If you missed the AMA today, you can check it out here.
Feel free to leave feedback, comments, or anything you like.
Also, The Goblin Wars Part One will be on sale 10/14 for $1! Only a single dollar!
Interview with Matt Cubberly, Children's Author
What got you interested in children's books and what was the specific impetus that set the project in motion?
1) I've always been a writer, but I've never pursued it as a career as I've always seen it as more of a hobby. I've been screenwriting and writing novels for many years as side projects, but I finally decided to venture into children's books because I finally had a short, concise idea that really worked well visually. The story just fit in the children's book mould very well, so I chose to take it in that direction. As for the specific impetus, there really wasn't much of one. I'm constantly working on multiple writing projects at once, and as certain works begin to get fleshed out more and more, I tend to give them more attention over the others. So the work builds more quickly and eventually it takes center stage.
What kind of books do you like to read for personal enjoyment and which authors give you the most inspiration?
2) For personal enjoyment, nothing beats the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. All three books were just absolutely fantastic and I've yet to find any other book or series I've liked more. However, for inspiration, I tend to look more toward dialogue-heavy writers. But not just amounts of dialogue, but carefully-crafted dialogue. And for that I always end up with George R.R. Martin. The dialogue is so painstakingly tweaked in his work that each and every word is absolutely necessary. And above that, his exposition itself reads much like a dialogue as well. So looking through his work always paints such an incredible image for me, that I strive to replicate that feeling within my own work.
What have you found to be the most frustrating part of the process when publishing your first book?
3) I found the most frustrating process to be the wait. Waiting for shipping from my printers in China really was the only frustrating portion. My illustrator worked extremely quickly and beautifully, to the point where out of 50 or so illustrations for the book, I only made 1 small request at a tweak for one illustration. So after I sent her my "doodles" for each page, I was basically hands-off. The printers were very helpful and I ran into no problems there. So the wait truly was the only upset, as unavoidable as it may be!
Do you have plans to write anything for older age groups or adults?
4) Oh yes. I have a few projects I'm working on at the moment, and they're demographics really spread quite wide. I have two more children's books awaiting illustration, one novel geared toward young adults, and one much darker novel for a much older audience.
Now that the book is out, is there anything you wish you could change or do differently?
5) I'm honestly very happy with how everything turned out. It all went smoothly and I have only one aspect I'd prefer to change. On the "legal page" within the book, where it offers the ISBN, website, copyright info, etc., the portion where it warns against unauthorized use or production of the work (the anti-plagiarism portion basically) has the text much too large. Aesthetically, nothing is off, but I feel that by going with such a large text size somewhat says, 'DON'T STEAL MY WORK. I'M SUPER WORRIED ABOUT THEFT', when in reality, I'm not at all worried about theft as I understand how rare it is. Seeing that large text just seems to be a bit amateurish in feel, so that would be the only aspect I'd change.
What types of projects do you see in the future for The WilderWay LLC?
6) The WilderWay LLC is actually a widely-branching company. We of course have many new books (as described above) coming down the line, but we also are developing niche products, other forms of media (film) and "foodstuffs". We will remain primarily story-based, but just with the interesting product or two. So we hope to very soon expand our selection and truly make it a wilder way.
Lastly, where can we find your website and where can we get a copy of Charlotte, Wander On?
7) You can find our website at: https://www.thewilderway.com/
You can grab a copy directly off our website, or you can find it on Amazon.com as well by searching, "Charlotte, Wander On."
Pretty cool interview
Check out the interview I had with TJ Reddig: click here!
Also, if you're interested in doing an interview for this website, send me an email and I would love to have you as a guest. If you are interested in doing an interview for TJ Reddig, click here.
Plus, if you STILL haven't checked out the fun choose-your-own-adventure-horror entitled Melissa's Heart, you really should! I'd love to get some feedback.
Thanks!
Interview with author Mysti Parker
As far as my understanding goes, the blending of high fantasy and romance is a relatively small subset of the massive romance genre. What got you interested in romantic fantasy and what has kept you writing in that genre?
My love of fantasy began when I was little and had a 45 record/read-along book of The Hobbit. I fell in romance a few years later when I first read Jane Eyre. Fast forward to early this century when The Lord of the Rings movie came out. Watching Orlando Bloom as Legolas sealed the deal between fantasy and romance. Plus, I’d been playing online roleplaying games for some time and began to write about the characters I created. That’s where Caliphany and A Ranger’s Tale was born.
I love interweaving a strong love story into a world completely born out of my imagination. Beyond the obstacles of “regular” romance, I can employ challenges for the hero and heroine that involve magic, exotic races & creatures, and of course dragons! I can also make said hero and heroine as unique and kick-ass as I want them to be, like Caliphany, who turns out to be a damn good ranger and fire mage.
As a fellow high fantasy writer, I often get asked about my character names. Where do you find inspiration for such names as Galadin Trudeaux and Caliphany?
I try to use names that reflect the character’s race and culture. For instance, high elves like Caliphany Aranea and King Leopold Vaeloria have formal-sounding names that roll easily off the tongue. There are wood elves like Jayden Ravenwing and Zephyrus & Shade Windsong, whose names involve something in nature. Galadin Trudeaux is half elf/half human, so his name reflects his mixed background.
The characters in my next Tallenmere novel—Mirabelle Hearton & Lysander Devlin—are from the cold, mountainous province of Hezral. Their names (with the strong consonants) reflect the culture of the hardy Hezrali people.
