We have the pleasure of meeting Snarth, a character from Alien Manifesto, a book that will be releasing soon. We'll get a chance to talk to the author, T.W. Embry, in a bit, but now we have on the stage...Snarth!
Interview
Marie Lavender: Hello, Snarth. Please have a seat.
Character Snarth: Thank you.
Marie: We're going to start out with some simple questions, okay?
Snarth: Sure.
Marie: So, what is your occupation? Are you any good at it? Do you like it?
Snarth: Before we get to that
do mind if I sssmoke? Your planet hasss the mossst relaxing native herb I have
come across in my travels. I have it grown in my essstatesss garden. Would you
care for sssome, my dear? I am told it is of the finest kind. (pause while Snarth
produces a pack of hand rolled “smokers”.) No? It isss not for everyone (another
pause as Snarth takes a deep drag on his smoker exhaling a perfect smoke ring).
Now you want to know what I do. I have done many thingsss in my 2,400 cycles. I
was once an agent for the Galactic Secret Service, then for a hundred yearsss
or ssso I wasss a sssmuggler of exotic and hard to obtain items, some of which
are ssslightly illegal. Currently, I am a collector of pleasssuresss and unique
thingsss. I am alssso a treasssure hunter. And ye,s of all the thingsss I have
been I enjoy this lifestyle the most ssso far. Of courssse, for one never knowsss
what the future holdsss and apparently I am very good at being a treasure
hunter. One of my collectionsss isss a team of the finessst warriors in the
galaxy. (Pauses for another drag on his smoker and exhales another perfect
smoke ring,) My team and I recently dissscovered a treasure map to the home
world of the Ones. I believe it holdsss an immense treasure of banking crystals.
The problem isss that it is the map leads to the forbidden planet, off-limits by
a formal decree of the Galactic Senate under the penalty of death, enforced by
the Galactic Security mechs. We intend to go anyway. (Snarth hisses with a huge
grin showing his huge mouth full of needle sharp teeth.)
Marie: I see. What is your family like?
Snarth: My team is comprised of
orphans, I am their family and they are mine. My home planet was destroyed in
the One’s war of galactic conquest long ago. Azsss a result of the One’s attack
very few of my people sssurvived. Now we are ssscattered acrosss the galaxy. I
have only one brother who sssurvived. He worked for the Galactic senate and we
rarely sssaw each other. Now he belongsss to the Cult of Eli and I have not ssseen
him since he joined the cult. Thisss isss a good thing, becaussse the Cult of
Eli put what you would call a bounty on me, wanted dead or alive.
Marie: What did your childhood home look like?
Snarth: Now my planet looksss like a ball of radioactive
fallout. Before the attack when I wasss young, my family lived in a cave, azsss
did mossst of my people. It wasss considered a modessst cave with room for my
123 brothers and 67 sisters. Our planet wasss a world of junglesss and ssswampsss
mostly, warm and humid, raining mossst of the time.
Marie: Do you
have any hobbies? What do you enjoy doing?
Snarth: I collect thingsss from all over the galaxy. I
have ssseveral of the largest collectionsss in existence, weapons, jewelsss,
liquorsss, thingsss of that nature. I also collect physical pleasuresss of all
kindsss. (Pauses to take the final drag from his smoker, blowing yet another perfect
smoke ring.) In fact I am renowned throughout the galaxy azsss a connoissseur of
the finest pleasssuresss. (Snarth hisses with another huge grin.)
Marie: What
is your greatest dream?
Snarth: My greatessst dream
isss to rebuild my home planet ssso my race may once again live. I know thisss
will never happen, there are too few of usss left and no fertile femaless
exist. They were all killed in the attack. (Hisses bitterly.)
Marie: What
kind of person do you wish you could be? What is stopping you?
Snarth: I wish I could be what
you would call a grandparent. I cannot be for obvious reasonsss. Ssso I
gathered a team of the finessst warriorsss the galaxy has ever seen. I have
arranged for mates for all of them and now I am starting my own family. I have
been alone for 2,400 cycles and I do not wish to be alone anymore.
Marie: Wow! Who was your first love?
Snarth: My firssst love, it has been quite some time
sssince I have thought about her. Her name is not pronouncable in human
speech. ssShe wasss my first cousssin on my mothersss ssside. We were both only
100 cyclesss old and madly in love. We were going to elope, againssst the
whissshess of our parentsss. I was off planet trying to earn enough credits for
our own cave. We wanted to start our own family right away. She was killed in
the One’s attack; we never joined. (He hisses bitterly.)
Marie: What's
the most terrible thing that ever happened to you?
Snarth: (Pauses to light
another smoker.) The dessstruction of my home planet and the death of my one
true love. (He hisses simply and obviously full of pain.)
Marie: I'm so sorry to hear that, Snarth. Let's move on to another question.
What was your dream growing up? Did you achieve that dream? If so, in what ways was it not what you expected? If you never achieved the dream, why not?
