A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 141
January 4, 2017
January 2, 2017
Tales of the Golden Mask – Preorder #Erotica #Fantasy #GoldenMask
Today I am showcasing new erotica/fantasy novella Tales of the Golden Mask.
This steamy novella by Alexa Lynsey and Belle De Ver is on pre-release (release date 31 Jan 2017). It’s a tale of sex, desire and magic in a fantasy land. Currently, it’s only available on Amazon, but should be appearing on Smashwords and the associate stores in due course.
Most definitely adult rated for sexytimes;)
Synopsis:
Sultry and sensual adventures to warm your cold winter nights or steam up your long summer days. Set in a fantasy world where nothing is quite what it appears, an old book and a strange golden mask bring power and pleasure.
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Who’s Who on a Film Set? Part 1
Behind the Scenes of ‘We Can Be Heroes’, filmed in Bristol
As an SA (Supporting Artist) there are key crewmembers that you will meet during your day on a film set. The AD (Assistant Director), Make-up and Costume personnel are the main departments that you will work with, but there will be other people who you will come across.
If you were thinking that they would be the Director and Main Artists, well, you’d be wrong. The director will have no interaction with SAs as his focus will be on the main actors, the scene, telling the story and a whole host of other, technical aspects of making the film. Likewise, the Main Artists will also be similarly focused on their roles, lines and directions.
To help you better understand the roles of the crew that you will come across, we have given you an idea of the job roles of the…
View original post 905 more words
Dare you hear the tales of old from a land of forbidden magic? #Talesoferana
Dare you hear the tales of old from a land of forbidden magic and deadly rumour? #Talesoferana[image error] #fantasy http://ow.ly/bkWt30760M1
Fantasy Raffle #Booknest
Yay Booknest are running a raffle until 10th Jan 2017. Lookee here for futher details
http://booknest.eu/index.php/component/k2/item/287
One hundred Authors have pledged a signed and dedicated copy each, which you can win by joining (donating) our lottery, or later, our auctions. The money that we will manage to raise will then be donated to Doctors Without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières).
You can join the lottery by donating £1 or more (£1 = 1 ticket. If you want to use another currency, feel free to do so. The conversion will be automatically done. £1 = 1.2€ = 1.2$).You have two weeks ahead of you before we draw the winners* on Tuesday 10th January**.The following day we will hold the auctions*** and keep them running for one week.
*There will be six lucky winners, with each one of them winning a random bunch of 10 signed, dedicated, numbered and with special reference to the Fundraiser, books. (6 winners x10 books = 60 books)
The 100 amazing authors that pledged a book to our cause are :
A. Stuart Williams ~ Rat-A-Tat: Short Blasts of Pulp
Aderyn Wood ~ The Raven
Adrian Tchaikovsky ~ TBA
Afe Smith ~ TBA
Al Robertson ~ TBA
Amanda Bouchet ~ A Promise of Fire
Andy Remic ~ TBA
Anna Smith-Spark ~ The Court of Broken Knives
Anne Nicholls ~ Music From the Fifth Planet
Anthony Ryan ~ The Waking Fire
Ben Galley ~ TBA
Benedict Patrick ~ They Mostly Come Out At Night
Ben Jeapes ~ Time’s Chariot
Betsy Dornbusch ~ Exile
Blair MacGregor ~ TBA
Brandon Draga ~ The Summerlark Elf
Brian Barr ~ TBA
Brian Lee Durfee ~ TBA
Brian O’Sullivan ~ Fionn: Defence of Rath Bladhma
Charles F Bond ~ TBA
Charles Phipps ~ TBA
Christian G. Cameron ~ TBA
Courtney Schafer ~ The Whitefire Crossing
Dale Triplett ~ Halcyon’s Wake: Faith
Daniel Polansky ~ TBA
Daniel Potter ~ Off Leash
