Fiona Tarr's Blog, page 9

Author Spotlight with JR Frontera

I always find it interesting how authors choose the genre they write in. Sci-fi is something I have never been able to get my head around. I can read it and watch it at the movies, but writing it is just beyond my brain’s comprehension. With different time lines & science jargon, it is best left to those who obviously have a flair for it.

Meet JR (Jennifer) Frontera, my Sci-fi author spotlight for October. Jennifer has kindly offered her latest collection of Sci-fi short stories End of Line to all my readers who are interested in a little Sci-fi to go with their fantasy. Before we jump to the Freebies, I recently interviewed Jennifer to find out more about her writing and what got her started on the short story form.

Question:

I really admire the short story form. It’s something I have struggled with so I would love to know at what point you chose short stories over full length novel or novella form?

A: Mostly by accident. Lol. I am one of the slowest writers I know, and it was frustrating and disheartening to still be drafting one novel while the other writers I met with regularly had released two or three in the same span of time. I began to feel like I would never finish anything. So, I determined to try my hand at short stories. At first, I did them as exercises for a reoccurring feature on my blog called Writing Prompt Wednesday. I would search the internet for a random prompt, then write a super short story revolving around that prompt. It was so much fun that when a local convention ran a Story in a Bag contest, where you’d draw out 5 random prompts and write a story using those prompts in only one hour, I knew I had to try it out. Funny thing… my first try at that contest won Best in the Sci-Fi category by popular vote. I couldn’t believe it!! In four years of participating in that contest now, my stories have placed three times. In addition to this, I began sending out other short stories on sub to various Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America markets. Thus far, all rejections… although one story did make it to a 2nd read twice. So close! I seemed to do okay constructing short stories, so eventually I decided to gather up the ones I’d accumulated over the years and publish them in a collection, which is how End of Line came about. I still love writing short stories (in fact, sometimes I wonder if I should give up on full length novels) but unfortunately have not written any new ones for some time now. I think it’s about time to fix that!

 

Question:

Why did you choose Sci-fi as your genre?

A: I’ve always been a sci-fi nerd. I’m not entirely sure how that got started … my father was always into Star Trek and I remember him having Star Wars on the TV a lot as well. One of my grandfathers also had a large box of old sci-fi books that ended up at our house after he passed away… classics like Dune and Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, as well as others you don’t hear people talk about much. I read several of them when I was younger and loved them. The sci-fi and fantasy genres have always appealed to me, I think because they allow you to truly explore the limits and possibilities of humanity and what we can do and where we can go. In these genres, literally anything is possible. Yes, it’s a bit more difficult to write because of the world-building, but in my opinion, sci-fi and fantasy allow me the best opportunity to showcase humanity in all it’s wonderfulness — and terribleness.

 

Question:

Tell us something about yourself you haven’t shared with your readers before?

A: I used to be so shy my mom would have to walk me to my classroom, and sometimes I’d throw up before school.

BookRebel Features Seed of Hope

BookRebel have chosen Seed of Hope to feature on the 7th October in their Reader Newsletter. I am really happy to see this book begin to get some recognition from people like BookRebel.

It has averaged 4.5 stars with some great 5 star reviews to date:

“It captivates with all the ingredients of a best seller.” Kissablysweet1

“Fiona Tarr has written a very gripping story of love, revenge, and black magic.” Ankita

Find Seed of Hope on sale on Amazon & other retailers @99c for a limited time. If you have not already grabbed book 2 in the Covenant of Grace Series, this might be the perfect time.

[image error]

All other retailers including Kobo, B&N, Apple: https://www.books2read.com/u/38DglB

[image error] [image error]

To see the BookRebel deal online, click here.

Author Spotlight with LJ Andrews

Meet Fantasy Author L.J. Andrews

I know how much you all love to meet other fantasy authors and LJ has a fantastic series of books to get your teeth into. As many of you know, I’m in Australia, so I have no idea of how the holiday season works in your neck of the woods, but for my Aussie readers, its that time of year. Summer is only a few months away and the holiday period needs some nice juicy books to keep you reading.

LJ has kindly offered the first in her latest series The Djinn Kindom free to US buyers and only 99c to Australian readers for a VERY limited few days. Pirate’s Vengeance Book 1 will only be on sale until the 24th September US time but before we take a look at the book, let’s meet LJ.

[image error]

Q: LJ, you have written quite a few books, when did you get started?

A: I started writing the first book in my Lost Relics series about 5 years ago. I didn’t publish until August of 2016, and ever since then I just can’t stop.

Q: Your fantasy books are written across a number of sub-genres but your focus appears to be Young Adult, what drew you in that direction?

