also inspiring spin off set in the future with links to the main Shimmer series and characters, and I also have a couple of short stories that I offer to subscribers of my mailing list.
Galacticus Elecion will be the third volume in the series and I am currently outlining this one as there will be a lot of new characters and links back to the earlier volumes. This series needs to get considerably darker before any light appears, but there will be a lot of excitement along the way to balance some of the lows.
Ally: What are your hero's best and worst characteristics?
CERI: Niall Kearey is a great guy, described by one reviewer as having a heart of gold. He is the all-American military hero, dedicated to a life of service specialising in rescue and he loves his young family who he’d do anything to protect. However, he keeps his psychic gifts secret, an ingrained habit from his childhood. At first he does this because he thinks he’s going mad, then because everyone else will think he’s crazy or dangerous, and then because he’s protecting those he loves, and so on. This inability to be fully honest has consequences for him, his family, and mankind.
In Destiny Nexus, Niall is used to secretly doing as he thinks is best, but when a bigger enemy enters the picture he is forced to be honest about his past actions. Earth’s authorities are already suspicious about his abilities and the truth causes even more friction. Niall hates his powers being curtailed. He feels betrayed, and he starts to use his abilities a little too casually and with a growing ruthlessness. Readers will discover that behind his “heart of gold” is a trained soldier prepared to take out anyone he considers dangerous to his mission, the same man who waged war defending one alien race from their enemies at the start of Rogue Genesis.
Ally: What makes the villain a good opponent for your hero?
CERI: The villain in Destiny Nexus is an unknown. Balor is secret and powerful, a menacing presence already rooted deep in Niall’s psyche although Niall doesn’t realise this at first. Niall is very powerful, it’s his sense of duty and loyalty to Earth, his desire to be working with the authorities rather than against them, that holds him back, and this proves as much a weakness as well as a strength. Balor is a more clear-cut adversary. Niall can easily identify him as the enemy and as the series moves on this will allow him to embrace his abilities more and more. The problem is that Balor is even more powerful than Niall, and there is a merciless army and thousands of years of history standing between them.
Ally: Every author does a lot of marketing these days. What's your favorite social media, and why?
CERI: I use twitter a lot. I belong to an author support group that makes its use very effective. I also love Facebook for keeping me in touch with author friends.
Ally: Let's see how you do with some quick answer questions:
CERI: Shimmer in the Dark dates back more than ten years to a story I wrote where the antagonist crossed timeflows to her advantage. I thought how amazing it would be to live an entire life in the blink of an eye where that blink is a physical action in a slower timeflow.
At the time, I was reading Francis Hitching’s book The World Atlas of Mysteries. Researching some of the unexplained and connected events over the course of Earth’s history led me to the idea of using a planet’s natural geomagnetic energy to affect the brain. I stumbled upon Sedona’s magnetic anomalies with its four vortexes of energy and then found an article discussing the brain’s EM output and how that magnetic output increases over the central nervous system. I also love films and TV serials where huge distances can be shortcut – stargates, wormholes, portals crossing space-time, jumping to alternate dimensions and universes – and so I incorporated all these different aspects into my first draft of Rogue Genesis.
I wanted Rogue Genesis to be a fantastical story, but have it evolve from a scientific base. Niall’s abilities derive from his brain’s ability to interact with and interpret its surroundings, only he does this way better than everyone else. The sequel Destiny Nexus goes on to explore why his brain is so much more advanced than the rest of the human race and leads him to darker times and faraway places.
Ally: What do you intend as the future of this series? Do you have a set number of books in mind?
CERI: I intend there to be four main volumes for the Shimmer in the Dark series, but there is huge potential for spin off stories. I have already written a dark, tragic, but also inspiring spin off set in the future with links to the main Shimmer series and characters, and I also have a couple of short stories that I offer to subscribers of my mailing list.
Galacticus Elecion will be the third volume in the series and I am currently outlining this one as there will be a lot of new characters and links back to the earlier volumes. This series needs to get considerably darker before any light appears, but there will be a lot of excitement along the way to balance some of the lows.
Ally: What are your hero's best and worst characteristics?
CERI: Niall Kearey is a great guy, described by one reviewer as having a heart of gold. He is the all-American military hero, dedicated to a life of service specialising in rescue and he loves his young family who he’d do anything to protect. However, he keeps his psychic gifts secret, an ingrained habit from his childhood. At first he does this because he thinks he’s going mad, then because everyone else will think he’s crazy or dangerous, and then because he’s protecting those he loves, and so on. This inability to be fully honest has consequences for him, his family, and mankind.
In Destiny Nexus, Niall is used to secretly doing as he thinks is best, but when a bigger enemy enters the picture he is forced to be honest about his past actions. Earth’s authorities are already suspicious about his abilities and the truth causes even more friction. Niall hates his powers being curtailed. He feels betrayed, and he starts to use his abilities a little too casually and with a growing ruthlessness. Readers will discover that behind his “heart of gold” is a trained soldier prepared to take out anyone he considers dangerous to his mission, the same man who waged war defending one alien race from their enemies at the start of Rogue Genesis.
Ally: What makes the villain a good opponent for your hero?
CERI: The villain in Destiny Nexus is an unknown. Balor is secret and powerful, a menacing presence already rooted deep in Niall’s psyche although Niall doesn’t realise this at first. Niall is very powerful, it’s his sense of duty and loyalty to Earth, his desire to be working with the authorities rather than against them, that holds him back, and this proves as much a weakness as well as a strength. Balor is a more clear-cut adversary. Niall can easily identify him as the enemy and as the series moves on this will allow him to embrace his abilities more and more. The problem is that Balor is even more powerful than Niall, and there is a merciless army and thousands of years of history standing between them.
