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House Arrest by Francis Mont

September 25, 2018

A slightly different article for today. It’s not a review and it’s not an author interview. Yet in some deeper, symbolic way it is both, and it is neither; like the double-slit experiment of quantum mechanics – a simile that would perhaps make Francis Mont, a physicist, smile.

We’re not here to talk about physics however, but about literature. House Arrest, by Francis Mont, is a science-fiction novel taking place in a post-nuclear-war America in 2098. Let’s take a look at the description, as it’s given on Amazon:

The country is in ruin. Three cities in the Sacramento Valley, with relatively intact infrastructure, are trying to survive in drastically different ways. One is organized by its AI quantum computer and its sophisticated robots. It automates everything for maximum efficiency and human beings are left with no role in their city’s welfare. That leads to problems – without jobs to keep them occupied, people get bored, restless and destructive. Omega 1500, their computer, has to temporarily lock them up to protect them from each other. Once their problems are solved, they’ll have to deal with the other two cities. The big question is whether they learned from the past and understand what human happiness depends on.

As it becomes apparent, there are a lot of interesting elements here. Let’s take a closer look.

Francis Mont, House Arrest — Not all post-apocalyptic novels are the same

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Being a Published Author Is not what You Think

July 25, 2018

Writing

art, author, book, creativity, literature, publishing, writing

Traditionally, most aspiring authors have thought of getting published as the end goal. Being a published author has been a proof of merit. To be a writer who’s published means “you’ve made it”, right? Heck, if you visit my author pages on Goodreads or Amazon, you’ll see me referring myself to having been published.

Well, we could talk for hours debating whether having “made it” has ever been the case (the word “traditionally”, which opened this article is the operative word here), but let’s instead focus on the present moment. The grand question is this:

Does being a published author mean your writing woes are over?

Not only is the answer “not by a mile”, but in many cases I’d argue against “being a published author”. In other words, I’d argue that getting a publishing contract with a publishing house won’t necessarily be what you’d like.

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Authors Talk: A Discussion with Jessica Titone

May 16, 2018

Author Interview, Literature

author, fiction, interview, Jessica Titone, literature, writing

A Discussion with Jessica Titone: Introduction

This article is a part of a new series of blog entries, which I refer to as “Authors Talk”. You can think of it as an author interview and, indeed, that is the name of the blog category. However, I prefer to see it as a friendly chat between fellow authors. Today I’m having this virtual chat with Jessica Titone, author of Watermarked, a fine example of modern literary fiction (you can read my review of Watermarked here). A detailed list of useful links to Jessica Titone’s work can be found at the end of this article.

A Discussion with Jessica Titone: General

Chris Angelis: Let’s first hear a couple of words about you as an author. Give us some background information: what kind of books do you write, for how long have you been a writer, and anything else you think readers would find interesting.

Jessica Titone: I’m contemporary fiction writer by nature, currently dipping my toes in to test the waters of YA Fantasy. If reading were a sport, I would do it competitively, but I’m the slowest writer in the entire world. Probably because I suffer from rampant perfectionism.

I’ve been a writer forever. It’s always been second nature for me.
– Jessica Titone

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