Ashlee Willis's Blog, page 7

The King’s Scrolls Character Spotlight: Prince Daniel

I’m pleased to host Jaye L. Knight on my blog today, the author of the newly released fantasy, The King’s Scrolls! It’s the second book in the Ilyon Chronicles, and I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about both books! The character being spotlighted today is Prince Daniel. He sounds quite intriguing to me!

First, here’s a bit about the book itself:

Following the harrowing events that brought them to Landale Forest, Jace and Kyrin have settled comfortably into their new lives and the mission of protecting those under the emperor���s persecution. The fast approach of winter brings with it the anticipation of a quiet few months ahead. That is until the arrival of four mysterious, dragon-riding cretes who seek aid in a mission of great importance���not only to their own people, but to all followers of El��m.

Hidden in the vast mining valley north of Valcr��, a faithful crete has spent years sharing his knowledge with the destitute miners and their families and is known to possess what may be Arcacia���s last surviving copies of the King���s Scrolls���the Word of El��m. Joining the cretes, those in Landale must find the crete teacher and bring him to safety, but it is a race against time. Should Daican���s men find him first, execution and the destruction of the Scrolls is certain.

When disaster strikes, all seems lost. Could El��m have a plan even in the enemy���s triumph?

Available on Amazon!

Buy Now

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Character Spotlight – Prince Daniel

Appearance: Short dark hair, amber eyes, fit, 6���1��� tall.

Age: 24

Race: Human

History: Daniel is the prince of Arcacia and Emperor Daican���s only son and heir. However, he does just about everything he can to voice his displeasure over it in hopes of getting disowned rather than be the future emperor his father wants him to be.

Author���s Notes: Daniel is an absolute delight to work with. He���s one of those characters where, as a writer, you get a little giddy as soon as they enter the scene because they completely take over. Seriously, I can���t believe some of the things that come out of his mouth. It���s awesome. From the moment he burst (literally) into the story, he���s been one of my favorite characters. The funny thing is, he���s only had about five scenes total so far. The King���s Scrolls is the first time readers will get to see things from his point-of-view. But despite only having a few scenes between the first two books of Ilyon Chronicles, he���s already made his mark. And don���t worry Daniel fans, his story is coming. It���ll just require a little patience (easier said than done, right?) to get to it.

I was just looking back at my early notes for any interesting tidbits on Daniel, but I really couldn���t find anything. I wish I remembered more about his creation process, but I think he was just one of those rare characters who came along so fully developed in my mind that I just didn���t need to keep many notes. I do remember, though, that I went through quite an interesting process when it came to ���casting��� him. I love having pictures of my characters to make them more complete and real in my mind, so I���m always on the lookout for just the right person to use as inspiration. Around the time I started writing Resistance was when I started using Pinterest. And, as I would be going through different boards, I kept coming across pictures of Henry Cavill. Every time I saw one, something whispered in my mind, ���That���s Daniel.��� But I was stubborn. I was like, ���Nope. That���s not how I picture him.��� I was determined to hang on to that initial image I had in my mind for his character. But I just kept coming across those pictures, and every time they would tug at me. This maybe went on for a month or two of determined stubbornness. And that���s when I found this particular picture of Henry Cavill. Immediately, I was like, ���Oh my goodness, that���s Daniel!��� Everything about it just screamed his character, especially that little smirk that would so infuriate his father. So, I released my stubbornness and fully embraced this image of Daniel. I don���t regret it at all. He���s so clear in my mind now that I don���t even remember what my initial image I was so determined to hang onto was anymore. Sometimes, regardless of how you think things should be, you just have to let your characters be who they want to be. Many times it turns out even better in the end.

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TOUR��SCHEDULE

Don’t forget to visit the other places along the blog tour for The King’s Scrolls!

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SALE!

Haven���t begun the adventure into Ilyon? From February 17th – 23rd (today’s the last day!!) get Resistance , the award-winning first book of Ilyon Chronicles for your Kindle on sale for only 99 cents! Check it out on Amazon!

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GIVEAWAY!

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed Epic Winter giveaway! Prize pack includes an autographed copy of The King���s Scrolls, a CD by Future World Music (some of Jaye���s favorite writing music), a dragon bookmark, a stone hawk pendant (much like the ones mentioned in the book), and a few packages of Twining���s Winter Spice tea to sip while you read! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

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Jaye L. Knight is a homeschool graduated indie author with a passion for writing Christian fantasy and clean new adult fiction. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God���s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.

Why I Kissed Self-Esteem Goodbye

It���s a term you can���t avoid hearing in our culture: self-esteem. Think better of yourself. You deserve the best. Be confident in your abilities. If you believe you can do it, you can.

For years I bought into it, too. Finding myself. Finding my worth. Loving myself despite my faults and the ���ugly��� things about me, inside and out.

Image courtesy of stockimages via freedigitalphotos.net

That���s what the world tells us to do, right?

But then God nudged me awake. And instead of slapping me on the face with the horrible truth as He could have done, He gently and gradually showed me the lie I was holding so dear. You see, the problem with self-esteem, and even self-confidence, is that, well, it���s all about ��� you guessed it���

Self.

As a Christian who was searching genuinely for the heart of God, truly wishing to make His desires my own, I couldn���t help but see it.

���But he said to me, ���My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.��� Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ���s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ���s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.��� (2 Cor 12:9-10)

What place does self-confidence have if we are to become weaker, so that God is able to become stronger within us? Shouldn���t it rather be called God-confidence?

What place does self-esteem have for someone who delights in weaknesses and insults? Wouldn���t it better be named God-esteem?

The world takes admirable virtues such as esteem and confidence and even love, and turns them inside out, makes them things of selfishness, small and warped, casting shadows into our souls. We let the world feed us these lies because we so ache to believe them.

But then, the best and most believable lies are always laced with a bit of truth, aren���t they? Because, in fact, we are of worth, we do deserve love and esteem. ��� But not in and of ourselves. Not because of anything we���ve done or ever will do or ever can do.

Image courtesy of dan via freedigitalphotos.net

No, we deserve these things solely because of Jesus��� love. Jesus��� blood. God���s grace and overwhelming mercy.

