Lost and Forgotten: Book Four – Toward the Unknown Region by Maurice Barkley

8/28/2023

Multi-genre, multi-volume author Maurice Barkley introduces us to the fourth volume in his fantastic series, Lost and Forgotten, “Toward the Unknown Region”:
THE PAST IS NEVER DEAD, IT ONLY HIDES.
It all began a few miles from his home, but now he measures his travels with his comrades in light years, to places they were never meant to find.

I love this story, indeed, I love the series and hope the story continues. Since I am committed to not spoiling the story for the next readers, I can only say this fourth volume is an amazing conclusion now. I am even happier to think about the possibility of the story continuing! The author has a phenomenal imagination and his plotting keeps me on the edge of my Kindle. I love his dialogues, the characters shine in their conversations. Action sequences have just the right amount of detail to stimulate my imagination and I see the action unfold on the screen in my mind.
Wonderful to read, a fabulous story!

You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/LOST-FORGOTTEN-BOOK-4-TOWARD-UNKNOWN-REGION-ebook
https://www.goodreads.com/-lost-and-forgotten 4-unknown-region
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/lost-and-forgotten-4-unknown-region-barkley

You can follow the author:
https://twitter.com/MauriceBarkley
https://www.facebook.com/Maurice Barkley

The author has many other books in other series.
Here is the review of the first book: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/lost-and-forgotten-discovery
Here is the review of the second book: https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/the-secret-path
Here is the review of the third book:
https://www.wordrefiner.com/book-reviews/enigma

teleportation, galaxies, Nazis, aliens, quest, adventure, AI, artificial intelligence, science fiction

Copyright @ 2023 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction

31 Comments

Maurice Barkley link

8/28/2023 04:46:49 pm

OK/

Mark

8/28/2023 05:36:41 pm

Welcome back, Maurice. This is part four of our interview.
We have been talking about your writing, publishing and marketing journey over the previous three book promotions. We will continue our chat here. I apologize in advance if some of the questions are repeated from the previous interviews.

First question.

Going back in time, did you do any kind of creative writing, even back in grade school?

8/28/2023 08:22:30 pm

Along about 1948 my older brother joined the Army and I inherited his room. My old room was small and just a curtain for a door. My new digs had a door and two windows overlooking the street—I loved it. I soon had an old maple table with a lamp, tin cans for my pencils and water color paint brushes. Off to the side was a ten inch rubber statue of Mr. Toad of Toad Hall. (Wind in the willows) I had an old bread board on which I built many rubber powered model airplanes. My room often smelled of airplane glue. I collected black and white cartoons of “Our Boarding House’ from the newspaper, painted them with my water color set and bound them into a book a good two inches thick.
I loved my new room and spent many, many hours there and some were spent writing. The problem was that I had little world experience and my imagination was still in its infancy. I remember my first effort, it was called, “The House of the Singing Violin” I have made damn sure that no written record of it has survived.
Those were a happy few years, but then I was drafted, followed by an abbreviated time in college, followed by marriage and etc. I must have been well into my thirties before I sat down to write the first of my Sherlock Holmes stories. Thereafter it was very sporadic until I retired. And here we are.

8/28/2023 08:57:42 pm

That is a great story! I enjoyed those cartoons also. That was a major upgrade in living quarters. So, the House of the Singing Violin will never see the light of day. I am sure you have judged well.

Sherlock Holmes is an iconic character. I grew up watching the Basil Rathbone movies, they were in black and white, as I recall. I loved his intellect and deductive reasoning.

New question.

What was the catalyst that propelled you into writing the House of Singing Violins?

8/29/2023 03:43:37 pm

Ah, I remember it well. It began one summer when I was working on my much older sister and brother-in-law’s dairy farm. (It had nothing to do with actual farm work, which I did from dawn til dusk.) The farm house was an old (stagecoach days) inn. My sister and brother-in-law had only just moved in to take over the farm.) It still had some of the old furniture, like an elegant pump organ. Anyway, I was assigned to a large upstairs bedroom. Right away I noticed some unusual bumps in the wall paper on a side wall. I showed it to my sister who immediately peeled away the paper to reveal a small door. WOW! She pulled it open and we saw a narrow staircase going up. We went up and found that the old inn had a third floor consisting of two empty rooms. Nothing more to this tale other than it sparked my imagination and, although unprepared, I wrote that which you will never see.

8/29/2023 04:02:28 pm

That is a fabulous story! I love it. I am not surprised that you were inspired to write a story that will not be seen. That setting would still make a good prompt for a story. Stagecoaches, pony express riders and more make up the backbone of a lot of unknown American history.

New question.

A lot of new authors struggle with finding beta readers. Because, after the first draft is done, fresh eyes and feedback become very important.
Do you have alpha-readers and/or beta-readers to help you smooth out a lot of wrinkles before publishing? If you don’t, why?

