Blog Tour Author Interview & Giveaway - Reconquest: Mother Earth by Carl Alves

Reconquest: Mother Earth

Carl Alves

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Montag Press

Date of Publication: March 26, 2014

Number of pages: 304

Word Count: 75,000

Cover Artist: Jeremy Rathbone

Book Description:

SEAL Mitch Grace was among the first humans to see the aliens when they landed at the naval base where he was stationed, but like the rest of humanity, he was powerless to stop them.

Five years later, Mitch awakens from his coma under the care of an alien physician to find that aliens control the planet.  Starting alone, as a one man army, he rallies the surviving humans to build a resistance movement to take the planet back from the alien conquerors. After his capture by the aliens, Mitch is forced into intergalactic slavery to become a gladiator, fighting as the sole representative of the human species. Against all odds and far from home, he lays the plans for the reconquest of his homeland.

Reconquest: Mother Earth is the thrilling combination of Red Dawn, Independence Day, and Gladiator.

Buy Links:

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Author Interview

1. What inspired you to want to become a writer?

When I was in high school I dabbled in writing but I dropped it when I got to college.  Majoring in Biomedical Engineering, there wasn’t a whole lot of time for ancillary activities.  After graduation, my wife thought it would be a good idea if I started writing again, and I realized that it was something that I missed.  That was when I got serious about learning the craft and trying to get published. 

2. Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.

It would have to be getting my first novel published, Two For Eternity.  It wasn’t the first novel that I had written. It was actually my third novel.  From the time I started writing again, until Two For Eternity was published was around ten years. It was a long, hard process, but one that has also been rewarding in many ways.  The struggle made me appreciate it all that much more. 

3. If you could have a signed copy of any novel what would it be and why?

Definitely The Stand by Stephen King.  The Stand is the best novel I've ever read.  I tackled this post apocalyptic epic fantasy when I was thirteen.  It had a profound effect on me then and made me want to write.  There is so much going on in the novel, but if you want to boil it down to its fundamentals, it's ultimately about good vs. evil.  The personification of evil, and the best written villain I've encountered this side of Hannibal Lecter is represented in Randall Flagg, who is kind of like the devil incarnate and the one who started this super flu.

4. If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

I would want to be superfast like The Flash.  Since I was a kid, he has always been my favorite superhero.  I live such a busy life.  I am constantly on the move.  I figure that if I had super speed than that could alleviate some of my problems.  I could get to my job in like 30 seconds instead of nearly an hour and that would create all kinds o fextra time. 

5. Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.

Reconquest: Mother is fast paced with loads of action, cool characters, and aliens.

6. Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?

I never stop writing.  Just recently I finished a manuscript am I currently titling Beyond Ragnarok, which starts off with the Battle of Ragnarok taken from Norse mythology.  In my story Loki swerves the Asgardian gods by not appearing at Ragnarok, and instead spending the last decade on Midgard (Earth) creating a virus designed to wipe out most of the population so that he can wrest power from the world’s leaders.  It is up to two of the survivors of the Battle of Ragnarok to stop him.

7. Do you write as you go or do you have the book planned before you start the first draft?

What I generally have is a pretty good idea  of the beginning and the end, and then maybe a couple of the major characters and plot points.  I don’t outline, but what I do instead is sort of outline in my own mind all of the time.  I’m constantly looking ahead at what I see happening in the next three  - six chapters and how it will lead to my end goal.  I work out the dialogue and the action scenes in my head before I put them to paper, but I like to have the story evolve.  Very often, I’ll change directions  from where I had originally planned to go because it makes sense for the story and the characters. 

8. What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year?

I am looking forward to watching Captain America: the Winter Soldier with my nine-year-old son.  It will be a nice shared experience for the two of us.  I currently have a long queue of books to read, but I what I am most looking forward to is getting further along in A Song of Fire and Ice by George R.R. Martin. 

9. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

Other than my home in Pennsylvania, it would have to be in Hawaii, the most beautiful place I have ever been to in my life.

10. Can you see yourself in any of your characters?

I think subconsciously there is always either going to be some of my thoughts or philosophies of life in my characters, but there is certainly never anything overt.  All of the characters I have ever written about are vastly different than myself as people.

About the Author:

Carl went to Boston University majoring in Biomedical Engineering.  Carl graduated with a BS degree, and has since worked in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries.  He later graduated from Lehigh University with an MBA degree.  His debut novel Two For Eternity was released in 2011 by Weaving Dreams Publishing.  His novel Blood Street was released in 2012 by True Grit Publishing.  His novel Reconquest: Mother Earth is scheduled to be released in 2014 by Montag Press.  His short fiction has appeared in various publications such as Blood Reign Lit, Alien Skin, and Dark Eclipse.  He is a member of the Horror Writers Association and has attended the Penn Writers Conference.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter

***Giveaway***

5 copies of  Reconquest: Mother Earth by Carl Alves - winner’s choice print or ebook  (print open to US and Canadian Shipping Only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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