Today I have a special treat for everyone. C.S Boyack’s lovely assistant, Lisa Burton, is touring blogs to promote his latest book: The Playground. She is here to give her opinion on the combination of magic and technology. As a very advanced robot herself, I’m sure Lisa has some unique insight into this. Also, I should make another apology for anything Lloyd said when she interviewed him. Welcome, Lisa.
Lisa Burton
Hi Charles, thanks for inviting me. Craig said you wanted to know about the mixing of technology and magic in stories.
As a robot girl, I never would have believed it possible, but the more I read the more I come across it. There is a bit of mixing in The Playground too.
This story involves a series of high-tech dolls for children. They contain access to The Playground Network, designed especially for children. These things talk to the kids, and understand just like a real person. You know, high-tech.
There is also a high-tech drug in the story called Microbe-Bots lotion. This lotion is programmable and can target specific amino acids, cancer cells, and other things.
That’s all right in my wheelhouse as a robot. That’s stuff I can get behind. Craig added the netherworld, with an angel of death, ghosts, and a Hoodoo practitioner that does strange things with a human finger.
Somehow, Craig managed to pull it all off and it makes a pretty good story. I think there is no limit for a creative author. If you want to mix technology with magic there’s no reason you can’t. Craig did it once before, in Panama, only that was all steam tech. The trick is to sell it well, and that usually involves research.
Don’t let Craig fool you, I do most of his research. He filters through it for the pieces he likes.
While I’m here, Craig always makes me bring posters to his hosts. This one is me with a dog that plays a prominent role in the story. We were supposed to have a nice hugging pose, but he’s kind of a bad dog.
There is a cherry 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge in the book. I have a swag deal that lets me keep everything I pose with. I didn’t want the stupid dog and sent him back. He would have scared Bunny, my pet rabbit. I would have kept that GTO though.
Thanks, Lisa!
You can Pre-Order THE PLAYGROUND Now!
Click the Cover Below!
The Playground by C.S. Boyack
Blurb
The hottest toys of the Christmas Season are the Playground Network dolls. They contain a worldwide social network for children. Except, the network is controlled by a ruthless businessman with dreams of power.
To reach his goals he turns to the occult. Will our children make up his personal army? Could we have an enemy soldier in every home?
Gina Greybill is a cancer survivor who stumbles into her own brush with the paranormal. She wants nothing to do with it, but may be the only one who can bring down the Playground Network. To do it she’ll have to embrace her new situation, and recover the next generation of Playground software.
There is competition for the software in the form of a brutal thug named Clovis. He’s bigger, more ruthless, and more experienced. To top it all off, he has a head start.
The Playground is suitable for more mature readers, due to violence and mature themes.
This is it. These are your Bloggers Bash Awards. BIG thank you to everyone who made suggestions. The committee spent an entire evening discussing all of them. Lots of them were similar or connected to each other, so rather than take each one specifically we have tried to incorporate as many as possible under the awards we have chosen.
You can find more information here, information about the venue 
