IWU Blog Tour Week of Nov 15th
Hey everyone! I know I skipped a week, but we are back to our great blog tour of indie authors. Today I have the pleasure of having a fantastic writer with us. So, without further delay, let's get this party started.
Okay, so, pull a chair and introduce yourself to everyone.
My name is Athanasios. I've been interested in religion and entertainment in all its forms since I was a child. I've always been creative but in my earlier life I studied art and illustration. I was also always interested in storytelling and fantastic even horrific stories both mythic and contemporary fiction.
Very interesting. Mythical stories have always kept me enthralled. So, tell me about your book. Any tidbit is great to know. What inspired it, all that good stuff.
My story is Predatory Ethics, which began as Mad Gods in 1990. It's about the duality of man and how most modern religions focus on our higher aspects and deny out baser instincts. Older faiths embraced both. Predatory Ethics was inspired and continues to be inspired by the world around us and our history both officially sanctioned in our text books from school and the alternate histories we all call conspiracy theories.Oh, now that is very interesting. I used to take classes back in the day that discussed many of the old religions.
So, what is your writing process like? Do you jot things down or just tap away on the computer?My process is as follows. I do the rough outline first, building the basic structure of the plot and character development with pen & paper. Then I write out the first draft following the outline but not too strictly, it's used mostly for direction rather than a specific guide.Sounds familiar. I started out with doing no outlines, but have since evolved to do more rough outlines for different storylines.
What do you do when you're not writing?
I currently work as a graphic/video artist in a dvd production house at Montreal, Quebec, Canada. My hobbies are very varied, from home renovation, to movie & television watching to martial arts and weight lifting. My pets are Fred the Yellow Lab, George the Main Coon cat, Charlotte the Tortoise Shell cat, & Ali the ???? cat.Cat!! I adore the feline animals. I keep telling the hubby I want to get a full grown leopard one day. He keeps saying no. J
What made you decide to self-publish your work?I tried to have it traditionally published but was a complete failure in getting anybody to publish my work. I still believed in my story so I decided to put it out there anyway. There are still times though that I feel I'm deluding myself that anybody wants would enjoy my stories but then I pick it up myself and am still compelled to read further, despite having written it. That's the best thing. In the end, one must believe in their own work if anyone else is to.
Have you ever submitted your work to a traditional publisher? Would you consider doing so in the future?I have submitted to a traditional publisher and wouldn't do so again unless I was asked to. I don't need further rejection, I've had my fill of it.I hear you there. Rejection is hard. What has your experience of self-publishing been like so far? Would you recommend it to other writers?I would recommend it to other authors. What have you got to lose? It costs nothing to do so and if you have a good work ethic all you have to do is keep putting out and doing anything and everything to promote your work. Just keep doing it. Not to be trite but: A thousand mile journey begins with a single step.
Great advice! Never give up people.
What have your marketing strategies been so far? How successful were they? Any advice for new indie writers?My marketing strategies have borne little fruit, thus far. I believe my reasoning is sound though, do anything and everything that crosses your path. Don't say no to anything if it'll get you more exposure. There's nothing and nobody who can stop somebody from self publishing their own work. The challenge is if they last long enough to gain an audience. That'll only come with time and patience. If your work is good it'll find a readership. It probably won't be riches but who's to say? If everybody believed the odds there would be nobody willing to gamble on themselves.
Very true. The more your name is circulated the better chance others will become interested.
How would you respond to those who argue that self-published books are of inferior quality to traditionally-published ones?Taken on an author to author basis they'd probably be right. The only reason that is true is that there are exponentially more indie writers than traditional. Numbers alone will do that.True, numbers are not on our side currently. Hopefully that will fade with time.
What type of genres do you like to write and read?I like to read fantasy, horror, historical and documentary. I've only written in occult/horror.
That's fantastic. I love the horror and fantasy, love watching documentaries though. Not really read any. Who is one of your favorite characters and which book and why do you like him/her?I don't have a single favorite character, so I'll cheat on this question. My two favorites are the main characters of Kostadino & Adam Paleologos. They are me, unadorned & in the raw. The only differences between myself, and an amalgamation of those two, are that I'm more physically imposing that either of them, and I like to work with my hands. I've got the scars to prove it.Nothing wrong with having more than one favorite. J
If you could be any character from any book, who would it be?Conan. The one in the Robert E Howard & L Sprague DeCamp books, not the poof in the movies. Conan the Cimmerian would've kicked those pansies asses.Books tend to have more going for them, character wise, than any move can. I agree with you there.
What is your favorite food? I don't have a favorite, but I hate Vietnamese, not enough flavor. Blander than bland. Yuck.
Mad Gods:
The Antichrist lives. He is wanted dead or alive by Satanists, the Catholic Church and the Dark Nobility.
Kostadino must save him or let the world turn into hell on earth.
Amazon Smashwords
Commitment
Adam watched Mad Gods drag his father to Hell.
Melusine Rothschild, Grande Dame of the Black Nobility wants to raise him. She is part of the World Elite that live by Predatory Ethics and seek to guide him in wielding the power and influence of his dark birthright.
Adam, the teenage Antichrist/AntiXos, wants none of this. He watches his TV shows in one of Danvers Mental Hospital's nice padded rooms, snugly dressed in his own long sleeved, buckled, canvas jacket. He feels safe here away from a hostile, ravaging outside world.
He's horribly wrong.
LINKSAmazon Smashwords
You can find Athanasios here:Website and Blog
Thanks for joining us today Athanasios! It was great having you here.
