I always enjoyed the fantastic ideas presented in Science Fiction and have read many of the classics. After weaning myself from The Wizard of OZ fantasy’s by L. Frank Baum, I began reading The Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon, Nancy Drew Mystery stories by Carolyn Keene, Tom Swift Jr. adventures by Victor Appleton II, and Tom Corbett Space Cadet space action adventures by Carry Rockwell. Stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert A Heinlein and Ray Bradbury soon followed. Looking back at all of the above mentioned authors, I realized that I was drawn to the idea of intermingling Science Fiction with magic and that lead to my innovation of a Fantasy in Space. My reading also formed my idea of what I like to call the “YA of Yesteryear,” which extends the Middle Grade age range to Adult readers. The rediscovery of this audience is today called the New Age genre that has been growing for the past five years.

Two come to mind, Robert A Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. Heinlein’s Space Cadet and Rocket Ship Galileo were the first true Science Fiction books that took me on trips to the Moon and beyond. His books excited my imagination. I read every book of his that I could lay my hands on and I wanted to write stories like him. Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes influenced scenes in my trilogy and the word, Darkside in the title of my first book and in the name of my trilogy. His story has a macabre atmosphere that has stayed with me for many years. Who couldn’t love his characters with names like: Jim Nightshade and the chilling Mr. Dark?

Edgar Rice Burroughs: I grew up reading Tarzan stories and then discovered his Mars and Venus series. What could be better, Science Fiction and Fantasy together in a single book. Charles Dickens, with his fantasy, A Christmas Carol and his character driven stories, like David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. I have read James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson several times and discovered that he was a master at describing his surroundings. I used several of his techniques in describing the world of Pelta in my books.

For magic and telepathy, I reread the Blood of Kings trilogy by Jill Williamson. When I feel I need help with story plot and character development I look at Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling. Another one of my favorite references for world building is The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Listening to my Beta Readers and then cutting my favorite scenes to make the book more exciting for my targeted readers. It’s easy to do, highlight the paragraph(s)/chapters that you want to delete and tap the backspace key. The trick is to let your emotional attachment go with each delete. Looking back, it was the smartest thing that I did.

When you’re writing your manuscript, never forget that its imagination that allows us to experience the future, peek into the past or travel light-years to a distant planet with an alien presence. For me, this process begins with the question what if I could...or what if my protagonist did this.

The plot of my trilogy is steeped in ancient mythology. The first book has ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses that teach powers to my three protagonists. The second and third books introduce the readers to Greek, Roman and Inca deities. Names, descriptions of clothing and abilities of these deities come straight out of the mythology stories: tails that the ancient citizens believed were true. I incorporated many variations from these wonderful stories into my book.

Flying in the backseat of the F4J Phantom II during the 1970s, sometimes played tricks with my mind. Checking your six o’clock for enemy fighters forced me to grab the bottom of my oxygen mask to jerk my head far right or left. While looking towards the rear of the aircraft I suddenly realized that the only sound I heard was my own breathing. This gave me the idea for a Trivean spaceship that produced no sound. I also use many of the aggressive tactics that we practiced to get behind a bogy, hence the cloaking shield and force field that protected the spaceship. Coupling this with actual bogey calls that were taped, flying over Vietnam, brought more realism to the fight scenes in my book.

Readers might be asking themselves why my trilogy is titled The Darkside of the Medallion, and probably wishing that they could own such a marvelous gift that grants them superpowers. Book 2, titled Fire in the Sky, answers those sinister questions with red feet and pain.

Of all of the questions, this is probably the toughest. My favorite scene stretches from the first books chapter called The City of Horus, to the first chapter called Sacrifice, of the last book, titled Living Enduringly, in my trilogy. It answers a promise that Jen makes to a blind girl that she cures. This took me a year to figure out the answer; and from that answer, I added a wonderful 16-year-old mystical protagonist. Also from the first book, the scene when Bast, my magical cat first appears as Jen’s protector and saves her life. I mustn’t forget the mythological Irish connection...well; I guess you’ll have to read that in books two and three; its a hoot.