L.T. Getty's Blog, page 33

Twelve(ish) Days of Authors – Day 3: Audra Middleton

Next up is fellow Burst Author and I’ll go-so-far as to say Launch-Buddy, Audra Middleton, with her first novel, Watcher, due out January 8 2013. 

Audra is a mother of three from Washington State and I’d like to thank her for agreeing to answer a few questions.

Tell us about Watcher and who you think would like it.

Watcher is a fantasy novel in which… an orphan girl seeks the oblivion of the forest while darkness lures the Chosen Son of prophecy, yet they find each other, and their budding love could destroy the very world Goran, the tormented prophet, is trying to save.  I think anyone who appreciates a good love story would enjoy it.

 

In Watcher, do you have a favorite character? How about least favorite?

My favorite character is Watcher herself.  She transforms into fauna, keeps a bear for a pet, and does not have much use for social norms.  I enjoy female characters who are strong and intelligent.  I can’t think of a character I didn’t enjoy writing; even the villains have their appeal.  It’s sometimes cathartic to write those evil characters when you’re in a foul mood.

 

For you, what makes the difference between a ‘good’ book and a ‘great’ book?

For me, a great book has well-developed characters, the kind that stick with you even after you’ve finished the story.  Vivid description and a compelling plot are important too, but to me the characters are paramount.  I love to feel like I know that character, personally.

 

Do you have any favorite couples in fiction? How about a pairing you never understood the appeal of?

I really liked Rowling’s Harry and Ginny.  They were sweet.  I’m really not sure what Westley saw in Buttercup, as much as I loved The Princess Bride.  I liked that she was a tomboy who didn’t care for bathing as a child, but overall I wished she had more brains and backbone.

 

Is there anything else in the works that we should know about?

I just finished writing a quirky little paranormal thriller called the Hitchhiker that I’m hoping will turn into a series.  I’m working on a sequel to Watcher, and a fun little ‘summer read’ right now, in between chauffeuring my kids around and prepping for the holidays.

Tell us a bit about your writing style – is there anything you find really easy or, really hard?

Dialogue comes easily for me, and I enjoy developing my characters.  I struggle with scenes that are out of my realm of knowledge and experience.  For instance, I’ve never seen combat, nor have I been to medical school, so I always have to do a lot of research for those battle scenes, and medical scenarios.  Then I watch The 300 or a few episodes of ER just to psych myself up for them.

In the spirit of sharing, tell us about a book by another author you adore, and who you think would like it.

I’ve been enjoying Susan Stec’s The Grateful Undead series.  They’re fun, full of vivacious characters and crazy antics.  I think anyone who enjoys vampire books would enjoy them.

Do you have any special ways to celebrate the holidays?

We have a holiday tradition of overspending, overeating, and overdoing in general, which includes a twelve foot tree, gingerbread cookies, lots of presents, and a trip to Lake Chelan.

Do you play a musical instrument of any sort? If not, is there any you ever considered taking up? If absolutely not, were you ever kicked out of a choir?

Once upon a time I used to play the xylophone.  I remember playing the Can Can, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, and Little Brown Jug like nobody’s business.  I would probably be kicked out of the choir, were I to try out, because my singing skills are not stellar.

What’s your favorite Christmas Special?

My favorite Christmas movies are Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Story.  I never cared for Rudolf, Santa’s mean in that one and those claymation creatures are sort of creepy.

Every author has the most loathsome part of the craft – what do you hate the most?

Marketing is probably my least favorite aspect of the publishing process, just because I’ve never really been a salesperson, and the product in this case is my own work, which adds a whole new twist to the pressure.  Putting yourself ‘out there’ can be pretty intimidating, but it’s worth it because writing in a vacuum isn’t nearly as much fun as sharing my stories with others.

 

What’s the best movie you’ve seen so far this year, or are you anticipating seeing anything over the holiday season?

In recent years, I mostly only make it to the movie theater with my kids, so I see a lot of superhero movies and cartoons, which are great, but this year I am looking forward to going to see The Hobbit.  That one’s for me.  It was always my favorite of Tolkien’s books, because it had a lot of humor and it had a dragon, so it’s a double bonus.

