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Author Interview: Patti Liszkay on Equal and Opposite Reactions

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Good morning, everyone! Today I am interviewing Patti Liszkay from the Indie Eden Book Club on her romantic comedy novel, Equal and Opposite Reactions. It is about two divorced people who find that they have a lot more things (and people) in common than they expected. Let’s see what Patti has to say about her book, and about her life as a writer.

 

 

 

Welcome to the blog, Patti! Let’s start with an important question: Which typical author interview question do you hate the most?

About the only question I dread is apparently an important one, always asked by interviewers and the first one every potential agent or publisher wants an answer to before they’ll even look at your manuscript: Who’s your target audience?  That question – along with its corollaries, Who did you write your novel for? Who will your novel appeal to? And why? – is the worst for me. Now, it’s an easy enough question to answer, I suppose, if your novel fits into a specific genre, as all novels are supposed to. Then you can answer the question with, “Well, my target audience is people who like a romance,” because your novel is a romance, or “I wrote my novel for people who like historical fiction,” because that’s what your novel is, or “My book will appeal to teens who like young adult science fiction,” etc.

But I feel like my novel, though it’s categorized as a romantic comedy, doesn’t quite fit that category  or any category I know the name of;  hence whenever I’m asked the above question I find I can’t answer it without feeling like I have a whole lot of ‘splaining to do besides just calling it a romantic comedy.

Ooops! I was planning to ask you that later on… In the meantime, can you give us a short description of your book?

Sure. Equal and Opposite Reactions is, okay, a “romantic comedy” of errors ― lots and lots of errors ― set in working-class Northeast Philadelphia where I grew up and told in the urban voices I heard growing up there. The story tells of the chain of events that unwinds when Sally Miller, a newly-divorced, financially and emotionally struggling young mother and Silvio Jablonski, a broken hearted plumber who shows up to fix Sally’s toilet, learn to their shock that they have something strangely in common. This discovery both pulls them into a relationship and leads them down a rabbit hole that causes their lives to become entwined with a constellation of characters around the Philadelphia area including Sally’s over-extended, real-estate-managing ex-husband, Silvio’s seductive, sexually manipulative ex-wife, a shady South Philadelphia salvage yard operator, a desperate young family of undocumented Nicaraguan immigrants and the African American lawyer who becomes their advocate. The story covers issues of divorce, including the financial and child custody struggles, the challenges of blended families, the legal system, the anger, and the healing. It also covers timely immigration issues as Sally and Silvio struggle over how to follow their consciences and their hearts when faced with the ethical and personal dilemmas that swirl around their befriending of the young undocumented couple who are also struggling to make a better life for their American-born child.

Okay, now for the dreaded question. Who is your target audience for this novel? What do you think will appeal to them about your book?

Ackk! I knew it was coming! (Sigh) Okay:  I’d say women for sure, because the story has to do with a young struggling single mother and there is the romantic aspect. But there are also several story lines unspooling throughout the novel that involve a lot of different characters:  city characters, quirky characters, gay characters, straight characters, white characters, characters of color, nice characters, not-so-nice characters. And there’s also a lot of sex in the mix, and, you know, people like sex, so hopefully that would widen the reader pool. And despite the heavy issues covered, divorce, child custody, immigration, sexual manipulation, it is a comedy at heart, if not always a light-hearted one. So hopefully anybody who likes a good laugh, or likes a good cry, or likes to laugh ‘til they cry ― or anyone who likes a lot of Philly flavor, which the book also has ― will find Equal and Opposite Reactions appealing.

Great answer! That wasn’t so bad, was it? :P Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

Well, I love Phillip Roth and William Styron and Tom Wolf – one reader told me that my writing style in Equal and Opposite Reactions reminds them of Tom Wolf’s style. (Maybe Tom Wolf in kindergarten). And nobody can create a character that tugs at your heart like Anne Tyler. And you know whose work is great and has always really inspired me in the craft of writing? W.S. Gilbert, who wrote the words to the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. His use of the English language is so witty and ingenious that one could get a great education on the clever use of words just by listening to Gilbert and Sullivan. (Which I do. A lot).

When you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

I’d say that I start out with a general idea, a beginning and an ending, at least. As I start getting more ideas I like to make a flow chart and a time line. And I know how I want the story to develop and what I want the characters to say. But then as I start writing, the story starts going its own way and the characters won’t say or do what I want then to, so then, yes, I do capitulate and let the story and the characters follow their own courses. Weird, isn’t it, how when you’re writing your mind can take over your mind?

That’s one of the things I love most about writing. :) So, how did your book come to be published? What was your journey to publication like? Did you get a lot of rejection letters before you finally saw your name in print?

Equal and Opposite Reactions started out as a short story ― I used to write short stories for  magazines  back when commercial magazines used to publish more short stories than they do these days ― anyway, it started out as a short story I wrote for First For Women called “He Looked Nothing Like Prince Charming.”  A couple of years later, when I was in my playwriting phase, I expanded the story of “He Looked Nothing Like Prince Charming” and wrote it into a play that I called “Equal and Opposite Reactions” which I submitted to many producers, all of whom rejected it. But then one producer, who also rejected it, wrote back, “This is a really good story but there are too many children and too many set changes. Staging would be difficult.” That was like a “Bingo!” moment for me that my play was meant to be a novel. So I took a few years writing Equal and Opposite Reactions into a novel. In truth it took almost as long to get the book published as it did to write it. It’s not so much that I received a lot of rejections as that I received no response at all from most of the agents and publishers I submitted to. I submitted Equal and Opposite Reactions to almost fifty agents or publishers before it was accepted for publication by “Black Rose Writers.”

That is quite a journey! Did you pick up any tips for writers along the way?

Oodles. First, my advice to fledging writers is to absolutely subscribe to the “Writer’s Digest,” a monthly magazine full of advice on the craft of writing, how and where to submit, plus interesting writer interviews and pieces on the writing life. It also lists writers’ contests and events and sponsors its own contests as well.

Another piece of advice: The latest edition of “The Writer’s Market” should be every writer’s bible on where to submit manuscripts. This book, published yearly by Writer’s Digest, lists all the reputable literary agents, book and magazine publishers and also lists writing contests around the country. Or if one writes a specific genre, one could rather buy one of the “Writer’s Market” genre books, such as “Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market,” which is the one I buy, “Poet’s Market,” “Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market,” etc. But do check out the “Writer’s Market” series. It’s the only submission guide you want.

And one more very important piece of advice: Writers, once your manuscript is finished, post it on “authors.me.” This free-of-charge site is a sort of a headhunter site from which many agents and publishers, such as my publisher Black Rose Writing, prefer to select their submissions for publication. Some agents and publishers require that all submissions to them be made through “authors.me.” Even though submitting through “authors.me” is kind of like applying to an Ivy League college  ― there are pages and pages of required writing samples ― by being required to write out coherent and polished essays including a synopsis, biography, one’s writing history, the sources of one’s inspiration, one’s favorite line of the book, one’s favorite character, etc,  the essays one writes to sell their book to agents and publishers through “authors.me” will be helpful down the road when one needs synopses and blurbs to market one’s book to the public.

That is a lot of really great advice. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Patti!

About the Author

You can find Patti and her books on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and her blog at www.ailantha.com.

About the Book [image error]

Set in working-class Northeast Philadelphia and told in urban voices, Equal And Opposite Reactions is a romantic comedy about the chain of events that follows when Sally Miller, a newly divorced, financially struggling young mother and Silvio Jablonski, a broken-hearted plumber who shows up to fix Sally’s toilet, learn to their shock that they have something strangely in common.

Their discovery both pulls them into a relationship and leads them down a rabbit hole that causes their lives to become entwined with a constellation of characters including Sally’s over-extended, real-estate-managing ex-husband, Silvio’s seductive, sexually manipulative ex-wife, a shady South Philadelphia salvage yard operator, a desperate young family of illegal immigrants and a socially-conscious African-American lawyer who becomes their advocate.