Snarth: My dream azsss a young one, much like yourself,
wasss to be a famousss space trader and explorer, raissse a large family and
retire to tend to my grandchildren. I have become a famous and very wealthy
trader. Unfortunately, I will have to sssubstitute my team and their mates and
offspring azsss my adopted family. Yesss my life now isss what I expected it
would be after the war that isss. It isss tragic that I am one of the lastss of
my kind.
Marie: Who is your role model?
Snarth: My grandfather isss my
role model. He wasss what you would call the black sssheep of the family and
alwaysss just one-ssstep ahead of the law. I hope to make him proud.
Marie: Is there someone you pretend to like but really hate?
Snarth: No, there is not. Everyone I hate isss dead or
will be very soon. I have not lived thisss long by letting my enemies live. I
live by the honest deal, another thing I am renowned for. No one crosssesss me
and livesss.
Marie: Oh. (Clears throats.) What is your deepest desire?
Snarth: To find true love again
of courssse, my dearest Marie.
Marie: What
is your greatest fear?
Snarth: To die alone and
unloved isss my greatessst fear.
Well, we're out of time. Thank you for visiting us today, Snarth. It's been a pleasure to have you here. I enjoy meeting new people...um, aliens.
Snarth: It was my pleasure indeed, Marie, Are you sure
you will not join me at my estate? No? If you change your mind, you only have to
push this button here on this locket and I will come running. Until we meet
again, my dear, for goodbye is forever. (Walks off the stage.)
Now, let's shift over and get the author's perspective. We have T.W. Embry on the stage today! Hi, T.W.!
Author T.W. Embry: Hello.
Marie:
We
just got to talk to the heroine of your story, Snarth. Quite an
interesting character. Can you tell us a little about him?
T.W.: His is certainly a rascal of the first order
that’s for sure. Snarth is a mystery wrapped up in an enigma. After his planet
was destroyed, he inherited his share of the surviving assets of his home
planet. He is wealthy beyond belief. He has his own estate planet. It is a
small planet about the size of Earth’s moon. He has recruited a team of the
finest warriors in the galaxy they include a feline stealth master and two
canine fight masters and two humans, Thomas Scott and the Irishman. That is all
anybody really knows about him outside of his team and they are very careful
about what they tell about Snarth's past.
Marie: What are your character's greatest strengths?
T.W.: I would have to say his
sense of honor. Snarth would rather lose his entire fortune rather than go back
on his word.
Marie: Well, that is commendable. What
are his greatest weaknesses?
T.W.: If Snarth has any weaknesses, it would have to
be his fondness for pleasures of any sort. He will go to great lengths to add
to his collection.
Marie: What
are some of his favorite foods?
T.W.: Any kind of raw meat; the more exotic the better
he likes it. Snarth is strictly a carnivore.
Marie: What's a positive quality that your character is unaware that he or she has?
T.W.: His love for his team;
he cares far more than he will admit especially to himself.
Marie: Will readers like or dislike this character, and why?
T.W.: I hope they do. If you
like an honest scoundrel and a rogue who does things because he wants to
regardless of the consequences, then you will like Snarth.
Marie: Well, now that we have a real taste of Snarth, we have a few questions for you as well as the author.
What first gave you the idea for Alien Manifesto?
T.W.: I started with the villain.
I got the original idea from The Empire Strikes Back in particular the scene
where Luke Skywalker crash lands his x-wing into the swamps of Degoba. I
wondered what how such a thing would change an established society, the One’s
in this case, or our world for that matter.
Marie: What is your writing style like? Are you a pantster or a plotter?
T.W.: I am actually a bit of both. I plot the main
story line and then let the characters take over how to get there.
Marie: So, I’m throwing this one in for our
aspiring writers. Did you come across
any specific challenges in writing Alien Manifesto or getting it published? What would you do differently the next time?
T.W.: I would say that
finding time to write was the biggest difficulty in writing Alien Manifesto. My
characters wrote most of the hard stuff I just put it in writing. I already
have an agent and a publisher so getting it published was mostly a formality,
contracts and such. If I were to give any advice to aspiring writers I would
say, write what you love. You may never sell a single book but at least you
will be happy doing it. If you start out writing for the money, you are dooming
yourself to failure. There are millions upon millions of books out there. It is
easy to tell the ones that combine the love of writing and in my case a small
amount of talent to create a masterpiece that many will enjoy. That and don’t
give up just because someone doesn’t like your work. Not everybody will,
that is a cold and unpleasant but accurate fact. So chin up and write on!
Good advice. Thank you! Well,
it was such a pleasure having you here on Writing in the Modern Age.
Readers, you will just have to pick up a copy of this awesome book when it comes out!
Here is the blurb for Alien Manifesto.
Thomas Scott, former
Navy S.E.A.L. is on his first job after being separated from the S.E.A.L.S.
