Deal Sharing Aunt: Machines Of the Little People by Tegon Maus Interview

Machines Of the Little People by Tegon Maus:

Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing (April 20, 2014) Category: Mystery, Soft Science Fiction, Technothriller, Humor, Quirky ASIN: B00JU2VOGS Tour Date: Oct/Nov, 2015 Available in: ebook, 166 Pages Ben Harris’s sister died of cervical cancer more than three years ago… his best friend and her husband, Roger Keswick, disappeared the day before the funeral. For the next six months everyone from the local police to the Department of Defense searched for him but to no avail… it was as if he had simply fallen off the face of the planet only to reappear at work as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Then by the purest of coincidences Ben finds himself pulled back into Roger’s life only to discover he has remarried… to Jessica… a woman the looks, sounds and acts just like his dead sister. To complicate things Roger is insistent his home, his car, his life is infested with tiny elf like creatures he calls the Katoy. He claims they run massive machines under his house and watch his every move… every move that is until Jessica is found bludgeoned to death in his living room and Roger is nowhere to be found . . . again.

Praise for Machines Of the Little People by Tegon Maus:

"Tegon Maus is an author that I read when I need a wild and crazy ride! His characters are always so quirky and unique. I am pretty sure I've never encountered the type of characters that are in these books in any other books! They're hilariously flawed and extremely well-developed. They could just walk off the page...though you wouldn't want them to. I just absolutely recommend this science fictiony type of book to those of you who appreciate great, quirky characters and wild, conspiracy theory type plots. I am seriously glad that I was introduced to his writing."-Christy Maurer, Christy's Crazy Corners "As the saying goes, it takes all sorts. This is certainly the case with the characters in this story. As this story unfolds the characters are all so amazing, from psychic elderly ladies, to nine ‘sisters’ and sinister spy like characters and agents. Then, if that is not exciting enough, add to the equation a blossoming love affair, secret research projects and deadly weapons and you soon come to realise that this book is captivating from the first page. Oh, and don’t forget those little people – and their machines…"-Susan Keefe, Book Reviews by Susan Keefe "The SF angle was pretty neat, but the mystery is what drives the story. The characters come alive, and the writing is fast-paced and exciting, keeping the reader turning the pages."- Virginia E. Johnson, Amazon Reviewer

About Tegon Maus:

Tegon Maus was raised pretty much the same as everyone else… devoted mother, strict father and all the imaginary friends he could conjure. Not that he wasn’t friendly, he just wasn’t “people orientated”. Maybe he lived in his head way more than he should have, maybe not. He liked machines more than people, at least he did until I met his wife. The first thing he can remember writing was for her. For the life of him he can’t remember what it was about… something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married him shortly after that. He spent a good number of years chasing other dreams before he got back to writing. It wasn’t a deliberate conscious thought, it was more of a stepping stone. His wife and himself had joined a dream interpret group and we were encouraged to write down our dreams as they occurred. “Be as detailed as you can,” we were told. He was thrilled. If there is one thing he enjoys it’s making people believe him and he likes to exaggerate. Not a big exaggeration or an outright lie mind you, just a little step out of sync, just enough so you couldn’t be sure if it were true or not. When he writes, he always write with the effort of “it could happen” very much in mind and nothing, he guarantees you, nothing, makes him happier. He has consistently placed in the top 3 in 189 writing contest in a variety of genres and has been featured in magazines a couple of times to raise money for Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Interview:

1. How long does it take you to write a book? On average about a year, sometimes a little more, seldom anything less.

2. What is your work schedule like when you're writing? I only get to write nights and weekends so as a rule I write in my head during the day. Then try like hell to remember it all and get it on paper that night at home. Saturdays, after lawn work, I read it over and try to put it in some kind of order. Sundays, I fill in the details of what I had in my head. I use a voice program that reads it all back to me. I listen for the rhythm of what I’ve written. It should flow, easy, smooth, natural… like you’re talking to someone interested in what you have to say.

3. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? All my books are filled with quirky characters. I like them very much and enjoy building their world. A quirk of mine ?? I would be embarrassed to tell you.

4. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? What inspires me?? That’s a tough one. Almost everything I see, hear, or interact with adds something to the story at the back of my head… maybe not the story I’m writing at this moment but it wedges itself in for future reference. Doubly so if it’s odd enough or makes me laugh.

5. When did you write your first book and how old were you? The first time I wrote a book I was in my mid 20’s. I sent it out to everyone I could get a hold of… dozens of copies to every corner of the world. What I got back crushed me, damaged me… it was like getting hate mail from the people you admire. It would be more than twenty years before I would try again.

6. What do you like to do when you're not writing? I love to garden and do wood working.

7. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? I write for me… well to be accurate I write for my wife. We have been together for 46 years. In the beginning I worked 2 jobs, she read to me all the time when I worked nights. Now that her eyesight is dwindling and has a good deal of trouble reading. I write to entertain her.

8. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? 6 that are published with 2 more slated for next year and my favorite… I would say BOB. It’s a soft SCi-Fi story about ufos over Arizona and all the fun that takes place there with their arrival.

9. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they? For me… it was buying a text to speech program so I can hear how it sounds… smooth verses choppy. I had read about a writing festival where you could get an agent as well as a publisher by submitting your work to them... that and $50 bucks. The one catch was you had to claim you wrote it after THEY READ IT OUT LOUD to a full auditorium of other writers who vote for or against your work. If I ever got the chance I didn’t want my stories to sound like a bad comedy show from the 60’s.

10. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? Not too much… every now and then. I do get fan e-mail from a few teeny boppers in Estonia ! They seem to be very taken with my stories.

11. Do you like to create books for adults? Very much so. I like to lead them down one path only to pull the rug out from under them at the last moment.

12. What do you think makes a good story? I think it depends on the story… I like to take advantage of what people think is true and then prove its not.

13. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? Build Robots ! Failing that in college I wanted to be a Bio-Engineer and make robotic limbs for amputees.

14. What Would you like my readers to know? My stories are a fun, quirky, read well worth the time. They have to try it for themselves.