Tomato Slices fellow contributer Sarah Doebereiner

Sarah Doebereiner is a short story author, novelist, and poet. She graduated from Wright State University in 2010 with her BA in English. Sarah lives in central Ohio with her husband and two small children. Macabre themes fascinate her because of their tendency to stay with readers long after the book has been closed.

1.      Robert: At what age did you start writing? 

Sarah: When I was in Kindergarten, we had different learning stations ...

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     I was approached at a convention sometime in the second half of 2014 by two, sweet lady publishers concerning a project they had jointly cooked up.  "We're doing an anthology about tomatoes," they declared, "and we'd like you to submit something to it."
"Tomatoes," I repeated, stupidly.
"Yes, tomatoes; stories, facts, anecdotes, history, recipes..."
"A story about at tomato?"  I hadn't quite wrapped my mind around it."
"Yes, submit to us a story that heavily centers around tomatoes."
"Ok...
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My newest work is old and new. It's the third edition of the work I self published several years ago.  It has been heavily edited and has had new stories added.  It's the Stone Maiden and Other Tales, which is primarily a set of stories that received both praise and rejection from those to whom they were submitted.  "Thank you so much for sharing this story, It's not quite what we're looking for in this issue, but it was so touching it made me cry.  Please continue submitting."  I thought why...
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    When I was still quite a young boy, perhaps five or six, I was once alone in the front yard of our house, and I climbed to the top of the magnolia tree therein.  I stood with my feet on the last branches that would support my weight and my face uplifted into the sunshine and the breeze.  My hands were grasping twigs in order to steady myself.  My eyes were gazing into the blue. I felt a sensation of dizziness that came both from looking at the sky and from the swaying with the branches. ...
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I co-edited Potter's Field 5 from Alban Lake Publishing and have a story in it as well.  The stories in the Potter's Field series are Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy based on telling tales from unmarked graves.  Here, I'm sharing with you an excerpt of my own story.  If you enjoy it, you might enjoy the rest of it and even the other stories in the anthology.

The Pauper’s Reaper

  On a narrow path on the side of a precipice, hugging the rock wall beside him, Angus the scout rounded an...

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If you missed out on this anthology, then you've missed out on a lot of fun reading.  
I'd like to share the first few pages of my story The Serpent and the Dagger with you.  If you like it, get a copy of A Tall Ship, a Star, and Plunder, finish the story and read on to see what else you'll really enjoy.  

The Serpent and the Dagger

Robert J. Krog

           

 In the hammock next to Kris’s was a large, sweaty, unshaven beast of a man, Tom Kinney, known affectionately by the rest of the crew as ...

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      I have a new story in print, which is always a great feeling.  It is titled The Ones Who Remember, and it appears in the anthology, Idolaters of Cthulhu, which is brand new, today.  I do hope some of you pick it up and enjoy it.  I'm sharing an excerpt here.  

            The Ones Who Remember
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I have a lot of work in the works, as it were.  Some will, finally, be coming out soon.  As far as I know, the next story to appear in print will be The Ones Who Remember, which will appear in Idolater of Cthulhu from Alban Lake Publishing.  The table of contents and cover art are on display at the website of author and editor, H. David Blalock, here: http://hdavidblalock.blogspot.com/  It looks to be a very well presented bit of work in which I am proud to be included.  I encourage you to ch...
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Here's my second blog post of the year.  :)  I probably should have a lot to say, preferably something profound, but all I have is a little news.  I have seven previously unpublished stories set to come out this year.  My story, See How Clever We Are, will be in Dreams of Steam Five from Dark Oak.  My story, Roxy Soxy, will be in Tales of the Intergalactic Bartenders' Guild from Dark Oak.  My story, The Beauty of Being, will be in The Tomato Anthology from Amoeba Ink/Ink Monkey.  (The hero is...
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Fellow writer Sean Taylor  has a weekly blog post http://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2015/01/something-to-say-writers-on-theme.html?spref=tw  that consists of him asking questions and fellow writers answering them.  I am usually invited to participate.  I usually miss this, because I'm working, or daddying, or frittering my spare time away, or eating, or sleeping, or frittering my spare time away.  This past week, he asked about theme.  I thought, "This time, I'll be sure to do it."  I didn't.  ...
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Ana and I went to Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention this past weekend at the Memphis Hilton, and we had a blast. The company we kept was great.  The fellow vendors and guests were great.  The attendees were great.  The costumes were great.  The panels were also great.  It was great.  I wax ineloquent, but it is 9:30ish, and I worked a full day, previous to this posting.  

