When my fourth grade teacher asked the class to write a little essay about what we wanted to be when we grew up, I included the three professions that seemed most likely: stuntman, jewel thief, and author. I haven’t completely given up on the first two—there’s still time!—but I’m finally on the cusp of realizing the third.
My name is Jeff Salyards, and my debut novel, Scourge of the Betrayer, is being published May 1 by Night Shade Books. Scourge is a hard-boiled fantasy in the tradition of Glen Cook, David Gemmell, and Joe Abercrombie—tough, sometimes harsh (OK, there’s a lot of harsh), and full of rough and tumble characters who can turn your stomach or win your heart. Though, admittedly, only a few are especially good at the heart-winning business. 
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ENORMITY is a bit of a trick title, because the word doesn’t just refer to scale; it also has a negative connotation, which in this case refers to the evil we all do without even meaning to: the enormity of our collective guilt. As a little kid growing up in LA, I was a huge fan of Japanese monster movies, and I remember doing a creative writing assignment in the form of a newspaper interview with Godzilla, who turned out to be not so much an evil monster as a misunderstood victim of circumstance, and who felt terrible because he couldn’t avoid stepping on people.
I’m Stina Leicht, and I wrote Of Blood and Honey and the soon to be released sequel And Blue Skies from Pain. Both novels are set in 1970s Northern Ireland, during the thirty year war known as The Troubles. As you can tell from my name, I’m not Irish nor am I American Irish. (By the way, my last name is pronounced “light” like the beer.) Also, I’ve a degree in Animation, not English. I fell in love with books when I was in the second grade, and I’ve carried a novel on my person ever since. Early on I was attracted to Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery, and Fantasy. The genres are filled to the brim with a sense of Other. This spoke to me because I was a tomboy as a child. Unlike most female bookish sorts, I have a thing for automobiles — specifically classic muscle cars and roadsters. I like movies, history, politics, music (rock, punk, world, and classical) and fencing too. I love art, and sometimes I paint. I wish I were better at chess and were more graceful and self-possessed. (I blame my childhood heros Emma Peel and Katharine Hepburn.) Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending upon your point of view — I’m a total goof. The fun part is, as a writer, I can be all these things and more.
There’s a lot of books about Alexander the Great out there.
Happy New Year to everyone at Night Shade and Night Bazaar. Please forgive the title, but I wanted to get some attention. Also, it does have an element of truth.