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	meet Mitchell Bonds  Mitchell Bonds is the twenty-year-old prodigy who has more authorial voice than most novelists three times his age. When Marcher Lord Press first encountered his novel, he was just 19. Hero, Second Class came over the transom, through our acquisitions portal here on the MLP Web site. So take heart, all ye who have submitted your project that way. We do take your proposals very seriously. But there's not much seriously about Mitchell, as you'll soon see.	also see...  Buy this book now!   Cover art and sample chapter from Mitchell's novel, Hero, Second Class Profiles of all the Marcher Lord Press novelists
	the interview  Marcher Lord Press: Tell folks a bit about yourself, Mitch. Mitchell Bonds: I'm from a weird background. My brother and I were both born in Alaska while my dad was stationed there in the U.S. Army, which I suppose explains my deep and abiding hatred of cold weather. By the time I was six, I'd lived in more houses than I was years old . I've never attended public school. I'm certain that if I had they would have doped me down with Ritalin faster than you could say "mind-altering chemicals," because I'm naturally high-energy and hyper. Can't have children like that in today's society, no way. So I went to a Christian school until third grade, and then my wonderful mother homeschooled my brother and me the rest of the way . I'm very much a people-person. I get along with individuals who span the age spectrum, from small children, who think I'm the world's best animated jungle-gym, to older folks ,who appreciate my sense of humor and energy on stage . Speaking of stage, that's another important part of who I am. I love the theatre. I've acted in roles as diverse as Prince Charming to Cinderella's pet dog, from Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof to the Big Bad Wolf. And I love it. It's a chance to put my aforementioned high energy level to some use besides annoying people . But I think mainly, I just love writing. Sometimes I sit and write for hours, just because I can and because the ideas don't stop coming. And that pretty much explains why my book was finished just over a year after I started it . Marcher Lord Press: What is your novel, in a nutshell? Mitchell Bonds: It wouldn't fit in a nutshell, unless the print was very, very small. But if it did, that would be the funniest nut you'd ever have the misfortune to crack open. You know those parts of some fantasy novels where you just sit back, roll your eyes, and say "Ugh, I saw this coming, and I know what's going to happen next, how boring"? In brief, my novel is an attempt to take all of those moments, turn them on their hackneyed heads, and manufacture hilarity out of cliché . It's also just a rollicking good time, with an epic adventure, magic, swordfighting, far too many attempts at humor, and more puns than you can shake a Stick of Intense Shaking at. Think Monty Python meets Shrek and Lord of the Rings, and you just about have it . Marcher Lord Press: What's cool about your book? Why should I, a potential reader of your book, read it myself or buy a copy for someone I know? Mitchell Bonds: Well, do you like to laugh? Do you like action-adventure stories? Have you ever read a comic book and loved the overwrought dialogue and narration just because it was so silly? Ever watched an Anime television show or movie and thought it was almost funny, and would have been if they'd gone one step beyond their stretched idea of common sense? My novel wraps all of these up into one compact package. If you liked the works of Patricia Wrede, Robert Asprin, or Douglas Adams, my book follows in the same tradition, only fantasy-flavored. If you don't like droll interruptions of the combat to explain the physics and dangers of a sword-spin, Heroes who narrate their own combat, and dragons who can hear spelling and punctuation errors, you probably won't be interested . But if you want to see Villains importing lava for their Evil Lairs, getting in trouble for overusing their quota of solar eclipses, and filing environmental impact statements after ravaging the countryside, this is the book for you . If you love Fantasy, you'll love it, because there's nothing better than a roast of something you love. If you hate Fantasy, you'll also love it, because it points out all the ever-present clichés in the genre and makes fun of them . And of course, you should buy it because I get money when you do. I'm trying to get through college here, and every bit helps . Marcher Lord Press: Why is Marcher Lord Press the ideal publisher for your novel? Mitchell Bonds: Marcher Lord Press was perfect for a number of reasons. First, they're the first people who actually wanted to take a look at my manuscript, a big point in their favor. Second, the biblical worldview of the company meshes quite nicely with my own. Third, they specialize in Fantasy and Sci-Fi, my two favorite genres . Aside from