But will the volatile chemistry of human emotions bond Sally and Silvio in love, or tear them apart?

 

The post Author Interview: Patti Liszkay on Equal and Opposite Reactions appeared first on Jessica A. Scott.

Author Interview: Mary K. Tilghman on Divided Loyalties

 

 

Today I am interviewing another Indie Eden Book Club author, Mary K. Tilghman. Her book, Divided Loyalties, is a historical fiction novel about a young woman who wants nothing more than to serve her country in the Civil War. Let’s see what Mary has to say about it, and about her writing process.

 

 

 

Hi Mary! First things first: What is the one question that you wish people would ask you about Divided Loyalties? (And what is the answer?)

Q—Who are the heroes of Divided Loyalties?

A—The nurses on the battlefield. Once I learned about the nurses who gave their time in the field hospitals after the Battle of Antietam —even though many of them were untrained — Divided Loyalties became a different book.

Originally, I wanted my book to be a story about a family rent by the war, heartbroken that their son was in the battle now known as the bloodiest day of battle in American history. But then I learned about Smoketown, the Pry House and other makeshift hospitals where women, some as young as Maureen but usually much older, did their best to keep suffering young men alive in the raging heat and the bitterest of winters. I even came across a reunion booklet for nurses who served during the Civil War complete with photos and short biographies of real Civil War nurses.

If I was going to write about strong women, and if I was going to write about ordinary people in extraordinary times, I had to revise my story and make Maureen want to be one of those amazing women. No matter the costs.

That is a very admirable goal! Now on the other hand, which typical author interview question do you hate the most?

I’ve been a reporter for 40 years. Every question is a good one and I’m happy to answer them as well as I can.

Can you give us a short description of your book?

Divided Loyalties is a Civil War story for girls. I don’t think women read about the Civil War the way men do. And yet here were all these women serving their country as battlefield nurses. I thought this was something women and girls would find interesting.

Maureen is an 18-year-old Irish immigrant fiercely loyal to her new country and determined to serve it when the Civil War breaks out. Her mother quietly supports her but her father is dead set against her going beyond their Sharpsburg farm. Though she may defy him, Maureen will find all kinds of hindrances in her way: the loss of her young man, disease and injury and a man with a gun.

Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

I consider Jane Austen my novel-writing hero. She has wit and style and a keen eye for the way people think and act. And she really knows how to tell a story.

Good choice! Your own book is in the historical fiction genre. What drew you to this genre? Do you also like to read books in this genre?

I fell into it on a visit to Valley Forge. I was visiting with my family and as we walked around the battlefield I learned about women who lived alongside their men on that horrible cold winter during the Revolutionary War. I knew then I wanted to write about ordinary people in extraordinary times.

I read a lot of historical fiction. I love World War II fiction, including All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I recently read some terrific stories, including Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks, The Ruins of Lace by Irish Anthony and Call me Zelda by Erika Robuck. I met Erika at the book-signing with Nora Roberts — and discovered we are alumnae of the same high school.

Wow, that is so cool. That must be one great high school! :) Who is your target audience for this Divided Loyalties? What do you think will appeal to them about your book?

I wrote this book for mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters. I grew up discussing books my mother loved and wanted to share with me: Jane Eyre, Seventeenth Summer, everything Daphne du Maurier wrote. I want to write books women will share with their daughters, their grandmothers and other women who are important in their lives.

I hope Divided Loyalties will appeal across generations. It has a sweet love story but it is much more than that. It’s about a teenaged girl getting in over her head, defying the odds, building her own confidence and reaching out to help others even when it’s uncomfortable.

When you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

I do a little of both. I have a general outline with some vague character sketches. Then I write by the seat of my pants. The end of the book shocked me; I had no idea it would end as it did. Although I do research as I write, I go back after I’m through a revision to thoroughly research and fact-check every detail so I can to make the history as real as possible.

That sounds like a good strategy. I know some authors (like me) can get bogged down with the details if they do TOO much research while they’re writing. I have always found it best to write first, fact-check later!

So, d o you have any quirky writing habits?

I interview my characters. Aloud. I like to hear how they sound; let them argue with me; try out dialogue. Interviewing comes naturally after so many years of newspaper work. But stop by my house when I’m writing and I may be talking up a storm with my characters. We have some jolly conversations.

Haha I love that! Aside from conducting interviews, do you have any writing tips for other writers?

Write, write, write. Write what you feel. Write what is true. Trust yourself and your work. And then revise everything. Get a critique partner or group and share and discuss your work.

What would you say is the best way to market your book once it’s written? With which method have you had the most success so far?

This is my first book. Marketing has been a bigger challenge than writing the book. My best day was a great one, however. I was invited to join in a book signing with Nora Roberts when she released Year One at Turn the Page Bookstore in Boonsboro, Md. These book-signings are very popular among Nora fans with long lines of readers waiting their turn to buy books and have them signed. I was the opening act, bringing my book and sitting at the first table. There were six or seven other authors between me and Nora. But I adored the opportunity to speak to all of her fans, tell them about my book and ask about what books they were buying. (And I sold out of my stack of books.)

That’s amazing, what a great opportunity! Going back to the beginning, though, how did your book come to be published? What was your journey to publication like? Did you get a lot of rejection letters before you finally saw your name in print?

I reached a point where I thought it was ready: revised, read and critiqued by my critique group, edited by a pro and revised again. Then I set a goal to send it to every publisher I could. I got rejection after rejection and then one day the publisher of Black Rose Writing sent me an offer.

Is being a published author everything you dreamed it would be? If not, how is it different? Is there anything you would change about it?

I have loved sharing Maureen’s story with so many readers. It’s been fun having people come up to me and ask about Eliza, Joe, Ernestine, Angela and Patricia. And I’ve been thrilled at the wonderful things people have said: “a balanced approach to the complexity of the time, ” “a wonderful job capturing historic details and realities of life in Maryland at that time,” “a romance is woven amidst the war story, making for a delightful read,” and, this was from a young man with a sly sense of humor: “a little like ‘Little House on the Prairie’ on steroids.”

I like that analogy! Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Maureen!

About the Author:

Mary K. Tilghman, a Baltimore native, published her first novel, DIVIDED LOYALTIES, in the summer of 2017. Four others, all historical fiction mostly based in Maryland, are in the works. One, a novella, recounts the days when two of the characters in Divided Loyalties met their husbands 30 years before the war.

Mary has been a journalist, travel writer and blogger for nearly 40 years. She has written for community newspapers in Baltimore, Baltimore County and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. She also wrote six editions of Frommer’s Maryland and Delaware (2002-2012) and one edition of the Insider’s Guide to Baltimore.

You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and her blog at maryktilghmanwrites.com.

About the Book:

When Union and Confederate soldiers march by eighteen-year-old Maureen’s Sharpsburg farm, she must choose where her loyalties lie. Will she stand with family or country?

After the Battle of Antietam, Maureen decides to listen to her heart and volunteer as a battlefield nurse. But her father forbids it and demands she stay home to help care for the farm. The young soldier who loves her fears for her safety. Danger and disease follow her every step of the way.

Illness and a tragic turn of events threaten to derail Maureen’s mission. When the young woman finds herself a patient in her own hospital, burning up with fever, she questions whether she can go on. In these, the darkest of days, Maureen struggles to summon the strength she needs for the work she is called to do.

The post Author Interview: Mary K. Tilghman on Divided Loyalties appeared first on Jessica A. Scott.

Show Me Your Best Portrait of a Sunset Contest Details

SHOW ME YOUR BEST PORTRAIT OF A SUNSET CONTEST

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My all-time favorite sunset at the beach in Sicily in 2016.

 

Beginning on January 12th, 2018, you can enter to win a free paperback copy of my novel, Portrait of a Sunset. And just how do you enter, exactly? By sending me YOUR best portrait (or in this case, photo) of a sunset!

