Hands up if you think you’re superior.
Note that my hand remains down. I’m sure some species of dung beetle might be superior to me and those bacteria that will eat my body when I’ve done with it. Anyhow, one writer has plunged into the good, better, superior race with a series of novels. Here she is gamely responding to my interrogation:
Today I have the honour of hosting K.A. Meng, an experienced writer from North Dakota. The thing is I’ve just returned from a writers’ retreat in Greece and am curious where other writers would retreat to.
Here’s what Karrie said: I would like to go to a cabin in the mountains for a writing retreat. I want to be secluded, but not too far away from society. If I went somewhere warm or with history, I wouldn’t be able to write. I’d spend my day exploring the place. I would love to accomplish as much as I can in the cabin. Writing for a few hours a day is a leisure and I could accomplish so much at a writing retreat.
Thanks Karrie, now stay strapped down while I ask more:
1) Is there such a thing as a genuine superior species that we know (ie not fantasy) about on Earth? ie what should the criteria be and which species come close to fulfilling them?
I believe humans would be considered the superior species right now. We are at the top of the food chain. The criteria would be no one could beat us. Well, most of the time we are. Sometimes our own stupidity or tiny little bees can take one of us out.
This thought of a superior species is what brought about the idea for my series Superior Species. Kind of obvious with the name. I wanted to cram three different races into a town to see how they would act. Would one become the superior species? Could humans stand a chance against them? I don’t even know yet. I need to write it.
2) You are a fantasy writer (as am I when in the mood). Is it true that fantasy writers are the most careful drivers? (hint: imagination runs riot as to what is coming around that blind bend!)
I’m a careful driver, but sometimes the story gets reckless. It goes off on its own. I just hope that all the turns that happen that I can steer the story back on track, and I can end it how I want to. Of course, that isn’t always the case. I go with it because those times the story is so much better.
3) I often hear people refer to an incident as “That’s a total nightmare!” I sometimes cannot resist to point out that dropping an egg or wearing the wrong shoes is NOT a real nightmare, whereas being chased by a … what would constitute a nightmare for you?
People love to exaggerate and I’m guilty of it too. I’ve had a few nightmares, real ones. The terror where you can’t wake up and you are not sure if you are dreaming or not. I’m scared of heights that doesn’t qualify as a total nightmare. I don’t plan on falling from a building anytime soon.
4) If a character in one of your tales wrote about you, what would they say?
Mike Carroll from The First Scheme would say that I was a great lady. I wrote about him after all. Once he dropped his fake persona, he’d be happy with me for telling his story. He would want to change a few things that I wrote and wouldn’t be happy with me when I refuse.
After writing the first two books in the Superior Species series, I received questions from the readers. If Ivory Ames was so special, why hadn’t any of the monsters in this world ever went after her until she went to Los Roshano? She is eighteen years old. She should have met something by now. I agreed with them and I already had an answer for that.
Superior Species Book 0.5 Vampires Didn’t Exist was born from this thought…A girl whose home town didn’t contain any of the creatures that went bump in the night. What if she went on her first vacation? What would be there? Would she believe it or not?
Righty ho, now the first leg of Karrie’s tour started with Mark Iles blog on Sept 17th 2017 at
https://www.markiles.co.uk/single-post/2017/09/17/KA-Meng-on-a-Superior-Species
The second leg was published on Sept 18th 2017 and can be found here
https://abfunkhauser.com/2017/09/17/creature-wrangler-k-a-meng-tackles-fangs-missing-persons/
let’s have the third and final excerpt in this blog tour:
Part of CHAPTER SEVEN from Superior Species Book 0.5 Vampires Didn’t Exist
“I’ll walk to my cabin slowly, then go hang around the lake. You follow behind me, hiding behind trees or bushes or something. Just keep up the appearance that I’m alone,” Paul said, adding to the plan.
He left the cabin and strolled over to his.
Harmony and I waited for a few minutes for him to make his way toward the trail, leading to the lake. As we exited the cabin, we kept to the shadows. I hid behind a tree while Harmony crouched down by a rock.
A full moon had risen in the sky. Nobody was walking around besides the three of us. The so-called police protection was severely lacking.
We made it to the lake in a few minutes without meeting anyone on the path. Paul took off his shoes and stepped into the water about ankle deep. Harmony and I hung back.
