Bookish Banter – Featured Author – Mitchel Rose

Saturday 31st August 2013

Bookish Banter is proud to present today’s featured author.

Introducing…

Mitchel Rose

Mitchel Rose is 37 years old and lives in the Midlands in the United Kingdom.  During his day to day life he works for a charity supporting people with learning difficulties. So he is already a hero in my eyes – but he is also a published author and co-writer of six fantasy adventure novels for Granton City Press in collaboration with Calvin Daniels and  the sole author of a paranormal romance entitled Edge of Heat.  Mitchel also writes factual articles and web content, and has ghost-written several novels and short-stories for various clients.  He is currently collaborating with an artist to produce a fantasy graphic novel.  Mitchel lives with his partner Harry and their three fur babies, or cats if you prefer, who he assures me are always up to mischief.

So without further ado I would like to introduce Mitchel Rose –

(Laura) – Which part of the globe do you consider home?

(Mitchel) –  Physically I live in a small town in the Midlands, UK, but spiritually I’ve always been drawn to the verdant expanses of Virginia in the United States.  The ruggedness and grandeur appeals to me on a really deep level.

(Laura) –  Do you make writing your full time gig?  

(Mitchel) – I work part-time for a charity that supports people with learning difficulties, and I also freelance as a content and ghost writer, as well as working on my own projects. 

(Laura) – Why writing – when there are so many equally mad jobs you could be wasting your time with?

(Mitchel) – I’ve always wanted to write fantasy from a very early age.  I grew up on an unhealthy diet of Saturday morning cartoons and fantasy novels, and wanted to create my own adventures and characters.  As I got older, I suffered from depression, and writing fantasy was a great way to escape my problems for a while, and give me something to focus on.  After I graduated from university, I had some half-baked notions of climbing the corporate ladder and have a career, but found out early on I was pretty incompetent at normal stuff.  So, I found solace in writing fantasy.

(Laura) – Oh my! How similar we are, I can so relate – must be the traits of a writer!

(Laura) – Latest work – can you give us a quick overview of your most up-to-date project?

(Mitchel) – At the moment I’m working on a fantasy adventure called Mister Zeem and the Ritual of Fiends.  It’s about a cyborg alien jellyfish that fights crime.  He’s helped by a bisexual emo elf, who keeps the preserved body of his dead twin brother in a trunk in his room.

(Laura) – So not your usual, run of the mill, Fantasy adventure then!  – sounds Awesome and I can’t wait to read it and be taken on a surreal, comic book hero ride 😀

 (Laura) – Where did the idea come from?

(Mitchel) – The 1960s’ Batman series and Saturday morning cartoons.

(Laura) – again I can so relate!  I spent many an hour as a child with the same Saturday morning TV diet! 😉 

(Laura) – Is this a collaboration?  Can you tell us something about that?  If not – forget I asked!

(Mitchel) – No, this is a solo project.

(Laura) – OK move on people nothing to see here – he’s riding bare back on this one! 😀

 (Laura) – Which genre do you write in or do you cross them?

(Mitchel) – Mostly fantasy, I guess.  I don’t have the kind of mind that can grasp science and technology, so I tend to focus on magical adventures with ‘soft’ sci-fi trappings. 

(Laura) – How do you approach research – are you a quick search or a buried under mountains of books kinda guy?

(Mitchel) – A little bit of both, I think.  I do some general research at the start of a novel, but if I get stuck on a certain point I go back and do some more. 

(Laura) – How do you think your writing has improved?

(Mitchel) – I think my character development has gotten better, and I’m also a bit more comfortable with writing in other genres, and not just fantasy.  I’m not sure whether it’s actually improved or not, I guess it’s up to the reader to make that call.

(Laura) – I love your style Mitchel, you have a unique voice and I can see how it is developing.  Can’t wait to see more of your work in the future!

(Laura) – Were there any problems in your latest work that made life difficult for you?

(Mitchel) –   As well as being an adventure, it’s also a mystery, but I haven’t worked out the mystery parts properly yet, so it kind of reads like a bad episode of Murder She Wrote, so I need to really polish it up and make it so the reader keeps guessing ‘whodunnit’.

(Laura) – I like Murder she Wrote! LOL

 (Laura) – So why do you love writing so much?

(Mitchel) –   I love creating worlds I can get lost in, and characters I really like.  I enjoy developing their lives and relationships, and making them thoroughly miserable!