Dave de Burgh ~ TBA
David Benem ~ What Remains of Heroes
Deb E Howell ~ Healer’s Touch
Django Wexler ~ TBA
Dominick Murray ~ Red Season Rising
D. Thourson Palmer ~ Ours Is the Storm
Dyrk Ashton ~ Paternus
Edward Cox ~ The Relic Guild
Elena May ~ Nightfall
Elspeth Cooper ~ Songs of the Earth
Emma Newman ~ Between Two Thorns
Gary Compton ~ TBA
GR Matthews ~ Silent City
Graham Austin-King ~ Fae – The Wild Hunt
J.P. Ashman ~ Black Cross
James A. Moore ~ TBA
James Downe ~ Grim Drifts of Sand & Fate
Jane Johnson ~ TBA
Jen Williams ~ TBA
Jenn Stark ~ Getting Wilde
Joanne Hall ~ TBA
Jonathan French ~ The Grey Bastards
Josiah Bancroft ~ Senlin Ascends
Julia Knight ~ Swords and Scoundrels
Juliana Spink Mills ~ Heart Blade
K. A. Krantz ~ Larcout
Kate Coe ~ Green Sky & Sparks
Kenny Soward ~ TBA
Laura Lam ~ Pantomime
Laura M Hughes ~ Danse Macabre
Lucy Claire Hounsom ~ Starborn
Luke Scull ~ TBA
Marc Turner ~ Dragon Hunters
Mark Lawrence ~ The Wheel of Osheim
Martin Owton ~ Exile
Mazarkis Williams ~ The Emperor’s Knife
Michael J. Sullivan ~ Age of Myth
Michael Miller ~ The Dragon’s Blade: The Reborn King
Michael R. Fletcher ~ Beyond Redemption
Mitchell Hogan ~ A Crucible of Souls
Myke Cole ~ TBA
Nathan Boyce ~ Ascent of the Unwanted
Olivier Delaye ~ The Forgotten Goddess
Peter McLean ~ Drake
Peter Newman ~ The Vagrant
Phil Tucker ~ TBA
R B Watkinson ~ The Cracked Amulet
Richard Morgan ~ TBA
Rob Hayes ~ It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise
Robert Brockway ~ The Unnoticeables
Sammy HK Smith ~ In Search of Gods and Heroes
Scott Oden ~ A Gathering of Ravens
Sebastien De Castell ~ Traitor’s Blade
Simon Morden ~ Down Station
Snorri Kristjansson ~ TBA
Stan Nicholls ~ Orcs: Forged For War
Stephen Aryan ~ Battlemage
Steve Mchugh ~ TBA
Steven Kelliher ~ Valley of Embers
Steven Poore ~ Heir to the North
Sue Tingey ~ Marked
Susan Boulton ~ Hand of Glory
T L Greylock ~ The Blood-Tainted Winter
T.o. Munro ~ The Medusa’s Daughter
Teresa Frohock ~ Los Nefilim
Timandra Whitecastle ~ Touch of Iron
Tom Gaskin ~ Search of the Lost
Tom Toner ~ TBA
Ulff Lehmann ~ Shattered Dreams
Vic James ~ Gilded Cage
Victor Milán ~ The Dinosaur Lords
Wade Garret ~ Genesis
Will Panzo ~ The Burning Isle
Zachary Barnes ~ Avengarde
January 1, 2017
Happy New Year and Sod Off 2016
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2017
December 26, 2016
Author Interview 123 – Linda Acaster
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Welcome to Linda Acaster
Where are you from and where do you live now? My formative years were in Kingston-upon-Hull – 2017 City of Culture, no less – and I now live 20 miles away on the Yorkshire coast, a gentle five minute stroll from a quiet promenade and views over Bridlington Bay to the white chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head. Aah, breathe in the salt air and re-laaax.
Please tell us a little about your writing. I’m a multi-genre writer, always have been. I started my career writing short fiction for any magazine that would have my work, from the national women’s magazines that paid me money to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Crime outlets that paid in printed copies. Although I now write mostly longer works, the multi-genre aspect has carried through, first to mainstream published historical novels and then to my indie-published trilogy and novellas. I like the scope.
Where do you find inspiration? Everywhere. Since childhood I’ve been interested in the day-to-day lives of the Native North Americans of the upper plains, and for several years was part of a living-history group. Beneath The Shining Mountains came from that experience, that and around 400 research books. The Paintings came from a single line in an email exchange with an artist friend.
