Maria Savva's Blog, page 43

Getting to Know You...

Author Darcia Helle is currently producing a great series of videos on the Bestsellerbound YouTube Channel where she asks authors questions to help readers get to know more about them.

I will be answering 5 questions in the series. The first question I was asked was: 'Destiny' or 'fate' is an underlying theme in some of your books. Do you believe in destiny?

My answer is here: http://youtu.be/r2W73P1ngKk

Other authors who have taken part in this series so far are Sylvia Massara and J. Michael Radcliffe

Have a browse around the BestsellerBound You Tube Channel to check out their interviews, and you can also find lots of book trailers to help you decide on your next read.

I'll be posting links to the rest of my questions in the 'Getting to Know You' series on this blog.

My Favourite Books - September & October

Oops... it looks as though I forgot to do a September blog in my favourite books series. Sorry about that, there has been lots going on what with the launch of the BestsellerBound Recommends blog, my KDP Select promotion of Coincidences, and editing my upcoming novel Haunted, so somehow this series slipped through the net. This month I will be choosing 2 favourite books to make up for forgetting last months post!!

If you click on the book covers below you can check out my choices for January through to August.











My choices for this month are:

Gone by Julie Elizabeth Powell

and

The Guardian's Apprentice by J. Michael Radcliffe

These two books have something in common. Not only that they are both fantasy books, but they introduced me to a new genre of book.

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When I met Julie Elizabeth Powell on Goodreads back in 2008, we swapped books; she read A Time to Tell, and I read Gone. I was new to self-promotion at the time, but was aware that reviews are necessary to help promote books. By swapping books with other indie authors I came across many different types of books that I would not necessarily choose to read. I am so glad I read Gone. I'd never read this type of fantasy novel before and it made me realise that I was missing out. After reading Gone I became a fan of Julie Elizabeth Powell and have gone on to read her other books. The only one I haven't read is the third in her Avalon trilogy, but I am looking forward to that. I would highly recommend all her books.






The reason I've chosen Gone as my favourite Julie Elizabeth Powell book is because I know it is the one that started her on her writing journey and also means the most to her. It is a fantasy novel but is inspired by a tragic event in her life. Julie's daughter's heart stopped when she was just 2 years old, and she suffered brain damaged because of it. She lived for a further 17 years, but Julie says she always wondered where her daughter had 'gone', as she didn't seem to still be inside her body. Julie used her imagination to create the world of Avalon. She later went on to create the Avalon trilogy of books, which is a great fantasy series.

Here's the review I wrote of Gone when I read it:

I enjoyed this book. It is a wonderful story which kept me interested from the beginning right through to the last page. It is based on a true event in the authors life which inspired the tale. 'Gone' is a fantasy story which takes the reader to a strange land called 'Avalon' where there are goblins, talking flowers, eerie ghouls, dangers, wonders and more. By the end you are left wondering whether Avalon is a real place, and kind of hoping that it is! The author has done a great job telling her tale. Charley, the main character, has a brain-damaged daughter, and she has lived with the guilt of giving her daughter away to be looked after by someone else. She no longer recognises her daughter whenever she visits, and has in fact stopped visiting her very often. One day Charley has a heart attack and ends up in a place called Avalon, there she meets her daughter and the story begins. 'Gone' uses a fantasy tale to tell a very important story about how our actions and choices in life affect other people. I would highly recommend 'Gone' to anyone who loves a good book.

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My next pick, The Guardian's Apprentice is one that introduced me to a different type of fantasy tale, one full of dragons and wizards. Again, not something I would usually choose to read, but having met the author online, I wanted to try one of his books.






Here's the review I wrote when I read it:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I don't usually read this type of fantasy novel, but it really kept me interested and entertained.
Keegan is about 30 years old in a mundane job, feeling bored with his life. Then one day he meets a black cat and his life changes for ever. He is whisked into a world of magic and danger, where wizards rule and magic prevails. Keegan learns something about his ancestry that he didn't know and finds out that he may soon be responsible for saving the entire world. The Guardian's Apprentice is a satisfying fantasy adventure. There are many weird and wonderful characters. I would recommend this to readers of fantasy novels, young adult and adult. I like the way the author has created another world with its own history and rules. There are lots of twists and turns in this story with some gripping action scenes. It's well written with a cast of characters who come alive on the page. This is the first book in the series and I will definitely be reading book two!

And, yes, I did go on to read book 2 Bloodstone - The Guardian's Curse and am now eagerly awaiting book 3!

I hope you'll try the books, and if you're not already a fantasy fan, that you will converted as I was!

Haunted is featured in The Independent Paperback Gift Shop's Christmas Catalogue!

My new novel, Haunted, scheduled for release on 31st October 2012, is featured in The Independent Paperback Gift Shop's Christmas Catalogue!




The Catalogue is packed full of Christmas gift ideas for the book lovers in your life. You can download a pdf copy of the catalogue from my website. Just go to Http://www.mariasavva.com and scroll down to the bottom of the Home page. You'll find a link to download the catalogue in the bottom right hand corner of the page (in the box that says "I.P. Giftshop")

Please 'Like' the Gift Shop on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheIndependen... It helps to promote independently published books.

A brief update on Haunted:

As I write this blog, I am about a third of the way through the final edits. I hope to have a finished version by the end of this week. It will then be sent to my formatter eBookBuilders

I am still hopeful the Kindle version will be available by the 31st October. If not, I will update you.

I will have a paperback version available to buy through Lulu.com, in time for your Christmas gift purchases. For some reason, Amazon are taking a very long time to get around to making paperback books from Lulu available in the store, so I can't guarantee that the Amazon paperback will be available in time for Christmas. Lulu is a great site to purchase Independent books, however, and I actually get a higher royalty if you buy direct from Lulu rather than Amazon, so would encourage you to buy Independent books from there whenever you can. I know their postage prices can be off-putting, but there are often great discounts available.

Please tell all your friends about The Independent Paperback Gift Shop's Christmas Catalogue. I hope you find some great new books to read!