Some of the most beautiful people I���ve ever known have had no great physical beauty. God���s spirit filled them so completely that they shone with it. Their kindness was a glittering mantle. Their humility was a peaceful balm. The love that came from their eyes dazzled those around them with the undeniable awareness of God���s goodness.

When I think of it that way, my physical attributes seem so remote. My self-esteem and my self-worth fade to insignificance.

I won’t deceive you, it���s hard to do. But don���t ever think that it���s impossible, because it���s not. Just like any journey of the feet, a journey of the heart takes time. It���s painful and wearying ��� but oh so worth it in the end. Because it leads us closer to God, closer to who He intends us to become.

Self-esteem? I have no use for it. Not in the way the world wants me to, anyway. With my eyes firmly on God���s plan for me, with my desire for His will alone, my self slips into the place it was created to be���

Within Him.

Last Words

Characters die.

Sometimes they’re characters we don’t like. But sometimes they’re characters who mean so much to us that we mourn their deaths almost as a friend would do.

I’ve never liked killing off my own characters – even the truly evil ones. Yet sometimes an author must.

Recently I had to work on writing the death scene of a beloved character … a heartbreaking process, to say the least. To aid me (emotionally more than anything else), I refreshed myself on some famous last words, or “death speeches,” in literature.

As I read them, I had to wonder: What was going through each of the authors’ minds as they wrote their characters’ last words? Did their hearts break, even a little, as they composed the scenes that would mean the end of someone so close to them?

More so: What do last lines say about the characters themselves and their stories?

HONOR

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” (Sydney Carton, A Tale of Two Cities��by Charles Dickens)

BETRAYAL

“Et tu, Brute?” (Caesar, Julius Caesar��by Shakespeare)

IRONY

“Bad form.” (Captain Hook, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie)

PASSION

“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell���s heart I stab at��thee; for hate���s sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither��can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!” (Captain Ahab, Moby Dick by Herman Melville)

“Precious, precious, precious! My Precious! O my Precious!” (Gollum, The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien)

“Yea noise? then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust and let me die.” (Juliet, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

REMORSE

“Lord, forgive me everything.” (Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)

“Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed.” (Boromir, The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)

“The ultimate sacrifice for love: I kiss���d thee ere I kill���d thee: no way but this; Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.” (Othello, Othello by William Shakespeare)

FRIENDSHIP

“Cher ami …” (Hercule Poirot, Curtain by Agatha Christie)

“Harry … Potter …” (Dobby, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling)

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.” (Charlotte, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White)

“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!” (Thorin Oakenshield, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien)

Is there a character whose death broke your heart? Who was it? What were their last words?

WANTED: Newsletter Signer-Uppers!

Yep, I finally got a newsletter. See the button for signup, over in my sidebar? Yeah, that’s it!

For those of you wondering: What’s the difference between signing up for a newsletter and following a blog? Well, there are several things that set newsletters apart.

My newsletters won’t be as … ahem, random … as my blog posts. Neither will they be as frequent. You can expect them something like once every other month. They will be focused on specifics, a few of which are:

1.) Book news. Release dates, exclusive content like as-yet-unseen chapters or excerpts, and any other important announcements regarding my books and stories.

2.) Opportunities. Newsletter followers will get first dibs on things like beta reading and reviewing opportunities.

3.) Condensed blog info. If you don’t fancy getting an email every single time I publish a blog post, my newsletter will give you a rundown of the most popular posts I’ve published recently (with links), and you can pick and choose (or not!) which ones you’d like to read. No clutter in your��inbox … always a good thing!

4.) Fun Stuff. Even if you don’t follow my blog, my newsletter will keep you up to date on things like giveaways and promos. Also any other fun��tidbits from elsewhere on my various social media that you may have missed.

Click here to sign up for my newsletter, or click on the lovely green sidebar button!

The Cost: A Retelling of Pandora’s Box

I wrote this short story last year for publication in the Timeless Tales fairy tale magazine and thought I’d share it on my blog for those of you who haven’t yet read it. I’ve always been fascinated by the way many Greek myths are so similar to stories from the Bible. So of course, being me, when I wrote my version of the story, I had another, deeper, meaning in mind.

If you’re unfamiliar with the original Pandora’s Box myth, you may want to refresh your memory��at this link.

Hope you enjoy!

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The Cost

by Ashlee Willis

My father Zeus cast me from him ��� proof he was loveless. He locked tight the only gift he had ever given me ��� proof he was faithless. And he gave me in marriage to Theus ��� proof he held no respect for me.

Morning light slants across the tiny room and I lie awake, seeing things that aren���t there. Heaven, a silver crown to fit my��head and golden streets beneath my feet. Things I should have had. Things I���ve never seen, yet somehow still yearn for. Things to make this life I���ve been dropped into seem as pale as a candle against the sun.

Theus stirs in the bed next to me, bringing me back from my bitter thoughts. When he opens his eyes, his first look is for me. Smiling, he puts a rough-skinned hand gently to my face.

���Dora.���

I try to smile back, but I���m not sure the muscles in my face obey.

A year ago I had never seen this man. I watch as his handsome face, now so familiar, falls slightly at my cold response. He��turns from me to get out of bed, and I am close behind. For there���s breakfast to make, and cleaning to do, and errands to run. I���m a wife now, the daughter of a god no more.

���Husband, fetch down that spoon there ��� I can���t reach it.��� In one arm I carry a pot, with the other I stoke the fire beneath the stove. But my mind is far away.

Theus holds out the ladle to me, but does not let go when I grasp it. I look at him.

���I���m happy to get this spoon, as I���m happy to do your bidding in all things. I love you, Pandora,��� he says in a voice quiet as a lullaby, his blue eyes bent on my face.

���Obedient,��� I mutter, jerking the spoon from him and turning back to the stove.

