A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 164
August 13, 2015
Dragonlove Book Blast #DLBlast
Title: Dragonlove
Series: Dragonfriend #2
Author: Marc Secchia
Publication Date: August 15, 2015
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Synopsis
When a woman loves a Dragon, that love will change the world.
Six years have passed since Hualiama and Grandion defied the Island-World’s most sacred law. They burned the heavens together as Rider and Dragon. For his crime, Grandion the Tourmaline Dragon suffered exile and imprisonment. The Dragons forced Hualiama to forget her past.
Now, the suns must set upon the age of the Ancient Dragons. Amaryllion Fireborn, last of his kind, bequeaths Hualiama an astonishing legacy. She is the Dragonfriend. Raised by Dragons. Burned by Dragon fire. Oath-bound to a Dragon. Crossing the Island-World in search of her Dragonlove, she will forge an indelible mark upon history.
As war between Dragons and Humans engulfs the Islands, Hualiama must unravel the secrets of her tragic past in order to confront an evil that threatens the very existence of the Dragonkind. For love that is tested in the crucible of fate must burn, or die.
Amazon | Goodreads
Excerpt
Dragon-thunder shook the palace.
Hualiama kicked off her soft slippers. Picking up her formal lace skirts, she began to run, but the long train snagged immediately on the curved claws of a stylised jade Dragon. Dagger in hand, she hacked wildly at the priceless fabric restricting her stride. Bleeding–Dragon fire take it! She stumbled up endless stairs designed by an architect enamoured with galleries sized to house ridiculous mountains of royal artefacts. Entering a long corridor, her woefully short legs stretched into a sprint. Ranks of larger-than-life paintings of tall, pointy-eared ancestors blurred to either side. All of her attention was focussed on the altercation on the Receiving Balcony, atop Fra’anior’s Royal Palace.
A Dragon’s voice boomed, “This means war, King Chalcion!”
She had to stop them. Now.
Slewing around a corner, Lia deliberately cannoned off a man-high ornamental vase. She caught her balance, agile as any dragonet, and picked up her knees. Head down, she pumped her arms, accelerating to the speed of a warrior and dancer who trained for five hours daily. Twisting between two thickset marble columns to shortcut her route, Lia used a stone pot-plant as a springboard to leap upward at full stretch, flying briefly over a yawning drop to the palace gardens below. Snagging the crenulations atop the wall with her fingertips, she wriggled upward with the facility of a lizard scaling a wall and vaulted smoothly onto the balcony beyond. One more level.
She heard querulous voices, and the swish of Dragons’ wings. They were leaving.
Her heart could not sink, because it was thrashing about in her throat. But it should. This was just the incident to ignite the simmering relations between Dragons and Humans. She should know. That very morning, Lia had witnessed a Dragonwing immolating a Human village.
Bounding up the final staircase, she raced out onto the balcony, screaming, “Stop!”
Lia caught her foot in the wreck of her dress, slipped, and skidded across the rough flagstones all the way to the edge of her father’s robes.
“Stop them!”
Stooping, the King seized her arm. “This is an outrage, Hualiama! How dare you barge–”
She tore herself free, hurled herself to the balcony’s edge, and screamed again, “Stop! By the Spirits of the Ancient Dragons, please!”
Hualiama gazed out over her beloved Island. Sweet, haunting harmonies of birdsong and dragonet-song saluted the gathering evening, the ever-song, some called it, the unique melody of Fra’anior, which was an Island-Cluster of twenty-seven Islands precariously perched on the rim-wall of the greatest volcano in the Island-World. The late afternoon light streamed in so thick and golden, she feared the King might pass a law to store it in the royal treasury. But she had eyes only for the Dragons.
Four Dragons winged over the vast bowl of Fra’anior’s volcanic caldera, their scales gleaming like glorious jewels in the resplendent light. Two were hundred-foot Reds, as perfect as matched rubies, called Zulior and Qualiana, and the third a vast emerald-green named Andarraz. Sapphurion, the Dragon Elder himself, led their Dragonwing. His scales evoked the turquoise hue of a clear lake. All were breathtaking, but Sapphurion was the greatest of all, the leader of the Island-World’s Dragons.
The four Dragons banked with supreme grace, angling back toward the Receiving Balcony. Hualiama’s heart stood still.
Author Bio
Marc is a South African-born author who lives and works in Ethiopia with his wife and 4 children, 2 dogs, a rabbit, and a variable number of marabou storks that roost on the acacia trees out back. On a good night there are also hyenas patrolling the back fence.
When he’s not writing about Africa Marc can be found travelling to remote locations. He thinks there’s nothing better than standing on a mountaintop wondering what lies over the next horizon.
Social Media Links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest
@marcauthor and @MasqTours.
Giveaway: There is a giveaway for this blast. $25 Amazon giftcard and 5 Kindle copies of “Aranya”. The code is provided below. Ends 8/21.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ff6a4f1f144/?
August 12, 2015
Audiobook Narrator Interview Number Six – Lynelle Bennett
Name:
Lynelle Daliah Bennett
*Tell us a bit about yourself:
I consider myself a very creative person. My family kind of pursued the military route and I ended being more of the artist out of all of us. I draw a lot, write stories, poems, play video games and dance for fun but my passion became singing. I grew up training myself as a singer and hoped to one day become a star like most little girls. I was self taught for a long time and went to college for Audio & Media Technology where I wanted to learn how to record and mix my own music and eventually sell it. I then kind of went on a hiatus from singing in the studio and started to sing in community choirs.
How did you become involved with audio book narration and production?