BestsellerBound has a YouTube Channel!

Those of you who follow my blog will already know that I am a moderator and resident author at the writers' forum, BestsellerBound
Author Darcia Helle created the forum a couple of years ago and invited me and author Stacy Juba to join her as resident authors on the board. The forum has become very popular over the past 2 years and we are also on Twitter, and of course we have the new blog that I announced a couple of months ago: BestsellerBound Recommends, staffed by Darcia Helle, J. Michael Radcliffe, and me. You can also find Bestsellerbound Recommends on Twitter

Darcia has recently started creating book trailers to help promote books by BestsellerBound members. You can find her YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/QuietFury...

Please take a moment to browse around the channel if you're looking for a new book to read; there are books in all genres to suit all tastes.

Among the trailers on the YouTube channel, you'll find one that features all my books: Books By Maria Savva

Thanks again to Darcia Helle for creating these trailers. Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel so you won't miss any new ones.

A-Z of Self-Publishing and Writing tips - K-M

Continuing in my popular series of Self-Publishing and Writing tips, today's subjects include Klout, Libraries, and Mondays, among other things. Yes, it's letters K-M.

Here we go:

K

Klout

Even after joining http://Klout.com and using it for a while, many people still ask the question, what is Klout? I have to admit I don't have a definitive answer. What I do know about Klout.com is that you can use it to connect your various social networking accounts and it will calculate a score for you to say how influential you are in terms of how many people actually seem to take notice of what you say on different sites.

I quite like the site. The way you use it is either connect through your Twitter or Facebook account and you can give +K 'rewards' to people based on what they are influential about and in theory you will also be given +Ks by people on the site. The thing I like about it is the way it helps with keeping in touch with people on Twitter. When time is limited you cannot always chat with people, but if you sent +Ks it's like a way of saying 'hello' and keeping in touch. Having said that, it is also hard to find time to use Klout!

I am not sure what Klout does to help promotion of work, but I would assume that the higher your Klout score is, the more visible you will be on the site and that way you may gain more followers on different social networking sites. I'd advise people to give it a try and see if it works for them. Some people like it and some people hate it.


Kindle

Kindle books are probably the most popular of all e-books. Amazon is the market leader. It took me a while to decide to convert my books into e-books. I love paperbacks and hardbacks and didn't think that I would ever get used to reading e-books. I gave in last year and bought myself a Kindle 3G. I have to say, I love it. Before buying the Kindle, I found that I was reading e-books anyway but reading them on my computer. I'd connected with so many indie authors and most of them were publishing mainly in e-book formats. Reading on a Kindle is so much nicer than reading on a computer screen. It's easier on the eyes.
If you're a reader who is wondering whether to purchase an e-reader, I would definitely recommend it. The price used to put people off buying e-readers, but these days, the fact that you can download so many free and low cost books means that the cost of the e-reader shouldn't really be an issue. Not that I am happy with the fact that we, as authors, are now in a position where we more or less have to give away our books, but the theory is that when we give away one of our books this should result in readers buying some of our other ones.

If you're an author who has so far only published in print, you are missing out on a wide audience. E-books are now outselling print books, and it's time for all authors to make sure they have their books available as e-books.

KDP Select Programme

All this talk about free books brings me on to the subject of the KDP Select Programme on Amazon. I have recently had great success with this promotional tool. I won't repeat it all here as those of you who follow my blog have already seen my post about my findings. Here's the link for those of you who may not have seen it: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

To cut a long story short, I would recommend all authors to try it out. The main advice is that you should prepare beforehand. My blog post gives some guidance about that.

L

Libraries

It often gets overlooked that libraries are great places to promote books. I would advise authors to try to get their books into their local libraries. And, readers, if there is a book by an independent author that you want to read and you are a member of a library, you should order the book through the library. Word of mouth has always been the best way to sell and promote books. If someone reads a good book at a library, they might buy a copy for a friend, or even for themselves. They might tell a friend about it. In the UK, authors can register their books with Public Lending Right: http://www.plr.uk.com/ You will then get royalties paid yearly based on an estimated number of books lent from libraries around the country.
While I'm on the topic of royalties from lending, another L word 'Licensing' should be mentioned. In the UK authors can also join the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) http://www.alcs.co.uk/, If your books, or magazines and journals containing your work are available to be photocopied or scanned in schools, universities, businesses, public sector bodies or libraries then you may be entitled to a share of the income collected by the Copyright Licensing Agency. There is a one-off payment for membership of ALCS, but once you're a member you will receive payments twice a year based on the royalties for your books. I didn't think I had any money owed to me but I have been receiving payments from this organisation. It's worth joining. I am not sure whether these types of things exist in other countries, but if you're not a UK author, it may be worth looking into this.

Lending

For the reasons mentioned about (i.e. promotional) I would recommend that all authors allow their e-books to have the lending facility activated when uploading books onto Kindle. Kindle has a lending library for Prime Members so that books in the KDP Select Programme can be lent by members, but there is also a way that any Kindle books can be shared between Kindle users if the author has allowed lending. The key thing to remember is that we want our books to be read. There is no point writing something that no one ever reads. Bestsellers, in the old days, became bestsellers because people used to borrow books from friends and discover new authors. If you are a serious writer you will be writing more than one book, you can afford to make at least one book available for free. As far as I know the sharing facility means that the book will only be available on the lender's Kindle for 14 days, after that it will disappear. So, you may get a sale out of it if the person liked the book but didn't have time to finish it. More importantly, remember that when someone buys a paperback copy of your book, you have no control over how many times they lend that to their friends, so why should it be any different with e-books?

LibraryThing

http://www.LibraryThing.com is a website similar to Goodreads in that you can list your books there, you can set up giveaways, and join groups where you can chat about books. My advice to all authors is to join as many of these sites as possible. It may not always be possible to maintain a presence on all of the sites, but you can have an Author Page on LibraryThing, and keep that up to date with all your books. I have set up giveaways on that site in the past, and definitely think it's worth doing as it promotes your books to people who may not otherwise see them.

