Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space
adventure Crossline, the hilarious
scifi backpacking comedy Finders Keepers,
and the outrageous sequel, Genius de Milo,
all with Crazy 8 Press.
Russ lives in West Orange, NJ,
with his wife, two children, and crazy dog, Simon, who may in fact be an alien
himself. Russ is now at work on the final book in the Finders Keepers trilogy.
As a matter of full disclosure, readers should not be
surprised if Russ spontaneously teleports in a blast of white light followed by
screaming fluorescent color and the feeling of being sucked through a tornado.
It’s just how he gets around — windier than the bus, for sure, but much
quicker.
His latest book is the science fiction novel, Genius
De Milo.
For
More Information
- Visit Russ Colchamiro’s website.
- Connect with Russ on Facebook and Twitter.
- Find out more about Russ at Goodreads.
- Visit Russ’ blog.
- More books by Russ.
- Contact Russ.
About the Book:
Title:
Genius De Milo
Author: Russ Colchamiro
Publisher: Crazy 8 Press
Pages: 320
Genre: SciFi/Comedy
Format: Paperback/Kindle
Author: Russ Colchamiro
Publisher: Crazy 8 Press
Pages: 320
Genre: SciFi/Comedy
Format: Paperback/Kindle
Best pals Jason
Medley and Theo Barnes barely survived a backpacking trip through Europe and New Zealand that — thanks to a jar of Cosmic Building
Material they found — almost wiped out the galaxy. But just as they envision a
future without any more cosmic lunacy:
The Earth has
started fluxing in and out of existence, Theo's twin girls are teleporting, and
Jason can't tell which version of his life is real.
All because of Milo, the Universe's ultimate gremlin.
Joined by the mysterious Jamie — a down-and-out hotel clerk from Eternity — Jason and Theo reunite on a frantic, cross-country chase across America, praying they can retrieve that jar, circumvent Milo, and save the Earth from irrevocable disaster.
In author Russ Colchamiro’s uproarious sequel to Finders Keepers, he finally confirms what we've long suspected — that there’s no galactic Milo quite like a Genius de Milo.
For More Information
- Genius De Milo is available at Amazon.
- Pick up your copy at Crazy 8 Press.
- Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads
Q: I’d like to know more about you
as a person first. What do you do when
you’re not writing?
A: Disguised as a mild-mannered
scifi comedy writer, I'm actually a fugitive from another dimension, with the
intergalactic agency in charge of such matters hot on my trail, looking to drag
me back to where I’ll face my day of reckoning. So please … don’t tell anyone!
But if you’re referring to my more
Earthbound activities … I am a former journalist turned PR guy working in the
commercial real estate industry, mostly in New York City.
I’m also married with
four-year-old twins, so those little ninjas of mine keep me on my toes. Plus I
have a crazy dog. I’ve also shoveled about 19 gazillion pounds of snow this
winter.
Oh. Occasionally I sleep.
Q: When did you start writing?
A: I started jotting down goofy
ideas as far back as the 4th grade, and then spent a chunk of my high school
years writing, including a trilogy of short stories, which wound up – almost 25
years later! – as a key element of my scifi adventure novel Crossline – think Flash Gordon meets Escape from New York.
My intent in high school was —
surprise, surprise — to impress a girl with my writing. I didn’t get the girl
then, but it led to a novel, so that’s something.
Q: As a published author, what
would you say was the most pivotal point of your writing life?
A: My
debut novel Finders Keepers is a
scifi backpacking comedy ... think American
Pie meets Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy. It's loosely based on a series of backpacking trips I took through Europe and New Zealand, set against a quest for a jar that contains the
Universe's DNA.
It’s
for fans of authors such as Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Christopher
Moore, and movies and TV shows such as Harold
and Kumar, Bill and Ted, Hot Tub Time Machine, Time Bandits, Quantum Leap,
Groundhog Day, Northern Exposure,
Third Rock from the Sun … and Midnight Run.
My
newest book, Genius de Milo, is the
second novel in this trilogy.
But when
I published Finders Keepers in
October 2010 … I didn’t know it then, but it was right before e-books took over
the market … and also in the middle of what turned out to be the biggest
economic downturn in a century. Not quite what I was expecting!
Three
different publishers wanted Finders
Keepers, but they were gun-shy at the time because of the economy. So I
went with a small indie publisher, Three
Finger Prints, with success right away.
I was
able to land a national distribution contract (uncommon for a first-time
author), with Finders Keepers carried
by several Barnes & Noble stores throughout the country. Finders Keepers also received very
supportive write-ups by Publishers Weekly,
and I was one of only a half dozen authors globally to be invited by Wattpad to
become one of their featured authors.
And
then right after Finders Keepers
debuted, e-books revolutionized the way readers consume novels, and since then,
for authors it’s been a new and ever-changing world. I wound up reprinting Finders Keepers through Crazy 8 Press so
that I now have my entire catalogue under one imprint, and control all of the
rights.
Q: If you could go anywhere in the
world to start writing your next book, where would that be and why?
A: I’d take 2-3 months each in San Francisco and Auckland, New
Zealand.
They are actually quite similar in many respects, yet utterly different, and
two of my favorite places in the world. This world, anyway.
Q: If you had 4 hours of extra
time today, what would you do?
A: Sleep. And then take a nap.
Q: Where would you like to set a
story that you haven’t done yet?
A: That’s classified!
Q: Back to your present book, Genius de Milo, how did you publish it?
A: I’m a member of Crazy 8 Press, a collection of mostly award-winning, best-selling scifi and fantasy authors who banded together so that we can bring our wacky tales to the audience as we intend, and on our schedule. All of my novels are now published through Crazy 8 Press.
Q: In writing your book, did you travel anywhere for research?
A: Over the years I’ve spent quite
a bit of time traveling both in the U.S. and overseas, including England,
Whales, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Romania, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, the Caribbean, and a few places I best not mention.
I also drove cross country, twice,
with my cat Alex riding shotgun, so I have in fact spent time in Baltimore, Terre
Haute, Indiana, Albuquerque, and San
Francisco.
Although,
as a matter of full disclosure … even though my novels have that authentic
you-are-there, on-the-ground feel to them, I pretty much made up all of the
backpacking and Earth-bound travel scenes.
But all of
the scifi wackiness is absolutely, 100 percent real and based on my own
intergalactic, interdimensional experiences.
Q: Why was writing Genius de Mio so important to you?
A: Genius de Milo is the second book in the
Finders Keepers trilogy. It’s also
the first time I’ve written a sequel, which posed all sorts of structural
challenges. To my mind it needs to work on three levels: 1) as a satisfying,
self-contained novel that new readers can enjoy even if they haven’t read Finders Keepers; 2) as the second novel
in the Finders Keepers trilogy that
both continues and enhances the overall narrative and individual story arcs,
and; 3) structurally as a lead-in to the final, upcoming novel that will
conclude the trilogy.
Q: Where do you get your best
ideas and why do you think that is?
A: The truth is … I have no idea.
I often get that a-ha moment that gets the story rolling. But more often than
not I write the ‘big’ novel, which in my case means telling an ‘epic’ tale but
with grounded, relatable characters, who you and I can relate to in the world
that we know, set against some sort of cosmic lunacy where the galaxy is in
jeopardy. I’m both a serious guy and a world-class goofball. Both elements tend
to make their way into my novels.
Q: Any final words?
A: Don’t be surprised if I spontaneously teleport in a blast of
white light followed by screaming fluorescent color and the feeling of being
sucked through a tornado. It’s just how I get around — windier than the bus,
but much quicker.
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