Are your characters based on real people? Never. Mostly they are based on aspects of myself, which to a reader will sound highly egotistical, but that isn’t how it works. I write very close in to my story via the viewpoint character’s senses. I become them via an emotional bridge – and lots of pre-planning of character motivation and fears.
Have you ever used a person you don’t/didn’t like as a character then killed them off?I’ve met a person I didn’t like – maybe because overtly and very loudly she ridiculed my accent. Oooh, I can be nasty in print. Not that I hold grudges, you understand. Who, me?
Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? I need masses, and of different types for different books. Research for The Paintings was 17 open tabs on my internet browser as I wrote. The Torc of Moonlight trilogy meant poring over history books and Ordnance Survey maps, then visiting the chosen locales to get a physical feel for them, knitting the place + history into the fictional premise, and then writing. The books are accurate enough to be used as walking guides to the modern locales, with the history hovering overhead. And no, I do not intend to take on such a complicated project again!
Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Do you feel this is important in a book? Most of my fiction has a theme, but I believe that every novel, and most short fiction, should convey some sort of information that often the reader isn’t aware of, alongside a pacy story. No one wants to be preached to. It’s one of those things that should rise quietly to the surface but stay once the reading is over. If it doesn’t I’ve failed to connect.
Sort these into order of importance: Great characters; great world-building; solid plot; technically perfect. Can you explain why you chose this order? (Yes I know they all are important…)
Joint 1st: great characters & world-building – one simply can’t exist without the other or the entire edifice is out of balance and cracks will appear.
Joint 2nd: solid plot & technically ‘perfect’ because it is a symbiotic relationship, even if perfection is in the eye of the beholder. A plot can be as solid as granite, but if it is conveyed with the finesse of shovelling pig-muck, no amount of world-building or fully-formed characters are going to render the story readable.
In what formats are your books available? (E-books, print, large print audio) Are you intending to expand these and if not, what is the reason? All my titles are available as ebooks via the major online retailers, and e-readers take care of large print. Beneath The Shining Mountains, my writers’ guide Reading A Writers’ Mind – Exploring Short Fiction, and the first two books in the Torc of Moonlight trilogy are also available in print. I’m still working on the third, but it won’t be long in following. Audio is a whole new world I still have to get to grips with.
Do you self-edit? If so why is that the case? Do you believe a book suffers without being professionally edited? I do self-edit, but I’ve been a reader for a London literary agency so feel I have some background experience. I continuously edit throughout the writing process (there is no quick & dirty draft), and again as a whole when it’s completed. Then the text goes through the automated Pro-Writing Aid which lists how many times x word has been used, queries sentence structure, punctuation, etc. Most of the items it flags I’ve specified for a purpose, but it does catch me out and I’m grateful for that. Then it goes to beta readers who are other writers, who look at the typescript with a critical human eye. I believe there is no such thing as a novel that falls direct from mind to page as publishable with any degree of integrity. A genius need not apply.
Do you think indie/self-published authors are viewed differently to traditionally published authors? Most readers, and just about all digital readers, don’t care. I read lots of indie published fiction and have only wasted my time twice in the last year, which is about the same percentage as with mainstream published paperbacks. Readers expect a “good read” in a format in which they can immerse themselves. I don’t touch fiction using spaced block paragraphing. White space is important to the ebb and flow of a work’s rhythm. Having it inserted wrecks the pacing.
What are your opinions about authors commenting on reviews? How important are reviews? Reviews are very important, and I always check on a handful when contemplating purchasing a book by an author I haven’t previously read. Then I ‘Read Inside’, and I make my decision. It isn’t usually the cost in money that is being weighed, but the cost in time. Who wants to get halfway through a novel and find the story has turned into limp lettuce? I’ve had my Native American novel lambasted because it was a novel and not a non-fiction book. Er, pardon? It annoys me that the particular review pulled down my ratings, but I’d never comment as I consider such troll-bait.
What are your views on authors reviewing other authors? Oh for goodness sake, it’s been done since books were bound. Amazon got itself into a pickle over this, but how can an author avoid it? Never review? Should hairdressers not review hair products? That’s ridiculous. I read, full-stop. Most authors are prolific readers, that’s why they’re writers.
What three pieces of advice would you give to new writers?
* Learn your craft.
* Pay for editing of a polished work at least once, and learn from it.