���What?���

���I said you are obedient, Theus.��� My voice raises slightly, but I don���t look at him. ���You were obedient to your parents when they bade you listen to Zeus. You were obedient to Zeus where he bade you marry his castoff daughter. And you are obedient to Pandora now when she bids you get her a spoon to stir your gruel. Ha.��� My laugh is bitter. I can���t help it. ���Look where obedience has brought you, husband.���

Now I glance over my shoulder and see something I have never seen on my husband���s face before. Anger. But only for a moment. Then it is gone, replaced with that hard-won patience he values so much. A pity, that ��� I had almost seen something in him to make me pay attention for once.

���Zeus commands many things,��� says my husband. ���But he cannot command love, not in me nor in any other man or woman alive. I love where I choose. And I love you.���

Most would think me a cold woman not to respond to those words. But most would simply not understand. In silence I spoon out the gruel into two wooden bowls and place them on the table, without once looking up at my husband.

A heavy hand falls on my shoulder. Theus pulls me around to look into his face, full of pain. ���What is this about, truly, Dora? Is it the box again? I asked you not to speak of it. Zeus said we may not open it ��� not now or ever.���

The familiar feeling is in me again, at the mention of that infernal box. The feeling that nothing will ever be right in the world if I cannot have the gift that was meant for me ��� the gift that was only partially given.

Why do you keep it from me, I want to cry to my father, when you know it is meant to be mine?

Instead, I hiss, ���It���s not the box. It���s only ��� it���s only ������ My life? My freedom? My restless, hungry spirit, calling for more, more ���

���I know what it is,��� says Theus.

���You do?��� I give him a look that says I don���t believe him.

���You long for more, Dora ��� you think I can���t see it? More than the life we have, more than what Zeus gave us.���

I���m shocked he���s hit at the very heart of it, but my face remains stony. ���Then why don���t you do something about it?���

My voice is shot with venom, I can hear it. For a moment I think Theus will walk away from me. But then his strong arms are around me, and the wetness on my face tells me I must be crying.

���I try to give you more, Dora, I try, I try ��� if only you could see it.��� His voice is a heartbreaking mixture of kindness and sorrow. His embrace surprises me with the comfort it gives. And it whispers of something just beyond my grasp ��� something that I can almost see ��� but not quite.

I shake my head and step away from him. ���Thank you, Theus,��� I say, wiping tears. And I mean it. I am thankful, in that moment, to have had the solace of his arms. I smile at him, willing him to leave. He smiles back, a smile full of love. A smile that tells me he believes in our future together.

How wrong he is. We have no future ��� not so long as that box glares at me every night. Not so long as my husband keeps the key to what is mine and mine alone.

After Theus is gone, I slam the cupboard door, wiping more angry tears from my face. The latch doesn���t catch, and it swings back open. So I slam it harder.

A clinking noise makes me freeze. It���s a noise only metal makes.

I am at the cupboard in half a heartbeat, scrabbling at the base of it like a dog digging for a bone. It is heavy, but I soon have it inched away from the wall with enough space for my slender arm to fit into. My fingers slide through a fine layer of dust and meet with the cold of brass.

And just like that, the key is in my hand. The key Theus tells me he has kept away out of love for me, when I know that if his love was true he would keep nothing from me.

Nor would my father have done.

This box is yours, Pandora, yours alone ��� but you must not open it.�� My father���s thunderous voice swirls into memory. And Theus��� voice follows, more softly: Some gifts are meant to protect, not plunder.

���But you should have given me more,��� I insist aloud to the empty room, not knowing if I talk to father or husband. ���The daughter of a god deserves more than this. So much more.���

My hands shake almost too much to fit the key into the lock. But at last the key turns and the lock opens with a heavy scrape. I have longed to hear that sound for nearly a year, although something tells me it has been much longer than that,��in truth.

Without another thought, I reach for the lid and throw it back.

The world comes to an end.

A thousand banshees scream past my ears, laden with the rank odor of death and sickness. Images, creatures, even people, rush from out of the box. It is impossible. They���re horrible, all of them, beyond compare. I want to push my face into my pillow and hide, but I cannot tear my eyes away. They sweep over me, tearing at my clothes, roaring in my ears, baring their bloody teeth in my face until I am weeping and screaming like I have lost my wits.

None of them stay ��� they fly round the house and out the windows, crashing the panes and splintering the wood as they go. They leave me crumpled on the bed. My body is unharmed, but I am aware of a horrid throbbing, deep within me, as if there is a part of me there that I never knew about ��� a part of me I should have held more precious.

That part of me is torn in shreds. It will never be whole again, I think.

���Pandora.” A voice is at my ear and I jump violently. It is my husband. His eyes are red-rimmed, as if he���s been weeping too, and his hand is bewilderingly gentle on my hair. His blue eyes hold no reproach. Even so, I���m filled with shame so deep I don���t think I can live beneath the weight of it.

He does not ask, ���How could you?��� He does not say, ���You have loosed hell on earth.��� Instead he sits next to me and takes the box from my lap, looking into its emptiness.

���You will find nothing there,��� I whisper. ���They���ve all gone, and it���s all my doing. Zeus will strike me down now, I know, and you will be rid of a wife who was never good to you anyway. Perhaps it���s for the best.���

Theus��� dark brows come together as he shakes his head. His blue eyes pierce me, and I see tears forming in them. He is fiercely angry, I can see, and I wonder if he will strike me, or perhaps force me to leave him. An hour ago I would not have cared. Now the thought of leaving him makes me grasp at my chest, for I think I can feel my heart cracking in half.

���Even now, Dora, you do not understand, do you?��� Theus��� voice shakes with emotion. ���Even now you can���t see what I have tried to offer you ��� the more that you have always wished for.���

I am nodding, grasping wildly at his hands. ���I see it, I do see it now, Theus. I swear to you. It���s only that I���m afraid I���ve lost it forever. Please ��� please ������

My husband looks once again into the box���s depths, then sets it down and gathers me into his arms. He kisses my forehead, then my nose, then my lips. I sob with anguish and relief.

What a price to pay, I think as I kiss him back. What a cost, just to see something that was there all along.

Over my husband���s shoulder I see something tiny perched on the box���s rim. From its darkness has crawled a creature like I���ve never seen, winged and beautiful and fragile as a cobweb. It flies to me and its touch as it lands on my ear is light as the warmth of sunlight.

