Penguin Imprint Focus: Ace/Roc Author Jeff Carlson Touches Base, by Jeff Carlson:

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I'm in an interesting place right now. My brain is still in the highest mountains on Earth, while the rest of me appears to be walking and talking (sensibly, I hope) down in the normal world. If you ran into me at the store, I might appear to be loading up on bread and milk for my family, but really I'm caught up in a horrific global conflict to save mankind.

Sounds crazy, right? It's actually a lot of fun. In two years I've written two books in the Plague Year series. The sequel, Plague War, is on my editor's desk and slated for publication in August 2008.

That's a great feeling. I'm now developing other projects... one of which is a third Plague book. I'm very excited that my publisher wants more. It's a fascinating world full of strong, active people doing their best against impossible challenges-and I get to find out what happens before anyone else! Bwah HA ha ha ha!

Being a writer is awesome. I've always been a reader first. The chance to work behind the scenes, hammering together the framework of my own stories, then setting the stage with people and furniture (and the occasional gigantic explosion) is extremely satisfying.

You know that feeling you get at night when you're reading a good book? There's the little voice that says "I know I need to go to sleep so I can work tomorrow, but I'll just stay up for one more chapter... okay, maybe two..." My job is that feeling every day and it's fantastic.

Come and visit me at www.jverse.com. The site offers free fiction, tour dates, advance info on Plague War and other projects, as well as a mind-croggling trivia contest with the chance to name a character after yourself or a friend in one my upcoming books.

View some more information on Jeff Carlson's Plague Year

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