(Laura) – JIt’s good to create a character you can really take it out on huh?  I agree!  Even better to put someone you absolutely despise in a piece and then really go to town on them!

(Laura) – Plot, plan or dive right in?

(Mitchel) – I dive right in, though I should know better, but I never seem to learn.

(Laura) – Sometimes it is best just let your creativity run and see where it leads!

 (Laura) – Do you get ideas from your fans and do online communities help?

(Mitchel) – Sometimes I have really creative conversations with other writers off Facebook that help give me some good ideas.

(Laura) – Self-publishing or Traditional and what are your thoughts on this issue?

(Mitchel) – I think both have their benefits.  Self-publishing lets you put your own creative vision out there without having to go through ‘official channels’ or justify yourself to an agent or publisher, but going the traditional route give you access to professional advice and support with marketing your work.

(Laura) – Are you writing a series of books and how awesome do you think serials are?

(Mitchel) – I’m hoping to expand Mr Zeem into a series, and yes I really enjoy writing book serials in general.  You can explore a large range of stories and develop your characters taking them in different directions through a serial, which can’t be fully satisfied in one book.

(Laura) – Quickie overview of your series? (If you have one that is – if not – sorry – keep walking…)

(Mitchel) –  Mr Zeem solves bizarre and dangerous cases on an alternate earth where magic and science function side by side, and humans and fantasy races co-exist, albeit grudgingly.

(Laura) – How do you find good reviewers?  Would you pay for reviews or do you want to wait for the readers to make the first move?

(Mitchel) – I usually just ask for feedback from anyone interested.  I don’t think I’d pay for reviews as I think it undermines your credibility as an author.  I like readers to approach my work cold and give me an honest reaction. 

(Laura) – If you didn’t write what would your dream job be?

(Mitchel) – Probably a lighthouse keeper, if they still existed.  I love solitude and I could read and watch episodes of Thundercats and Batman to my heart’s content, in between saving ships from a watery doom.

(Laura) – I always knew you were a secret superhero…

(Laura) – Are there any Super-hero Author types who really, really inspired you to write?

(Mitchel) – HP Lovecraft, for his macabre creations and cosmic mythology.  I also admire R A Salvatore a lot.  He is very prolific and has created some wonderful and well-crafted fantasy adventures.  It would be a great honour to be compared to him sometime in the future.

(Laura) – What are your thoughts on book trailers and do you have an awesome one?

(Mitchel) – I think they’re a brilliant idea, but no I don’t have one.  I made several unsuccessful attempts, but I lack the technical wizardry to make anything half-decent.

(Laura) – When you have a chance to unwind and peel yourself from your laptop – what do you do with your time?

(Mitchel) –  I like to read, and go walking and watch genre programmes to give me more writing ideas.

(Laura) – Do you mix with other author types and are they mega friendly and super helpful?

(Mitchel) –  I mostly interact with writers I’ve connected with on Facebook, and yes they are very friendly and it’s helpful to discuss ideas with them.

(Laura) – Editing – how do you manage this boring, monotonous task?  Do you have a professional to help you?

(Mitchel) –  Granton

(Laura) – Have you got something in your bag of tricks that you can share with others – pearls of wisdom as it were?

(Mitchel) –  Always follow your heart no matter what weird and dark places it might take you to.

(Laura) – Link party – anything and everything that exists on the www to help us find you and your work…

Tales of Granton City Website – Pulp adventures co-written by myself and other writers:  Tales of Granton City – Explore a new world of Pulp Heroes | Wix.com

Amazon – where Ghost Wind 1: The Torn Veil by Mitchel Rose & Calvin Daniels is available in paperback: Ghost Wind: The Torn Veil: Amazon.co.uk: Calvin Daniels, Mitchel Rose: Books

People can also buy a PDF copy of Ghostwind direct from myself at mitchel.rose@sky.com – for 2.99 which I’ll send via email.   Hopefully Ghostwind will be available on Smashwords and Kindle shortly.

I also offer a professional ghost & content writing service and again, people can reach me on mitchel.rose@sky.com to discuss their needs and read some samples of my work. 

(Laura) – Thank you for joining in the fun  and being an awesome guest on ‘Bookish Banter’.

(Mitchel) – Thank you for interviewing me

Captain Ozone – A real live Time-Travelling Super Hero – Ecology Champion for Today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ElAaNp5FZk

How can we save the planet?