Well, eventually I kind of hit a snag in my career and really thought about what I really wanted to do. I knew that I really wanted to use my voice in some way but I didn’t find the music industry as appealing anymore. I then met a very awesome woman named Diana L. Wicker who shared her stories with me. I then noticed there was a side to my voice that I had always ignored but when I thought about voice acting, I realized how much I really enjoy reading and how I tend to create different voices for the characters. I write a lot too and I usually voice my own characters in my head so I thought that perhaps this route would be promising. I reached out to Diana who was interested in making her stories into audio books but found that she wasn’t really able to do them herself so when I introduced the idea of me starting to pursue the voice over path, she was excited because now she had a way of getting her audio books.
Do you have a preferred genre? Do you have a genre you do not produce? Why is this?
I really enjoyed doing “The Dreamweaver’s Journey” because of all the different types of characters that I had to create. It was fun figuring out what a Unicorn or Owl or Dragon would sound like. It was especially intriguing trying to voice a goddess-like character like Lady Kali. Fantasy was really fun in that regard. However, I am open to anything really. I would love to do a murder mystery or romance as well. I really love the tones in those types of stories and feel that it would challenge me in a good way.
What are you working on at present/Just finished?
I just finished “The Dreamweaver’s Journey” and I am probably going to start recording the next book in Diana’s series called “The Guardian Child’s Return.” I’ve already read it and figured out the voices of the characters in that book so I’m hoping to record that soon.
What aspects do you find most enjoyable?
Inventing voices for all of the characters was both challenging and fun. I really had to test my range and even play with changing the tone of my voice that I never really thought of before. Characters like Lord Hyatt for example. The male characters in particular were most challenging but I actually grew most fond of them over the female characters such as Lord Grypos and Nolan.
*With many people owning MP3 players do you think this is the future of storytelling?
Absolutely! There are many individuals who prefer to listen to a book while driving or even walking perhaps a pet or just getting some exercise or whatever. I personally know that even visually impaired people most likely utilize audio books. Why not?
Why do you think audio books are becoming so popular?
As I previously stated, people can listen to books the way that they listen to music and the fact that they can pretty much take it anywhere makes it very convenient. I think that may be the main reason why they are growing in popularity.
Have you ever had a negative experience producing a book?
So far, my production process can still use some work. I thought that I would finish Book 1 in one month but here we are, three to four months later and it’s finally been released. I hope that it gets faster for the next time around.
Please tell us a silly fact about yourself.
I think that I am a major geek. I get so nerdy into games that a lot of people just can’t help but smack their heads. I got so into a video game that I made a music tribute video based on my main characters and even drew, and painted a portrait of my main characters in the game as well. It was an RPG so I was able to make up what the main hero looked like. I don’t know if this is considered silly or obsessive.
Where can we learn more about you?
So far the best place is Facebook. I hope to get a website soon! Also, the Dreamweaver’s Official Site is a good place to get more info on the books by Diana.
Social Media links: https://www.facebook.com/lynelle.bennett
Official Site for Tales from Feyron: www.talesfromfeyron.com
August 3, 2015
Audiobook Narrator Interview Number Five – Fred Wolinsky
*Name: Fred Wolinsky
*Tell us a bit about yourself: I have been involved in performing practically all my life. As a child, I put on puppet shows in my backyard (creating different characters, accents, and voices), and started making extra money performing magic and ventriloquism shows for parties and organizations. I also got involved as an actor in school plays and community theatre. From a young age, I was inspired by ventriloquist Paul Winchell and his many characters, as well as Mel Blanc and all of the different voices he created.
I graduated college with a degree in Theatre Arts, trained in New York City in voice, acting and dance, acted in Summer Stock, Off-Off-Broadway plays, regional theatre, and touring shows, and eventually joined the actors unions. I later started working full-time as a puppeteer, which led to the founding of my own puppet theatre company, Pegasus Productions, presenting shows with life-sized puppets and magic, which grew into a nationally touring company with 2 full-time troupes, which I continued to run through 1988. The success of Pegasus lead me to found Encore Performing Arts, a not-for-profit agency which offered touring shows for children and family audiences of all kinds. The fast growing company became a leader in the field of professional performances for children’s audiences.
All the while, I still continued acting, directing, and choreographing in local theatre productions. In 1994, I was named “Best Actor of the Hudson Valley” by the Times Herald Record for my performance as Alan Turing in “Breaking the Code.” Since leaving my position at Encore in 2006, I have also been teaching Speech and Theatre on the college level, became a nationally certified American Sign Language Interpreter, and of course became a voice over artist and audiobook narrator/producer in the fall of 2013. I love bringing books to life and portraying all the different characters.
How did you become involved with audiobook narration and production? Since I was a child, inspired by Mel Blanc and Paul Winchell, I dreamed of becoming a voice-over artist, but I took the long route to get here. However, everything that I have done up until this time all contributed to my skills and abilities as a narrator/producer. As a puppeteer and ventriloquist, I learned to create many different voices in conversation with each other. As an actor, I learned to bring characters to life with an emotional sincerity. As a director, I learned how to analyze scripts, interpret the work of the author, find the emotional core of the production, and develop a sense of pacing. My ear for languages, helped me create characters with different accents — regional as well as international. While operating my puppet company, I made voice tracks for all the shows, so I learned how to edit and produce sound tracks. Running two businesses taught me how to manage my time, have integrity in my work, and live up to my commitments.
After retiring from Encore, my other work has been part-time, and I was looking for something to fill the slow spots. A talented actress friend of mine began doing a lot of professional voice over work, so I used the opportunity to pick her brain. She introduced me to ACX and taught me a lot about the business. I purchased some equipment and started submitting audition files. Then I started getting hired to narrate and produce books, and continued learning and growing on the job.