Then it is gone, its small wings propelling it out the shattered window, into the shattered world.

It will be crushed, I think anxiously. It will be destroyed by those other horrors. Killed even by breathing the same foul air that they do.

But then Theus looks at me, and I see the light of that bright, tiny creature within his eyes. And in joy, I laugh.

Copyright Ashlee Willis, 2014

Gillian Bronte Adams’ New Novella: Out of Darkness Rising

This post is full of some amazing things – so don’t leave until you’ve had a chance to see them all! First of all, I’m proud to announce that the beautiful and talented Gillian Bronte Adams will soon be releasing a novella: Out of Darkness Rising. Just look at that gorgeous cover!!

Now keep scrolling to hear more about the book, to watch the awesome book trailer, and to enter a great giveaway that Gillian is hosting.

Darkness reigns unchallenged.

For the villagers on the accursed Island, life has only one meaning – death.�� Bound to the Island by the curse, the villagers suffer beneath the iron claw of the serpent, daily breathing the poison of his breath and dying to appease his insatiable appetite.

When Marya���s parents are slain by the serpent for their belief in a legendary king, she becomes an Outcast. ��Struggling to survive and avoid the vengeance of the Tribunal, Marya is torn between legend and the harsh reality of the Island.�� Yet when a forgotten promise springs to life, she cannot help wondering if the old stories might in fact be true.�� And if they are, will the promise prove stronger than the curse?

Coming March 15, 2015

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ENTER YOUR NAME TO WIN AN ARC COPY OF OUT OF DARKNESS RISING

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Gillian Bronte Adams is a sword-wielding, horse-riding, coffee-loving speculative fiction author from the great state of Texas and the dreamer behind the Songkeeper Chronicles. During the day, she manages the equestrian program at a youth camp. But at night, she kicks off her boots and spurs, pulls out her trusty laptop, and transforms into a novelist.

To find out more about Gillian Bronte Adams���s books, visit www.OfBattlesDragonsandSwordsofAdamant.blogspot.com.

Traditional vs Self Publishing

Recently author Tialla Rising and I had a chat about the differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing. I talked about my experience publishing traditionally, and she talked about hers in self publishing. Here are the two interviews we had for each other! If you are thinking about publishing at all, maybe our experience will give you some insight.

SELF-PUBLISHING

ASHLEE: ��How difficult is self-publishing? Doing everything yourself seems kind of daunting to me ��� is it as hard as it sounds?

TIALLA: ��I actually didn���t do everything myself.�� The thought of doing everything, as in designing the cover, formatting the interior, formatting the eBook���.that is certainly daunting.�� However, I purchased CreateSpace���s services to design my cover and format the interior, plus the eBook, so it wasn���t nearly as hard as it probably could have been.�� However, I do know several self-published authors who have done everything under the sun by themselves, and they say it actually isn���t too hard.�� I���d still be nervous to do it, considering I have no idea what I���m doing, but perhaps it wouldn���t be incredibly difficult after all.

ASHLEE: ��Did you consider having your own ���publishing company��� to publish your books under, as I���ve heard some self-published authors do? What would be the benefit of that?

TIALLA: ��I am very impressed by self-published authors who are brave enough to create their own publishing company.�� Simply as an indie author with CreateSpace, if you want something done, you usually have to do it (with some exceptions).�� However, if an author has their own publishing company, they literally have to do Every. Single. Thing. Themselves.�� Meaning, the writing, editing, designing, formatting, printing, binding, shipping, listing on websites, the copyright, ISBN���everything.�� The thought of doing that is rather terrifying to me.�� I���d much rather let CreateSpace take care of the listings, printing, binding, copyright, and ISBN.�� So no, creating my own publishing company really never was an option for me.

ASHLEE: ��How difficult is it to do all the ���business��� stuff ��� obtaining an ISBN and copyright, uploading your book to various sites, etc.?

TIALLA: ��This is partly why I love CreateSpace so much.�� They take of the ISBN, copyright, and listing my books on various sites.�� Now, authors do have the option of using their own ISBN instead of a CreateSpace ISBN, but I honestly have no idea what that would entail.�� I���ve simply used the CreateSpace ISBN, and I haven���t had any problems.�� Also, about the copyright���technically once you publish something under your name, you are claiming the copyright.�� Copyrights really aren���t as scary as they seem, and you can read more about them here.

ASHLEE: ��What are some of your favorite things about self-publishing?

TIALLA: ��I love having the control over my work.�� After all, the book is my ���baby.����� I love that if I want to do something with my book, and I have the means for it, I can���and I have the final say.�� If I don���t want to do something, I have absolutely no obligation to.�� It���s as simple as that.�� I also enjoy the higher royalties, though it really depends on where the book is purchased.

ASHLEE: ��I���ve heard a lot of people talk about how horribly unpleasant it is to format their eBook. Is it really so bad?

TIALLA: ��I haven���t formatted my own eBook, so I really don���t know.�� For first-timers, I���ve heard it���s pretty complicated.�� However, I���ve also heard it���s easier/faster than formatting the paperbook.�� I suppose it really just depends on the person, how much experience they have, what program they are using, and if they know what they���re doing.

ASHLEE: ��Do you spend a lot of money on advertisement or marketing? Or do you mainly do that from your own social media or with other bloggers?

TIALLA: ��Well, considering I am nineteen, I don���t have all that much money to put towards professional publishing.�� Because of that, a lot of my marketing involves other bloggers, Goodreads giveaways (AMAZING networking opportunity, by the way), and social media.

ASHLEE: ��What site/company did you self-publish through? Can you tell me a little about the basics of using that company? I���ve heard of CreateSpace, but not really any other self-publishing places.

TIALLA: ��I published through CreateSpace, which is an Amazon company.�� This means that when you publish your work through them, the book is automatically listed on Amazon, which is super helpful.�� Also, authors have the option of choosing an ���Expanded Distribution��� option, which will list the book on Barnes and Noble, Google Books, and many more on the web.�� I���ve come across my book on at least fifteen different sites that I didn���t even know existed.

