New Releases 8/20/13

Paperbacks

Jack Cloudie by Stephen Hunt

Description from Amazon.

Jack Cloudie is a tale of high adventure and derring-do set in the same Victorian-style steampunk world as Stephen Hunt's acclaimed The Court of the Air and The Secrets of the Fire Sea.

Thanks to his father's gambling debts, young Jack Keats finds himself on the streets and trying to survive as a pickpocket. Following a daring bank robbery gone badly awry, Jack narrowly escapes the scaffold, only to be pressed into the Royal Aerostatical Navy. Assigned to the most useless airship in the fleet, serving under a captain who is most probably mad, Jack seems to be bound for almost certain death in the faraway deserts of Cassarabia.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the slave Omar ibn Barir finds his life turned upside down when his master's religious sect is banned. Unexpectedly freed, he joins the Caliph's military forces—just as war is brewing.

Two very similar young men prepare to face each other across a field of battle. But is Omar the enemy, or is Jack's true nemesis the sickness at the heart of the Caliph's court?

Resurrection Day by Brendan DuBois

Description from Amazon.

"Everyone remembers exactly what they were doing the day President Kennedy tried to kill them."

In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of the nuclear war. The crisis was averted, but what would have happened if war had broken out? In "Resurrection Day," award-winning author Brendan DuBois brings this horrific concept to life...

Winner of the Sidewise Award for Best Alternative History Novel of the Year. With new Author's Afterward for the this edition.

E-Books

The Great Game by Chris Nuttall

Description from Elsewhen Press.

After the uprising in London, Lady Gwendolyn Crichton is settling into her new position as Royal Sorceress and fighting the prejudice against her gender and age that seeks to prevent her fulfilling her responsibilities. But when a senior magician is murdered in a locked room and Gwen is charged with finding the culprit, her inquiries lead her into a web of intrigue that combines international politics, widespread aristocratic blackmail, gambling dens and personal vendettas… and some of her discoveries hit dangerously close to home.

Continuing on from the end of The Royal Sorceress, The Great Game follows Gwen’s unfolding story as she assumes the role formerly held by Master Thomas. A satisfying blend of whodunit and magical fantasy, it is set against a backdrop of international political unrest in a believable yet simultaneously fantastic alternate history.

Operation Long Jump by William Peter Grasso

Description from Amazon.

Alternative history takes center stage as Operation Long Jump, the second book in the Jock Miles World War 2 adventure series, plunges us into the horrors of combat in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. As a prelude to the Allied invasion, Jock Miles and his men seize the Japanese observation post on the mountain overlooking Port Moresby. The main invasion that follows quickly degenerates to a bloody stalemate, as the inexperienced, demoralized, and poorly led GIs struggle against the stubborn enemy. Seeking a way to crack the impenetrable Japanese defenses, infantry officer Jock finds himself in a new role—aerial observer. He’s teamed with rookie pilot John Worth, in a prequel to his role as hero of Grasso’s East Wind Returns. Together, they struggle to expose the Japanese defenses—while highly exposed themselves—in their slow and vulnerable spotter plane. The enemy is not the only thing troubling Jock: his Australian lover, Jillian Forbes, has found a new and dangerous way to contribute to the war effort.

To fans, authors and publishers...

Is you story going to be published in time for the next New Releases? Contact us at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  We are looking for works of alternate history, counterfactual history, steampunk, historical fantasy, time travel or anything that warps history beyond our understanding.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #83

Editor's Note

Congrats to Chris Nuttall for getting fourth place in the Self-Published Author Awards at Underground Book Reviews. I hope you guys have been enjoying Chris' recent articles (How to Write and Publish a Novel in Eight Easy Steps and Review: The Kildaran by Adam Gaffen and Richard Evans). Both are producing excellent numbers, especially from the Reddit community. Thanks guys and remember feedback is appreciated.

Don't forget about our theme for January: "No Americans". We have already gotten a couple of articles and I am really looking forward to sharing it with you guys. Voting continues in our Facebook group for February's theme, so go check it out.

Welcome to our first reader from Bermuda. I hope you and everyone else enjoys what we got coming this week. AJ will be reviewing By Force of Arms and I will be publishing a showcase on A Crack at Draka.

And now the news...