Tell us about some of the titles you’ve narrated. Do you have a favourite amongst these? I currently have 34 books listed on Audible.com, and more in the works. It is so hard to pick a favorite. That is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. Some that I most enjoyed narrating the include “The Doorways Trilogy” books by Tim O’Rourke, “Island of Fog” series by Keith Robinson, “Fables and Fantasies” by Dale T. Phillips, “To Light the Dragon’s Fire” by Margaret Taylor, among others. Here is a full list of my current titles on Audible:
– “The Feylands (The Hidden Lands Book 1)” by Peter Meredith
– “Island of Fog (Book 1)” by Keith Robinson
– “Labyrinth of Fire (Island of Fog Book 2)” by Keith Robinson
– “Doorways (book 1 of The Doorways Saga)” by best-selling author Tim O’Rourke
– “The League of Doorways (book 2 of The Doorways Saga)” by best-selling author Tim O’Rourke
– “To Light the Dragon’s Fire: Dragons, Griffons, and Centaurs, Oh My!” by Margaret Taylor
– “A Candle Star” by Michelle Isenhoff
– “A Demon’s Quest: The Beginning of the End” by Charles Carfagno
– “London Warriors” by Paul Rudd
– “Link” by D. A. Karr
– “The Veneer Clause” by Winfield H. Strock III
– “Hand Puppet Horror” by Benny Alano
– “A Song After Dark” by Grant Palmquist
– “Insanity Tales” by David Daniel, Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad V., and Ursula Wong, with an introduction by Jonathan Maberry
– “Freedom Club” by Saul Garnell
– “Points of Origin” by Darden North
– “Diner Tales: A Contemporary Canterbury Anthology” by Andy Bunch
– “His Undoing: A Gay For You Erotic Short Story” by Aria Grace
– “Figures in Blue”; by Ted Morrissey
– “Fables and Fantasies”; by Dale T. Phillips
– “Apocalypse Tango” by Dale T. Phillips
– “Kevin Chandler and The Case of the Missing Dogs” by A. L. Jambor
– “Separate Lives” by Dale Roberts
– “The Dark Djin (Denny’s Tales)” by Andy R. Bunch
– “Promises Unfulfilled (Diner Tales)” by Andy R. Bunch
– “Monsters and Legends (Diner Tales)” by Andy R. Bunch
– “‘Twas the Night” by Robin Reed
– “Crooked Paths” by Dale T. Phillips
– “Halls of Horror: A 10 Story Collection” by Dale T. Phillips
– “Jumble Sale” by Dale T. Phillips
– “The Big Book of Genre Stories” by Dale T. Phillips
– “Tales of the Gray Ghost” by Bill Craig
– “The Package” by Cleve Sylcox
– “Wacky Waddles” by Miranda Hardy
Do you have a preferred genre? Do you have a genre you do not produce? Why is this? Just like no actor is the right match for every role, no narrator is the right match for every book. Each book requires different skills, different vocal qualities, and different styles. There is really no genre that I would flat out not produce, but there are certain genres that I seem to be best suited for.
I have a unique voice, not your classic announcer voice, which is very well suited for certain books, and not as well suited for others. My strength is my versatility and my acting. What I excel at, and enjoy the most, is doing books that have a wide range of character voices, as well as a theatrical narrative. I love bringing each character to life vocally, making them jump off the page and come to life for the listener. I also treat the narrator as a character, even when it is third person narration, reading it with a passion and emotion, as if really telling the story, not just reading it.
I have done many different genres successfully, but the genres that seem to most often fit my skills are fantasy, paranormal, science fiction, horror, and young adult.
What are you working on at present/just finished? As of this writing, I am finishing up “The Queen of Doorways (the Doorways saga, book 3)” by Tim O’Rourke. I am also working on “Mountain of Whispers (Island of Fog book 3)” by Keith Robinson, and am lined up to do “To Save the Broken Heart: Dragons, Griffons, and Centaurs, Oh My! book 2″ by Margaret Taylor, and “The Sun King (The Hidden Lands Book 2)” by Peter Meredith. These are all sequels of books that I have previously recorded, so obviously the writers have been pleased.
Tim O’Rourke, author of “The Doorways Saga” books had said to me after listening to the first book in the series, “The voices were perfect and the chapters seemed to burst with life…. The book really comes to life and even though I wrote it I got caught up in the story as if coming across it for the first time.” Many authors have expressed similar sentiments.
*Tell us about your process for narrating? (Be as elaborate as you like.) I always start by reading the entire book, studying the characters and the style, and marking the script with color codes for different voices, as well as other performance notes. I also communicate with the author to discuss his or her visions of the characters and clarify any questions. I then record the book, doing a “punch editing” process, where I stop and start as often as necessary to perfect each phrase and get each voice just right, piecing the parts together as I go. I tend to stop frequently to make adjustments to the phrasing until I am satisfied. While there are actually many different takes strung together, I need to make it sound as if the entire book is being read once-through without errors. I aim to make it word perfect and be true to the author’s work.
When the book has many voices (as most of my books do), I make a separate sound file with samples of each character’s voice. That way, if there is time between appearances of that character (or in the event of a series where it may be several months before I produce next book), I can refresh myself as to how each character sounds, and keep each voice consistent.
Then I do the final editing and mastering, carefully listening to and touching up each moment to cut out any extraneous noises, subdue any loud breaths, and perfect the timing and pauses, as well as master the sound levels to a consistent range.
The final step is to convert all the files to the proper format for uploading.
With preparation, recording, editing, mastering, and file conversion, it takes me approximately 10 hours of work to complete one hour of finished audio. I may take a bit more time than some other narrators, but it pays off with the results. Just like putting together a theatre production, there is quite a bit of unseen work to make it sound natural, easy, and spontaneous.
What aspects do you find most enjoyable?
I love creating the different character voices. I try to picture what each character would look like, act like, and sound like. I don’t just think about accent or voice quality, but personality as well. How would that character speak? It is especially fun creating the voices for fantasy characters. Those will often be inspired by animals and animal sounds, and sometimes I will enhance them electronically in the editing phase.
