Thursday, March 20, 2014

Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens



I have the wonderful opportunity to share an interview with Mark Speed, author of Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens




1. What part of the writing process do you dread?
MS:  
I actually dread getting to the end of a novel. I’m sorry to see the characters out of my life, and wish I could do more with them.

2. What is your favorite Joke?
MS:  My wife left me because of my gambling. I don’t know how I’m going to win her back.

3. Where do you get your best ideas?
MS:  Often when I’m out running, my mind relaxes and flips over something I’ve been struggling with. Other times I just sit with a blank page and just push myself.

4. What do you do to relax?
MS:  Run, meditate, gym, read tons of fiction.


5. Do you write about what turns you on?

MS:  I certainly think you have to write about something that you find stimulating. People who don’t never come across as authentic in their writing. People are passionate, and our passions drive us on. Readers pick up on that passion – it’s infectious.







Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens: Doctor How, book one

by Mark Speed

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BLURB:

Doctor How’s famous megalomaniac brother Doctor Who sold his fictional life story to the BBC half a century ago, painting himself as a lone hero. Disillusioned, their four cousins dropped out. For fifty years, Doctor How has held the line against the forces of darkness and stupidity. And he’s not that happy, since you ask.

Illegal aliens try to hack How’s Spectrel (TARDIS is a very rude word where he comes from), just as he suspects his estranged cousin Where has been compromised. When reports come in of mysterious attacks by alien creatures, Doctor How has to rely on his new companion Kevin, a petty criminal from south London, and Trinity, a morphing super-predator, as he counters this threat to humanity’s existence. Bungling agents from MI16, long desperate to capture the Time Keeper’s technology, hamper How’s efforts to combat the alien menace. Can Doctor How keep ahead of MI16, save Where and combat the alien threat?

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Excerpt:

Kevin lowered his window and said, “Come on, Doc. We haven’t got all night.”

Where honked lightly twice, and Kevin laughed.

Doctor How smiled and took a couple of steps towards the cab.

There was a crash from inside the house, and the sound of splintering wood. The Doctor whipped around to see the sofa burst through the front window and tumble into the garden. It came to a stop upside down against the wall. He took a couple of steps back, pulled out his Ultraknife and held it towards the house.

“Get in the bleedin’ cab and let’s go!” yelled Where.

“I want to know what it is. Kill the headlights.”

“Kill the headlights? You’ll kill us all. Get inside!” Nevertheless, Where turned off the headlights.

“Get in, Doctor!” shouted Kevin.

The wall beneath the living room window collapsed outward in a cloud of dust, and the radiator that sat underneath it fell with a resonating clang onto the rubble. Water gushed out of a piece of broken central heating pipe.

A pair of black antennae waved through the dust. They were followed by two interlocking pairs of black mandibles two feet wide that scythed back and forth in the night air.

“Oh, you absolute beauty,” said the Doctor, lowering his Ultraknife a fraction.

“Oi, nutter! Get in the bleedin’ cab, will ya?” Where turned the headlights back on, lighting up the rest of the creature. It was six feet wide and six feet tall, with a rounded shiny black body.

“I wish you hadn’t done that,” said Kevin. “Get in, Doc. Let’s go!”

“It’s after you, cousin,” said Doctor How. Or your Spectrel. Or your cab. Or all three.”

“Well, I don’t want to stick around and find out which, do I? Get in, you bleedin’ maniac!”

The Doctor opened the door and got in the front beside his cousin, who jammed the vehicle into reverse just as the creature edged forward a few feet, to where the cab had been two seconds before.

“Wait!” said the Doctor. He slammed the cab into neutral and jerked the handbrake.

Amazon link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Mark Speed has been writing novels since he was fifteen. His comedy writing has appeared in newspapers as diverse as the London Evening Standard and The Sun, and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. He performed his solo comedy, The End of the World Show, at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 and 2012. He is currently working on the five-volume Doctor How series.

Amongst other postgraduate and professional qualifications, he has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from City University, London. In 1995 a chiropractor told him he’d never run again. Sensibly, he gave up chiropractors, runs every day and has completed several marathons and a couple of Olympic-length triathlons.

NLP founder Dr Richard Bandler called him a ‘polarity responder’.


Links:

Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter



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For additional entries, please visit other stops on the tour
March 10: Deal Sharing Aunt
March 10: IndieWritersReview
March 11: Books and Other Spells
March 12: Rose and Beps Blog
March 12: Sharing Links and Wisdom
March 13: Andi's Book Reviews
March 14: The Cerebral Writer
March 14: Untamed Spirit
March 17: Sexy Adventures Passionate Tales
March 18: Pressed Leaf Publishing
March 18: Living As We
March 19: Blood Moons and Nightscapes
March 20: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
March 21: The Write to Read
March 24: Multi-Verses of Liza O
March 24: Long and Short Reviews
March 25: Two Ends of the Pen
March 26: House Millar
March 26: Straight from the Library
March 27: Wake Up Your Wild Side
March 28: Beyond Romance
March 31: Christine Young author
March 31: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
April 1: Kit 'N Kabookle
April 2: Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess
April 3: Queen of All She Reads
April 3: It's Raining Books
April 4: Who's Reviews
April 4: Book Bliss


11 comments:

  1. Hi Everyone, I'm delighted to be here on The Reading Addict today. Thank you so much for hosting, and to Goddess Fish for arranging everything. Please let me know your questions.

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    1. Thanks for visiting! Looks like a fun, wacky read.

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  2. Interesting that you would be classified a polarity responder, this could be said of my son as well. I guess I need to keep searching for his triggers to launch his star. otherwise I will just have an eternal debate partner lol. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Debates are good, lots of great developments result from sharing two different opinions, lol. Thank you for visiting, Elise-Maria.

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  3. Hi Elise-Maria, best thing to do is tell him that he can't do something really great - he'll then launch himself at it! :-)

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  4. Replies
    1. It is, isn't it? Thanks for visiting, Jane.

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  5. This book sounds like great fun to read.

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

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    Replies
    1. It does, doesn't it? Thanks for visiting, Karen!

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