Do you have any tattoos? Where? When did you get it/them? Where are they on your body?
No, I don’t. Sorry, this is the most boring answer possible. I have nothing against tattoos, and I’ve seen several that I thought were very cool, but I’ve never felt the urge to get one myself; Not sure why.
Is your life anything like it was two years ago?
The biggest change is that we’re not in lockdown anymore. That was… something. Other than that, it’s similar, except I’m about to publish my first book. That’s taking some effort, but it’s exciting!
How long have you been writing?
Depends on how you look at it. If we’re talking about publishing books, I’ve just started. If we’re talking about writing just for fun, then since high school, roughly thirty years ago. I’ve been writing on and off since then, but nothing I considered publishing or sharing with anyone. The Cyborg’s Crusade is the first project I feel I need to put out there. In part, it’s because I feel it is something special. Mostly though, it’s a self-growth exercise. Publishing a book terrifies me, so I figured I should do it!
What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?
Well, I’m only starting out publishing myself, so I’m not very comfortable giving publishing advice. I think I’ll go with this: Editing exists, so don’t worry about writing a good book with your first draft. Most writers can’t do that. Oh, I’m sure there are a few geniuses out there who crank out perfect first drafts, but for the majority (including myself), it doesn’t work that way. Just get a version of your story on paper as a starting point. It might stink, but from there, you revise, edit, rewrite, and eventually, after a ton of work, it will only emit a vaguely unpleasant odor instead. From there, you keep on editing. Once you feel comfortable enough, get some impartial beta readers involved, so you receive feedback. Feedback is tricky, some is good, some is bad. Filter out what you feel is good feedback and revise again based on it. If you can afford a professional editor along the line, it can do wonders.
Anyway, the short version is, writing is an iterative process. It doesn’t matter if the first draft is garbage as long as the last one is gold.
Tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.
My first idea for The Cyborg’s Crusade was to have it set in the afterlife. The story started with James Hunter dying. While it turned out there was life after death, it wasn’t the heaven or hell his religion told him about. Instead, it was a war zone where multiple parties battled for control. Rose, the winged woman who helps him in The Cyborg’s Crusade, was the leader of one such party. The titular cyborg didn’t exist back then. The closest thing was a man in armor wrapped in chains. After a while, I just couldn’t get anywhere with this idea, so things changed a lot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
How did it come to this? My life used to be so simple. Back then, I hated it; I found it boring. Let me tell you: boring’s good. Boring’s great! I should’ve been thankful…
It was supposed to be a date like any other for James Hunter, a simple convenience store clerk. Nothing more than watching a movie in the town of Moncton. A place as unknown and unimportant as he considered his own existence to be. And yet, while walking to a cinema, James teleports to another world. There, a hostile crowd surrounds him, including various mutants with strange deformities.
Before he can even gather his wits or make a dash for it, a lone ally presents herself in the form of a winged woman named Rose. An important cultural figure in the country where James appeared, she offers him both protection and a home.
Soon, James learns that this new world is divided by a cold war. On one side is Nirnivia, home to Rose. The other, Ostark, led by a mysterious cyborg. James is unaware that the cyborg has him in his crosshairs, thinking of him as the Deus Ex Machina that will end the war in his favor.
But, the cyborg is far from the only potential threat to James. Soon after his arrival, BRR, a terrorist organisation, kidnaps him.
What would a rogue group out for revenge seeking to turn the cold war hot want with someone like James? Is there anyone also aware of this other world who will try to find him? Or is he on his own? If so, how is he supposed to escape? If that's even an option...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
So, my name is Benoit Lanteigne and I’m a French Canadian (outside of Quebec) who’s trying to write in English. That can be tricky. I’m a computer programmer and I enjoy it. I see many inspiring writers who hate their jobs and hope to quit someday, but that’s not my case. Mostly, I’ve worked on websites and web applications.
Back in school, I enjoyed writing and according to my teachers and classmates; I had a talent for it. Well, not so much for grammar and spelling, but they liked my stories. Once I went to university, I dropped writing as a hobby. There were other things I wanted to focus on, such as my career. Then, in the early 2000s, around 2006 I’d say, I had a flash of inspiration. At first, it was a single character: a winged woman with red hair. I didn’t even know who she was, but the image stuck with me. From there, I began figuring out details about her origins and her world, but I only started writing for real in 2009.
It’s been roughly 10 years now, and it’s not yet finished. That’s in part because I write in my spare time, and in part because the scope of the project is huge. Maybe too much so. Still, I’m getting close to the point where I could release something. The question is what’s next? Self-publishing? Attempt traditional publishing? Nothing? I don’t know the answer yet, I’m trying to figure it out. Frankly, sharing my writing is difficult for me, and whatever I end up doing, as long as I make it available to people I consider the experience a victory no matter what comes out of it.
Website: https://thecyborgscrusade.com/
Newsletter: https://thecyborgscrusade.com/fanclub.html
Social Media Link Hub: https://thecyborgscrusade.com/hub.html
https://www.facebook.com/people/My-Skeptical-Angel/100055656492122/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS80WvrsYaBCOKBVgYwsXTA
https://www.tiktok.com/@thecyborgscrusade
https://www.instagram.com/thecyborgscrusade/
The book will be $0.99 during the tour.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cyborgs-Crusade-Day-Deux-Machina-ebook/dp/B0CBZZRDZ4
Thank you so much for featuring today's book and author.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much to Tow Ends of the Pen for featuring The Cyborg’s Crusade. Releasing books from this series was a long journey, and it’s a thrill to see it happening. Though, with any luck, the journey is far from over; the series isn’t finished yet.
ReplyDeleteWhile I work during the day, I work from home and I’ll do my best to check the comments every hour or so. If you have any questions about The Cyborg’s Crusade, me, or anything really, by all means, ask.
Sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSounds like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI'm looking forward to reading this.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I'm really happy to "hear" that
DeleteDo you have a favorite book as child?
ReplyDeleteI remember really liking the book sphere from Michael Crichton, but that was as a teenager. As a child, I don't remember which specific book from the series it was, but what I remember most is reading books from a children series calls Oui-Oui. It was about of puppet that lived in toy land. I used to think it came from France, but it actually was created in England and the original name is Noddy in Toyland. They are old books now, quite a bit older than me even, but my library had a lot of them back in the days.
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