Let’s ask a Time Traveller from the future – from the year 2039 to be exact!

I am very proud to be Introducing to you all – a Super Hero with a Super ‘Green’ ego…

Captain Ozone

 

When I first came across Captain Ozone, on my Facebook page ‘Time Traveller’s United’, I had been waiting for a real live Time Traveller to stumble across my page and give us the gossip from the future and to hopefully give us some really useful information that would help us to clean up the planet here in the present.  When Captain Ozone flew by ‘Time Traveller’s United’ and left us a video showing how he materialised into our present time on his amazing Time Travelling Toilet, little was I to know just how useful and important his message to us could be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rsqa2_hy5L0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You see Captain Ozone is not only a Super Hero Time Traveller from the future, he is also a champion for green causes.

 

He has seen the future (he’s been there) and he wants us to put ‘renewable energy’ at the top of our list for saving the planet.  And Captain Ozone knows that our children are the future – so what better way to get his message across than through the children of today – our Heroes for tomorrow.  So Captain Ozone and the Youth Ecology Program are here to tell us how we can start saving the planet today so that our future will be brighter, cleaner, and a whole lot greener.

I decided straight away that I couldn’t have a Time Traveller in my midst without interviewing him about the future.  So without further ado here is my interview with Captain Ozone…

THE INTERVIEW

(Laura) –  (This one’s from my 9 year old) – How old were you when you became a time traveller?

(Captain Ozone) – I was 27 going on 28 years old when I traveled a half-century backwards through time. I was born on April 7, 2011 and left my timeline on March 13, 2039 and arrived in your timeline on March 13, 1989. Ask your 9-year-old to do the math to figure out how old I am today.

(Laura) –  Are you a human or an alien time traveller?

(Captain Ozone) – I’m all too human. All time travelers are human.

Earth has never been visited by extraterrestrials. They live too many light years away from Earth to travel here. Most sighted, photographed or filmed UFO’s are merely weather balloons, covert military aircrafts, or simply prank photos of someone tossing a hubcap or a hat in the air. However, a small percentage of UFO’s are actually human time travelers from the future. Some of them are from thousands of years into the dim future and they have evolved physically beyond human recognition. That is why some of them look like extraterrestrials to us. They have evolved larger temporal lobes and cerebral cortexes, giving them more intelligence and creativity, plus they are far more peaceful and civilized than we are.

(Laura) –  What powers/scientific genius do you use to make your travels in Time?

(Captain Ozone) – I traveled only once through time. When I arrived at the Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham, Washington in 1989, several hours later the local police confiscated my time machine. They thought that me, seated on my time machine in colorful costume, was a potential diversion for a robbery at the mall. I think it’s quite possible that my time machine is being stored somewhere at Area 51 today.

I’m no genius. General Landrew Carter assigned me this mission because he thought I was fool enough to do it. I realized that the day the cops confiscated my time machine and I had no way of getting back home. I’m not a physicist nor have I studied theories in time travel. I attended a briefing at the Hexagon (use to be the Pentagon building before it was remodeled) the day I left on March 13, 2039 and we spent about an hour discussing things like space-time continuum conundrums and whatnot. But I was just a country boy who grew up in a rural area. My friends use to call me “Willy the Space Cowboy”.

(Laura) –  What year to you hail from?

(Captain Ozone) – I left on my time machine on March 13, 2039 at 2:40am and arrived in this timeline on March 13, 1989. When I materialized in 1989, my entry point created some sort of ”cosmic shock wave” which caused hundreds of power grid problems to erupt throughout the world, including a 12-hour blackout in Quebec, Canada. My entry also caused some satellites in space to go out of control for several hours and even the Discovery space shuttle was having problems. The media, not knowing about my “arrival”, attributed all these global electrical problems to a solar flare. Below is the original VHS videotape documentation of my “arrival”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsqa2_hy5L0

(Laura) –  What country are you from? (If countries still exist)

(Captain Ozone) – The good ‘ol U.S. of A.

(Laura) –  Who is the ruler/dictator of your country/state/world order?

(Captain Ozone) – When petroleum began to dwindle in supply by the late 2030’s, it shot sky high in price, triggering a world war over control of several oil fields situated in two countries. This war began in the fall of 2038 and wiped out almost a billion people – 8% of the world population. I will not identify the nations that were involved in this war for the reason that it will only incite suspicion, fear and hatred between these nations at present. For the same reason, I will not identify the two countries the oil fields were situated in that these nations warred over. Furthermore, a space-time continuum sticky situation would most likely occur if I were to identify these nations or even make known who was ruler/dictator of our country during the war. This is the principal reason why I refuse to share too much information about events in my future timeline.

