R.J. Blain's Blog, page 84

An Interview with Anna Kashina

Greetings, Anna! Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for me. I really enjoyed reading Blades of the Old Empire. Where did you come up with the idea for this novel?

 

 Hello, and thank you for this interview. I am very glad you enjoyed my book.

My goal in writing Blades of the Old Empire was to write a good traditional fantasy with page-turning action and elements of romance. My ambition was to do it so well that the readers would feel immersed in the story and share all the fun I had writing it. I feel there is a shortage of such books out there, which readers like me enjoy.

Many ideas come to me in dreams. For this book, it all started with a beautiful woman who is also a highly skilled warrior, but the price she must pay for her skill is her freedom.  She is not permitted to love and must always follow orders. What would she do if she was driven to the extreme and found these constraints unthinkable to cope with? This image became the over-arching idea for my book.

I’ll admit it now — romance isn’t usually my thing. It almost makes me feel like I should turn in my girl card. Did you find it difficult to balance the romantic elements of Blades of the Old Empire with the fantastical elements? You’ve managed to capture quite a bit of action and adventure, magic, politics, and intrigue while having a very strong romantic feel to the story.
 

I was not planning, originally, on putting in so much romance–even though, I guess my overarching idea about the beautiful woman who is not free to pursue her love did tip the scale in that direction. I do enjoy romance myself, and believe that romantic elements, if done well, are an invaluable tool in character development. But–I was not really thinking about it when I wrote.  It just happened all by itself.

When I created my two central characters, the two Majat warriors,  I fell in love with each of them, and this love drove the story for me. I wanted to relay this feeling to the readers. The most effective way to do it was to show these characters through the eyes of those who love them in the book. For Kara (the female warrior) it was easy, since the man who is in love with her, Prince Kythar, is also the main point-of-view character for the major part of the story. The other love interest (which I don’t want to name for fear of spoilers) was not originally planned, but in my sense it worked even better. It just followed so naturally for me from seeing these characters together.

In a deeper sense I believe that what makes action fun is the emotions of the characters behind it, and love is the ultimate emotion that, if done right, can convey so much.

Now that the book is out there I am realizing that this much romance was a surprise to some conventional fantasy fans. And, I guess the real answer to your question is: I did not find the romance difficult to balance with the rest of the story, to me the thread of romance was natural and it kept the rest of the elements together so well.

 What was your favorite part about writing Blades of the Old Empire? Did any scene (without spoiling too much) really capture your affection?
 

There was a number of such scenes, actually, but it would be hard to go into any details without spoiling too much.

Generally, even though I liked working on this book from the start, my enjoyment grew as I wrote, and started reaching the high points with the development of the character who was to become Kara’s counterpart. This character was unexpected for me, originally. All I wanted was to create someone who is clearly capable of defeating Kara. The rest developed naturally, and this was so much fun. He starts off as essentially a handsome jerk, and then there is a number of occasions in which he shows new facets of his character and eventually transforms in everyone’s eyes into a likeable guy.  Each of those episodes was so fun to write, I kept looking forward to it. In the end, when he and Kara meet, it is no longer clear who we are rooting for and who is going to win–either outcome at that point feels equally devastating. I really looked forward to doing it right, and it felt very special for me when it worked out just the way I wanted.

It was especially fun because as I started each scene I had only a vague idea what was going to happen, and how. Writing it was like watching a movie in real time where everything fell into place. I knew it worked right when some of my beta readers started referring to “watching” my novel, rather than “reading” it.

 You write both male and female perspectives in Blades of the Old Empire. What was the hardest part of accomplishing this, in your opinion?
 

I did not think it was hard at all. In a big sense each point of view character has to carry a side of the author’s personality, and it becomes a question of finding the characters, both male and female, to whom I can relate best. After this is done right, the rest is all about putting yourself into an appropriate mood.

The trick, for me, is not to write different point of view chapters in the sequence in which they appear in the novel–this would cause too much alternation in voices and in the end would run into a risk of blending them all into one. Rather, I wrote large chunks of the story from each character’s point of view and then alternated pieces of them in the final version, arranged so that they are happening on the same linear time line. By the end, each of these characters became such an organic part of me that it became easy to switch.

 It’s hard acquiring a contract with a really reputable publishing house like Angry Robot Books. How did you pull it off? What advice can you give to hopeful authors wanting to break into traditional publishing?
 

My story is very atypical, so it is probably not something other authors can easily follow. On the other hand, I believe that everyone who lands a contract with a reputable publisher these days has to go through a very atypical experience, so mine is not an exception in that sense.

The truth is, by the time I finished this novel I have already given up so utterly on finding a publisher (or agent) that I wasn’t even trying hard anymore. I finished the book, sent it to a few agents (not even that many), got my rejections, and put it aside to write something new. At that point all my previously written books were placed with small presses, but I liked this book so much that I felt it deserved more, so I just tried to put it out of my mind. I thought, when I finally write a novel the agents would agree to represent, they would like this one too. I expect many authors can relate to this feeling.

When I saw an open call for submissions from Angry Robot, focused on traditional fantasy, I felt as if the description of what they were looking for was written just for my book. I decided to give it a try–without much hope. I just sent it in and went back to working on other things. And then, to my amazement, my novel got accepted.

I still feel at times that I am dreaming and none of it actually happened at all.

I always give the same advice to hopeful authors, one that I received a long time ago, which kept me going all these years: “Never give up.” I think my story is a good example of why not giving up is so important.

Can you think of any notable mistakes you’ve made as an author? What did you learn as a result, and is there anything you can tell us so we can avoid making the same mistake?

 

My early path as an author was actually full of mistakes. In the end they all came down to one thing: selling myself too short, jumping on the first offers I ever received without considering alternatives. I sold several of my books to different small presses, making them pretty much unavailable for traditional publishing. I wish I hadn’t, but I also know that at the time I did it I simply did not know any better. Each of these sales is a story of its own, definitely too long for this interview.

It is hard to advise anyone how to avoid the same mistakes. I think in my case, I made all the mistakes because of not believing in myself enough. So, my biggest advice to everyone would be to believe in yourself and in what you have set out to do. And, as before, never give up.

An author I know wrote seventeen unpublished novels, which she shelved, and then she sold her #18 to a major publisher. She never settled for anything less. And, in her case, it paid off. I always think of her as an example.

They (one day, I’ll learn who ‘they’ is…) say writers are creatures of habit. What are your rituals or habits when you’re writing?

 

It used to be writing my first draft longhand. There was a special enjoyment for me in the feeling of a pen connecting to the paper. I have abandoned it for years now, for the sake of time.

Ever since I started by demanding day job, and especially after I also had two kids, I had to shed all my writing habits. I cannot possibly have a ritual of writing at a certain time every day or doing it in a certain way. I don’t even have a desk at home that does not also serve as a play table for my children. I pretty much fit in some writing whenever I can. I probably should develop better habits in the future, but right now, to me, it is all about inspiration. If I am inspired, I can’t wait to get to my computer, and the story just flies, so the main process becomes finding a story that inspires me enough to work on. I tend to think of writing as my indulgence time.

 Coffee or Tea? If neither, what is your drink of choice? What appeals to you about your favorite beverage?
 