Do you consider royalty share when looking for books to narrate? If not why is this? When I first started narrating, I took anything that was offered. Now, I am more selective. I prefer to be paid a flat fee (per finished hour) for my work. I will take some royalty share deals, but only if I think the book has a chance of a decent sales volume, so that I can be compensated for my work. I look at the quantity of reviews for that book, the past sales of the book, popularity of the other books from that author, as well as the amount and kind of promo that the author does and plans to do.
I have produced a few books for which ACX has offered a stipend. This provides the best of both worlds. ACX will pay the narrator/producer a fee per finished hour, plus the narrator/producer will also get a split of the royalties. Unfortunately, ACX only selects very few books for which they will grant this stipend. I have been fortunate to have been contracted for a few of these.
*With many people owning MP3 players do you think this is the future of storytelling? As more people have access to audiobooks, and with the ever-increasing tendency in our culture to multitask, I do think that audiobooks will continue to rise in popularity. However, I do not think it will ever replace print books (whether on paper or in electronic format). Audiobooks is a different media for storytelling, and each media has its pros and cons, and supporters and detractors. In reading, the reader creates the pictures and voices in their head rather than hearing the narrator’s interpretation. The reader has an easier option to jump back and forward, or skim through some sections than they do with audio. On the other hand, audiobooks can be listened to while driving or doing other things with your eyes and hands that you cannot do while reading a book. Also, if done well, audiobooks can really bring the story to life, creating a full movie in the listener’s mind.
Just like live theatre, movies, radio, TV, DVD, and other formats have only added to the options people have for entertainment, but have not replaced each other, I think audiobooks will become another popular form of storytelling.
Please tell us a silly fact about yourself. I can wiggle my ears.
Where can we learn more about you?
My website is http://fredwolinsky.weebly.com/ Check it out, and fill out the “Contact” form if you would like to get on my email list for occasional announcements about new releases or special promotions.
My Goodreads page is https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8282586.Fred_Wolinsky Follow me or friend me to keep up with my latest news.
Miraculously, I have somehow so far avoided getting involved with FaceBook and other social media sites.
August 2, 2015
Author Interview Number Ninety-Two – Dean Robertson
Welcome to Ms. Dean Robertson
Where are you from and where do you live now? I grew up on 200 acres of North Georgia woods; now I live in a 1928 co-op in an urban neighbourhood in Norfolk, Virginia.
Please tell us a little about your writing – for example genre, title, etc. The easiest answer is that my first book, Looking for Lydia; Looking for God is a memoir. It is also a sometimes unconventional discussion of some familiar Bible stories; the history of an assisted living facility that was built and chartered in 1921 in a southern city by a carpetbagger from Pennsylvania; the stories of the women who live in the Home today and who participated in a Bible study for two years; and the narrative of my obsessive search for the Lydia of the title.
Do you have a favourite character? If so why? I think probably two, and for the same reasons: Dorothea Brooke in George Eliot’s Middlemarch, and Drusilla in Faulkner’s The Unvanquished—because they are intelligent, passionate, naïve, and slightly mad.
Do you self-edit? If so why is that the case? Do you believe a book suffers without being professionally edited? I edit myself and ask others to edit my work with me in the same way I went over all student essays and taught students to work with their own essays over 30+ years of teaching—by reading out loud, line-by-line, over and over and over. Any language is at least half music and, while I may not know right away what’s wrong or how to fix it, I will hear the sour note which forces me to pause and reconsider. I had a quite amazing experience with my cousin editing this book, which I’m happy to relate in detail. I am currently editing a friend’s children’s book and we spend a couple of hours a day on the phone, both looking at the manuscript, reading aloud, discussing, and rewriting. It’s the first time she’s ever done this, and she simply says, “It works!”
On the other hand, my senior editor at Koehler Books, while he didn’t find much that needed changing, was brilliant and came up with some absolutely genius ideas for restructuring that I never would have thought of.
Do you think indie/self-published authors are viewed differently to traditionally published authors? Why do you think this might be? No question self-published authors are viewed differently. Several places where I’ve submitted my book for review have indicated, up front, that they don’t review self-published authors. Their stated reason is a lack of professional editing. I suspect that it is also a vestige of the good-old-boys network of the nearly defunct big houses. Sloppy editing seems all too common. The noise of the Manhattan publishers is the last roar of a dying lion.
Do you read work by self-published authors? Yes, I do, but usually only on the recommendation of someone I trust. Let’s face it, even professionally edited books these days too often have inexcusable errors. And I find carelessly overlooked typos annoying, uncorrected errors in grammar and usage nearly unbearable.
When buying a book do you read the reviews? I read reviews selectively by reviewers or in publications I know and respect. I don’t always agree, but I always learn from those reviews—The New Yorker and The NY Times Book Review are my personal favorites.
What are your reviews on authors reviewing other authors? Who better? I suppose professional competitiveness exists; I just don’t have it and I choose to assume the best of my fellow authors on that score.
What experiences can a book provide that a movie or video game cannot? The full use of the creative imagination; movies and video games try their best to do that job for us. A serious look at the world through the eyes of both characters and narrator.
A break from the noise of the world we live in.
What three pieces of advice would you give to new writers? Continue; continue; continue
Most authors like to read, what have you recently finished reading? Did you enjoy it? Ishiguro’s Buried Giant, and I’m re-reading it immediately. I don’t know if that means I enjoyed it or that I’m intrigued and puzzled by it. Elaine Pagels’ Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, & Politics in the Book of Revelation—the best work of theology I have read in years.
Do you have any pets? One cat, Isaac. I have always had cats, had 5 llamas for 10 years, and spent a few years keeping bees.
Can you give us a silly fact about yourself? I just bought a pair of hot pink leggings—at age 69+.
