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M. Laszlo will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
Author Interview: M. Laszlo
1. How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book?
I didn’t choose the genre. It just came naturally. For me, what is natural is cross-genre. What is natural is to combine visionary, metaphysical, science fiction, and historical fiction. The thing that made me write this book is just the earnest desire to show how beautifully the human mind can work to resolve the most perplexing questions. That’s always been important to me because I’ve always been haunted by true-crime documentaries that showcase psychopathy and/or the crimes of a diseased mind. In particular, the Amityville murders always had a profound effect on me.
2. Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a first born, middle or last child and how does this shape your view of the world?
I’m a last child, and both of my siblings bullied and berated me incessantly. As a matter of fact, they still do. At any rate, it’s made me humble of heart and non-judgmental in the way I observe the world. Which is a good thing, I suppose.
3. Where is your favorite place to write?
In my quiet, sensible computer/writing room. It has big windows, plenty of light, and an austere hardwood floor.
4. How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains?
It’s depressing and makes me cringe. That’s why I don’t discard the remains. I try to find ways to feed them into other manuscripts.
5. You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them?
Of all my favorite authors, the one who would be the most fun to meet would have to be Ian Fleming. I’d like to ask him if he had any other names for his secret agent. Bear in mind that James Bond was just a placeholder. At the time, the name James Bond was the name of a real-life writer/horticulturalist.
6. Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows.
I am presently making plans to study with and to join the Catholic Church.
7. You are stranded on a deserted island with only a back pack for company. What three items are in your survival pack?
A Swiss-Army knife. A Catholic rosary. A porcelain cactus figurine.
8. If you could have one super power in your existence, what would it be?
I’d love to be one of those people who can stretch his arms and legs. Like Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four. Or Plastic Man for that matter.
9. Favorite snack?
Falafel.
10. Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit?
I never know precisely how to get there, and I almost never drive the speed limit. That said, if I go over the speed limit, it’s not by that much. Most officers of the law would not even bother to ticket me. In fact, I’ve only gotten three speeding tickets in my life. That’s not that bad, or is it?
On the Threshold
by M. Laszlo
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GENRE: Historical Science Fiction
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BLURB:
Obsessed with learning the origins of the cosmos, the actual meaning of life, and the true purpose of civilization, a fine Scotsman named Fingal T. Smyth dedicates himself to the study of Plato’s most extraordinary ideas. Convinced of Plato’s belief that humankind possesses any and all innate knowledge deep within the collective unconscious mind, Fingal soon conducts a series of bold, pioneering occult-science experiments by which to resolve the riddle of the universe once and for all. However, Fingal forgets how violent and perilous the animal impulses that reside in the deepest recesses of the unconscious mind. And when Fingal unleashes a mysterious avatar of his innate knowledge, the entity appears as a burning man and immediately seeks to manipulate innocent and unsuspecting people everywhere into immolating themselves. Now, with little hope of returning the fiery figure into his being, Fingal must capture his nemesis before it destroys the world.
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Excerpt:
Fräulein Wunderwaffe did not return the smile. Hand on heart, the little girl drew a bit closer. Then, as the hot, animalistic presence undulated all across Fingal’s body, the little girl’s eyes grew wide. Until the little girl’s expression turned to that of a vacant stare.
A moment later, her feet pointed inwards, she removed her hat and undid her long, flaxen hair.
Again, he cringed. “If you’ve noticed something, ignore all. This hasn’t got anything to do with you.” A third time, he cringed.
A most ethereal, lyrical, incomprehensible hiss commenced then: from the other end of the winding, decorative-brick driveway, each clay block shining the color of blue Welsh stone, a sleek Siamese cat with a coat of chocolate-spotted ivory had just appeared. And now the creature raced toward his shadow.
As he looked into the animal’s big, searching, blue eyes, the chocolate Siamese studied the off-center tip of his nose. Then the animal turned away, as if to compare the peculiarity with that of some disembodied visage hovering in the distance.
Out upon the loch, meanwhile, a miraculous rogue wave suddenly arose—and now the swell crashed against the pebbly strand.
Not a moment later, a cool flame crawled across Fingal’s throat. The strange fire rattled, too—not unlike the sound of fallen juniper leaves caught up in the current and dancing against the surface of a stone walkway.
Crivens. By now, the alien, pulsating presence held him so tight that he could barely breathe. Before long, he fell to the earth, and as the dreamlike flame continued to move across his throat, he rolled all about—until the illusory sensation of cool warmth wriggled and twisted and dropped into his neck dimple.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Laszlo is an aging recluse who lives in Bath, Ohio. Rumor holds that his pseudonym is a reference to Victor Laszlo, a character in the classic film Casablanca. On the Threshold is his first release with the acclaimed, Australian hybrid house AIA Publishing. Oddly, M. Laszlo insists that his latest work, On the Threshold, does in fact provide the correct answer to the riddle of the universe.
Buy link: https://aiapublishing.com/product/on-the-threshold-m-laszlo/
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This certainly sounds different – I like that.
Thank you for hosting and featuring M. Laszlo today.