I have the coolest friends ever. They are talented, witty, and supportive. They send me their work to read and review. For some reason, they think my reviews are worth something. Suckers.
No, really, I'm thrilled my friends send me their stuff. It gives me a chance to experience something I might not normally get the chance to read. I mentioned a while ago that I would love to be a reviewer, but, sadly, I don't have time. I squeeze in what I can.
Tonia was kind enough to send me volume 1 of her Railroad! story. It's steampunk, and like her erotic zombie novel, it's not a genre I normally read. But she's my friend and a fantastic writer, so I went for it.
The story is great! Rodger Dodger is tired of working menial jobs, so he answers an ad to be a security guard on a train. Little does he know, it's not a normal train, and the passengers are far from run of the mill. The adventure begins during his interview, and he finds himself thrust into a world of ghosts and genetic engineering. Throw into the mix a beautiful, feisty young woman, and Rodger can't say no!
The story is full of humor and wonderful characters. If you haven't experienced Railroad! yet, I recommend you do. You can access it here. But before you do, here's a little history of the story from Ms. Brown herself!
Q) What inspired you to write this story?
The exact moment came to me when I was watching the remake of True Grit. There was a scene at the beginning with a train, and the moment I saw it neurons started firing and the idea for Railroad! just exploded into being. I've always been a big fan of westerns, and steampunk, so it seemed natural that I would marry the two eventually.
Q) How long did it take you to write?
The first book length worth of material took almost six months, mainly because I had a goof when working on the second volume and lost 20k words due to a bad flash drive.
Q) Can you talk about the story's evolution and publishing history?
I started Railroad! as a novel only, but partway into the first story arc, I decided I wanted to release it as a web based serial. I still wrote it as a novel, with three volumes to complete the first book, but release it online for free at about 2k words a week. The novella sized volumes I intend to release as ebooks as I go. Volume one is just such a novella, the first ten chapters of the story.
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
I will keep on posting Rodger Dodger's story until someone begs me to stop.