Book links, website/blog and author links:
http://www.koehlerbooks.com/books-2/books/looking-for-lydia-looking-for-god/
August 1, 2015
Audiobook Narrator Interview Number Four – Dean Robertson
*Name: Dean Robertson
*Tell us a bit about yourself: I am a 69-year-old retired English teacher, first-time author, and first-time grandmother (as of Shakespeare’s birthday 2015). I grew up on 200 acres of woods in North Georgia, have lived and taught in California, Kentucky, Michigan, and Virginia, and live currently in a 1928 co-op building in an urban neighbourhood in Norfolk, Virginia.
How did you become involved with audiobook narration and production? When I lived in Michigan, I read out loud to several friends, one of whom saw an article in the local paper about recording audiobooks. She called me and said, “You should do this.” I had another friend with a recording studio, so I made a demo tape which I sent off to The Brilliance Corporation. I didn’t hear anything for a long time and had forgotten about it when they called to ask if they could submit my tape to Barbara Kingsolver for her novel, The Poisonwood Bible. She approved, and I did the job. I narrated several other books for them that year.
I haven’t narrated audiobooks for many years; my life and passion became increasingly involved with teaching.
*Tell us about your process for narrating? (Be as elaborate as you like.) I’m going to describe my process for narrating The Poisonwood Bible, because that was the longest book I narrated and also the first, the finest, and a model for the others. It would still be the model if I did this work again. The work came up fast. They sent me a manuscript, which was dauntingly thick and, unlike my usual meticulous preparation for anything I do, I decided I just didn’t want to read it. So, the narration was my first reading. It was exactly the right thing. I went to the studio’s headquarters on Lake Michigan and checked into a motel. Every morning at 8:00 I drove to “work,” entered the small room, lined with egg carton foam, pulled on the huge earphones, opened the manuscript, and started reading. We broke for lunch, then worked until around 4:00. After that, I went back to my motel, walked on the beach, then went to bed. It took five days. I guess my process, looking back on it, just happened and involved somehow being in what people later came to call “the zone.” I sat perfectly still, spoke into the large microphone, and could hear nothing but the sound of my own voice and Kingsolver’s words, echoing through my brain from one ear to the other. I find, with years enough behind me to consider it, that it’s the way I have done everything-teaching, narrating, writing.
What aspects do you find most enjoyable? The absolute immersion in a piece of literature—the music of the words bringing you into the book more intensely than I could have imagined.
Do you listen to audiobooks? Nope—not mine nor anyone else’s.
*With many people owning MP3 players do you think this is the future of storytelling? I certainly hope not. I continue to sit down, rock my grandson, and read aloud to him from whatever I happen to be reading. I did that from his first day. I did the same with my son—nursing, rocking, reading. Complete intimacy. MP3 players, and all their ilk, are cold and distancing and offer very little in the way of human connection. There’s still the voice, but I don’t believe much in the power of disembodied voices.
Why do you think audio books are becoming so popular? People are rushed and incapable of the kind of stillness required to sit down to read a book. And we have created a culture in which reading isn’t valued at all. I hope the human need for stories will keep them alive in at least some form, but I am not hopeful. We have already moved into the world of graphic novels, i.e., comic books.
Can you remember the first audiobook you owned? I am old. I have never owned an audio book except the free ones I got for narrating.
Have you ever had a negative experience producing a book? No; I loved every minute of it.
Please tell us a silly fact about yourself. Having famously said of owning llamas, “Once you’ve kissed something with three lips, there’s no going back.”
Where can we learn more about you? My website and my author page on Koehler Books.
http://www.koehlerbooks.com/books-2/books/looking-for-lydia-looking-for-god/
July 29, 2015
“One Last Chance To Save Happily Ever After!”
A great reblogged interview with Roy Mauritsen
Originally posted on AUTHOR JENNIFER LOISKE:
The best part of interviewing authors is that I get to meet the most interesting people and find books that I probably would have never found on my own. Interviewing Roy Mauritsen was a special treat for me as not only are his book covers quite eye catching but the little I’ve already read of his stories has hooked me for good. Roy, you have a new fan here! So who is this guy? Yeah, I can see you’re all dying to know, so I’m not gonna hold the information any longer!
Spanning a 20+ year professional career as a graphic designer, Roy Mauritsen is also an award-winning digital fantasy artist and author of the Shards of the Glass Slipper series. Presently, Roy Mauritsen handles photography and television commercial production as a day job and also keeps himself busy moonlighting as an art director and book cover designer with over…
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July 28, 2015
Author Interview Number Ninety-One – Toby Neighbours – Fantasy
Welcome to Toby Neighbors.
Where are you from and where do you live now?
I grew up in Northwest Arkansas, and lived for several years near Dallas Texas. When my writing grew to the point that I could write full time my family of five sold almost all we owned, packed the rest in a 5x7x8 U-Hall pod, and made the 2,000 mile trip to North Idaho. We love living in the Pacific Northwest and can’t imagine being anywhere else.
Please tell us a little about your writing.
I write mostly epic fantasy. The Five Kingdoms was my breakout series. It has seven full length novels in the series, which was a best seller on Amazon’s Fantasy lists. The Lorik trilogy was a spin off series, which was featured as an Amazon Daily Deal. I’ll be writing a new series this fall with all the characters from the Five Kingdoms and Lorik books. I’m currenly writing the final installment of my Avondale series, which is epic fantasy, but I’ve also dipped my toe into the zombie genre with Zompocalypse and I occasionally write Sci-Fi.
Where do you find inspiration?
As you might guess, I’m inspired by the beauty of the mountains all around me. I’m also inspired by the concept of someone discovering their purpose in life and chasing their dreams. I’m a storyteller first, writing is just my preferred medium. So I love movies and television shows. I grew up reading the Tarzan novels by Burrows, and the Conan books. And I love the rugged individualism of good westerns along with the mysticism of native american folklore.
Do you have a favorite character?