* Don’t indie publish everything you write, and never throw anything away. It will come in useful, even if for inspiration, further along your career.
Thanks for asking me along, I’ve enjoyed the challenge. If anyone wants to ask questions I’ll be lurking around the Comments list. See you there!
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Book links, website/blog and author links:
Amazon (worldwide): http://Author.to/LindaAcaster
Nook: http://bit.ly/BN-LAcaster
Kobo: http://bit.ly/Kobo-LAcaster
iBooks: http://bit.ly/iBkst-LAcaster
Website: http://www.lindaacaster.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindaacasterUK
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaAcaster @Linda Acaster
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Ra2dqyf-xlsqK4nJjF4fw
December 22, 2016
Book Spotlight M/M romance/erotica – Doctor’s Orders
Kinky M/M Erotic Romance Novella by Lucy Felthouse, Doctor’s Orders, Out Now! (@cw1985) #mm #kink #bdsm
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Blurb:
Hospital porter Aaron Miller isn’t expecting a very exciting birthday. He and his doctor boyfriend, Blake Colville, are working opposite shifts, leaving Aaron to go home to an empty house and the prospect of another shift the following day. Just as he’s leaving work, however, an unexpected sexy encounter in a supply cupboard leaves him feeling in a much more celebratory mood. And an impending dirty weekend away with Blake just puts the icing on the non-existent cake. But who needs cake when you’re dating a dominant doctor?
Note: Doctor’s Orders has been previously released as part of the Brit Boys: With Toys boxed set.
Buy links:
Amazon (universal link): http://mybook.to/doctorsorders
All Romance eBooks: http://bit.ly/2h1nfXa
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2hH8kFl
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hc3lgM
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2hT1zye
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2h1lKIo
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33278227-doctor-s-orders
*****
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Excerpt:
Aaron hummed contentedly as he walked along the white-painted corridor towards the locker room. He was happy in his job as a hospital porter. He might not be saving lives, like his doctor boyfriend, Blake, but he liked to think he was improving them. He made the effort with the patients he transported around—or the ones that were well enough to hold a conversation with him, anyway. He chatted to them, showed an interest, tried to make them laugh, always remained positive, even when things were bleak. That was his way of spreading a little cheer, or helping someone forget their worries, even if it was only for a few minutes. It was a small contribution, but a contribution nonetheless, and it made him feel good.
The corridor stretched on, and Aaron thought for the umpteenth time that it could do with some artwork on the walls—something other than doors to break up the interminable expanse of white paint and grey dado rail. But patients never came to this area of the building—unless they were lost—so there was no need to spend any more money on it than was absolutely necessary. Aaron understood that, but boy did it make for a dull walk to the locker room.
As he continued his journey, he saw that a supply cupboard door on the left hand side of the corridor was ajar. It was nothing unusual—people often propped doors open with their feet if they were just leaning in to grab something, or used something as a door stop if they needed both hands to carry what they’d come to collect and therefore couldn’t open the door again to let themselves out.
Reaching the door, he’d just opened his mouth to call out and ask whoever it was if they needed help, when the gap grew wider. A white-clad arm appeared and the accompanying hand grabbed the front of his T-shirt, pulling him roughly into the cupboard.
“Wha—”
Aaron didn’t even get chance to finish his exclamation, as he’d been slammed against the now-closed cupboard door, and hard, demanding lips were pressed to his. Lips, he realised, as his brain caught up with the turn of events, that belonged to Doctor Blake Colville. Lips that were allowed to kiss his, thank God!
The fresh, spicy scent of Blake’s cologne invaded Aaron’s nostrils, and he relaxed into the kiss, returned it with enthusiasm. Blake’s tongue sought entrance to Aaron’s mouth, and he gave it willingly, moaning as their tongues slipped and tangled together sensuously, and Blake’s firm, lithe body pinned his slightly-more-muscular one against the cool wood of the door. He stifled any further moans that wanted to sneak out, remembering that, hot as the situation was, it was also pretty precarious, and both of them could get into serious trouble if they were caught. Patients may not frequent this area of the building, but the staff sure did.
Reaching out, he gripped the lapels of Blake’s white coat and pulled, so their bodies were crushed together and their kiss grew bruisingly brutal—in a good way.