Likes

I'll just briefly mention this here as I think I already mentioned that it's useful to 'Like' Amazon Author Pages, when I was dealing with the letter 'H' in this series.

Readers, if you have favourite authors, you should go and 'like' their Amazon Author Pages, and Facebook fan pages. You should also make sure that when you read a book that you enjoy, you go to the Amazon page and click the 'like' button for that book. All of this helps with promoting books and authors.

Links

I think it's always a nice idea to include links on your author websites or blogs showing other authors' websites/blogs or book promotion sites. For example, take a look at the links page on my website: Maria Savva - Links

This is a way of helping to promote other authors' books. Indie authors need as much help with promotion as possible, so if you've read a book you enjoy, why not help promote it on your own site? Other authors are more likely to do the same for you if you help them. In this way you can reach a wider audience. I know that some blogs will swap links, so they will ask you to put a link on your website or blog and they will reciprocate. Again, this is a good way to build a wider audience.

M

MySpace

Is it worth having a profile on MySpace? I am not sure. I set up my profile a few years back when MySpace was still relatively popular and I did like the site. I have noticed that people seem to have chosen Facebook and Twitter as the main networking sites these days and MySpace has been abandoned by some. I still post links to my blog there, but have stopped actually blogging on MySpace. I don't use it much, but what I would say is that it's good to have a profile on as many sites as you can because in that way you can reach more people. There are some book groups on MySpace which I joined years ago and haven't visited recently, but many of them had large followings, so it's worth at least checking some of those out if you get time. I mainly try to keep the profile page up to date there, and post links to news about my writing as well as my blog.

Mention Monday

This is a hashtag on Twitter. So, on a Monday, you would type #MentionMonday or just #MM into your Twitter comment and then a link to a blog with the Twitter name of the person you are mentioning. This is a good way of directing people to interesting blogs that you have discovered. Readers, you could use it to support your favourite authors. Authors can also use it to support their fellow indie authors.

So, for example, if you wanted to mention my blog, you could tweet: #MentionMonday Check out author @Maria_Savva's Goodreads blog: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Morguefile

For those independent authors who like to design their own book covers and who also like making book trailers, I would recommend a great site full of royalty free photos that you can use, http://www.Morguefile.com. I usually make a point of contacting the photographers on the site and letting them know what I will be using their photo for. The idea of the site is that you can use the photos free for creative projects, including book covers, book trailers, etc. You will need to check the licensing agreement for each photographer as there are sometimes restrictions on the use. I have found it a very user-friendly site, and have used it for all my book trailers. The covers for my books, Fusion, Second Chances, and Love and Loyalty were taken from photos I found on Morguefile.






Most of the photos in my book trailers were also from that site:

Coincidences

The Dream

Second Chances

A Time to Tell

I hope you enjoyed this instalment. You can find the earlier posts in this series at the links below:

A-C: http://nutsandcrisps.wordpress.com/20...
D-F: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
G: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
H-J: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

I've been tagged: U Got "The Look"

Fantasy author, Dionne Lister, has tagged me in a blog tagging event! Thanks, Dionne! :)

Here's how it works:

The Look is a writing prompt, a game, another tagging event. This is how U Got “The Look” works: you take your current manuscript, search for the word “look”, and post the surrounding paragraphs. Lastly, you tag 5 blogging authors who you think will be a good choice for the game.

Here's Dionne's blog showing her excerpt from Book 2 of her Circle of Talia series: Dionne Lister - U Got "The Look"

Here's my excerpt from my upcoming novel, Haunted!


Russell looked at her, his face telling her he thought she had lost her mind. ‘Fuck off, Ems. I’m not taking this stuff back. He’s probably reported it to the police by now. I’ll get nicked. Anyway, I don’t feel sorry for him. He can claim on his insurance.’

‘Take it when he’s not in. Just return it!’ she screamed.

‘No!’ shouted Russell. Then he walked towards her and put his face very close to hers. ‘Let’s get one thing straight here: you don’t tell me what to do, okay?’

‘This isn’t you, Russ!’ she said, moving away, slightly intimidated by the look in his eyes she didn’t recognise. He’d never looked at her like that before. There was a deep and dark void that used to be his pupils, as if he could swallow her up with just one stare.

He twisted around and walked back to the microwave. It had just beeped to let him know his food was ready. ‘Get used to it, bitch. This is the new improved Russell Banks.’ He turned and winked at her, a wide grin on his face. ‘Before you know it, we’ll be millionaires. Stick with me, baby.’ He laughed and breezed past her into the living room with a bowl of soup.




I am hoping to publish Haunted in time for Halloween. I will of course let you all know when I have a definite publication date!

Now I have to tag some authors. These authors have books they are working on, so I hope they'll take up the challenge as I'm looking forward to reading their excerpts:

Susan Buchanan

Mark Rice

J. Michael Radcliffe

Darcia Helle

Terry Tyler

Introducing musician, Jason Achilles Mezilis

Those of you who follow my blog will know that music is probably as big a part of my life as reading and writing. I'm currently running a series here where I'm introducing a few of my favourite indie musicians.

My guest today is talented musician and producer, Jason Achilles Mezilis. Jason plays guitar in the rock band Owl, and that's how I first heard of him. When I started following the band a few years ago, I then found out that Jason also had a solo project. I bought his album, which includes an instrumental track. 'Jerry's Song'. When I was putting together my book trailer for Second Chances, I really thought that track would be perfect as the background music and Jason was kind enough to let me use it. Here's a link to the book trailer for those of you who may not have seen it: Second Chances - Book Trailer

I invited Jason here to chat about his musical career and his new band and upcoming projects.

Here's the interview:

You are currently involved in many different bands in some way or another... I know that you are a permanent member of the rock group Owl, and you have a new band that you have just started called Black Belt Karate, I've seen on Facebook that you also play with other musicians in LA. Which of your current projects would you say takes priority, and is it hard to juggle all the commitments?