Coffee for personal enjoyment. Tea for company. When I grew up, drinking tea was my favourite form of a family gathering, when everyone would just sit around the table and chat. We used to do it every day when I was very little, especially when I stayed at my grandparents’ house. I still think of those times fondly, and even though my family does not quite share this enjoyment these days, I still drink tea for the sake of old memories. But I cannot possibly start the day without my coffee and I am very picky about the kind of coffee I drink.

 Do you write to music? If so, what sort of music? What about this style of music appeals to you?

 

I don’t, actually. When I listen to music it absorbs all my senses and thoughts. I cannot do anything else while listening to music.

Having said that, certain music for me resonates with my writing and I often listen to music when I think about a scene, especially when it burns in my head but I have no time to sit down and write it. My latest favourite for this purpose has been the soundtrack from “Totem” by Cirque du Soleil, which combines Middle-Eastern build with ethnic rhythms and fits some of the Majat training and fighting scenes (as well as, amazingly, calms down my kids). I also enjoy Spanish guitar and some ballroom dance music, especially tango. Some of the Majat fighting techniques stem from my understanding of dancing, and listening to the dance music helps me to think the action through.

Generally I enjoy music with Middle Eastern build and complex beats, but I am very picky about it and would probably not enjoy a random piece that fits this description. I also love classical music and some jazz.

 I have a habit of ending my interviews with a strange question. You are trapped in a collapsed tunnel with Chuck Norris, Gandalf, and Harry Potter. You have the contents of your purse to work with. How do you escape?

 

I don’t think I’d need my purse. I would send Chuck Norris to look for a way out, and Harry Potter to come up with a spell that would change rocks into jelly (or something else easily movable). Once these two are out of the way, I would sit down with Gandalf and have a nice chat. Who cares about collapsed tunnels when there is my favourite wizard to talk to?

Cover Reveal for City of Clocks, a Traditional Fantasy Novel

(c) RJ Blain – Cover Art by Chris Howard

When the Great Clock doesn’t ring in the new year, Aerrik’s life is turned upside down. He’s separated from Mya, a fellow escapee from the Duke’s usurpation of the Arasoran throne. His clock is broken, and without it, he faces the purge. Someone wants him dead or alive.

Worse still, his past comes back to haunt him.

Without Aerrik, however, Arasanor is doomed to fall. However, with the very land itself turning on the struggling island, saving them from the Duke’s reign may become the least of his troubles…

~~*~~

Legends and Myths exist in all cultures. Some turn their legends into religion. Others use it as a warning to the generations to come.

A few recognize the truth for what it is.

Lost Cities, such as Atlantis, the sunken city of Alexandria (Egypt), Port Royal (Jamaica), Dwarka (India), and the pyramids of Yonaguni-Jima (Japan) have captured the imaginations of the young and old alike.

Some — like Atlantis — are unproven myths, mysteries that encourage many to look beyond what can be seen and felt.

Others are a testament to the terrible power of time and nature.

Arasanor is one of these places. But which is it? Myth and legend? An unsolved mystery? Or is it something far more wonderful and terrible?

~~*~~

In the far north to the east, there used to be a city. When the Rift was born, and the lands were torn asunder, it vanished.

Some men say if you sail to the edge of the mists surrounding the Shattered Shores, you can catch a glimpse of Arasanor in her full glory.

But beware, traveller. Only the brave, the foolish, or the mad go to the lands even the Lady of Light has forsaken.

~ The Myths and Legends of Alskoran

~~*~~

Aerrick didn’t remember escaping the lord and his men, nor did he recall eluding their hold on him. The weight of the pocket clock wasn’t in his hand. He didn’t remember putting it away, but when he patted his pocket, he felt its shape through his clothes.

“Grab him and get out of here before the fools riot,” Lord Selerthen snapped.

Aerrik gasped in recognition of the words the Duke’s man had said but moments before. Hands reached for him — Eliss’s hands — but he wasn’t where she was reaching.

She snarled out a curse and leaped for him. “Slippery runt.”

Aerrik ran without knowing or caring where he went. It didn’t matter, so long as he escaped so he could find Mya and free her. With the lord’s snide words still ringing in his ears, the Palace perched on the edge of the sea would be the first place he searched.

Assuming he escaped the grasp of the Duke’s men again.

He careened around a corner and collided with several people. They cursed at him, to cry out when those pursuing him ran to catch up. Aerrik darted down an alley.

“Head him off, Eliss!” he heard Lord Selerthen shout.

The narrow passage opened up to the too familiar market by the sea. Muttering a curse of his own, he sprinted across the square to the promenade.

The slap of feet followed close behind him.

Aerrik dove through the bushes and tore down the slope. Mud and loose stones slipped out from beneath this feet. He slid down the hill, twisting around in his effort to slow his descent. Above him, Eliss shrieked. Moments later, she tumbled down after him.

The soles of his boots slammed into a boulder at the water’s edge. His teeth rattled from the impact and his knees were driven up to his chest. The air rushed out of his lungs in a pained gasp. Eliss crashed into his back. The force of their collision pinned him to the rock. She let out a groan, her hands pressing against his spine while her knee jabbed him in the ribs.

“Curse you, runt,” Eliss gasped.

Bracing against the rock, he shoved back as hard as he could. Eliss cried out. Before she could secure a hold on him, Aerrik scrambled over the boulder.

The waves crashed over the shoreline and drenched him. White water churned below, revealing worn stones and thick seaweed when the waves receded.

Several men in the Lord’s black eased down the hill. Lord Selerthen stood in a gap between the bushes, arms crossed over his chest. A mocking smile spread across the lips of the Duke’s man.

“Well done, boy. Ah, Aerrik, isn’t it? How unfortunate for you, that you share names with that fostered brat. You’ll be coming with us now. You’ve nowhere left to run. You’ve made this a lot harder for yourself than necessary. Unless, of course, you’re hiding something.”

Eliss got to her feet with the help of one of the other men, and she glared up at him. “I’ll get you for that,” she promised.

“Enough, Eliss,” Lord Selerthen said, pausing for a long moment before speaking again. “Well, boy? Are you going to cooperate or not?”

Aerrik swallowed, drew a deep breath, and jumped into the sea.

… Coming Soon in 2014.

Outlining a Completed Novel

(c) Jon Gosier – Creative Commons (Flickr)

Outlining a novel is tricky. Everyone works in a different way. Some people like mind maps, such as the one displayed here. Others, like me, prefer working with regular paper. Others like working on their computers, but with a different program or layout than the mind map.

As many of you are likely aware, I have a strong love of writing things out by hand. I remember what I write down better. I’m used to reaching for a journal or story bible to get information. I guess it’s part of growing up in an era where we were taught to reference books instead of computers. I guess I just haven’t quite caught up with the times yet!

It isn’t uncommon for me to outline a single novel several times. The first time I will make a brief outline as I write the book. This happens either in my head or on paper, but it’s more of a flow chart of the novel’s progression. Important details find their way onto note cards or directly into my story bible.

For me, the outline is intended to be a reminder of what happens in a scene, important events, and when things of note are introduced. What you use your outline for is entirely up to you. Truth be told? I wouldn’t bother with a finalized outline for a completed novel that is a standalone. That said, if I think a spinoff novel might happen due to the standalone, or I think there is a chance for a sequel, I’ll create the finalized outline. It helps me keep facts and events for a specific book straight without cluttering my story bibles, which are dedicated to character sheets and world building information.