I was scheduled for three panels this time.  I got myself added to a fourth and was drafted for a fifth at the last mome...
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Author/editor Cindy Vallar stopped by for a talk with Krogfiction.  Her story in A Tall Ship is titled "Rumble the Dragon."

A retired librarian, Cindy Vallar is the Editor of Pirates and Privateers, an online publication about the history of maritime piracy. She’s also a historical novelist, a reviewer, and a freelance editor. Her editing column “The Red Pencil” appears biannually in the Historical Novel Society’s Historical Novels Review. She conducts workshops and presentations on ma...

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Author Laura Nelson came by Krogfiction for a chat.  Her story in A Tall Ship is titled Rosa and the Pirate.  Of herself, she says: I live at home with my two cats Houdini and Aliti. When I'm not reading or writing about pirates, I enjoy cats, walking, Tai Chi, horse racing, reading history and true crime.

1)      Why did you decide to write about pirates?

I became interested in pirates after attending the Real Pirates Exhibit in Denver, Co, in 2011. After attending the exhibit, I found that...

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D.G. Driver is an author from Nashville, TN.  Her story in A Tall Ship is titled The Jamaican Dragon. 

1)      Why did you decide to write about pirates? 

Back in 1995 I was asked to write a children’s musical for a theater company in Los Angeles.  I came up with a story called “A Pirate’s Tale” about a girl who wanted to be a pirate.  My villain was Captain Ringlet Red, a vivacious and cruel pirate queen.  I always liked the character.  I decided I wanted to let her have her own adven...

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Author Kathryn Sullivan stopped by for an interview.

Kathryn Sullivan is the author of the award-winning young adult fantasies The Crystal Throne, Agents & Adepts, and award-nominated Talking to Trees as well as a children’s picture book, Michael & the Elf. A Chick who has dug Time Lords for many years, she has an essay in the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords and a review in Outside In. “The Taste of Treasure” is in Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells and “The Theft of the Royal...
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Author Michael Krog lives and works in Memphis, TN.  His story in A Tall Ship is titled, Fireflies on the Water.  It is his first published work.

1)      Why did you decide to write about pirates? 

 That was what the story call was for. “Fireflies” was an idea I had had for a while and was, in my mind, already in that era anyway. Changing it to be more pirate oriented was no problem at all.

 2)      Why do you write at all?  What made want to spend your life on work to which a smaller a...

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Tom Riddell is the author of the Vanquished Heroes series.  His story in A Tall Ship is titled Rasputin's Whimsey.  He kindly consented to an interview at Krogfiction.  

1)      Why did you decide to write about pirates?  In my story I wanted to, in part, explore how and why an honest captain and crew would end up living the pirate life. It is a hard life why take the risk?

2)      Why do you write at all?  What made want to spend your life on work to which a smaller and smaller percentag...

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Author/Editor D. Alan Lewis stopped by for an interview.  Mr Lewis's story in A Tall Ship is titled, The Celeste Affair. 

In 1965, an object fell from space, somewhere near Kecksburg, PA. This was the same year that Alan was born. To date, no connection has been made between the two events but that hasn’t stopped the conspiracy theorists from speculating.

D. Alan Lewis is an ‘alleged’ native of Chattanooga, Tennessee who now resides in Nashville with his children. In 2006, Alan took t...

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Author Paul Calhoun, who wrote the amusingly titled and amusing to read, Eighty-Six Pitrell Becomes Dread Admiral, for A Tall Ship, a Star, and Plunder, kindly let me interview him.  