Yeah, I know might seem like a lot. But with Chris touring with The Cult, Owl goes pretty inactive for a large stretch…so there aren’t as many conflicts as it might seem. Right now my priorities with that band [Owl] are just working to get our new album done, artwork and videos and so forth. And a lot of the artists I play with in LA are actually bands that I produce, and that’s my main involvement with them…sharing the stage is more of a fun side-benefit, when I’m available to do it…but they can all exist without me if need be. Actively right now the new band [BBK] is the primary focus – Black Belt KARATE has our big LA debut on Oct 11th, and we’ve been working hard on promoting our debut single / music video, which dropped a few months back, as well as the follow-up single “Kaleidoscope” which is slated for an Oct 30th release…with of course, another crazy music video. And I produce all the music (and videos) for that band, so it can add up to a full workload pretty quick



You are an independent musician with quite a bit of experience in the industry. What advice would you give to a band or musician who might be thinking of starting out? I know it's not an easy time for musicians in general, and the current economic climate has effected all artists in some way. Do you have any tips for the best way to get new music noticed, for example, have you noticed that certain social networking sites are better for promotion than others for musicians?

Ha – go be a doctor, instead! Make your parents happy…actually, it’s not a “hard” time for musicians, it’s just in flux…and that’s the hard thing to figure out, how to step into that groove that’s ever-changing. But it’s actually a great time if you have a lot of energy, at least a reasonable amount of talent, and a crazy hard work ethic. Strong addiction to caffeine doesn’t hurt either…or a general reprehension towards large amounts of sleep. Best way to get noticed is to bust your ass…the details are all up to you, but you won’t get there being lazy

When did you first learn to play music, and which was the first instrument you learnt how to play?

I started with piano, age 8…classical lessons for about 11 years. Didn’t pick up guitar, though, until 16 or 17 – early Van Halen records saw to that


A couple of years ago you released a great solo album, Between the Lines. How long did it take you to put that album together, and were the tracks written especially for the album or were they songs you'd written over the years?

Ah thank you ☺ well it’s interesting, the songs on that record were never conceived of to be a “collection” of any sort…it was actually just something where I looked back on the past couple years of fun little side-project recording one-off sessions I did with friends, and realized somehow there was enough of a thread there that I could compile them into an EP release. A lot of that had to do with the fact that they were all the same lead singer, an incredibly gifted vocalist friend of mine named Darin Bennett…who always came down and sang his balls off for a bottle of Jack Daniels. Good stuff




Your musical style on 'Between the Lines' has been described as 'Dirt Rock'; where did that description originate from, and do you think it's a good way to describe your style?

Definitely. As best I can recall, the expression “Dirt Rock” came from a recording studio I worked at in SF, about 11 years ago…one of the other interns overheard my early demos when I was first developing that sound, during a late-night tracking session, and that’s essentially what it sounded like to him. I loved it – I’ve always felt my guitar sound has a lonely cold rainy-night streets of San Francisco grit to it…that’s where it came from, I like to take it with me. Another of my buds here in LA calls my old Marshall amp the “dirt box” – so it all comes full circle. But that sound is all the amp, my homemade cabinet, and the guitar…no pedals, no tricks. It’s actually difficult to capture on tape sometimes, because it toes the line between distinction and mud, and all at rather loud volume


Do you have any other solo projects planned?

I have some conceptions, but nothing in a formative stage. I have a piano in my house now, so might involve something along those lines. I have a feeling any forthcoming solo release (in the near future) would be a strong departure from the rock n roll format, since my new band [BBK] is so fulfilling in that regard


Who were your favourite musicians when you were growing up, and are there any in particular that have influenced your style over the years?

When I was a little kid, a black-and-white TV broadcast of Vladamir Horowitz was what inspired me for piano. When I learned about rock n roll as a young teenager, I found Def Leppard (due to a cute girl having it written on her backpack) – and later Van Halen, which was what finally pushed me over the edge into guitar. When I was young, my father played classical guitar, but he was so good at it and it looked so impossible that it ironically steered me away from the instrument for many years

You are currently in a band, Owl, with Chris Wyse from The Cult, and Dan Dinsmore of The Clay People. How did you get involved in that project?



Chris and I were introduced through a mutual friend and became friends when I first moved to LA. We hit it off rather well to begin with, and became hiking buds over the years, when he lived up in Laurel Canyon. At the time Owl existed in different permutations, and I was always a fan of the band. At one point Chris felt he needed to start over with all new blood, so to speak, and I was invited to be a part of it…mainly just as a recording project. Truthfully, I didn’t know I was a full-fledged “band member” until the day I got a copy of the CD and saw my name was one of the ones in the big print ☺


Owl has a new CD coming soon. The first Owl album is an awesome progressive rock CD, self-titled Owl; it's one of my favourites, in fact. Can you tell us anything about the direction the new CD will take? Will Owl fans be surprised, or is it similar to the first record?

Ah thanks (again). Well the new CD was definitely conceived of differently, primarily in that the case of the first Chris acted much more as director of the ship, much more controlling of the minutiae. That’s not a bad thing, he just had a very specific vision and found hands to fulfill that. And the songs had been around for a while. This time around, Chris has been a lot more hands-off with our contributions…before he would sit over my shoulder and tell me where to go, this time he just left the room, said “make it awesome”, and came back a few hours later. And hopefully I would! But primarily the songs are still his composition, of course, and he still helmed the production duties. On the performance aspect this new record definitely carries more of our individual personalities. And in that regard, I’ve never considered myself much of a guitar “soloist” but I have to say I’ve got a couple leads on this new record that are some of the best stuff I’ve done…it’s quite cool. And Dan’s playing is massive, really huge and full of personality. Of course Chris brings everything he’s got as well…so it’s a lot to contend with!


Are there any plans for Owl to tour outside of the US?

No plans…but fuck it would be awesome


Your new band Black Belt Karate, recently released a single, Servant, which I think is fantastic. The video is great and is extremely well done. BBK will release an album soon, I understand. Can you tell us a bit more about how BBK came to be, and what your plans are for the future of the band?



