Interview with Author Adam Gaffen - Futuristic, Romance and a bit of Naughtiness

This week Adam Gaffen visits with Tonya and Brenda. Adam writes scifi under Adam Gaffen and as ZJ Carter in the erotic genre.

The dimming twilight barely cast any light into the structure, but what she could see was ruin and wreckage. Large, unrecognizable machines were strewn through the room she could see, giving the impression of a careless child dropping their toys. A broken door, barely hanging from a single hinge, was askew on the far wall. Vines had forced their way through the shattered windows, taking root in the decomposing walls. Dirt and other filth covered the floor.
 
Kendra's hideaway from Run Like Hell.

Naughty Reader’s: Hi Adam! Thank you for joining us this week. Tell us a bit about yourself  that our readers might not know.

Adam: I write using a computer that's going on eight years old; if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Naughty Reader’s: What made you want to become a writer?

Adam: I've always enjoyed reading; writing seemed to be a natural extension of it, if I could manage it.

Naughty Reader’s: Please share a bit about your new release without giving away any spoilers.

Adam: So that would be A Deadly Quest – the second book in The Cassidy Chronicles. Cass and Ken have made it to the headquarters of OutLook, Ken's secretive employer, in search of answers. But answers will have to wait, as Ken is promptly dispatched on a mission, and Cass has her own task to complete.

Naughty Reader’s: Do you write under a pen name?

Adam: I do on occasion. ZJ Carter writes all of my 'naughty' tales.

Naughty Reader’s: What types of hero or heroine do you like best?

Adam: Self-reliant yet not obsessively so; vulnerable under the right circumstances without being weak.

Naughty Reader’s: Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Adam: There ain't no such thing! In addition to writing my fiction, I am an active blogger (for Amazing Stories) and I work two jobs. So, depending on the day, I might have all day to write; I might have mere minutes. But there's always time, somewhere.

Naughty Reader’s: Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

Adam: I would say science fiction, but that's not true as I've written horror and even delved into Sherlock Holmes.

Naughty Reader’s: How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?

Adam: It varies tremendously. A short story can take as little as a day; one of my novellas took 20 YEARS from first conception to publication, going through four separate incarnations.

Naughty Reader’s: Do you have to be alone to write?

Adam: It helps, but with three young children about it's a pipe dream most days. Best I can usually do is write when it strikes and hope.

Naughty Reader’s: How do you go about naming characters?

Adam: Some name themselves; I also rely heavily on friends. If you know me, odds are sooner or later your name will show up in one of my tales.

Naughty Reader’s: Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

Adam: Oh, no, no pictures first – each character is unique. As the story goes along, they flesh out more and more.

Naughty Reader’s: How do you pick locations for your stories?

Adam: If it's a contemporary story, it will be a location that interests me or I've been to – as Stephen King has said, writers write about what they know. My SF, that's more challenging, as I have to extrapolate and imagine a world – but it has to be recognizable to the readers, if I'm placing them on Earth.

Naughty Reader’s: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

Adam: Book Three of the Cassidy Chronicles is well underway, with the tentative title of A Desperate Gambit. After that? Book Four, which should tie the series together; then I have a SF take on Alice In Wonderland that's begun, plus an idea for a Sherlock Holmes meets HG Welles. After that, there are collaborations galore that need my attention.

Naughty Reader’s: Where can readers find out more about you and your books? 

Adam: Best place is my Facebook Author page

They can also follow my Blog. 

And there's also my Amazon Author Page. 
Oh yea, and on Smashwords and Twitter @Gaffen 23.

ZJ Carter also has a Facebook page. ZJ Carter's books on Amazon.

So, who wants to have a look into A Desperate Gambit?

Cass hadn't made the rendezvous.

It was a testament to her personality that the two professionals had actually obeyed her direction and departed for their hotel room, the secondary meeting point.

“You're right,” Montana said at last. “She should be. She isn't. Yet. Don't give up on her, though. Maybe she's following another lead.”

“Yeah, sure, like that's liable to happen, if she fetched out Lisa's husband, what did he do anyway, I don't think we every asked but I guess it doesn't matter now, he's a package deal, but maybe she got lost getting out or detained or there was some other problem and she came out right after we left, that would be horrible for her, she must think we deserted her!” Mac's speech tended to be very stream-of-consciousness; working around IT had stunted her social skills. Still, it was a positive sign that she was saying more than just two or three words.

For now, at least...

“What did you say, about my husband?” asked Lisa from behind.

Montana answered before Mac could drown her in a torrent of words. “The records showed two rooms being used to hold you and your husband. We chose one room, Cass the other.”

“Why?”

That was unexpected.

“Because you were in one and your husband in the other?”

Lisa's voice caught. “My husband's dead. Kaine's goons killed him.”

The transport screeched to a halt as Montana attempted to mash her foot through the floor.

“WHAT?”

“He's dead!”

“Shit, shit, shit!” Montana clenched the wheel for another moment, then forced herself to relax. “Mac.”

“Yes, Montana?”

“Hack back into HLC. I want video and audio taps on all their internal cameras, I don't care if they can trace it, and I want it before we get back to the hotel.”

“On it.” For once, there were no questions.

And how about a Giveaway? Go to my FB page, like it and comment. THREE DAYS after this goes up, I will pick ONE winner of a copy of RUN LIKE HELL (Book 1).

About the Author:
Adam Gaffen grew up in Maine and still resides there with his wife of 16 years and three kids, and various pets of one species or another.