Interview and contest alert! TK Toppin's in the HOUSE!

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Tami: Well hello mighty minions, I mean fans, followers? Readers? Buddies my pals my friends? Well any who, welcome to a great interview with a wonderful author. Everyone, give a round of applause for the infamous Tttttttttttttttt Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk Tooooooppppppiiiiiiinnnnnn! **whoot whoot**

TK: Thanks Tami.

Tami: Well, it’s great to have you here for real TK. I heard you just got finished doing some fun traveling recently. Why don’t you tell me ‘bout some of what you did!

TK: Yeh, just got back from a cruise. It was my maiden voyage, pardon the pun, on a cruise ship and I was a bit concerned about my seasick tendencies. I was fine—drugs are truly amazing! My husband and immediate in-laws were all traveling together. We picked the ship up in New York (another first time for me) then headed down Port Canaveral way, then onto the Bahamas. Have to say, it was fun.  Especially when my 80-plus mother-in-law got onto an airboat in the Florida swamps to look at gators!  Cruise-wise, great…never saw so much food in my life.  I think I’m off food for a bit, well, maybe not.

Tami: **reminds self to mark TK off the Christmas card list** Wow, that sounds wonderful. I’m slightly jealous. Besides traveling, what kind of things do you do to keep you busy, besides writing?

TK: Besides writing, and that whole process of re-reading your work, editing it, changing stuff around, groaning and moaning when a plot sticks in the mud and starts to sink…then bitching some more when your ideas dry up and the work gets nowhere, well, I do my real-world work. By that, I mean as a graphic designer.  It’s a sucky job, but someone has to do it…and it pays the bills—barely.  Real-world work aside, I have ample time to enjoy life’s many little luxuries…you know, like socializing, travelling, drinking martini’s (mmm, my fav), and spending enough time on the internet tending to my addictive needs of checking emails, Twittering, Facebooking, blogging, playing games…

Tami: Martinis do not count. Try again!  J Well maybe they do count. **hands one over to TK** I haven’t told anyone yet, but I’m the luckiest person in the whole world.

TK:  You are?  Why’s that?

Tami: I’m glad you asked me why…I got some wonderful bookmarks for this great book The Lancaster Rule. Have you heard about it? Oh shoot, that’s you isn’t it? Psst. I’m still waiting for the postcard!

TK:  Oh yehhh!!!  Glad you got them and glad you like them.  Ahem, uhhh, postcards are on their way as we speak.

Tami: Now that I’ve spoiled it and told everyone what a wonderful author you are, you have to tell us something about the book. So…

TK:  Okay, so, the book is basically a science fiction romance—SFR, as they say these days.  It’s about a young woman who helps her scientist father with an experiment.  However, he tricks her in order to save her life and she ends up sleeping for 300 years.  The story begins as she awakes from her sleep and finds herself in a vastly changed world.  As one thing leads to another, she ends up as a prisoner to a so-called tyrant world leader.  Of course, there’s much adventure and intrigue along the way, many little twists and turns, a little humour, oh, and there’s a love triangle, as well.  Mustn’t forget the love aspect.  If you’re looking for super-duper tech-oriented speak and machinery, this isn’t the book for you.  Nor has it got any aliens or weird creatures.  It’s a character-driven book based in the future.  I’d like to think that even 300 years from now, people will still be predictably people and behave pretty much the same way as they’ve always behaved.

Tami: Ooo, I’ve got to get that. I’m so far behind in my TBR pile I might soon be buried. So, I may have to get this one in e-format. Can you give me a link so I can head over there?

TK:  Of course, just click onto my publisher’s site: http://champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=20_45&product_id=93
You can also get it in paperback now as well: http://champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=27_47&product_id=52
And for those who prefer Kindle, it’s also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lancaster-Rule-ebook/dp/B003IXGWTE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3LO4NVIU2V6GP&s=digital-text&qid=1288290846&sr=1-1

Tami: Thanks, and since you are so accommodating, how about a taste of the book. You know what I want girl…give it to me. NOW! Sorry, lost my cool a little bit there.

TK:  Well, here’s a short excerpt:

"How long are you planning on letting her sit there and wait?"

"As long as I feel like," World President John Lancaster replied tersely. His lips compressed, and he glared intently at Josie's slight figure slumped against the wall. She was staring vacantly before her. He had his hands clasped behind his back. The sight of her disturbed him. He could not understand why. He stood this way for nearly ten minutes. Simon had argued against his involvement, but he insisted. He was still in charge of all military and police matters, and he had been, after all, once the head of counter-terrorism.

Simon moved slightly into John's line of sight. He cocked a red brow in his usual nonchalant way; a mixture of annoyed bother and mischief touched his face briefly as he looked to his long-time friend. Then, he sighed, audibly. He didn't have to speak. They had known each other long enough, had been through enough that words, sometimes, were not necessary.

"Stop that," replied John in a low voice after a moment, frowning in displeasure. Finally he turned to look at Simon. "Fine, I'm going."

When the glass door slid open and John Lancaster stepped in, Josie jerked with shock. The last person she expected to see was the president of the United Europe and Americas himself, and without conscious reason, she scrambled to her feet and backed up against the wall. The ledge she was sitting on knocked the backs of her knees so she flopped ungracefully back down again. With a hoarse yelp, she straightened and regained her footing.