Thanks..! Well as to the album thing, I think that may actually not be our plan. I’m trying something new with this band, in terms of release schedule. The plan is to put out one single after another, and (for as long as financially feasible) release a music video to match. I suppose once we have enough releases for either an EP or a full album, that will come together…but right now I feel the digital world has driven us back to a singles market, and I am attempting to ride that whale as best we can, in perhaps a new and unique fashion. The band itself was formed initially on the ashes of my former band with the lead singer Ryan, which was Your Horrible Smile. We had about a 3-year run in LA a number of years ago, and imploded rather predictably, but perhaps before our time. So this is another go, but revitalized, hopefully wiser…and definitely playing better together in the sandbox. Our drummer (also a Ryan) is a longtime friend who actually played on a number of those tracks from my solo release. And Harry (on bass) is a newcomer, but he’s fantastic..full of personality, and a monster player. These guys really are the best of the best, it’s exhilarating for me, making music with them

How would you describe BBK's musical style?

Oh man…I don’t know. It’s a pretty straight down the arrow rock band, but definitely a lot of strong seemingly disparate elements…strong melodically, very rhythmically oriented, with some progressive, some grunge, some beach-boys styled harmony vocals, some so-cal desert rock, some east cost punk style F-you attitude. A lot of good stuff

I know many musicians say that touring/playing live is the best part of what they do. Is that your view, or do you enjoy other aspects of your musical journey just as much?

Yep. Love it

If you could play a gig in any venue in the world where would that be?

I have nothing specific, just mid-sized touring venues and up. Enough to get the boys paid (myself included) and support a strong following. Definitely overseas, would be fantastic


If you could tour as a support band (with Owl or BBK) with any major group, who would you choose?

Well they’re rather different. BBK I’d probably say Queens of the Stone Age, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, or something similar. Owl…I don’t really know. Chris is the one with his finger more securely on the pulse of that band, and the energy he wants it to put out, so he’d be the one to ask.


I know that you own a recording studio, can you tell us a bit about what types of bands you produce there?

Yes. Organic Audio Recorders, in downtown LA. I’ve also been doing a lot of work recently out of my newly constructed home studio, which my friends and clients have come to refer to as “The Acropolis”. Between the two, it really runs the gamut from crushingly loud metal / indie rock bands, to soft-spoken singer-songwriters and jazz and so forth. For me, the excitement is in recording new styles and with new techniques that I haven’t explored previously.

What music are you listening to these days (apart from your own!)? Are there any new bands that have caught your attention?

Sometimes I flip on the radio just to say somewhat abreast of what’s current…but mostly I listen to talk radio. I don’t want too much outside influence on my art, I like to keep it rather pure and close to the heart. I listen more to new bands when clients bring them in, as a comparative measure for whatever they are going for. But nothing specific stands out right now. There’s one brand new rock song I hear on the radio all the time now, that I like very much (which doesn’t happen too often) – but in this case I have no idea who performs it


Where do you get your musical inspiration from?

Internally. I would categorize myself as very abstract, in that fashion. Outside influence has very little to do with the riffs and ideas I come up with. The biggest outside influence on my art is perhaps the rhythm of my footsteps…that first happened in San Francisco, where I didn’t have a car for a year. I’m not one of those artists that looks at or feels something like a perplexingly lovely sunset, then translates it into music…although that is fun to do sometimes, as an exercise. I do some work helping score video games with a composer friend of mine, we did the last few “Raving Rabbids” scores together, if any one reading this is familiar. And in that case, you are presented with a scene and very specific instructions, in terms of what they want…and you go for it. Of course this is background music, not high art. But it’s fun as hell


From following you on FB, I know that you are a big fan of Star Wars. What is it about those films that you love?

Indeed. Oh man, it just seems so tangible…I’m a huge fan of science fiction, and that scene in Empire where Han is desperately trying to repair the Falcon on Hoth, and Chewie blows some electrical lead and smoke and sirens are going off…it just feels as real as the auto shop from high school. It’s fantastic. And of course the score through those movies really transcends to a higher place, emotionally. It’s all just great




As I'm interviewing you on Goodreads, it's only right that I should ask about your reading habits. Do you like to read? If so, do you have any favourite authors/books?

I don’t read much, and when I do it’s usually from those slew of new books on latest findings and fuzzy arguments in the world of quantum mechanics, big questions about the evolution of the cosmos, that sort of thing. In terms of fiction, not much at all…I barely have enough time on my hands to catch an occasional movie every now and again. BUT for book lovers, I would absolutely recommend Rambles Through My Library by Raymond Smullyan…it’s my current bathroom book, and it’s written by a book-lover, for book-lovers

Do you prefer print books or ebooks?

Books. Absolutely

Do you have any upcoming events that you'd like to tell people about?

Well the big thing is the release of BBK’s 2nd single “Kaleidoscope” and accompanying music video. The single drops on Oct 30th, and the video probably a week or two later…we’re still making it. Owl’s new album release date is still tentative. I am currently in studio production with new releases from both Noah Engh & the Kansas City Bankroll, and Albert Garrett & the Bad Romantics…both of which I would expect early next year, perhaps on my new label (Organic Audio) – but not sure yet

Where are the best places online for people to find out more about you and your music?

BBK’s first single “Servant” and the forthcoming “Kaleidoscope” on iTunes, along with the Owl first album of course, as well as releases from many of the artists I produce (and occasionally perform on recordings with). My solo record you referred to earlier is currently NOT available online, but I am hoping to get that live again in the coming months. In the meantime if anyone wants a copy they can contact me directly, or steal it from you! My old band [Your Horrible Smile] has a great track online entitled “Shot at the Title” on iTunes, that’s definitely worth picking up. I also did another “solo” effort of sorts, amusingly enough entitled “The Solo Project” which industrious folks can dig around and find somewhere online. And I believe I still have a solo release under my full name [Jason Achilles Mezilis] on iTunes entitled “Schizmatique No. 2” that is a live recording of a piano piece I wrote and had performed at my graduation recital from UC Berkeley, many moons ago…it’s somewhat in the vein of a Shostakovich Prelude, very animated and full of life. A difficult song to play, but the pianist who conquered it for that particular performance was very generous, and gave what was needed. It’s quite cool, actually, for those into more classical-bent solo compositions

Where can people buy your music?