that, they're contributing to the good side of an often-despised genre: "Christian Fiction." MLP is redeeming this overwrought, cliché-ridden genre one novel at a time, and I'm hoping my own will add to the short list of those Christian novels that aren't scorned by secular readers . It's also important to me that I'm able to help a small but worthwhile company like MLP get started. If my book gains it some stature and visibility in the literary community, so much the better for both parties. A giant company would have had me on a several-month waiting list to get my manuscript read, or to receive a letter saying "Sorry, we're not interested." MLP got back to me right away, and well, here I am, getting published just a few months later. If that's not a good reason to call MLP ideal, I don't know what is . Marcher Lord Press: What do you hope to accomplish with this novel? Mitchell Bonds: I want to make people laugh. It's been one of the things I've been best at for a very long time . It would also be nice to have written some fiction from a Christian worldview that doesn't get scorned for being preachy or naive by secular reviewers. The novel doesn't have some sinister ulterior motive like convincing the readers that Communism is evil or that there should be no taxes, or the like. It's just for fun, plain and simple . On a personal level, this is an attempt to keep alive the spirit of a game I used to play with my friends, a game set in a world very similar to the one of the book. Hero, Second Class, and the entire Hero Complex series, is my recovery of the good times I had playing it with the guys, not wanting to let go of the fun . And on a career level, I want this book to get me some recognition as an author. I wanna be famous. That's not too much to ask, right? Marcher Lord Press: Are there more books in you? If so, what might some of them be? Mitchell Bonds: Well, yeah. The story's not done at the end of Hero, Second Class. As is traditional with Fantasy works the book must have a sequel. I plan on finishing the story in a second book (or third, if I can't finish it in the second), and going from there . Not satisfied with satirizing the Fantasy genre, my next target will probably be the Science Fiction genre. As I evilly rub my palms together in glee, know that I have amusing plans for this novel whenever I finish my current project . And after that? Well, I'm a writer by nature. I can't help but write. I never know what will inspire me next. And when it does, I jot it down for future reference. Just keep watching MLP, people. I'll be publishing stuff through them as long as they'll tolerate me . Marcher Lord Press: Have you written other Christian speculative fiction? If so, what? Mitchell Bonds: No, I haven't. I drew a little comic book one time when I was eight, though, featuring Commander Cat, a feline superhero of some sort who saved the world but also read his Bible. Don't ask me where it is now. It is safely hidden away, never to be discovered and/or used as blackmail against me. Marcher Lord Press: Where can folks go to read more of your stuff? Mitchell Bonds: Well, I honestly don't have a lot out, but you can find some random short stories and the like on DeviantArt.com. I've drawn some crummy Gryphons and such as well, so if you don't mind bad fiction and worse artwork, take a look at my page there . Marcher Lord Press: Finally, and most importantly, i f you could travel to any time period or alternate world, what would it be and why? Mitchell Bonds: You know, that's an awfully tough choice. I've read so widely that that decision is nearly impossible. But enough waffling . If I had to pick just one, I would love to be magically transported into the world created by Patricia C. Wrede in her Enchanted Forest Chronicles. A land where Heroes are common, Dragons are friendly, Wizards are evil, and all you need to have a grand old time is a magic sword. Those novels comprise my favorite fantasy series, and I wouldn't mind spending a great deal of time in that world . If I can't travel to the world I made up, Wrede's is a close second. Her politics make sense, her economics make sense, and her rules for magic are easy to follow. Any random tourist such as myself could certainly survive a trip there, even with no special powers, and might even have a good time, provided that said tourist doesn't run afoul of the Wizards, or look too much like a questing Knight, and become dragon lunch. If you can't enjoy cranky wooden gargoyles that answer the phone for you and Wizards that melt when lemon-scented mop water gets thrown on them, you wouldn't like it there. But I can say for certain that I plan to take my next trans-dimensional vacation there . that's all from Mitch Be sure to see the cover art and sample chapter from Mitch's novel, Hero, Second Class, and to visit Mitchell Bonds online. And don't miss the profiles of his fellow Marcher Lord Press novelists.

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