Virtual Book: The Prize

Today I welcome author Lars Hedbor, who bravely answered my infamous Rick Reed questions, and is going to tell us about his new release, The Prize. Lars is offering a $25 Amazon or B&N gift card to a random commenter on his tour. Go here to see the other stops on the tour. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

The Questions

1)      You’re marooned on a small island with one person and one item of your choice—who is that person and what item do you have?
I'd want my wife with me, because a) I'm a newlywed, so I... really enjoy her company, and b) she's

resourceful enough to ensure that we make it out of the situation alive.  As for an item, I'd have to say that a spare pair of eyeglasses, which we could use to start a fire, turn into fishhooks, and (in a pinch) read the fine print on the rubber raft that bobs ashore the day after we're marooned.

    2)   Which musical would you say best exemplifies your life – and which character in that musical are you?
Well, since I'm a writer of novels of the American Revolution, I have to say that I'm partial to 1776; as for characters, I'm rather more pleasant than John Adams, not so erudite as Jefferson, nor as randy as Franklin, so I'm not exactly sure on that one.

3)      Take these three words and give me a 100 word or less scenario using them:  heritage, trusted, bar
As I explore the heritage of our nation's founding, I frequently turn to trusted sources for information, to ensure that incorrect details are never a bar to my readers' enjoyment of my novels.  (Was that cheating?)

4)      You’ve just been let loose in the world of fiction, with permission to do anyone you want. Who do you fuck first and why?
My wife reminds me a lot of the character of Deety from Robert Heinlein's The Number of the Beast - a superintelligent, well-endowed redhead.  It's probably no mistake that I found someone in real life who measures up to this fictional ideal, so is it bending the rules of this question too much to say that I'd prefer to be with my wife?  :)

5)      What is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other?
While time at the beach, or in a lodge with a crackling fire to keep us warm while the snow falls, or snuggling under a starry sky are all very romantic, my wife and I actually spend a good deal of time snuggled up on the couch, reading.

6)      When you start a new story, do you begin with a character, or a plot?
Neither, really.  Of course, I have the historical events that happen around my characters (and, sometimes, through their efforts), but I typically start with an opening scene in mind, and very little else planned out.  My characters make themselves known to me in short order, and as for plot, I'm little more than a coach hoarsely shout

7)      If they were to make the story of your life into a movie, who should play you?

First of all, there's little about the life of a novelist that is movie-worthy.  That said, I've been told that my face reminds people of Arnold Schwarzenneger's, but I'm pretty sure that he's still in better shape than I ever will be.  Plus, he's busy being a poor role model and all.

   8)   Who’s your favorite horror villain and why?
Gosh, the fact of the matter is that I don't much care for horror as a genre.  If we're willing to stretch the point to include some of the less-horrific vampire films of recent vintage, I guess I could say that Eric Northman of the True Blood books and television series is a pretty fascinating and compelling villain. (Except when he's being a hero... the lines blur, which is part of what makes him so much fun.)

9)      Do you have an historical crush and if so, who is it?
In the course of researching my novels, I have found any number of brilliant, beautiful women in history, but

I'd have to say that Abigail Adams' devotion to her often-unpleasant husband John is both admirable and appealing.  If such a wonderful woman could love a man like that so deeply, what would she have thought of someone a bit less abrasive...?

10)   Is there a story that you’d like to tell but you think the world isn’t ready to receive it?
The details of life as a slave in Colonial and Revolutionary America are both worse and better than we imagine, and people on both sides of the racial divide would likely take issue with a realistic depiction of the relationships between owner and owned within that institution.  That said, I have a manuscript completed that delves into some of these questions, and I expect a certain amount of controversy when it is released.

I appreciate the opportunity to answer your questions, and I hope that your visitors will give my novel The Prize a read.  I look forward to hearing what they think of it, and I'll be glad to answer any questions they may have for me in the comments to this post.  Thanks again!

THE PRIZE

By

Lars D. H. Hedbor

BLURB:  

Caleb's father is serving with Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys as the long-anticipated open war against the British rages up and down the length of Lake Champlain. Between his duties on the family farm and constant worry about his father's safety, the young man's attentions are already fully occupied when a fateful encounter with an unlikely neighbor changes everything. Pulled into new intrigues and new friendships, Caleb finds himself on a path that changes his life - and which will affect the outcome of the whole war.

EXCERPT: 

  

Mallett did not bother to saddle his horse, but merely put the bit in the stallion's mouth, and pulled himself up on its back. He called out to Caleb, "Here, you ride behind me. Louis is a strong horse, certainly a good deal stronger than his namesake on the throne in Versailles." Both Mallett and the horse snorted, and Mallett added, "The horse is smarter, too."

Caleb smiled and took Mallett's proffered hand to clamber up behind the older man. Scowling now at the still-pealing bell, Mallett growled, "Hold tight, lad, we're going to ride hard." Since he did not want to slide over the horse's rump and find himself suddenly sitting on the road, Caleb heeded Mallett's advice, clamping his hands around the rider's wiry sides.

With a nod, Mallett snapped the reins, and kicked the horse into a smooth, speedy pace over the ground. By the time they pulled up before the blockhouse, where a crowd had gathered, the bell had stopped pealing, but MacGregor stood at the top of the steps, reading loudly from a broadside.

Captain Mallett and Caleb dismounted, and Mallett tied up his horse before they joined the crowd, coming into earshot of the general store proprietor.

"…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."

As he drew breath, the man beside Caleb whispered excitedly, "'Tis a declaration of independence for the colonies from the Crown, passed by the Congress this week past!" Caleb's eyebrows went up, and even Mallett seemed surprised, pursing his lips thoughtfully and nodding to himself.

REVIEW SOUND BYTES

"Wonderful! Lars Hedbor has magnificently captured the zeitgeist of Colonial Vermont! He seamlessly blends his tale with the events of the American Revolution in the Champlain Valley!" 

- Daniel O'Neil, Executive Director, Ethan Allen Homestead Museum

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Lars D. H. Hedbor is an amateur historian, homebrewer, astronomer, fiddler, linguist and baker.  His fascination with the central question of how the populace of the American Colonies made the transition from being subjects of the Crown to being citizens of the Republic drives him to tell the stories of those people.  Hedbor resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and five daughters, and is hard at work on the next novel in the Tales From a Revolution series.

LINKS:

Web: http://LarsDHHedbor.com
Twitter: @LarsDHHedbor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lars.D.H.Hedbor