Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "contest"

I wanted to let you all know about a contest being run by a good friend and fellow author, Peter Damian Bellis, author of The Conjure Man

Any of you who follow my reviews will know that I really enjoyed this novel. Peter is offering a free pdf copy of the book to anyone who registers for this competition. Really a chance not to be missed!
All you have to do is read the book and write a personal reaction to it and you'll be in with the chance to win a great prize. See Peters website for details. Here's the blurb with all the information you'll need. Good luck!


One Million Dollar Writing Contest for Readers
Why let the writers get all the awards? We thought it was about time someone gave the READERS some awards. After all, without readers, there wouldn't be any awards! So here's your chance to win a prize for reading a book.

STEP ONE: Read The Conjure Man, a mythic novel set in South Carolina. (We'll send you a FREE pdf copy of the novel to read - all you need to do is REGISTER!). Go to www.riverboatbooks.com/page9 to REGISTER!

STEP TWO: Write a personal reaction to the novel - this can be anything from what the novel means to you, how it speaks to you, what it reveals to you, how it changed the way you thought about something, anything, spiritual things, love, sex, death, whatever you like. You can write a personal reflection essay, compare the book to other books, movies, your experiences, art, - what you write about is wide open.

STEP THREE: SUBMIT your essay. Go to www.riverboatbooks.com/page9 for details.

I am on Keta Diablo's blog today, 'Quackers and Tease', giving away 2 pdf copies of my new book Fusion

Click here for your chance to enter!
Fusion Competition

Good luck!

I recently did an interview with author, Darcia Helle.

You can read it here: Fusion interview

You can also leave a comment on the blog for your chance to win a pdf copy of my latest collection of short stories, 'Fusion'

Good luck!

As many of you will already be aware, I recently wrote a murder/mystery novella with author Jason McIntyre.
This week, author Stacy Juba is featuring the lead character from that novella, the evil reviewer, Nestor Maronski, on her fictional online game show.
The game show is an ongoing contest on Stacy's blog to celebrate the release of her latest novel Sink or Swim which is a murder/mystery based on a reality TV show.

You can help support me and my co-author Jason, by leaving a comment on Stacy's blog interview with Nestor. The 3 fictional characters who get the highest number of unique commenters on their posts will win!

There is also a chance to enter to win a pdf copy of Cutting The Fat!

Click here to read the interview: Nestor Maronski Interview

As most of you know by now, my latest book, The Dream, a fantasy/paranormal/timeslip novel, is now out in the world.

There are two giveaways you might like to know about:

1. On LibraryThing you can enter until 14th August 2011 to win a copy in the Member Giveaways: LibraryThing

2. On The Secret Writer Blog, I have a written a guest post all about the trials and tribulations of an indie writer's life, and until 13th August 2011 you can enter to win a copy of The Dream.
The Secret Writer

Good luck!

Last year, Darcia Helle, Stacy Juba, and I, launched the message board BestsellerBound

In one year we gave accomplished so much that looking back on it, it's quite astounding. Here are just a few of our joint projects/successes that show what an awesome place it is:

1. Towards the end of last year we launched the BsB Cutting Edge campaign to try to get Darcia Helle's book The Cutting Edge to #1 in the Amazon kindle charts. We managed to get the book into the top 100, and were invited to The Indie Book Collective (IBC) to take part in a radio show talking about the campaign. Our original campaign inspired IBC to run their own series of campaigns to get indie authors into the top 100. I have noticed other websites doing a similar thing. BestsellerBound was the first website to do this; it's great to know that others are following our lead.

2. At the end of last year, Jason McIntyre and I wrote the online novella, Cutting The Fat, which started off as an online exercise in writing a novel together as a team and ended up as a successful book, now available on kindle.

3. One of our top members, Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick, put together the BsB Annual Sample Anthologies, including chapters from members' novels, and short stories. It's free to download and is very popular across the globe, this helps to spread the word about our members' books to all corners of the world

Here's a link to a Youtube video, made by one of our multi-talented members Magnolia Belle, introducing the anthologies:

You Tube trailer

4. We have published two short story anthologies containing top quality fiction in all genres from our members. Both volumes are available to download free at Amazon on kindle. Both are very popular having entered the top 100 downloads!

Bestseller Bound Anthology
BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 2





5. We were a top 10 finisher in the Preditors and Editors poll 2010 for best writers' discussion forum! (We came 4th! Not bad for a forum that had only been running for 2-3 months at that time!)



BestsellerBound continues to grow, with more members joining each month. We really do seem to attract the cream of the crop of indie authors.

We have also attracted quite a few readers of independent books, and they are valued members. We would love it if more readers would join, as our original intention was to create a forum where indie writers could chat to their readers. We're a bit top-heavy with authors at the moment. This is not necessarily a bad thing as most authors also love reading. But if you're just a reader and not a writer and wondered whether you could join, please do! We would love to welcome you.

As we are now celebrating our 1st Anniversary, we decided it would be nice to have a blog hop where we give away some prizes donated by our members. Here is a list of what you could win:

1. 1 coupon code for a free ebook copy of The Dream, my latest novel, from Smashwords.





2. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of any one title by Darcia Helle.





3. The Choice by Sydney S. Song from Smashwords giving free e-book coupon.





4. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of Echo Falls by Jaime McDougall.





5. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of any one title by Gareth Lewis.





6. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of The Other Room by James Everington





7. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of any one title by Susan Helene Gottfried





8. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for free ebook copy of Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg





9. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for a free eBook copy of "2010 Hindsight: A Year of Personal Growth, In Spite of Myself," by Sharon E. Cathcart





10. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for a free eBook copy of "Caraliza" and also "Breathing into Stone" by Joel Kirkpatrick







11. 1 free hardbound, signed copy of Joel's secret 5th novel, shipped the week it is released.