(Laura) –  Have you got a blog for your Time Travelling antics?

(Captain Ozone) – Antics?? You make my mission sound like horseplay or hanky-panky.

I have a New MySpace page at www.MySpace.com/CaptainOzone and also a Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Captain.Ozone.

(Laura) –  Do you write about your adventures? If so in what form and can we have a link please?

(Captain Ozone) – My writing really sucks so, no, I don’t write about my adventures. Some of my adventures are on YouTube. There’s a book you can order through Amazon.com called “I, Superhero!!” that has several pages about me. Some magazines and newspapers all around the world have done interviews with me or have written about me. There is also a movie called “Superhero Me” that you can stream on Amazon.com that features me.

http://www.amazon.com/Superhero-Wear-Tights-Wont-Have/dp/080653138X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1376555867&sr=8-3&keywords=I%2C+Superhero

A woman did an interview with me via shortwave radio several years ago and you can read it here at http://www.timechatter.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3

(Laura) –  Do you have a nemesis?

(Captain Ozone) – Yes, I do have nemesis’s. They are Osun Thyruss (Dirty Brown Clown), Circus Jaxs and Agent Beryllium.

(Laura) –  What are the most important lessons you have learnt from the future that you can pass on?

(Captain Ozone) – Into the late 2030s, very little had been accomplished to establish a worldwide, renewable energy infrastructure. Since fossil fuels were still the cheapest and therefore the most profitable energy sources, almost every nation had no incentive to create a zero-emissions economy.

The leading greenhouse gas from fossil fuels that’s held to cause global warming was reduced in the atmosphere through a carbon capture and storage technique known as Carbon Sequestration. This involves capturing carbon dioxide gas from factories and power plants and injecting it into underground reservoirs or on the ocean floor where it’s presumed to be stored permanently.

Global warming never occurred in the 2030s despite today’s prevailing belief that it will, but many scientists and ecologists were worried that major earthquakes would cause megatons of captured carbon dioxide to escape from where it was stored, causing rapid climate change.

My mission was to put a halt to wars over oil in the future and to reduce manmade greenhouse gas emissions through safer methods than carbon sequestration. I would accomplish this by traveling a half-century backwards through time to the year 1989 to establish a global renewable energy infrastructure.

My primary mission was to deliver vital data in my holopedia to scientists in 1989 who were involved in the research and development of zero-emissions, renewable energy systems. The data was of schematic diagrams of highly efficient solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and hydrogen power systems that were fifty years ahead of 1989’s renewable energy technologies. These futuristic renewable energy systems would enable every nation to be energy self-sufficient, eliminating wars over oil in the future, plus they would significantly reduce manmade greenhouse gas emissions held to cause rapid climate change.

To answer your question, we need to build a worldwide renewable energy infrastructure ASAP with the contemporary technologies we have today. Businesses and home owners need to get off the power grid by investing in rooftop solar panels, mini wind turbines and geothermal systems. Power companies, factories and automobile corporations need to convert to zero-emissions energy sources.

(Laura) –  Is there still a need for TV in the future or is it now all via digital implants? If so can I have one? LOL

(Captain Ozone) – No digital implants in the 2030’s. The human brain is far too complex to tap into like that. Maybe by the year 2113 we’ll have digital implants sending electrical impulses to our neurons in our visual cortex to see movies in our minds.

Television merged with the Internet in the 2020’s. By the 2030’s, the Internet (or the “binary heavens”) was in 3D IMAX resolution (4000p) at 600 frames per second (600Hz) with Surround Sound. Looking at your computer monitor was like looking through a window at the world. Even handheld holopedias had 3D IMAX screens! Nanotechnology was soaring in the 2030’s.

Captain Ozone documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5iMqdPAoVw

This is Captain Ozone signing off – but remember…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well – I would just like to thank Captain Ozone for taking ‘time’ out of his busy schedule to come and answer some, what I am sure you will all agree, were some very important and probing questions about ‘Time Travel’ and I am sure that we have all learnt a great deal about how we can also become Champions for Ecology – Thank you once again to 

CAPTAIN OZONE.

I know I for one will be looking for greener alternatives – I hope you will be to…