Army of Tomorrow Blog News with Walter Rhein

Welcome to the Army of Tomorrow Blog News!

Today we are welcoming our spotlight guest: WALTER RHEIN, author of THE LITERATE THIEF.  

But before we introduce our spotlight guest for this week, we have the winner of the 4-book Robot Paperback Giveaway! Congrats SUZ READS!  The books EXOTIQA, THIRTY (novella), SPHERE, QUANTUM STATE, and ELECTRIC GARDENS will be sent to her next week! Don't be jealous, we have another contest the month too! 


Win a paperback copy of ELECTRIC GARDENS or QUANTUM STATE!  2 winners will be picked, one for each book! LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG and WIN! Leave eMail!

 

FAN TIME: I just want to say thank you for all the amazing emails I've received about Electric Gardens and I'm so glad so many of you love the story so much! Some of my favorite Fan eMails are below:

"Omigod!! I am LOVING this series!"

"Another great read!"

I loved this book.

 "It's crazy how real your stories feel!"

"This one put a movie in my head!" 

SPOTLIGHT with WALTER RHEIN

Read/Buy The Literate Thief 

When ignorance means slavery, knowledge must be stolen . . . 

The Reader of Acheron bid them travel: Quillion the scholar, Cole the swordsman, and Kikkan the once-enslaved. In Edentown, he promised, they would find a keeper of the sacred knowledge . . .

Though Kikkan remained resolute in the guidance of his mentor, Quillion could not escape the grip of encroaching doubt. Was it a fool's errand? Would their quest bring them to a champion? Or could they expect nothing more than a living husk, crushed by the burdens of unjust expectation, scurrying in the alleys, having risen to no higher station than that of a Literate Thief?

Who is Walter Rhein?

When did you start writing stories?

I remember going into a Waldenbooks or a B. Dalton when I was little and purchasing a Moleskin notebook when I was around ten. A spiral ring notebook was out of the question because I needed something that looked like a book. Telling stories is something I've enjoyed doing for as long as I can remember.

What was your favorite book growing up? Now?

I've always been a big fan of Roald Dahl. I recently read 'Danny the Champion of the World' to my daughters, and I was again impressed with how well written it is. These days I'm most inclined to pick up Charles Bukowski because I've always been impressed with the readability of Bukowski's work. It's a rare thing to write a book that appeals to people who aren't necessarily inclined to read. You have to fight for a reader's attention with so many different distractions these days that readability is vital.

If you could live anywhere in the world where money was not a factor, where would it be?

I've been fortunate in that I've been able to do a lot of traveling. Peru's Sacred Valley is a wonderful place to live, and the food is fantastic. I've also spent a fair amount of time in Germany which is also wonderful (although I'd like to spend more time in Europe). These days I'm living in Northern Wisconsin because I enjoy cross-country skiing and access to beautiful wilderness. I think I'd pick Italy or France, somewhere I could pick up another foreign langauge over a year or so, but I'm quite happy where I am right now as well.

How did you come up with the story?

I'd met Janet Morris on Facebook of all places, and after having some interesting discussions on my Heroic Fantasy group, I thought I'd come up with an idea for a book series. Morris is the type of publisher that doesn't shy away from intense, philosophical ideas, in fact, she embraces them. I've worked with other publishers who say things like, "Vampires are big right now, write something with vampires." Morris is the opposite. She is not interested in chasing after trends like a man chasing his hat, she wants something good and is content to wait for the general public to discover it. It's a good place for me.

What are your current writing plans?

I have outlined the third book in the series that began with 'The Reader of Acheron' and continued with 'The Literate Thief.' I hope to finish that in the next four to six months. I also have some pretty extensive notes for a project on education. That will be kind of a memoir style book with some anecdotes from growing up in Wisconsin that most people aren't going to believe.

One word answers:

Horses, sharks, or eagle?

Horses

Robots, animals, or people?

Robots

Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, or Queen?

Queen

Novels, novellas, or short stories?

Novels

Morning, afternoon, or night?

Night

Thank you and good night! 

Thanks for having me!

I love to review books! I read a book a week, usually on Kindle unlimited. This week, my review pick is WITHER! 

Read/Buy WITHER

I read this as a paperback actually, instead of my usual KU reads. 

I got a Barnes N Noble gift card. Peppy!

So, the basic premise is that people are dying young and women are valuable because of this. Some are forced to marry and we follow the main character who is forced into her marriage. I really enjoyed this story and liked the world it was in. A bit dark, but very interesting too! If you enjoy apocalyptic types of scenarios, this one is good since it is not the usual world blowing up, rather it is our genes have gone bad. 

I liked most things about this first story and for those that want a good read to take them into another world, I would give this one a go!

I give it five stars out of five!

EXCERPT for the Week!

from new release: Electric Gardens

   My mind is too foggy to know if I’m hearing anything for sure, too foggy with images of Lucy717, of Mom and Dad, or Delsin, or my life before, but I think I heard the Class Tin say, that Grids are be- ing erected all over the country, to protect us, to keep the Compound and the Electric Gardens secure. I think it said that the Electric Grids will become our new maps and lines—that our old maps are gone, de- stroyed forever, and will now be called the Nets.

   In Electric Strings, I walk in like I’m a ghost of a girl, on autopilot—my mind reeling over everything I heard in Coms and Nets. It can’t be true. Can’t be true. Tins are, have, taken over everything. Even if we get out, where the hell are we going to go, run to? Where can we even hide? 

If you enjoyed this blog news or want to enter to win the paperbacks, please post a comment! Leave your Email!

Until next time!

M.Black