 

Thank you so much for inviting me!

 

You’re welcome, Audra! Remember, Audra and I both have books coming out on the same day, so if you’re checking me out come January 8, be sure to check out Watcher as well! In the meantime you can check out Audra’s blog here. 

Reviewing Policy/Save a Life

Hey guys – I got no one to chat about today, but then I got the interviews raring to go until Christmas Eve, a break on Christmas and then at least two more after, so I wanted to mention two things.

First off, I don’t know what the policy is where you are, but if you have blood services, please consider donating. I know – you’ve probably donated toys and to local shelters and you don’t have the time, but if you’ve never donated blood before, this is the perfect time to donate. In Manitoba, where I live, they put out special bulletins when they’re worried about their supplies – and I imagine it’s always a concern over the holiday season everywhere, so if you are healthy and meet the qualifications for donation, go for it. I know the needles are a little scary at first, but I’ve been donating since I became eligible and even though I’ve never needed a transfusion, it’s surprising to learn how many loved ones needed transfusions at one point or another. Besides, in Manitoba they give you soda and cookies so it’s like paying you.

And hey – if you’re not eligible, that’s cool too – I had to stop for a year when I got some piercings and then again when I got some inoculations, but if you meet eligibility criteria, go save a life or five. The rest of you: take some first aid courses for when someone chokes on a drumstick. 

 

And now that I have demanded blood, onto my policy on reviewing!

I’ve been following along with a variety of drama involving whether or not authors, inspiring or signed, should say boo to anyone online. Originally, I started a post about the importance of reviews and how inspiring authors shouldn’t be harassed into saying kind things about books because it would hurt their chances of getting published later. It got long and ranty. I’m bound to elaborate on this subject over the next few months, here’s my little reviewer opinion in a nutshell:

1.       If you see anything from me in regards to another book or whatever, it will be honest. Remember that everything that comes from me is an, “In My Opinion”. The only time I lie about what I think is good or bad is when one of my nieces or nephews asks me what I think about a cartoon. When I can no longer be fair or honest, I need to stop rating books on goodreads.

 

2.       If you’re reviewing my work, I want you to be honest. I don’t mind if you don’t like my book. I don’t mind if you point out all the errors or you hated a character or you felt something was forced or missing. For those of you who can’t differentiate between an author and their works, I don’t even mind that you find me a repulsive human being. By all means – discuss, and there’s more then one way to discuss most of what I’ll eventually end up publishing. The silly romps, not so much.

 

3.       When it boils down to it, I prefer honest criticism to generic praise. Also, I enjoy snark,so I won’t be put off if someone says something snarky about me or my work. There are things that might hit close to home over the years, but I think the vast majority of the people aren’t cruel enough to make light of personal tragedy. Those that are, aren’t worthy of the rest of our collective attention.

 

4.       Please be decent to one another when you start discussing serious topics. You’re entitled to your opinion, so are other people. I want to encourage thoughtful discussion and, if you can discuss something complicated and polarizing where everyone is respectful, You Might Have Just Won the Internet. Alas, the prize is maintaining the fragile peace…

 

5.       What you have done for me previously will not in the future be a reflection of my opinion on your work. I’m more likely to grade you harder if I liked what I saw last time and you aren’t up to par. However, I do feel the need to say, “I’ve known Author X” just to be up front. This won’t apply to authors I’ve met in like, conferences for a day or whatever, but if I chat with someone semi-regularly or they’re my beta, I’ll tell you.

 

6.       I’ll still recommend a book I didn’t like to someone looking for that kind of book. If someone’s asking for book recommendations, I usually ask what they’re looking for, and then make recommendations. Will I say, “I didn’t like it.”? Sure – but most people who know me know my tastes and quite frankly, don’t care.

 

7.       Fellow Author-Type-People, don’t be jerks. You’re an awesome person because you donated blood like I told you earlier, not because of your writing prowess. If you get your sense of self-worth based on what other people say of you, there are other issues at work here, and you probably shouldn’t be publishing anything you couldn’t stand to see ripped apart.