Using the hashtag #portraitofasunset, you can post your photos to my Facebook page, on Twitter, or on Instagram. On February 16th, I will choose the best of the best of these spectacular, real-life sunsets, and the winner will receive a free paperback copy of Portrait of a Sunset. Two runners-up will receive the ebook version, so even if you don’t win the top prize, you can still win!

All of the winning photos will be featured on my website and social media pages, along with some of my favorite honorable mentions.

Before you get out your camera, though, here are the rules:

You can only submit one sunset photo for consideration, across all media.
You must be located in the U.S. to win (sorry, but shipping costs are outrageous these days!).
You must have been the one who took the photo – no using photos from other websites and submitting them as your own!
No nudity or vulgarity in photos, please.

Other than that, have fun chasing the sun! I’m looking forward to seeing all of your photos. :)

[The winners will be contacted on February 16, 2018. Once I have their contact details, I will send their prizes right away.]

 

The post Show Me Your Best Portrait of a Sunset Contest Details appeared first on Jessica A. Scott.

5 Great Facebook Groups Indie Authors Should Join Today

Happy 2018, everyone! :)

2017 was a very busy year for me, so I didn’t have as much time to devote to my blog as I would have liked. I was able to interview tons of great authors (check the archives page to read their interviews!), but I didn’t have a chance to make many other types of posts.

This year, though, I’m making a new resolution: to provide monthly (if not weekly) posts jam-packed with resources for my fellow indie authors. Being an indie author is hard work, and no one should have to go it alone. I want to create a place where indie authors can find information easily and succinctly, without having to sift through eighteen different “101 Ways to Make It as an Author” posts. There is a lot of information out there, and not all of it is the best. So, I am going to do my best to distill some of that information here on my website, so that people can find what they need all in one place. And you can rest assured that everything I write about is something that I personally have tried or know a lot about, so I can let you know whether it really works (at least for me), or not.

The first thing I want to discuss are Facebook writing groups. Writing is a pretty solitary art, so it is good to get out there and meet other people who are going through the same struggles and successes as you are. Your best friend the engineer might not care that much that you found the perfect name for the main character in your latest book, but the members of a writing group sure will!

Online writing groups are the perfect place to learn about new writing contests and opportunities, as well as to get new ideas about how to market your book, or how to get over a bad case of writer’s block. It also helps you to grow your network: you can never have too many connections in your field!

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of writing groups out there, but I have narrowed it down to five groups I have found that are useful specifically for indie authors. Be careful when you join though: a lot of groups have certain rules about posting promotions for your book (And anyway, nobody likes someone who is always “on,” and always trying to promote their book to death. Don’t be that guy.), and about what you can and can’t post, so always be sure to read the group’s guidelines before posting.

Without any further ado, here are five of the best author groups I have found on Facebook so far. Each of them caters to a different aspect of being an indie author, so you might find that it’s beneficial to join all of them!

(P.S.: Just because a group is listed as a “closed group” doesn’t mean you can’t join it. You just have to be approved by the admin first.)

1. Bookaholic Cafè

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Bookaholic Cafè has close to 25,000 members, and all of them are crazy about books! This group is for both readers and writers who are in love with the written word. The group is mostly composed of authors, both traditionally and independently published, but there are also quite a few readers there who love to give their input on writing topics from the alternate perspective.

In this group, writers can post ads for their books on the weekends only, but that isn’t really the point of the group. The point is to share your love of books with other people who love them as much as you do. So, this is a great place to discuss all the books you love and the authors you admire – and you’ll be sure to pick up a lot of great new reading recommendations here that might inspire you even more!

2. Indie Writers’ Cooperative

With around 3,000 members at the time of this writing, The Indie Writers’ Cooperative doesn’t have quite as many members as the Bookaholic Cafè, but this is actually a good thing! While your post might get lost in the sea of posts in a group that is enormous, here your post is much more likely to get the responses you’re hoping for. This group is aimed specifically at indie authors, and its goal is to help these authors find support for any and every issue they might come up against. For example, the other day someone made a post about a problem with Microsoft Word, and others responded with tips and tricks for solving that problem and making typing one’s manuscript a lot easier.

In this group, no promotion is allowed which, for me, is a good thing, because it helps the members to focus on helping each other, not pitching each other.

3. Calls for Submission (Poetry, Fiction, Art)

As a disclaimer, I haven’t had as much experience with this group as I have with the others on this list, but it seems to be a pretty great group. As the name implies, members post calls for submissions from websites and publishers, which can be great for authors looking for a place to send their work. This cuts down on a lot of internet searching, and the sense of community (and we’re talking a big community: this group has well over 50,000 members) can definitely ease the pain of any rejection letters you might receive during your submissions process!

4. Indie Books Promotion!

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Now if you really, absolutely just have to have a place to promote your book, Indie Books Promotion! is a great place to do it. You can post an ad for your book any day of the week (but you can only make one post per day), and you can check out all the other books posted by your fellow authors as well. The only downside to this group (and really, any other author group), is that if you’re an author, your target audience isn’t really other authors. So, the chances of getting more sales from posting in this group may be on the slim side, but it does give you a chance to meet a lot of other authors who are just like you.

5. Indie Eden Book Club

Now this one is obvious… If you keep up with me on Facebook or this website, you’ll know that I started the Indie Eden Book Club last year, to create a place for indie authors to meet and find readers for their books. Authors submit their book via the instructions in one of the group docs, and then every two weeks we start reading a new one. The other members of the group buy the book, and we all discuss it together, which not only gives the author some insight into how his or her book is received by readers, but also gives them more sales without having to pitch their brains out.

Promotion is banned in this group as well, but if you send a direct message to the admin (me), you can make a request to send out some ARCs of your newest book to the other group members as well (whether we will be reading it in the book club or not), so that you can get some more reviews on Amazon on your book’s release date.

 

Have you joined any of these groups? Are there any other Facebook groups that are good for indie authors? Let me know in the comments! This list is only a tiny fraction of all the great groups out there, so I’ll surely be making another list in the future!

Until then, good luck with your writing!

The post 5 Great Facebook Groups Indie Authors Should Join Today appeared first on Jessica A. Scott.

Author Interview: Matt Doyle on Addict

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Today’s author interview is with Matt Doyle, member of the Indie Eden Book Club and author of Addict. Addict is about a Private Investigator named Cassie Tam, who finds a lot more than she bargained for when she investigates the apparent overdose of her client’s brother. Let’s see what Matt has to say about the book, and about his journey as a writer.

 

 

 

Welcome, Matt! To get us started, can you give us a short description of your book?

Of course. Addict is the first book in a series of near future crime novels about Cassie Tam, a Chinese-Canadian PI working the fictional city of New Hopeland. In this case, she is hired to investigate the death of a local VR junkie. While she initially expects to find that the police were right to call it an accidental overdose on synthetic stimulants – a lot of VR junkies die this way in New Hopeland – she soon starts to find evidence that the case is not what it seems. To complicate matters further, she also starts to find herself falling for her client, the deceased’s sister Lori. So, what we have in essence is a hard-boiled detective tale set in the near future with a F/F romantic subplot, that plays out a little like an Urban Fantasy novel.

That sounds great! Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

Oh, plenty. Terry Pratchett has always been one of my favourites. I started reading his Discworld series when I was about nine or ten, and I haven’t looked back since. Neil Gaiman too is an author whose work I’ve followed for a long time. In more recent years, I’ve been reading a lot more Urban Fantasy, and am a big fan of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series and Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series.

Your own book is in the sci-fi and noir genres. What drew you to these genres? Do you also like to read books in these genres?

Most of my work falls broadly within the sci-fi genre, but I like to throw other things in to add a bit of spice to it. When you look at my first series, The Spark Form Chronicles, for example, the basis of the tale is to question whether an AI can ever actually be considered alive. That is in itself very sci-fi. At the same time though, the way the story is set out draws in a lot of stuff from other places, like collectible card gaming, professional wrestling, anime and so on.

