An Interview with Author Herbert Grosshans

Visit Herbert's Place HERE!

Happy Friday blogland! Today, interview #18 brings us the prolific Herbert Grosshans. His long list of publications includes several short stories in anthologies, and several novels, including multi-volume titles The Xandra, Stars in Chains, and  Stardogs, all published by Melange Books.  For a complete listing of all his Melange works, please check out his author page HERE. He also has a blog, Herbert's Place, HERE and a website, Herbert's World, that lists other publications and excerpts HERE (**18 and over only please**).


Welcome to Unwritten, Herbert! Please kick off your shoes and tell us about yourself. What do you do when you're NOT "spinning tales about imaginary worlds and the strange creatures that inhabit them"?


Thank you, Mysti, for inviting me. It depends on the time of year what I do when I don’t spin my tales. In the winter I go for walks with my wife to get some fresh air and stay in shape, weather permitting, of course. I watch TV. I never miss the news. I need to keep in touch with what goes on in the world. We spend time with our grandchildren and go to the movies. I make wine and sometimes beer, feed my fish and clean my aquariums. In the summer I do gardening and take care of our yard. We live in a rural area and have a large yard. Sometimes friends call me up with their electrical problems and I do little jobs. I am a retired Electrician. I also go fishing and hunting. And I spend way too much time on the computer, but I have to visit the groups I belong to and need to stay in touch with everyone. I don’t use Facebook or Twitter much, even though I would like to. I do need some time to write.


From your author page at Melange, I see you've written a wide array of erotic science fiction. Which is your latest release, and what can you tell us about it?



My last book released from Melange was Book Two of ‘Stars in Chains’, Liberator. It tells the story of an Earthman, David Stark, and his odyssey to different planets. He becomes the slave of a powerful being who keeps a large part of our Galaxy ‘in chains’. He must change into a different creature in order to become the ‘Liberator’ of the Galaxy and defeat the Mighty Maloor. It is a highly erotic novel but also full of adventure. The story in Book Two takes place on a desert planet populated with my favorite aliens. Actually, Book One, Slave, and Book Two are one story that was too long to be put into one book. Like most of my novels.

I see on your blog that you also "dabble in other genres". What other genres do you like to write?

Coming in July from Melange Books!

Aside from Science Fiction I like to write contemporary stories. In fact, my trilogy ‘Web of Conspiracy’ coming out this summer and fall is a contemporary novel. If time permits I write short articles. I just finished one for the magazine published by my hunting and fishing club.


Looks like you've got a new trilogy coming out soon at Melange Books. Can you give us a little information about those?



Actually, I have two trilogies coming out. ‘Web of Conspiracy’ is a murder mystery with the war in Iraq as the background. It also deals with terrorism and a major conspiracy. The whole novel is 180,000 words. One story but much too long for one book. That’s why three books. Book One: Death of a Hero. Book Two: Traitors and Patriots. Book Three: Tarnished Valor.


My other trilogy is called ‘Lizard World’. Book One: Epsilon. Book Two: Epsilon City . Book Three: Raptor’s Tooth. The events in Lizard World take place fifteen years after the events in my novel ‘Outpost Epsilon’, also available from Melange. There are dinosaurs, intelligent ants, and all kinds of strange creatures and aliens on Epsilon.

Coming Soon from Melange Books!

Another contemporary novel ‘Mark of the Cobra’, an erotic thriller, will be published in January 2012 by Melange.

What, if anything, are you writing now?



Right now I’m at 52,000 words with Book six in my Xandra series. Book Four and Five have already been contracted with Melange and will be published early next year. As soon as I’m done with Book six I will start with Book seven. I already have it mapped out. After that…I don’t know yet.

Today's Random Question: If we could take a peek, what are some of the activities would we see on your bucket list?


I want to take an Alaskan cruise, visit China , Australia . I always wanted to travel to Egypt to see the pyramids, but with the unrest in that part of the world I don’t think that will happen, not in the near future anyway.


Finally, Herbert, could you share a short excerpt of a published work or work in progress?



The following is an excerpt from Book One of ‘Web of Conspiracy’ to be published in July:

      Michael sat on the couch. He looked straight ahead, his eyes open, unseeing, like a man in deep thought. A small round hole in his forehead belied that impression. The dark material of the couch seemed a little darker where he sat. On the table in front of him, lay a package. It looked like a small pillow. From a cut on one side, white powder spilled onto the dark wood of the shiny tabletop, shimmering like tiny ice crystals on the surface of a huge bowl filled with tar.
      “Looks like a drug deal gone wrong. That’s a hell of a lot of cocaine,” Sheppard said behind him.
      Jeff turned around, fists lifted in anger, ready to strike out at anything and anyone.
      “Take it easy, Jeff.” Montana stood in the doorway, a look of shock and pity on her face. She strode into the room and looked at the overturned furniture, the ripped-open drawers. “Whoever did this clearly looked for something, but nothing seems to be missing. Nothing obvious, anyway.” She looked at Jeff. “Call it in and ask the Captain to send someone else.”
      Jeff shook his head. “No. I need to know what happened. I need to find out first hand.” He had trouble formulating the words; his mind seemed to be frozen in a sea of ice.  He moved like a man in a dream. Everything seemed to slow down and Shephard’s and Montana ’s voices sounded hollow and far away. He bounded up the stairs, taking three at a time. His fears were confirmed when he saw the open door to Joseph’s room.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I wish you much success and a great weekend!

Thank you, Mysti. It was my pleasure.