Here is a sample of one scene from The Eye of God. I’m only sharing the first scene’s notes, as the first scene is available to read as a sample on amazon. If you chose to read the first scene, you can compare it to my notes to see what I picked out. After the image, I’ll explain why I chose the plot points I mentioned.

I start out with labeling the page with the Chapter and Scene number. This lets me find the matching scene in the book more easily, as I can navigate the novel files by chapter.

Next, I establish the location the scene and the time of day the scene takes place. If the scene covers an entire day or several hours, I’ll mark the start time / end time of the scene to help ensure my timing is actually correct in the story.

Characters are one of the most critical notes to take in an outline like this. I list out groups of characters, unnamed characters, and named ones.

Major Plot Points cover notable events and event-based details that happened in the scene.

Important details can include things like character introductions, laws introduced in a scene, important world building details introduced, as well as anything else I feel is important for remembering later.

How detailed I get with each of these points is dependent on the scene. If the order of an action sequence is important, for example, I’ll outline the entire sequence. Otherwise, I’ll just note that the action happened, and who was involved. This way, I can look and see what happened in each scene at a glance.

Why do I do this to a completed novel?

Outlines tend to change between drafts as I enhance the storyline and work on the characters. The only way to get a ‘reliable’ outline is to do it after the story has been finalized.

In the cast of The Eye of God, I am doing a read through of the novel before I seriously begin work on Royal Slaves.

No matter how you approach it, the most important thing to keep in mind when building your own outlines is to include the information you think you need. My way of taking notes will dramatically differ from the way other people do it. Create your outline in a way that works for you.

Self-Publishing via Smashwords: A Review

Logo (c) Smashwords

In July of 2013, I dived into the world of self-publishing head first. I left the paddle and canoe at home. In the effort to spread my novel as far as I could in my opening days as a debut author, I decided to focus my efforts in three different places: Smashwords, Amazon (Kindle), and Createspace (Amazon’s POD service).

This is an accounting of my experiences with Smashwords, as well as a review of this service.

I do not recommend or suggest the use of this service.

There, I said it. That is the TL;DR version of this review. Almost all of the experiences I have had with this system have been terrible. What you’re going to find out in this review is why I feel this service isn’t ideal for self-publishing authors.

This review has several parts: Formatting, Updating a Novel in Smashwords’ System, and Removal of a Novel from Smashwords’ Distribution system. I also discuss a little on sales figures.

The Lure of Smashwords

First, I want to talk about why I wanted to use Smashwords. Not everyone likes Amazon. Let’s face it, Amazon has a certain bad rep with a lot of readers. I originally intended to use Smashwords as my distribution option for those wanting epub versions of my novel.

Nowadays, if someone wants an epub version of my novel, I give them two options: a reviewer’s copy (with a request that in exchange, the reader does indeed leave a review of the book) or purchase the book from amazon and I’ll give a reviewer’s copy of the epub. This lets me use Amazon’s KDP Select option legally.

Hint: If you bought a copy of my book on Amazon and you want an epub version of it, use a file converter. It’s okay. You bought the book. It’s yours. All I ask is that you don’t give away copies of my book unless you buy a copy for your intended recipient. (I like eating.)

So, how does this relate to Smashwords? Smashwords is a distributor of all book formats, including Sony’s now-defunct book store, Kobo, Nook, and even mobis. They mainly serve to distribute epub e-books,though they also support pdf and plain text versions of books.

At first glance, I thought this was great. I could hit a lot of markets at one time. I could spread word of my novels to everyone. The royalty percentage is higher with Smashwords than with Amazon.

Of course I wanted a piece of that pie.

That was when the troubles began.

Formatting for Smashwords

Formatting for Smashwords is anything but friendly. When I released The Eye of God, I hired a formatter to handle all of the files for me. The mobi edition was so simple I could handle it myself, but I wanted things to look uniform, and I had already heard how difficult it was to get a Smashwords-formatted novel to look good.

So, I splurged. Several hundred dollars later (paid in form of editorial work) I had a file that was prepared for Smashwords.

Out of all of the versions of the file, including print format, the format for Smashwords was the hardest and most time consuming to deal with. I couldn’t establish my ISBNs for each format. Smashwords didn’t allow that. I had to list all of the ISBNs on the copyright page because of how Smashwords handles file creation.

The formatting itself is very specific. You must brand your book with Smashwords’ brand if you want to go through expanded distribution. This branding must be on the first actual page of the book, or it will not pass Smashwords’ autochecker. It handles fonts and images in a very quirky way when converting the files into each type through their system.

In short, it’s a money-sink for formatting if you don’t happen to be good at that sort of thing.

I’m not good at that sort of thing. For The Eye of God, I dealt with it, under the impression that having my book on all of the major sites would make a notable difference in my sales.

About those Sales…

In the first week, Smashwords accounted for about P of my sales for The Eye of God. To say the least, this was not a high number of sales. In the second week, Smashwords’ sales slid down to nothing. After a few months, with an occasional sale here and there (and absolutely none of them through the major distribution vendors) I came to the conclusion I had just spend an exorbitant amount of time on something that wasn’t helping my novel sell.

Amazon was performing significantly better.

Making Updates to a Novel

Every time I wanted to make an update to my novel, be it for spelling errors, or just because something wasn’t formatted just like so, I had to jump through the loops of Smashwords’ formatting system. To make this a fair review, if the system wasn’t so persnickety, it might work really well for people who want an easy option to do bulk conversions of their novel.

However, it isn’t easy. It’s extremely specific on everything, right down to how fonts are handled, to how images are handled, and how pages are ordered, specifically in terms of the copyright page. For example, I had wanted to put the copyright notice in the back of the book so it was less obtrusive. I couldn’t do this. It had to go in the front so Smashwords could brand itself using my book.

Here’s how it is supposed to work:

Upload an updated word document to Smashwords
Smashwords converts the file into pdf, txt, mobi, epub, sony’s format, apple’s format
Distribution options are selected and confirmed
Book is published

Here is how it really worked out for me:

Updated word document uploaded.
Smashwords converts the file.
Smashwords throws unknown errors — usually involving apple’s system.
New word document uploaded.
Smashwords converts the file.
New errors reported.
Download of the epub commences, using a epub checker for apple’s format to find the nature of the error. Error corrected. (Usually, it’s something stupidly simple, such as a between-scene glyph needing reset in the image because Smashwords corrupted it.)
Upload new word document.
Smashwords converts the file.
No Errors reported? Faint from shock. When able to function, distribution is reset and confirmed, update processed.
Publish.

Now, there’s something you should know about the conversion process with Smashwords. It takes a varying amount of time for the conversion to happen. It is queued into their system. Smashwords apparently doesn’t run the converter on multiple files at one time, so you have to wait in line. If you’re lucky, you’re in front of the queue. I’ve been as close as third in line.

Usually, I had been 20 in line, meaning it takes a few minutes for the files to be converted. I’ve waited up for an hour just to get through the basic conversion process. While I can do other things, it isn’t like amazon, where you can expect to wait 2-5 minutes for a file to convert and get back to work on the rest of the novel.