My gaze shifted as I searched for danger. A shadow moved near the path to the restrooms. My heart pounded and I moved my head to see it better. The shadow had been a trick of the light. I sighed with relief. Nothing was out there. I didn’t know if the murderer would be here tonight or not.
“Who, who?” a voice called, causing me to jump.
I tried to figure out who or what had spoken. Before I could, an owl hooted again. The tension released from my shoulders. It was just a bird. With my overactive imagination, my nerves were fried.
“How long do we have to wait?” Harmony asked after thirty minutes.
“Until dawn. Be quiet and keep watching Paul,” I answered.
Paul stepped out of the water and put his shoes back on. He turned to Harmony and me, pointing to the left in the direction of the boat docks. He ambled in the direction. Once he arrived at the dock, he turned back around. The beach wasn’t big.
Crickets chirped. A cool wind blew in, rustling the leaves. The smell of fresh grass hit my nostrils. A fish jumped and splashed back into the water. Other than those sounds and smell nothing else was out here.
“What’s that?” Harmony whispered.
“Just a fish,” I answered in a whisper.
“Over there.” She pointed at the boat docks.
Green eyes glowed against the darkness near several trees. It had to be an animal. Human eyes couldn’t reflect light enough to glow. But the eyes were up high, and mammals couldn’t stand as tall as a man unless it was a bear or a gorilla. They were not known to be in this area.
The eyes disappeared and a figure stepped away from the trees. It was a man. He vanished, disappearing from my view.
Where did he go? Oh, no. I released who he could be and turned to Paul. I shrieked his name, but my warning came out too late.
Superior Species Book 0.5 Vampires Didn’t Exist
Fun in the sun turns into a nightmare after a murder.
On her first vacation ever, Ivory Ames awakens in the middle of the night to find her best friend missing. She searches the campground and finds Maria lying dead on the beach.
With more questions than answers and the police being uncooperative, Ivory decides to find the truth herself. She enlists the help of Maria’s other best friend, Harmony Lundy. As Harmony and Ivory search for clues, they learn that someone or something is stalking the campers.
Author Biography:
- A. Meng lives in North Dakota, in the same town she grew up. Her love for the paranormal started at a young age when she saw her first ghost.
Today, she spends her time writing paranormal romance, fantasy, sci fi, horror and everything in between. When life drags her away from it, she hangs out with her son and friends, goes to movies, watches TV, plays board games, walks her dogs, and reads books. She is actively involved in a writing group and wishes to some day visit Disney World.
Other Books by K.A. Meng:
Superior Species
Ivory Ames has caught the attention of four gorgeous guys. At Los Roshano University this isn’t normal, even when all the upperclassmen have perfect physiques, flawless complexions, and hypnotic looks. That’s not even the weirdest part. The town has a strict sunset curfew because of wild animals attacking.
To keep her friends and herself safe, Ivory must figure out the truth behind the town’s mysteries before it’s too late.
http://getBook.at/SuperiorSpecies
Superior Species Book 2 Finding Karen
Ivory Ames has learned the truth about Los Roshano, New Mexico and the university she attends there, but it isn’t what she expected. Monsters exist. They’ve been running the town in secret to fill their ranks. She vows to keep her friends and herself safe from their evil clutches.
As soon as Ivory makes her pledge, her best friend is missing. The race to find Karen Bakke is on before she is killed or worse.
http://getBook.at/SuperiorSpecies2
A Town of Murderers 1 The First Scheme
One murder, one plan, two possible outcomes.
The sound of a gunshot pulls Joann Fields from a peaceful sleep into a living nightmare. Her husband David is bleeding from a bullet lodged in his chest. She tries to save him, but she passes out instead.
Joann barely regains consciousness before two detectives arrest her for the murder. She turns to the only man who can help her, reporter Mike Carroll. With the evidence piling-up against her, can Mike save her from prison or is she part of some elaborate conspiracy?
Find K.A. Meng:
Website: www.kamengauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KAMengAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KAMengAuthor
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KAMeng
Blog: http://www.kamengauthor.com/blog
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamengauthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31651336-k-a-meng
Thanks Karrie. Now do you all feel superior after that? Or is it your cat, or my minnow?