Anyway, with CreateSpace, you can either upload your own print-ready PDFs of your interior and cover, or you can purchase their services to create and format them for you.�� You can also purchase their services to format your book into a Kindle book.

ASHLEE: ��Do you have a print run of your paperbacks? Or does your self-publishing service allow you to do print-on-demand?

TIALLA: ��All books published through CreateSpace do print-on-demand.�� I���ve heard that most other self-publishers do this as well, but I don���t know if it counts for all of them.

ASHLEE: ��Who mails out your orders of paperbacks when they are purchased? Is that your responsibility? Amazon���s? How does that work?

TIALLA: ��When someone purchases a book anywhere on the web, Amazon mails out the order.�� That���s another reason why I love CreateSpace���they take care of all that for me.

ASHLEE: ��How complicated is it to get the digital version of your cover design to look right on the paperback? Are there a lot of things you had to learn about as far as color schemes, etc., to get the finished cover to look like you wanted it after it was printed?

TIALLA: ��Once again, I didn���t design my cover for my first book, ���Holding the Future Hostage,��� but it looked great when I received the proof, so I have a feeling the CreateSpace designer perfected that before sending it to me.�� However, it���s been a bit of a different story with my second book, ���Where Shadows Lie.����� WSL has a rather dark cover, so even though the digital looked great, it was far too dark once printed.�� My designer, Perry Elisabeth (perryelisabeth.blogspot.com) and I will play around with lightening techniques a bit before finalizing it.

ASHLEE: ��What percentages of your sales do you get from the various sites your book is available through?

TIALLA: ��Amazon Kindle: about 70% of the profit (by far the most of all sites)

Amazon: about $3, give or take some change.

CreateSpace eStore: about $6, give or take some change.

Barnes and Noble: about 20 cents.

If my book is purchased from any other site than these mentioned, the royalty really isn���t anything.�� As you can see, it���s pretty small for Barnes and Noble, even.�� Everyone has to get their cut, I suppose.

ASHLEE: ��Did you have any sort of detailed marketing plan before your book was released? What did you do to get it out there in front of people?

TIALLA: ��Before my book was released, I began a blog to start publicizing my soon-to-be-published novel.�� I was actually able to meet lots of people through the blogosphere, so that was definitely a great start.�� Soon afterward, I signed up for Facebook.�� I���m on lots of other social sites now, including Pinterest, Tumblr, G+, YouTube, and Instagram.�� Marketing through these socials have really helped me connect with other authors and readers alike.�� I don���t know if it���s resulted in many sales, but the networking helps to just get my name out there.

ASHLEE: ��Can you tell me about how much you have to pay to purchase your own author copies?

TIALLA: ��I pay about $6.63 per each copy I purchase, and then a whole lot more for shipping. ;)�� Even though I have a great discount per each book, it���s the shipping that kills me.

ASHLEE: ��What are the differences between self-publishing companies and vanity presses?

TIALLA: ��Vanity presses are sites that offer publishing packages for at least $100 each.�� These sites have big ���Publish Now��� buttons and are plastered with positive testimonials.�� Even though they sound good, RUN AWAY.�� You should not have to pay to publish your book.�� Now, there is a difference if you are paying someone specifically for designing your cover, or specifically for formatting your interior.�� However, you shouldn���t have to purchase any ���package��� for a few hundred dollars in order to publish your book.�� You and your book deserve more than that.�� Believe me, I���ve fallen into the trap of vanity presses before���three times, actually.�� If you���re looking at a website, and you���re not sure if it���s a vanity press or not, send me an email at therubyvial@commspeed.net.�� I���ll be happy to take a look at it for you.

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TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING

TIALLA: ��What was the timeline between an agent/publisher interested in your work and the book being published?�� Do you think this is about average or shorter/longer?

ASHLEE: ��I began sending proposals in Jan 2013. I heard from the publisher around May of that year expressing interest. They offered me a contract around Oct 2013. In June 2014 my book released. So all in all it was about a year-long process (from the time they expressed interest to the time the book was in my hands!). I think that���s probably about average for traditionally published books, more or less.

TIALLA: ��Did you have a say in the editing process-as in, keeping certain phrases or words and removing others?�� Did the publisher have the final say?

ASHLEE: ��I did, yes. They were very willing to work with me on any changes they proposed that I wasn���t ok with. Luckily they didn���t have any big-picture changes they wanted made to the overall structure of the story, so I didn���t have to deal with that.

TIALLA: ��Would you recommend finding an agent first before contacting publishers, or is that not as necessary as it seems?

ASHLEE: ��I think it has everything to do with what you, as the writer, want. If you already know you want to self-publish, or you���d like to go with a small name publisher and you���re comfortable researching your publishing contracts and coming up with your own marketing plan, you probably don���t need one.

Some things, though, an agent can do for you that you can���t do for yourself. They have connections, they can get your proposals in to big name publishers (which most times won���t even accept a query directly from the writer herself).

Agents don���t necessarily all offer the same thing either. Some agents may be more focused on marketing, some of them may be better at helping you revise. So again, it���s what you, as an individual writer, are looking for.

TIALLA: ��What are your suggestions for writing a good-convincing-query letter to agents/publishers?

Query letters are always sooo tedious, there���s just no getting around it in my opinion! The trick for me was not to send off the first letter I wrote. I just hated them so much that once I got that first draft finished I was like, ok, here we go! Send! But you have to revise your query letters just like you���d revise your book. Maybe even more so! Because they are the first (and maybe only!) impression you get to make on an agent or publisher.

Another thing that���s crucial is making sure that your proposal follows the exact guidelines for each individual agent you are sending it to. That means you won���t be able to get away with writing just one query letter and sending copies of it to all the agents or publishers you���re interested in. You have to tailor-make each letter, bring out the points of your book or proposal

that appeal most to that particular agent (according to the research you���ve done on him/her). If they see that you���ve followed their guidelines exactly, that tells them a lot about you as a person and as a writer, and they will be much more apt to consider your proposal.

TIALLA: ��I���ve noticed that a lot of query letter submissions require the author to explain why they are qualified to write the novel.�� This seems rather daunting to me since I personally didn���t starting writing because I thought I was ���qualified.����� I wrote because I had a passion for the story, simple as that.�� How would you recommend tackling that question in a way that would convince agents/publishers to represent us?

ASHLEE: ��I think most times you���ll hear that question is when you���re querying for a non-fiction book that would require some extensive knowledge about a certain subject.

However, the times I���ve come across that question before, or questions like ���what are your previously published works��� ��� well, what can you do but ignore them, actually? If you have no special qualifications for writing what you���ve written, it���s best not to bring attention to the fact. What I would do, though, if you feel you need to address the question in some way, is to outline exactly what you said: that you have a great passion for the subject you���ve written about.

TIALLA: ��You���ve mentioned that it���s important to stay away from publishers who want you to sell ALL the rights to your book.�� I hadn���t even realized it was possible to keep some rights.�� Which rights would you deem important to keep?

ASHLEE: ��I think most legitimate publishers would never ask you to flat out��sell your rights to them in the first place. What a normal publishing contract does is to LICENSE the publisher to USE some of the rights to your work ��� such as editing, creating cover art for it, printing and of course listing and selling your book. No one could do that, obviously, without your permission as the author. Therefore you have to have an agreement that says basically, ���yeah, I���ll allow you to do these things to help me out with my book, and in return you get a percentage of my sales.��� My contract (and I���m assuming most publishing contracts) says something about the publisher ���having the right to edit and revise the work, provided that the meaning of the work isn���t materially altered.��� So you���re protected against your book being changed in any big ways.

It���s good to keep the rights to anything you think the publisher won���t take advantage of or actively pursue. For instance, if the publisher has no intention, or just doesn���t have the budget, to do an audio version of your book, you should keep those rights. That way if you decide you want to use those yourself down the road, you don���t have to play tug of war with your publisher. Same goes for movie rights or anything else like that.

TIALLA: ��What do you pay for author copies of your book?

ASHLEE: ��I pay just over 40% of the listed price of my books (that comes to around $5.50 per book). That means that when I sell the author copies on my own, I make 60% of the listed price (as opposed to the 30% I get when the publisher sells it).

TIALLA: ��What are some of the most important reasons for having an agent?�� Navigating publishing contracts?�� Help with marketing/book signings, etc?

ASHLEE: ��Well my situation is a bit different. I started querying publishers before I did agents, so by the time I got an agent I was already in the midst of negotiating a contract with my publishers. So I feel like I haven���t probably felt the full effect of the benefit of having an agent yet. I think after my next book is finished I���d be able to answer that question better. So far, though, my agent has helped me communicate ideas or concerns I have to my publisher in a clearer way than I���d be able to do myself. She���s also given me some tips on marketing.

TIALLA: ��Could you list some qualities you think a good agent should possess?�� On the other hand, what are some red-flags when it comes to agents?

ASHLEE: ��It���s important to research each agent you want to query, and it���s important to remember that basically, you are hiring the agent ��� not the other way around! Yes, the agent is looking for specific things in your book, but you also have a right to look for certain things you may want in the person who is to represent you. You may want an agent who is willing to update you frequently on the status of your proposals. Or you may want an agent who is really aggressive with a marketing plan. Etc. It also helps if you can personally get along with your agent, almost like you would a friend. You���ll need to be able to trust that your agent���s vision for your work is similar to your own ��� that you���re both on the same page about where it is going and the potential it has. Not to mention, she should just have faith in your story and your talent in general!

I���d say anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, stay away from. If the agent is pushing you in a direction that you���ve already made clear you don���t want to go, that���s a bad sign. If she asks for too many rights or too high of a percentage of your proceeds, that���s not good either. Also I���ve heard of some agents who want to begin working for the author and sending out proposals before anything official and legal has been decided as far as their representation. That basically means the agent doesn���t want to take a risk by signing you until she already has proof that a publisher is interested ��� you definitely want to stay away from that sort of agent, too!

A Thing or Two About Centaurs

The most popular theory of how this mythical creature came about was when the Minoans, a people who lived��around 2700-1400 BC, first saw a tribe of nomads. The Minoans were a non-riding culture; the nomads were great horsemen. To the eyes of the Minoans, watching horse and man move so fluidly together, it looked as if they were one creature.
According to Greek myth, the first centaur was the child of Ixion (king of the Lapiths) and Nephele (a nymph cloud disguised to look like Hera). Zeus wished to test Ixion, whom he knew desired his own wife, Hera. Thus he sent the cloud to him in the appearance of Hera. When Ixion succumbed to the temptation, Zeus punished him by making his offspring a strange and hideous half-breed: the centaur.
Kentaurides, or female centaurs, did not appear in the earliest Greek mythology. However, they began to show up in later antiquity, though not often.
Historically, there was much strife between man and centaur. Zeus was known to send centaurs to punish both gods and humans who had offended him.
Though Chiron is one of the best known of all mythical centaurs, his knowledgeable and honorable character was rather in contrast to most stories of centaurs, in which they are rowdy, drunken, and even sometimes evil.
Many say the centaur represents the struggle within each of us between good and evil, god and beast. Others see the centaur quite differently: as a pure symbol of wisdom, foresight and knowledge.
The ancient Thessalian tribes claimed that the horses they bred and raised were descended from the race of centaurs.
The Greek writer Homer refers specifically to a centaur (kentauros) in the Odyssey. However, in other of his writings, he calls them ���pheres��� (beasts), which might have meant he was merely referring to a horse and rider (alluding to the savagery of the man riding the horse, or perhaps the horse, or ���beast,��� itself).
In the first century BC, a man named Lucretius actually went so far as to lay out specific reasons denying the existence of centaurs (which means, of course, that many must have believed in their existence to begin with!).��His argument hinged on the different rates of growth between a man and horse. A horse that is three is in the prime of life, whereas a man of only three is ��� well, not a man, but a baby. Therefore a hybrid man-beast would be impossible.
Indian mythology shows ���evidence��� of centaurs (or something very similar). Ancient art and sculptures from India show images of horses with the torso of a man where the horse-head should be.
Not many know where the Greek word ���kentauros��� came from originally. Translated literally, it means ���piercing bull-slayer��� or ���piercing bull-sticker,��� which some argue could have been describing something as simple as a group of men mounted on horses, shooting with bows and arrows at a herd of bulls.
At the University of Tennessee there is an exhibit called ���Centaur from Volos.��� Made by sculptor Bill Willers, the exhibit is a combination of a human skeleton and the skeleton of a Shetland pony. It was originally made with the intention of misleading students, in order to make them more ���critically aware.��� Yikes.
Two of my favorite centaurs: Roonwit, from Narnia (The Last Battle), and Firenze, from the Harry Potter series. Both of these centaurs are depicted as future-seers, star-gazers, as wise and kind and brave.

I chose to make the centaurs in my book wise and kind as well. Yet I can’t help seeing the possibilities of using centaurs in fiction��a different��sense, now I’ve researched them a bit more. The fact that some people saw centaurs as creatures that represented the struggle between good and evil, god and man … what ideas that inspires!

What do you think?

Reminiscences …

I was looking through some old family photos today, and got the idea that��it would be fun to share a few of them with you. When I first meet a friend, I like to get to know them by asking questions about how they grew up. A person’s past is��like a treasure trove of clues for how they came to be who they are … Many times, great fuel for a writer’s imagination! So today I’ll show you a few of the pictures that characterize “how I came to be.” Just promise you won’t giggle too much :)

Reading, of course, was one of my biggest pastimes. I pretty much read everywhere …

…out of dresser drawers…

…buried in my parents’ closet…

…giggling between a sister and friend…

I’ve always had a bit of a flare for the dramatic …

That’s me on the left, dancing in The Nutcracker ballet.

Thinking deeply about … um … a change of fashion, perhaps?

Bounding into the water on our first visit to the ocean. My dad was quick with the camera on that one!

… and a little bit of quirkiness, too :)

My darling cats were a huge part of my growing up, of course. Well, they and my horse and goats and dogs and the neighbor’s llamas that shared our pasture …

My sister and I showcasing our brand new kittens!

Our sweet Penny. The house I grew up in is in the background.

My horse, Prince.

And just so we’re PERFECTLY clear … my sister and I were NEVER those girls who dressed up their animals …. ahem … never…….

 

Umm … yeah.

Pumpkin looks sooo happy!!

Right. Moving on …

My life wouldn’t have been the same – nor would I have been – without my little sister, who is still my best friend today.

Being home-schooled was also something that helped shape my personality … not to mention allowed��me to continue to pursue my love for writing and reading.

My tiny home-school graduate class … I’m the one hiding behind the hat on the far left.

And last, but not least, something many of you may well be unaware of … I am, in fact, an angel :D

So many memories, and as I sift through them I see a glimmer here and there of some of the things that, though I didn’t recognize them at the time, led me down the path to becoming who and what I am today. Doesn’t it make you wonder you’re doing today that will affect who you grow into tomorrow …?

 

Ice Maidens in Real Life

This is a guest post by E. Kaiser Writers, whose winter fairy tale trilogy, Thaw, has just released. Be sure to check out her books, her site, and other information at the end of this post! Also, enter your name in a great giveaway (link also below) for the ARC of Winter’s Child!!

I’m so excited to read her series, based on the classic fairy tale of the Snow Queen. It looks truly enchanting!

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In the newly released Thaw books the princess Ilise is a “winter’s child”, an answer to her barren parents’ long years of prayer for a baby.

When they share a moment of closeness amid their sorrow and build a baby out of snow, they whisper secret plans that can never come true of the daughter they will never have.

“I would name her Ilise.” The king says, “I read it in a book. It is from the southern lands, and it means blessed.”

The queen drops a sweet tear on the snow baby in her arms, and the little snow figure disappears.

Then a soft voice of the Winter Angel tells them that their prayers have been answered, and their Ilise, their blessed one, will be born next winter. “And she will be a special child.”

Overcome with joy, thus starts a fairy-tale that has unexpected results for the royal couple.

Their child is pale, perfect, and lovely. Studious and proper, she is does everything just as she ought and there is no room for improvement on this delightful gift.

But as her parents cuddle and coddle her, just how “special” the Angel meant becomes clearer with the years, and she goes from tracing the frost on the window to making it, from showing off her talents with pony ice sculptures to ice automatons, to the full blown fortress of ice that she eventually immures herself completely inside.

Her story is too long to share here, but she is not the only one who freezes those around her and ��shuts herself off from the world.

There are those among us, though born of less fairy-tale means, that have the power to psychologically “freeze” those around us, and we too retreat into our towers and refuse to come out.

Although in the real world this has limited repercussions compared to Ilise’s dramatic problems; it is still not healthy and we need to find ways to release the grip of ice on our hearts and learn “how to thaw”.

I know this because I am/was one of them. A middle child finds it easy to feel forgotten, and a quiet one simply retreats further within.

I was “the smart one”, so while I couldn’t make others feel “put in their place” through my athletic prowess or my charismatic personality, growing up I was often tempted to “put the chill” on someone simply by upstaging their incorrect information/ or pointing out a truer fact that cut their argument off at the knees.

My family is rife with choleric personalities, so for someone who hates conflict (which I truly do) I found myself in that kind of hot seat quite a lot over the years. Since I didn’t have the roaring fire of a powerful personality on my side, I had to reach for other ammunition, and since logic and facts were respected in my house, my intellect became my archery squad.

Many of the fights never should have happened, but like most families, our parents were elsewhere and childish tempers raged… even well into the teens. (Actually, cross that out, because they still do from time to time.)

Anyway, my point is that where some of my siblings grew fire, I became an expert on ice. I would shut down, tune out, and my words were my whip as I responded to my perceived attackers. I never let them see they’d hurt me, because that would give them the victory. What I don’t know is if I ever hurt them. One of those things we’ll never know, the “might have been”.

(To my credit I was always the “peacemaker” of the family, so I didn’t let my strengths carry me away as drastically as I could have, since I was always in the back of my mind calculating how hard to recover from each barbed word would be.