Smashwords took noticeably longer in that regard. Due to how persnickety Smashwords is about their formats, this can become a time-consuming and frustrating problem.

Removing a Novel from Smashwords’ Distribution System

(c) Derry Public Library – Creative Commons License

As a quick aside, there is something I want to talk about: Copyrights.

Before I started working with any of the companies I have worked with, I secured the full and legal copyright to my novels. All of them. In fact, on the day I wrote this, I received a letter with four new copyright notices. These letters secure the copyright to all of the novels I’m planning on releasing in 2014.

Because I am the legal, official holder of the copyrights for my books, I have better protections in court.

Back to the review: Come fourth quarter of 2013, I made the decision to give KDP Select a try. Smashwords wasn’t working out for me. I wanted — no, I needed – something more robust. I needed a better chance to get readers connected with my books.

I wanted to run a Christmas sale of both of my novels.

Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate that Smashwords didn’t honor copyrights as carefully as they should.

I waited a week or two before enrolling The Eye of God into KDP Select’s system.

Turns out, Smashwords doesn’t view themselves as responsible for ensuring novels are removed from their distribution lines once a book has been pulled, or ‘unpublished’ as they call it in their system. According to the customer service representative I emailed with, they receive weekly reporting from their partners, which show all of the books in their system. But, they do not view themselves as responsible for ensuring books no longer published with them need to be removed from their distribution venues.

The Eye of God violated KDP Select’s system twice because of Smashwords’ blatant disregard for copyright. If you’re removing your book from their system, the author is responsible for making certain the title is removed from all of their distribution venues.

I kid you not. I have an email from someone at Smashwords stating that I was 100% at fault because I did not triple-check their work. I was also informed that they were not responsible because they have a liability paragraph in their terms of service.

Which, I’d like to point out, only covers them for delays in availability and errors in ad copy, descriptions, and within the book. Not for copyright violation. (By the way, copyright violation happens anytime a legitimate copyright is revoked and the distributor doesn’t honor the request. Unpublishing a novel with Smashwords is a revocation of copyright — IE, Smashwords is no longer permitted to sell copies of the book in their venues.)

Their FAQ states changes take 2 weeks to implement, which is a fair period of time to ensure they’re abiding by the shift in copyright. Last week, an entire quarter later, plus a month, it came to light that Smashwords had failed to remove my novel from three of their distribution partners. One is a mistake or error.

Three is purposeful neglect. I told the Smashwords representative that much. I also informed him I was the legal copyright holder, and that while I didn’t want to pursue a copyright claim against Smashwords, I could — and would — if this issue wasn’t resolved immediately.

The customer service representative didn’t reply to me. The book, however, vanished from these venues within 24-48 hours.

So, take it from me on this one: Bookmark your novel on all distribution venues. Getting this info isn’t easy. You have to look at the premium distribution page, find where it links to the sites, and then search for your book on each and every one of the sites. Do this so if you do remove Smashwords’ copyright privileges, you can confirm they have removed your novel from their distribution partners.

For the record, there were other incidents prior, but those were resolved when I got nailed with the KDP Select violation the first time. Which, by the way, was why The Eye of God wasn’t on sale for Christmas, for those of you who were disappointed when Storm Without End was on sale.

Why I do NOT Recommend Smashwords

The copyright issue is the major deal breaker for me. I want to work with a business that cares about my novel — even after they lose their cut of it. Amazon may tell me things I don’t like, but they have respected my copyright to date. Smashwords hasn’t. It’s obvious where my business is going — an author’s copyright of their novel is the lifeblood of their career, and one of the few protections an author has to ensure they get paid.

The formatting issue is a pain in the neck, but if the copyright issue hadn’t happened, it would have been something I would have cried my way through, but dealt with. It’s an unpleasant system. A deal breaker? Very close to it, but not quite.

The customer service representative who didn’t respect my copyright — and viewed me as the problem because they didn’t have my novel removed from their distribution system ensured I will never work with Smashwords again. A deal breaker on its own? Bad customer service never appeals, but… I can deal with bad customer service.

If they don’t cross that line with my writing. My copyright is important to me. They had 4-5 months to get their shit together and honor my copyright. Telling me that removing my novel from their distribution lines isn’t their responsibility crosses way too many lines for me to accept.

In their FAQ, they state it takes up to two weeks for changes to show in their distribution lines. Having worked in a large-scale business who has to work with distributors on the internet, it realistically takes two business days at a maximum. For email lists, it can legitimately take up to a week depending on the size of the list.

The business I worked with had email lists with hundreds of millions of addresses.

At the time of this posting, Smashwords has approximately 287,000 published books. It doesn’t take a week to process bulk emails to distributors there. Inefficiency happens, but I do expect better from a business. A deal breaker? No. Annoying? Yes. Especially when Smashwords refuses to take any responsibility or liability for their mistakes.

So, no. I do not recommend this venue for a Self-Publisher. There are other options out there, including Draft2Digital. If I decide I want to expand my novels beyond amazon again, this is one of the sources I’ll try.

Worst-case scenario? I’ll distribute directly to the major sites myself. It wouldn’t cost me any more time than Smashwords’ nightmare of a submission system.

Review: Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina

Blades of the Old Empire tells the story of a Majat, Kara, a special type of skilled mercenary. These men and women are bodyguards, errand runners, and hired killers. The story revolves around a few characters, most notably Prince Kyth, Majat Kara, and Ellah, a woman who can see the truth. It is the story of betrayal, of conquest, of rulership, and of love.

TL;DR Version: I really enjoyed this book despite not being a huge fan of romance-themed novels. I feel it is for those who want more romance in their fantasy while also getting a hefty dose of action, adventure, and intrigue. If you don’t like a lot of romance in your Medieval-styled fantasy, you may want to steer clear.

Note: This novel contains several steamy scenes, so if you don’t like sex in your Medieval fantasy, it’s in there. It’s not explicit, taking a more artistic and romantic/passionate route, but it’s definitely present — several times, for that matter.

Before I begin on my thoughts about this book, I’d like to take a moment to discuss the blurb of this book. Truth be told, it set certain expectations for me. It set the expectation that the focal point was Kara, the Diamond-ranked Majat. In reality, the true focal point is of the actual POV character, Kyth.

So, if you’re expecting a feminine perspective lead, you’ll be in for a surprise. Ellah is a female perspective, however, which does add a nice balance and contrast to Kyth’s point of view. Kara, as the description of the book implies, does play an extremely major role, but I found that the real heart and soul of this story wasn’t specifically Kara.

Kara’s important, but the linchpin is Kyth. It is Kyth’s power that serves as a focal point, Kyth’s special circumstances that create almost all of the conflict in the novel, and Kyth’s love for Kara — and her love in return — that determines the fate of both of these characters. Ultimately, Kyth’s love for Kara protects Kara, while Kara’s love for Kyth protects him in return.

In turn, it is Ellah, and her feelings for a different character, that also make a huge impact on the way the story progresses.

The description of the book also failed to set the expectation that there is a lot of character romance in this novel — because this novel is more about the love of characters than it is about the elements described in the description.

In a way, it was the prevalence of so much romance that turned this from a 5* novel to a 4* novel for me. While I enjoy undertones of romance, I don’t actively go seeking romance novels. This is personal preference.

