I’d like to welcome Charles Breakfield of Breakfield and Burkey back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Things you never want to run out of: Wine for Breakfield and champagne for Burkey.

Things you wish you’d never bought: The silver handled turnip twaddler for Burkey’s birthday.

Things you need for your writing sessions: We both need quiet and coffee to write in the mornings.

Things that hamper your writing: In two words: Distractions and interruptions.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Breakfield and Burkey scripting out their next thriller/mystery.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Breakfield and Burkey scripting out their next thriller/mystery if the wine has run out.

Things you always put in your books: We always have our AI enhanced supercomputer ICABOD in all our books.

Things you never put in your books: Weak, wimpy, whiny females. We like strong willed, determined females, both good and bad.

Things to say to an author: “I’ve always enjoyed your work.”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “Are you kidding with that crap you sort of write?”

People you’d like to invite to dinner: Winston Churchill and J.R.R. Tolkien.

People you’d cancel dinner on: Any billionaire.

Favorite things to do: For Burkey, it’s having a cook-a-thon with her children and grandchildren. For Breakfield, it’s catering the heavy weapons for a clandestine operation to destabilize 3rd world dictators and cruel military juntas.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: For Breakfield, it’s changing diapers. For Burkey, being on time.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Burkey loves to zipline anytime she gets a chance. Her big passion is the longest zipline in Dubai.

Something you chickened out from doing: Bungy jumping from the ISS space station.

The funniest thing to happen to you: Breakfield and Burkey were in Brazil at Iguazu falls and lost track of our hired driver who was supposed to get us to our plane with the bags. We were in a panic but finally found him drinking coffee and daydreaming. With only minutes to spare we got to the airport but couldn’t find our passports that Charles had in his hand.

The most embarrassing thing to happen to you: Breakfield had to watch his highly agitated software developer in a heated discussion with the customer, fall backwards out of his chair after he bounced too hard in it.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: “I didn’t want to feel sorry for the antagonist, but I couldn’t help myself.” (The Enigma Source.)

The craziest thing a reader said to you: “You guys made that up! That technology can’t be real.” As technologists for over 25 years, we eviscerated them at the book signing, politely of course.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Rox and Charles have been known to save discarded furniture in the neighborhood and restore it. Tables and chairs are our specialty.

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: One of the rebuilt chairs did not come out as desired and was christened “Franken-chair” due to its large size and list to one side.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: Breakfield once got tangled up with a bank robber while trying to sell mutual funds. Robert made into book #2 The Enigma Rising.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: Many people believe that Gretchen, the evil femme fatal in The Enigma Stolen, is patterned after Rox Burkey, but that is untrue.

About Breakfield and Burkey:

Breakfield and Burkey have created award-winning stories that resonate with men and women, with a fresh perspective on technology possibilities within a fictional framework. They have two technothriller series, The Enigma Series and Enigma Heirs. They ventured into writing cozy mysteries with the Underground Authors in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles. Their newest short story collection complements their novella and individual short stories. Their love of children’s imagination prompted them to create the delightful story and activity book The Dream. Reach out directly to Authors@EnigmaSeries.com or visit their website at: https://www.EnigmaSeries.com.

Let’s Be Social:

Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/_56u3VjXIko?si=nYDBTryira1vNP31

Website: https://www.EnigmaSeries.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEnigmaSeries

Blog: https://enigmabookseries.com/enigma-series-blog/ and https://roxburkey.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesbreakfield/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxanneburkey/

Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/EnigmaSeries

https://twitter.com/1rburkey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEnigmaSeries https://www.facebook.com/roxanne.burkey.50

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/enigmseries/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enigmabookseries/

I’d like to welcome the one and only Alan Orloff to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday on Thanksgiving. Alan gave me one of the best pieces of writing advice early in my writing life, BICFOK (Butt in Chair, Fingers on Keyboard). He’s right. Check out his interview and his new novel.

Things you need for your writing sessions: a computer and a chair (usually, but not always)

Things that hamper your writing: that Internet thing

Hardest thing about being a writer: The muddle in the middle

Easiest thing about being a writer: Writing Facebook posts

Favorite beverage: water

Something that gives you a sour face: any hot beverage (I know, weird)

Favorite smell: Freshly baked bread is pretty awesome.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Cooked cheese. (It grosses me out even typing that.)

Something you’re really good at: I’m really good at the carnival game where you squirt water into the clown’s mouth to blow up and pop a balloon. Like really good. If this was an Olympic sport, you’d see me on the podium.

Something you’re really bad at: Singing. Like really bad.

The last thing you ordered online: Barley (I know, weird)

The last thing you regret buying: Compact floating light-up pool fountain (I know, sounds great, but it didn’t work. Alas…)

Things to say to an author: I really enjoy your work

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I’d like your work if the characters were more likable/real/unlikable/relatable/humorous/serious/whatever.

Favorite places you’ve been: Hawaii

Places you never want to go to again: Genoa, Italy. The entire city smells really bad (at least the night I spent there).

Best thing you’ve ever done: Married my wife and started a family

Biggest mistake: Pulling ivy off the trelliswork in the backyard. All of a sudden, the ivy released and I fell backward, landing on my lawnmower. I think I broke a bone in my back. This was about fifteen years ago, and my back still hurts from time to time.

Besides writing, what’s the most creative thing you’ve done: Constructed built-in floor-to-ceiling bookcases

A project that didn’t quite turn out the way you planned it: Tried to build a water fountain next to the back deck. It did not work.

Some real-life story that made it to one of your books: I went on a ride-along with a local police department, and I used one of our calls as the opening scene in a novel called…Ride-Along.

Something in your story that readers think is about you, but it’s not: My second and third books were part of the Last Laff mystery series, featuring a stand-up comic. Some people thought that I was actually a stand-up comic. Um, no.

About Alan:

Alan Orloff has published ten novels and more than forty-five short stories. His work has won an Anthony, an Agatha, a Derringer, and two ITW Thriller Awards. His latest novel is SANCTUARY MOTEL, from Level Best Books. He loves cake and arugula, but not together. Never together. He lives and writes in South Florida, where the examples of hijinks are endless.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://alanorloff.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alanorloff

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/alanorloff

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alanorloff/