R.Kyle Hannah, Sci-Fi writer of "Assassin's Gambit" - around the Cauldron

R.Kyle Hannah, ex-Army turned science fiction writer, was the second interviewee to visit the Cauldron in 2012.

Promoting his well received novel "Time Assassins", he and his many friends and fans helped establish the Cauldron in those early days when few people had heard of us. It was only in the last three months that Kyle's interview dropped out of the top ten, such was its popularity amongst readers of the Cauldron.

I was delighted to be able to interview Kyle once more. A gentleman and an optimist, I picked up the Wizphone and caught up with Kyle as he was battling his way through Level 19 of The Division somewhere south of the Mason Dixon line.



Original Chat With Kyle Hannah - Only The Second Ever. Click Here!

For those of Wizardwatchers who weren’t about two years ago, who is Kyle Hannah?
First, thanks for giving me your platform, again.  I do appreciate your support!  Who am I?  I am a soldier, writer, husband and father with a love of reading, writing and computer games.

In what genre do you write?   
Science fiction…although I do have one or two fantasy stories bouncing around in my head.

Classic SCI-Fi from 1927

Whereabouts in the US are you from?  
Southern by the Grace of God! LOL    Alabama

Alabama is regarded as the only state having all the major natural resources required for making steel and iron. In fact, it is considered as the largest supplier of steel and cast iron pipe products. - See more at: http://alabama.facts.co/interestingalabamafacts/aboutalabamafunfacts.php#sthash.hdhRpZzg.dpuf

Classic Alabama girl Kate Jackson moments. 

(Was she actually Charlie? 

I have heard it argued - Ed!)

Charlie's Angel Kate Jackson, Nat King Cole, Carl Lewis, Joe Louis, Hank Williams and Emmylou Harris are some of the famous people to come from the state, which was accepted into the Union in 1819

Alabama State Bird
The Yellowhammer

Tell us about your latest work.  
After the success of TIME ASSASSINS in 2010, I had many people ask for more of the alternate history timelines.  

So I sat down and penned ASSASSIN’S GAMBIT.  

"Pulled forward in time by the Guild of a distant future, Assassin 101 is tasked with tracking down a rogue agent before he can return to his time. What he finds is a web of espionage bent on destruction and domination, and a family secret makes the Assassin doubt his own future. Sebastian Caine, a top level Apprentice, has duped the Guild into complacency. Sentenced to death for his crimes, he escapes into the past. Plans for a new life hinge on drastically changing the timeline. Rick Brewer has been a guinea pig for Guild scientists since his capture. Along with Assassin 97, he is sent to retrieve Caine, but his growing affection towards her becomes more pronounced as they bounce through the Renaissance in search of Caine. When Assassin 97 is captured and tortured, Brewer must make the ultimate sacrifice. To rescue Assassin 97, Brewer and Assassin 101 must violate Guild law and, with it, accept possible execution. Can Assassin 101 save his wife and his future, or will the Guild leave her to history?"

Buy Assassin's Gambit HERE!

You served in the Armed Forces in Afghanistan. How did your work go down amongst your colleagues? Did you get much support?   
I found a great deal of support among my peers…as well as some strange looks (you write books?).   I was deployed to Kuwait last year, and that gave me plenty of time at night to work on ASSASSIN’S GAMBIT…as well as two other stories that are in the works.

Kyle and his typing assistant, Tex, are interrupted by a Bedouin in need of
a cup of sugar

Did your time in the Armed Forces inspire your work?  
My first book, TO AID AND PROTECT, was greatly inspired by military tactics.   

The TIME ASSASSINS series has a little military inspiration (the training scenarios), but most of it is centered around historical events.

What do you think of the state of contemporary science fiction? Is it a dead genre? Is there something else to say?  
The self-publishing and Indie explosion in the last few years has opened up a great market for science fiction, so it’s definitely not dead.  There is a lot of great writing from unknown authors out there…and some that really, truly sucks.  :D

Brilliant cover - Ed

The Worst Sci-Fi Novel Ever Written? A New Statesman Review  (reading this book has become a "geek challenge" - Ed!)