In my opinion, Blades of the Old Empire is a romance novel in a fantasy novel’s clothing. There are lots of fantasy elements in here, including magic, sword play, Kings, Princesses, Princes, and an extreme cult seeking to conquer all things. But, almost every major character decision and reaction is colored by romance. For those who enjoy that sort of thing, you’re going to gobble this book down and feel really satisfied at the end of it. While I did really enjoy this book, the constant bombardment of love and lust got to be a bit old after a while. I wanted to see what the characters would do without these themes being a major part of their motivation.

The characters who avoided the trap of amour were those perceived to be the antagonists. And even then, some of them use faked love (and lust) as weapons against the main characters. Others had to take actions despite their love for the character they had to fight against.

While it echoes a lot of real life motivations, I found it drowned out the other things that give characters more depth.

Outside of this issue, the book is really well written, taking a more simplistic stance to allow the emotional elements and action to shine. I found I didn’t get bogged down in too much description, and that the book was a fast, easy read. This definitely helped me to enjoy the novel. The plot was fairly simplistic, at least compared to some other fantasy novels I’ve read, but this didn’t hurt the book that much. If I had to pick a flaw of this book, it would be in the predictable nature of the betrayals and the twists in the plot.

Still, it was a good book, and well worth the read. I’ll be reading this one again, even accounting for the subjects that don’t really fit my tastes.

My novels are on sale in the US this week!

For this week only, my books will be $0.99 for those in the US. UK residents will be able to get Storm Without End for .99p starting on the 19th of Feb.

In a few weeks, I will be marking down both books (EoG to $2.99 and SWE to $3.99) to see if this helps launch my writing career a bit better.

In The Eye of God, you’ll explore a society ripe for change, where men rule without realizing they are setting themselves up for a fall on numerous fronts. You’ll also find a God with a sense of humor, and a creature who struggles against his every instinct to try to save a race he too often considers food, while trying to save himself and the two he considers sons.

Of the two books, The Eye of God is the rougher read, both in terms of content (I don’t pull the punches on the treatment of slaves or the role of women in the society) and in the simple fact it is my first, flawed book.

Perhaps the treatment of women is one of the most interesting factors about the Eye of God. What does it take to make a caste change? What does it take to make a society, where women are more often viewed as slaves and elegant, beautiful trophies, to decide it can no longer afford to do so?

Idealism makes way for a harsh reality, opening the doors for a revolution in a society that has cornered itself with its ambitions and rulers incapable of seeing the real risks and dangers of oppressing an entire gender.

And while change starts slowly, the seeds have been planted for a war that will not only bring the end of the Erelith Empire as it has existed for a thousand and more years, but of change that will have consequences all over the world — even across the seas.

The next installments of both of these series will be released sometime this year.

In Storm Without End, you’ll find horses as precocious as the men (and women) who ride them. Action and adventure are the main courses, with a healthy dose of politics, intrigue, and kidnapping. (Yummy, yummy kidnapping!)

So, if you like epic fantasy or traditional fantasy, and want to give something a little different a try, pick up one (or both) of my books! Know someone who enjoys these types of stories? Consider giving a copy as a gift!

Note: There is violence in both novels. However, there is no sex. And while there are mentions of sexual relationships, nothing happens on screen. Fantasy doesn’t have to be erotic! (And I know I get disappointed every time a fantasy novel devolves into smut…)

Not sure if it is up your alley? Try reading a sample on amazon. Also, once a month, Amazon Prime members with kindles can pick up a book for free through the lending library.

Own both? Love them? Consider leaving a short review telling other readers what you loved about these novels! Share this sale with your friends.

An Interview with David McIntee

I’ll start off with saying I really enjoyed We Will Destroy Your Planet. It’s a fun, quirky novel, and I’ll definitely be recommending it to my friends who like this sort of book. Where did you get the idea for writing it?

Well it’s not a novel, but it’s not really nonfiction either – I’m not quite sure how to describe it- other than as a fan-letter to, and celebration of, the alien invasion genre.

It actually came from something I’d said as a joke to the editor at Osprey, that it’d be cool to see the handbook issued to Daleks about how to invade planets. Before I knew it, he’d suggested I should do it as a guide for aliens generally, and the marketing department at Osprey had liked the idea enough to come up with the title for it already!

So then I sort of had to…

Also, obviously I’m a big SF fan, but also martial artist and military history geek (which is how I had come to approach Osprey before, looking for freelance copyediting gigs), and I really wanted to do a book that compared what we see in SF movies and TV to whhat would really happen, as much in terms of applying proper military strategy and tactics as in terms of the science.

 Now that the novel is finished and out in the wilds, without spoiling too much, if you had to pick one thing to change about it, what would you pick and why?

I think I’d have included something more about virtual worlds a la The Matrix, especially having recently played through Saints Row IV (which came out after the book was finished)

When I read We Will Destroy Your Planet, I was pretty surprised at just the sheer number of pop culture references scattered throughout the book.

I don’t believe anybody will get absolutely all of them! Like I said, it’s a fan letter to the genre….

Were there any references you wish you had added but  didn’t? If so, why were these references excluded?

I’d love to have referenced Saints Row IV, but that post-dates completion of the book. There was also originally going to be more of a thing about cats having been the only successful conquerors of the Earth, but the references ended up not quite fitting with the tone of nobody else having succeeded without the book.

 When can we expect -you- the aliens to start taking over the world? Please inform our new alien overlords that I will willingly cooperate if I get a nice quiet place to write books… (And that my husband is permitted to serve me. Gotta keep my conquering tendencies under control, you know….)

I’m open to offers for paid consultancy work from our alien overlords at any time. I’ll put a good word in for you.

Most of my readers are also writers, so I feel this compulsion to ask: How did We Will Destroy Your Planet come together, from concept to publication?

Surprisingly, I think, is the short answer! I’d made a joke about about the handbook that should get handed out to Daleks invading the Earth, and Joe McCullough suggested I should pitch such a thing, because the marketing department already wanted to call it “We Will Destroy Your Planet”.

So I thought about it, and thought it’d be fun to write a sort of mix of history of, and love letter to, the alien invasion genre; also to nitpick the science, and – since Osprey is generally a military history publisher – to bring realistic military doctrine to the genre.

I figured out how to structure the chapters – which bits would be about science, which about the military stuff, and so on – and pitched that, and it was approved very quickly.

There was some debate about the format, because WWDYP is longer, with fewer illustrations, but Osprey were keen to try an addition to their usual formats, and the word count suited myself and the material better than the shorter and more lavishly illustrated Osprey books, so WWDYP got a new format all to itself…

The trickiest thing was getting the right in-character tone for it, since it was neither quite fiction nor non-fiction, but I thought it should work if I aimed for a reasonably chatty tone to go with it being kind of a novelty do.

Obviously the illustrations were commissioned as well, which have a lovely retro feel, and the editing these days is all electronic, in PDF format – no more paper galley proofs to mark with pen and lug down to the post office. (which is a great relief for those of us who’ve been writing long enough to have had to deal with that!)

 If you could make a request other than ‘buy my book’ to  your fans, what would it be? Why?

Buy more books generally. They’re good for you, it’d support the industry, and there is something so much more about reading a book than watching a show or movie. And, scientifically, reading does good things to brain chemistry. As does music, which goes well as background while reading.