Again, just visit iTunes and search for “Black Belt Karate” or “Owl” – that’s the best / easiest. Or my name for the solo piece

Thank you!

Thank you, for being a great guest, Jason. I wish you continued success with all your musical projects!

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You can follow Jason's new band Black Belt Karate on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBK_Official and also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BLaCkBeLtKARATE
And, those of you in LA, if you're free on the 11th October, why not check out the band's debut performance?

WVM

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Continuing my series of interviews with independent musicians, my guest today is the talented artist David Alvarez, the man behind the band WVM.

I have been following David's music online for a few years now, and he is one of those artists who is serious about putting 100% into whatever he is doing.

David was kind enough to let me use 'Mansions of Thought', an instrumental track from his album, Duel, as the background music for my book trailer for The Dream. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a link: The Dream - Book Trailer


David's new project WVM features former members of Nine Inch Nails. I am already a fan of his music and having heard the first three tracks from his latest project, I am very much looking forward to the release of his upcoming album 'The End is only the Beginning'.

I invited David here to talk about his music and the new project he is working on.

Here's the interview:

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Why the name WVM?

The main reason I decided to use the moniker WVM, where the letters don't actually stand for anything, is because I would prefer my music identify and brand me rather than a band name. That way the focus can be on the music without thinking too much about the name. Also, having a nondescript name such as this really frees everything up, and I am not bound to any preconceptions.

I have both your albums, Duel and The Equinox, and I have to say they are among my favourite albums. Your music is quite original. It's electronic, but also has a hard edge and guitars giving it a rock feel. How would you describe the type of music you play?

Thank you. Those two albums were different projects altogether. They were me, but I was in a different frame of mind when I created them. WVM is where my mind is now, in fact, WVM is where my mind has always been. Those two albums you mentioned were created under different monikers and were really a result of me experimenting with organically retro sounds, which really doesn't fall under the category of WVM. The songs from those albums were sketches of ideas really, they were demos and not legitimate releases, even though a good percentage of those tracks found their way onto video game soundtracks and trailers as well as TV shows.

When did you first start writing songs and music, and did you have any professional training?

I've been creating music in one form or another since I was a kid and I am entirely self taught. I do things extremely unorthodox compared to musicians who have training. I only found this out through my interactions with trained musicians, which made me realize how unorthodox my music really is.

Who were your favourite bands when you were growing up? And was there one band or musician in particular that inspired you to become a musician?

Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead were by far my favorite artists/bands, I love Marilyn Manson and Aphex Twin as well. I absolutely love Beethoven, his music really takes me places and I listen to a lot of David Bowie.




I know that you've been very hard at work on the new album for some time. I think it was originally meant to be released much sooner, but then you decided to go for a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to produce it. What was your thinking behind that, and how did the campaign go?

Well when I began this album I realized early on that the this music is something else entirely, and I really needed to spend the time in developing it as though it were a major label release. What is really holding me back from releasing the album right now is money. I still need more funding to pay for studio costs and a number of other costs that go with creating music. From major label to indie, there is money behind the creation of the music you hear. It doesn't matter if you are someone in your bedroom creating music or if you are recording in a studio, all music costs money to create. If you are in your bedroom creating music you had to purchase a computer and if you record with instruments you had to have purchased them. Likewise with synth music; there is a great number of digital synths you can find legally free but the majority cost money. A musician is often in debt from the start, while most people feel that music should be free or that they can acquire music free. They don't realize the expenses that go into creating a lot of these songs. So the reasoning behind the Kickstarter campaign was to generate the funding to take this music to its fullest potential, both in production and in composition. When I started the campaign I had absolutely no idea how the process would work. I just sort of fell into it and I raised over seven thousand in two short weeks. In retrospect I should have done it for a full month as I feel I could have raised a lot more. This is why I started a campaign for this album via Indiegogo, which is actually a lot more open then Kickstarter in that it allows for any credit card and Paypal account and is not just limited to Amazon the way Kickstarter is. The URL for this campaign is http://www.indiegogo.com/wvm?a=1533517. Here is a video showing the progress of this album http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUrlcI...

That's an excellent video, David, the music is sounding great!

You worked with some big names in the music industry in producing and finishing your new album, including Chris Vrenna, Josh Freese, and Sean Beaven from NIN. How did that come about, and what was it like working with them?

I don't know, maybe luck? haha, these guys are some of the best people I have met in this industry. They are all amazing people and very focused and knowledgeable in what they do.

As I'm interviewing you on Goodreads, a website full of book lovers, an appropriate question to ask is do you read much? And, if so, who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

I don't read as much as I used to. I simply don't have the time for it these days, but I love books about quantum physics and astronomy. I really am a physics geek at heart and don't mind saying it. I can get lost in it. But I realize that most of what we read about today will more than likely be proven wrong in the future, just as theories hundreds of years ago made way for new theories about our universe. I think the search for the mechanics behind this universe is part of the process of our existence.





I've noticed that quite a few of your tunes have been licensed by various companies, for film trailers, computer games, etc. You must be thrilled by that. Out of all the companies that have approached you for a licence to use one of your songs, which one was your favourite use, and why?
 
Well so far, UFC3 is a favorite because my song "Last Day of The Sun" plays in the game itself. I'm really looking forward to seeing where WVM gets licensed with this new material because I feel it's my strongest by far. I think I would flip if I heard one of my tracks on "The Walking Dead" or "Breaking Bad," as those are two of my favorite shows.

The End Is Only The Beginning, is a great title for the new album. How do you come up with titles for songs? Do you write the songs and then choose a title or does the title come first as an idea for a song?

