Other Side of Writers: Chris Harold Stevenson #dystopian #fantasy #romance #scifi

Welcome to the third post in my ongoing series! 

(**See previous posts on mystery author Mary Cunningham and her genealogy; horror author Rob Walker and his dog). (Other photos/images: Pixabay.com)

Today I'm talking with multi-dimensional author Chris Harold Stevenson. He's published everything from nonfiction on not getting ripped off, to YA sci-fi, romances with a twist and more. But let him tell you...

So who are you: writer, reader, collector, zombie enthusiast?

   I’m a novelist primarily, but I’ve also written non-fiction books, short stories, poetry and nearly 2000 science articles.

What is your talent?

   My talent seems to be writing, all in all. I’ve been told that my YA books excel. Which was a surprise to me.

Tell us about your  latest work.

   My latest in-print work is The Girl They Sold to the Moon, a light science fiction tale of a girl who gets pawned to an unscrupulous company, thanks to her father.  Girl They Sold has a sweet romance, so it’s a little bit safer.

About The Girl They Sold to the Moon: 

Eighteen-year-old Tilly Breedlove’s father has sold her into a form of modern day slavery on Luna—the Tranquility Harbor Mining Company, 240,000 miles from home. He’s pawned her for a huge cash advance to keep himself out of the penitentiary. Family Trade and Loan, an unscrupulous company, is more than willing to take her on and exploit her talent.

Forced to be an exotic dancer, she performs risque shows for the filthy, but filthy rich ore miners--a far cry from her classical and modern dance training. If she isn't resisting obscene advances from bearded “Prairie Dogs”, she's fending off jealous head-liner acts who view her as a threat to their status—and when those jealous showgirls say “break a leg”, they aim to cause it. The only reprieve she finds in this shop of horrors is a few close ward friends, a sympathetic dance coach/choreographer, and Buddy Gunner Bell, who just might become the love of her life. It's just enough to stem her psychological meltdown.

A tragedy on the Moon base, coupled with the suicide of her best friend, lands Tilly back on Earth, shackled to the Las Vegas-Henderson Gambling Complex. She discovers that one of her closest ward friends is actually her birth mother, who gave her up for adoption at the age of two and is serving an extended term at FTAL. Tilly's father defaults on the loan and goes into hiding, making Tilly temporary property of FTAL. That's the last straw. She plots a daring escape plan with her birth mother—they'll break out and make a run for it. Buddy Bell is enlisted to help from the outside. Their plan requires split-second timing and a daring dash. If she can just get past the corporation's airtight security, and hunt down the father who abandoned her.

Tilly and her birth mother make a narrow escape, ditching pursuers on the streets of Las Vegas. On the way to the airport, Tilly discovers the location of her father and promptly calls authorities—a revengeful tit for tat. Tilly, her birth mother and Buddy Bell, board a flight to Hawaii and land safely. With new identities and disguises, she and her friends plan on carving out a new life for themselves. But thoughts of FTAL finally catching up to her is an ever-present threat and reality. (Series potential).

What inspired the story?

   I imagined a fully distressed dystopian future, where the need to survive has been taken to the limit. Dependent family members are ripe for being sold if the head of the household or breadwinner determines it is an option to avoid poverty. It is a theme that echoes the workhouse of England, kind of a debtors prison.  

Read the first paragraph: 

            “I’m Reginald Breedlove.  I’m here to pawn my daughter.”

            I’m here to pawn my daughter.  Tilly Breedlove knew they had another word for it—they called them “kickouts”, people who were sold to the establishment to cover debts. She and her girlfriends used to laugh at the K-Span commercial on late night Holoview.  She wasn’t laughing now.  She’d never seen so many kids gathered in one spot, except at a school assembly. 

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

  I like to take walks in the country, shoot pistols and watch any video featuring UFOs or Bigfoot. I teach on writing technique and how-tos on my blog , Guerilla Warfare for Writers. 

Do you collect anything? 

   I used to build and collect dollhouses and miniature replicas. I made 80 such houses, including customized structures for clients.

     (Sigh, he doesn't have any photos. I'd love to see some of his work!)

What's up next for you?

 My newest release will be an erotic romance called Blackmailed Bride. It’s coming out in the next couple months. It was co-written with the help of a female writer friend on the Internet.  Here's a preview of the cover. (Enlarge to read the back blurb.) Find Chris on Facebook or his FB Author page.

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* Chris, thanks for sharing with us. I enjoyed your visit!

** Stay tuned...  who's next????