 What is your favorite part of being an author?

The freedom to exercise the brain and let it follow so many interesting routes, and also the idea of passing along thoughts and knowledge.

 Your least favorite part?

Lack of job security, by a long way. You never have a regular payday.

 Interviews commonly ask authors to give advice to other authors. While I want to do this, I want to put a little spin on it: what little, uncommon pitfalls can writers avoid when either working or approaching a traditional publisher? Can you think of any little things that can make a big difference on your chances of making it with an agent, publisher, or publicist?

I’ve never used a publicist – I think that’s really an American fashion – but as to the others… One thing to bear in mind is the question of whether you *need* an agent.

Most writers do, but there are exceptions to every rule: when I started writing tie-ins, I was writing two a year, with no agent. Then I got an agent and ended up working in a supermarket bakery for 18 months. So I fired him, and now write two or three books a year…

I was a bit concerned about how weird this was, and brought it up with some other authors and editors, who said “basically this means *you* don’t need an agent.” Not that I’m better or anything, but simply that if a writer benefits from having an agent, then that writer needs the agent. If not…

A lot of publishers will still say “only approach through an agent” but, in truth, there are ways round that with most of them, either if you already have a track record to bring to the table, or you know someone on the inside.

 Have you fallen into any of these pitfalls?

Had a useless agent, obviously.

The big pitfall we’re seeing in the last couple of years is publishers trying to snag all the rights to your work in one go, and producing contracts that leave out the author’s assertion of moral rights. Be very sure to put that assertion back in.

 You have been kidnapped by aliens. You wake up in a cell, but find that your alien kidnappers neglected to read your book. It is possible to escape your cell and free one fellow captive. You have a choice to make: Who will you free and why? Your choices are Jean-Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, James Bond, Macgyver, Sherlock Holmes, and Gandalf.

Oh, let’s see… Van Damme and Norris are mere mortals and getting on a bit… Holmes can deduce, but I’d need more than that…McGyver can McGyver stuff, but that mullet, no… Gandalf’s magic would be useful, but an eagle isn’t going to be able to reach orbit to fetch us, and we couldn’t breathe vacuum anyway…

So, Bond it is. He’d be handy for killing alien guards we meant, has visited space before, and made an escape back to Earth, so that’s my wingman!

Review: Hang Wire by Adam Christopher

(c) Adam Christopher & Angry Robots

I love when I find an intricately complex book that manages to blend fantasy, drama, thrills, mystery, and action without becoming overtly confusing. While I wouldn’t classify Hang Wire by Adam Christopher as an easy read, I really enjoyed this book. It has the elements I love in a mystery-styled novel, all while having the excitement of a proper thriller. Add in the fantasy elements, and this one was a winner for me.

Before I move on to what I liked (and ultimately didn’t like) about this book, I want to expand on one of my comments in the introductory paragraph. This is not an easy read. If you go in expecting to be spoon fed every little detail, you’ll get frustrated with this book. If you tend to read books by skimming for the main points, you’re going to be flipping back and re-reading sections.

Take your time with this book. Read carefully. This will make sure you get the most out of this novel.

The TL;DR version: I like this book. It’s a great book for anyone wanting a good, creative, contemporary fantasy novel. This story has a bit of everything, including strong characters balanced with an equally-strong plot.

Hang Wire is the story of one man, Ted Hall, who starts sleepwalking. Unfortunately, his forays at night coincide with the murders of the infamous Hang Wire killer. It is also the story of immortals, of being seeking power, and of the existence of power. It’s a story of the past and the present. It’s a story that spans generations, encompassing far more than just the here and now.

That doesn’t tell you much, does it? This book is hard for me to describe in a short blurb because of its complexity. This is the fault of me as a reviewer — and one of the things I loved about this book.

This novel mixes a lot of sub-genres under a modern umbrella, so expect the unexpected and the fantastical, all at the same time. That’s all I’m going to say about it, because I want you to step into this book without any spoilers.

It’s a fun read.

I think that’s why I liked this book so much. It’s fun. It’s different. It’s quirky. It breaks all of the wrong rules in all of the right ways. Things that are often deal-breakers for me work in this book. Tenses are selected and used as tools in scenes, drawing attention to the subtle shifts in perspectives. Each character — each era of character — has a life all of their own, and it is expressed in the use of shifting tenses as a writing tool. It’s a purposeful, well-done progression rather than an error.

When I first saw it happen in the book, I thought I was going a bit insane. I don’t like shifts of this nature as a general rule. I went through a roller coaster ride’s worth of thoughts on it, because by the time it started happening, I was already invested in the novel.

While it did keep the novel from being a 5* novel for me (I just can’t make myself love one of the tenses — and I reserve 5*s for books I love everything about…), it didn’t change the fact I thought this was a good story, and well worth the read. The characters are interesting, and how the tense shifting is used matches the book. It’s not my particular cup of coffee, but it didn’t tear me out of the book either. The characters, so diverse and unique, made sure I stayed invested all of the way through.

As a side note, this novel defied sub-genre for me. It has a lot of urban fantasy elements, in taking place in cities in various eras, and in modern era, but it’s something more (and possibly less) as well.

If anything, Hang Wire tells the story of several different locations and times, which makes the urban presentation feel a little off to me. Some of the locations are urban, and have a great sense of wonder and history to them — others aren’t. Some of the book takes place in times that are anything but modern, which makes this book really hard to place on the shelf for me.

At least I can say with confidence is that this book is definitely Paranormal, no matter how you look at it. It’s definitely contemporary fantasy, too — but I still feel a little stuck on the urban labeling. (It’s definitely not a romantic kissy kissy paranormal though, be assured of that.)

The book does start off very strong in setting, but it didn’t maintain the sense of setting all the way throughout, at least not in the intensity I desire. I wanted a little more of this element, especially towards the climax of the novel.

This is personal preference, as I’m sure other readers will gobble down the settings used without thinking twice about it.

I’ll just say one thing: I’m really glad I didn’t live in the San Francisco portrayed at the start of the novel. And as a bonus second thing: I absolutely adore his portrayal of Old San Francisco — even though I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to live there.

There are a lot of things I could say about this book, but to do so would be to spoil some of the marvelously creative things within these pages. So, I’ll leave you with this:

Please read carefully so you don’t miss a thing.

An Interview with Author Adam Christopher

Hello, Adam! Thank you so much for joining me on my blog to talk about your new novel, Hang Wire. This is one of the most unique books I have had the pleasure of reading recently. Its complexity was really appealing, and I enjoyed the twists, turns, and fantastical nature of the tale. What inspired you to write this novel?

Hang Wire by Adam Christopher

I first had the idea for Hang Wire on my first trip to San Francisco. I fell in love with the place, as it reminds me a lot of Auckland, New Zealand, where I’m from. I knew I had to set a story there! Ted’s encounter with the exploding fortune cookie was actually based on something that really happened to me, although it was nothing quite as dramatic. We went out for dinner in Chinatown, we got fortune cookies at the end, and mine sort of burst open. Inside, instead of a single fortune, was a wedge of paper strips, all printed with the same thing: YOU ARE THE MASTER OF EVERY SITUATION. I thought this was pretty funny, and stuffed them all in my wallet as a reminder.