First Novels Based Upon the Iron Kingdoms Role Playing Game

Pyr, an imprint of Prometheus Books, and Privateer Press, the second-largest miniature games manufacturer in the world, have partnered to publish the first novels based upon the award-winning Warmachine steam-powered fantasy wargame and the world of the Iron Kingdoms Role Playing Game.

The Iron Kingdoms world takes classic fantasy concepts and gives them a new twist with a high-octane rush of steam power and industrial engineering. These tie-in novels will be action-packed, steam-tech, military fantasies that combine elements of epic wartime adventure with thrilling cloak-and-dagger espionage.

The first book is titled In Thunder Forged (Book one in The Fall of Llael series) and will be published in June 2013 in paperback and ebook editions. Author Ari Marmell has authored RPG materials for games such as Dungeons & Dragons and the World of Darkness line. He is also the author of the novel The Goblin Corps, as well as Thief’s Covenant and False Covenant in the Widdershins Adventures series for Young Adult readers.

In July 2013, Big Iron (Book two in The Fall of Llael series) will follow. Author C. A. Suleiman has contributed scores of books to the hobby games industry’s top properties, including Dungeons & Dragons and the World of Darkness. He is the developer for White Wolf’s Mummy line, the creator of the Hamunaptra setting, and the coauthor of Vampire: The Requiem.

Pyr’s editorial director, Lou Anders, says, “I am extremely excited by this partnership with Privateer Press. Their reputation for excellence in the game industry matches our own reputation for quality fiction, while the unique ‘steam-powered fantasy’ setting of their Warmachine and Iron Kingdoms games pushed all my personal-narrative buttons. The Fall of Llael trilogy is everything an Iron Kingdoms fan could want, as well as a great introduction to the world for fantasy readers looking for new lands and new adventures.”

“People around the world have long been demanding novels that chronicle the epic tales of the Iron Kingdoms,” said Matt Wilson, founder of Privateer Press and creator of the Iron Kingdoms. “We are pleased to be working with Pyr on a series of novels that will be among the first of a vast library of fiction offerings coming next year that will explore the Iron Kingdoms setting and the sagas of Warmachine and Hordes.”

Reviews: The Afrika Reich by Guy Saville

It has been a good couple of days for author Guy Saville. His debut novel The Afrika Reich has been getting some good reviews on the Internet. The novel got a review on Publisher's Weekly where the reviewer said "Saville gets everything right—providing suspenseful action sequences, logical but enthralling plot twists, a fully thought through imaginary world, and characters with depth." On top of that Sam North at Hack Writers reviewed The Afrika Reich alongside C.J. Sansom's Dominion, another WWII alternate history. Sam finished reviewing both novels by saying "[i]f I had to choose then The Afrika Reich is a faster read but both will leave a nasty taste in your mouth for a reality that very nearly happened."

If you want to learn more about The Afrika Reich, check out Seb's review of the novel and my interview with Guy Saville.

Submissions Wanted and Writing Tips

Aspiring authors take note: there are even more chances to get your alternate history story published.

Those who like to dabble in a little horror should check out the Horrific History anthology which will be closed for submissions on Dec 31st. Comet Press is also accepting novella length stories for their e-book line. Submissions should be between 15,000-40,000 words and should be horror, dark crime, fantasy or dark erotica.

For those of you who don't want to get to dark, Sword and Laser announced an upcoming anthology. Submissions should be 1500-7500 words, but don't send anything yet. They just made the announcement. Bloggers, meanwhile, should check out the upcoming Speculative Fiction 2012: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary. They are looking for some of the best online commentary and reviews. I plan to submit a few of my articles from Alternate History Weekly Update.

Don't ignore some of the bigger publications when trying to publish your short story. Mark Lord has pointed out that the big names in SF and Fantasy are raising their pay rates. Speaking of Mark, he continues to share his thoughts and advice on self-publishing. Check out his recent article on distribution.

Good luck!

New Releases

Hardcover

The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress
Three young women's lives become inexorably intertwined after a chance meeting at a ball that ends with the discovery of a murdered mystery man.

Paperback

Bogart '48 by John Stanley
Someone is planning to blow up the theater during the 1948 Academy Awards show and when Humphrey Bogart hears about it, he knows he has to do something about it. It's what Sam Spade would do.

