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Interview: Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

To give you all of you some idea of my summer, I started the process of this interview with Pip & Tee back in May. MAY! They got back to me in June and then my summer-itis hit and its been parked ever since. Hopefully, our two agents from the Ministry will not hold the delay against me.

For those of you not acquainted with Pip & Tee, there are a slew of links at the bottom of the interview. Please feel free to check our authors out.

A review of The Janus Affair will have to wait. Among other things, reading also got put on the back shelf this summer. It’s on top of my TBR pile (Is it a pile if it in your Kindle?) and I hope to get at it soon.

On to the interview, without further adieu.

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The Interview (Request) – #MNINB Day 25

by Paul K. Ellis on April 25, 2012 No comments

Today’s April Platform Challenge is to request (important – Robert didn’t say get) an email interview from an expert. I have chosen two experts, Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris. If they agree, we’ll talk about their upcoming novel, The Janus Affair; writing with a partner, creating a sequel, and stuff like that.

Their new book hits stores May 29th. Mine is on pre-order. This blog is still too all-over-the-place to warrant an advanced copy. Perhaps by the third installment.

This is going to be a bit of a homecoming and a bit of stretch for me. I used to be a pretty good interviewer way back when I worked in radio. That’s the homecoming part, the stretch is I haven’t conducted an interview in almost 25 years. I’d almost like to do this as a podcast except, my studio is in pieces, I have a raging head cold (and sound it), and there is a little trepidation being unscripted after that long. Of course, it’s all moot if their schedule is too full. We’ll have to wait and see.

Reviewed: Phoenix Rising By Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

by Paul K. Ellis on May 23, 2011 No comments

It’s the highly anticipated, often promised, much delayed and completely unsolicited review of Pip and Tee’s Phoenix Rising! Yup, I finally finished it, after a series of fits and starts that won’t be named here.

Grab your brass goggles, pith helmet and Webley … the game’s afoot! From their explosive first hello until the thundering finale, Eliza D. Braun (Field Agent) and Wellington Thornhill Books, Esquire (Chief Archivist) deliver a crackle and spark worthy of Powell and Loy!

I consider myself something of a steampunk purist, if there is such an animal, and this tale suits my Victorian cup of tea quite nicely. Set in a London that never was (sometime between March/April 1894 and January 1901), we have airships, a madcap coach chase through the downtown streets, a secret society bent on world domination, a series of Lovecraftian deaths and steam powered cyborgs!

I wish I’d had the time to sit down and read this all at once! It is extremely well written, with fully realized characters and engaging situations. This is no surprise as both Pip and Tee have rather impressive personal publishing pedigrees. I’m not really sure this qualifies as a freshman effort, even if it is the first book they have co-authored.
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A Brand New Start

by Paul K. Ellis on April 25, 2011 One comment

Welcome to the relaunch of “A Dark & Stormy Night”. It was time to give the place a makeover. It’s been over a year since I posted an entry, so I figured I’d better repurpose the page or return the storage so someone else could make better use of it.

I’m going to be adding bits and pieces as I go along in addition to (at least) weekly posts. A buddy of mine got to give me an “I told you so” after my initial effort petered out. I think that was in large part due to the lack of anything remotely resembling a plan. To prevent him from being able to snicker up his sleeve at me again, I’m going to try something a little bit different.

I’ve had a project languishing in the weeds for about two years now. It’s been a challenge trying to find motivation, inspiration and plain old perspiration to complete the work. I think I’ve found my muse or rather, a helpful convergence of things that have rekindled and sparked my interest.

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