The move had clearly fanned the flames of Blake’s lust, because he began grinding his crotch against Aaron’s, teasing their already erect cocks and pushing them both rapidly towards the point of no return.
But could there be a point of no return, given where they were? How on earth would they get away with making love—or, in this case, should it be fucking?–in a supply cupboard in the hospital? Granted, it was one of the quieter areas of the building, but bloody hell…
*****
Author Bio:
Lucy Felthouse is the award-winning author of erotic romance novels Stately Pleasures (named in the top 5 of Cliterati.co.uk’s 100 Modern Erotic Classics That You’ve Never Heard Of, and an Amazon bestseller), Eyes Wide Open (winner of the Love Romances Café’s Best Ménage Book 2015 award, and an Amazon bestseller) and The Persecution of the Wolves. Including novels, short stories and novellas, she has over 150 publications to her name. She owns Erotica For All, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more about her writing at http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk, or on Twitter or Facebook. Sign up for automatic updates on Amazon or BookBub. You can also subscribe to her monthly newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
Release blitz hosted by Writer Marketing Services.
December 21, 2016
Book Spotlight – F/F romance – Window Dressing
Out Now—Hot #lesfic Window Dressing by Lucy Felthouse (@cw1985)
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Blurb:
Can Jessie work with a woman with the looks of a pixie and the personality of a dragon to complete the most important task of her career?
Shop-fitter Jessie is sent to London’s Oxford Street to work on a flagship store’s front window overnight. It’s the first time she’s completed such an important task by herself, but the plans and organisation are solid—it’s just a case of getting it turned around before the store re-opens the following morning. What she’s not betting on, however, is the woman in charge of the project—Edith. She has the looks of a pixie but the personality of a dragon, and it soon becomes clear to Jessie that the job isn’t going to be plain sailing, not with Edith being awkward and putting Jessie down at every turn. As the hours drag on, Jessie somehow manages to peer beneath Edith’s frosty exterior, and much to her surprise, she kind of likes what she finds. But will she abandon her principles—and potentially risk her job—for a one-off thing?
Buy links:
Amazon (universal link): http://viewbook.at/windowdressing
All Romance eBooks: http://bit.ly/2hMsUof
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2gTdtWK
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hLXgoi
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2hMBcfN
Pride Publishing: http://bit.ly/2h3xT4B
*****
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Excerpt:
With a sigh of relief, I followed the satnav’s instructions and indicated right, swinging the van into the side road off of London’s Oxford Street.
“You have reached your destination,” remarked the posh voice coming from the machine.
“Thank fuck for that,” I shot back, removing the device from the windscreen and wiping at the tell-tale ring it left behind on the glass with my sleeve, hoping to remove any temptation for potential thieves. No doubt they swarmed around this area, tourist Mecca as it was. I didn’t want them to catch me out.
I stowed away the satnav, switched off the van’s ignition, and grabbed all my stuff. Hopping out onto the road, I locked the van and pocketed the keys. Then, wiping my damp palms on my black work trousers, I approached the rear door of the shop where I was to work.
Come on, get a grip, Jessie! You may be new at this, but you know what you’re doing. You’ve got this.
I wasn’t totally insane to be nervous. I’d been working for the shop-fitting company for just over a year now, and it was great. I really enjoyed the work, the variety. But this was the first time I’d been sent out on a job by myself. It hadn’t been intentional, either—the job was last minute, and the client had made it worth my employer’s while. Normally there’d been a team of two coming here, but there was another big job, one that needed the more experienced fitters on board. Therefore I’d been pulled off that task, in order to do this one. Alone.
Adding more worry was the warning one of my colleagues had given me on finding out where I was being sent. “You watch out for that Edith woman, Jessie. She may look like a pixie, but she’s actually more of a dragon. She frightens the bloody life out of me.”
The warning ringing in my ears, I took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. I could do this. I could. I’d made it all the way from Leeds to London, navigating busy motorways and the complete insanity that was England’s capital city, venturing right into the heart—the craziest of the crazy. Fortunately, by the time I’d hit the West End, the traffic wasn’t too bad, given that the shops were closing and rush hour had been and gone. There were still morons galore, naturally—honking taxi drivers, swerving, lane-hopping cyclists, oblivious rickshaw drivers, suicidal pedestrians—but I’d kept my cool throughout, telling myself I was so close to the end of my journey that I could almost touch it. Taste it.