E-books

Ebby Scrooge: A Christmas Carol of Pirates, Dark Owls, Robots, Zombies, and Ghost Flesh  by Peacock Lavine
This heartwarming tale of perilous Zombies, adorable Zombies-Petits, Robots, Ray Guns, Air Ships, Parisian Clockmakers, Sand Spirits, Pirates, Dark Owls and Ghost Flesh takes the classic reclamation message to a new level for humankind—and other kinds!

Long Walk to the Sun by William Peter Grasso
In this alternate history adventure set in WW2’s early days, a crippled US military struggles to defend vulnerable Australia against the unstoppable Japanese forces. Check out our review of William's other novel East Wind Returns.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate Timelines: What if Spielberg Directed Bond and Never Made Indiana Jones? by Ryan Britt at Tor.com.

A BCS Counterfactual by Schumes at The Schumerth Shuffle.

Counterfactual Second Civil War at Never Yet Melted.

Green Alternate History: What if Hemp Had Never Been Outlawed? by Nan Fischer at Green Blog.

Steampunk's chemistry by Zoe Hinis at Times Live.

There’s a Little Real History in my Alternate History #3 by M. Fenn.

Untucking Fate: 40 Yards of Alternate History by tejaschaos at SB Nation.

Why Defining Steampunk Is Worthwhile by Austin Sirkin at Wonder How To.

Books

German Steampunk Stories for FREE by ediFanoB at Edi's Book Lighthouse.

Johnny Alucard Cover by Kim Newman.

Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories Kickstarter by Bradley P. Beaulieu (thanks to Staffer's Book Review for recommending this).

Most-Reviewed Story So Far: "The Beast of the Bosporus" by Matthew Quinn at The World According to Quinn.

Review of Land of Hope and Glory by Geoffrey Wilson at SF Signal.

Review of Osama by Lavie Tidhar at Thinking about books.

Review of A Red Sun Also Rises by Mark Hodder at Thinking about books.

Review of The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder at Travels Through Iest.

Steampunk Books Coming Out in December 2012 at Steampunk.com.

Films

Crowdfunding for a German Steampunk Project by ediFanoB at Edi's Book Lighthouse.

Games

BioShock Infinite creator hires fan to officially play character by Ben Silverman at Yahoo! Games.

Crusader Kings II: The Republic revealed, read our exclusive Q&A by T.J. Hafer at PC Gamer.

Dishonored – Dunwall City Trials DLC Gameplay Trailer by Soulfinger at Geek Syndicate.

Music

Treat Yourself (Or Someone Else) to Some Steampunk Music This Holiday Season! by Austin Sirkin at Wonder How To.

Plays

Review: A steampunk 'Nutcracker' adds a nice twist at The Wall Street Journal.

Podcasts

Dissecting Worlds Series 6 – Episode 6: Steampunk at Geek Syndicate.

Protecting Project Pulp No. 21: Cyril Plunkett's The X-Gas at District of Wonders.

Television

Review of Elementary Season 1, Episode 9 at Thinking about books.

'Revolution' 2013: The First Season Of NBC's Drama So Far, In 5 Minutes, Before Its Return by Maggie Furlong at The Huffington Post.

USA Orders World War II Alien-Invasion Drama by Margaret Lyons at Vulture.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Weekly Update #24

Editor's Notes

Some good stuff coming up this week.  I will be posting my review of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which I had to postpone, plus War Blogger will be posting his review of Red Inferno 1945.  I will also be starting an "Airship Update" to keep you informed about the wonderful world of airships.  Airships are an infamous alternate history trope and should be given the same coverage of other tropes like the multiverse.  So stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, yours truly applied to be a guest editor on a future issue of The Future Fire.  I proposed an alternate history themed issue (big surprise) and I am now waiting for their response, which should happen after October 31st.

Got our first reader from Tanzania.  Karibu!

And now the news...

Coming Soon: The Wars of Other Men

While those of us in the States may have to wait a while until Resistance is released on this side of the pond, the fans of steampunk are giving us something to cheer about.  It is called The Wars of Other Men and it is being filmed in Detroit with a very small budget.  It is about a nameless Lieutenant who has to lead a squad of men through a war-torn city to find a facility producing the Fog, an enemy chemical weapon, and kidnap the Fog's creator.  You can see the trailer below:

Coming Soon: Rome, Sweet Rome

An upcoming alternate history film may have revolutionized how films are optioned.  Warner Bros. has purchased the pitch titled Rome, Sweet Rome from James Erwin, an author and two-time "Jeopardy!" champion from Des Moines, Iowa.  Erwin's pitch sale came about as a result of several postings on the website Reddit.com, an online community and social news aggregator where users vote to determine which posts land on the site's home page.

