Deal Sharing Aunt: Wishing Stone by Tegon Maus Interview

Wishing Stone by Tegon Maus

Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing (August 10, 2014) Category: Mystery, Soft Science Fiction, Technothriller, Humor, Quirky ASIN: B00MMQYLPU Tour Date: Feb/Mar, 2016 Available in: ebook, 151 Pages During that last summer, as if in punishment for being happy, Kate was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The last time we used the wishing stone was at the hospital the morning she died. On that day, all three of us made a silent wish, certain the others had wished the same. Kate died that afternoon and I never thought about it again. It was the last time I believed in magic, in love or in the existence of God. Then, after three miserable lonely years, the unthinkable, a second chance . . . Warwick.

Praise for Machines of the Little People (The Eve Project- Book 1)

"The plot is unique, I must say that I haven't read a Sci Fi book so original in a long time. It has everything, mystery, suspense, romance, eccentric characters, conspiracy theories, and of course the little people with their machines! Crazy, Wild, Excellent Written. Highly Recommended!!!"- Julia Damatto, Romorror Fan Girl "the real joy of this book is not the plot itself. The real joy is the way in which Maus keeps his readers constantly off guard, stringing them along for pages before flipping the situation on its head and forcing readers to reevaluate whatever they thought they knew. Normally, that just pisses me off, but the way Maus manipulates his readers makes us squeal with delight at every turn. There is an energy to his novels, a sense of urgency tinged with wonder. We trust that wherever he takes us--and it won't be somewhere we expect--it will be an adventure in the truest sense of the word. And then we have the characters. At the end of the day, it's the characters that make a Maus book what it is. Definitely recommended for anyone who just wants a cracking good story. "-Jonathan Cook, Author 'Youth and Other Fictions' "Anyone who loves a good science fiction/fantasy story would have a hard time putting this one down."- Lisa Binion, Author 'Softly and Tenderley'

Praise for Wishing Stone (The Eve Project- Book 2)

"More great Sci-Fi adventure from Tegon Maus. He doesn't just give us a good Sci-Fi story. He gives us a story with great characters and a unique story and is able to include many other genres in his Sci-Fi stories. Comedy, drama and action. Let's pray for a book three in the series."-Erik Nelson, Author 'Unlawful Protection' "This is a great science fiction story, which follows on nicely from The Eve Project: Book 1, Machines of the Little People, however could easily be read as a stand-alone. It has it all for science fiction fans, top secret scientific projects, a great storyline, twists and turns round every corner, yet, at its very core lies, dare I say it, a love story. It has a great finish, however, at the end, all I wanted to know from the author – is there is another book in the series coming? I hope so"-Susan Keefe, Author 'Toby's Tales' Series "I enjoyed The Wishing Stone even more than the first book, even though, again, it's not my usual read. I really liked the eccentric scientist characters Ben meets at Warwick, and as with book one, Tegon Maus did a great job of keeping me guessing what was really going on right to the very end. I look forward to finding out what book 3 has in store!"-Nick Stead, Author 'Hybrid'

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. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? As soon as my wife developed cataracts. She used to read to me all the time… book after book, hundreds of them ! Then as time went by she was no longer able to read to me as before so I read to her and to make her laugh I began to make up stories. She wanted me to write them down so she could share them… one thing lead to another and here I am.

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

3. 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.

4. 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 ?? For food to taste good to me… eggs have to be on the right side of the plate. Dearheart always makes sure I have the SAME fork for every meal. Anything else and I would be embarrassed to tell you.

5. 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.

6. 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.

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

8. What does your family think of your writing? They think it is a phase that will pass.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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 oppers in Estonia ! They seem to be very taken with my stories.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.