Then I wondered about the cookie, and what if it hadn’t just been a random fortune – what if it was a personal message? What if there was something else hidden inside a fortune cookie – and the wrong guy opened it? From there the idea just spiraled out. I had my San Francisco novel!

 Before I get into the nitty-gritty about the book, without spoiling things, what is your favorite part of this book? Why? 

I have lots of favourite parts, and I’m especially fond of Joel Duvall’s little interludes. He was originally a minor character, but the more I wrote him, the more I liked him and the more his story expanded of its own accord. So his interludes, in which he travels across America over the span of more than 100 years, were unplanned, but so much fun to write.

I particularly like the sequence where Sara and Kara, two performers from the circus, follow Joel into the fairground, late one night. Then Kara has a fit and collapses – almost as if she’s possessed by some external force – and Sara has to run to Joel for help. Only he’s a little busy talking to his machines…

An excerpt from Hang Wire…

The fairground was moving. Joel bobbed his arms up and down, the rise and fall of a conductor directing his orchestra. As he swayed here and there, up and down, so the machines around him responded. The big dipper behind the carousel rocked, the movements of the sailing ship that swung like a giant pendulum matching the side-to-side motion of Joel. The lights on the Ferris wheel looming over everything on the other side flickered and buzzed, and the wheel rolled in either direction, all in time to Joel.

Sara’s eyes crawled around the ring of machines in horror. Each of them moved, twitching in time with one another and in time with their master. The lights were on full now, and they pulsed, almost organically, as power ebbed and flowed, ebbed and flowed. Far and near, far and near, as Joel swayed and swung his arms from side to side, side to side. In front of Joel, the carousel puffed like a steam train as the engine at its heart sprang to life, and it began to rotate, slowly at first, spinning about its axis as it should. In the machine’s hub was a pipe organ, surrounded by mechanical puppets and automaton musicians, and on top sat the monkey, as large as a small child. It’s red eyes were glowing, and the organ started to play, a drone, a tuneless wailing, a whistling of pipes that sank into Sara’s bones, the sound of stars falling, the sound of the endless cold of space.

Joel swayed and the carousel began to accelerate, faster and faster, around and around. Sara watched the painted horses and elephants and monsters whip around, their forms and lights blurring in the misty evening air. The discordant drones of the pipe organ formed a familiar fairground melody. But it was slow, somehow, and out of tune. As Sara watched she felt her heart beat and her head thump, in time to the music, in time to the pulsing lights.

There are a lot of elements that blend reality and history with fiction. How did you pull this off? How much research would you say was involved in the process of writing this book?

The history came from the story: it was about San Francisco, and the earthquake history of the place was involved, so that was woven into the book – especially as the book features characters who have lived a rather long time, and has sequences spanning all of Twentieth Century. This made it pretty easy to do, because some of those characters were actually there when this stuff happened.

This also made the book fairly research-heavy. There was the history of San Francisco and it’s geology, for which I had a stack of reference sources. But there was also modern-day San Francisco – I’ve spent time there and it’s one of my favourite cities, but I’ve never lived there, so I had some locals I know on hand to check over the manuscript and key scenes. The book is fiction – fantasy, at that – but it was important to get the feel of the place right. There’s no Gretsch Street in the real San Francisco, for example, but the suburbs of Daly City are leafy and quiet!

You use tenses and perspective types as a tool in Hang Wire. Why did you make the choice to switch up the tenses and perspectives in this novel?

I tend to write using multiple point-of-view characters. I suspect this is a little more common with British fiction, although I can’t say for sure. But it’s a useful tool to split a story into different plots, so long as you don’t spread it too thin.

The tenses was a deliberate choice – my standard writing form is third-person, past-tense, but for the scenes with the acrobat Highwire I wanted third-person, present-tense to get a very particular feel. Highwire is a bit of a mystery – he doesn’t even really know who he is himself, and he doesn’t remember much about his own past, not even how he arrived in San Francisco. He’s single-minded, trailing the Hang Wire Killer across the city, so I wanted him to be very much in the “now”. So his sequences are in present tense, because that’s the way he is.

Did you worry that you would turn readers off by shifting the tenses and perspectives based on the current leading character?

The perspective shifts are fairly standard – so long as everything is clear and you don’t shift POV without signaling it first, readers can keep up. Shifting tenses is harder to do and requires careful editing, but again, so long as it’s delineated clearly and used sparingly.

What was the most challenging thing about writing Hang Wire?

Hang Wire is pretty plot-heavy, so mapping everything out – and making sure all the strands linked together the way they should at the end – was important. As I was rewriting from my original draft I stopped and re-outlined the book after every few chapters. No shortcuts, no quick fixes! Everything that happens in the story is linked, some in obvious ways, some in subtle ways.

How long did it take for you to complete Hang Wire?

That’s tricky to figure out! The first draft was written sometime around 2009, and most likely took about six months. Then I trunked it, and came back to it in about October 2012. The edit and rewrite was maybe another six months, although I was working on The Burning Dark as well, so I have a whole year of editing where it all blurs in one!

But there were two distinct phases, and essentially two distinct books – the draft from 2009, and the new book that finally managed to carved out of that draft around August 2013.

To shift gears a little bit, can you tell us a bit about your writing background? How did you get involved in writing? Was there any secret formula to acquiring a contract with a really reputable publishing house? Any tips for hopeful writers who want to go the traditional publishing route?

I’ve written since a young age, and have gone through various stages of writing lots or not writing at all. Around 2006ish I submitted a novel to a publishing house which had opened up to unsolicited subs, and I was rejected – rightly so – but that spurred me on to take writing seriously. So I guess that’s the beginning of my pseudo-professional timeline!

While I was working on a new book I joined Twitter, not to try and get a book deal or sell a book, but just because it seemed like a fun place to hang out. Eventually I met Lee Harris, the editor at Angry Robot, there, but again only because we share similar interests in books, comics, film, TV, etc. He knew I was writing something, because I would occasional blog about it, but he never asked and I never said anything. I met him at a few conventions and we hung out, and then about two years later I was passing by the Angry Robot office and asked if I could drop in. Over lunch, publishing director Marc Gascoigne asked what book I was working on, so I did a rambling, unprepared pitch, which I’m sure was awful, but he said it sounded interesting and that I should send the book in when it was done.

That was Empire State – by that point the third novel I had completed – and when it was done, I sent in it! They liked it, and bought it, along with Seven Wonders (the second book I’d written – the first is still locked in the trunk!). From there I got an agent, and then another book deal, and then new deals with Tor and Titan, and have reached that point where I’m a professional writer.

There’s no secret formula to getting published, unless you count writing a great book and having a dash of luck to be it. The Work, with a capital W, is all that matters, because without it you haven’t got anything. So that’s the primary consideration, always.

The second thing is the element of luck. When writers talk about luck, or how random the publishing industry seems, it all starts to sound a bit silly and impossible. But while it might be a matter of being at the right place at the right time, you can at least get to the right place by doing The Work. And then when the opportunity arises, you’ve got something ready to show. For me, that was that lunch in Nottingham – I’d worked hard to get to that point, and I had something to show them. I didn’t try to sell a book on Twitter. I didn’t even try to sell a book to Lee or Angry Robot, but after two years of hanging out online, they asked me.

