Interview with John Joseph Doody, Author of 'The Guild Saga' Series @johnjosephdoody #interview
I earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Coral Ridge University and Seminary, as well as an M.A. in Political Science from George Wythe College. My first publication was a short story, TELEPIO 690, which appeared in Sidetrekked Magazine, Issue #48. My other publications are, my first novel (actually a novella), THE WONK DECELERATOR, my second novel, THE LATE, GREAT BENJAMIN BALE, my third novel, RETURN OF THE CRIMSON WITCH and a fourth mini-book, a prequel to the Guild Series, THE DAUGHTER OF GETH, which is available only in ebook. I am currently working on a science fiction/horror novel, THE DARK. One of these days I might even finish it.
Happily, I have a wife and four children and live in Florida.
Website Link: www.johndoody.com
Twitter Link: @johnjosephdoody
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/authorjohnjosephdoody/
Inside the Books
Title: THE GUILD
SAGA: THE WONK DECELERATOR (Book 1)
Author: John Joseph Doody
Publisher: eTreasures Publishing LLC
Pages: 131
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Author: John Joseph Doody
Publisher: eTreasures Publishing LLC
Pages: 131
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
BOOK BLURB:
For Earthers dwelling in Guild space, it is a one-hundred year journey back
to Earth. An unimaginable voyage, until now.When Guild commander and crack pilot, Thad Cochran boards the shuttle destined for the casinos of Timmerus, finding a way back to Earth is not on his radar. He wants the five-percent finder’s fee the Guild is offering for a black box held by the lizard-like Yazz. Thad has a dream: With the loot he will get for stealing the Wonk Decelerator, he can buy a ranch on Beta Prime.
But things begin to fall apart for him in the dark caverns of Timmerus, and Thad must reconsider his priorities in life. Has he discovered a cause greater than his dream? Are there actually more important things to life than money and his dream? What about the woman who is waiting for him? What about freedom in the galaxy? And what about his discovery, fashioned by the gnarled hands of a brilliant, old Yazz, that could change everything?
Thad Cochran has a choice to make. He can fulfill his quest, escape with his life and be rich. Or he can fly with the Wonks … one more time.
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Book Excerpt:
Thad
opened his eyes, aware of a sense that the murky sun was dropping on the
horizon. He panicked momentarily until he realized he still had a half hour
before the prearranged confab with Maggie.
He headed for the bathroom to change into darker clothes for the journey. The bathroom had Thandimonean stone flooring, golden faucets and a huge commode one nearly needed a ladder to get up on.
Thad rubbed his face and ran his tongue over his teeth. He might as well clean up while he was in here. He stripped, broke out his toothbrush and was busy about his business when he heard a creaking hinge.
He stepped out of the bathroom in his skivvies, toothpaste frothing in his mouth.
"Commander Cochran."
He heard the voice, glanced at the open door, but saw no one.
"Yeph?!" he gurgled, toothpaste spraying everywhere as his voice took on a falsetto tone.
"I’m up here, silly boy."
Thad looked up, and his heart tried to jump out of his gullet. The woman, the one he had seen in the space port
and had suspected of being a droid, crawled across the ceiling like a spider chasing after a bug. How she managed to cling, upside down, her head twisted a hundred and eighty degrees and looking directly at him, was a repulsive mystery to him.
Oh, you’re a droid all right!
He had never seen a Mandroid capable of walking on ceilings. This droid’s techno was impressive and scary.
"You should go back to your people, Commander Cochran," she said, as she crawled down the wall, her head twisting again, cracking and popping back to its original position.
He knew there was no sense in trying to get away, or in trying to fight with this droid. She was too fast, too strong. He had no weapon to use against her, and worst of all, he was in his underwear.
Thad swallowed his toothpaste.
Once on the floor, she meandered over to him and, with a critical expression, eyed him from head to toe. She was beautiful, but she smelled of a peculiar blend of perfume and something like burnt rubber.
"There’s only death waiting for you here on Gar Mega. Go back, Commander, before it’s too late."
With that, she walked stiffly from the room, leaving the door open. Thad wasted no time, sprinted to the door, locked it and leaned against the wall, his legs trembling beneath him.
She’s probably got a key that pops out of her finger or something. I know I locked that.
He headed for the bathroom to change into darker clothes for the journey. The bathroom had Thandimonean stone flooring, golden faucets and a huge commode one nearly needed a ladder to get up on.
Thad rubbed his face and ran his tongue over his teeth. He might as well clean up while he was in here. He stripped, broke out his toothbrush and was busy about his business when he heard a creaking hinge.
He stepped out of the bathroom in his skivvies, toothpaste frothing in his mouth.
"Commander Cochran."
He heard the voice, glanced at the open door, but saw no one.
"Yeph?!" he gurgled, toothpaste spraying everywhere as his voice took on a falsetto tone.
"I’m up here, silly boy."
Thad looked up, and his heart tried to jump out of his gullet. The woman, the one he had seen in the space port
and had suspected of being a droid, crawled across the ceiling like a spider chasing after a bug. How she managed to cling, upside down, her head twisted a hundred and eighty degrees and looking directly at him, was a repulsive mystery to him.
Oh, you’re a droid all right!
He had never seen a Mandroid capable of walking on ceilings. This droid’s techno was impressive and scary.
"You should go back to your people, Commander Cochran," she said, as she crawled down the wall, her head twisting again, cracking and popping back to its original position.
He knew there was no sense in trying to get away, or in trying to fight with this droid. She was too fast, too strong. He had no weapon to use against her, and worst of all, he was in his underwear.