With The Cassie Tam Files, it all kinda came about at random. I was basically playing an online fighting game – BlazBlue Central Fiction on the PS3 if you’re wondering – and the idea to do a mystery novel struck me. When I finally did sit down to start on it, I decided to binge watch a few films that fit with what I wanted to go for in one way or another. So, I watched Blade Runner, The Maltese Falcon and L.A. Confidential. I do read within the genres (I quite enjoyed Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon for example), but focused on the films for this one because I tend to like drawing inspiration from wherever feels right at the time. Moving forward with the series for example, there’s actually going to be a touch of The X-Files and some bits that kinda fit with the anime, Psycho Pass. When it comes to literary influences for the novel, I actually took more from Urban Fantasy, because I tend to junk out on the stuff when I have the time. I like the way stuff like the Mercy Thompson books play out, and I wanted to incorporate that into the story to a degree.

As to what drew me to the genres … with sci-fi it’s just what I’m most familiar with. I grew up reading sci-fi, fantasy and horror, and a lot of my TV habits fit with this: Farscape, Star Trek: TNG, and the Battlestar Galactica Remake all get multiple viewings with me. It’s not even so much the space setting that grabs me with them – though that is cool – it’s the characters. When it came to sci-fi settings, I always kinda enjoyed the more run-down and slightly dystopian outlooks, like RoboCop and Alien. With the noir side of it, I really like certain types of mysteries. L.A. Confidential I chose to watch in the lead-up to writing because I loved the corrupt side of things, with the underlying message that the good guys don’t always win. At the same time, hard-boiled detectives always make me smile. They tend to be quite tough, but incredibly faulted. They have their justice, and they really throw themselves at that concept, but they aren’t above acting like the bad guys too. Mixing those two types of world just felt right in this case.

That’s a really interesting answer! And I can definitely see all of those influences in your book (which I can’t put down, by the way).

Moving on to your readers now, who is your target audience for this book? What do you think will appeal to them about Addict?

It’s odd I think, but I tend not to write with specific target audiences in mind. I just write the stories that I want to, and see where it fits afterwards. Terrible, I know. In the case of Addict, it really comes down to what you want from your sci-fi and crime novels. At 56,000 words, it’s a quick read. What that means in this case is that I don’t go into high detail about how the tech works, and while there are some twists in the mystery, it’s not going to be for people who only like the longer mysteries like Stieg Larsson’s Millenium series.

No, I think that the ideal reader for Addict is someone who likes soft or urban sci-fi, and easy-read pulp crime. The thing with it is that it plays out like a TV show presenting the genres in a monster of the week format. You could view it as a single episode or TV special with a promise of more to come. And there certainly will be that; the second book is signed to the same publishing house, and I’m almost done with the first draft of book three.

I’m the same way! I tend to let the story choose it’s own genre (even if some “experts” would say that that’s not the way to go!). In this same vein, when you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

I’m part way between the two. I tend to make some notes to guide myself through the main points of the story, then just start writing and let it flow. Usually, I hit a point and realise that I should have planned more out, and end up having to scramble stuff together to make sure that everything is going to tie up the way I intended. I never quite learn that lesson.

The Cassie Tam Files is unusual for me as a series in that regard, as I have masses of notes relating to books I haven’t started writing in the series yet. The reason for that is that, while each book is designed to be its own enclosed mystery, there are things going on the background that will be picked up later too. There’s a bigger mystery running behind it all that will pay off later, and it’s important to know where that is heading. I need to know which hints to drop when, and how they’ll all come together in the end, or things will get very disjointed, very quickly.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?

I have to write with music. I honestly can’t write in silence because I get distracted far too easily. If there’s music on in the background, it’s like there’s a constant distraction there to draw that part of me in, and the rest of me can just get on with it. I find that if I pick the right playlist, it really helps me with the feel of my writing too.

That’s a good idea! Do you have any other writing tips for other authors?

I actually got this advice from someone regarding something other than writing. You see, I spent ten years as a professional wrestler, and I once got some advice from former WWE superstar Rob Van Dam whereby he told me that he always worked to build the matches that he wanted to see. If he put on something that he’d enjoy, then the chances were that others would to. I took that advice to heart in the wrestling, and I apply it to my writing too. So, I say this: write the stories that you would want to read. If you do that, you will be happy with them, and the chances are that someone else is going to want to read them too.

Just remember this though: there is no one right way to do this. It’s a creative art. Take advice from as many people as you can, see what makes sense for you, and don’t be afraid to learn.

I think that is some of my favorite advice. (And I’m a bit starstruck now!)

Thinking about marketing, what would you say is the best way to market your book? With which method have you had the most success so far?

I wish I knew! This varies a lot, I find. Honestly, I think that a lot of it comes down to timing. If your advertising focuses on the right part of your book and it happens to catch a trend, you’re in luck, for example. There are so many success stories that there must be a trick to it, but I’m not certain what it is just yet. For me, Twitter ads seem to have worked most times though. Not every time, but most of the time.

How did your book come to be published? What was your journey to publication like? Did you get a lot of rejection letters before you finally saw your name in print?

This particular book has been a lot of fun for me. You see, when I started writing it, I’d decided that my main aim with it was to get it in the hands of an agent or a publisher. If I failed in that, then I had planned to self-publish it, but with the proviso that I wouldn’t start writing the second book until I knew if it was going to sell or not.

So, once I had the thing ready to go, I started sending e-mails to a few publishing houses and agents that I’d approached before with different projects. Now, I know that a lot of people get quite scared at this stage, especially the first time around. Here’s the thing though: even with a slew of rejections, I’ve tended to find that publishing industry professionals are very approachable, and they’ve always been very pleasant in their dealings with me. Honestly, if you behave professionally, you won’t have any issues other than that you won’t strike gold with every e-mail.

While I was doing this, I started seeing people posting about Twitter Pitch Events. If you don’t know what these are, they’re basically events where you tweet about your manuscript, add in a themed hashtag, and agents and publishing houses start reading the tweets. If they like a tweet, that means they’re interested, and you can send them your work. I hadn’t heard of the events before, but after seeing a few success stories, I figured that I’d give them a crack. So, I sent out some tweets about Addict during, PitDark (for dark literature), DVPit (for diverse books) and PitMad (for all sorts of genres).

The thing to note here is that the hosts of the events can’t control who will take part. As such, it pays to do some research into anyone who likes one of your tweets. From what I’ve seen, the vast majority of people involved are all professional, and absolutely fine, but there are always going to be one or two that come in from the vanity publishing end, and then you’re going to have a decision to make as to whether that’s how you want to get your book out there. It’s also worth noting that, just because someone likes your tweet, doesn’t mean that you have to send them your work. You may look them up and decide that said agent or publishing house just isn’t a good fit for you for whatever reason, and that’s fine too.

In my case, one of the likes that I got during PitMad was from NineStar Press. I wasn’t familiar with the publishing house, so I did a quick check and found that they were relatively new, but that they had a decent reputation. They focused on LGBT books, and most importantly to me given the nature of the book, they published genre fiction alongside the more common romance novels. So, I sent them the manuscript.

Now, I was actually really nervous with this one. NSP seemed like they’d be a good fit for the book, and I really felt like it’d do me some good to work with them. Being used to rejections though, when the e-mail response came back, I started reading and got as far them praising the book, then immediately started expecting a ‘but it isn’t for us’. To my absolute joy though, it didn’t happen. They offered me a publishing contract and, after reading through the terms, I signed. I was absolutely over the moon!

Congratulations! It sounds like you really earned it. :) So is being a published author everything you dreamed it would be? If not, how is it different? Is there anything you would change about it?

Thus far, it’s been wonderful for the most part. When it came to self-publishing The Spark Form Chronicles, that was a real learning experience for me. The books have been, and continue to be, far better received than I expected, and I feel like they really enabled me to get an idea of my bearings in the industry.

