A little blue world, the third planet from the sun. It’s home to 7 billion people with all manner of faiths, beliefs and customs, divided by bigotry and misunderstanding, who will soon be told they are not alone in the universe. Anyone watching from the outside would pass by this fractured and tumultuous world, unless they had no other choice. Todd Landon is one of these people, living and working in a section of the world called the United States of America. His life is similar to those around him: home, family, work, friends and a husband.On the cusp of the greatest announcement humankind has ever witnessed, Todd’s personal world is thrown into turmoil when his estranged brother shows up on his front porch with news of ships heading for Earth’s orbit. The ships are holding the Nentraee, a humanoid race who have come to Earth in need of help after fleeing the destruction of their homeworld. How will one man bridge the gap for both the Humans and Nentraee, amongst mistrust, terrorist attacks and personal loss? Will this be the start of a new age of man or will bigotry and miscommunication bring this small world to its knees and final end?
Interview
Do you have any writing exercises or habits?This is a tough one, because I don’t think I do. However, I tend to read a lot of my fellow authors works. I will read genres that are not my own to help broaden my horizons and to teach me other ways of telling a story. Also, I do a lot of social media at work, which helps me to develop getting a point across in short bursts. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it isn’t. Where I find that it’s helpful is for when I’m putting together my first draft, because once I have the bones of the story laid out I can go in a flesh out the rest of the story from there.
How do you deal with writer’s block?
If I get stuck, I will work on story research or read, that usually inspires me to get back to my writing.
What authors/books inspired your writing?
Oh gosh, there are so many. I read many Star Trek books (which tend to have different authors), contemporary literature, Stephen King, Kim Stanley Robinson, Anne Rice, and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting.
Do you have a special connection to any of your characters?
All my characters are a part of me, and I enjoy writing each of them. The first one that jumps out at me is Kati, I love her, because she says and does things that are so outrageous, but she’s a good person and I like that. We, people in general, get too hung up in what and how we speak. It’s gotten to the point where we don’t see what’s behind it. A person can say crass things and still be a good person who you would want to be around and who you love and adore and I think that sums up Kati to a tea, if you are easily offended then Kati will definitely say things that will make your eyes bleed.
What is your go-to book that never lets you down?
I don’t really have a go to book. Typically, I don’t re-read books. I’ll read them once and I’m done. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them, because I do.
What can we hope to see from you in the future?
In the immediate future, I have two more books coming out; A New World-Conviction, and T.A.D-The Angle of Death. After that, I’ve finished writing A New World-Conspiracy and that is with the Editor and I’m wrapping up the first draft of the sequel to my vampire series The Calling, which is tentatively titled The Called. From there I have more stories simmering but nothing fleshed out yet.
Any advice for aspiring authors?
Keep writing and don’t give up. Write what you love to read and people will find you. Also, learn what you can about marketing and PR, because you’re going to need it. Writing the story is hard, but getting the story into people’s hands is even harder.
M.D. Neu is a LGBTQA Fiction Writer with a love for writing and travel. Living in the heart of Silicon Valley (San Jose, California) and growing up around technology, he's always been fascinated with what could be. Specifically drawn to Science Fiction and Paranormal television and novels, M.D. Neu was inspired by the great Gene Roddenberry, George Lucas, Stephen King, Alice Walker, Alfred Hitchcock, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Rice, and Kim Stanley Robinson. An odd combination, but one that has influenced his writing.
Growing up in an accepting family as a gay man he always wondered why there were never stories reflecting who he was. Constantly surrounded by characters that only reflected heterosexual society, M.D. Neu decided he wanted to change that. So, he took to writing, wanting to tell good stories that reflected our diverse world.
When M.D. Neu isn't writing, he works for a non-profit and travels with his biggest supporter and his harshest critic, Eric his husband of eighteen plus years.
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