What are your impressions of the Indie landscape?  How have you found marketing and promoting your work? Any tips for debut novelists?  
The Indie route is a fantastic way to get your name out there while striving for the “big contract”.   Marketing and promoting are non-stop and much more difficult than actually writing…and very time consuming when you have a full time job on top of everything else.  Interviews and blogs are a big part of that marketing campaign…they open up your work to a much broader audience.  

"Join us on #MondayBlogs with your blog every Monday. The fastest growing Blogshare service on Twitter".

Tips?  Write, write and write some more.  Write every idea down, no matter how small or seemingly obscure…the opportunity will arise where that idea/scene will fit in perfectly!

In writing your series, you inadvertently summon up the spirit of the Time Bandits, the quasi-Monty Python vehicle from the eighties. You are whisked away and clapped in irons in the brig of a giant flying galleon. Just in reach is a sack, which contains two books, a CD, and a DVD boxed set of a TV show from the last five years. What would you like them to be?  

All from 5 years…way to narrow that down, thanks!  Books? 

Old Man’s War and Ghost Brigades from John Scalzi…some of the most original and fantastic storylines I’ve read in a while.  

Somewhere in California by Night Ranger.  

DVD Boxed set?  Well, I’m going outside your 5 years for that one…Babylon 5 .  I’d be happy with either.

You are a big fan of the Crimson Tide. Should I be placing a massive bet on them this year?  
Actually, I an Auburn Tiger (War Eagle!), but I do pull for the tide when they aren’t playing Auburn.  I don’t know if I’d bet on the Tide this year, but I would put some money on the Tigers…they are going to continue their streak from last year!!

War Eagle - an offering for our pee-poor research - Ed!
Sack Igor, Wiz!

And finally – congratulations on the sequel, btw – what are your plans for 2014 and beyond? 

 Thank you.   I have a tentative story for the 3rd and final instalment in the TIME ASSASSINS series; a rough draft of a TV adaptation of TIME ASSASSINS;  a new story involving rival tribes; and a 2-3 book space saga.   Lots of ideas, all written down, just waiting for right time.  The next few years will be fantastic!

Classic Space Saga -never equalled in
sci-fi lit

Kyle, its been a trip down memory lane for me and I hope you've enjoyed it as well. I wish you the very best of luck on behalf of all the Wizardwatchers...

Thank you for the opportunity, Wiz. And you have definitely helped me because Assassin's reached the top 100 bestsellers!

You can follow me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RKyleHannahWriter  

0n twitter at @rkhannah   

My blog at www.blogspot.rkylehannah.com  

and my website at www.rkylehannah.com.

Lynyrd Skynyrd make a second appearance

in six weeks with...oh come on, you know...

The Division

Guest Interview: R.Kyle Hannah!

It's my distinct pleasure to introduce Wizardwatchers to R. Kyle Hannah, this week's guest interviewee. He's an American new wave Sci Fi author and alternative historian and here's what he had to say to Green Wizard about himself and his current projects.

R Kyle Hannah

Tell us about yourself. Where do you live? Who are you?

My name is R. Kyle Hannah and I live in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama.
In my real job-the one that pays the bills-I am an Officer in the US Army;
been doing that for over 26 years as a reservist or on Active Duty.  I am
married, with two kids, and I'm looking forward to retirement in three
years.  

I started writing in Jr. High (so many years ago) to pass the time because Iwas BORED!  It seemed a better alternative than to be sent to the office.
My imagination, fueled by undiagnosed ADD, leaped from space to earth to, well, to wherever!  I wrote it all down and still have those stories.  Most
are absolutely God Awful, but one day I may salvage the better aspects and write a story from all that.  It is fun to go back and read them and
remember those days...

My website is www.rkylehannah.com Your readers can follow me on twitter @rkhannah or on Facebook at R. Kyle Hannah - Writer


Tell us a bit about your book?

Time Assassins is published through a variety of retailers shortly. 

My latest novel is called TIME ASSASSINS and you could say its a cross  
between Quantum Leap and Time Cop.  The famed Assassins Guild is now in the 23rd Century and has time travel at its disposal.  The new charter of the guild is to ensure that the best possible history for mankind exists; so if it means going back and stopping a dictator-or maybe even saving one for the greater good-then the Assassins go back in time.

Time travel and alternative history books have been done before, but I wanted to do something unique.  I researched actual historical events-like JFK, Lincoln, the Magna Carta signing-and then sent the Assassins back toensure that history turned out as WE know it; the alternative history is the other timeline.  So, I got a little historical fact in there and also had fun creating a completely different timeline.

TIME ASSASSINS is my second novel.  My first novel is TO AID AND PROTECT,
I wrote it in AFghanistan in 2003 and its a good first effort.  Lets just say I've learned quite a bit since then and I'm getting better with each project.  

That's a lovely cover!  Have you a writing routine? A set wordage per day? Or do you binge until its all out?

 I wish I did have a writing routine, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.  My goal is 1000 words a day and for a while I hit that pretty regularly, that's before work set in.  Do I binge?  If I'm  on a roll and the words are coming, then yeah, I'll write til the keyboard is smoking, or my hand cramps if I'm writing with pen and paper.

Neal Schon of Journey with amazing 'fro.

What would you rather be? A best selling writer or a major rock
musician?

Funny you should ask.  I started writing silly little stories in Jr. High, but really honed my skills by writing lyrics.  I play a little guitar and piano, so in High School I got together with a few friends and wrote a few songs...I still have those old silly stories and the lyrics to many many
songs. But honestly, I think I'd rather be a best selling author...the hours are better.

I think I'd rather be the lead guitarist in a rock band! Haha. Who are your influences as a writer? Who are your favourite authors?

 I've read Heinlein, Clark, and Asimov and was always blown away at the worlds they could describe; Starship Troopers was fantastic and Childhood's End is still one of my favorites.  The movie Starship Troopers was horrible but the book...I've read it at least a dozen times.  Today, I read everything by John Scalzi and William C. Dietz...they are definitely my
favorites.

Arnie and the amazing JLC

I really enjoyed Starship Troopers! Take three books, two CD's and one DVD away with you. What would they
be?

Three books? hmmm.  There is an old Buck Rogers book I've read a dozen times, I can't remember the author...but its the classic tale (not the outer space TV show) and I absolutely love it!  (great, now I want to go and drag it out again).  Starship Troopers would be the second and Old Man's War by
Scalzi would be the third.  Old Man's War is such a unique perspective and
story that I could read that (and the entire series) over and over.
Two CDs...thats a little easier.  Anything by Journey (preferably a greatest hits compilation) and the early stuff from Night Ranger.  Yes, I'm a child
of the '80s and I love it!


The DVD is easy, TRUE LIES.  That is one of my favorite movies...James
Cameron did a fantastic job!

E-publishing boom toy

How are you finding e-publishing? What do you see as the major
challenges?

I find myself going back and forth between ebooks and paper books.  I love
the convenience of having several books on my iPad, but there is nothing
like holding a book in your hands- especially your own!
The major challenge I see is the flooding of the market.  Anyone these days-talented or not-can write and publish a book.  The problem is-and I did this for my first novel-they rush to get it out there without going through a lot of necessary steps; editing, proofing are good examples.  eBooks are cheap and easy to obtain, but sometimes you get what you pay for...something you get into a few pages and then just delete it because the editing is horrible or non-existent.   

Now, on the flip side of that, you could find a masterpiece because I'I've started marketing TIME ASSASSINS...you learn so much the more you immerse yourself in the world of writing.Ive met some really talented people since.

What are your plans for the future?

 I have three years left in the Army then I'm going to find a job in the
private sector and maybe, just maybe, realize its time to grow up.  Ha ha, I
doubt that!  Seriously, I'm going to write when I can, get my kids grown
and out of the house, and enjoy life.  If, somewhere along the way, I get my
15 minutes of fame, then I'll enjoy that too!

Lost City of Atlantis

Tell us about your current work in progress?

I have several story lines in various stages, including a sequel to TIME
ASSASSINS.  What I've been working on is called ATLANTIS FALLING, its
another time travel story mixed with all of the myth and mystery of
Atlantis.  I've written a few rough chapters of that and the story is coming
along.  I'm also branching out and I've begun work on a screenplayadaptation of TIME ASSASSINS.  Its very different from the steps of writing
a novel and I've already learned why the movies are so different from the
books. We'll see how that goes.


Mr Hannah, thanks for speaking to Green Wizard today.

Thank you, Wiz.