Addict though, that’s been a real surprise, and in all the right ways. The thing is, NineStar Press take their output very seriously. At the same time though, they aren’t dragons, and every member of staff that I’ve worked with has been really nice. The process of working with them has been really good from start to finish. For one, they gave me three editors. This really ensured that the work was a lot tighter, and it helped me pick up some errors that I’d missed in my self-editing. That one editor was Canadian helped a lot too, as it meant that I could ensure that Cassie was using Canadian slang correctly. After that, I got to work with the cover artist, Natasha Snow. Honestly, I’m really happy with the work that she did for Addict. It stands out among my other books, and just looks so good!

Moving beyond getting the book together, I was also really impressed with NSP’s marketing work. As well as the expected social media posts, they arranged a full blog tour for me, which was a new experience. As someone with a limited budget, having the publisher take some of the burden away and arrange that for me was a huge help.

Of course, once the book is out there, that’s when you start to hit potential snags. I naturally expect people to dislike my work more than they do. My stories can be a bit weird at times, and I know that they don’t check all the boxes for everyone. As it is though, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Most people seem to find more to enjoy with Addict than they don’t, and that’s been really heartening. I’ve made some good friends through working with other authors too, which has been a real bonus for me!

In all, being a published author has been far better than I expected. Would I change anything though? Well … more sales would be nice

Author Interview: Alice Longaker on Wren

Welcome back to my author interview series! Today I am speaking with Indie Eden Book Club member Alice Longaker about her book, Wren. It is a middle-grade novel about a young girl who goes to stay with her grandparents while her mother is battling breast cancer. Let’s see what Alice has to say about the book, and about writing in general.

Hi Alice! First of all, what is the one question that you wish people would ask you about Wren? (And what is the answer?)

What is the difference between Wren and mass-market, commodity fiction? First, I believe there is a place for commodity fiction. I like reading it – it’s fun and is profitable for author and publisher. The difference is in why a book is written. Is it written for a market, to follow a successful trend? Is it published because of a famous name? Or is it a work of the heart, and is it a story that I was compelled to write? Wren is the latter – driven more by character than plot, and a labor of many years.

On the flip side, which typical author interview question do you hate the most?

I don’t recall really disliking any particular question, but in the past there has been the question “How do you do it all–balance a family with writing career?” On one hand, that is a compliment – a perspective that I am “successful” in several arenas. On the other hand, no one asks men that.  I like to quote former Rep. Pat Schroeder who quipped when asked the same question, “I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both.”

I love that quote! :D Can you give us a short description of your book?

Wren is a soon-to-be eighth-grader whose summer is a mix of good and bad, and one can’t be separated from the other. Told in short journal entries that are simple, poetic, sad, and hopeful with all the insecurities and enthusiasm of a typical teenager in summer. While written from this perspective and for girls the same age, there are themes and situations that adults can enjoy and discuss.

Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

Oh, so many! From Ernest Hemingway to Louise Penny. The Brontes. J. K. Rowling. John Steinbeck. Toni Morrison. Jane Austen. I also love poets and find their words influence me a great deal – from Kaveh Akbar to Shakespeare. I believe a good writer will read as much or even more than they write.

Wow, you have a lot of great inspiration to work from! Your own book is in the middle-grade fiction genre. What drew you to this genre? Do you also like to read books in this genre?

As the character of Wren unfolded, I knew she would not fit into the children’s spectrum and not in YA books either. If I had written a book for a market, I certainly would not have chosen such a narrow audience: not just Middle-Grade, but mostly Middle-Grade. I like to read books of all genres. I do like kid’s lit and read some in that area – including picture books. I love YA too. Middle-Grade fiction is a relatively new category for those in-betweeners. I am not a market or commodity writer, I can’t write for a particular age – it’s just a story that grew. I like the purity of the age of those readers – the stirrings of puberty, the high drama of each emotion, their “push me-pull you” relationship with parents.

Who is your target audience for this book? What do you think will appeal to them about your book?

Well, as I stated before, Middle-Grade girls, but it is also a great book for teachers, parents, and librarians. There are several themes that bring safe, worthwhile discussions. I think readers will see something of themselves in Wren. She is an ordinary girl–not the smartest or the prettiest or the favorite. She struggles to establish who she is. She is afraid. And while young teens will identify with Wren’s adventures, I have found adults connect as well.

I am reading this book right now myself, and I can say that it really does have a bit of something for everyone.

Moving on to your writing process now, when you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

I sketch out vignettes that I want in the book. I write through the first draft letting the characters grow and tell the story. Sometimes there are complicated themes that develop, and I may write out the sequence to keep things straight. These books for young readers are every bit as complicated as a 300-page, adult Sci-Fi novel, but things need to appear simple and smooth.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?

I really can’t type. It is excruciating. My fingers fly but hit all the wrong keys, and I am left with hours of proofing and editing beyond the norm. Nothing has remedied this weakness. For shorter writing like essays and poetry, I write things longhand first. On longer works, I write at the keyboard.

I’m sure a lot more authors can relate to that than you would expect! That is what editing is for, haha. ;)

What would you say is the best way to market your book? With which method have you had the most success so far?

First write a good book. Emphasis on good. Word of mouth is the most rewarding. For me, book signings have provided the most exposure and sales. Blogs and interviews have also been helpful in getting the word out. For Indie writers, I think it is important to experiment and use what is comfortable. While I am comfortable with social media, I don’t find it particularly helpful in marketing except for events. It has also helped to connect with other authors and see their ideas.

Great advice. How did your book come to be published? What was your journey to publication like? Did you get a lot of rejection letters before you finally saw your name in print?

Wren is a traditionally published book through an independent publisher. I submitted the manuscript to major publishers, agents, and indie publishers. Rejections and some questionable contract offers helped me realize that an Indie Press would be perfect for me. Others may choose to self-publish or a hybrid contract. I figure if I do not go in the hole, I am ahead. I am used to rejection letters after many years of writing and submitting poetry. I think the manuscript process is easier and smoother. I think my family and friends were more excited about book publication than I was…to me it is just part of the process.

Is being a published author everything you dreamed it would be? If not, how is it different? Is there anything you would change about it?

Thirty years ago, my concept of success was NY Times bestseller list and book tours. Making money. As years passed, I became more comfortable with myself, and found success and fulfillment in the quality of writing. I find author events exhausting. Writing is work and a job. It is not magical most of the time. The journey has been a long one for me. I have not compromised or settled–but my definition of success has deepened and broadened. For me it has been the perfect journey.

That is a great way to put it. Thank you for sharing your story with us, Alice!

About the Author:

Although I write in many forms, I am first of all a poet. My job is to see the wonder of something newly made from old patterns.

A self-professed late bloomer. I wandered through a library career—the solitude of cataloging, the austere aisles of a research library, and a boisterous children’s library.

I taught research, composition, literature, and Intensive English to college and university students throughout Colorado. Currently I dabble in tutoring international students, and heeding the ‘call of stories,’ I write. New projects include a collection of lyrical essays, poetry, and perhaps sequels to Wren.

You can find Alice on Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, Black Rose Writing, and Barnes and Noble, and you can visit her Wren website at https://wrenbyalicelongaker.wordpress.com.

About the Book:

In just one afternoon, Wren’s gleeful mood crashes with the news of her mother’s diagnosis of advanced-stage Breast Cancer. Soon Wren is sent to spend the summer with her not-so-typical grandparents (aging hippies) in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. With goats, chickens, and alpacas as companions, Wren finds adventure and ordinary days on trails and porches. Happiness comes with finding new friends, increased independence, and acres of woods to explore. Chiggers bite, and spiders lurk. Wren’s nemesis, Aunt Char, returns. An owl calls outside of Wren’s window. Sometimes Wren gets scared, and when she really should be alarmed, she instead befriends a man with cruel intentions. Late summer turns tragic, Arkansas teaches harshly and gently, and Wren learns that things don’t have to be perfect to be good.