Rome, Sweet Rome is an alternate history film.  A unit of current U.S. Marines are ISOT back to ancient Rome and forced to do battle with the Roman legions.  The film will follow the Marines where they encounter one of the world's most legendary villains (Augustus) and disrupt history. To return home, they have to set history back on the right track.

Madhouse Entertainment's Adam Kolbrenner spotted Erwin's Rome, Sweet Rome posts once they reached the top of Reddit and moved quickly to contact the writer and begin working with him to develop the concept. When it came time to find a home for the project, Kolbrenner brought it to WB's Chris Gary, a young exec who encouraged the studio to move aggressively to acquire it.  Kolbrenner will produce with Gianni Nunnari (Immortals) of Hollywood Gang, where John Ridley will oversee the project for the company. Madhouse's Robyn Meisinger will exec produce and Gary will shepherd the project for Warners.

Will it be a hit?  I, and War Blogger agrees with me, find the concept a little silly due to how historically inaccurate the pitch is.  Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, is hardly considered a "villain" by historians.  While he was a military dictator, he should be given some credit for ending the long civil strife that engulfed Rome and starting the Pax Romana, an era of relative peace that lasted for two centuries.  During his reign he rebuilt Rome, reformed the tax system, developed a network of roads and created police and fire-fighting services for Rome.  Considering how influential the Roman Empire is to Western society (see Romance languages and Civil law for just two examples), it seems really odd that someone would vilify the man who helped create it.  It is even odder when you consider that the Roman Empire gave us plenty of bad emperors throughout history, including Caligula.

Still I give Erwin credit for doing something that has not been done before.  One can hope that by crowdsourcing pitches like this, we may finally end the trend of sequels, prequels, remakes and based-on-books that have dominated the film industry these last few years.  We should at least be happy that it was an alternate history film that did it, though I would rather see Lest Darkness Fall made into a film.

SF Encyclopedia and Gateway

On October 3 the beta text of the third edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction went live.  The encyclopedia is 3/4 complete and plans are for it to be finished in 2012.  Updates are likely to happen monthly, and be flagged through their blog, Twitter feed, and Facebook page.

There are several alternate history related articles throughout the encyclopedia.  For example, you have the main article on the genre and one for Harry Turtledove, the master of alternate history.  Check them out, look around and if you see something that is not quite right, let them know.  Since this Encyclopedia is not yet finished, do not freak out if you do not see your favorite alternate history book, author, film, television show, etc.  Give them some time, I think we are going to see some good things come out of this site.

Meanwhile, working closely, but independently, with the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , is the SF Gateway which has also gone live recently. Administered by Darren Nash (Gollancz), the site is a collection science fiction and fantasy e-books. Thanks to digital publishing, large backlists of an incredibly wide range of classic and modern science fiction and fantasy authors are once again available. The website is still in development, but you should check it out. Perhaps I will write up a list of alternate history novels that all alternate historians should read.

Update on William Peter Grasso

You guys remember William Peter Grasso, right?  I interviewed him a couple of weeks ago and War Blogger reviewed his novel East Wind Returns.  Well he has been very busy as of late.  His new novel Unpunished has a Facebook fan page you can check out for news and updates.  He also did an interview at the Underground Book Review you should check out as well.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Steampunk alternate Mormon history fiction by The Religiously Sanctioned Co-Habitation Chronicles.

Books

Hitler's War: The War That Came Early by Harry Turtledove by Mark Yon.

Review of the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld done by Mike Perschon.

Review of the Miss Tolerance series by Madeleine Robins done by Sherwood Smith.

Videos

All Nightmare Long by Metallica - Watch as the Soviet Union uses zombies to invade the United States.

Multiverse Doppelgangers: Do Many Versions of You Exist?

Blogs

Frank Chadwick's Space: 1889 Blog

* * *

Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.