I love all my characters and I relate to different parts of each one. Of my main characters, I relate to Zollin’s feelings of insecurity, and Lorik’s love of strength. I love Tiberius’ sense of adventure and over all I love their loyalty. Most of my female characters are modeled in some way after my wife. She’s my muse and really is incredibly talented.
Do you have a character you dislike?
No more than normal. I don’t like the bad guys, but I can appreciate what drives them to their evil ends. I’ve had fans tell me they hated characters before, which I love because it means they really feel the characters are real.
Are your characters based on real people?
No, not on actual people, but I do pick up on personality types and issues that certain people deal with which I try to incorporate into my characters. I’ve had very narcisistic people in my life who have hurt me. In looking for ways to heal and forgive, I’ve learned a lot about what motivates people to do things, so those issues, personalties, and motivations become part of my characters.
Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Do you feel this important in a book?
Any messages in my writing are implied and never there on purpose. I believe that people can and should discover who they are and pursue their purpose in life. I was made to be a storyteller and I’ve been blessed to find an audience for my writing, but long before I sold a book I was telling stories and I always will. That concept is found in my books. Many of my characters, like many people in the world today, are looking for meaning in their lives. Sometimes they find it, sometimes they don’t. I think books that are written to convey a message have their place, but I don’t write that type of novel. I just want people to have a good time and be inspired to chase their dreams when they read my books.
Sort these into order of importance:
1.) Great Characters – I write character driven books. I lose interest quick in a story where I don’t care about the characters. I want to know each person I’m writing about, I want to feel what they are feeling, and I want my readers to fall in love with them. My books always begin with the characters that drive the story forward.
2.) Solid Plot – I think the plot is almost equally as important as the characters. I don’t want to write a book about great characters where nothing happens. I love drama, I love the way tension propels the story. I love strategy and understanding why a character does something or how they handle their often times difficult circumstances. And I think good books always have a beginning, middle, and end, even if the book is part of a series.
3.) Technically Perfect – I write mostly for e-readers and I’m a proponent of indy publishing, but I believe that writers today have a responsibilty to produce the best books they can. I don’t want a glitch on their device, or a typo, or grammatical error to jerk them out of the world they are playing in. I wouldn’t say my books are perfect, but I’m always striving for perfection.
4.) World Building – I think world building is important. In my books the world is almost like another character, but I don’t spend a lot of time creating complex rules for the worlds my books are set in. I want those worlds to be unique, but I also need them to be relatable to every reader, so I strive to make my worlds as close to the real world as I can make it.
In what formats are books available
All my books are available on Kindle and most are available in print as well. I have a couple of books in audio and plan to produce more in the future. I publish exclusively with Amazon simply because that’s where my audience is. Amazon continues to make exclusivity with them financially smart, so until that changes I’ll stick with Amazon.
Do you self edit?
Once I have written a complete draft, I read back through it and make my edits. Then I send the manuscript to a professional editor. And once that process is complete it goes to my Beta Readers. After all that, I’ll publish.
Do you think indie/self-published authors are viewed differently to traditionally published authors? Why?
Yes and no. I think for most avid readers, indy authors are loved. We produce quality books at a fast pace and at a fraction of the cost of traditionally published books. I personally don’t need a publisher to validate my work, my readers do that and allow me to retain all the rights to my books. Obviously the industry is changing and there are people who always resist change. And there are poor writers who produce poorly written, formatted, and packaged books. Unfortunately, people who are against indy publishing point to these types of books as a reason that allowing anyone to write a book and publish it is a bad idea. But I don’t feel that I need to champion change, it will happen without my help. I focus on writing the best books I can and connecting to my readers.
What experiences can a book provide that a movie or video game cannot?
A book is a magical union between a story and a reader’s imagination. I think what books bring to the art of story telling is the reader’s experiences and preferences. Visual story telling has many excellent qualities, but the audience is merely a spectator. In books, the reader interprets the story and the characters become much more real to them. Plus, a book can be enjoyed in a very low tech atmosphere. You can read for a few minutes here and there, always advancing the story. Movies and video games require a much greater time/technology commitment.
What three pieces of advice would you give to new writers?
The key to success is to keep writing. Readers always want more and the more work you have to show the greater your chances are that you’ll find an audience. Plus, there’s no better way to improve as a writer than to practice your craft.
Get help editing. It doesn’t matter what your background is, a writer needs an editor. You just can’t view your own work without bias. For instance you know what a character is trying to say, so even if the dialogue makes no sense to a reader, it will make sense to you. You have to have that independent, unbiased editor to help you. Also, don’t hire a friend to edit for you. Get a professional and treat your book to the best editing you can get. It will always be worth it.
Don’t give up. There is no secret formula to success. Learn as much as you can about what works in marketing, but don’t fall for every fad or promise you come across. Keep putting yourself out there. It takes even the best writers time to build an audience. And treat your readers like royalty. They are the ones making your dreams come true. They deserve a moment of your time.
July 21, 2015
The Importance of Research – Lorna Collins – Guest Post
Welcome back to Lorna Collins who discusses the importance of research, and how she goes about it.
*Name: Lorna Collins
Does a writer always have to do research?
Yes. Regardless of whether you write fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or historical or science fiction, it is absolutely necessary to do your homework.
How do you define research?
Research may involve fact checking, authentication, or delving into a time period. If you write about real locations, you must know everything about them. Even if you create a fictitious location, as we did with Aspen Grove, Colorado for our romance anthologies, we had to know what the area around the mountains of Colorado looked like. Our little town was also a silver mining town, so we had to research what those were like.
Yes, but if you’re writing fantasy or sci-fi and creating your own world, no research should be necessary, right?
No. Even if you create your own world, all physical attributes must be explained rationally and consistently. Know what others in the field have written, and ‘piggy-back’ onto their ideas. My husband, Larry, writes sci-fi, and it is all based on current scientific research and innovation.
