JQM Literary Chat Welcomes Cindy Koepp

 

 

Tell us about yourself:

 

Well, hello there!

I’m a science fiction writer who also writes GameLit, fantasy, steampunk, and teacher resources. (One of these things is not like the others. 😀 ) Lately, I’ve been doing a good deal more GameLit because it’s fun!

 

When I’m not writing, I do crafty stuff, make quilts, tell hokey jokes, and collect hats (and wear them, of course. What good is a hat collection if you don’t wear them, right?)

 

 

Tell us about your book:

 

 

The book I’m sharing with you today is called Urushalon 1: Like Herding the Wind. This tale takes place in a small coastal town in Texas in 1965.

 

An alien race called Eshuvani were headed across the galaxy in a generation ship. It experienced a major malfunction and crashed on Earth in 1612. In an effort to avoid interfering with the local populations, the Eshuvani split up and formed enclaves in various places around the world. For the most part, they kept themselves to themselves, but every once in a while, a human and Eshuvani would form a relationship. One would adopt the other as an “urushalon,” and they remained good friends for life.

 

In the 1920s, when he was 3 years old – almost 4 – Ed Osborn got lost while his family was camping near one of the Eshuvani enclaves near Marquette, Michigan. His parents went to the nearest Eshuvanikiandarai station, a sort of combination emergency medical and police station, to recruit help. Amaya Ulonya, the kiand or captain of the station, set out with them to find Ed. After some hunting, she located him, and he adopted her as his urushalon.

 

Fast forward to 1965. Now Ed is a sergeant in the Las Palomas police department. Criminals from the Eshuvani enclave nearby are harassing humans, and his officers are getting hurt. Amaya, who still lives in Michigan, arranges to take over a new kiandarai station near Las Palomas that will serve as a liaison between the humans and Eshuvani. One problem: her boss isn’t keen on humans and would like to see the whole relationship disintegrate. He does everything he can to make that happen.

 

Like Herding the Wind relates how Ed and Amaya investigate the problem. When they get to the end, they find it’s a bigger mess than they first thought.

 

Later this spring, Urushalon 2: Into the Open will be released and continue the investigation.

 

 

What influenced you to write your current genre?

 

I don’t remember. Really. I’ve been writing sci-fi, superhero stories, fantasy, and other sorts of speculative fiction longer than I can remember.

 

I do like science, though, so wondering “what if…” with the latest science notion to cross my brain probably has something to do with it.

 

Who are your favorite authors?

 

OOOOoooo… That’s a list.

Um… Let’s do it by genre.

 

Science fiction: Janet Kagan, Gordon R. Dickson, Kathy Tyers

Kid books: Jude Watson, Bruce Hale, Mo Willems

GameLit/LitRPG: S.L. Rowland, David Petrie, Charles Dean

Superhero: Aaron DeMott, Brian K. Morris, Adam Graham

Other: Victor Hugo

 

 

What are your favorite books?

 

Janet Kagan: Hellspark

Gordon R. Dickson: Childe Cycle

Kathy Tyers: Firebird

Jude Watson: Jedi Apprentice

Bruce Hale: Chet Gecko

Mo Willems: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

S.L. Rowland: Sentenced to Troll

David Petrie: Pixel Dust: Party Hard

Charles Dean: Bathrobe Knight

Aaron DeMott: Etherno: Rise of the Dragongirl

Brian K. Morris: Skyman Battles the Master of Steam

Adam Graham: Tales of the Dim Knight

Victor Hugo: Les Miserables

 

Who are your favorite literary characters?

 

I tend to be drawn to characters who are goofy (the entire cast of Chet Gecko, Kira in Party Hard, the crew of Tales of the Dim Knight, the silly roommate in Etherno, Limery in Sentenced to Troll, etc) or characters who are compassionate (Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, Brennan in Firebird, Qui-Gon Jinn in Jedi Apprentice, etc).

 

Is there anything you want to share with potential readers?

 

Find me at an author event or con and get some great stories, cool swag (featuring artwork by Bill Sartain (http://fb.me/SartainArt76) and Matt Ostrom (http://mattostrom.com)), and dragons. In fact, take advantage of the Book-Wyrm special! My newsletter will fill you in on which cons and events I’m going to this year.

 

Where can we go to learn more about you and your literary works?

 

The two best places to learn about me and the crazy stuff I write:

My webpage (sign up for my newsletter while you’re there): http://ckoepp.com

Find me on social media: http://facebook.com/KoeppC