 

You with me so far? I know the politics of “If you come across as a negative reviewer, no one will want to publish you” but you have nothing to worry from me. If you only get one thing from this little individual blog post, I’m selfishly asking for things I can improve on.

Twelve(ish) Days of Authors – Day 2, Ceci Giltenan

Next up on this Author-Celebration is up-and-coming Highland Romance author, Ceci Giltenan.

Ceci started her professional life as an oncology nurse at a leading research hospital. In 1991 she married a young Irish carpenter who she met at the wedding of a co-worker who is now her sister-in-law. They raised their family in central New Jersey and Ceci became a successful medical writer. Now with their youngest off to college, she is breaking away from “primary efficacy endpoints” and writing a f...

Twelve(ish) Days of Authors – Day 2: Ceci Giltenan

Next up on this Author-Celebration is up-and-coming Highland Romance author, Ceci Giltenan. 

Ceci started her professional life as an oncology nurse at a leading research hospital. In 1991 she married a young Irish carpenter who she met at the wedding of a co-worker who is now her sister-in-law. They raised their family in central New Jersey and Ceci became a successful medical writer. Now with their youngest off to college, she is breaking away from “primary efficacy endpoints” and writing a few “happily ever after’s.” Her first book, Highland Solution is scheduled for release in September 2013.

Tell us about Highland Solution and who you think would like it.

Niall MacIan, a Highland laird, desperately needs funds to save his impoverished clan. The rumors in Edinburgh suggest that Lady Katherine Ruthven, a lowland heiress, is “unmarriageable.” Her uncle hopes to gain her title and lands if he can convince the king to send her to a convent. King David II anxious to strengthen his alliances sees a solution that will give Ruthven the title he wants, and MacIan the money he needs. Laird MacIan will receive Lady Katherine’s hand along with her substantial dowry and her uncle will receive her lands and title.

Lady Katherine must forfeit everything in exchange for a husband who does not want to be married and believes all women to be self-centered and deceitful. Niall learns that the lovely, gentle Katherine is not at all what he expected.

I think Katherine is bright, honest, compassionate, and funny. If a reader finds this kind of heroine appealing, I believe that will enjoy the book.

Where did you get the idea for Highland Solution?

I have always loved romance. From the fairy tales of childhood to the historical romances I first read as a teenager, I am a sucker for “happily ever after’s.” Through the years I have read many romance novels that I love but I think that the plots for my novels have arisen from books that were unsatisfying or that I really didn’t like. Those are the books that caused me to think about how I would tell a story or develop a character differently.

Talk to me a little bit about your writing process. Are you a plotter, a pantser; do you get your ideas from research or public affairs or…?

I get an idea and worry it around for a long time, sometimes years. I play it out in different ways, imagine conversations and work out the details of each character’s background. I do all of this in my head while I am doing other things like commuting, waiting in a doctor’s office, listening to a boring presentation, or lying in bed at night before I fall asleep. Then, suddenly it all comes together and I sit down and write. Highland Solution brewed for more than twenty years, but when I was ready to write, it only took several weeks to generate a first draft.

 

Tell us a bit about your writing style – is there anything you find really easy or, really hard?

I work as a medical writer and my biggest challenge is shifting from the formal data presentation mode of my daily professional life to the storytelling mode of a romance author.

In Highland Solution, do you have a favorite character? How about least favorite?

I love my hero and heroine, Niall and Katherine but that is to be expected. There are two supporting character that I really admire as well, but I may give something away if I reveal who they are right now. So I will say that hands down the character that I have no respect for at all is Niall’s step-mother Eithne. Early on she reveals herself as a self-centered, mean-spirited witch who helped form Niall’s low opinion of women.

 

Who is the better villain: Voldemorte or Darth Vader?

If by better, you mean worse, then Voldemorte without a doubt. In the end Darth Vader redeemed himself.

If I asked you how to crochet, could you teach me how? If not, could you teach me to play croquet?

In fact, I could teach you how to do both.

I warned these authors I would be asking silly questions!