Author Interview: Myrtle Brooks on The Geyser Girl of Yellowstone Park

 

 

Hello everyone! Today I am interviewing another member of the Indie Eden Book Club, Myrtle Brooks. Her book, The Geyser Girl of Yellowstone Park, is the story of a young girl who gets taken in by the geysers and the animals of Yellowstone Park, and grows up completely surrounded by nature.

Let’s see what Myrtle has to say about her book, and about her writing process.

 

 

Hi Myrtle! First things first: What is the one question that you wish people would ask you about The Geyser Girl of Yellowstone Park?

They already do, all the time! “Are you the Geyser Girl?” Yes, of course. The story idea came from childhood, when I imagined myself a legendary child who lived with Old Faithful and rode the fountain (Wheeeee!), able to withstand the temperatures of a hot spring.

Which typical author interview question do you hate the most?

None. It means someone is giving me his/her time, interest and listening ear.

Can you give us a short description of your book?

The Geyser Girl of Yellowstone Park is an allegorical literary novel, the universal theme of which is man’ edification through nature’s examples. It is family-oriented, and the reading level starts with ages 11 through 111 (smile) with stories for little kids. It replenishes the core values such as kindness, courage, faithfulness and rejoicing over the successes of others.

I like that idea; there are not a lot of books out there like that today! Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

Daphne Du Maurier comes to mind. Her famed novel, Rebecca, is filled with lush descriptions that transport you to that world and inside the characters’ skins. She does this by much showing and little telling.

Your book is in the historical fiction and fantasy genres. What drew you to these genres? Do you also like to read books in these genres?

I like most genres. Reading many genres broadens the perspective: it helps you understand other people and the lives they lead which could be far different than your own, while possessing the same emotions, needs and aspirations. What inspired me to make this a historical piece was an imperative: I had to match the backdrop and story. And then, of course, it’s Yellowstone. Exploring the park’s history, flora and fauna, the transition from the First U.S. (Yellowstone) Cavalry to the Park Ranger was a sheer joy. Knowing the park’s heritage enriches the book’s import.

Who is your target audience for this book? What do you think will appeal to them about your book?

While the concept and narrative appeal to older children, I cannot restrict the age group. A Yellowstone firefighter bought it for herself (picture her in a tent underneath the stars with a flashlight), as did senior citizens. People who love nature and national parks will identify with this “artist’s rendition.” People who love Disney will picture a geyser princess whose calling is to aid and protect all of Yellowstone, in a world where animals, geysers and winds speak their own languages and tell their stories.

I was definitely picturing a Disney movie while I was reading, I have to admit! When you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

Oh… I thought the characters wrote the book. How did my name get on this?? Seriously, spontaneity equals real life. The story carries me.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?

See last question. I do get stuck and write notes to myself with my name on them. Okay, Myrtle, what’s next? And I’ll figure out what I think is a capsule idea for the next part. Then I come back, look at it and say: Hey, that’s perfect the way it is: short and succinct. A spontaneous outline?? Hmmm…

Any writing tips for other writers?

Cannot stress this enough: Write from the heart, soul and spirit. And the belly. Don’t worry if someone will like it or not. That is called: “editing.” Editing something you haven’t written yet?? Then you are not writing it at all. Pour it out (or erupt in geyserlike fashion).

That is some of the best advice I have heard in a while. :) What would you say is the best way to market your book? With which method have you had the most success so far?

I took a road trip to the Yellowstone region and did book signings in Cody, Livingston and Jackson. Spent nights at Old Faithful Inn and Colter Bay Cabins, Grand Teton. The ranger at the Yellowstone Park gate said: “I’ve heard of your book. You’re the Geyser Girl.” Go, as is possible, to the places where people will identify with your work.

How did your book come to be published? What was your journey to publication like? Did you get a lot of rejection letters before you finally saw your name in print?

I kept telling myself: Hemingway and Stephen King received rejection letters. Don’t be a fool and give up. Keep going: you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Then Black Rose Writing sent me the contract. It is an independent press: honest, dedicated to its authors and will judge an author’s work based on its merits. Period.

Is being a published author everything you dreamed it would be? If not, how is it different? Is there anything you would change about it?

It is all I expected and much more. The first thrill on the journey is the “Yes.” The second, holding your finished book in your hands. The third, a complete stranger reading it and getting something out of it. Change? Yes. Authors should be judged by their art, not because they publish with the “big five.” Many bookstores lean towards a title from a large publishing house. There is so much extraordinary talent out there. They should read some of that talent and promote it. It’s a win-win.

I agree! Thanks for the advice, Myrtle, and for letting us get to know you and the Geyser Girl a bit better!

About the Author:

As written beneath her yearbook photo, Class of 1970, the expressed lifetime goal of the author herein known as Myrtle Brooks is: “to realize the love present in everything.” When not at home in her beloved Brooklyn, N.Y., she may be found dancing with the big rigs on the interstate as she heads for places of quiet beauty.

You can find Myrtle on Facebook , Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. You can also visit her website at www.myrtlebrooks.com.

About the Book:

In Yellowstone National Park at the turn of the twentieth century, an infant of mysterious origin is adopted by Old Faithful geyser and by a mother buffalo named Bearer of Song. Beloved to all the park, Flower of the Steam Basin grows up with their stories, proverbial sayings and teachings: in a land where the animals, winds and geysers speak their own languages.

Having met a child her age and her parents, trust ripens between families, and Flower of the Steam Basin gains a closely protective circle of human friends. At nine, she is brought face-to-face with Retired Lieutenant Ned Halpen of the Yellowstone Cavalry, whose exemplary career embodied the role of protector of Yellowstone’s spiritual and physical heritage.

In the wake of Lt. Halpen’s passing, her sacred vow to continue his legacy brings both reward and mortal danger. And when the circle is breached, Flower of the Steam Basin and her father are forced to choose between her well-being and the performance of her sworn duties.

This is her story as seen through the eyes of Yellowstone.

Author Interview: Libbi Duncan and The Scorching

 

 

Hello everyone! I have another great author interview for you today. This time I’m interviewing Libbi Duncan from the Indie Eden Book Club about her debut novel, The Scorching. It is a Young Adult sci-fi/fantasy novel about a girl who has to save her parents from a post-apocalyptic Earth. Let’s see what Libbi has to say about the book, and about her writing process.

 

 

 

Hi Libbi! Let’s start with what I might have left out. What is the one question that you wish people would ask you about The Scorching?

If I had to choose one question to be asked, it would be: “Why is Vesper [the main character’s ex-boyfriend in The Scorching] such a jerk?” I would explain that he had the misfortune of being raised by an authoritarian father and an alcoholic mother; he was unloved and yet given everything he ever wanted, causing him to grow into an entitled, selfish person. His flirtatiousness and promiscuity are the result of his character combined with the normal features of being a teenager. Of course, he may also be inspired by every bad relationship I ever had. Haha!

So it’s a bit of writer’s revenge too! Nice. ;) Which typical author interview question do you hate the most?

I dislike questions that are condescending toward the Young Adult genre. I love reading and writing YA novels, so I might take it a little personally. This genre, while directed toward teens and young adults, is for anyone. To me, the genre is defined by the fast pace, themes of love, friendship, authority, and finding yourself just as much as it is about teens and the worlds they live in.

Can you give us a short description of your book?

The Scorching is a YA sci-fi novel that follows Madi, a teenager from Pax Lunar Colony. When her parents go missing and the government refuses to help, she takes matter into her own hands and returns to a post-apocalyptic Earth to find them. Instead of a barren wasteland, she finds a garden paradise and a mutant war that will change everything.

Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

I will gladly add my name to the list of authors who idolize JK Rowling. I grew up with the Harry Potter series, so naturally I love her incredible world, story, and characters, but I’m also inspired by her rags-to-riches comeback story. She overcame rejection, hardship, and fear to find success. It’s every writer’s dream to follow her footsteps, but very few actually will. I’m also a big fan of Anne Rice’s novels, and especially how she still interacts with fans on her Page.