12. 1 coupon code from Smashwords for a free eBook copy of 'Sink or Swim' by Stacy Juba.






Over the next few days, there will be more promotional blog posts about this competition. I'll try to keep you updated here.

If you want the chance to enter to win a prize, please leave a comment here or in one of the other blog posts relating to the competition. At the end of the blog hop, all the entries will be counted and put into a hat.

The Rules:
1. These are adult books. Please know that by entering this contest, you are agreeing that you are 16 years old or older.

2. You can enter more than once if you leave a comment on each blog hop post!

3. Deadline for entries is September 17th at midnight!

4. Winners will be picked at random on the 17th and announced at the participating blogs. Good luck!

Back when I started interviewing authors on my blog, I think Julie Elizabeth Powell was one of the first, if not the first author I introduced you to.

Since my last interview with Julie, she has written 3 more books, so I thought it would be a good time to catch up with her and see what's new.

Julie is also giving away a few ebook copies of her books to lucky readers of my blog who leave a comment or 'like' the blog post. So, leave a comment or 'like' the post and you never know, you could be a winner! The prize will be an ebook copy of your choice from Julie's 9 books.

Here's the interview:

When I met you on Goodreads in 2008, you had only one book, I think, Gone. In less that 3 years, you’ve published another 8 books. That is a wonderful achievement. I have read all the books, and enjoyed them. Are you just a very fast writer or were some of the books written years ago and only recently published?




Thank you for saying you enjoyed my books. So to answer your question, sometimes I write fast, so fast that I can’t keep up with all the words flowing from my brain. Other times, however, the thinking stage takes far longer than I’d wish. Gone was my first book and, yes, I would say I wrote it quickly but rewrote it more than once, although the first chapter I rewrote many, many times until I was satisfied. Gone was the first piece of writing that I thought worthy of keeping...and I’d found Lulu in 2007 – Fate maybe?
All my novels came into being after 2000, when the idea came from the question: ‘Where had my daughter gone?’ during those waiting years. One night I thought, ‘she must be somewhere’, and so Gone was pulled from my imagination. The Star Realm developed from the world I’d created in Gone – Avalon was just too good to waste – and I thoroughly enjoyed the fun of it...and so on. Sometimes I’d get another idea and I knew I had to get it down before it was lost. Some were half written with notes, and I switched from one to the other when my imagination just wouldn’t let me stop. I couldn’t write Slings & Arrows until Samantha died for the second and final time, well after I’d written Gone. Slings & Arrows was the most difficult to write, yet I’m glad it’s done...it just may help others too.
So I would say that on the whole I’m quite fast, especially when an idea takes root. Rewriting is essential, as I’ve learned so much since rewriting, finishing and finally publishing Gone in 2007.




Since I last interviewed you, you’ve taken the plunge into e-publishing and your 9 books are all available on Kindle at Amazon. Have you considered investing in an e-reader yet, or are you still a traditional paperback/hardback reader?

I do prefer a ‘real’ book in my hand, the feel, smell etc. but yes, I’d like a Kindle mainly so that I can buy more books because the prices are so reasonable and I wouldn’t have the problem of where to store them (time to read them would be great). I hate getting rid of books but sometimes... With a Kindle, for example, I would be able to sit in comfort too, rather than in front of the computer – still a screen, yes, but a compromise.

Your three latest books are again different to your other books. You’ve dived into short story writing with Figments and a humourous almost chick-lit book with Misadventures Of Fatwoman andOf Sound Mindis a psychological/fantasy tale. How important do you think it is for a writer to experiment with different forms of writing?



I love to experiment with various genres. It’s challenging and great to see ‘if I can do it’, yet I don’t think my writing style changes, and of course I have to research. Fantasy will always be my favourite (I can cheat /get away with so much /have great fun). I’d like to mix up genres too and just see where it leads but for now I must be good and finish my current work. Though I have something else that is half-written with notes so I might go with that next, unless my writing fairy visits in the night? Yes, I think it’s important for writers to try all aspects of writing – it’ll not only exercise the brain but it also might bring surprises.

Were the short stories and poems in Figments written as a collection, or did you put the book together by publishing stories and poems that you have written over the years?

Some of Figments did come from sketches of things I’d written and shelved when I’d decided to ‘go back to school’ fifteen years ago, where I had to complete GCSE English, Maths then do A levels, then of course University. However, most I had to rewrite, and many I steered into a whole other direction, just picked up the spark and ran with it. Some stories I’d just thought of there and then while I was putting together the collection. Dark Corners and The Pandora Dress were completely new. Santicore Ockle too was new, as the name just popped into my head and I thought, ‘what a terrible, yet interesting name, what would someone do if they had it?’ The Box That Jane Built was partly written a couple of years ago because of something Stephen King said but I can’t even remember what that was now, so I was able to finish it the way I thought best. I did wonder if it could become a novel but it stopped where it did and I can’t force these things. Heartsongs I wrote after they came to me in a dream about five years ago. I’m no poet but felt they needed to be included in the collection. Chocolate Cake, however, was new and the quickest and most fun to write.

One of the short stories from your collection, Figments, has been included in the BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 3. As you know, we produce these free anthologies on BestsellerBound to help promote independent writers. Have you come across any good promotional tips for self-published authors that you can share with us?




Self-publishing gives writers total control, I like that, yet I think it has to be as professional as possible. Editing is imperative but I find I can only do my best and hope that people will forgive typos – and even books from publishing houses have mistakes. I would say that spelling and grammar are more important and don’t forget an easy layout. Honing writing style is always worth the effort. I like Lulu as it’s easy, free and I can re-launch any time I wish. It’s also easy to upload your own cover now. You must love writing and not expect fame or riches – of course we all want our work to be recognised but that’s not what it’s about. However, don’t give up.

One of my favourite short story writers, James Everington included a short piece at the end of his short story collection The Other Room describing the inspiration behind some of the stories in his collection. Could you pick two of your favourite short stories (or poems) from Figments and tell us the story behind the story/poem?

The Old Bookshop is one of my favourites from Figments because it started off as an exercise in ‘how to use the senses’ in writing and ended up with a far deeper meaning. Escaping, new beginnings, not being afraid of change and self-worth, are only a few of the themes – I also couldn’t resist including a pinch of magic. I do love bookshops and wish that the old kind could come back into fashion. The Box That Jane Built was only to see what I could do without thinking...just letting the story lead me, and I think it worked. It’s dark and its subtext sinks to many levels yet the face of it is all that is needed to bring tingles to the spine – that’s only my opinion.

Short stories often get bad press, and are often ignored in favour of novels, with common complaints being that there is not enough time for character development, not enough time for a full story to be told in a short story. I completely disagree and would argue that some of the best literature I’ve ever read has been in the short story form. What would you say to encourage more people to read short stories?

Yes, some short stories are sadly missed because of bad press. However, I would say that a character can be ‘built’ with only one line, sometimes even a word. And a story is a story whatever its length and the enjoyment is in the reading. Sometimes, yes, I am disappointed that a story is so good I don’t want it to end, but then I feel that with many novels – it’s not its length but its potency that matters. Short stories can also give readers a ‘feel’ for a writer, so they can find out their versatility and reach into their imagination.

As well as short stories, your collection, Figments, also includes poetry. One of my favourites is Chocolate Cake. What do you think is the secret of a good poem?



I'm glad you enjoyed Chocolate Cake, it was fun, and to tell you the truth I wrote it in a matter of minutes, almost as if it had been waiting for just that moment! Secret of a good poem? How it makes you feel is the simple answer, I think, and don’t worry about rhyming or framing...a poem can be anything you like as long as the feeling is understood.

I read somewhere recently that you design all your own book covers. I saw that you re-designed some of the older ones, and I must say I’m very impressed by the designs. Why did you decide to change some of the covers and can you give any tips to other self-published authors as to how you go about designing the covers?



Thank you for the complements on my cover designs. With Gone, I went with what Lulu offered at the time – their templates /photos, and was quite happy to have found a reasonable front for my story. However, by the time I’d written the others, Lulu had changed and allowed a more sophisticated wizard – and I have a great design programme so that I can upload easily. So, I look to the Internet for photos – morguefile, for example, has a wealth of pictures for use (and I cite them of course...they say it’s no problem to do this), then use my programme (Craft Artist professional from Serif) for backgrounds, colour, text, etc. then save it to import. Uploading to lulu is easy where I use the wizard to finish. I love doing it and would encourage others – it gives even more control over your work.
I re-designed my older covers because I could and it was fun to do so and I’m far more pleased with them because they’re mine. The new covers can be found on my USA account (the one I use to post USA reviews) www.lulu.com/spotlight/JEP while some of the older ones are on www.lulu.com/julizpow my UK account.

Of Sound Mind is an interesting book about mental illness and the blur between reality and fantasy. In this book we are taken to the land of Mageia, a fantasy world with strange characters as its inhabitants. I was amazed by your imagination in creating the world of Avalon for your children's book trilogy, and similarly amazed at the characters you created in Mageia. I know you once said that Avalon really exists and so do the characters, would you say the same about Mageia?

All my characters and places are real to me. I see them as clearly as anywhere in our supposed reality. I’ve often wondered if anything is real and if so, why? Why shouldn’t the worlds created from our minds be as authentic as what we presume surround us every day? Oh my, that makes me sound a touch crazy...or just touched! I’ve no idea what other writers think or feel but for me the worlds I create exist. Think of it this way, when you read a story, how real is the place? Can you see it? Do you feel it? Does your mind see you there? How true does it seem to you? And the characters – do you feel their pain, their laughter, their madness? Now then, does that make it all existent? It does for me.

The character Jorga in Of Sound Mind has telekinetic ability. Have you ever known anyone with such ability?

I’ve never known anyone with telekinetic ability but like inKnowing Jack, I’m sure the brain is capable of much more than we understand. Jorja is still untapped and I hope to write a sequel, therefore bringing Mageia and her powers to life in even more detail. Jack, by the way, was kindled from how my son has such amazing intuition. I will never underestimate the power of the brain.



Of Sound Mind touches on the subject of treatments for mental illness. How did you go about researching the topic?

As I’ve said, the brain is an incredible entity, there is so much we don’t know or understand. I have suffered from depression for many years and am terrified it will get the better of me one day so much so that on the face of it nobody would know. The thought of being ‘put away’ is terrifying and my imagination can easily see the horrors. With those feelings in mind, I’ve read many accounts and researched on-line how the brain might see things and why it acts the way it does. My worry is not so much the ‘illness’ as the people who may be in charge of it. But Jorja isn’t crazy, is she?

In Misadventures of Fatwoman you bring us a totally believable character, Andie, who is obsessed with her weight. I found that the book touched upon many of the insecurities women feel these days with the pressure to look perfect. It’s also a very funny book. What was the inspiration behind the book and how long did it take to write?

The inspiration behind Misadventures Of Fatwoman – me of course! Food and me have a love /hate relationship and ever since I can remember I’ve always hated the way I look. This leads to lack of confidence and feeling undervalued, and I believe many, many women feel this way. Yes, there are media pressures and all women are targeted to be ‘perfect’. My way of dealing with some of it is to laugh and through Andi, I hope to make others aware that they can be cruel and that nobody is perfect and can never be (and what is perfect anyway? It’s like normal – what’s that?) Making it a comedy is vital because laughter can only forbid the demons entry.
It didn’t take long to write once I’d focussed upon finishing it.

Do you write every day?

I try to write every day, however, life distracts me...once I’m at the keyboard though, my brain is overwhelmed with words and I can’t write fast enough. It’s great to be ‘in the zone’ and even if I’ve been away from the computer for a while, my brain is still working on stories.

In your opinion is there such a thing as writer’s block (personally, I don’t believe in it)?

I don’t think there’s an actual block to writing, only a bit of a halt to an idea or scene. I think that’s why I often write more than one story at once so that I’m never stuck.

Other than writing, I know you like to make things, jewellery, homemade cards etc. Is that just for fun, or do you think that will turn into a business idea?

Yes, cards, scrapbooking, jewellery making – see, distractions? I love being creative and I like to see the pleasure when I give family and friends whatever it is. Encaustic Art is one of my favourites, as it’s perfect for fantasy work and there are no two pictures alike. It’s all just for fun, although I did put on a show once for handcrafted cards for orders (I only make one-offs /personal to...) but it didn’t work out. I can only think that people can’t afford quality and would prefer to buy 10 for a £1 at the discount store. I can’t blame them, money is too hard to find.

You’re currently working on book three in your Avalon trilogy. Do you have an estimated date when that will be released?



Oh dear, the last in the trilogy...I’m about halfway through, however, despite the distractions I keep...or rather the characters lead me down extra paths – it’s fun but taking an age. I also have to keep in mind all the threads from book one and two and of course stay on track for the (I hope) surprising end. Maybe early next year it’ll be done – don’t forget all that editing I’ll have to do and the cover and I’d like to include some drawings for the interior...I’m trying to finish, honest I am!

You’ve recently joined Twitter. What do you think of it?

Twitter is weird! It’s probably me not having time to understand its mechanisms, however, I am grateful to anyone who mentions me and apologise for not ‘whatever it is I’m suppose to do’.

In one paragraph, explain to people why they should read independent books.

You should read my books because: (feels like a competition question) they’re good. How lame is that? Gone is a unique fantasy and it’ll make you think differently – Slings & Arrows is important too, as it’s the true account of what happened to my daughter and the spark for Gone. All my fictional books will entertain and grip you in ways you’ll enjoy – what else can I say except I hope you do read them, they’ll carve new pathways into those ever-thirsty brains.


Thank you, Julie!!

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Remember to leave a comment or 'like' this blog post to be in with a chance to win an ebook copy of your choice of Julie's books. Winners will be picked on 15th December 2011. Good luck!

Today, I'm very happy to be introducing you to one of the nicest authors I have had the pleasure to meet on the Internet. J. Michael Radcliffe a.k.a. "Alderdrache" (which means, Elder Dragon) is a fantasy author who joined BestsellerBound in October 2010, and he is one of our most active members on the forum. He also loves cats, which means that naturally he is one of my favourite people.

His novel (book one in the Beyond The Veil series) The Guardian's Apprentice is a wonderful, fantasy tale, for lovers of magic, dragons, wizards, curses, etc., etc. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Michael has also written many short stories based around the characters in the novel (and the forthcoming books in the series):Beyond the Veil Anthology - the world of The Guardian's Apprentice, Tears for Hesh, Forsaken, and Scale of a Dragon

Michael has very kindly agreed to give away one signed copy of The Guardian's Apprentice and a pdf copy to two lucky readers of my blog. All you have to do to enter is simply 'like' this blog post or leave a comment below. Winners will be picked on the 30th of December 2011.


Here's my recent interview with Michael:

Your novels and short stories are steeped in magic, curses, witchcraft and the like.  Do you believe in magic?  If so, do you have any interesting stories you could tell us to back up this belief?


Do I believe in magic – now that is an interesting question. There are so many things in this wondrous world of ours that are unexplained – so many mysteries for which science has no answers. I certainly believe there are many things beyond our comprehension – whether or not this qualifies as magic, I’m not certain. I’m inclined to believe there are such things as spirits – or some elevated state of being beyond the physical and I’ll offer this story as an illustration.
In 2002, my father suffered a pulmonary embolism and was placed on life support. After the neurologist had informed us my father was brain dead, my sister and I had to sign the orders to disconnect life support. Late in the evening of the 2nd day, his heart finally stopped and he passed from this world. I and my sister and a couple of others were gathered around the hospital bed as he took his last breath. The moment the heart monitor flat lined and he stopped breathing, the window behind me – previously latched – blew open and a cold night wind rushed through the room, disturbing everything. Was this a coincidence? Maybe; or was it a tortured soul escaping to its final resting place? I may never really know, but I can tell you just the memory of that event gives me chills to this day.
So I suppose that is a long way of saying that yes, I would like to believe there is more to this world than just the physical, everyday things around us. ϑ

In your novel, The Guardian’s Apprentice, the character, Nisha  says: “Names can be powerful things...  To know someone’s name, especially their true name, is to have power over them.”  That made me wonder, is that why you don’t reveal your first name, and go by J. Michael Radcliffe?  Is there an element of superstition involved?





I will let you (and your readers) in on a little known secret. My first name is one I’ve never been entirely fond of; although it was the one I went by as a child in grade school. In school I was overweight and wore glasses – I also read every book I could get my hands on and did not have very many friends. As you can imagine, my self-esteem was not very high.

As an adult, I lost weight, got contact lenses and became more confident in myself, and as I transformed I also started going by my middle name “Michael”. My first name, associated with the persona of an unpopular, introverted teenager, was relegated to the past – thus the initial instead.  My wonderful wife, who actually knew me in school, tells me that I am not the same person that I was when I went by that name. So in a way, I guess there is a bit of superstition involved – I avoid using my first name, because I don’t want to be that person any longer!



Nisha is one of the characters in your book who is cursed to remain in animal form for 23 hours a day.  Her animal form is a raven. The other character, the wizard, Acamar, is a cat for most of the day.  If you could choose to be an animal for some time, what animal would you choose and why?


I would have to say either a cat or (since we ARE talking magic here) a dragon. Ironically I picture both animals – the real and the mythical – as having some of the same traits. Both are fiercely independent, strong-willed and sometimes aloof. Not that I picture myself as having those traits, mind you. Ironically my astrological sign is Leo – a big cat! ϑ







You have four cats.  What do you think each of them would be like if they had a human form?


I regret to say we now have FIVE cats – so the humans are outnumbered at our house… Each of our cats has a very distinct personality. I will give you a brief comment about each, in order from oldest to youngest.

Cocoa




Our oldest cat, Cocoa is devious – no, she is evil. She would be the person who hides under the bed just so she could grab your ankle and scare the living daylights out of you. She definitely does NOT play well with others.

Cookie



Cookie would make a good princess or perhaps a queen. She is regal, aloof and will only tolerate you for a short period of time, and even then only on her own terms. She certainly does not view me as her owner – I’m more of a butler or valet whose sole purpose is to keep the food bowl full.

Jasmine




Jasmine would be the crazy cousin escaped from the asylum; the recluse who avoids going out in public. She is very clingy, and if you don’t pay attention to her you are promptly bitten.

Maddie



Maddie is fiercely independent, going wherever she wants, whenever she wants – even though she is missing a leg. She would be the strong willed adventurer that lets nothing stand in her way. She would also be the first one eaten by a dragon.

Mickey



The youngest of our feline army, Mickey would be the big goofy brother that loves to play ‘tag’ or ‘chase’. He loves to run, jump and pounce on the others, and gets a fair amount of abuse from them for it. The other cats definitely do not appreciate Mickey, but he doesn’t let that stop him and he remains as playful as ever, like a loveable little brother.



As well as writing a novel, you have written a few short stories, indeed one of them: Tears for Hesh, is featured in the BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 1, and another:Scale of a Dragon is featured in the BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 3.  As a short story writer, myself, I know that it’s harder to sell short stories; some people seem to think that because there are fewer words in short stories they are somehow inferior to novels.  I have been trying to convince people for years that they are missing out on some great stories by only reading novels.  What would you say to encourage people to read more short stories?




I firmly believe it can be more difficult to write a short story than a novel. With a short story, you have very limited space to fully develop characters and plot. A novel may offer you the luxury of 100,000 words while a short story might just be 5,000! A well written short story is like an hors d’oeuvre – it is a little gem than can be savored quickly, while a novel is like a seven course meal that would take hours. Especially in today’s fast paced world where we all have so many demands on our time, a short story can offer the reader a little escape from reality that only lasts 30 minutes, but leaves them feeling satisfied and refreshed.





You’ve been a member at Bestsellerbound for some time and you are quite active on the board. Has having a forum like BestsellerBound helped you as an independent writer? If so, in what way?

Absolutely!! I cannot praise BestsellerBound enough. The site has allowed me to connect with such a wonderful group of people such as Darcia Helle, Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick,and of course, you! It is a great place to share ideas, concerns and seek advice. Jumping into the world of writing with no prior experience was a scary thing – this forum helped me find other authors that had the same questions I had when I first went Indie. One certainly will not get any advice or guidance from editors, agents or publishers unless you land a contract.


I know that you are working on the draft of the second book in your Beyond The Veil series.  It always interests me to hear how writers go about planning and writing a book series.  When you set out to write the story of Beyond The Veil, was it always going to be a series or is that something that you decided later in the process? If so, did you write the whole series before publishing the first one, or do you not yet know what will happen in book three?
 
I’m ashamed to admit that The Guardian’s Apprentice took me eight years to write. When I first sketched out my idea, I envisioned the story covering an arc of three books. The story has transformed over time however, and now I’m inclined to think it may conclude with two. I won’t say I’m ruling out a third book in the series or even a fourth, but I think all of the plot lines have been nicely resolved at this point. Although I had a definite idea of how the stories would progress, they are much different now than when I first started writing them.



When writing a series of books, does it put more pressure on you as a writer knowing that your audience are waiting for the next book in the series?


Yes, I believe it does. Speaking for myself, knowing there were people interested in Bloodstone definitely increased the pressure to write the story. My website has a nice analytical package that shows me how people find the site and what phrases they query to find it. Over the past year I have noticed more and more queries about book two, and I feel obligated to fulfill the promise I made to my readers. I certainly didn’t want to make them wait eight years, which is how long book one took to finish!


Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?


Oddly enough, I think most of my favorite authors are British. Among my top favorites:

Jonathan Stroud – author of the Bartimaeus Series, he imbues his main character – a demon – with a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor. His characters come alive in my imagination when I’m reading.
J.K. Rowling– I envy Ms. Rowling’s level of detail – she creates an entire world within her books that just draws the reader in.
Arthur Conan Doyle– I have always loved a good mystery. I love the fact that the Sherlock Holmes stories often hinge on the tiniest of clues for the solution.
James Clavell – author of two of my favorite novels: Noble House and Tai-Pan. Clavell fills his works with strong, believable characters that have depth. The dialogue is great as well.



What was the last book you read?


I am currently reading Darke the seventh book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. My reading seems to cover a wide range of genres ranging from science fiction to fantasy, naval history and YA fantasy. Perhaps ironically, since becoming a writer I have had much less time to read!



What do you think of ebooks as opposed to print?


I think ebooks have opened up a world of opportunities for independent authors to connect with readers. Before the advent of ebooks and the direct publishing route, my works would never have seen the light of day. I also think they have opened up a world of reading to the electronic generation. Although I still love the feel of turning the pages on a book, I must admit the convenience of purchasing and downloading a new book in a matter of seconds is wonderful.



Do you have any tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?


Based on my experience, I would offer the following advice:

Join a writing group such as Bestsellerbound and connect with other authors

Join a critiquing group such as Critters.org where you critique the works of others and in turn have your works critiqued. It will help make your writing tighter.

Be open to criticism. I know it hurts, BELIEVE me I know. A two star review stings! But, if the reviewer is being honest (ignoring the occasional two star rant that just seems hateful) you can sometimes glean useful tips for improvement. If the reviewer says your book needs more editing – re-read your work and see if they are right. If someone says your dialogue is weak, read over it again and see if they might be right.

Keep writing. If you love to write, then DO it! Don’t let naysayers stop you from finishing a story.



How do you go about choosing a cover for your books?

Selecting and designing artwork for a cover is one of the hardest things for me. I consider it far more difficult than actually writing the story. It took me about four weeks of combing through images before I found one that was “just right” for my second book, Bloodstone – The Guardian’s Curse.



I usually start out with an idea of how I want the cover to look and the feelings I want it to evoke when someone sees it. The tough part is finding the image that fits with what is in my imagination!




Apart from the next book in the Beyond The Veil series, are you working on any other projects?


I do not have anything in the works at the moment, although I do have a rough outline for another book. This would be a departure from my current series and even from my current genre. This book would be more in the realm of science fiction, though I’m not sure yet if it will ever become a reality. I’ve also had an idea or two for another short story that touches upon characters from my current series.



Where can people buy your books?


My books are available at the following:
Amazon

Smashwords

Sony

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

My website is theguardiansapprentice.com and contains a large section devoted to the various creatures and characters from the books and gives some background on them you won’t find in the novels.

I also have a blog at michaelradcliffe.wordpress.com

Thank you Michael!

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Remember, if you'd like to be in with a chance to win a signed print copy, or a pdf copy of The Guardian's Apprentice all you have to do to enter is 'like' this blog post or leave a comment for Michael below!
Good luck! :)

I'm thrilled to be introducing you to author Lilian Duval. Her debut novel,You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner is a highly original and fascinating book about a man who wins an enormous amount of money on the Lottery. It is an intricately woven story that contains fabulous insight into human relationships and raises the question about whether luck or chance can really determine how our lives unfold.

I met Lilian through Bookpleasures.com and am very happy to have connected with her. She is delightful and very knowledgeable about many different subjects, as is reflected in her book. I was keen to interview her because I knew she would make a very interesting guest.

As well as agreeing to answer my interview questions, Lilian has also generously offered to give away a Kindle copy of You Never Know to 2 lucky readers of my blog! To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below, or simply 'Like' the blog post. Winners will be picked at random on 28th January 2012.









Here are Lilian's answers to my interview questions:

You Never Know as the title suggests deals with the fascinating topic of chance and luck and whether or not we can control our own destinies.  Tobias, your main character, is the type of person who seems to plan everything, almost a control freak, whereas his brother, Simeon, is more of a person who lives his life in the moment.  Which character do you most relate to in that respect?

Actually, both. I try to plan ahead, but also enjoy taking life as it comes. And I have to tell you a secret: I chose male protagonists so that I would not make them into “Lilian clones.” Sometimes, if my main character is female, I tend to make her too much like me. I wanted Tobias and his brother Simeon to be completely original characters.



In the prologue to your book, you start out by saying that coincidence defines Tobias.  Do you believe in coincidences

Yes and no. I struggle with the concept of free will vs. fate. My aim in this book is to leave this conclusion up to the readers: does life unfurl according to plan, or are we the masters of our own destinies?



Tobias and his best friend Martin, meet often to play tennis and during those meetings they open up to each other about the ups and downs in their lives.  Do you play tennis?  I thought that the way you wrote about it made you come across as a seasoned professional!

Once again, you have hit the nail on the head. Tennis is my literary trick for getting Tobias and Martin to converse and confide in one another. Women seem to do that more easily than men, who are more likely to chat if they’re doing some other activity.

The tennis games in the book also demonstrate the changing status of who’s up and who’s down in the seesaw relationship between two best friends, Tobias and Martin.

My tennis consultant for all these games was my husband George, who is an accomplished amateur tennis player.




It’s no secret that in this novel, Tobias has a stroke of luck when he wins an enormous amount of money in the lottery.  What would you do if you won that amount of money?

Give some to our three grown kids, make some home improvements, buy a custom-made classical guitar, and take some trips. Then I would establish and staff a no-kill sanctuary for homeless or feral cats. I would let my husband invest the remaining money to keep it growing.


I think you have done a great job in ‘You Never Know’, at showing that sometimes having a dream come true can be a double edged sword.  What was the inspiration behind the novel?

The inspiration was a folder of newspaper and magazine articles about lottery winners that I kept for more than 20 years. A common thread in all these articles was that the winners ended up a rather disappointed lot, in spite of their good luck. Then I read about a psychological study that revealed that accident victims who became paraplegics actually made better long-term adjustments to their new status than lottery winners! You can read about that study here:

Psychological Study Inspired Book

I was impressed by the diverse range of subjects contained within the pages of your novel.  How much research did you have to do?  And how did you go about carrying out the research?

Research is vital to making fiction seem real. My brother, who’s a psychologist, referred me to specialists who answered my questions about brain damage, alcoholism, and related subjects. I bought and borrowed books on the subject as well. My husband provided the info on tennis and financial matters. My friend, a certified art therapist in NY City, answered all my questions on that subject and even gave me two bona fide art therapy sessions so I could experience what I was writing about.



One of my favourite parts of the book was where the family take a tour of the Amazon in Venezuela.  Your descriptions were amazing.  Have you ever taken that tour yourself?  It seemed like you were writing as someone who had been there.

You are absolutely right. My husband and I took a tour of the Amazon in which many of those events actually happened, including a jungle hike that ended in darkness, and a scorpion sting (I was the victim). As for the visit to the Yanomami natives, I did a lot of reading on the subject, but never actually visited their villages.


In your bio it states that you are a survivor of the World Trade Center terrorist attack.  In your book there is a chapter which describes the characters’ experiences on the day.  It is a haunting read.  How much of the content in You Never Know reflects your own personal experience of that terrible day?  Were you near the World Trade Center then?

Yes. My husband and I are both survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

On that day, I was heading to New York to my job as a computer consultant for Lehman Brothers in One World Trade Center. My commuter train was in the middle of the New Jersey Meadowlands when the first plane hit, and a conductor came walking through the cars telling everybody.

I got out my Walkman radio and put on headphones to listen, and soon a crowd gathered around me. “A jet plane hit World Trade Center No. 1,” I told them. The radio announcer said it was a 747, and I told them that, too. “And the Kennedy Center,” the radio man said nervously. I repeated it. “No, it was the Pentagon!” the radio man said.
I repeated that to the people huddled around me, and one man said, “We’re at war.” Two of the commuters started crying. Through the windows, we could see smoke coming from downtown Manhattan.

When we arrived at Hoboken Terminal, just across the Hudson River from the attack, the police and FBI were all over the terminal, sending everybody home—no subway trains under the river, no ferry over the river, no buses, no crossing over to New York City.

I got onto a very crowded train heading back to my home town in New Jersey, and one of my colleagues ended up standing next to me in the vestibule. All the way home, I was frantically trying to call my husband in his office at a brokerage firm in the first tower. No answer.

Two weeks later, my colleague reminded me that we had seen the towers crumble from the vestibule of our very slow train. I simply had no memory of that. “No,” I told him, “We didn’t see that. You’re joking.”

“No, I wouldn’t joke about that,” he told me. “Your memory was lost because it was too traumatic.”

I rode my bike home from the train station and sat in front of the TV alone, crying, worrying about my husband, George. At 2:00 in the afternoon, after dozens of phone calls from family and friends, George’s friend called to say that he was safe and he had escaped, but couldn’t call home because of all the cellphone difficulties. Only an hour later did I hear from a relative whom George had been able to reach.

It was 8:00 p.m. before George came home, traumatized and pale, but safe. Two days later, during one of many phone calls to family members, I learned how close he’d come: George had been invited to a presentation in Windows on the World that day, a breakfast meeting, on the 107th floor. His schedule had been so overloaded that he’d forgotten to attend. He didn’t want to tell me that at first, because the catastrophe was so overwhelming.

We didn’t sleep that night, but held hands the whole night. We hardly slept for several nights afterward. Our grown son, who lived in NY City at the time, came home to NJ as soon as traffic was permitted. He and his wife stayed with us for a week or so because they didn’t want us to be alone.

We both returned to work soon after the attack—my husband George as an officer in a brokerage firm, and me as a computer programmer for Lehman Brothers (R.I.P.) But it was never the same. George eventually retired early because of post-traumatic stress disorder. He had watched, horrified, as all the firefighters climbed up the stairs to their deaths, while he and his colleagues climbed down the stairs to safety. In his heart, he knew they were all going to die. As for me, a few months later, I switched careers, from high-pressured programming to technical writing.

We’re both all right now, thankful that our lives were spared, and deeply mournful for those who lost theirs, and for their loved ones who remain.



Simeon, Tobias’s brother is a fabulous artist.  You described many of his works as if they were real.  Do you draw or paint or have any background in art?

No, I’m an amateur musician. However, I love art and I go to art museums whenever I have the time. I also like to include art in my fiction writing.



I’m always interested in hearing from authors about whether they base their characters on anyone they know, or if they are purely fictional.  So, what’s your answer?

All of the main characters in You Never Know are completely fictional: Tobias, Simeon, Martin, and Carmela. Some peripheral characters were based on real people. Near the beginning, there’s an annoying customer in a bookstore who just can’t be pleased, and who brags about not having a television set. He’s based on my rather conceited former guitar teacher. Near the end, there’s an empathetic art therapist. With permission, he’s based on the great Giora Carmi of New York, an outstanding art therapist. Also near the end, there’s a cameo of my husband, who appears as the philosophical tennis coach Ezekiel Lim.

A very important peripheral character is the blind man in the train station. He’s lost in the terminal a couple of weeks before Christmas, and nobody bothers stopping to help him find his track. At the last moment, Tobias, my protagonist, jumps forward and helps the blind man. In so doing, he alters his own fate; shortly after that, he buys a winning lottery ticket to while away the time because he missed his train.

Well, that blind man was real, and that incident really happened to me—all except for the lottery win. It still shakes me up when I remember all those callous people passing by someone who clearly needed help. And just before Christmas, when people are supposed to be nice…



In You Never Know you touch upon the subjects of Art Therapy and Music Therapy.  I have long been a believer that art and music can help the healing process especially of the mind.  What are your opinions of these types of therapies and did you come across any interesting stories whilst researching for your book that you can share with us on these topics?

Oh, I agree with you on the benefits of these therapies, but don’t know anybody personally who has experienced them, except for me. As part of my research, I participated in two full-length art therapy sessions in New York. After only two sessions, separated by two weeks, I surprisingly found myself waking up in the morning in a cheerful and positive mood.




How long did it take to write You Never Know?

From start to finish, fourteen months.




I understand that you are soon going to publish a short story collection, Random Acts of Kindness.  I am eagerly awaiting that! I am also a short story writer and often find that people seem hesitant to read short stories, seeing them as somehow inferior to novels.  I love short stories and am always trying to convince people to read more.  What would you say to convince people to read more short stories?

Oh, I love these questions. Dear readers: you can read a well-crafted short story in one sitting. In only 20 or 30 minutes, you meet interesting characters, get involved in their lives, feel their struggles, and wonder what you would do in the same situation. Because they have only a few pages in which to reach you, short-story characters are more vivid and colourful than those who inhabit the rambling pages of novels.



Is your upcoming collection of short stories a themed collection, or is each story based on a different theme?  Can you tell us anything about any of the stories in the collection?

The general theme uniting all the stories is that somebody performs an act of kindness that was not expected—or, ironically, an expected act of kindness was not performed. Here is a synopsis of all the stories in the collection:


Wish
Marlon Liu, a survivor of the Cultural Revolution in China, escapes from the World Trade Center the day of the 9/11 attack, but life is never the same again for him and his Chinese-American wife Christine, who tries everything possible to cure his post-traumatic stress disorder, including matching him up with a date from a service that provides companions for married people. Therapy is not an option because of cultural prohibitions.

Prodigy
Julian Norman is four years old at the beginning of this story and eighteen by the end. In between, he astonishes adults and defies predictions. His parents’ marriage does not survive. Julian’s piano playing is second to none, but it’s his friendship with a retarded boy of the same age that has the most profound effect on his character development.

Oil on Canvas
Marla, age 36, is the gallery director of a museum and paints nature scenes as a hobby. Blind dates that her friends arrange for her never work out. A neighbor with whom she has little in common falls in love with her artwork, culminating in an unlikely romantic conflict with no easy resolution.

Lucky Two-Dollar Bill
Conrad, a Chinese-American professor, and Lexie, his rebellious teenage daughter, visit his ancestral home in Singapore, where an aging relative teaches them a lesson they never could have anticipated. Conrad is amazed that he and Lexie had to travel halfway around the world to learn how to communicate with each other.

Between Seasons
Deborah, a professional speech therapist, revisits Greenwich Village, where she landed her first summer job as a girl from an immigrant family. She then nearly derailed her college plans and her life, until a routine visit to the family dentist put her in her right mind. Looking back on the scene from adulthood, she wonders who really saved her from catastrophe. Deborah suspects that her parents, now dead, intervened, and she achieves a bittersweet understanding of them.

Hand Me Down
Nessa Foley is the local paragon of righteousness in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania suburb. She offers her neighbor Jolene a hand-me-down jacket for her small daughter, Corinna. Jolene is embarrassed when she discovers that Nessa’s own child still needs the jacket. Nessa wants to censor books in the public school library, while Jolene and her husband are proudly open-minded. But little Corinna’s request at the end surprises everyone. “Your children are not your children” is one possible conclusion.

Outsourcing
A research assistant on Wall Street in Manhattan almost loses her job to a brilliant young Indian economist, and then falls in love with him. Their culture clash threatens her sanity as well as her job, while she struggles back to equilibrium at the end of the affair.

Random Acts of Kindness (novella)
Seth Glassman is a middle-aged orthopedic surgeon in New York at the height of his career. His much younger wife Belinda, a black medical resident from Jamaica, is killed on a city street in a random act of violence. Seth closes his practice and moves to rural Massachusetts to grieve alone. After a few months, he begins performing anonymous, random acts of kindness that eventually lead him to a new purpose in life and a love he never would have imagined.



Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald A perfect masterpiece; took 10 years to write.
Into The Heart: One Man's Pursuit of Love and Knowledge Among the Yanomami by Kenneth Good The best adventure story ever.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway In Hemingwayese: “It was a good book, a very good book.”
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. All of my ideals in one perfect play.
The Assistant by Bernard Malamud. An impeccable chronicle of conflict and resolution.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. The most exquisite memoir of all.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers The story of a young girl who craves music.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller. McCarthyism then and now.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. The Bible of all novels. No one could do better.



Is there a book you own that you’ve read more than once?

Oh, yes, many. I read Angela's Ashes and Into the Heart twice in a row. I read Lolita and Inherit the Wind four times each.



Are you reading a book at the moment?

Yes, The London Train by Tessa Hadley, a British author.



What do you think of ebooks as compared to print books?

I myself prefer printed books, but if the invention of ebooks gets people to read more, then I’m a fan!



How important are reviews for you as a writer?

Very important. Reviews are a mirror—I get to see whether people see what I see; whether they are touched by what I wrote. Some analyses of You Never Know taught me things about the book that I hadn’t been aware of myself.



How did you go about choosing the cover for You Never Know?

My publisher designed the foreground. And my brother, an accomplished amateur photographer, provided the background image of the waterfall.



Are you working on any projects at the moment?

Yes, I am fine-tuning the stories in Random Acts of Kindness for publication later this year.



When you’re not writing, what are your favourite pastimes?

I’m an avid amateur classical guitarist and practice 3 hours per day. Once a week I take lessons with a virtuoso guitarist in New York City, and I occasionally give free performances.



Where can people buy your book?

For those who want to see all the reviews, please look at Amazon in the U.S.:


Amazon US

And this is the link for Amazon U.K.:
You Never Know

Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

Yes, this is my author website:
Lilian Duval author website

And this is the website for my professional writing service:
Lilian Duval - writing service



Thank you for answering my questions, Lilian!

Thank you so much for inviting me as a guest on your blog, Maria! I wish you all the good things.

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Remember, if you'd like the chance to win a Kindle copy of Lilian's book, please leave a comment below, or 'Like' this blog post. We'll pick the winners on 28th January 2012. Good luck!

Christmas was in December, right? Well, come the end of this month, one lucky book addict will be thinking it's Christmas again when he or she wins 17 books in the BestsellerBound Book Bonanza!

10 authors, all members of BestsellerBound (including me), have donated books to the giveaway. Here's what's on offer:

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All books will be signed print copies.

Yes, all these books could be yours! To enter, all you have to do is click on the link below which will take you to Darcia Helle's website, and fill in the form. It's an international competition open to anyone aged 16 and over.

The contest closes on 29th February 2012.
BestsellerBoundBookBonanza

There can only be one lucky winner! Good luck everyone!