Author Archives: Eduardo Suastegui

Hipstopia: a Fast-moving Story with Promises for more to Come

Hipstopia by R.A. Desilets tells the tale of a group of disaffected youngsters who under the leadership of a cult-like leader rebelled against the structure of modernity and carved out Los Angeles as their refuge from the world they disdain. There they must “quiet” dissenters who are themselves rising against the order that Murphy, Hipstopia’s […]

September 4, 2014 – 6:05 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in My Book Reviews | Comments Off on Hipstopia: a Fast-moving Story with Promises for more to Come

About Mangos, avocados, and literal vs. literary gardens

What does growing mango and avocado trees from seeds have to do with writing? I read somewhere that an author must tend to his or her garden of stories, those published and those soon to come out. Without too much over-thinking or dropping into sappy cliches, I see some merit in that word picture. Recently […]

September 2, 2014 – 6:19 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Comments (2)

Active Shooter preview — Chapter 1 excerpt and Download link

If you’re looking for a shorter story to provide you with an entry point into the Our Cyber World series, allow me to recommend Active Shooter. In this prequel to Pink Ballerina we meet Andre Esperanza shortly after he thwarted a terrorist attack on Los Angeles International Airport. The short-lived fame that follows leads him […]

August 30, 2014 – 7:00 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Novels | Comments Off on Active Shooter preview — Chapter 1 excerpt and Download link

Shadow-7, Tracking Jane series, Chapter 2 preview

As we gear up for the release of the Tracking Jane series (pre-order episode 1!), I’ll share a preview of the first two chapters. Today I’m including Chapter 2 below, along with a brief synopsis. If you didn’t get it the first time, click here for the Chapter 1 preview. Synopsis for Shadow-7 Army canine […]

August 28, 2014 – 5:58 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Novels | Tagged | Comments Off on Shadow-7, Tracking Jane series, Chapter 2 preview

How photography impacted my story-telling

Did I make a mistake when I set my writing aside to self-express myself through photography? Having returned now to the written word, I have been contemplating — I do that a lot — what if anything I can take from photography into my writing. Did I waste ten years of my life during which […]

August 26, 2014 – 5:58 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged , | Comments Off on How photography impacted my story-telling

Dreamlander: a Work of Thought-Provoking Imagination

K.M. Weiland’s Dreamlander launches from a conceptual query: what if our dreams reflect the life we experience in a parallel world? From this question, K.M. Weiland formulates a dynamic story which but for two minor flaws, would get my full five star treatment. Before I go on to expand on why I loved this story, […]

August 25, 2014 – 6:52 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in My Book Reviews | Tagged | Comments (2)

When Characters Say the Darnest Things

Ever since, Julian Rodgers, one of my DEAD BEEF characters said, “Keep it random, keep it real,” I’ve been raising my eyebrows, laughing and crying at some of the things my characters say. This may sound a little creepy, but they come up with these things all on their own. I often stare at the […]

August 22, 2014 – 6:21 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays, Novels | Comments Off on When Characters Say the Darnest Things

Shadow-7, Tracking Jane series, Chapter 1 preview

As we gear up for the release of the Tracking Jane series, episode 1 (pre-order now!), I’ll share a preview of the first two chapters. I’m including Chapter 1 below, along with a brief synopsis. Synopsis for Shadow-7 Army canine trainer and handler Jane McMurtry served in Afghanistan with her dog Shadow until an IED […]

August 19, 2014 – 7:20 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Novels | Tagged | Comments Off on Shadow-7, Tracking Jane series, Chapter 1 preview

Write What I Know? Answered in Two Easy Tweets

What do you think about the writing only what you know? If you’re a reader, how enjoyable would books be if authors stick to what they know? As those loaded questions may already suggest, my enthusiasm for the “write what you know” oft-spouted advice wanes to the max. Here’s my first Tweetable thought on the […]

August 14, 2014 – 6:21 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in Essays | Tagged | Comments Off on Write What I Know? Answered in Two Easy Tweets

Story-telling: to go long or to go short

If I may blow the punchline short stories aren’t long enough. Not long enough to develop a character, not long enough to have a fully resolved conflict, not long enough to fully unveil a world. They’re fun, and I’ve read some good ones, but for this writer, they just don’t have enough calories. Or I […]

August 12, 2014 – 5:45 am | By Eduardo Suastegui | Posted in News, Short Stories | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Story-telling: to go long or to go short