8/29/2023 08:09:13 pm

I have never used alpha or beta readers. Years ago I let some friends and family read some things, but I quickly stopped. Those people love me and would never risk hurting my feelings by saying anything negative. Now, I’m sure alpha and beta readers can be extremely helpful for many writers and I have nothing adverse to say about them.
At some forgotten point early on I decided to write only for myself—only what I like to read and phooey on the rest of the world. If I used alpha or beta readers I would be inserting their thoughts and ideas into my story and that just won’t due.
Once I finish my own edit of a manuscript I send it off to my editor (thEditors.com). I can only say that a good editor can make all the difference by enhancing rather than changing one’s work.

8/29/2023 08:22:47 pm

I agree with you about not using family members as beta readers, unless they are committed to your success, rather than soothing your feelings. Not every writer uses beta readers but many of them do.

I also agree about the value a good editor can bring to a book.

New question.

Do you have other writers you connect with, as in a critique group or support group?

8/30/2023 04:23:27 pm

Not really, for the reasons I have previously stated. As a rather shy introvert I am more an onlooker rather than a participant. The exceptions are two women who have provided valuable support. One is Sonia Fetherston (The Bootmakers of Toronto, a Sherlock Holmes Society) who also agreed to let me use her family name in my Casablanca series. Next is Fran Martin (The Stormy Petrels of BC, Vancouver's Official Sherlock Holmes Society) If ever you need to know anything about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and or Sherlock Holmes, these two are the source. And then there is my editor who has the final say. I’m not really happy that I have these limits, but I am what I am.

8/30/2023 05:27:59 pm

That is quite wonderful that these two have helped you with research and support.

Reading through the four books of Lost and Forgotten has proved to me that you are a skillful writer.

New question.

Have you ever been asked for writing help or to mentor a fledgling writer?

8/30/2023 08:55:40 pm

I would love to have the ability to do things like that and I have been asked to do something similar at a local school, but I had to decline. The reason is I know myself, my abilities and my limits. I have had one book signing and one speech in a school auditorium—agony both times. I do great alone in my work room where there is no pressure. I can daydream, make notes, revise stuff at my leisure and produce maybe something worthwhile. BUT, in front of an audience of 1 or 100 I freeze up—major stage fright. I lose my train of thought and can’t recall the next paragraph. If we were face to face for this question my answer would be truly pathetic. I don’t think on my feet even in casual conversations. That’s why my best friends have usually been very smart, talkative people. To them I’m known as a very quiet and good listener. Please don’t ask me to change.

8/31/2023 08:02:06 am

Many struggle with speaking in public. I was one of those during my teen years. I could barely answer the phone. I had a serious stammering issue. I would get so nervous my tongue would tie itself into knots and leave me nearly speechless. Some sounds were harder to voice than others when I was tense. The 'H' sound of hello was one of those sounds. My friends and family knew to wait while I struggled to say hello to answer the phone. I finally dropped the 'H' sound and said 'ello. I was using a British accent in my mind, that actually helped a great deal in that particular situation. The rest of the time was a struggle.
When talking, I could feel tension starting to build in my mouth regarding a certain word and could usually find another word to substitute and avoid the stammer. That was a strategy that had worked for me somewhat most of my life. Having a large vocabulary was useful. But I still sounded strange to others.
About a decade later, I took a professional development course from a Dale Carnegie company in public speaking. I won an award as the most improved student. I learned important secrets about public speaking. The first secret was to allow myself to pause as long as necessary for the tension in my mouth to dissipate. While it seemed like several minutes to me, it was only a few seconds in reality. The pause brought the audience to the edge of their seats, figuratively, as they waited for my next words. Pausing bound the audience to me as a speaker, they were anxious to hear what I was saying next.
The second secret was to only speak about something that I knew a lot about or cared a great deal for. That helped me to be calm internally, a solid foundation to speak from. This secret eliminates the need to write out a speech word for word, that eliminates the fear of forgetting a word or losing your place in the speech. I do recommend an outline and practicing your speech for length, however.
The third secret was to accept being nervous. This was the hardest to deal with, perhaps. But I learned to flow in the energy coming from the audience and my personal excitement and passion increased about my topic. It made me a better speaker.
Since that time, in the previous century, I have spoken in front of groups a few times, the largest being more than 800 people. My last speaking engagement was to a small group of writers. I talked about how to proofread your own material. I was supposed to speak for about 10 minutes, I finished at almost 20 minutes. It was fun.
Did I get nervous? Yes. Did I pause to allow the tension to go away? Yes. Did I speak about something I knew a lot about? Yes.

Every book needs a reader to be complete and every speaker needs a listener.