 

How are you planning on spending Christmas?

Our children will be home from college, so it will be the first time we have all been together since September. The Christmas celebration begins with Mass on Christmas Eve. The elves always seem to visit while we are at Mass and leave brand new pajamas for everyone. On Christmas morning we open presents and have a family breakfast (probably the only one of the year). In the afternoon we go to our very best friends’ home for Christmas dinner where we eat, drink, sing, and generally make merry with those we love the most.

What’s your favorite Christmas Special?

I have always loved “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” My favorite part is when, in his frustration to learn the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie brown yells, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus answers, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about” and reads the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke.

Do you have any other projects in the works that we should know about?

I am working on an as yet untitled Highland romance that continues the story of a character that appears in Highland Solution. I also am writing a time-travel romance called The Minstrel’s Portal, in which the heroine, Grace, travels through time when she plays a very modern melody on an antique instrument. Perhaps the project that I am enjoying the most at present is the novel, How to Catch a Human, in which an irrepressible and undisciplined fairy tries to fit into the human world.

In the spirit of sharing, tell us about a book by another author you adore, and who you think would like it.

Hmm, in the spirit of the Christmas season I would recommend The Shepherd, the Angel and Walter the Christmas Wonder Dog, by Dave Barry. It is a quick, funny read for anyone who ever loved a dog, was in a Christmas pageant in the sixties, or can see the potential humor in frozen bat poop. Currently I am enjoying Highland Promise (medieval Highland romance, my favorite genre) by Mary McCall.

Care to leave us with an inspiring quote?

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

Mary Anne Radmacher

Twelve(ish) Days of Authors – Day 1: R.J. Hore

Hey Everybody – I know I’ve been quiet so I thought I’d kickstart blogging by doing a some author interviews over the winter holidays until the new year– though most of the authors that will be shown here belong to my publishing house, I’ve got a few others who aren’t with the Champagne Imprint. In the Spirit of 12 Days of Christmas, I’m going to showcase 12ish authors in the next few weeks by asking them silly questions and they’ll have a chance to let you know what it is they write. If you...

Twelve Days of Author Interviews – Day 1: R.J. Hore

Hey Everybody – I know I’ve been quiet so I thought I’d kickstart blogging by doing a some author interviews over the winter holidays until the new year– though most of the authors that will be shown here belong to my publishing house, I’ve got a few others who aren’t with the Champagne Imprint. In the Spirit of 12 Days of Christmas, I’m going to showcase 12ish authors in the next few weeks by asking them silly questions and they’ll have a chance to let you know what it is they write. If you happen to be a writer and want in – message me; I got my dozen writers but I’m more then willing to carry on into the new year.

First off is R.J. Hore – and I picked him first because he’s my beta reader and I’m posting it now because the first Hobbit film comes out in about 40 minutes my time.

I joined the Writer’s Collective when I was an undergrad and needed all the help I could get learning the art of writing or something. They had a program where they paired writers of similar genre up. Basically we’ve been swapping work back and forth every month or so and having someone to swap work with semi-regularly is the ultimate accountability system – and his feedback is reflective when I do my homework at the last minute, which I’ll admit is more often then not.

Anyhow – R.J. Hore is from Winnipeg, MB., and has a far more impressive list of publishing credits then I do – he’s won contests, appeared in numerous anthologies, and his second novel is due out in April of 2013. His first novella in his Housetrap Chronicles was released earlier this month by Burst Books, an Imprint of the Champagne Books Publishing Group. You can check out our publisher’s webpage at http://www.champagnebooks.com

Let’s pretend I haven’t read The Housetrap novella or its sequels already. In a nutshell, tell me about Randolf C. Aloysius and his long-suffering assistant Bertha, and why I should check out this series.

Randolf C. Aloysius is a private eyeball in a universe just slightly one sideways step over the rainbow from ours, into a fantasy world where almost anything, or anyone, might happen. Bertha is Randy’s Secretary, Girl Friday, and Executive Assistant. If you don’t object to steam-powered taxis, or spaceships with floppy wings, or a world run by committees, usually of wizards, then this might be the place for you to drop in and visit. Randy’s adventures can take place anywhere, from the back streets of Central City to the terraformed swamps of Venus. Bertha’s duties include trying to keep him out of trouble, as well as running the office of the detective agency. Did I mention no one here is human, or rarely?

What’s the C. in Randy’s name stand for?

I don’t think anyone knows. I’m not sure Randy does. If I were guessing I would try Cluttered, or Curmudgeon, or possibly Cynic.

How would you describe your style in Housetrap as compared to say, The Dark Lady or The Queen’s Pawn?

Housetrap is a mad ramble to who knows where. I feel free to throw just about anything into the mix. The basic idea when this first popped into my head was to take the title of a famous detective or mystery thriller, mangle the title, then write a novella based around that simple plot idea. Basically, I have fun with the characters and the plot. When I did The Dark Lady, I took a more serious idea like: How do certain rulers, in this case a queen, get a bad reputation? I may have wandered a bit in the execution, but that was the starting point. It was a more serious effort than Housetrap. The Queen’s Pawn is probably somewhere in between the two. It is a semi-serious story, that gradually gets darker by the time it ends. If I rated them as to how “serious” a story they were, out of 10, I would give The Dark Lady a 9 or 10, Queen’s Pawn a 6 or 7, and Housetrap a 2 or 3. I guess the style reflects the seriousness of the subject matter and how I treat it.

How do you feel about writing the novella length as compared to other formats?

My preferred format is the novel. I have been told that some of my short story efforts read as though they should be a novel instead. I like being able to fill out more details in the novel about the setting and the characters as well as the plot. The Housetrap stories are all novellas. I think this is the ideal format for that type of tale. The reader might get a headache if it went on too long. Each story is a single case based around a main character. With a novel you can expand on the backstory and give the secondary characters more development. One type of short story I enjoy is the single page. You have to be very aware and concise. Works well, especially for a bad pun or two.

Will we ever get to see humans in Randolf’s world?

In Housetrap I think humans do appear as shadowy street people and are definitely used as models for the local equivalent of a decorative gargoyle, which is logical, since gargoyles probably prowl the streets in Randy’s world. I could envision humans only as something completely covered up (like a wizard?) or undead (like certain vampires?) A pity. I wouldn’t be surprised if Randy has 1/100 human blood in him somewhere, he is a mongrel after all.

Let’s pretend you land a movie or miniseries deal for Housetrap. Who would you like to direct it?

Toss up between Ridley Scott and Tim Burton! Joss Whedon might be a better choice than Scott.

Every author has the most loathsome part of the craft – what do you hate the most?

Marketing has to be number one, it interferes with my writing time! Editing come in second place as a necessary evil. The writing is the easiest part, I have stories and titles I will never get around to using.

You got a bunch of other projects coming up – another novella due out in March and then another medieval fantasy novel in April. Mind giving us an idea what they’re about?

Knight’s Bridge comes out in March 2013. Probably one of my darker fantasy tales. It started out as a short story about a disillusioned medieval knight fleeing a lost battle. But then I began to wonder what happened next, and what happened to the people (especially the woman!) he met along his way. It became a novella about the knight, a barbarian warlord, a squire, and the widowed woman.

The Queen’s Pawn comes out in April 2013. This is a medieval-style fantasy, a sort-of-a quest novel, where a farm boy is mistaken for a duke and ends up trying to lead a queen, her daughter, and their attendants to safety. Of course few people, except for the farm boy, are as they seem. He just wants to go home, but just keeps getting dragged in deeper. Tried to keep it light but it gets a bit darker toward the end.

You’re just putting the finishing touches on final book in The Dark Lady Trilogy – any idea as to what is next? Or, anything you’d like to take a break from?

Once I get The Dark Lady project out of the way I have a couple of areas to work on. I would like to take a bit of a medieval break and relax with another novella or two in the Housetrap universe. There are already three more in this series coming out in 2013. One consideration is to eventually bundle two or three stories together in a print volume or two under The Housetrap Chronicles. I also have at least three full length novels that i should get back to, look over, and send out. There is a what-if tale, a contemporary couple gets stuck in the wrong universe tale, and slightly futuristic mother and daughter adventure. Should do something with these. (And that is just before I go and look to see what else is hiding in my closet).

You are suddenly faced with a zombie apocalypse. You have three weapons and a strategy. Go!

Could I simply leave town? How about a nice comfortable space ship full of friends? We could just zap the planet and start over but that would probably be cheating.

How about a suit that nothing could get at me through and a gun that turned zombies into…?? (He leaves it here, I’ll say FRIED CHICKEN. Why? Because then it suddenly becomes an old school game of Quake…)

Does a battleship count as a single weapon? We could head to a remote island, or maybe just take over Hawaii. If that was already taken I suppose there is always PEI or Newfoundland?



Who is your favorite fictional villain of all time?

Tough one. I have too many. Do monsters count? Dracula, the Alien in Alien, Not too fond of (love to hate) either Queen Cersei or her son Joffrey Baratheon of Game of Thrones.

Is there anything you know now as a published author you wish you could go back and tell yourself a year ago?

Stop writing once in a while and send stuff out to more publishers more often. Pay more attention in computer and social media classes?

In the spirit of sharing, can you recommend a book that isn’t by you? What is it, and who would like it?

A recent book I enjoyed was Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. A tale set in a fantasy version of ancient China. Would appeal to someone who likes long, complicated stories. A series I have enjoyed (only read the 2nd and 3rd in the series,) and a bit more juvenile is the Goliath, Behemoth series by Westerfeld. A steampunk in WW1 type of tale.

 

Excerpt from Housetrap:

I don’t like Elves, never have. I sat tilting back in my chair counting the stains on the ceiling when she walked through the open door of my inner office unannounced—unannounced, because I’d just given Bertha the afternoon off to visit her sick brother. Bertha’s half Banshee, thin as a lamppost with long straight dark hair and big brown eyes. She’s always got a relative down with the Black Death or some obscure curse; I think she has twelve brothers, but I digress.

The Elf arrived in my office wrapped in a full-length gold lamé coat with a large hood covering her head and hiding most of her features, but I could tell she was pure Elf. Those yellow eyes are a dead giveaway even if you can’t spot the pointed ears. I’m a student of nature, have to be; the breed often determines character, or motive, or veracity. In my business you have to stay two jumps ahead or you’re squashed like a scarab. I’m a Mongrel myself. You can never tell about Mongrels, and there are more of us around now ever since the Goldilocks affair. Now there was a real witch, not the kind with just a warty nose, but she married that Wolf back in the days before they gave femmes the vote. Then they went overboard and made it all legal in the Intermarriage Act of 1812, and everything has tumbled Jack over Jill downhill ever since.

The Elf glanced about the room nervously, then in a single fluid motion crossed her long legs and slid into the battered chair opposite me like maple syrup poured from a mason jar. I sighed deep inside, rocked forward to rest my elbows on the scratched oak desk, painted a smile across my ugly mug and waited. I had all day; it had been two weeks since my last case. She fidgeted for a minute and I matched her, stare for stare, until my eyeballs screamed for mercy. The Elf had the kind of face you see perched high on a mantelpiece, thin bone china, pale, delicate, and carved by a master.

She broke first. “I need your help, Mr. Aloysius.” Her words vibrated in the air.

The Next Big Thing

I saw Carol Berg post this – and I thought to myself, “Hey, I’m technically an author right? Right?” So if you’re an author or even just a writer looking for representation, if you’d like, I’ll tag you. Especially R.J. Hore, but I’d like to hear all of you talk about your projects!

 

What is the working title of your next book?

Tower of Obsidian is the one that’s due out in January. Yeah, it got pushed back at little, mea culpa.

Terran is the project I’m finishing up right now, so far I haven’t sent it anywhere, and it needs another edit. I have the feeling it’s going to be one of those projects I’m going to be working on for a few months more. It’s a hard novel but in a good way – I suspect it’ll be a little more polarizing then ToO. If you think my writing speed for ToO is impressive, Terran is shorter and it took me over a year to draft – not counting the two years of research prior.

 

Where did the idea come from for the book?

It’s more complicated then what I’m about to admit to, but here’s the nutshell of how it started: My Little Pony.

When I was drafting the novel I was in school and watching my sister’s kids. I got my niece addicted to the toys and so, awesome auntie I was, I ordered her the movie from the 80’s because I wasn’t going to shell out for the tv series. They started to show the new version on the kid’s channel around the same time. I noted not only the change in art, audience, and characterization; but I also noticed where the newer series grabbed several of their storylines from various preestablished stories. I know various other shows from my childhood have reboots and you see it all the time with comic books – but let’s keep it simple and I’ll focus on my niece, because while I can’t really remember being three, I can remember how I felt about stuff marketed to me back in the 90’s and how I feel about seeing the same stuff now.

My niece had her birthday a month into my draft, and I noticed a trend with lots of kids merchandising – she got swarmed with Disney Princess everything. Now, I’m an animation buff and I adore Disney movies if only for the almost timeless feel they have, but I noticed how these classic stories are still reflective of a good portion of society’s ideals of that specific time period. (I could go on about some of the banned stuff from various animation studio’s vaults, but I’ll leave it for another day). So on the one hand, we had something rather timeless, and on the other, I could see the progression of various princesses they were relatively passive to becoming more active in the story line. This was also around the time that there was a lot of controversy around the Princess and the Frog movie, so let’s just say that there was tons of opinions and articles to be found relatively easily.

While people nowadays will complain that Cinderella is passive and Belle suffers from stockholm syndrome or whatever, I watched the various things that were deemed ‘children’s entertainment’ , as an adult examining character motivations, while at the same time, I could kind of see what my niece was seeing. Let’s just say that as I became a writer I started to read books differently – but it wasn’t until I was watching the same things with a young child that I remembered how I used to see the world. How we could take the same basic story and boil its basic elements for a child’s story, or, and I questioned how exactly we made something more ‘adult’ – darker, sexier, edgier, or was there something more?

In the meantime, I had come up with an idea for a novel that was floundering: Telling the same short story again and again, changing one element or story telling piece, and just seeing where it took me. I originally tried this with the Grimm’s tale Jorinda and Joringel several years prior, but it just wasn’t working. I’ll admit shorts are not my forte. So I looked at my developing novel and decided to see if I could tell the same story again and again – some times with characters actually saying the story, other times characters acting out the roles and even changing roles from hero to villain, sometimes within the same arch.

So basically I just started writing about a young archer and her hawk walking through a field when they were attacked by wolves. I had no idea who she was or where she was going, but she was looking for someone. I let the story flow, and kept in mind that I wanted to retell a story several times within the same novel.

 

What genre does your book fall under?

I call it historical fantasy.

 

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I mentioned this in the See Jane Publish interview – I’m really easy going with casting because I care more about an actor being able to pull off the part then necessarily if their bone structure is just so. Especially in a novel like mine where character interpretation and motivation can be really fluid, I’d be okay if a director wanted to take a character in a slightly different direction and because actor X is otherwise perfect but he’s got blond hair instead of red and he looks awful with a dye job… I’d say rewrite him as blond. There’s certain things I wouldn’t budge on (Naguset would have to be played by an aboriginal woman; most of the other character’s ethnicities can be altered but this is kind of important) but for the most part I’m open-minded.

But, as said before, I would cast Ben Barnes as Skolvane, but I could see Skolvane easily cast as a variety of different Hollywood actors.

 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

It’s about an immortal princess that refused to be rescued, who in her cruelty, cursed the land around her.

It’s about a young man-at-arms who is betrayed by his lord’s men and condemned to face an ancient abomination who blights the land.

It’s about a young woman who’s betrothed was stolen from her, and she will not rest until she finds him.

It’s about an ancient champion who will not let his beloved go, no matter the monster she becomes.

Take your pick.

 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Tower of Obsidian will be published by Burst Books and is due out in January. I have no agent, but I am planning on self-publishing a novel soon – the deal to myself is that I had to come up with the art for my cover myself, and I’m still not happy with my inking, so I’m hoping it’ll be sometime early in the new year, but we’ll see. It was my new year’s resolution for this year, but I’ve kinda been not doing my daily art lessons like I should have been, so once again mea culpa.

My dragons look like cows

 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Tower’s first draft was written in about 4 months, which is technically the second-fastest I ever wrote a full novel draft. I NANO’d the first 53k, and I basically kept the momentum up. I did most of the research in December and January, when I took it from generic fantasy world to the end of the Viking age. I was finishing up my paramedic course, so I was editing the manuscript in the back of an ambulance because I knew I was going to meet an editor that May, and I wanted the manuscript to be ready for then. I had two other manuscripts ready to go, but one of the editors there wrote historical fantasy herself, so I figured I could get her to help me hash out character names. Before I had my meeting I did my research on Burst/Champagne, and ToO seemed like the title they’d be best suited for.

 

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Guy Gavriel Kay is my favorite writer of historical fantasy – and I don’t think I should be comparing myself to him quite yet. Let’s say that I aspire to write something like Last Light of the Sun or Tigiana.

There’s a lot more that needs to be placed, but I’ll list the following as inspirations for ToO’s main story:

 

Gawain and the Green Knight

Deirdre of the Sorrows

Beowulf

Brunhilde and Siegfried

 

I better give a shout-out to Tokien’s Lord of the Rings, too, but not in the way most of you would expect it.

 

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

One too many “All fantasy is crap/easy”, this time with a friend who likes the genre. I decided I could attempt to do something a little deeper than normal to prove that just because it’s genre, doesn’t mean that it’s all nonsensical escapism. I also picked the focus to be on a love story, because I usually put that stuff in the back ground.

Or it’s Rashomon with Vikings. Take your pick.

 

What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

Honestly this novel has more mass appeal then most of my other projects. And I don’t mean in the lowest-common-denominator way, either. I think because I put the focus on the story, and that because I emphasized on perspective and interpretation, it’ll be interesting to see what people think and if readers start taking sides with the main conflict, because I never some questions directly. I’d hate to be the guy who writes the Cole’s Notes on this one. 

 

I like how I wrote this entire long post and barely talked about the plot at all! 

Tesseracts 16: Parnassus Unbound Event from Bitten by Books

Third Time's the Charm...

You have a LJ for a few years and you assume you know what you're doing.

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=59109

Bitten by Books is having a discussion with the various contributors to Edge’s latest Tesseracts anthology for the next 24 hours, starting at noon central time today, so it’s been live for just over an hour now. I’m going to try to pop my head in when I can, but I’m on pager time so I’m flaky until at least after 4pm today (which, as some of you are already aware, means el squatto in terms of being off at a regular time but, what can I say, I love what I do). I’ll definitely show up tomorrow morning unless the snow knocks out the internet connection and I don’t make it back to Winnipeg.

Check it out if you have the time; I’m humbled to be with such an amazing group of writers and artists. I’ve been reading the Tesseracts anthologies for years now, so let’s just say the experience has been kinda surreal.

My apologies if I blog this twice in a row / Tesseracts 16 Event

Me + Technology = Fail

 

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=59109

Bitten by Books is having a discussion with the various contributors to Edge’s latest Tesseracts anthology for the next 24 hours, starting at noon central time today, so it’s been live for just over an hour now. I’m going to try to pop my head in when I can, but I’m on pager time so I’m flaky until at least after 4pm today (which, as some of you are already aware, means el squatto in terms of being off at a regular time but, what can I say, I love what I do). I’ll definitely show up tomorrow morning unless the snow knocks out the internet connection and I don’t make it back to Winnipeg.

Check it out if you have the time; I’m humbled to be with such an amazing group of writers and artists. I’ve been reading the Tesseracts anthologies for years now, so let’s just say the experience has been kinda surreal.

Tesseracts 16: Parnassus Unbound Event from Bitten by Books

Reblogged from ltgetty's Blog:

Tesseracts 16: Parnassus Unbound Event from Bitten by Books