That particular title came about through the song "Limitless," which features both Chris Vrenna and Josh Freese playing drums within the same track. As I wrote the song, my mind drifted to a section at the end that sounded completely different from the rest of the track. "Limitless" is a pretty aggressive song. I found my mind writing a section at the end that was ambient and almost an entirely different song altogether but still part of the same track, so I had to give that section a title. Since it was at the end and really sounded like another song entirely but somehow cohesive, my practical side came through in the thought of naming it "The End Is Only the Beginning." In the track listing, "Limitless" and "The End Is Only the Beginning" are listed as 1A and 1B. It's sort of a Schrodinger's Cat of sorts in that it can be seen as both one or two songs. It all depends on how you look at it.

What types of things inspire your songwriting?
 
I find that everything in one's life inspires the creation you are making in one way or another.

Do you have a favourite track on the new album, if so which one is it and why is it your favourite?

That's impossible for me to answer.

I know what you mean; I always say that when someone asks me which one of my books is my favourite :)

Where is the best place for people to connect with you online, and where can they buy your new album?

http://www.facebook.com/WVMOfficial
http://www.youtube.com/user/wvmtv
http://soundcloud.com/wvmofficial
http://www.mtv.com/artists/wvm
https://plus.google.com/1072292551071...
http://wvm.tumblr.com/

Thank you for answering my questions, David, and I wish you every success with the new WVM album and your future projects!

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You can help with financing the new WVM album by donating at Indiegogo.

Indiegogo is a great way to help independent artists.

I hope you enjoyed the interview!

A chat with author Terry Tyler

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to meet today's guest on Twitter. Terry Tyler has published four novels, and is working on her fifth. I recently read one of her books, You Wish..., and after reading that, she is now one of my favourite authors. I can't wait to find time to read the rest of her books.




After reading You Wish..., I had a few questions for Terry. Here's the interview:


Without giving too much away. You Wish... is all about fate and destiny versus free will and choice. What's your personal view about this? Do you think we are responsible for our futures or do you think there's an element of destiny/fate involved?

I think our lives are what we make them. On the other hand, coincidence seems to play a large part, sometimes. I suppose the answer to this is - I don't know! I like to rationalise and say that I think all things like fortune telling, horoscopes, destiny, etc, are a load of bunkum, but of course no-one really knows for certain, do they?



Have you ever made a wish on something like a Wishing Stone that came true?

My first reaction to that was 'don't be ridiculous'. However, you know at the end of the summer when you get those fluffy things floating about? I think they're from dandelions! When I was about 15 my friend told me that if you caught one in mid-float you could wish on it. We called them 'fairies'. I caught one, wished to go out with a certain boy, and it happened. Of course, he wouldn't have asked me out if I hadn't wished on the 'fairy', would he, eh??! Oh, go on, then, I'll admit it. I still do catch and make wishes on them....



One of the most hilarious parts of the book involves Petra and her obsession with a man on Facebook. Have you ever had an Internet stalker? If so, tell us a little about it.

Not a stalker as such, but I've had some pretty persistent would-be male friends on Facebook, who wouldn't stop 'poking' me (they wished!) and sending me friend requests until I blocked them. Also some troll types, but the least said about them the better.


Your book has some scenes that take place in the 1980s and I have to say it really took me back to that time, and was very realistic. Did you research into all the '80s stuff or was it just taken from your memory of the decade?

My memory. I was 21 in 1980 and 30 in 1989, so it was the decade of my twenties. The hair salon, Catz, was taken from a real one, of the same name.


Your character Ruth and her friend Fleur are great fans of Kate Bush. Who were your favourite '80s bands?



I loved Kate Bush, too. My favourite music has always been rock, but in the 80s I also loved Blondie, The Human League, Bowie, UB40, Devo, Madness.... oh, and I bought loads of pop singles, too. Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones, Kajagoogoo - ha ha! And George Michael's first solo album, I seem to remember.


One thing that you've managed to show very well in your book You Wish... is how much technology has changed since the 1980s. For example, people didn't have mobiles and the Internet. If we had to go back to that era what would you miss most, the Internet, your mobile, or something else?

I can't imagine NOT having a mobile or the internet, now, but wasn't it kinda nice when everyone couldn't always get in touch with everyone, all the time? You could actually be a bit elusive if you wanted to be without people sending you Facebook messages to ask you why you haven't been around for a while! I DID more stuff before the internet, too; went out and socialised more. Probably just not having everyone immediately accessible, all the time. Now, if you lose your phone, you can buy another one and email/Facebook message/tweet everyone to tell you their number again. Then, if you lost someone's phone number or address, it was really hard to find it again.


You Wish... is full of true-to-life, realistic characters. There will be someone in there that everyone can relate to in some way. Which one of the characters is most like you?

None of them. There's probably a little of me in every character I write, but no-one in that book, specifically.

If you had to spend a day with one of the characters in You Wish... who would you choose, where would you go, and what advice would you give him/her?

I'd probably like to go out and get wrecked with Mel the Builder's Labourer. I always quite fancied him. I certainly wouldn't want to go Jay hunting with Petra, or be all serious with Ruth!

Were any of the people in You Wish... based on people you know?

I take parts of all my characters from stuff within me and observation of others. It's rare that one character is based on one person. That's not to say it never happens, though. All of the characters in You Wish... came mostly from my imagination, though Nicky and Linda who worked in Catz hair salon existed. As did the lesbian owner!! I used to have a friend at school when i was about 8 who had white blonde hair and was a right little madam, so perhaps Fleur came a bit from her!

Apart from You Wish... you have 3 other novels. Can you tell us a bit about each one, what inspired the book, what it's about and what you would hope the reader gets out of it.



Nobody's Fault was my 2nd novel published on Amazon. I'd been wanting to write a novel about a fake Facebook profile for ages, and also one about a grand passion. I just combined the two!







