Hi everyone! We have something really fun for you today - an interview with the authors of
Backward Compatible, Sarah Daltry and Pete Clark! This book is absolutely fantastic, especially for the gamer nerds out there, and Ashley loved it when she read it earlier this year (you can find her 5-star review
here).
The authors are also giving away two signed paperbacks of the book, four swag packs, and four ebooks of choice of Sarah or Pete's from Smashwords to randomly drawn commenters at the end of the tour (10 winners). So make sure to enter via the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post, as well as comment on all of the stops on the tour! You can find the stops by clicking on the tour banner above.
About the Book
Title: Backward Compatible
Authors: Sarah Daltry and Pete Clark
Synopsis: Not too long ago, in a town that, depending on your current location, is either not super far or actually quite close…
It is a time of chaotic hormones.
Two nerdy gents home for winter break have discovered a female gamer at a midnight release.
During the break, the gamer trio manages to reveal the game’s secret boss, a hidden enemy with enough power to destroy anything in its path.
Pursued by other gamers who want to be the first to beat this boss, George and Katie race to level up, and, in so doing, restore decency and sexual activity to their personal galaxy…
Purchase Links:
Excerpt
“These graphics suck,” George says and I look back at the screen. We’re standing in the middle of the Estate, colorful orbs quivering ahead of us. We each have to choose our starting advantage. Waterfalls shimmer in the distance and the sunlight streams over multicolored stones in the courtyard.
“Amateurs,” Lanyon concurs. “I mean, they couldn’t have five waterfalls?”
“Your ironic wit is mind blowing, but choose your damn orbs,” I tell them. I consider. Magic, defense, offense, stealth, and charisma. I always go for magic as a black mage, but I wonder if a druid needs something else. Screw it. I need charisma in real life, too.
“Charisma?” Lanyon asks. “No one ever picks charisma.”
“We’re a party of a thief, druid, and a bard. We’re screwed regardless.”
“You two underestimate the mighty power of my lute,” George argues.
“Did you start with charisma?” Lanyon asks.
“Hell, no. I have charisma in spades. I started with stealth.”
“Great. A stealthy bard,” I sigh.
“She’s right,” Lanyon concedes. “We’re screwed.”
However, it actually isn’t bad at all at first. We power through the Estate and make it to the Yobanaria Dale with no resurrections and all at level ten. I’m impressed. George hasn’t actually fought anything, but he has some pretty awe-inspiring charm mastery already. I think I might have a serious crush. He seals the deal when he buffs my hailstorm spell without even being asked.
“Can you guys watch El Thiefelo? My mom wants me to eat supper,” Lanyon says.
“Yeah, we’ve got it,” I tell him. “The first boss is in the elven ruins anyway, so we should grind a bit. I think he’s a twelve.”
George and I explore the Dale, taking out bats and Joba spores. It’s fairly quiet, except for when we combo with his charms and my spells and he yells out, “Eat lute, bitch,” but it’s nice. We work well, almost inherently understanding each other. I’ve never been able to play this effectively with anyone. I try not to think about his eyes. Stupid boys, being cute and stuff.
By the time Lanyon comes back, we’re all at level 12, although Lanyon leveled up just by standing by a door while we played. Still, we are ready to take on Balsa the Proud. As a black mage, it took me about nine seconds. Trees don’t like fire. However, druids don’t have the same level of black magic and all elemental magic is weakened by the need to draw from the elements nearby. Sadly, trees seem to avoid storing fire runes in their villages. I expect this to be a little more challenging. It might even take fifteen seconds.
“First boss. Also known as the freebie bitch to sucker the young folks into a false sense of security,” Lanyon announces as he runs into the center of Balsa’s lair. The cinema plays and then, in a moment of pure absurdity, El Thiefelo is squished as Balsa steps on him.
“Can someone revive me?” Lanyon whines.
About the Authors
Sarah Daltry writes about the regular people who populate our lives. She's written works in various genres - romance, erotica, fantasy, horror. Genre isn't as important as telling a story about people and how their lives unfold. Sarah tends to focus on YA/NA characters but she's been known to shake it up. Most of her stories are about relationships - romantic, familial, friendly - because love and empathy are the foundation of life. It doesn't matter if the story is set in contemporary NY, historical Britain, or a fantasy world in the future - human beings are most interesting in the ways they interact with others. This is the principle behind all of Sarah's stories.
Sarah has spent most of her life in school, from her BA and MA in English and writing to teaching both at the high school and college level. She also loves studying art history and really anything because learning is fun.
When Sarah isn't writing, she tends to waste a lot of time checking Facebook for pictures of cats, shooting virtual zombies, and simply staring out the window.
She has written several books, most notably Bitter Fruits, an urban fantasy in the Eden’s Fall series, and the Flowering series, including Forget Me Not, Lily of the Valley, and Star of Bethlehem.
Pete Clark likes writing, animals, potato chips, and cheese. Midnight Riders is his first published novel, although he can also proudly say he finally finished Helix Crashing, the fantasy novel he has been working on for over a decade. In addition, he has written Across the Barren Landscape, a collection of linked Western short stories. He also writes plays, both dramatic and comedic.