Thad swallowed his toothpaste.
Once on the floor, she meandered over to him and, with a critical expression, eyed him from head to toe. She was beautiful, but she smelled of a peculiar blend of perfume and something like burnt rubber.
"There’s only death waiting for you here on Gar Mega. Go back, Commander, before it’s too late."
With that, she walked stiffly from the room, leaving the door open. Thad wasted no time, sprinted to the door, locked it and leaned against the wall, his legs trembling beneath him.
She’s probably got a key that pops out of her finger or something. I know I locked that.
Title: THE GUILD
SAGA: THE LATE, GREAT BENJAMIN BALE (Book 2)
Author: John Joseph Doody
Publisher: eTreasures Publishing LLC
Pages: 370
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Author: John Joseph Doody
Publisher: eTreasures Publishing LLC
Pages: 370
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
BOOK BLURB:
The destinies of
two men depend on Maggie Thorn. One is dying and the other is dead…or is he?
Captain Maggie
Thorn is on a formal Guild mission, supposedly to kidnap the yazz scientist,
Gravian Endrenicus, and return him to Thandimone. But she also has a personal
score to settle with the lizard-like inhabitants of Timmerus. She intends to
make the yazz pay for what they did to Thad Cochran—the one the yazz call the
Thieves Guild pilot. The man she loves.
Supreme Fleet
Commander, Admiral Geoff Grangore knows of only one man who could get Maggie to
Timmerus and back while traitorous eyes are watching. That man is an old drunk
who lives deep in the Thandimonean wilderness with his pet Eno, Snot. Benjamin
Bale is suicidal and cantankerous, and Maggie can’t stand him—at first.
Bale is a dead
man. At least, that’s what everyone was told. But this dead man has a final
mission to perform. The greatest star pilot in the galaxy has a chance to
redeem himself and make right a great wrong. A wrong which he can never forgive
or forget. A wrong that cost him everything.
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Title: THE GUILD SAGA: RETURN OF THE
CRIMSON WITCH (Book 3)
Author: John Joseph Doody
Publisher: eTreasures Publishing LLC
Pages: 407
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Author: John Joseph Doody
Publisher: eTreasures Publishing LLC
Pages: 407
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
BOOK BLURB:
The Bashtier call
Wonk space, Eerindark—The Place of the Dead—and Thad Cochran, the only pilot to
go there and live, will soon find out why. The sacrifice of Benjamin Bale
brings Thad back from the dead. But is he truly free from the death grip of the
Wonks?
A body is
discovered behind an apartment wall in a small town on the planet Daggon. With
the mystery thrust upon him, Admiral Geoff Grangore must pursue a dangerous
quest for the truth—is it somehow connected to The Wonk Decelerator?
Dreams and visions
are dancing in the heads of the yazz. Something bad is coming to the frontier—a
hidden enemy only the Guild traitor, Alexander Hamilton Patho knows.
Patho sends an assassin to Daggon and his conniving gaze is on the M-3 Wonk vessel. It seems civil war is imminent and those who control the power of Wonk travel will rule the known galaxy. Therefore, it must not fall into Patho’s hands.
Patho sends an assassin to Daggon and his conniving gaze is on the M-3 Wonk vessel. It seems civil war is imminent and those who control the power of Wonk travel will rule the known galaxy. Therefore, it must not fall into Patho’s hands.
It is time for
war, and time for Maggie Thorn to learn the truth about who she really is. It
is also time for The Return of the Crimson Witch.
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Welcome to The Writer's
Life! Now that your book has been
published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the
beginning? When did you come up with the
idea to write your book?
Late in 2009 I got an idea for a guy going down to this murky planet to steal something important. The character’s name is Thad Cochran.
Who is your publisher and how did
you find them or did you self-publish?
eTreasures Publishing LLC is my publisher for all three Guild Saga books as well as a short prequel for the same series. I found eTp after nearly signing with two other small press publishing houses that went out of business before I got a contract!
Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?
I thought all editors would love me! I also had no idea how long the process can sometimes take. I remind me of that poster where two buzzards are speaking with each other, and one says patience nothing, I’m going to kill something!
Do you believe a book cover plays an important role in the selling
process?
I believe a book cover plays a role, but I think buzz and word of mouth are the holy grail and that’s what I’m chasing.
How hard was it to write a book
like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the
journey easier for other writers?
The original idea for the wonk decelerator was for a short story. I shopped it to a few big magazines and every time it was rejected, I pulled it and worked on it. The hardest part was seeing it grow and realizing I had quite a few books here instead of a short story, so I had to start over in the submission process, and I had to formulate a new plan.The only thing I would suggest to other writers is, try to stick with an outline for your story. I say that being a writer who tends to let my characters lead me through the story and it takes more time to write in the dark like that.
What other books are you working on and when will they be published?
I’ve taken a break from the Guild books. By the way, book one is the wonk decelerator, book two is the late, great benjamin bale, and book three is return of the crimson witch. The novel I am currently finishing is a sci fi, horror story called the dark. Next comes wrath, and then the sound of the trumpet (the first draft is done for this one). I’m looking for a good agent right now, so I can’t give you a date on the dark. I’ll get back to you.
What’s one fact about your book
that would surprise people?
Killbots have feelings too . . . maybe.
Finally, what message are you
trying to get across with your book?
Have fun reading this. And there are plenty more where these stories came from.
Thank you again for this
interview! Do you have any final words?
Thank you for having me. These Guild books are fast reads and you won’t be able to put them down—so I’m told.
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