Ally: Every author does a lot of marketing these days. What's your favorite social media, and why?
CERI: I use twitter a lot. I belong to an author support group that makes its use very effective. I also love Facebook for keeping me in touch with author friends.
Ally: Let's see how you do with some quick answer questions:
- a. most memorable book you read in 2014: Marcha Fox’s Star Trails Tetralogy. I have just advance reviewed the last book in the series: Refractions of Frozen Time. Her work is packed full of science and great for YA and adults alike.
- b. favorite daytime drink: Tea!
- c. favorite fashion accessory: Jewelry.
- d. an item on your bucket list: See the Grand Canyon.
- e. What's at the top of your TBR pile? Extinction Horizon by Nick Sansbury Smith, Maer Wilson’s Modern Magics series, and the last two books in Tammy Salyer’s Spectras Arise Trilogy. I really want to read Christoph Fischer’s The Healer too! I have time management issues.
Book Blurb: Rogue Genesis:
One man. Two worlds separated by a universe. Space-time warped by black holes. In the passing of seconds on Earth, Major Niall Kearey has witnessed the birth and death of generations on Astereal. His mind shortcuts light years to visit a fantastical world of floating sky cities populated by telepaths.
Astereal is in decline, the dueling forces of black holes threaten extinction. Ancient prophecy predicts their interstellar visitor brings salvation. As Niall faces the staggering truth – that his alien dream world is real – he and his family are targeted by secret societies, scheming politicians, and the US military.
Time is running out as Astereal races towards annihilation and temporal alignment with Earth. Power brokers vie for control of his capabilities. Niall must act, balancing the needs of Earth, his family, and the alien civilization he has come to know and love. The fate of two worlds rests on Niall Kearey’s shoulders.
Buy Link: Amazon
Book launch page for Rogue Genesis: http://booklaunch.io/cerilondon/rogue-genesis
Book Blurb: Destiny Nexus:
“This man isn’t the exclusive property of the US any longer. He is answerable to the world.”
Major Niall Kearey is the only man capable of bridging space-time to create portals across the known universe. His government and the US military exploit his abilities, a secret society incites global unease in a bid to control him, and the alien refugees he smuggled to Earth revere him as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
Under threat of exposure, a potential one-man weapon of mass destruction, Niall and his family are forced back into hiding. Struggling to protect his wife and children, honor his oath to God and country, Kearey discovers he’s attracted the attention of a devourer of worlds – the legendary Balor – an enemy so powerful it enslaves or destroys everyone in its path.
The world needs Niall Kearey and his abilities, but the shady politics and dirty maneuverings of Earth’s power-brokers have tied his hands. Shackled by the unceasing suspicion and assaults on his liberty, Niall desperately seeks a means to protect planet Earth against the ancient predator hunting him down. Whether Balor’s purpose is Apocalypse or invasion, the threat escalates as Niall realizes the answer to the future lies in the past—his past.
How far can one man travel to preserve a world that has turned on him? Niall must accept his destiny as the nexus – a magnet for destructive forces and possibly mankind’s last hope for salvation.
An exploration of love and betrayal with the high-octane pace of military thriller, Destiny Nexus stretches a man’s moral fiber to breaking point and changes him forever. This action-packed sequel continues the epic space opera saga introduced in Rogue Genesis.
Buy Link: Amazon
Find other books here: http://smarturl.it/CeriLondonAmazon
One man. Two worlds separated by a universe. Space-time warped by black holes. In the passing of seconds on Earth, Major Niall Kearey has witnessed the birth and death of generations on Astereal. His mind shortcuts light years to visit a fantastical world of floating sky cities populated by telepaths.
Astereal is in decline, the dueling forces of black holes threaten extinction. Ancient prophecy predicts their interstellar visitor brings salvation. As Niall faces the staggering truth – that his alien dream world is real – he and his family are targeted by secret societies, scheming politicians, and the US military.
Time is running out as Astereal races towards annihilation and temporal alignment with Earth. Power brokers vie for control of his capabilities. Niall must act, balancing the needs of Earth, his family, and the alien civilization he has come to know and love. The fate of two worlds rests on Niall Kearey’s shoulders.
Buy Link: Amazon
Book launch page for Rogue Genesis: http://booklaunch.io/cerilondon/rogue-genesis
Book Blurb: Destiny Nexus:
“This man isn’t the exclusive property of the US any longer. He is answerable to the world.”
Major Niall Kearey is the only man capable of bridging space-time to create portals across the known universe. His government and the US military exploit his abilities, a secret society incites global unease in a bid to control him, and the alien refugees he smuggled to Earth revere him as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy.
Under threat of exposure, a potential one-man weapon of mass destruction, Niall and his family are forced back into hiding. Struggling to protect his wife and children, honor his oath to God and country, Kearey discovers he’s attracted the attention of a devourer of worlds – the legendary Balor – an enemy so powerful it enslaves or destroys everyone in its path.
The world needs Niall Kearey and his abilities, but the shady politics and dirty maneuverings of Earth’s power-brokers have tied his hands. Shackled by the unceasing suspicion and assaults on his liberty, Niall desperately seeks a means to protect planet Earth against the ancient predator hunting him down. Whether Balor’s purpose is Apocalypse or invasion, the threat escalates as Niall realizes the answer to the future lies in the past—his past.
How far can one man travel to preserve a world that has turned on him? Niall must accept his destiny as the nexus – a magnet for destructive forces and possibly mankind’s last hope for salvation.
An exploration of love and betrayal with the high-octane pace of military thriller, Destiny Nexus stretches a man’s moral fiber to breaking point and changes him forever. This action-packed sequel continues the epic space opera saga introduced in Rogue Genesis.
Buy Link: Amazon
Find other books here: http://smarturl.it/CeriLondonAmazon
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