with Tegon Maus
We are delighted to welcome author Tegon Maus to Omnimystery News today.
Tegon's new novel of suspense is Service Before Self (Tirgearr Publishing; February 2015 ebook formats) and we recently had the chance to catch up with him to talk more about his work.
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Omnimystery News: Tell us about your latest book.
Photo provided courtesy of
Tegon Maus
Tegon Maus: My latest book is called Service Before Self. It's rated M for language and adult situations. It's about a young man … Toby Grant who starts a new job at a handyman service in Southern California. He is teamed up with an ex gang member, Ryan Burnell, that has no interest in having a newbie riding with him. Each new stop leads to more trouble than he can handle … from ghosts in the attic to nudist in the den to hoarders and everything in between until Toby discovers the last guy who rode with him was murdered … stabbed 27 times and the future isn't looking all that promising.
OMN: Your books span a variety of genres. Why is that?
TM: As a rule I write Sci-Fi stories. Every once in a while I get an idea that won't fit in that particular box so I write in several genres. I have a series called The Chronicles of Tucker Littlefield that is an action adventure story about a man who is a lair, a cheat and afraid of the dark that finds himself up to his neck in unwanted adventure when his past catches up with him. It required swords and sorcery … magic and peoples that are best described as not very pleasant … they eat their vanquished. It is a crime story of sorts but like all my stories he is caught between a rock and a hard place as he is blackmailed into solving the kidnapping of the king's 7-year-old niece.
Generally I write the story and worry about the genre after. My present story Service Before Self is about my day job. I'm a REO Contractor. It is a series of sub-stories with an background thread that ties them all together. It's considered a thriller. I also have a book called My Grandfather's Pants which falls into the Paranormal. I like to write the story the way it appears in my head … when I'm done then I can determine the genre.
OMN: How do you go about finding the right voice for your characters?
TM: As main characters go I write in a male voice but each is a vehicle for what I want to get across. Female voices can say things, do things, suggest things that a male voice can not … at least the ones that talk for me. I think it does make a difference to some people. The thought that men cannot write romance or that woman can't write Sci-Fi sticks in some peoples mind. They think that a man could never see the world the way a woman can and vise versa. As a result they don't read a romance written by a man unless he uses a pen name. Same goes for women.
OMN: Tell us something about Service Before Self that isn't mentioned in the synopsis.
TM: This story is filled with uncomfortable situations that I run into every day … people are strange creatures that never fail to surprise me. They live knee deep in garbage and take no notice and when you call them on it they suddenly act like YOU brought it into their house. Many people think nothing of answering the door half dressed if dressed at all. All homes have the same problems it's the occupants reaction to it that makes it minor or "The world is coming to an end!"
OMN: How would you tweet a summary of the book?
TM: Yikes! I need way more than 140 characters to make a point.
OMN: You mentioned that Service Before Self is related to your day job. How much of your other personal or professional experience have you included in your books?
TM: In my Sci-Fi book Machines of the Little People one of my main characters is based on a friend I had known for years who had become pharmaceutically enhanced to the point he was no longer odd but down right out there … standing on a street corner yelling at the sky out there. All my books have a very large touch of things I've seen, people I've encountered … situations I suddenly found myself in through no fault of my own and the funny things people say to me.
OMN: Describe your writing process for us.
TM: I have the beginning and the end in my head when I start … sometimes it changes a little as I go along but by-in-large I write by the seat of my pants. I'm as surprised as the reader is with each new twist in the story.
OMN: And where do you usually most often find yourself writing?
TM: Fibber McGee's closet … I surround myself with pictures and articles that peek my interest. All are inspiration for one story or another. I usually write 2 or 3 books at one time. When I run out of ideas for one book I switch to one of the others.
OMN: How do you go about researching the plot points of your stories?
TM: In my Sci-Fi series The Eve Project I had to research a lot about DNA and RDNA … I learned about an experiment with a 7 molecule sugar that helps any molecule to hold and duplicate information … allowing for growth within a non organic cell. Wild stuff !
OMN: How true are you to the settings in your books?
TM: I do use local cities that I'm familiar with. I think every story has to be grounded in something everyone recognizes … then slowly I like to move the story just a little off center.
OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world to research the setting for a story, where would it be?
TM: No thanks … I like to sleep in my own bed at night. In my day job I travel between 100 — 150 miles every day. There is nowhere in the world I would rather be than home … all expenses paid or not.
OMN: When did you start writing?
TM: I was in my late 20s when I wrote my first book … I sent it out to everyone I could think of … what I got back was hate mail. I was crushed … it would be more than a decade before I would try again.
OMN: How do you come up with the titles for your books?
TM: I have a name in mind while writing but my wife reads it and then makes suggestions for another. Damn it if she isn't better at it than me.
OMN: What have readers had to say about your books?
TM: I always like to get feedback from those that read my books!! They are always very interesting and see things in ways I never thought of.
OMN: What kinds of books do you read for pleasure?
TM: I try not to read too much while writing. I don't want a great idea to occur to me and then find out it wasn't mine!! You would think you could keep track of something like that but I cannot.
OMN: What other forms of entertainment to you enjoy?
TM: I love movies!! Any and all Sci-Fi, Fantasy, magic, action adventure, comedy's … Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, all the greats.
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Married forty-three years to a woman he calls Dearheart, Tegon Maus lives a contented life in a small town of 8200 in Southern California. By day, Tegon is a home remodeling contractor, but his passion is storytelling.
Tegon's progatonists are frequently wedged between a rock and a hard place, but manage to work things out through the story. Like most when pushed into a corner, it only brings out the best in his characters and become the unstoppable force of a reluctant hero. Tegon's signature style is creating characters who are driven and believable, and who strive to find happiness.
For more information about the author, please visit his website at TegonMaus.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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Service Before Self
Tegon Maus
A Novel of Suspense
A recent transplant to Southern California, Toby Grant has landed his dream job. He's a service tech for Handy Dandy Services — the premier handyman service in the southland.
Things don't go well for Toby on the first day when he is teamed up with Ryan Burnell, a twenty year veteran of Handy Dandy. Toby quickly learns the hardships of being Ryan's partner, and finds himself in one uncomfortable situation after another.
In an effort to understand his new partner, Toby accidentally uncovers Ryan's past involvement with drugs, burglary, and murder. He also learns about Ryan's last partner of five years — Delsin Honaw — who had been murdered … stabbed twenty-seven times.
Haunted by one misunderstanding after another, Toby learns the true meaning of the company's motto — "Service before Self."
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