It’s week two already in this amazing NINE WEEK giveaway! This week I am so excited to feature the novella Class-M Exile by Raven Oak – signed by the author herself! We also have a great interview with her and some information about Class-M Exile to pump you up for this awesome giveaway!
Week Two: “Class-M Exile” by Raven Oak
Award-winning and bestselling speculative fiction author Raven Oak is best known for Amaskan’s Blood (2016 Ozma Fantasy Award Winner and Epic Awards Finalist), Class-M Exile, and the collection Joy to the Worlds: Mysterious Speculative Fiction for the Holidays (Foreword Reviews 2016 Book of the Year Finalist). She also has several published short stories in anthologies such as Untethered: A Magic iPhone Anthology and Magic Unveiled. Raven spent most of her K-12 education doodling stories and 500 page monstrosities that are forever locked away in a filing cabinet.
When she’s not writing, she’s getting her game on with tabletop games, indulging in cartography, or staring at the ocean. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband, and their three kitties who enjoy lounging across the keyboard when writing deadlines approach.
Raven is currently at work on Amaskan’s War and The Eldest Silence.
Check out Raven Oak’s work at http://www.ravenoak.net/
First of all, Raven, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule of writing, gaming, and living! Your book Class-M Exile packs a punch in a small package—great voice, slang, and compelling characters; it’s an amazing ride!
SUBSCRIBE TO BE ENTERED TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF CLASS-M EXILE
Okay, so I’m here to ask the important questions, the ones that REALLY matter…
First of all, what kind of driver are you? Grandma? Scream-at-the-moron-clogging-the-fast-lane? Should I grab that “oh shit” handle or pack a pillow?
I’m so NOT a grandma. I grew up driving in Texas, which is land of the go-fast, screw-the-rules driver. I’m not quite in need of the “oh shit” handle, but I’m probably not too far off. I will say that I’ve never been in a car accident that was my fault. All three were idiots on their phones rear-ending me at a stop light or the 80-year-old man who ran a stop sign across a highway, hit me, and kept on driving. :/
Okay, so how do you handle pressure? Like, say, there’s a spider in the corner of your room… do you hide? Do battle? What would be your weapon of choice against the Nefarious Arachnid of Doom?
OMG. I handle pressure fairly well…unless it’s spiders! How could you! <runs to grab a flamethrower to burn down my house…since that’s what you do when there’s a spider!>
You’re a writer, so of course you’re a dreamer, but do you remember your nightly dreams? What’s the craziest dream you’ve ever had?
I remember some of my dreams. Some are more memorable than others, but some turn into stories. I’ve dreamed entire short stories from start to finish in grand detail before. Even had one of them published. The craziest dream I ever had involved a world of green clay and dinosaurs. I don’t remember a ton of the details at this point but let’s just say it made Jurassic Park look tame.
Would you rather be trapped in the world of Jurassic Park or Alien vs. Predator? Strategies for survival?
Speaking of Jurassic Park…
I love the Alien franchise but I’m not a huge fan of Alien vs. Predator. Since I enjoy the Jurassic Park movie, at least the first one, I’ll say that. Dinosaurs rock. And now I have The Doubleclicks in my head.
What’s the weirdest and coolest thing about you?
The weirdest thing about me is probably how much I enjoy cartography. It’s a hobby of mine. (I even did the map inside Amaskan’s Blood, Book I of the Boahim Trilogy.) The coolest thing about me is my love of games—all games! Video games (console and PC), board games, RPGs, you name it. I even review them on my website.
Okay, okay, time to talk about your book! Give me all the amazing reasons your readers love Class-M Exile!
Class-M Exile is Douglas Adams meets Firefly. Those are the words of another author, not me, but they fit, so I’m stickin’ to it!
The main character, Eerl, was a professor with an unhealthy fascination for almost-extinct humans. Eerl was also an alien (as were all the other characters in the book) with a deep Texas drawl because that’s what he thought all hu-man’s must sound like. Readers love his voice and his gumption.
Eerl could say what I couldn’t. He gave voice to my doubts about the sanity of folks living in the south where I grew up—folks who believed that if you weren’t a gun-totting, church-going, straight, white Republican, you were in the wrong state. Heck, you were in the wrong country. Weirdos and hippies and geeks need not apply.
For all that heart blessing, I never felt comfortable speaking my mind much as a child in Texas. Some folks argue that as an author, I should bite my tongue and remain impartial to the injustices of the world, but I say they’re wrong. Science fiction has always held with the practice of asking difficult questions and pushing the boundaries. Just like Eerl.
As a child, I was often too polite and afraid to stand up against prejudice, but as an author, doing so comes with the job description—even one written in a Texas drawl. ;)