What are you working on at present/Just finished?
We are currently writing the sequel to The Memory Keeper to be called Becoming the Jewel. We left the first book at the end of the 1800s when Mission San Juan Capistrano was in ruins. In this next book, we’ll tell the story of how it became the “Jewel of the Missions.”
We are also writing the third in our mystery series, Murder with Honor.
I am working on another ghost story called, Sophia’s Garden. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
*Tell us about your process for research.
In the Digital Age, there is no excuse for failing to do adequate research. Some of the resources I use include:
Online Research. Wikipedia is a good place to start, but I don’t finish there. I take each element of the story and search on it until I have a complete grasp of the subject matter. Google maps and Google itself are great places to start.
Go to the Source. When we were in Colorado in 2012, I visited both Idaho Springs and Georgetown, the two cities we used as the inspiration for Aspen Grove. We went to the Chamber of Commerce and bought locally written books about the history of the towns. We learned a great deal of new material we subsequently used in our books. In addition, we visited the gold mine in Idaho Springs. We asked how the silver mining process would have differed from the one for gold. We were told they were essentially the same. By the time we left, we had a much better feeling for our town and its roots.
We also write our contemporary cozy mysteries in Hawaii. Before we start a new one, we take a trip. (I know it’s rough, but we have to do it. On one trip, we discovered a restaurant we described in our book had moved. We were able to change the location before the book went to press.
Ask an Expert. I learned from a dear friend and fellow mystery writer that everyone will talk to you if you say, “I’m a writer, and I’m trying to get the facts right.” If you have a question about a police procedure, ask your local police, If you have a medical question, ask a doctor.
When we wrote our historical, we enlisted the local Indian storyteller, the official town historian, the historical society, and a number of long-time residents. They provided extremely valuable details we couldn’t have found otherwise.
Librarians are still great resources for research. They are there to help you, and they generally enjoy the research. Ask for help.
Your Friends. Let them know what you are writing about and what you are trying to find out. I have been amazed at how simple mention to friends has resulted in tremendous resources I never would have found on my own.
What aspects do you find most enjoyable?
I’ve always loved learning, so the research process is an opportunity to learn new things. We spent two-and-a-half years researching The Memory Keeper. Because the history of San Juan Capistrano is so well-known and venerated locally, we had to be certain we only included verified incidents. In a number of cases, we obtained several sources before including a fact. The book is now sold in the store at Mission San Juan Capistrano and at a gallery in the Los Rios historical district. The local families and experts have all embraced the book.
Please tell us a silly fact about yourself.
For years, I never told anyone I won the Betty Crocker Homemaker of the Year award as a senior in high school. I was an academic, after all. I won several college scholarships. The award seemed trivial at the time. However, I more recent years, I have become proud of the achievement. I still have the pin mounted in a shadowbox, along with other memorabilia. Whenever I see it, it makes me smile.
*Tell us a bit about yourself:
My husband, Larry K. Collins, and I write both together and alone. After fifty years of marriage, we figured out how to do it.
We were both members of the team that helped to build theUniversal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka. Our memoir of that experience, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, was a 2006 EPPIE finalist and chosen one of Rebeccas Reads best nonfiction books.
We have also co-written two cozy mysteries set in Hawaii: Murder…They Wrote and Murder in Paradise, the latter a finalist for the EPIC eBook Award for mystery. We are currently working on more in the series. The Memory Keeper, is our historical novel set in San Juan Capistrano.
I co-authored six sweet romance anthologies set in the fictional town of Aspen Grove, CO: Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, An Aspen Grove Christmas, The Art of Love, …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe, and Directions of Love, 2011 EPIC eBook Award winner.
My fantasy/mystery/romance, Ghost Writer, launched Oak Tree Press’s Mystic Oaks imprint. It combines elements of fantasy, romance, and mystery. It’s a beach read with a dog, and a ghost.
In addition, I am a professional editor.
Where can we learn more about you?
You can find out more about me at our website: http://www.lornalarry.com
Follow my blog at: http://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/
Social Media links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorna.l.collins
Twitter: @LornaCollins
LinkedIn: Lorna Collins http://tinyurl.com/nunt9no
Author and Audio Book Producer – Lorna Collins
Today I welcome author and audiobook produce Lorna Collins.
My husband, Larry K. Collins, and I write both together and alone. After fifty years of marriage, we figured out how to do it.
We were both members of the team that helped to build the Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka. Our memoir of that experience, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, was a 2006 EPPIE finalist and chosen one of Rebeccas Reads best nonfiction books.
We have also co-written two cozy mysteries set in Hawaii: Murder…They Wrote and Murder in Paradise, the latter a finalist for the EPIC eBook Award for mystery. We are currently working on more in the series. The Memory Keeper, is our historical novel set in San Juan Capistrano.
I co-authored six sweet romance anthologies set in the fictional town of Aspen Grove, CO: Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, An Aspen Grove Christmas, The Art of Love, …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe, and Directions of Love, 2011 EPIC eBook Award winner.
My fantasy/mystery/romance, Ghost Writer, launched Oak Tree Press’s Mystic Oaks imprint. It combines elements of fantasy, romance, and mystery. It’s a beach read with a dog, and a ghost.
In addition, I am a professional editor.
How did you become involved with audiobooks?
A friend and fellow author had one of his books made into an audiobook. I was very impressed with the result. When I looked into the details, I decided to see about our books recorded.
Tell us about your the titles you’ve had narrated. Do you have a favourite amongst these?
Our first audiobook was Ghost Writer. This is my solo “beach read.” It was published by mid-level independent publisher. The contract with her did not include the audio rights. However, I checked with her to be sure I could convert it and also for permission to use the cover art. She was enthusiastic and said she’d hoped one of her authors would try audio.
