I guess the biggest news I've got today is the arrival of two kittens in my household. Our old cat isn't too keen on them yet, but we're being careful with the introductions. All three are rescues, as are all the other animals in our family.

Now that I've added yet more cute cat pictures to the internet, on with the rest of the post. In my interview today, I am talking to L S King, author of the Deuces Wild space cowboy series.

Firstly a question that to non-writers may seem odd: Have any of your characters ever disobeyed you?
Oh yes! One actually just walked into a scene - just showed up out of the blue. I looked at him and asked myself, "who in the devil are you?" He just grinned and winked oh-so-impudently and proceeded to completely take over not only the book, but he ruined the entire story arc of the series. I had to start over to fit him in (he refused to let me kill him off).

I've definitely been there. One of my lead characters was supposed to just be a foil to help introduce the other lead and I thought I'd killed her at the end of the short story Independence. It seems that in many cases characters have a life of their own and authors just try to keep up with them.
I'm currently trying to solve a problem with my latest novel, Fraternity. It just won't settle into something I'm happy putting out. What are you working on?
Book three of the space opera series, Deuces Wild. And it's going to be interesting because the characters have decided the book isn't going to be what I had planned. Cheeky buggers.

How much research do you do? How do you do it?
I do as much research as I possibly can myself and have friends that I call on to help with accuracy. I have a physicist who helps to keep me from breaking too many laws of science, a pilot who helped with a particularly tough scene in one book, a friend who was raised with horses to help this city girl out, and on it goes.

Which famous person, living or dead, would you like to meet and why?
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. And, oh dear, does the why really need to be explained? His stories, his love of languages, his imagination - the joy I've had since a kid from reading of his world, all these are reasons.

Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring writers? Other than, perhaps, let your characters express themselves.
Don't stop writing! Don't let voices, whether your own internal one or of those around you, tell you you can't, or you're not good enough, or you'll never get a book published, or whatever other tripe gets tossed at you. You're a writer. Writers write.
Sage advice! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

A science fiction fan since she was a wee babe, L.S. King cut her teeth on Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. She cosplayed as a kid and wrote fanfic on everything from Batman to Dark Shadows to Star Trek to X-Men and Avengers. She also studied the martial arts for most of her life.
When on the planet, this mother and grandmother coaches gymnastics, enjoys gardening, soap making, reading, and online gaming. She also likes All Things Myst, Middle-earth, Looney Tunes, the color purple, and is a Zorro aficionado, which might explain her love of swords and cloaks.