Interview with Mary Andrews

• Tell us a bit about your The Fireborn Chronicles series.
The Fireborn Chronicles series is what I like to call psionic science fiction. It involves the inevitable fusion of man, machine and the paranormal. The Chronicles begin in the far, far future. Earth’s children have spread to other galaxies since the planet’s asteroid induced annihilation.

Fringe elements aside, a Universal Government brings mankind and the life forms they encounter under one rule. As the custodian for peace between all worlds, it establishes a central, corporate run facility—The Hive Planet–to remove, contain, control, and transform criminal and nonproductive individuals into a universal workforce. This ultimate, interplanetary temp service is accessed through a truly universal web.

Only one person has ever escaped the Hive Planet: A newborn, fully implanted with compu-link interface temple plates, but not yet introduced to the addictive drug meant to insure his enslavement. Rescued and raised by a Gov ambassador, RAEL POINTE now heads a Dark Ops team for the Universal Government. He has successfully combined his ability to interface with the Hive system to a psionic, rogue talent, IRA HAZE.

Among other things Haze can follow the merest residual emanation of an individual and transverse the Ethernet to see through the eyes of his target. Along with TRISTEN, a psionic nexus engineered and blinded by her own people, and LAYNALD LOCHEIM, an assassin and healer they picked up on the way; The Nemesis Team becomes a tightly bound fusion of man, machine, and the paranormal. As a unit, they are unique and unstoppable—until now.

Through a series of strange events (depicted in book I of the series) Rael inherits both the Hive Planet and the position of Corporate Overlord. He finds himself surrounded by a personal guard of seven genetically engineered and eternally young psychics, The Corporate Archangels, who are conditioned to live or die by his command. Once fearing enslavement, Pointe is now the god-like master of The Hive and its massive interplanetary corporate support system.

Despite all of his new-found power, Rael is forced to avoid a confrontation with the Oracle Triad, who have manipulated his life from the beginning. He suspects they are mounting a takeover of The Universal Government’s corporate realms as a forerunner to a cosmic invasion.

Book II begins a month after Pointe has assumed the Overlord position. Based aboard his corporate mothership, Seraphim, Rael oversees both The Government’s Dark Ops team and the Hive corporate interests.

While he struggles to adapt, Pointe receives a call from Dark Ops command. ALANDRA HAZE, Ira’s telepathic sister and psi ops agent for The Government, has been kidnapped during an investigation of terrorist activity on a Hive drug mining planet.

Rael sends his Dark ops Team and a corporate representative, Archangel Michael, to retrieve the agent and see to both Government and Corporate interests but a psychic vampire and his strange twin brother change the stakes.


I could probably say more but I think I’ll rein it in here. I’ve posted info and a sample chapter for both The Fireborn Chronicles (book I) and The Fireborn Chronicles: Resonances (book II) on my website Book pages.( http://mary-andrews.webs.com/ )

Extra note: Book I is available in trade paperback and eBook and Book II is available in eBook only now but will be released in trade paperback soon.

• You recently released book II. How are you promoting it's launch?

Currently promotion for The Fireborn Chronicles: Resonances is all online. I actively attempt to keep a presence and make announcements on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Through this kind of networking, I’ve made new friends and found many opportunities (this interview being one announced on Facebook).

I try to do interviews for blogs. MuseItUp Publishing provides all their authors with a blog tour. I scheduled mine for January since I just finished teaching two classes at The Muse Conference in October. (Teaching classes enhances name fame and repetitive exposure of titles, not to mention access to potential networking contacts and friends.)

I participated in the MuseItUp blog’s Halloween Festival and have signed up for their Christmas Festival in December.

I’ve am entering my covers for both book I & book II in contests like The Covey Awards. Win or lose, cover contests provide free exposure for blurbs and contact info as well as the actual cover for the whole month while drawing potential readers. It’s hard to beat something like that. *smile*

Online communities like Coffeetime Romances, The Muse Online Conference Group, Publishing Trove, Bragging Rights, and I’m getting ready to sign up with She Writes (a large women’s community) --all provide promo ops and allow excerpts.

I’ve sent out requests for a book reviews to any place my publisher has not already submitted.

I’ve opened pages with a sample chapter for each of my books on my website, along with all buy sites, review sites, blurbs and Me Sightings on the website’s home page.

I am also in the process of mastering, I hope, the creation of book trailers. I’m hoping to make a series of trailers--one for each book and maybe some smaller ones for the characters so that the title may stand out in listings. Then I’ll start posting them around and enter some book trailer contests.

All of that and, of course, my signature line includes book title, simple summation and website info. I know there are some other readers groups I’ve joined too.

My most recent promotional effort is to offer everyone who buys the newly released ebook of The Fireborn Chronicles: Resonances a gift of thanks all through November. If they email me the first sentence on chapter 2, I will send them a preview of chapter 1 of the third book in the Fireborn Chronicles series. (Bookstore site: http://tinyurl.com/3aegz6z
My email address: author.mary.andrews@Gmail.com )

• Your books are published by MuseItUp Publishing. Why did you choose them and would you recommend them to other writers?

I first encountered Lea Shizas, the head of MuseItUp Publishing about six years ago when I attended the first free Muse Online Writers Conference (http://themuseonlinewritersconference.com/ ) . She is an amazing and talented woman, truly inspirational with the utmost ethic. I met the head of Swimming Kangaroo Press at my first convention and published through them. When they were dealt a lethal blow by the economy they released all titles not in editing. That included The Fireborn Chronicles: Resonances. I’ve always wanted to be a part of something inspired. Working with Lea fits that bill.

She’s got a diverse and honorable reputation for getting things done, and done well. When she announced the opening of her own publishing house I jumped at the chance to submit and when her editing crew approved my book I couldn’t be happier. For years now she has provided a never ending stream of education and help for aspiring writers. It was great to finally be able to give something back.

I would most definitely recommend MuseItUp Publishing to other writers. Lea promotes a family-like group of authors. She announces a never ending flow of promo ops as she hears of them. In fact, at one point, she actually insisted that her authors NOT stop writing completely in favor of promotion.

The entire group network shares tips, provides blog ops, interviews and help as needed. There is a great deal of support for any author who needs help of any kind. For a new author, this is the perfect situation to break in.

MuseItUp Publishing handles short stories as well as books in many genres including MuseItHot branch for more adult endeavors. They are efficient. Their response is at the speed of light. All books come out in eBook first then in trade paperback within the year regardless of sales.

Again, yes, I recommend MuseItUp Publishing and am looking forward to working more with them myself. (https://museituppublishing.com/musepub/ )

• What are your favourite books by other authors and do they effect your way of writing?

I’ve always had trouble with this question because it’s like choosing a favorite son or daughter.

Originally, I wanted to write atmosphere like Ray Bradbury (The Martian Chronicles was my favorite.) In The Fireborn Chronicles (book I) the story about Ira probably leans towards this.

I wanted to create metaphors like Anne Rice. I loved her Vampire Chronicles.

And I’ve always loved the way Roger Zelazny treated his readers like they weren’t stupid. Reading his works (like the Amber series) required participation. I got to learn things along with the characters. I liked that.

Recent authors that have impressed me are Stephanie Meyers and J.K. Rowlands. Their styles are so easy to read and enticing that I think I have leaned more towards them in section 1 and 4 of my first book and in entirety since.

• Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

Overall, my website http://mary-andrews.webs.com/ contains all Me Sightings. Social media links, blog and book info. AND, I love to hear from other writers and my readers.

• Anything else you'd like to add?

It is nice to meet you. I appreciate the interview. Thank you very much.