Hope everyone enjoyed the read.
Happy writing and reading.
Warm regards,
R.G. Porter
Okay, so, pull a chair and introduce yourself to everyone.
My name is Athanasios. I've been interested in religion and entertainment in all its forms since I was a child. I've always been creative but in my earlier life I studied art and illustration. I was also always interested in storytelling and fantastic even horrific stories both mythic and contemporary fiction.
Very interesting. Mythical stories have always kept me enthralled. So, tell me about your book. Any tidbit is great to know. What inspired it, all that good stuff.
My story is Predatory Ethics, which began as Mad Gods in 1990. It's about the duality of man and how most modern religions focus on our higher aspects and deny out baser instincts. Older faiths embraced both. Predatory Ethics was inspired and continues to be inspired by the world around us and our history both officially sanctioned in our text books from school and the alternate histories we all call conspiracy theories.Oh, now that is very interesting. I used to take classes back in the day that discussed many of the old religions.
So, what is your writing process like? Do you jot things down or just tap away on the computer?My process is as follows. I do the rough outline first, building the basic structure of the plot and character development with pen & paper. Then I write out the first draft following the outline but not too strictly, it's used mostly for direction rather than a specific guide.Sounds familiar. I started out with doing no outlines, but have since evolved to do more rough outlines for different storylines.
What do you do when you're not writing?
I currently work as a graphic/video artist in a dvd production house at Montreal, Quebec, Canada. My hobbies are very varied, from home renovation, to movie & television watching to martial arts and weight lifting. My pets are Fred the Yellow Lab, George the Main Coon cat, Charlotte the Tortoise Shell cat, & Ali the ???? cat.Cat!! I adore the feline animals. I keep telling the hubby I want to get a full grown leopard one day. He keeps saying no. J
What made you decide to self-publish your work?I tried to have it traditionally published but was a complete failure in getting anybody to publish my work. I still believed in my story so I decided to put it out there anyway. There are still times though that I feel I'm deluding myself that anybody wants would enjoy my stories but then I pick it up myself and am still compelled to read further, despite having written it. That's the best thing. In the end, one must believe in their own work if anyone else is to.
Have you ever submitted your work to a traditional publisher? Would you consider doing so in the future?I have submitted to a traditional publisher and wouldn't do so again unless I was asked to. I don't need further rejection, I've had my fill of it.I hear you there. Rejection is hard. What has your experience of self-publishing been like so far? Would you recommend it to other writers?I would recommend it to other authors. What have you got to lose? It costs nothing to do so and if you have a good work ethic all you have to do is keep putting out and doing anything and everything to promote your work. Just keep doing it. Not to be trite but: A thousand mile journey begins with a single step.
Great advice! Never give up people.
What have your marketing strategies been so far? How successful were they? Any advice for new indie writers?My marketing strategies have borne little fruit, thus far. I believe my reasoning is sound though, do anything and everything that crosses your path. Don't say no to anything if it'll get you more exposure. There's nothing and nobody who can stop somebody from self publishing their own work. The challenge is if they last long enough to gain an audience. That'll only come with time and patience. If your work is good it'll find a readership. It probably won't be riches but who's to say? If everybody believed the odds there would be nobody willing to gamble on themselves.
Very true. The more your name is circulated the better chance others will become interested.
How would you respond to those who argue that self-published books are of inferior quality to traditionally-published ones?Taken on an author to author basis they'd probably be right. The only reason that is true is that there are exponentially more indie writers than traditional. Numbers alone will do that.True, numbers are not on our side currently. Hopefully that will fade with time.
What type of genres do you like to write and read?I like to read fantasy, horror, historical and documentary. I've only written in occult/horror.
That's fantastic. I love the horror and fantasy, love watching documentaries though. Not really read any. Who is one of your favorite characters and which book and why do you like him/her?I don't have a single favorite character, so I'll cheat on this question. My two favorites are the main characters of Kostadino & Adam Paleologos. They are me, unadorned & in the raw. The only differences between myself, and an amalgamation of those two, are that I'm more physically imposing that either of them, and I like to work with my hands. I've got the scars to prove it.Nothing wrong with having more than one favorite. J
If you could be any character from any book, who would it be?Conan. The one in the Robert E Howard & L Sprague DeCamp books, not the poof in the movies. Conan the Cimmerian would've kicked those pansies asses.Books tend to have more going for them, character wise, than any move can. I agree with you there.
What is your favorite food? I don't have a favorite, but I hate Vietnamese, not enough flavor. Blander than bland. Yuck.
Mad Gods:
The Antichrist lives. He is wanted dead or alive by Satanists, the Catholic Church and the Dark Nobility.
Kostadino must save him or let the world turn into hell on earth.
Amazon Smashwords
Commitment
Adam watched Mad Gods drag his father to Hell.
Melusine Rothschild, Grande Dame of the Black Nobility wants to raise him. She is part of the World Elite that live by Predatory Ethics and seek to guide him in wielding the power and influence of his dark birthright.
Adam, the teenage Antichrist/AntiXos, wants none of this. He watches his TV shows in one of Danvers Mental Hospital's nice padded rooms, snugly dressed in his own long sleeved, buckled, canvas jacket. He feels safe here away from a hostile, ravaging outside world.
He's horribly wrong.
LINKSAmazon Smashwords
You can find Athanasios here:Website and Blog
Thanks for joining us today Athanasios! It was great having you here.
Hope everyone enjoyed the read.
Happy writing and reading.
Warm regards,
R.G. Porter
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