 There’s only two pieces of writing advice that are useful, really. The first one is to write a great book. The second one is to keep going.

“Write a great book” is an easy thing to say, but it’s actually true. And it’s not impossible, either, you just need to stick to the second piece of advice – keep going. Empire State was the first book I sold but the third I had written, because I knew that I had to work as hard as possible to get better as a writer – the more you write, the better you get. So if you want to get published, write a great book. The more you write, the better you’ll get, until eventually you’ll get picked up. It might take three months. It might take five years. Whatever the case, keep writing. And that’s not to say Empire State is a great book. I’m still searching for that, but I can say that Empire State is a hell of a lot better than the awful first novel I wrote. But I had to write that one in order to write the next one. And so on.

And really, keeping these two bits of advice in mind will serve you well throughout your whole career. A writer is rejected more than they are accepted. We get good reviews and we get bad reviews. There are obstacles, and distractions, and a tonne of paperwork. When things aren’t going the way you want, it would be very easy to just stop.

But you don’t. You keep going. You keep reaching for that great book. And, first and foremost, you keep working, no matter what.

 I just can’t seem to end an interview without testing an author’s creativity. You have been given a copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare in one bound volume. You are trapped in a warehouse with a zombie horde. How would you use this book to fight your way to freedom without being turned into food for the undead?

The obvious answer is to use the book as a weapon – all of Shakespeare in a single volume is a fat book, and with a bit of luck this’ll be a fancy-schmancy leather bound edition too. So, book as weapon, no problem. In fact, with that flash leather cover it could also double as a shield. If there’s one situation I want The Complete Works of Shakespeare with me, this is it.

Review: Leap of Space (Space & Time Vol 1) by Sharon T Rose

(c) Sharon T Rose & Curiosity Quills

It is really hard to find creative, almost fantastical science fiction stories — stories that blur the lines of what people view as hard science fiction, soft science fiction, science fantasy, as well as political and social speculation.

It’s harder still to find novels that break through the barriers of the genre and push its way to the front of the pack.

I want to say Leap of Space (Space & Time #1) by Sharon T Rose is that sort of book, but it didn’t quite make it for me. It got close; there are so many good things about this book, but I constantly had a sense that it was being held back, reined in by numerous factors that didn’t quite allow it to become that truly stellar novel that it could be.

The TL;DR Version: If you’re a really big fan of character stories, you’ll like this book. If you’re a fan of hard-hitting plots and development, you might want to be wary — plot is not a strength of this novel.

Leap of Space is the story of a slave girl and her attempts to best her Master. It is the story of the people she knows. It is the story of her Master, too, as he realizes he has been outmaneuvered by the slave belonging to him.

I want to say I loved this book. I certainly enjoyed reading it, but it just wasn’t quite there yet. Before I begin on the strengths and weaknesses of this novel, and who I think this book is best suited for, I do think it’s a book worth reading — with a few caveats.

I view this book as a 3.0* novel with a leaning towards 3.5* for unique species, fairly strong characterization, and creative world building.

I think anyone who likes reading about characters will enjoy this book. However, if you’re looking for something to keep you on the edge of your seat, you may find this book lacking. This isn’t a story involving a complex plot or many events at all, for that matter. It takes place in very limited locations, offering glimpses of the world through the characters’ eyes infrequently. We get most of the world building through inner monologue and dialogue.

If you’re the type of reader who wants to explore worlds and learn about them through the character’s interactions with them, you might find yourself disappointed. While the various species do interact frequently, the book is extremely restrained in terms of where the characters go.

Most of the progress of the book is on a personal level with the characters, rather than a blend of characters and experiences. Most of the challenges are emotional ones, albeit there are some physical elements as well. There is a plot, but the plot isn’t a focal point of the story. It can be condensed into several short sentences without losing anything at all.

In short, the stakes and the conflicts are mostly emotional. The goals of the characters feel small, with some characters having everything and doing what they do out of spite and little else. Other characters are fairly passive about their goals and motivations. A few other characters almost seem to exist to give a contrast for what the main character has versus what the main character might want, if she manages to break out of the chains of her upbringing.

There is a lot of room here for huge stakes, and a great deal of reasons — and worries — for these characters. But, as I read through, I couldn’t help but feel there was a certain amount of safety inherent within the novel. The edge of doubt and fear of a character truly meeting a bad end — be it emotionally or otherwise — just wasn’t there. When the characters did finally encounter those risks and pay the price for their decisions, it lacked the punch I was hoping for.

The novel just didn’t have the sharp, cutting edge that should be present in a book dealing with a main character that’s considered a child who is also a slave. This book has so much potential to be strong, but it wasn’t.

There are a few reasons for this, in my opinion. Originally, this novel was a web serial. It was posted in shorter chunks, and then converted into a novel after the fact. This can work, but I don’t think the publisher (Curiosity Quills) restructured the novel in such a way where it could really work as a book. They left it in the original structure of a web serial.

The chapters are brutally short, creating a jarring feeling as I read through this book. The sense of pacing the short scenes and chapters provided didn’t enhance the tension or pacing for me. It made me feel like I was reading while riding a bucking horse. Just as I would settle into a scene, it would end. Just as the tension started to pick up, the story would shift to the next ‘episode’ of the serial.

I can understand how this would work well for web fiction. In a novel format, however, it didn’t come across as strong. By the end, I felt that the scenes were too constrained by the limitations of its original formatting to really have the strength needed to make me love this book.

This book has potential, and a lot of it, but I think it lacked the heart-rending punches it could have had. It spends a great deal of time rehashing emotions and subjects we’ve already learned.

By the time it gets to the end, the impact of the changes the characters do go through don’t hit as hard.

One thing that did bother me a great deal about this book was the ending sequence. I’m not keen on spoiling anything, but if you’re looking for a strong climax, be wary. It’s one of those arcs where if you blink at just the wrong time, you might miss it. Even if you don’t miss it, you might reach the last page with the expectation to keep reading. This is potentially good for a series, but at the same time, there is no sense of closure to this book. It’s obviously meant to be paired with a second half — or even multiple volumes — but as a standalone novel, the ending just wasn’t satisfying. There was no real triumph to the end of this book.

I think the lackluster ending, where it felt like the book should keep going but puttered out, disappointed me the most.

I think the main reason for this is the plot. Because this is a story more about the interaction of characters and the speculation of behaviors of interspecies interactions, the plot fell short of what I was hoping for.

To shift gears, I want to take a few minutes to delve into the production of this book. This novel was produced through a publishing house, so when I went into reading it, I had higher expectations for quality.

If you’re someone who doesn’t want to see any errors in a book produced by a publishing house, this book may cause some problems for you. I stopped counting errors after ten. There were enough of them scattered throughout the book for them to be really noticed, interrupting the process of reading as I tried to make sense of missing punctuation, a few spelling errors, and some formatting issues. While errors in a novel aren’t a complete deal breaker for me, there were enough issues in this book I did notice them more than I should have noticed them.

Still, despite the errors and the lack of real driving plot to match the stronger characters, this book was worth the time to read it. Because of the short chapters, it does feel like a short read, which does help to mitigate some of the problems — if you don’t mind the jarring sensation of the abrupt chapters and scenes.