Angela Nicole Parker

A:  Believe it or not, the name of a fictional village. “The Days and Months We Were First Born” wasn't the original story I set out to write. My first book was supposed to take place a hundred years from now, in a world well beyond the time of the epidemic. It was supposed to have an ensemble of young characters on a quest across our continent. It was a coming of age type of book. But I had writers block (and) I realized that I needed a background story. So the place of the first setting, Martinville, became my focal point. I soon found myself asking, “Who the hell is this Martin guy? And what makes him so special that he has a place named after him?” Well, eventually, this brainstorming led me to his girlfriend's bedroom, right before the news of the outbreak, in New York City, in the year 2068. And it was like a big bang. A new story was born and it took off running, leaving my first plan behind. I may still write that original story one day, but for now, it's all about Martin and his friends.

Q:  Can you talk a bit about the storyline for the novel?

A: Sure. For the most part, this series is the first person account of Martin Jacob after the outbreak of the Gotheal's virus. Before “Awareness Day” (July 28th 2068), Martin is just a regular guy living a regular life. There is nothing special about him at all. He is virtually shacked up with his artist girlfriend in Harlem; he is a recent graduate from NYU; and he is on the brink of beginning his career as a history teacher. He is enjoying the summer and a comfortable lifestyle. But when he wakes up that fateful day everything begins to go wrong. I'll put it this way, if Martin's life was a person, it would be someone playing in shallow waters near a beach who is suddenly carried out to the ocean by a rip current. Things get away from him. In a sense, things unravel.

Martin tells a very personable narrative. He recalls the chain of events that transpired after all hell broke loose. He introduces a steady stream of interesting characters. He also paints a vivid picture of a world that's left in ruins. There is a mix bag of comedy, tragedy, social commentary, and speculative fiction. It's been a joy to work on this project. At times, I'm surprised I actually created such a tale.

 Q:  Our hero, Martin Jacob, seems to have an existential world view. Is that a correct take on him?

A: First of all, it's awful generous of you to consider Martin a hero. I'm sure if he was a real person he wouldn't consider himself that at all. In fact, if he was a real person, he'd probably want to kick my ass for screwing up his life so thoroughly. Anyways, my take on Martin's philosophy is this: He's just a normal guy put in a horrible situation. He didn't have time to ease into this different life. There was no transition. Change just smacked him in the face and he is carrying on the best way he can. He takes things as they come. If he actually took the time to think of how bad things were, of how much he has lost, he'd probably just want to crawl in hole somewhere and die. But Martin is not like that. He has a very strong will to survive. He is a big picture type of guy. Also, his story is a reflection of how so many things interconnect --- the virus, the world that was destroyed, his life, which was destroyed, and the people around him --- Martin ties it all together, sort of like, well, sort of like a history teacher.

 

I've often considered the drama surrounding the modern British Royal family to be the original reality show, so I'm not surprised that over a billion people tuned in this morning for their latest monumental episode. As a romantic who is a sucker for a happy ending, I loved everything about it, especially the balcony kiss, and the happily ever after ride into the sunset in that amazing convertible vintage blue Aston Martin.

Watching that wedding just made me feel good.

As a writer, though,  I couldn't help but think I was watching something out of a chick lit writer's imagination-- a spunky commoner meets the heir to the throne in college and against all odds finds love and manages to become his Princess Bride. Nobody could have written a more romantic, modern fairytale. But let's face it, if someone had written it they might have gotten tons of negative reviews about how "predictable" and "unrealistic the story was."  That's why I think so many of us are so enamoured with this wedding. Looking at Kate and William reminds us that good things really can happen in real life, and amazing twists and turns aren't solely left to the realm of our imagination. It reminds us that our Real Life is still the most fascinating journey we'll ever become immersed in.

So, cheers to one day when we all believe in love, beauty and happy ever afters.

I got my first review on Amazon for Tethered and it a doozy! Like all writers I write in hopes that someone will love my stories and characters as much as I do so I couldn't believe when I saw this ---

I guess it was just fate how I ended up buying this book. I'm not the type of person to read chick lit at all--never even thought to. But one night, I was just browsing through some forum or another, and I came across a post from this author. The post had a link to her page, and the page had a link to her book. Maybe it was the low price, maybe it was the high word count for the low price, maybe it was just the nice pair of legs on the cover, but for whatever reason, I decided: well, let me go ahead and check this out. And let me tell you, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made as a reader!

"Tethered" chronicles a year in the life of Madison Cherie Baldwin, the first-born daughter of a publication mogul. And at first, it just seemed like one of those typical cookie cutter love stories, the type of book where you can see the ending from page two. But the more I read the more it became clear, this book is anything but cookie cutter.

This book is rich with twists and turns in the plot. The characters are vivid and interesting. The dialogue is very engaging. The comedic timing is right on. And it's all held together by the best part: the narration of the protagonist, Madison.

I'm not an expert of the genre, but I would imagine that it's hard to find a voice that could carry interest for over 120,000 words. It just seems that that would be a monumental challenge. But Madison Baldwin charmed, fought, swooned, joked, and prosed her way through with ease. She is not perfect, but she is enthralling. She's definitely the type of character a reader would love to revisit in a later book.

So if you are contemplating buying this novel, let me tell you, you can't go wrong. I almost feel guilty paying the low price I paid for this. You should snatch this up before Ms. Parker comes to her senses and realizes what she has here. And even if she does raise the price (which I highly recommend), you'll be hard pressed to find an Indie publication with as much appeal and quality storytelling as this.

Christopher Hunter
Author of the "The Days and Months We Were First Born" Trilogy

I understand that this is just one person's opinion and some bad reviews are sure to come, but for now, I'm going to enjoy the fact that somedody liked what I wrote!



Robb Long/Associated Press

 I'm sure that most of you have heard by now the story of Amanda Hocking, self-publishing wunderkind who made 2 million dollars off her indie fantasy books.