Elin Gregory

My guest today is Troy Lambert, currently on tour, celebrating the release of his new novel, Stray Ally!

Troy is a freelance writer and researcher, who also works as Senior Editor at Tirgearr Publishing. At present Troy is writing novel number seven, between working with and helping other authors.

He lives in the southern part of Idaho with his wife, two of his five children and two dogs.

Welcome, Troy, and thank you for visiting my blog.

Readers: don’t forget to look for the giveaway!

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Elin: Can you tell me a little about yourself? For instance, do you have to have a day job as well as being a writer?

Troy : Last year I started writing at home full time. For the last four years I have been writing at home pretty much full time hours while still working part time at a Museum. I still do some consuling with museums from time to time.

Elin: What are you reading? Can you recommend something that you wished you’d written yourself?

Troy : I’m currently reading a collection of novels by a group of authors calling themselves “The Twelve.” There are some great reads in there by the likes of Allan Leverone, Vincent Zandri, Josh Grahm, Aaron Patterson, and others.
But as for a book I wish I had written? I love Heath Lowrance’s thriller, City of Heretics, and I hear he is working on another similar title now. I can’t wait to read it.

Elin: In that crucial inspiration stage of a new story which comes first? Plot, situation or character?

Troy : For me character always comes first, and my work seems to all have similar themes. The situations vary, but by and large they follow the “man in hole” plot formula. Something bad happens, and the protagonist(s) have to struggle in some way to get out of it.

Elin: Do your characters arrive fully fledged and ready to fly or do they develop as you work with them? Do you have a crisp mental picture of them or are they more a thought and a feeling than an image?

Troy : I wrote about this recently. I usually have a shadowy picture of them, but until I write, they don’t start to move, and the picture stays blurry. Once I start to tell their story, they tell me more of it.

Elin: Is there any genre you would love to write, ditto one you would avoid like a rattlesnake? What inspired you to write about a man who befriends a dog in a dangerous situation?

Troy : I would love to dabble in some sci-fi. I have a paranormal bent to my thrillers anyway. It would be hard for me to write Regency romance, as I know way too little about the genre, but I’d write just about anything else with the right story.

Stray Ally came to me in the middle of the night, and the idea of a dog with some pretty unusual intelligence and friends helping a man out of a dangerous situation really came from my own life, when I was really in a bad place, and a dog really was my best friend. The book is dedicated to him.

Elin: Do you find there to be a lot of structural differences between a relationship driven story and one where the romance is a sub plot? {This is probably not appropriate for dedicated romance authors, nor for people who would never write a romance but might appeal to people who write in lots of different genres}.

Troy : Nope. A story is a story, and the driver, or motivation should not change the structure. In most of my novels there is some romance in the sub plot, and Stray Ally is really relationship driven in some ways, although the relationship is between a man and a dog.

Elin: Villains are incredibly important in fiction since they challenge the main protagonists and give them something to contend with beyond the tension of a developing relationship. The cruel sea. The serial killer. The society itself. Your hero’s inner demons. What sort of villains do you prize?

Troy : I like the sympathetic villains. The ones we all identify with in one way or another. Many of the bad guys I write are not pure evil but rather think they are doing good, but just have a distorted view of what “good” is.

Elin: What are you working on at the moment? Can you discuss it or do you prefer to keep it a secret until it’s finished.

Troy : I am currently working on a new novel, tentatively titled “Revival.” It’s a dystopian suspense thriller, but no more spoilers. You will have to stay tuned for more about that project.

Elin: Could we please have an excerpt of something?

Troy: Here’s an excerpt from my latest release, Stray Ally.

~~~

The skateboard collided with my windshield, and I braked with both feet, screeching forward. The body hit the glass next, spider-webbing it as the skater’s helmet-clad head struck the glass in the center of my vision. The rear view mirror separated from the window and hit the center of the seat with a thud as the car skidded to a stop.

Marsha is gonna be pissed, came the unbidden thought. We just replaced this windshield.

Where did he come from? Creedence still blared from the stereo speakers and I turned the ignition key to the rear. Silence descended, broken a moment later by distant sirens.

I lifted my hand and felt wetness on my forehead, cut by—something. Glass? Must have been.

I opened the door, dazed. Under the helmet, a young face offered a blank stare. Nothing but blackness in the eyes: no color. Not good.

“You okay, kid?” I felt stupid asking. Stupider for expecting a response. “What were you doing on the freeway?”

I heard distant voices. Looked up. Kids, on the overpass above. Did he fall?

They pointed. One slugged the other one. A scuffle broke out and they ran. All of them.

The sirens came closer. Another car pulled up, tires squealing as it stopped, rocking on its springs.

“What happened? Is everyone okay?” the driver asked.

Struck dumb, I just pointed. The skateboard rested half on the roof, half on the shattered windshield. The skater lay below it, unmoving, his left foot against the hood ornament, the Mercedes star cocked sideways.

“Is he..?”

He didn’t finish, but rushed over, feeling for a pulse, checking for breath. All things I should have done, but couldn’t.

He shook his head, glanced over at me. “What was he doing here?”

shrugged.

“Did you see him?”

Head wag, substituted for speech.

“Are you okay?”

Another head wag. I couldn’t articulate what was wrong.

You’re bleeding.”

I managed a nod, and then my legs gave out. I dropped to the pavement and grimaced as my tailbone impacted the hard surface. I heard a whimper. It must have been me, because the other driver rushed over.

I stared ahead, seeing and not seeing the scene.

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Blurb: A strange accident on the freeway, accusations of murder, and an encounter in the Idaho wilderness all propel Todd Clarke into a new friendship with a dog named Sparky. But Sparky is no ordinary dog, and there is more going on than Clarke could have imagined.

A military commander he investigated for Aryan activity and links to domestic terrorism is after him, and he’s not sure why until another chance encounter provides the answer.
With Sparky and the help of his canine friends, will he be able to figure out the Colonel’s plan and stop him in time? All Clarke knows for sure is none of it would be possible without the help of his Stray Ally.

Buy Link: Stray Ally: http://www.tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Lambert_Troy/stray-ally.htm

Author Website: http://www.troylambertwrites.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authortroy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Troy-Lambert/191932724173411?ref=hl
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Troy-Lambert/e/B005LL1QEC
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Authrotroy

 
Giveaway:

Best story of a dog (Stray Ally) that you rescued or that helped you through a hard time sent to author@troylambertwrites.com by March 29th wins a $25 Amazon gift card.

Winner and story shared on my blog Monday, March 31st. Share your story today!