Review: "East Wind Returns" by William Peter Grasso

Review - East Wind Returns

What if the Trinity test explosion fails because of a design failure of the implosion device? What if through accidents and negligence the available enriched uranium of the US nuclear bomb program has been destroyed, forcing the United States to go ahead with its planned invasion of the Japanese home islands? And worse, what if the Japanese themselves have built their own nuclear device, using the enriched German uranium?

Set against the impending - and later, unfolding - events of Operation Downfall (specifically: Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu), Grasso spins a very convincing story. With the American uranium stores destroyed in a fire - with both scientists and army guards blaming one another - and the initial plutonium-based device not working, President Truman sees no alternative other than to go ahead with putting American boots on Japanese ground. Unbeknownst to the him, the Japanese have successfully tested an atom bomb of their own off the coast of Korea and are now planning to put their remaining weapon to good use. The Navy opts for a suicide run against either San Francisco or the invasion fleet. The Imperial Army wants to use the weapon on a key invasion beach to inflict horrible casualties on MacArthur's task force and break the US spearheads in two. And the new prime minister secretly prays for common sense to prevail and a peace deal to be reached.

Like much the Japanese Navy proposed during the latter days of WW II, their suicide run turns out to be impractical. The weapon is too large to be carried inside even their bigger submarines, and to be activated they would have to surface and manually prime it - in the middle of enemy forces. Thus the task of putting the bomb to good use is awarded to the army. The author also explains quite vividly why a delivery by airplane would be impossible for the Japanese.

In an already strong novel, these are the strongest parts. It clearly shows that Grasso knows his trade, filling the flight scenes with just the right mix of technical knowhow and lively imagery. It is here where the danger of flying lurks just beneath the surface: mechanical and human failure can turn even straight flights in good weather into deadly events. It only gets worse when its cold, you're flying through anti-aircraft fire, and you've got Japanese fighters on your tail.

I've got to commend Grasso for his choice of tense and point of view. The author employs a strange mix of past and present tense narration, but at no point in the novel was I put off by that. In fact, it immersed me deeper into the story, making it actually feeling closer, more personal.

The main POV character of East Wind Returns is Cpt. John Worth, a recon pilot operating from an airfield on Okinawa. He's an expert flyer, and we witness most of the story through his eyes as he experiences the uncertainties and dangers of war: new comrades appear, only to never return from a mission; the Japanese adapt their tactics to ever more deadly ones; trouble brews back on the base with a pampered fighter jock; and true love blossoms between him and Lt. Marjorie Braden. Grasso writes a believable love story in the face of war without it being cheesy or overbearing, and quite unlike what I thought when I began reading the novel, it adds to it more than I thought it would detract (let's face it: most people can't write good romance).

There's not a single character in it without a certain depth to him or her; even the secondary ones are more than fleshed out. If I sound as if I'm heaping praise on East Wind Returns... well, I am, deservedly so. Without it feeling rushed or shortened, Grasso manages in barely 90,000 words to feature a love story, the story surrounding an American invasion of Kyushu, a nuclear plot, personal rivalry and - something I criticized as severely lacking in my last fiction review, Hitler's War - a look on the macro-perspective, showing the discussions and decision-making of the Japanese and American leadership.

Final Verdict: A. This is the hallmark of a well-structured novel. It's got everything: alternate history, adventure, drama, and a love story. And even better, you can get East Wind Returns on Amazon or Smashwords for only $0.99, and the paperback is also reasonably priced. I highly recommend you get this gem.

Interview: William Peter Grasso

I now present to you my interview with William Peter Grasso author of East Wind Returns and Unpunished.

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Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m retired from the airline industry, where I completed my career managing maintenance operations for a major US airline. I spent the bulk of my 20s as a military officer (US Army), both active and reserve. I’ve always been attracted to the military and fascinated with aviation and history.

Do you have a favorite period of history (and would I be to far off if I said it was World War II)?

You'd be dead on...WWII is, by default, the historical period in which I am most immersed. Growing up in war's aftermath, where all our childrens' games were shaped by that conflict (Let's play Battle of the Bulge, guys!!), has seen to that. My own military experience began toward the end of the Vietnam and I never set foot in the place, instead spending 8 years in an organization that was confused, demoralized and trying desperately to regroup from that misguided adventure. It's not surprising Vietnam war novels (with a few exceptions, most notably the works of Tim O'Brien) are not terribly popular.