When he is not writing, Pete tends to ignore everyone around him and obsess over sports.
Author Social Media Links:
Sarah:
Pete:
Website |
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Twitter
The Interview!
Which of your hobbies would you consider the "geekiest"?
Sarah: I like to separate nerdy and geeky, because most of my hobbies are nerdy. Jeopardy is #1 on my DVR and I never miss it. I do Sudoku and math problems when I’m stressed or depressed. As far as geeky, though, I am obsessed with Harry Potter. Like to an unreasonable degree. My mother-in-law buys me Christmas ornaments (or did when the books were still popular) from the series, because I love the series so much. Or gaming. I love gaming.
Pete: I like quoting movies. I am obsessed with making lists and ranking things for no reason under various criteria. When I was younger, I optimized superhero teams by making sports style trades amongst them.
What book (or books) is currently on your nightstand?
Sarah: I don’t so much have a nightstand with books as a library where there is a bed. :) You cannot go ten feet in my house without tripping over books. I’m not sure what I am reading right now, because I usually just grab what’s closest to wherever I am when I feel like reading.
Pete: I am reading the
Game of Thrones series.
Are you a cosplayer? If so, what has been your favorite cosplay that you've done? Do you have a cosplay that you really want to do but haven't yet?
Sarah: I wouldn’t call myself a cosplayer at all. However, I do like dressing up for midnight movies and book releases and that sort of thing. I went as Harry Potter characters for every Halloween for a decade. I am super lame.
Pete: I don’t cosplay, but I am a fan of it. If I had a dream cosplay situation, I would go as Tiamat, but that may be impossible.
Who/what inspired you to become a writer?
Sarah: Nothing exactly. I mean, a series of things all combined into one, but not one thing. The addition of some amazing teachers, great books that really made high school bearable, my realization that I was doing nothing useful with my life… it all sort of came together at once.
Pete: Nothing really specific, but I was always fascinated by the creativity and depth in Gary Gygax’s work. I used to DM games with no script and people loved them, so it sort of pushed me to make up my own stories and worlds.
If you had to pick, which of Joss Whedon's projects would you say is your favorite?
Sarah: That’s tough, but I think
Cabin in the Woods. It’s kind of like
Backward Compatible in a lot of ways, I think. It’s an homage, without being empty parody. There is humor, but it’s also plenty creepy. I also love that the movie doesn’t shove the inside jokes in your face; you get them and you feel like you’re part of something. Also, I just loved how pleasant his
Much Ado about Nothing was. It felt so… light and happy. I’m a big Shakespeare fan and I love that Joss Whedon can make
The Avengers and that movie. To me, that’s what it should be about – creating what you love, not what fits a genre or expectation of your work.
Pete: I like a lot of his stuff. My favorite comic series for years was
The Avengers. Even though the size of my dorkgasm when I found out he was directing could not be calculated by mere mortal instruments, I still have to go with
Firefly. I love that it’s dirty and beautiful and funny and exciting and sad all at the same time. And I love me some Wash. “I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.” :(
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want to have with you?
Sarah: On my deserted island, we have power, so Xbox with Live and all my games magically loaded. Also my cats and all the Chapstick.
Pete: An extra cheese pizza, Amy Pond, and a helicopter to fly us out of there.
Where/when would you visit if you could go anywhere in space and time?
Sarah: 1800’s London. Man, I love me some Victorian age.
Pete: I would go back to the first day of the remastering of Star Wars and stop George Lucas.
What are you favorite types of video games to play? Do you prefer to play solo or with a group of people?
Sarah: I love basically all video games, except driving. I hate driving and every game now thinks it’s fun to add random driving. (I’m talking to you,
Mass Effect.) I don’t even mind games that are all driving, but if I want to drive, I will buy a racing game. Or, you know, drive somewhere. I also don’t like games that are stupidly hard. They don’t make me feel accomplished. I just get annoyed and stop playing (
Demon Souls). As far as playing, it depends on the game. I love RPGs and would love to play a local co-op RPG that didn’t suck. Hasn’t really happened yet. The closest is
Borderlands, which is freaking awesome, but it’s more of a shooter. I also love puzzle games, which are better suited to playing solo, and episodic games. For co-op, I love playing with friends, but not against them.
Call of Duty doesn’t interest me at all. Sometimes, it’s fun to sneak up on your friends in
Perfect Dark or
Goldeneye and shoot them in the head, but mostly, I like teaming up.
Pete: I like all kinds of things, but my favorite is probably survival horror. I love managing inventory and being creeped out. None of my three favorite games, however, are really survival horror (
Bioshock, Resident Evil 4, and
Uncharted 2). I’m not into racing games, although
Crash Bandicoot was fun. Platforming gets on my nerves if that’s all the game is. I love multiplayer, especially as a team. I think allying with others is great. For all of
RE5’s flaws, being able to team up was awesome. Besides, without allies, how can you “accidentally” N-bomb your friends in one-hit kill mode? ;)
The Giveaway!
Thanks so much for stopping by, and don't forget to visit the other blogs on the tour and comment on their posts for more chances to win some pretty awesome prizes!
--Ashley & Paul