A: I read more teen/Young Adult books typically. I enjoy the tropes found in those books, and I love the coming of age typically found in that genre. Basically since I read them the most, those are the plots that flowed out into my stories.

Q: What is your personal favourite book or series you have written?

A: Oh, this is such a hard one. The Lost Relics series was the first bit of fiction I’ve ever written, so it will always be my baby. I believe it has a great story, mixing magic with science fiction and it gives readers a new setting they can escape to. However, I have just enjoyed every second of the Djinn Kingdom series. I have three books published with two or three more in the works. I love everything fantasy and have a crazy obsession with pirates. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Pirate’s of the Caribbean too many times. The readers reaction has been inspiring. I feel it is a very unique story, that is easy to read and get sucked into quickly…which is why I need to get the other two books out. It doesn’t bode well to leave readers waiting too long

Fall of Jericho – It Has Begun!

Fall of Jericho – It Has Begun!

People often read my books and ask me where I get my ideas and inspiration from, so I thought I might guide you through the writing of my latest book Fall of Jericho as I go. I am 10,000 words into the story (about 15% done) but the process begun well before the first words ever hit the paper (computer screen actually). It’s from here on that the momentum builds and I get excited about different characters and sub-plots within the main over arching story. See already I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning….

Where Do I Get the Idea?

I start with well known Old Testament Bible stories (because they are full of intrigue, politics and turmoil) and narrow down which ones might have a theme that rings true in the current world view climate. Once I select the winner, I get out my NIV/The Message side by side version of the bible and read the story, usually from start to finish. While I read the passages I let my imagination loose and consider things like the political environment of that time. The culture towards God, leadership, women and more. This usually starts me on the road to filling in the plot and developing the main characters.

The great advantage of using a Bible story is the ending is already known. It’s like rewriting the stories of Greek Mythology or the Roman Empire. These recounts are pieces of history and the outcomes are fixed, but the story in between is up to me and that’s the fun part.

Follow this series as I write Fall of Jericho. Next I will share a little about how I go about my research. You might wonder why a fantasy author needs to research but its the authenticity of all the little intricacies that I believe bring authority to my stories….

[image error]

One of many images I am considering for the cover

 

 

 

A Love – Hate Review!

‘I was really annoyed. The author mixed fantasy and the Bible together’!

This recent 3 star review from Audrey on Goodreads was gratefully accepted but I have to admit it gave me a bit of a shake up. The idea of mixing magic, prophecy, fate and matters of faith might have had Audrey questioning my writing style, but I couldn’t help but wonder why?

It seems that Audrey found the mixing of faith and fantasy ‘disrespectful’, even ‘twisted’ in some way, yet the bible is full of magic (miracles) and even King Saul (1 Samuel 28:7) consulted with a witch and called upon the spirit of Samuel when he felt abandoned by God. This is the very reason why I chose David and the Book of Samuel to base my first fantasy series. The entire Covenant of Grace series is named this way because all my novels were written to give readers permission to ask the hard questions (or just read a fast paced epic fantasy if they preferred).

Is there a difference between miracle and magic? When is seeing the future prophecy not witchcraft? Who gets to decide?

I spoke with another reader recently who said she loved how my books explored the idea of God without restricting faith to one indoctrination. She is the reason I wrote the Covenant of Grace series; for all those who have sought faith, but found the institution and not the spirit of God.

I would love to hear what others have thought after reading my first book Destiny of Kings.

[image error]

 

 

 

 

Author Spotlight with Renee Scattergood

Renee writes great fantasy stories and I couldn’t contain my excitement when she agreed to offer all my readers a taste of her work. But before we rush into the download link, I thought you might like to know a little more about Renee so I asked her a few questions and the answers were quite intriguing.

[image error]

Q; Your format is quite unique. Can you give a little insight into why you chose to release Shadow Stalker in Episodes, rather than full length novels?

At first, I was going to do novels. In fact, I had completed the first novel, but a friend (who is a published author) suggested a lot of changes that resulted in a total rewrite. They were great suggestions, so I went for it, but my fear of writing a story that people wouldn’t be interested in grew and after two years I still hadn’t even started the rewrites. At that point, I decided to write it as a serial. It seemed safer because I could get the experience I needed with self-publishing and releasing shorter works seemed less daunting. It worked out for me because I was able to build my confidence and gain new writing skills before jumping into writing a novel. I’m really glad I did it.

Q: What got you started on the road to becoming an Indie Author?

Well, I was in college when I decided to write. At first, it was short stories after my English instructor suggested I get some of my work published. Then I took courses in novel writing and screenplay writing. I knew from the start that I wanted to publish my own work. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I love being in control and being the one responsible for making things happen.

Q: I was really excited to find another Australian Indie Author. What do you love most about your home?