And here I was, at the back entrance of the flagship store of the world-famous fashion chain, ready to change over its window display in time for when the shop reopened in the morning. I glanced at my watch, relaxed a little. It was ten p.m. Eleven whole hours until opening time. No problem, not even for a relative newbie like me.
The door opened a crack and a sliver of a dark face peered out at me. “Yes?”
“Oh, hi. I’m Jessie—from the shop-fitters? Here to work on your window display?”
The woman—the voice had given it away, as she was still peering through the crack between the door and its frame—eyed me up. The black trousers, black T-shirt, black fleece—the latter two bearing the name of the company I worked for, clearly weren’t enough. Turning her attention to the van behind me—emblazoned with the company name in huge letters—she now seemed convinced.
“All right,” she said, opening the door wider and stepping back to let me through. “Come on in.”
“Thanks…”
“I’m Jacqueline. Edith’s already in the window. She’s the one in charge.”
I nodded. “Okay—lead the way.” I followed Jacqueline through the dimly lit storeroom. I’d known instantly she wasn’t Edith, because she looked nothing like a pixie. More like a goddess. She had a curly black afro, curves you could lose yourself in for days, and a wiggle that would have turned me instantly if I wasn’t already into women.
Blinking as we emerged into the blazing lights of the shop floor, I continued in Jacqueline’s wake, adjusting my ponytail and fixing a smile on my face as we grew closer to the window…and Edith. She was the big cheese—when it came to the window design and execution, anyway—so I needed to make a good impression. Hopefully she’d give good feedback to my boss, and I’d get more projects like this in future. Maybe even a raise—a girl could dream, right?
“Hi,” I said as we came within a couple of paces of my soon-to-be workspace. “I’m Jessie. Pleased to meet you.”
After a brief pause, the pixie took the hand I was holding out and shook it. Firm, confident, but brief. She was no-nonsense, this woman. But I’d known that already.
*****
Author Bio:
Lucy Felthouse is the award-winning author of erotic romance novels Stately Pleasures (named in the top 5 of Cliterati.co.uk’s 100 Modern Erotic Classics That You’ve Never Heard Of, and an Amazon bestseller), Eyes Wide Open (winner of the Love Romances Café’s Best Ménage Book 2015 award, and an Amazon bestseller) and The Persecution of the Wolves. Including novels, short stories and novellas, she has over 150 publications to her name. She owns Erotica For All, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more about her writing at http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk, or on Twitter or Facebook. Sign up for automatic updates on Amazon or BookBub. You can also subscribe to her monthly newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
Release blitz hosted by Writer Marketing Services.
December 18, 2016
Author Interview 122 – Em Dehaney
Welcome to Em Dehaney
Where are you from and where do you live now? I was born in a town on the River Thames called Gravesend, and now live in a village not too far away. Gravesend is ever present in my writing, and my first novel is set there. It has a rich and varied history, and you may know it as the place where Pocahontas died.
Please tell us a little about your writing – for example genre, title, etc? I write mainly fantasy and horror. My novel, The Golden Virginian, is an urban fantasy, but I like to research real historic events and base my writing around that. My writing often links the past and the present. I have been a lifelong horror fan, so my writing also regularly veers towards the supernatural and murderous.
Do you have a favourite character? If so why? One of my favourite characters from The Golden Virginian is Ethel Tilley, a 400 year old riverside prostitute. To quote the description of her from the book
“Ethel was both tired and ancient yet playful and fresh. It was as if her mind was stuck being a teenager, but her body was struggling to keep all its molecules together after four hundred years”.
And she makes exceedingly good cakes!
Do you have a character you dislike? If so why? The taxi-driver John Pete. Everything about this character is vile.
“A spluttering cough announced the entrance of a man whose palette consisted entirely of grey and yellow. His skin was a sallow ash, as though no oxygen had made it to the surface since 1975. The whites of his eyes. were no longer white, but a sickly, pale lemon. His shirt was the colour of used dish-water with yellow stains mushrooming out from under the arms. Wispy grey hair was dotted about the sides of his head, the top of which was shiny-bald. A smile broke out on his face, presenting an array of misshapen, rotted tooth stumps.”
Are your characters based on real people? The main character The Golden Virginian, Tommy Tucker, starts life as a lazy stoner with no girlfriend and no job, and he ends the book as The Searcher of The Thames. This was a real role of royal appointment since the 14th century, and in was the precursor to Customs & Excise. The Searcher was given permission by The King to check every ship entering Gravesend for contraband, counterfeits, secret letters and any other prohibited or taxable goods. In my novel, the first Searcher of The Thames (a man called John Page) uncovered a world of magical trade happening in secret under the King’s nose, and so becomes the first tax collector of the magical community in Gravesend.
Pocahontas also features as a character in the opening of this novel, although I have taken some artistic licence with her final hours.
Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? Do you enjoy this aspect of creating a novel and what are your favourite resources? As my novels are all based around real historic events, I try and use local resources for my research. Lots of visits to the Gravesend library, plus talking to local historians, is far better than just using the Internet. I like to visit the places I am writing about and feel the atmosphere. The novel I am writing at the moment, The Lady of The Dead, opens with the murder of a Transylvanian Prince, which occurred in nearby Gad’s Hill. This was a real event that took place in 1661, and when I first read the accounts, it was so mysterious and evocative I knew I had to incorporate it into one of my novels.
Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Do you feel this is important in a book? Although on the surface The Golden Virginian is about magic, revenge and the journey of the main character, it is at heart a story about family. I don’t think I set out to write a novel about families, but my family is important to me, so it naturally came out in my writing.
In what formats are your books available? (E-books, print, large print audio) Are you intending to expand these and if not, what is the reason? I am planning to self-publish The Golden Virginian in March 2017 in e-book and print, to coincide with the 400th Anniversary of Pocahontas’ death.
Do you self-edit? If so why is that the case? Do you believe a book suffers without being professionally edited? I have not employed the services of a professional editor, but I do have a particularly eagle-eyed and pedantic friend who edits and proof reads for me. I also like to get lots of feedback from different beta-readers.
Do you think indie/self-published authors are viewed differently to traditionally published authors? Why do you think this might be? I think the stigma around self-publishing is on the way out. It would be great if people thought about indie-publishing in the same way as indie music – it’s real, authentic and less commercial than traditional publishing and you get full creative control. Yes, its harder work, but you are the one reaping all the rewards. That’s not to say that a book deal with a publishing house isn’t still the end goal, but if I don’t ever get there, I wont feel like a failure as people will still get to read my work.
Do you read work by self-published authors? Yes, all the time. I’ve just read a great supernatural blues odyssey by Richard Wall, and I love the work of horror writers CL Raven and Matthew Cash.
What are your opinions about authors commenting on reviews? How important are reviews? Reviews are vital, especially to indie authors, but NEVER comment on them, whether good or bad.
What are your reviews on authors reviewing other authors? Writers are all readers. You can’t be a good writer without reading extensively, and giving reviews to a fellow writer as long as you have read the book is fine.
What three pieces of advice would you give to new writers? Never give up. Finish what you started. You can always edit a bad novel, you can’t edit thin air.
Most authors like to read, what have you recently finished reading? Did you enjoy it? I absolutely loved the Hellraiser/Sherlock Holmes crossover Sherlock Holmes and The Servants of Hell by Paul Kane. As a fan of both the original source materials, I thought it was a well-thought out book and didn’t read like second rate fan-fic.
Can you name your favourite traditionally published author? My two all-time favourite authors are Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. While King is traditionally thought of as horror and Gaiman fantasy, I feel that they both transcend genre. Whatever mood I am in, there is always a King or Gaiman short story to suit, and I never tire of re-reading their novels.
Do you have a favourite movie? Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a classic, stunning in both style and substance. The feeling of impending doom that runs through the whole film, the music and that reverse camera focus-pull that is now standard visual language for fear of heights, but was created by the master.
Can you give us a silly fact about yourself? I used to belly dance.
Website https://emdehaney.com/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/emdehaney/
Out now: 12Days Anthology featuring my poem ‘Here We Come A-Wassailing’. All proceeds go to The Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
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