DEUS TEX MACHINA:

The Second Calamity of

QED Morningwood

by Rob Witherspoon

Science Fiction / Humor / Satire

Pages: 163

Publication Date: June 13, 2022

Synopsis

QED “Kid” Morningwood is back with big plans to create a death tourism industry. Working with his old Metaphysics professor from Texas Alchemical and Metaphysical University, he delves the purgatorial realms gathering data for his venture. Standing in their way is university president T. Smedley Stalwart and his band of religious zealots – the Ancient and Loyal Order of the Holy Armadillo. FBI agents Flockham and Morales return to infiltrate and monitor ALOHA.

With the help of brilliant metaphysical engineer Yong Mi Hernandez, safety inspector Conrad Dopplebock, and guided by the wisdom of Cotton Widdershins, the Deus Tex Machina is a success. Sort of.

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Author Interview

1. How do you decide if your main character will be male or female? Kid Morningwood and Cotton Widdershins are essentially a comic duo. They are inspired by P.G. Wodehouse’s Wooster and Jeeves with a nod to Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, and many others. Kid is the buffoon and Cotton is his straight man. I try to write female characters as accurately as my experience allows, but primarily as love interests for Kid.
2. Who are some of the authors you feel were influential to your work? Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was an early influence, but I love British humor. The Kid Morningwood series I’m writing is what I imagined Terry Pratchett (Discworld series), P.G. Wodehouse (Wooster & Jeeves), and Douglas Adams (Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) would have written if they had grown up in rural Texas instead of England.
3. What do you like to read in your spare time? Mysteries, Humor, Crime, Science Fiction, and Historical Fiction are all on my reading list. I try to read a variety of authors, especially women and writers of color to expand my perspective beyond that of old, white men. I already know how I perceive things.
4. What projects are you working on at present? The Kid Morningwood series is a biography in twelve parts. The first two are complete and the rest are in various stages of fabrication. No pun intended. The third, Dearth and Texas, is Kid’s attempt at social justice warfare.
5. What do your plans for future projects include? Along the way, Kid acts as manager/agent for an extraterrestrial, a rebel leader on a distant planet, owner of professional football team, illicit taco smuggler, a vigilante crime fighter, the inventor of a new form of transportation, the president of Texas Alchemical and Metaphysical University, and the reluctant savior of a post-apocalyptic Texas.
6. Do you now or have you ever considered writing under a pen name? I have a historical fiction novel out for queries that might be considered blasphemous. It’s the kind of work that might rile followers of Abrahamic religions. I would consider a pen name to protect my family from retribution.

About the Author

Rob Witherspoon was born and raised in rural Texas. He earned a BA in Physical Education, UT Arlington 1985 and a BS in Aerospace Engineering, UT Arlington 1990. He lives in north central Texas with his wife and youngest daughter and has spent much of his life in rural communities and on the ranch.

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Giveaway

ONE WINNER: Signed copy of DEUS TEX MACHINA; US Only; ends 08/16/24.

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