Book Title: Chameleon Assassin
Author Name: B.R. Kingslover
Genre: Urban Fantasy, science fiction, post-apocalyptic dystopian
Blurb:
Libby is a mutant, one of the top burglars and assassins in the world. For a price, she caters to executives’ secret desires. Eliminate your corporate rival? Deliver a priceless art masterpiece or necklace? Hack into another corporation’s network? Libby’s your girl.Climate change met nuclear war, and humanity lost. The corporations stepped in, stripping governments of power. Civilization didn’t end, but it became less civilized.There are few rules as corporations jockey for position and control of assets and markets. The corporate elite live in their walled estates and skyscraper apartments while the majority of humanity supplies their luxuries. On the bottom level, the mutants, the poor, and the criminals scramble every day just to survive.
Libby is a mutant, one of the top burglars and assassins in the world. For a price, she caters to executives’ secret desires. Eliminate your corporate rival? Deliver a priceless art masterpiece or necklace? Hack into another corporation’s network? Libby’s your girl.Climate change met nuclear war, and humanity lost. The corporations stepped in, stripping governments of power. Civilization didn’t end, but it became less civilized.There are few rules as corporations jockey for position and control of assets and markets. The corporate elite live in their walled estates and skyscraper apartments while the majority of humanity supplies their luxuries. On the bottom level, the mutants, the poor, and the criminals scramble every day just to survive.
Author Bio:
I
made silver and turquoise jewelry for almost a decade, ended up in
nursing school, then took a master’s in business. Along the way I worked
in construction, as a newspaper editor, a teacher,
and somehow found a career working with computers.As
to my other interests, I love the outdoors, especially the Rocky
Mountains. I’ve skied since high school, with one broken leg and one
torn ACL to show for it.
I’ve hiked and camped all my life. I love to travel, though I haven’t
done enough of it. I’ve seen a lot of Russia and Mexico, not enough of
England. Amsterdam is amazing, and the Romanian Alps are breathtaking.
Lake Tahoe is a favorite, and someday I’d like
to see Banff.For special deals and news about new books, sign up for my newsletter.Visit her at:Website, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon
INTERVIEW*
Are you a full time author or do you have another job as well and if
so how do either of these fit in with writing time?
I have a full time job which limits my writing
time. I do most of my writing in the evenings and especially on weekends. I
know some authors who work 40-50 hours a week writing, but I don’t think I
could do that. I hope that someday I’ll be able to make a living from my
writing, but my ideal schedule would be to write four hours a day, four to five
days a week.
Do you write on your novel daily or do you try to have days off?
I try to write every day, but life interferes.
Even when I’m not writing, the story continues to swirl around in my mind, so
when I do sit down at the keyboard, I tend to be very productive.
Do you go back to published books and want to change them in any
way?
Occasionally. I would love to have the time to
rewrite my first series, but I’ll probably never do it. There are too many new
books that I want to write.
Is there any romance in your story and if so can you tell us a
little about this?
My main character, Libby Nelson, would like to
have a romance. She meets men and hopes to have a romance, but she’s a tough
woman, picky, and rather uncompromising. She also tends to have questionable
taste in men and a lack of self-confidence about romantic relationships.
If you have to write any fighting scenes, what are your best tips of
how you create them?
In real life, fights tend to be very fast and
violent. Too many authors try to draw them out and make them dramatic. The
drama needs to be created before and after the fight. The fight itself should
be very straight forward. Someone told me once that love scenes are more about
the emotions than the actions. I think fight scenes are the same.
Do you ever write sad scenes and do you feel the sadness as you
write it?
Yes, and I’m a sucker for the emotions. I don’t
feel the sadness so much when I write the scene, but if I’ve done a good job of
it, I feel it when I read it. I think in most of my books there’s at least one
scene that chokes me up when I read it.
Did you write as a child or did you come into your talent as an
adult?
I tried to write a novel when I was fifteen. It was
terrible and I was so sure I was a poor writer that I never tried again until
five years ago. Now, in my professional life, I’ve worked as a business and
technical writer and editor for a long time, but I didn’t try to write fiction.
Then five years ago, my partner and I were discussing self-publishing and I
mentioned that I had a story I thought would sell. She pushed me to write it,
so I did.
Can you give us a little insight into any fantasy characters in your
latest book?
There isn’t any magic in the world I created.
There are humans who are radically mutated. Libby is a chameleon, and she
thinks she does her thing using psychic influence, but she isn’t sure exactly
how it works. Other mutants include people with vampirism, telepathy, and a
sort of wolfman mutation. Some of the mutations are enhanced using genetic
engineering.
Is your the world in your book like earth or is it a fantasy world?
What is the time period setting of your latest book?
The book is set 200 years in the future.
Environmental pollution and climate change have drastically altered the world,
and several nuclear wars have damaged the environment further. The book is set
in Toronto, but the climate is like south Florida is today. Major parts of the
world are so hot and dry that they’re uninhabitable. As a result of all this, large businesses have
taken charge and governments are basically organs of the corporations. There
are four main tiers in society, the corporate bosses, those who work for the
corporations, a small set of independent business people, and the desperately
poor. Many of the poor are mutants.
How do you think you would feel if you received a really bad review
that seemed justified?
I’ve had reviews with constructive criticism. I
try to use them to learn and make my writing better. Mostly, reviews reflect a
particular person’s tastes. What one person likes, another one hates.
Do you think all readers should do reviews to help the writers
improve?
Some new authors don’t understand the purpose of
reviews. Reviews aren’t written for authors, they’re written for readers.
Readers often make choices on what book to buy based on reviews, especially if
the review is written by someone whose opinion they value.
When I consider buying a book, I read the lowest
rated reviews. If the reviewer highlights issues that would also bother me, I
tend to move on. In some cases, the things the reviewer hates are the types of
content that attract me and I’ll buy the book.
*Curtesy of Ultimante Fantasy Book Tours & B.R. Kingslover