Lancaster gave her a quizzical look and raised a brow. Yes, he thought, she really does not look like your typical terrorist.

Tami: Woo, no wonder I want to read this. (I will admit, I’ve read excerpts before!) So, if this book rocks so much, what do you have in the works. You have to have something else in the works.

TK:  Yes, I do!  The Lancaster Rule is a trilogy and the sequel is due for release in July 2011—it’s called The Master Key.  The final in the series, The Eternal Knot is complete but still undergoing self-edits and maybe a few re-writes to some chapters.  Aside from that, I’ve started another story, which sort of got embellished along the way.  Originally, I had it in mind to do a short story, well, a series of short stories featuring one of the more interesting characters I introduced in The Master Key.  Of course, this character will never meet my original heroine of the Lancaster Rule series, and instead, will have adventures of her own.  I’ve a couple of other stories brewing on the back burner as well…

Tami: Wow, and you have time for travel and martinis? I don’t know how you do it. So…what if one of my readers, or your readers, or just random folks in general (that would be me) would like to have a copy of your book, and they want it to be autographed? (Or for people like me, they are cheap!)

TK:  Glad you asked.  I’m doing a giveaway of a paperback copy of The Lancaster Rule.  All you have to do is stop by, leave a comment, even ask a question that wasn’t asked, or just say hi…I’ll do the eenie-meenie-mynee-moe routine and pick a winner.  (Okay, forgive my spelling, but you know what I mean).  So good luck to everyone!  And I’ll throw in some signed bookmarks and postcards as well.

Tami: **gloats** I already have some, I already have some! Ha ha ha ha ha! Well, that was ugly. But since it’s done, it can’t be put back. You’ve gotten me all excited about the Master Key. What do I have to do? How much do I have to beg to have you give us a little taste of that too? **gets on her knees**

TK:  Okay, okay…since you’ve begged me enough.  Here’s a little excerpt from The Master Key. (Uber-minor PG13 moment near the end for those with sensitivity issues…)

“She’ll never make an operative.”  Simon propped his arm companionably over John’s shoulder and watched as Josie sheepishly recovered from a stumble.
“She’s my wife, not one of your lot.”  John clamped his mouth into a line and rolled his eyes, a habit he seemed to be borrowing lately from Josie.  “But you’re right.  An operative she will never be.  I’m just glad she’s learning to hone her skills at defending herself.  Clumsily, but still…”
“There’s that,” Simon agreed with a shrug then suppressed a chuckle.  “And now, thankfully, she looks more the part so her cover will stand.”
Though he’d never let on, Simon did like her.  She was a bit crass, rude, nosy, and childishly naïve, but she’d somehow managed to tame his best friend’s turbulent heart and re-awaken his humorous nature.  And, she had the uncanny ability to make John swoon like a girl, something that was practically unheard of until she came to live at the Citadel.
“At least now she won’t second-guess her own strength and abilities,” Simon continued.
At best, she and Simon resorted to a friendly banter of words and insults that sometimes erupted into violent outbursts of temper.  But generally, they enjoyed the insults and would never openly admit—to themselves or others—that they were actually quite fond of one another.
With a final twist of the torso, a pivot and a lunge, Josie completed a rather difficult counter-attack kick on the sparring droid, successfully upturning it.  Then, rather childishly, gave it a final below-the-belt kick, not that it mattered much to the droid.  She huffed off and strode determinedly toward the two men who watched.
“Temper, temper.”  Simon clicked his tongue, not quite masking the impressed nod of approval as he mentally rated her performance.

***

Josie had never been in space.  To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t even sure if she was going to like it, either.  Aside from countless tiny dots that were stars, it seemed riddled with endless bits of junk.  Lots of junk—scrap metal and bits of flotsam and jetsam from centuries of man polluting the great vast ocean called space.  Every so often, the shuttle would jerk slightly to avoid these floating bits of junk.  Larger crafts would simply repel them off with their shields, or blast them away with their guns.
And then, getting there, or through it, was tedious enough.  Hours upon hours with nothing but endless blackness around you—strapped into a small, uncomfortable chair with nothing but a nagging husband for company.  She could think of a hundred other things she’d rather be doing than sitting here now, next to him.
Granted, he wasn’t particularly nagging at the moment.  Just being overly polite and concerned, that it drove her ape-shit mad.  He treated her as if she were made of very thin glass.
“Please, will you have a little more?” he said again, offering her a rehydrated steak sandwich.
The Bullet was a bare bones, no-nonsense, moving vessel stripped of all its niceties.  And that included the food choices.  Josie had no inclination of eating another morsel of the tasteless, rubbery, artificial sandwich than she did for wanting to step into a pile of shit.  No matter how hungry she was.


Finally, I’d just like to say thanks very much for having me.  This has been great fun.  And good luck to the prospective winner!

Tami: Winner, what winner? I don’t know what you’re talking about. **hides book behind her back**

TK: Haha! No cheating now!

Tami: Aw man…**shuffles her feet** I’m sorry. It’s been a blast having you here. I know I joke a lot, but I am not joking when I say, it’s been a pleasure and you are a very talented author and a pretty awesome person!

TK: Thanks so much, and cheers! **raises martini glass**