I must confess my favorite to date, however, is The Memory Keeper. This is our historical novel set in the 1800s in San Juan Capistrano, California. The story is told in the voice of a Juaneño Indian. We spent nearly three years researching and writing this book, so we were very particular about how it would be presented. The voice actor we chose, Aaron Miller, was nearly as much of a perfectionist as we were. He struggled through the Indian words as well as the Spanish ones. (He was born in Wisconsin and now lives in Tennessee where Spanish is not a common language.) The final book perfectly captures the voice of our protagonist along with all of the other characters in the story.
We liked him so much, he is now creating the audiobook for Larry’s short story collection, Lakeview Park.
The gal who did Ghost Writer, Jean Ruda Habrukowich, is now doing one of the sweet romance anthologies I was part of, …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe.
How did you choose your narrators?
For an author, the process is quite simple. I uploaded an audition text. I chose a section of each book with several characters so I could see how the actor would interpret their voices. For Ghost Writer, the narrator had to be female since the story is written in the POV of a young woman. However, the other major character is a very proper British ghost, who is male. I wanted to be sure the actor found the right tone of voice for both. Jean nailed it.
For The Memory Keeper, we needed a male voice. Aaron had me as soon as he pronounced San Juan Capistrano with just the right touch of Spanish accent. He also indicated he would work with us on getting all the voices and pronunciation correct. A few of the words (like alcalde, noshuun, and Elena) gave him problems, but in the end, the book sounds better than we could have hoped for.
Are you planning on having more books made into audio?
Yes. We can only do the ones for which we have the audio rights, so we are limited. For some of our fourteen titles, the publisher’s contract gives them the audio rights. However, Larry has written a sci-fi series, The McGregor Chronicles. So far he has two books published in the series with the third due out before the end of the year. As soon as Aaron finishes Lakeview Park, we’ll get him started on the sci-fi books.
We also would like to have our memoir, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, done in audio. We have had a couple of auditions for it, but the people had no knowledge of Japanese, and one had a New York accent. We have helped several friends embark on the audio process, and one of them is currently using a husband and wife team for their book. We have spoken to them about their doing ours when the other one is finished. Since our memoir is written in two voices, this will be the perfect solution.
*Tell us about the ACX process.
This turned out to be much simpler than I had imagined. Our last few books have been published through KDP and CreateSpace, so I was familiar with those processes. Amazon now owns ACX, so they have made it much simpler for everyone involved.
Make sure you have the audio rights for your book.
Choose a chapter or section for the audio audition. This should be a short section with multiple characters. (We did not want to have our books read, we wanted them to be acted out.)
Upload the book details. (ACX guides you through the process and links the book to its Amazon listing.)
Upload the audition text.
Wait for auditions.
Some books garner more auditions than others. Some genres attract more actors. Within two days of posting Lakeview Park, Larry had three auditions. Since one was from Aaron, we decided to stay with him. However, either of the other two would have been terrific.
During the actual recording, the author and actor are in communication. When the chapters are completed, the actor posts them to ACX. The author can then listen and send back comments or corrections.
When the entire book is completed, the actor closes the file and the author approves the book for publication. It appears on ACX and Amazon in about ten days to two weeks.
What aspects do you find most enjoyable?
We were fortunate to find two excellent actors for our books. Both of them were nearly as picky as I am! Both were willing to make as many changes/corrections as necessary to ensure a quality product.
Hearing our books read added a whole new dimension to them. We knew what we thought they should sound like, but the final interpretations were far better than we could have hoped for.
Did you choose royalty share for your books? Why is this?
Confession: I’m essentially cheap. We have done (and plan to do) all of our books with a royalty share agreement. It is a win-win for both author and voice artist. From the time the book is listed for sale, passive income is generated for both parties.
Do you listen to audiobooks?
Yes. I have listened to more of them since our books have become available. They are great for long car trips. Larry used to listen to the text-to-speech feature on his old Kindle on long commutes for work. The actual audiobooks are much more enjoyable.
*With many people owning MP3 players, do you think this is the future of storytelling?
I don’t think books—ebooks and print—will ever go away. But many people enjoy the listening process. We are at an age where many of our friends have developed vision issues, including macular degeneration. They can now enjoy our books.
Why do you think audio books are becoming so popular?
They are now much more accessible, and more people are commuting. In addition, the actors producing them are getting better and better. The sheer competition is improving the quality.
Did you consider producing your own audiobooks, or do you prefer to look for an independent narrator? Why have you made this choice?
We had talked for years about producing our own books—especially our memoir. But the cost of renting a studio and the time required to get the task done seemed daunting. We have been very fortunate to have found exceptionally good actors who understood our books.
Has ACX/Audible fulfilled your expectations? (such as earnings, ease of use, workload etc.?)
So far, it has exceeded our expectations. We had anticipated having to work with the actors, monitor the completed chapters, convey our expectations to them, and the process was very satisfying. Of course, we were blessed with terrific actors. It made all the difference.
Please tell us a silly fact about yourself.
My husband, Larry, says I collect friends like other people collect stamps or coins. Very true. I strike up friendships in the supermarket line. I’m still in touch with nearly all of my friends from childhood, grammar school, high school, college, and nearly every place I’ve ever worked. I actually know who every one of my 1500+ Facebook friends is and how we met.
Where can we learn more about you?
You can find out more about me at our website: http://www.lornalarry.com
Follow my blog at: http://lornacollins-author.blogspot.com/
Social Media links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorna.l.collins
Twitter: @LornaCollins
LinkedIn: Lorna Collins http://tinyurl.com/nunt9no
July 18, 2015
Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse – Free on Kindle
Until 19th July Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse is free on all the Kindle sites.
This short tale within a tale is a mythic story of monsters, revenge and unwise bargains.
Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse.
http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Erana-Warriors-Alexandra-Butcher-ebook/dp/B00QZ7PVWY
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