The ones with lethal hit points I generally choked back and kept in the arsenal.)

I always thought of myself as the “good guy”. After all, it wasn’t me raising my voice and getting red in the face. My pulse would race, but my lid never flipped.

It wasn’t till I was in my late teens that I began to see just how damaging the “cool cucumber” bazooka could actually be; not so much to others… but myself.

The more instances I saw of my kind, the more I noticed it could get very out of hand; so distanced from the world that some of us had quit feeling anything. Or had at least convinced themselves so hard that we believed it.

As I assessed other people I met, and it became evident that whatever reason we had originally started to “shut down and tune out” as a defense mechanism was generally long gone, but the response was still there, shutting us down.

Sometimes we were snippy and trigger-happy, jerking off shots at anyone below us within reach of our “freeze”. We were showing the world that we were better than it. We were untouchable. We didn’t need friends and we didn’t care if you knew it.

Even with a general desire to be liked and accepted, our “ice veins” couldn’t be thawed, and our habits were chilling everyone around us.

Others of our ilk had turned inward to the point that we stopped interacting at all, maintaining a stony-cold silence throughout any event; distanced by a gulf so wide that mountains might as well have towered in it.

As an outsider I could see that what while we were cutting ourselves off from present joys, those past hurts were trapped inside our ice towers with us, as stinging today as they were the first time we faced them.

As many different reasons we all had, almost all of them were in our far past. Whether the insults were real or imagined, from a wrong turn in a basically normal childhood or from real abuse in various forms, we were all now trapped by the very thing we believed was protecting us.

And we had no clue how to melt it and step out of that cold prison.

I didn’t. I remember wishing I could react in a different way, even picturing the whole thing, but in the end I didn’t have the courage or the strength to even try.

As I studied our collective problem more and more I finally came down to a base, fundamental truth.

It was a form of pride that made us unable to release our cages.

And all pride is selfishness… and so the first step was fighting myself, the worse parts of me that whispered “They hate you anyway, don’t give them a chance to hurt you.”

“Nobody likes you, and why would they? Show them you don’t need to like them, either!”

The path to a better self is always strewn with ugly battles… and those various monsters seem to rear up again and again long after you think they’re dead. But in the end they do get dead-er, and the inner warrior grows strong enough to withstand their weakened darts of doubt and shame.

We “ice maidens” and “ice men”; we have so many things going for us. Invariably, we are strong, determined people with intelligent minds and an ability to focus that can be a massive benefit. But when our strengths are used against us, we flounder and freeze into a pillar that is stuck in the middle as life blossoms all around us.

It still hurts when my attempts to be friendly are shot down, or when someone I love says something that stings. But I’ve learned how to thaw, and that’s allowed me to be open to new warmth as it shows up, as well as the old hearth-fires that bond family members in palpable affection.

I don’t know how many others out there share my strengths, and my weaknesses, but I’d love to be able to touch their hearts and inspire them to melt, too.

The universal laws apply to this as with any strangle-hold selfishness may be exhibiting itself through; and so the same rules can kill it back:

Sincerely apologize as soon as possible after you realize selfishness scored a point.

A true, authentic apology is so hard to do, but think of it as kicking selfishness in the teeth. I tell you what, that little monster takes a major hit every time you go the distance to genuinely apologize and then make it right with a honest heart, and the next time the scenario rolls around it hasn’t got nearly as much power over you, by a long shot.

Ask those you know can help, when you need it.

I’ve learned how to ask for affection when I’m feeling distanced and like no one likes me, instead of allowing selfishness to say “If they loved me, they’d know.” Even though we may pride ourselves on reading others ( a trait “cool cucumbers” major in) a ton of people aren’t that observant. (Besides, give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you don’t know all the time, as much as you think you know.)

And finally, be open to the idea of rejection/pain.

Westley says “Life is pain, Highness. Anybody who tells you different is selling something.”��

While that may be true, life isn’t��all��pain, and if we run into hurtful spots, a better way to deal with it instead of clamming up and scrambling back into our tower is to say “I can weather a bit of pain. This isn’t going to kill me, I am stronger than this.”

Growing up rural, in the mountains and plains, on farms and ranches, we kids got used to pulling splinters our of our hands, skidding our knees across gravel, falling off of horses and getting our toes stepped on by hoofs large and small. The first time shocked us, but we soon adapted and would be more concerned about getting on with our plans or bragging rights than how much it hurt.

Why can’t we be that way with emotional hurt?

In the end, we should be in such a hurry to do our next thing the “slights and stings of fate” should be no more than a temporary knock.

And finally, we should always look to our Great King as our source of importance, not whether the world likes us or not, approves of us or not, or even loves us or not. The more we battle selfishness down into its hole and put a lid on it, the clearer we are able to see that our Maker is the only One who matters… and our relationship with Him is our best and greatest alley.

And with Him we can never be alone.

(P.S. Disclaimer: those out there that are “Fire hearts” have their own problems, and they need to take care of that. Don’t let their behavior tilt your boat… we are responsible for our own vessel sailing straight, so just do our best with “fire ships” that could temporarily sink us. Charting a course for clear water is not the same as freezing over and sitting completely still. Please don’t confuse the two! )

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So what do you think? Elizabeth shares some great honesty and wisdom with us, doesn’t she? It’s difficult to find that fine balance between hot and cold – I think we all struggle with that! The very things we use to protect ourselves can, in the end, damage us. But with God’s help we can see past those things to His true purpose for our lives.

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E. Kaiser Writes credits her nearly nomadic childhood for the vast reach of her fictional worlds; she has lived (and gotten to known the locals) in the Rocky Mountains, the Smoky Mountains, the plains, the deep forest, the searing Texas summer and frozen Minnesota north.

She wears many hats: writer and editor of ad copy, web copy, office correspondence & fiction; a cowgirl, animal trainer, seamstress, jeweler, artist and… authoress!

Connect with her here:

Blog�� �� Author Site �� ��Facebook�� �� Twitter�� �� Pinterest

Find her books here:

Winter’s Child �� ��Winter Queen

Info about her other books

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