Paul Calhoun has been active in the science fiction and fantasy community since age seven. Having turned his hand to cartoons, animation, voice work and more, he's willing to try anything and get involved in whatever looks good at the time. Now finished with his degrees in electrical engineering and operations ma...
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Author Sydney Blackburn's story in A Tall Ship is titled "The Princess and the Sea."  



She says of herself:

  I've lived in various places across Canada, from small towns to big cities.  I've been a cab driver, a black jack dealer, and now I shoot people for money.  With a camera, that is. In addition to photography and writing, I love science and history. I currently live and write in London, Ontario with a cat and assorted family.  And as a matter of fact, I do like walks on the beach.

Why did...

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Melinda LaFevers is an author living and working in the great state of Arkansas.  Her story in A Tall Ship is titled The Making of a Privateer.  She kindly stopped by Krogfiction for an interview and answered a lot of questions.  

   Why did you decide to write about pirates? 

 The editor of the book asked me to submit a story.  But actually, I have been interested in pirates for quite a while, and have a number of books about historical pirates.

  Why do you write at all?  What made want t...

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H. C. Playa is the author of Pirates of Happenstance, one of the many fine stories appearing in the soon to be available Dark Oak Press anthology, A Tall Ship, a Star, and Plunder. 

She is a writer, a mad scientist in training (translation: full time graduate student), a mother of three, and an animal wrangler. Although, some days she wonders if maybe she's the one being wrangled.

 An avid reader since the precocious age of four, she devoured books from numerous genres, but science fiction an...

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Dark Oak Press and Media is releasing sometime today my first effort as an editor, the anthology, A Tall Ship, a Star, and Plunder, which is, of course, about pirates.  I'm taking the time to interrogate the authors.  My first victim is Mr. Tom Sheehan, who wrote the story The Davidof Delimma, which begins so wonderfully thus:  

                Yuri Stanilaf Davidof, a personable teacher of the old language, enamored of pirates and the seas
 they sailed on as was his father before him, heard ...
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Alexander S. Brown kindly dropped by Krogfiction to tell us about himself and his work.  His story, Indestructable, will appear in the upcoming Dark Oak anthology Capes and Clockwork.

Alexander S. Brown is a Mississippi author who was published in 2008 with his first book, Traumatized.  Reviews for this short story collection were so favorable that it has been released as a special edition by Pro Se Publishing.  Brown is currently one of the co-editors/coordinators with the Southern Haunts Ant...

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Mr. Konstantine Paradias of Athens, Greece was kind enough to drop by Krogfiction for an interview concerning writing and his story, Beneath Familiar Sons, which is in the soon to appear anthology, Capes and Clockwork, from Dark Oak Press

Konstantine Paradias is a jeweler by profession and a writer by choice. His short stories in English have been published in the Unidentified  Funny Objects! 2 Anthology, Third FlatIron's Lost Worlds Anthology and Horrified Press' Nightmare Stalkers and Dream...

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Fellow author Brent Nichols was kind enough to drop by Krogfiction for an interview.  His short story The Gears of Justice will appear in the soon to be released Dark Oak Press anthology Capes and Clockwork.

Brent Nichols is a writer and technical trainer based out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He wrote his first novel (a bad one) in 1988, and has been learning the writing game ever since. He's had stories placed in a number of anthologies, including Edge Press's steampunk/kung fu mashup Shan...

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Mr. Fielding is author of the story At the Quiet Limit of the World which will appear in the soon to be published Dark Oak Press Anthology, Capes and Clockwork.

He was kind enough to accept my invitation for an interview and dropped by Krogfiction to answer a few questions.  

He is the actor who played Zordon on the Might Morphin' Power Rangers show.  He as a Zordon page on Facebook, so look for that if you were a fan of the Power Rangers or just want to know more about Mr. Fielding.  He has be...
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I am sharing with you a teaser of my upcoming story, Thursday Morrow, The Self-Winding, Mechanical Man, from the upcoming Dark Oak Press anthology Capes and Clockwork, editing by Alan Lewis.  