I know that feeling about thinking on your feet. I struggle with that also regarding topics I don't know a lot about.

New question.

What is the most important thing you learned from publishing your latest book?

8/31/2023 03:59:46 pm

First, thank you for your response to my last answer. It’s comforting to have another in the life boat as long as it’s not too crowded, has plenty of water, food rations, a first aid kit, an umbrella and a radio. If you dissect that, you will see that I am not to be trusted.
The most important thing I learned (I think I’ve really known all along) is that a story never ends—at most it just slows down a bit. My intent was to make book 4 of Lost and Forgotten the final of the series. I was busy with Sherlock Holmes and a new fantasy I’m working on. As usual, as I wrote, the characters and the story came alive and the ending shaped itself—it had to be that way. I ended book three with a giant cliff hanger and wanted a final ending for book 4. However I did not want the Dance Band to simply walk off into the sunset, nor did I want a cliff hanger. I wanted to leave the reader with a resolution of all that had happened to them, but provide promises for future adventures, without specifics. This is why, towards the end, I discarded my original notes on the finale. I’m satisfied, I hope the reader see it my way. Book 5? Who knows.

8/31/2023 04:16:41 pm

I agree with you about the well-stocked lifeboat. I left the Boy Scouts when I was 16. The Scouts have never left me. I am a firm believer in being prepared. You made a good start on a lifeboat equipment list, I would add a few more items. I like the way you think.

Yes, a story never truly ends. And a story is unique to every reader because every reader has a unique perspective. Book 5 or book 0 (a prequel) would be welcomed by your fans.

New question.

What are three things, that you wish you knew before you wrote your first novel?

9/1/2023 02:33:20 pm

Only 3? Let’s make it the top 3. When I began my first novel I had written a Memoir, two tree house books and some short stories. I still have that first manuscript only because it’s a computer file and thus takes up no space in my crowded room.
First I wish I had known more about how to start a novel. Since I was self-taught I made many mistakes. Show versus tell was an unknown concept. Once learned it caused me to make many revisions. The internet was new and I took way too much advice from complete strangers. Eventually I noticed the conflicts and advice from so called agents who wanted a mere $450.00 to pay for rubber bands and staples used on my behalf. At first, being anxious to put my idea down on paper, I forced myself to write beyond my imagination. Eventually I calmed down and threw away the bad stuff. There are many small regrets, but I am thankful that I did finally sit down to do the work I had been only thinking about for a long time.
(This could use some edits, but thankfully that’s not what we are here for)

9/1/2023 02:59:17 pm

Your experience mirrors that of so many other new authors. There is a tremendous amount of information to learn and digest to write a good story that people will want to read and tell their friends about.

I heard about a hard-boiled editor many years ago, that upon receiving a manuscript from a new writer promptly threw it in the round file and told the author to write another book worth publishing. The point being that the first novel is a serious learning experience for most writers and the second novel is usually much better.

You went through a lot of stuff to become the writer you are now. No doubt that it was difficult but your perseverance and willingness to learn worked to your advantage.

Unfortunately, those scam agents are still out there emptying peoples' wallets and crushing dreams. A legitimate agent will not ask for money upfront. They get a small percentage when a contract is signed.

We will leave the editing to a proofreader somewhere.

New question.

What are three things that you love about writing?

9/1/2023 05:23:17 pm

Most important I like the idea that in some measure I will be remembered. Maybe like Vincent van Gogh I might be discovered long after I have departed. Next I like recording the output of my imagination. Finally my initially vague thoughts condense into a logical and hopefully permanent story. Although the actual writing is very hard, I enjoy the struggle. I might add that it is a pleasure to admire the row of books on the shelf next to my work station.

9/1/2023 05:49:24 pm

Books last a long time and a lot of people read them. You will be remembered for many years.

I am always amazed and usually delighted by what filters out of an author's synapses and is crafted into a wonderful story.

"Easy reading is damn hard writing." Nathaniel Hawthorne, among others, is credited with this quote. It is most definitely true!

Books on a shelf are nice. Books that you have written on a shelf are priceless!

New question.

What kind of research did you do for this series?

9/2/2023 04:21:32 pm

Keep in mind that this work of science fiction involves people, places, events and devices that never existed. I did do some basic research on, for example, the distance of a known planet from earth to that known planet and the time it would take a radio signal to traverse the distance. I do have some crackpot ideas about origins that one might laugh at, but I would in turn ignore and remind them that this is a work of fiction. This means I can invent, deceive, distort and lie like crazy. Love it. In short, I did minimal research. It all came out of that mysterious place in the back of my head.