I love J.K. Rowling too, for exactly those same reasons. Your book is in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. What drew you to these genres? Do you also like to read sci-fi/fantasy books?

I’m a huge nerd. I love sci-fi and fantasy books, movies, TV shows, and video games. I love escaping to incredible new worlds as a both a reader and writer. A big part of my love for these genres is in the creativity and imagination involved. Every genre involves both of those things, but with sci-fi and fantasy it’s on a much grander scale.

Who is your target audience for this book? What do you think will appeal to them about your book?

The Scorching trilogy is YA sci-fi/fantasy, so the primary target audience is young adults. I’ve had readers from 7 to 70 say they love the fast pace, action-packed story and the complex, relatable characters. I think teens in particular appreciate the romantic subplots, while anyone can enjoy the vivid world and beautiful settings of this adventurous tale. It’s PG-13, so it might not be right for younger audiences, but there are exceptions of course.

Thinking about your writing process now, when you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

I use a mixture of both methods. I write a really fast, short rough draft that follows a general outline, but oftentimes the story takes a path I didn’t expect because the characters reveal things as it progresses. If a new idea comes to me while I’m writing, I embrace it. In fact, it’s one of the best feelings I get as a writer.

Do you have any quirky writing habits?

I’m a method writer. For example, if I’m writing a fight or battle scene, I’ll chug a mug of coffee, put on fast-paced electronic music (I love The Glitch Mob for this), do some sit-ups or push-ups, and then bounce my legs as I sit down to write. Or if I’m writing a sad scene, I’ll drink sleepytime tea, put on slow music, and make myself cry by thinking about a sad event in my past. It’s weird, but it works!

Oh wow, that’s really interesting! I like that idea! I’m sure it makes those sections of the book a lot more realistic and intense. Aside from method writing, do you have any writing tips for other writers?

a) Read Stephen King’s “On Writing.”

b) Join a writing group (either online or in real life).

c) Read and write every day, even it’s not much.

d) Find what works for you. Every writer does it differently, so take advice with a grain of salt.

What would you say is the best way to market your book? With which method have you had the most success so far?

As a debut author, I’m still figuring this out as I go. So far my favorite method has been going to Comic Conventions and bookstore signings. I love getting to meet readers in person, sign their copies, and take pictures together. It’s probably not the most cost-effective marketing technique, but I guarantee it’s the most fun and memorable!

That really does sound like fun! So how did your book come to be published? What was your journey to publication like? Did you get a lot of rejection letters before you finally saw your name in print?

I spent about a year querying agents and publishers before I got an offer. My method was to send a batch of about 20 query letters out at a time, then wait a couple months to see what happened. I did that three times. The first time, I got mostly form rejections with a couple small personal rejections thrown in. I revised my novel and my query letter, then tried again. The second time, I got more personal rejection letters and several partial manuscript requests. I revised again. Finally during my last set of query letters, I had several agents and small presses request the full manuscript. One of the indie publishers offered me a contract, and I accepted. Six months later I held The Scorching in my hands for the first time.

Is being a published author everything you dreamed it would be? If not, how is it different? Is there anything you would change about it?

I spent a long time researching what being a published author is like, so there weren’t many surprises, good or bad. I knew that most aspiring authors never finish a book, and most who finish a book never get published, and most who get published never sell more than a thousand copies, and even when they do, most don’t make enough for it to be their primary source of income. I knew that it’s a HUGE amount of work that may never pay off financially. Not only writing, but also editing, revising, querying, working with a publisher, working with bookstores and event coordinators, promoting, social media, and managing to find time to read and stay involved… it’s all a bit overwhelming at times, but guess what? It’s totally worth it. Even if I don’t become the next JK Rowling, I love every minute of it. The bitter challenges make the rewards taste sweeter.

I think that’s the perfect attitude. Thanks so much for sharing your advice and experiences with us! :)

About the Author

Libbi Duncan is an English teacher and US Army veteran. She graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern Languages. When she’s not reading, writing, or teaching, she enjoys hiking, painting, video games, movies, music, cosplaying as Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Lara Croft, Bulma, and Princess Leia, and traveling to beautiful places.

You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or you can visit her website at www.libbiduncan.blogspot.com.

About the Book

Gravity generators and college classes make living on the moon boring. All eighteen-year-old Madi wants is to finish her training to become a shuttle pilot and explore the solar system. But when her parents disappear and the government refuses to help, she’s forced to take matters in her own hands. Her search leads her to Earth, long-abandoned after an apocalypse. Instead of a barren wasteland, Madi finds a garden paradise and a war that will change everything.

Author Interview: Jason R. Koivu on Beyond Barlow

 

 

Hello everyone! Today I am interviewing Jason R. Koivu, member of Indie Eden Book Club and author of Beyond Barlow, a fantasy novel about a young man who must try to right a terrible wrong without losing himself and his moral compass in the process.

Let’s see what Jason has to say about his book, and about his writing process.

 

 

Hi Jason! First things first: What is the one question that you wish people would ask you about Beyond Barlow? (And what is the answer?)

“What was that scary creature that Kellen and Ford found in the cage?” It was only a hairless raccoon, but boy howdy are those things freaky! I like to occasionally use real-life things and play if off as fantasy in my work to see if the reader notices, and because Twain’s saying that truth is stranger than fiction often rings true.

If I may take this question and run with it, one of my favorite things to be asked is “What happened to (character)?”  Occasionally characters exit Beyond Barlow under mysterious circumstances and I love it when a reader wants to know what happened to them. It shows I made that character into some semblance of living flesh with the capability of garnering compassion.

Great answers! Now which typical author interview question do you hate the most?

Oh, I don’t hate any of them! –well okay, if I hear “When’s the next book coming out?” one more time I’m gonna to straight up shiv a fool!– but no, hate is a strong word.

Haha I’m sure the rest of us authors can relate to that! So, concentrating on your current book, can you give us a short description of Beyond Barlow?

My adventure fantasy, Beyond Barlow, follows a young man as he attempts to right a terrible wrong he has committed. His path to redemption is waylaid by bandits. This is not an entirely bad thing, but one wonders if it will prevent him from doing the right thing.

Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

Patrick O’Brian, best known for his Master & Commander seafaring series, has been a tremendous influence on my storytelling. Perhaps he’s not well-known enough to be considered “famous,” so I’ll include Jane Austen, William Faulkner and John Steinbeck as well. If I could ever attain anything close to the lyrical, yet precise prose and razor-sharp plotting of such folks I would be a happy boy.

Your book is in the fantasy genre. What drew you to this genre? Do you also like to read fantasy novels?

R. R. Tolkien’s books and Dungeons & Dragons attracted me to fantasy at a very young age. It could have been sci-fi or horror or something else, but they got to me first. The strange thing is, I don’t read a lot of fantasy. Of course, I’ve read and reread Lord of the Rings, and I’ve also enjoyed the popular ones that everyone seems to have read, like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. Then throw in a few from the likes of Le Guin, Hickman & Weis, Abercrombie, and Salvatore to round it out. However, I like a wide variety of books. English classics, early American writers, mysteries and detective fiction, history, comedy, and biography, it’s all too wonderful to set aside for any one category.

Wow, what a diverse range of interests! You sound like a very well-rounded reader. Speaking about your own writing, though, who is your target audience for Beyond Barlow? What do you think will appeal to them about your book?

People who want a down to earth fantasy about common folk living in a world where magic is still precious and wondered at, but not unheard of.

When you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

Outlines R Us is the name of my books in pre-published form. I learned early on that I need to know where I’m going or otherwise I meander and eventually forget what the point of the whole thing was. However, I leave enough latitude within scenes, even whole chapters, so that my imagination has plenty of elbow room.

That sounds like a good strategy! Do you have any quirky writing habits?