Actually, I’m originally from the US. I’ve been in Australia since 2004, and I absolutely love it here. I love how laid back and friendly the people are here. It’s so different from where I’ve come from.

Q: Why did you pick Fantasy as your genre?

Since I was a kid, I’ve been a huge fan of Fantasy. It’s what I read and enjoy most, so naturally, when I started writing, it’s what I chose to write.

Q: Tell us something about yourself that your readers might not already know?

Hmm… I’m pretty open with my readers, so it’s hard to remember what I have and haven’t told them about myself. This is pretty random, but it came up the other day. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archeologist. To this day, I still have a strong interest in ancient historical artifacts, especially Egyptian. Maybe I should write a story about it.

Sexy, Feminist Writing.

Daniel recently posted a 4 star review of Destiny of Kings on Amazon.

 

[image error]

Thanks Daniel, I am always extremely grateful for reviews and they constantly motivate me to write more

More Ways to Borrow Indie Books

It’s been years in the making but finally, with advanced technology and a more open minded acceptance of Indie Authors, we have libraries around the world adopting Indie books into their e-book lending platforms.

[image error]

I was recently invited to add my books to the Wheeler e-books platform where readers can now borrow my books through their ePlatform app available on Android and Apple. It seems the library trend is catching on and Overdrive have partnered with a digital e-book platform I use to publish e-book. This will allow further distribution to their network of libraries worldwide. It really is exciting times for e-book, so now all you need in order to read the Covenant of Grace Series books 1-4 is a library card.

To find out if your library uses either of these services, I suggest you ask them because unfortunately their is no database to tell us which libraries, use which e-book service

Excerpt – The Ehud Dagger Prequel Novella

I wrote The Ehud Dagger for a little fun but also to satisfy a few of my readers who felt a little cheater when I ‘killed off’ one of my popular characters from Destiny of Kings. This little Novella answers a number of background questions and enlightens the reader on some of the history behind The Ehud Dagger which features quite a lot in books 2-4.

[image error]

The Ehud Dagger will be released in November but in the mean time I thought it might be nice to offer a few little snippets of it over the coming months. Here is excerpt 1.

‘Leave her be Yassib. She is not worthy of you my friend. She is a slave girl.’ Otto waved his hand to dismiss Zandra and the young woman tried to make her way past the soldier.

‘I will find you later. You have the prettiest eyes.’ Yassib whispered as he dropped the arm blocking Zandra’s way, but not before grabbing her around her waist and squeezing her bottom as he pulled the frightened young woman into his embrace.

Zandra could smell the stale wine on his breath and there was left over food in his beard as though it had not been cleaned in a month. She pulled her face away and looked back over her shoulder at Otto, silently begging him to stop the man.

‘I told you Yassib, she is scared and ugly, you have others to choose from. Let her be.’ Otto beckoned another girl forward and pointed for her to entertain Yassib.

The soldier rubbed himself up against Zandra, continuing to grab at her backside before letting her leave. The young woman almost leapt from the tent as the noise of giggling and cursing chased her.

*******

As a special offer, I am also giving away FREE copies of The Ehud Dagger until its release in November. If you would like to get your copy, all you need to do is review any of the books the dagger features in.

Seed of Hope
Legacy of Power
Heir of Vengeance

Just send me a link to your review here and I will get your FREE Novella out to you ASAP.

 

Meet Fantasy Author Nicolette Andrews

Nicolette and I bumped into each other while networking with other Indie Authors and I thought you might like to get to know her work. Nicolette has kindly agreed to offer you all an unadvertised giveaway of her latest novel The Priestess and the Dragon.

But before I give you the download details, let’s find out a little bit about Nicolette.

[image error]

Nicolette has a swag of fantasy books on Amazon, so I had to ask her a few questions about her writing.

Q: When did you start writing?
Like a lot of authors, I started writing really young. I wrote a series of children’s books (complete with illustrations) in elementary school about a character Ms. Triangle. I think my mom still has copies of it somewhere. I got really interested in creative writing in high school though, when I had an English teacher who really challenged me to write outside the typical essay and gave us a lot of creative writing assignments.

Q: What made you decide fantasy was your genre?
I’ve always loved Fantasy from the time I was really young I was obsessed with unicorns and shows like Sailor Moon about girls with magical powers. And Harry Potter had a huge influence on my life as well. So it was only natural that I wanted to write in the genre. I actually got my start writing fantasy when I wrote a short story for a friend who was also really into fantasy novels. Even though I almost exclusively read fantasy, I’d never written it until then.

Q: Do you have a day job? If so what is it?
I do still have a day job, I work as a Claims adjuster. Exciting stuff, as you can tell.