9/2/2023 04:36:14 pm

You deceive, distort and lie quite well. And you get paid for it. Some writers of science fiction go to great lengths to support their writing. After doing lots of research they often want to share all the fruits of their research with the readers. Therein lies a problem. If the author shares more than needed to support the plot the excess information can turn into a deluge and swamp the reader. Also known as an info dump, the story can be brought to a solid standstill. A complete stop. Many readers will close the book before they reach that point.

You did well by avoiding that problem altogether.

New question.

Do you write notes by hand or on the computer?

9/2/2023 08:25:29 pm

These days I make notes mostly on the computer and mostly below my last manuscript entry so that they remain handy. I also keep a yellow pad on the lunch table. I keep my Kindle Fire there and proofread manuscripts while I eat my oatmeal. Any changes noted are written on the yellow pad to be transferred to the computer later on. Since I make up stuff as I go along, I am not much of a note taker—I simply do what works for me.

9/2/2023 08:31:28 pm

Almost every author does the same thing. Notes are usually preserved digitally and occasionally manually. Many keep a notepad in convenient places. When away from those regular spots some resort to using a cellphone to record ideas. Those with cellphones tend to keep them very close.

New question.

What are common traps for beginning writers?

9/3/2023 03:22:01 pm

Since I was a beginning writer long ago and my contact with beginning writers today is minimal at best, look upon my answers with a jaundiced eye. What I can say for sure is that the new writer is a target for those who want to sell something. There are a few exceptions, but very few as far as I know. My source for good information is the authors I follow on Twitter. They are in the same boat with me and most are honest about their experiences. Good luck.

9/3/2023 03:47:00 pm

You make a general point, and it is spot on. Many new writers don't have the experience to detect scams nor the connections with more experienced writers to check in with. The scammers promise the moon and only deliver lightness to your wallet or purse.

A few months ago, a new follower claimed to be a book promoter and promised that I would sell a hundred books if I hired him. I asked him how he could guarantee book sales. He said he could without explaining. I unfollowed him rapidly and then blocked him. I do not believe any promoter can guarantee book sales unless he is going to buy the books personally.

New question.

Do you think a strong ego is an asset or liability for a writer and why?

9/3/2023 07:51:22 pm

It’s all a matter of control. If your outward ego, the ego that controls you behavior toward others, is too strong, it may influence one’s writing in a negative way. The same can be said if one’s ego is too weak. It would be great if one could set aside one’s ego when at the keyboard. It would also be great if one could resist the temptation to use the word one’s too often. This is not the best of my answers, but it’s Sunday here and I’ve just had a cocktail.

9/3/2023 08:13:52 pm

Truly, one's self control can suffer with excess of ego or adult beverages. Too weak of an ego can lead to reduction of effort and the lack of publishing, possibly. Balance is important. Hubris can lead to excessive valuation of talent and manuscript worthiness can suffer proportionately.

New question.

Other than every person on earth, who do you wish would read your book?

9/4/2023 04:13:23 pm

The simple answer is someone who likes what I like. Years ago I wrote a memoir because my editor at that time suggested that I do so. I did and I am satisfied, but few others agree. My ideal reader would be someone who is a live and let live agnostic that is open to all possibilities—life on other planets, miracle devices, instantaneous transport, alien life, big foot, spooks and so on. Also she or he should be someone subject to moods, all moods triggered by my written suggestions. This is why my first novel in this series began on a rainy night and a lonesome man. Then, of course there is every person on earth—not a bad wish.

9/4/2023 04:32:37 pm

Your description of your ideal reader covers a lot of people. There are a lot of agnostics in the world. However, many religious people will enjoy your books also. So, you are in no danger of running out of audience.

Last question.

Do you have an item or a routine you consider to be your writing lucky charm?

9/5/2023 07:48:35 pm

At times I wish I did have some place, time or trick to stimulate my imagination, but sadly I have nothing in that category. The one thing that, since childhood, has stimulated my imagination is boredom. As a child in primary school I was constantly criticized by teachers for ignoring my work to gaze out a window—things like that. Boredom forced me to create my own second secret world. I don’t quite know why, but enjoyed keeping it secret. It was a good choice because later on I realized that being labeled a dreamer was not cool. Therefore I simply became the introverted quiet guy and my smart extroverted friends loved to have me around. I was a real good listener and they never knew that one day they too would have a second life as a character in one of my stories.

9/5/2023 08:30:10 pm

I was quite bored in school also, in the primary grade years. It was also hard to stay out of trouble sometimes. I spent a lot of time gazing out of windows. But I missed the call for the secret world builders and writing club. I loved reading but never felt the urge to write.

Our week has come to an end. Thanks for being a fabulous guest on the Word Refiner channel. I have enjoyed our chat and getting to know you better.

Until next time, keep on writing.

9/6/2023 02:59:42 pm

Happy trails.

Lost and Forgotten: Book Four – Toward the Unknown Region by Maurice Barkley

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