I write all over the house. I’ve got a desk, but I’ll also write standing at the kitchen counter or laid out on the bed. I have more than a half dozen writing spots. I do this to stave off atrophy and butt sores. Once you understand why it doesn’t seem so quirky, but I’ll bet my neighbors think I’m nuts for standing at the dryer in the back porch for hours.

I have to admit the “butt sores” part just made me laugh… haha! Any writing tips for other writers? (Aside from how to stave off butt sores? :P)

Read and write. When you’re finished, do it some more. It’s practice for your craft, which will not improve without it.

What would you say is the best way to market your book? With which method have you had the most success so far?

My book is best marketed by people other than myself. I’m the worst salesman I’ve ever met. When I do give it a go I find that interaction with readers works well via interviews like this or through social media.

That’s understandable: writers aren’t always the best salesmen! (Plus I think most of us would just prefer to write.) Thanks for sharing, Jason, and for giving us a look at your writing process!

About the Author: [image error]

Jason R. Koivu graduated from Fitchburg State College with a degree in professional writing and went on to write for various newspapers before moving from Massachusetts to Los Angeles to try his hand at screenwriting. Eventually he realized what he probably knew within all along, that novel writing was his true calling.

You can find Jason on Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads, or on his website at www.jason-koivu.com.

About the Book:

Ford Barlow is banished from his home and the clansmen he loves after a tragic mistake that forces him into joining a band of thieving boys. Adventure and fun abound and it seems Ford has found a perfectly fine new home until a mysterious massacre chases the boys away from their beloved woodland hideaway, through a magical and dangerous forest, and into the arms of conniving bandits. These vicious men and his inner conscience push Ford to the brink of his moral limits in Beyond Barlow.

 

Author Interview: Mary Ellen Bramwell on When I Was Seven

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Hello everyone! Today’s author interview is with an award-winning author and member of the Indie Eden Book Club, Mary Ellen Bramwell. Her book, When I Was Seven, is told from the perspective of a seven-year-old boy dealing with the upcoming loss of his beloved grandmother, and trying to help fulfill her final wishes.

Let’s see what Mary Ellen has to say about this book, and about her writing process.

 

 

Hi Mary Ellen! First things first: What is the one question that you wish people would ask you about When I Was Seven? (And what is the answer?)

Why did you decide to make the narrator a seven-year-old boy?

When I first conceived of the idea for this book, my youngest son was seven. He had such a unique way of looking at the world. He didn’t say, “It’s raining cats and dogs;” he’d said, “It’s raining dump trucks.” And beyond that, he seemed much more attuned to the feelings of others than most adults are—intuitively picking up on non-verbal cues. So, I stepped back—trying to see the world through his eyes. From there, shaping a story to highlight a child’s innocence and strengths became my goal.

That’s really interesting, and I’m sure your son is flattered to have inspired your book! On the flip side, which typical author interview question do you hate the most?

I don’t dislike any of these types of questions. What I dislike is the question asked of authors, “Have you finished your next book yet?” I write more than books, so I may be writing 24/7, but making only slow (yet steady) progress on my book. I am, however, glad that they care.

I’m sure all of us other authors can relate to that sentiment! Moving on to your work now, can you give us a short description of your book?

It’s a story about family dynamics, seen, without prejudice, though the eyes of seven-year-old Lucas. It involves a dying grandmother, long-buried secrets that she’s just beginning to remember, and the other unpredictable grandmother who is estranged from the family. All of this takes the reader on a heart-wrenching, yet hopeful journey.

When I Was Seven is in the literary fiction genre. Can you explain what this genre is, and what drew you to it? Do you also like to read books in this genre?

I’ve found many different definitions of literary fiction, but to me it means a book has something to say—without being heavy-handed about it. To be honest, I shied away from classifying my book in this genre at first. I didn’t want people to think the book was too highbrow or in the Pulitzer realm. It’s neither of these. But it’s more than a simple story that entertains. What I hope is that when a reader turns the last page, the book’s messages and characters will linger on in their thoughts, because the reader is reluctant to let them go.

I suppose I enjoy reading this genre for the very reason I choose to write in it—I find my time is very valuable. So, when I read, I want to be more than entertained. I want to be engaged, encouraged to feel and think, somehow bettered by the experience. That’s a lot to ask of a book, I know, but that aim is what motivates me.

Well said. :) Who is your target audience for this particular book? What do you think will appeal to them about When I Was Seven?

My target audience is women aged 18 – 80, although men enjoy it too. However, I think women are more naturally concerned with the feelings of their family members, what’s going on with them, how they progress, and so on. When I Was Seven strikes right at the heart of family dynamics and relationships—with a mystery thrown in to keep the reader guessing.

Is there any famous author that inspires you, or that you admire?

I love this question because I don’t have a typical answer. One of my favorite books is The Book Thief. It is rich and clever and inspiring. It made me cry (more like weep) and smile. After reading it, I wanted to read other books by Markus Zusak. That was a mistake. I read I Am the Messenger. I vehemently hate this book. So, I’ve decided I have authors that inspire me, but maybe just within a certain book.

Oh wow, that has happened to me before, but I could never really quite put the experience into words before! Maybe now if someone asks me that, I’ll steal your answer! haha.

Getting into your writing process now, when you write a book, do you plan out everything beforehand, or do you let the story follow its own course?

I always know the beginning and the end—and a vague idea of how to get from one to the other. Once I begin writing, the ideas start multiplying. I jot those ideas down on 3 x 5 cards to save for later. Then at various points along the way, I sort the cards into a logical order, and they become, in essence, writing prompts as I go.

Any writing tips for other writers?

Stick with it. Writing is wonderful—I love it! But, it’s not a 50-yard-dash, it’s a marathon. You have to see it through to the end, and (I cannot state this enough) the end isn’t when you type “the end.” The end is after you‘ve gone through several gut-wrenching edits based on honest (often brutal) feedback from your editor(s).

Great advice. In that same vein, what would you say is the best way to market your book? With which method have you had the most success so far?

This is a tough question. My best success came from a Book Bub ad, but they don’t accept everything that comes along. Other than that, I do a little of everything—social media, marketing campaigns, books signings, begging and pleading…

Haha! Begging and pleading can be very useful too, I’m sure!

How did your book come to be published? What was your journey to publication like? Did you get a lot of rejection letters before you finally saw your name in print?

This is the part that surprises even me. I finished my first book, The Apple of My Eye, in January of 2014. I sent a query to one publisher who I had identified as a good fit. That publisher requested more to read and then rejected it. That happened very quickly. So, in February, I sent it off to half a dozen or so publishers—again, ones I had researched as good fits. I received one or two rejections before being contacted by Black Rose Writing. They wanted the full manuscript. Within a couple of weeks, I had a contract!

Two years later, and a couple of months after a very successful Book Bub campaign for The Apple of My Eye, I queried them about When I Was Seven. They accepted it almost immediately.

Is being a published author everything you dreamed it would be? If not, how is it different? Is there anything you would change about it?

It’s harder and better than I envisioned. The hard part is the marketing. I’ve never been fond of tooting my own horn, so I’ve had to change that when it comes to my books. But the writing side of things is so amazing. If I’d realized you could love doing something so much, I would have begun this journey a lot sooner.

That’s great, I hope you always love writing that much, and that you continue to have lots of success! Thanks for sitting down for this interview, and for giving us some great advice!

About the Author:

Mary Ellen Bramwell, an award-winning writer, has been writing short stories since she was ten. She is the mother of five and currently lives with her youngest son and her husband of over 30 years. She enjoys reading and playing games but is passionate about her family and alleviating the suffering of others.

You can find her on Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, and her website at www.maryellenbramwell.com.

About the Book:

Lucas is thrilled when his grandmother comes to live with him. She’s his best friend after Justin from down the street. But when she starts remembering things from her past, is he the only one who will listen? If no one else believes her, how can he fulfill her dying wish? A compelling story about the complexity and value of family as seen through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy.