Lynne Stringer's Blog, page 6

Feast or Famine

Up until now, this year has been a quiet one as far as author opportunities go, even after the release of Once Confronted in late 2016. So I went looking for opportunities and thankfully I’ve found some.

Waiting to Edit

I finished writing a new novel this week.

It’s always an exciting moment, coming to the end of a manuscript. Finally, all that had work has paid off. I made it!

Soon the fun will start–that fantastic moment when I read it over for the first time and start editing.

I realise many authors don’t share my enthusiasm for the editing process but I love it. I love seeing what worked and what didn’t, experiencing the excitement of reading the story in its entirety for the first time and making sure it flows well.

But not so fast! I have been told (and I know from experience) that you need to wait at least a couple of weeks before you start editing.

Aw, but I want to do it NOW! I know it hasn’t been a week yet but …

I’m taking it as a good sign that I’m enthusiastic about this one. It’s called Our Own Kind (it was previously called The Monster and the Bombmaker) and I know there are a few things I need to change, as I made changes as I was going through when I discovered a couple of things weren’t working. So I’m definitely going to need to do some heavy editing before it’s ready to show to my publisher.

Thinking of that work doesn’t stop me from being excited, of course. I can’t wait to see it come together. That’s the most exciting part about writing for me!

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Blood Crystal Blog Hop

Today I’m hosting author Jeanette O’Hagan as part of a blog hop to celebrate the release of her new novella, Blood Crystal. Jeanette first spun tales in the world of Nardva at the age of nine. She enjoys writing fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardva stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and fantasy.

Here she answers some of my questions about the latest book in the Nardva world.

1. Blood Crystal is the second book in the Under the Mountain series. Does it feature the same characters or new ones?

All the main characters from Heart of the Mountain appear—especially the shapeshifter Zadeki and the twins Delvina and Retza, but also members of the Greenstone South crew. However, there are some new characters who play important parts as well—Zarah, Gilarth and Javot in the Underground realm and some of Zadeki’s kin like the Kinleader Telsima as well.

2. Your books Lakwi’s Lament and The Herbalist’s Daughter are also set in the world of Nardva. Why aren’t they also members of the Under the Mountain series?

Good question. Lakwi’s Lament and The Herbalist’s Daughter occur a few centuries after the evens in the Underground realm and in the adjoining area of Tamra (the Tamrins are referred to as Tamrak’s offspring in Blood Crystal), so the are part of the Tamrin Tales.

3. What inspired you to create Nardva?

Nardva grew in my imagination over time. After reading Narnia as a child, I began creating my own stories, initially about a young boy called Agwynallen whose land was invaded by the Karians—and the world gradually expanded as the stories grew and encompassed greater areas until it circled the world of Nardva with its two moons.

4. How many more books do you think you’ll write that feature this world?

This is a hard question to answer. I have another two novellas planned for the Under the Mountain series and ideas for further adventures for Zadeki as well as other stories surrounding the earlier story of Ruhanna’s Flight (the story in Glimpses of Light anthology).

In addition, I’ve been working on my Akrad’s Legacy series which is set mainly in Tamra around the time of The Herbalist’s Daughter and Lakwi’s Lament (and with many of the same characters). I already have six to seven of these books plotted and most at first draft stage and hope to publish the first, Akrad’s Children, in the near future. If I write my ideas for the prequels behind the Akrad’s Legacy series, that could lead to at least another five or six books.  And I’ve a couple of short stories set in the Five Lands (of which Tamra is one), about 600 years later when it has become an Empire centred on Kuta.

Then there are the stories set in the northern hemisphere, most so far in the Barrakian mountains (The Barrakian Tales, eg Broken Promises in Another Time Another Place), which occur closer to my original stories and which could possibly extend to Kar and beyond.

And last year, I wrote a short sci-fi piece which has expanded into a trilogy (I have a very rough first draft of the two books and am writing the third). This story is set some thousands of years after the events of the Under the Mountain series. So quite a few.

5. What are you working on at that moment?

At the moment, I’m editing Akrad’s Children and finishing off the first draft of book 3 in the futuristic cyborg trilogy.

6. Do you have a special place or time for writing?

Not really. I do try to write in the morning if I can—but can write most places and times.

7. What’s your favourite thing about being an author?

Making up worlds and characters and following where they take me.

8. If Blood Crystal were made into a movie, who would you cast?

I had to think about that and am not sure if I got it right. But maybe a young Keanu Reeves for Zadeki, Gigi Hadid or perhaps Rebecca  Ferguson for Delvina, Cillian Murphy for Retza, Judi Dench for Havilah, Gemma Thompson for Barekia, George Clooney for Gilarth, Gwyneth Patrow or Mary Steenburger for Telsima, Eddie Redmayne for Javot and Josh Hutcherson For Putarn. Not sure how the heights would work, though.

Thanks, Jeanette! You can find and follow Jeanette at her Facebook Page or at Goodreads or on Amazon or on her websites JennysThread.com or Jeanette O’Hagan Writes.

 

Opportunities to win:

Comment below

Comment below on this post (and on any of the posts in the Blood Crystal Blog Tour)—the best comment (imo) will win a copy of Heart of the Mountain: a short novella.

Scavenger Hunt

The Blood Crystal Scavenger Hunt will run throughout the  Blood Crystal Blog Tour.  Each blog will have a reflection or memory related to themes within Blood Crystal—and a related question. The first person to answer all NINE questions right will win a $50 Amazon voucher. The runner up will receive copies of both Heart of the Mountain and the sequel Blood Crystal.Follow each post on the blog tour to find the questions and list your answers in the comments on the final blog post of the tour on 28 July. There will also opportunities to win prizes at each blogspot.

This week’s question is taken from The Crown (Verindon #2). Read the passage below and answer the question that follows it:

We packed up our camp and set off again in our usual procession. This time, the mood was a little lighter. We would soon leave the Forest. Although we all knew the danger wouldn’t necessarily leave us then, at least it would be an end to the continual night we had endured in the thickness of the trees. We stopped three times during the course of the day and ate the remainder of our rations. I offered mine to the agents—there was a small amount of sugar in them, which I was sure they needed more than I did—but of course, they refused. I sighed. It was difficult being Overlord.

Question: What do the agents need more than Sarah?

To find the question from the previous blog hop, visit The Vince Review here. Next week’s blog will be hosted by Cindy Tomamichel on her website here.

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Winner 2017 Literary Classics Book Awards

I have an award-winning book!

On 1st July 2017 my latest novel, Once Confronted, won an award.

Telling Stories

I think I was born to be a story-teller.

All my life I’ve loved story-telling in all its forms. The story can be mine or it can be someone else’s. It doesn’t matter. The enjoyment is in the telling.

A dry spell

I looked at my blog the other day and realised I hadn’t posted since February! Eeek! I thought I’d better rectify that.

It’s amazing how quickly the years fly by and as an author, I suddenly realise how little I’d done to market my books so far this year. It doesn’t help that two of my most supportive bookstores closed down at the beginning of the year. Bookstores are becoming harder and harder to find and fewer and fewer seem willing to take authors for signings.

However, I have been looking for other avenues. Not long ago I became involved with a group called the Writers’ Grapevine, run by Lorriane Noscov. She puts out regular newsletters containing writing from various authors and notes about different writers’ groups that meet around Brisbane, where I live. She also has given me my first author event in a while – next weekend there’s an arts festival at Redcliffe. It’s called Handmade Meets the Arts and the Writers’ Grapevine will have a table there, and I will at their table with my books.

The fear that never leaves

You’d think that after six years, I’d be over it.

I first submitted The Heir to Wombat Books in 2011. I was terrified of rejection and worried they would say the book was crap. Fortunately, they didn’t, although it still needed a lot of work, which we gave it until its ultimate release in 2013. Yet here I am, about to submit my latest manuscript to my publisher, and I’m terrified of what they’re going to say.

I worked on Raydon’s Muse for most of last year and managed to finish it in December. Since then, I have been going over it to make sure it’s okay. I think the majority of it is working well now, and I am giving it one last read through before I submit it.

Cue the butterflies in my stomach!

I really wish this would get easier but it never does. What will I do if it’s rejected? I haven’t got another idea at the moment. What will I write? What will I work on?

Okay mind, stop spiralling!

And it’s not just the submission of my latest manuscript, either. I’m a science fiction writer but I’ve never been to conventions like Supanova and Comic Con. That’s not a good thing. All I can say is, I find them really scary. I was hoping to get to Supanova Gold Coast this year (although secretly also hoping I wouldn’t) but didn’t have enough money until recently. Now I see that I’ve missed their early bird cut off date, so my booking would cost more than $100 more. I just can’t afford that. Also, the weekend it’s on is the same weekend as my mother’s birthday.

I can’t tell you how much that relieved me while also making me feel incredibly guilty for looking for every excuse not to go.

I’m already trying to make a mental commitment to attend the Brisbane Supanova in November but even now, I know I’ll probably do whatever I can to get out of it. Those big conventions with loads of geeks terrify me for some strange reason, and they shouldn’t. They’re my people! I’m hoping desperately that some celebrity I really want to meet will be attending in November, which should up the drive to attend. I know Peter Facinelli (Carlisle Cullen) is supposed to be at one Supanova this year. Please let it be the Brisbane one! I’d love to meet him.

It might be enough to get me over the line. I don’t think it will make me less scared but it might give me a silver lining.

Another year older

This week was my birthday. I’m not going to tell you how old I was but it was one of those birthdays where I’ve gone over the hump and now am going down the other side towards my next big celebration, you know, one of those ages that end in a zero.

The Book Business

The book business is hard. I think this is true whether you’re an author, publisher or bookseller and that was brought home to me in a sad way this week.

I received an email from Angus & Robertson at Capalaba Park Shopping Centre with the sad news that they are closing down. This is a great loss to the Brisbane Indie book community, as they were a great supporter of local authors. I had a signing there in November and sold 14 books.

David, who ran the store, was always welcoming, always recognised me and remembered my name, and I will miss going in there for signings. I hope that, in some small way, I helped them out by getting in a few extra customers when I was there.

If you’re looking for a book, can I encourage you to go and shop there? They’re open until the end of January and at the moment it’s 50% off everything. If you live on Brisbane’s southside particularly, pop in and make a purchase. I’m sure they’d appreciate it and I’d be thankful if you did.

Hearing the news about their closing brought home to me afresh just how difficult this business can be. It’s hard to be in the book business. Bookstores go under. Publishers go under. Both of these things mean that it is harder and harder for authors to find publishers and stores that will stock their books. Few of we small-time authors will ever end up in stores like Big W or Kmart. We don’t have that kind of reach. We need these small bookstores, the small press publishers.

Please help new Aussie authors. Please buy your books from small bookstores and look for new Aussie authors. Please support small press publishers. We authors will love you for it.

The most wonderful, and busy, time of the year

Merry Christmas!

I haven’t been too regular with my blogs just recently, mainly owing to just how busy it gets when you’re promoting a new book, especially when it’s Christmastime.

Having pneumonia hasn’t helped either. Even though I only have ‘walking pneumonia’ it’s still been hard to find my ‘get up and go’ to do all the things I need to do at this time of year. Not to mention that there have been break-up parties and Christmas events, usually which require baking, and also the need to do the job I have. You know, the job that actually helps me pay the bills!

It’s hard to take it easy when you have so many things to do. And always there is the desire to go to one more event in the hope of getting word out about your book. It’s this that has led to me having two book signing events this coming Friday – one at Angus and Robertson Brookside and one at Mad Hatter’s Bookshop at Manly. I think I might be pushing the envelope a bit much to do two in one day, but when it comes to book promotions, I find it hard to say no. Hopefully, I will find the final reserve of strength to get through both of them before I take a well-earned break in the week before Christmas. I’m looking forward to it, as I do, indeed, think Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.

With that in mind, I’d like to wish all my readers and anyone reading this blog a merry Christmas. Don’t forget, books make wonderful gifts. Make an author happy and buy books for Christmas, and all God’s blessings on your and your families in the new year.