My 3rd one, The Other Side - I've always been fascinated by thoughts of, for instance, what would have happened if I hadn't gone to that party where I met my first husband - then tracing it back by thinking, ah yes, but I went to that party with my friend Angela. So if I hadn't taken that job where I met Angela - and so it goes on! I first wrote this novel in 1999, but the other way round - I started it when the character was 14, then gave the reader options at the end of the chapter - to make his/her own choice. Thus, there were 8 different endings. I remember at the time my step daughter and her friend (then aged 15) spending the WHOLE weekend going back and forth, finding out what would have happened if they'd made different choices...! It was in manuscipt form, of course, and they laid the chapters all over the floor in a pyramid so they could see which one to read next!



My 4th novel, Dream On, I first wrote in 1995. I was in a pub (The King Billy in Northampton, which later became The Romany in Dream On!) with my sister. There were two chaps at the bar, who we didn't know; we started weaving a story around them and their lives, just for a laugh - except that I went home and turned it into a novel. The two characters became Dave and Shane. It was only ever read by my brother, my sister and a couple of others, but they all said they liked it the best of anything I'd ever written, so this summer I decided to dust it off, and write it again. Incidentally, 4 years later I got to know the Shane character, and married him.... the Dave character was best man at our wedding.
What do I hope readers get out of them? I just hope they enjoy them and find them unputdownable, and that the characters become real to them - the greatest compliment I have is when people tell me that they think about my books for a while after reading them.

I know from a recent conversation on Twitter that you've done very well with promotion of your books on KDP Select. I understand you had 17.5K downloads with 2 of your books. Do you have any tips for authors as to how they can best promote the free days on Amazon Kindle. And, have you noticed an increase in actual sales after the free promo?

This is probably too involved a subject for an author interview; I'll just outline some basics: PREPARE. You should build up your network of retweeters a while before you do your free promotion. You will need to get your promotional links retweeted over and over if you are going to make a success of the free days - if you want other people to help you, then you should have already helped them first. You also need to look up all the profiles on Twitter and Facebook on which you can advertise your free promotion, or who will advertise it for you. Be aware that you will need to be at the laptop more or less permanently during the promotional days - you'll need to keep retweeting back all those people who are kind enough to retweet you, don't forget!

The increase in post promotion sales depends on how successful the promotion is. My first one was amazing, and got me to number 24 in the PAID Amazon UK top 100 after it had finished. There is nothing written down anywhere about any of this, but it does seem that the 2nd time you do a free promotion for a particular book, you don't get anything like that huge boost afterwards; I presume this is because Amazon doesn't give you the visibility it does the first time round. I say this only through my own experience, and through observation of others'.

Your books are only available as Kindle eBooks, is that correct? Do you have any plans to make them available as paperbacks or other eBook formats?

No. I might research paperbacks, one day.


Do you have any tips for someone who may be thinking of self- publishing?

Tons and tons - again, too much for an author interview. Do you mean tips about writing or about self-publishing? If the latter, I'd say that unless you are really good at editing, cover art & formatting, get other people to do it for you. Always get it proof read by someone else. I edit my own work but others do my cover art and formatting. Make sure your cover is eye-catching in thumbnail size and make sure your blurb is snappy and interesting. It's an advert for the book, not a synopsis. Be prepared to do a lot of promotional work; you have to realise that you now have your own business; you are trying to sell a product. Don't think you have to join lots of blogging groups and Facebook groups and Goodreads forums and God knows what else; while you're writing ABOUT writing you're not writing your novel(s). Chatting on Facebook author groups about the difficulties of promoting your work or how to deal with bad reviews won't get your book written, and it won't make you a better writer, either. I agree a certain amount of this sort of interaction can be helpful, useful and entertaining, but it's best to keep it limited. Never, ever be tempted to pay for reviews, or get fake ones. If someone has told you they like your book, ask them if they wouldn't mind writing a review for you; most people don't mind. if you can't get reviews, you might need to re-think your marketing - or maybe the book itself. If it's your first novel, don't worry too much if you get a fair few negative comments - very few people get it right first time.

Which authors were your favourites when you were growing up, and was there any author in particular that inspired you to start writing?

As a child? CS Lewis and Enid Blyton. Oh, and I loved the Jill pony books by Ruby Ferguson.





I grew up in the 1960s; you probably won't remember them, Maria! There was no particular author who inspired me to start writing except perhaps CS Lewis, who said that no-one was writing the books he wanted to read, so he wrote them himself.



Have you read any good books lately?

I don't get very much time for reading these days; I'm always writing. I'm currently reading Rathbone Kydd - sex'n'drugs'n'quantum stuff by K J Bennett, about a 1970s rock musician who accidentally time travels into 2012. It's funny, and I'm enjoying it (apart from the fact that Rathbone Kydd says 'street cred', which people didn't say in the 70s, KJ!). This year I've also read a couple of Deborah Moggach books, a new Emily Barr, a new John Boyne (The Absolutist, set in WW1 - marvellous, wish i could give it 8 stars!) and also Thrift by Phil Church which was very funny, and Wild Water by Jan Ruth which I also enjoyed; it reminded me of early Jilly Cooper. There are tons more I would love to read if I only had the time.

What are you working on now?

A sequel to 'Dream On', which I hope to have out in February 2013.

Where can people find you online?

Amazon UK


Amazon US


Facebook


Goodreads

Thank you for inviting me to feature on your blog, Maria!

It's my pleasure, Terry, and I wish you every success with your novels!

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I hope you enjoyed the interview. I'd recommend you pick up a Terry Tyler book next time you're on Amazon. You'll be glad you did!

My latest author interview is on Susan Buchanan's blog!

I've been interviewed by one of my favourite authors, Susan Buchanan. As those of you who follow my blog will know already, I really enjoyed Susan's book Sign of the Times, and am looking forward to her new release The Dating Game, coming in early November.

Susan has read two of my books; Coincidences, which I believe she enjoyed, and she was also one of my beta readers for my upcoming novel, Haunted.

After reading those, Susan had some questions for me about the books. She also likes to ask 'just for fun' questions, so she had me talking about Halloween and rock stars, too, among other things.

You can check out the interview here: http://www.susancbuchanan.blogspot.co...

Big THANKS to Susan for this promotional opportunity!