  Here it is, in all its enticing glory.  :)

Thursday Morrow: The Self-Winding, Mechanical Man

            Professor Bartimus Morue sat at his workbench, tinkering by the glow of a gas lamp.  He worked on replacement parts for the Self-Winding, Mechanical Man, because there would never be time to make ...

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     MidSouthCon is always fun, but I missed most of it this year, having spent hefty portions of the weekend in the Hospital with my son, who had to have a tonsillectomy and a tympanostomy (ear tubes inserted) on Saturday morning.  He's recovering nicely, now.  The highlights of the con for me were the three of my five scheduled panels that I managed to attend and the Darrell Awards.  The panels were fun and informative.  I hope those attending were fooled into thinking that I contributed so...
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So, fellow author, A. Christopher Drown invited me to join in a blog hop.

Thank you, Aaron.

I'm a little late getting with it, but here goes.

To join in, first your left foot, then your right...

Really, here's a chance for you, the reader, to get introduced to myself, an author you might have trouble finding in bookstores, and, if you like what I have to say and the samples of fiction available on my site, a chance also to click on the links to some other authors I know and continue getting intro...
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      Jon Klement of Dragontalk Media interviewed me some time back concerning my first professionally published story, Babies' Breath, which appeared in parABnormal Digest #1 in 201l.  Among the questions he asked was, "What makes a good paranormal story?".  I hadn't thought of my story as being "paranormal" when I wrote it and, indeed, had only been introduced to the genre after I wrote it.  I also had been prevented by other obligations from preparing as much for the interview as I would h...
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I've had a few recent events that are worth noting.

  I attended a nice get together in Jackson, TN back in June with fellow author Henry L. Sanders. We talked about my work with other folks in his community and discussed plans for future events.  I got to do a reading which was well received, and that's always a nice.

  I attended Fandom Fest in Louisville, KY, and that was a blast, of course.  Despite some snafus in letting con goers know about the literary track programming, sales occurred a...
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At a recent booksigning, the subject came up concerning how authors put themselves into their work.  It was a multi-author booksigning, and I was paired up with another, local author, a poet, whose writing is autobiographical in nature.  When it came my turn to read a bit of my work, I stood up and stated that while an author cannot avoid putting himself into his work, my stories were of a different nature from my fellow author's poetry, because mine were in no way autobiographical.  A member...

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I'm not much of a blogger, I must admit, which is why I've neglected this blog for the past year or so.  Today was a rain day for my work, so I was able to catch up on the chores that Ana and I didn't get done over the weekend.  When those were completed, I got a chance to write, and after overcoming some writer's block, I did just that, getting some work done on the second draft of my novel which I will not be titling The Were-Coyote, but which I have not properly titled either. 

I also came ...

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Well, I participated in a group booksigning at That Bookstore in Blytheville, with the wonderful group, Imagicopter.  I was initiated/hazed into the august company by being required to read aloud from my own publication.  The jeers were few, and I survived their ferocity relatively unscathed.  We had a few customers, sold and signed a few books.  It was a pleasant, low ckey event.  I look forward to future events with Imagicopter.  Many thanks to H. David Blaylock for setting it up.  ...
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Midsouth Con was great.  I met quite a few other authors and some editors and publishers as well.  It was very instructive.  I sold and signed fourteen books in all.  It's a paltry amount in the grand scheme of things, yet it is a beginning.  At the current pace of sales, I should be on the best sellers' list in about two thousand years.  I don't  much care.  I'm thrilled that fourteen people might be reading my stories now.  I'd like to be a fan of some of the authors I met at the con.  I wo...

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I've been attending midsouthcon 28 as a guest author and dealer this weekend.  I'd forgotten how much fun it could be.  I've sold a few books, made a few contacts, and one of my stories inspired a bard to write a song based upon it.  This has left me flabbergasted and blushing like a new bride.

That is all for now.

More substantive entries are sure to follow.
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