I did get a front row seat to the first Gulf War, serving as flight crew member (crew chief) on civil troop transport flights to and within that theater. My impressions of that conflict--and that part of the world--are still trying to bubble into a coherent adventure tale.

What got you interested in alternate history?

To quote my author bio, history is a parade of chance outcomes, influenced by any number of natural forces and human whims. So many pivotal events in history could have come out quite differently had the wind not changed direction, a machine not broken down, a man or woman not faltered at a critical moment…you get the picture. In my writing, I explore what happens when just one facet of history as we’ve come to know it is changed.

What is your novel East Wind Returns about?

East Wind Returns begins with the fictional premise that in the summer of 1945, the development of the American atomic bomb has hit serious setbacks. With the American forces now poised on the doorstep of Japan’s home islands, invasion seems the only option for Harry Truman and his military leaders to force Japan’s surrender. The Japanese, however, have successfully tested a crude but massive uranium device, too heavy to be lifted by an aircraft, and are preparing to use it on the ground against the American invasion forces. A young but veteran recon pilot, John Worth, flying from his new base in Okinawa, inadvertently photographs the device while it is being transported on a railway flatcar across the southern home island of Kyushu—but no one in the American command fully accepts the possibility of what it might be. As the invasion begins—and with the life of his lover, an Army nurse already on Kyushu, at stake—Worth is tasked with the top-secret mission to find the Japanese bomb.

How far advanced was the Japanese nuclear bomb project in World War II?

It's been quite a while since I did the research for EWR, so I'm now a bit weak on references. Suffice to say, though, there were strong suspicious of a transfer of enriched uranium from Germany to Japan, and there was more than adequate scientific capability available in the Empire to develop it. As portrayed in EWR, though, methods of delivery for such a weapon were in very short supply.

How did you come up with the title?

"East Wind Rain" are the actual words of the coded signal authorizing the attack on Pearl Harbor, disguised in a weather report and broadcast to the Japanese fleet by Tokyo Radio.

East Wind Returns is a fictional play on those words, used in the book to authorize the deployment of the Japanese atomic weapon.

Who designed the cover?

The cover was designed by Alyson Aversa, a talented young graphic artist in NYC.

What are you reading now?

I’m currently in the closing pages of Sebastian Breit’s Wolf Hunt: The Burning Ages. It’s quite an epic—actually two complete novels combined into one well-crafted story.

Breit actually contributes to Alternate History Weekly Update under the name War Blogger. Anything more you would like to say about his novel?

Sebastian and I correspond; I'm aware of his connection with your website. I'm beginning to compose a comprehensive review of Wolf Hunt, which I find a fascinating read. I hope to use this review to not only praise his imagination and interpretive historical abilities, but playfully skewer some of the comments he has received on his use of the English language. Quite frankly, to write a first-time work of that scope in a foreign tongue--and have the final product so wonderfully enjoyable--is nothing short of amazing.

Any planned sequel(s) for East Wind Returns?

No sequels are planned at the moment. There is some really fertile ground for prequels, though.

Do you have any other projects you are working on?

I’m very glad you asked that! My latest novel, Unpunished, has just been released as an ebook on Amazon and Smashwords (a paperback version will be available shortly). Unpunished is a thriller that twists the presidential politics of America in 1960, exploring murder, corruption, ambition and the redemptive power of love along the way. All you lovers of the military/war genre, fear not: the inciting incident takes place among interned American airman in Sweden during WWII.

With Unpunished finally published, I’ve begun the research for my next book. It will take place in Northern Australia in the bleak days of 1942, after the Pearl Harbor attack has a far more successful outcome for the Japanese than actually occurred.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

If I may, I’d offer this advice: every word you write is not golden. Be ruthless with your own writing—a good part of it probably shouldn’t be inflicted on the general public. Try to identify that part and throw it away. Then listen carefully to what your editor, your beta readers, and the general reading public are telling you and adjust accordingly. Never shy away from defending your work, but if you find yourself explaining something you wrote, it didn’t work. Get rid of it.

*  *  *

Hope you guys enjoyed the interview.  If you are interested in Grasso's works you can check them out for the Kindle, for the Nook, Sony Reader and other formats.