Combat is the only skill the young orphan has and he has fallen in with a group
of former Special Forces who like Tom have no other skills and choose a life of
crime to support themselves. As Tom stands watch over the escape route, he is
approached by Snarth, a mysterious alien, who tells him that the raid he is on
is a set up and offers him a chance to escape the FBI, Homeland Security and
Metro Dade Police. Tom finds himself on Snarth’s spaceship and in the company
of the sensuous redhead Tasha. Snarth, a collector of only the finest pleasures,
offers Tom a job. A business rival has swindled Snarth out of a great deal of
profit and he is recruiting a select team to steal an artifact of great value
to recoup his losses. Tom accepts Snarth’s offer and begins a life unlike any
he ever imagined. Tom must earn acceptance to the team from the other members.
The team members are the Irishman, the only other human, who is best friends
with Rowl, a huge canine fight master. All are under the tutelage of a feline
stealth master.
Several months pass and Tom not only gains acceptance to the
team but also excels in stealth. Unknown to Tom, he is being groomed by the
stealth master as his first and only student, a huge honor for Tom. During the
raid to steal the artifact, the stealth master is killed, dying in Tom's arms. Snarth realizes that a group of religious fanatics known as the Cult of Eli
covets the artifact, so he must sell it quickly for the Cult is merciless in
their pursuit of the artifact. Snarth recruits a feline stealth master to
complete both the team and Tom’s training. The Cult of Eli is tipped off that
Snarth has the artifact and in a preemptive strike Snarth and the team
infiltrate the Cult. The team’s true intentions are found out and the feline is
captured and tortured by the Cult leader. Tom rescues the feline who kills the
leader in an act of vengeance. This brings Snarth’s activities to the attention
of the head of the galactic intelligence, AArat, and old enemy of Snarth’s.
AArat is a believer in the Cult of Eli. Snarth finds out that AArat, and his
fellow believers are planning a coup of the galactic government drawing Snarth
and his team into the resulting melee. Realizing that he needs more expertise
in order to survive, Snarth recruits an old friend SSlice, a huge spider from
the race called the Spinners, the galaxy
foremost computer expert.
After AArat’s death at the hands of Tom in an act of
vengeance, Snarth sets his sights on the rival who tipped off the location of
the artifact to the Cult, SSniggle. SSlice has discovered that SSniggle has a
map leading to the treasure vaults of the Ones, the most powerful empire to
ever conquer the known galaxy. It has been 500 years since the defeat and
destruction of the Ones home world. Snarth and the team steal the map from SSniggle
as punishment for his betrayal, beginning the greatest treasure hunt in the
history of the galaxy. After arriving on the presumably uninhabited One home
world, Snarth and team awaken the Queen of the Ones. Who has been hibernation, waiting
for her chance to begin her war of conquest again. Before her defeat the Queen
laid millions of eggs and that is what the map shows. Unknown to any in the
galaxy the banking jewels they have been using for hundreds of years are actually the Queen's
eggs and they are on every civilized planet waiting for the newly awakened queen
to bring them to life and begin the second One war.
This book will be available soon.
About T.W. Embry:
I
am a navy brat thanks to my Dad's attachment to the US Pacific Fleet. My family
is from Kentucky and both sides have lived there since just after the
revolutionary war. I am a long time resident of St. Lucie county, Florida. My
wife of 19 years is a Florida native, born in Stuart, FL, a cracker and proud of
it. We have one daughter Corri who is currently a full time college student. Then
there is the family dog Hobo and his two feline friends Oscar the grouch and
Biggin kitty. All of who have inspired characters to write about.
How I got into writing is an unusual chain of
events culminating in my first book, Revenge from Mars. I was working for
BellSouth as an information operator and had been for 15 years when the office
I was in was closed due to downsizing. As I had just enough seniority to
receive severance pay equal to one years’ salary, I decided to go back to school.
I
chose culinary school as I thought I could cook and I thought I liked it. While
I did graduate from Le Cordon Bleu with honors, I quickly came to realize that
I was not cut out to work in a fast paced kitchen. You see I have two speeds,
slow and slower. And when I get stressed, I downshift rather than speeding up.
I
was working in the kitchen of a breakfast and lunch country store in downtown
Fort Pierce. This is where I grew up
when I met an author who was giving a presentation at the library just down the
street. That seemed like a cool thing to do.
Later
that evening, I remembered some advice given to me by the language professor at
Le Cordon Blue. I had finished an in-class essay much faster than anyone else
in the class. The professor looked at my work and asked how many books I had
written. I didn’t think anything of it at the time after all I was training to
be a Chef not an author. It was what he said next that I remember the most,
”Maybe you should”. I did not know it at the time, but Professor Wolfish was a
former big college professor who taught professional writing classes for many
years before.
So,
that night I sat down at my computer and sketched out what was to be the
opening scene in my first novel. That was easy, I remember thinking. Little did
I realize I had embarked on a new career. One that gives me much more
satisfaction than any job I have ever had and there has been many. I have just
finished my second novel and I have been picked up by Solstice Publishing. All
of this, and hopefully more, because of a comment made by a well-meaning
professor to whom I shall be forever grateful.
Author Links:
T.W.'s Books:
Coming Soon
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