What authors have been you inspiration within the genre of romantic fantasy and also outside of the genre?
Mercedes Lackey would be my inspiration for the genre mash-up. There’s everyone’s go-to, Tolkien for the classic fantasy inspiration. I’ve also been greatly influenced by Victoria Holt’s gothic romance since I was a teen.
In your opinion, which widely known author is most similar to your writing style, if any?
Possibly Mercedes Lackey, though one reviewer compared my style in the Tallenmere series to that of Terry Goodkind. I don’t claim to write like any well-known author or as well, and God knows, not better. I just aim to write the best story I can write.
When is your next release and what about that novel sets it apart from your other work?
My newest is actually a shift from fantasy romance to romantic comedy. It’s a set of serial fiction stories called The Roche Hotel, based in part from my own experience working in a hotel in the 90’s. It’s funny with a few heart-tugging spots here and there. No sex, violence, or profanity—probably the cleanest romance I’ve ever written! Hee hee. Here’s the blurb:
After her husband ditches her for a blonde actress wannabe, Jane Seymour needs a job that pays the rent. The struggling Roche Hotel needs a miracle. With the former owner’s wife butting her nose into the renovations and new owners who are in way over their heads, Jane may be the answer to their prayers. Sure, she can handle The Roche Hotel’s quirky staff. But, can this skittish divorcee keep it all together when handsome Henry the Donut Guy makes his first delivery? This collection of serial fiction stories is a Tudorific romantic comedy that will leave you laughing out loud and hungry for more.
Do you have any projects planned for the future that depart from your typical style and genre in a drastic way?
Besides The Roche Hotel, I have a children’s book called “Quentin’s Problem” that should be out within the month. I have another one waiting to be illustrated and another in the planning stages.
I have a historical romance that’s finished and seeking shelter (publication). I’m also writing a contemporary romance with a male author, so that’s my first collaboration. Happy to say it’s going well.
Where can we find your books and blog?
The best place to find my books is on my Amazon Author page: Click Here!
The Roche Hotel is available now for pre-order on Kindle for just $0.99, so readers can save a buck if they order it before the release date of October 15: Click Here!
I’m hosting a Facebook Release Party on October 15 from 6-9 PM EST, so everyone’s welcome to attend. You’ll get a chance to win a nice hotel-themed prize basket! Here’s the event page: Click Here!
The Oxford Comma
You may have heard the term "Oxford Comma" and thought to yourself, what is that crap all about? Here it is.
The Oxford Comma is the last comma in a list and is placed right before the conjunction. Consider the following sentence: Tom went to Austria, Poland, and Belgium. The comma after "Poland" is the Oxford, also called serial, comma.
But Stu, why should we use it? Hipsters never do and that's considered "grammatically correct!"
I'll give you a few great examples. What if your list isn't of perfectly related items? Consider the following:
Johann came to the party with the two hookers, Washington and Jefferson. No Oxford comma. Still grammatically correct. See the problem? Johann might have shown up with 2 people or he might have brought 4. If he brought 2, he will be introducing you to two hookers, of which their names are Washington and Jefferson. Uh oh. If he brought 4 people, two of them happen to be hookers and the other two are esteemed presidents of the United States. Sweet.
Consider that same sentence WITH the Oxford comma: Johann came to the party with the two hookers, Washington, and Jefferson. That comma makes the sentence very clear. Under no interpretation did Johann screw up and bring hookers named Washington and Jefferson. Get ready to have a pretty fun party.
Attention Beta Readers!
Instead of emailing a ton of beta readers and compiling edits / thoughts / comments in that manner, I thought it prudent to post short excerpts from upcoming projects here so everyone can comment in one location.
If you want to read The Goblin Wars Part Two: Death of a King, click here.
If you want to read Melissa's Heart, click here.
Also, don't miss the new review of Necromancer, one of my all-time favorites.
The issue with self published books......
Firstly, I'm not going to say that all self-published books are terrible. They aren't. That being said, I have read a decent amount of self-published authors and have found a common theme in the bad ones.
In one word: editing.
Editors can be expensive. A good editor can charge up to $10 per manuscript page. For an unpublished author with a novel around 60,000 words, that's nearly $800 in editing charges. Of course, that's on the expensive side. Cheaper editors come in around $1.50 - $2 per manuscript page. As with most things, you get what you pay for.
Why do self-published authors need editors so desperately? Credibility. If you know you are reading a self-published work and find a single typo, you are more likely to disregard the entire book as sophomoric and unworthy of your time. Is that judgement unfair? Yes, but that's a discussion for another time.
Also, editors do so much more than just turn a giggling stomach into a jiggling one (one of my actual edits from For We Are Many). I'm currently reading a self-published and entirely unsuccessful sci-fi novel. Hidden beneath all of the formatting errors and other issues lies a great story. Trying to slog through the novel is turning out to be a real chore - despite my enjoyment of the plot and characters. The paragraphs are often confusedly organized and I've never before read a novel with parenthetical sentences every other page. Those are all issues an editor could have cleaned up and the end result would have been a solid sci-fi I would recommend to friends.
In closing, if you are attempting to self-publish, get a budget. Plan on spending about $500 right out of the gate to make your story into a masterpiece. Set $150 aside for a cover illustration, $200 for editing and proofreading, and $150 for marketing and ordering paperbacks. That may seem like a massive amount of money, but you don't see investors sinking 20 bucks into the stock market in hopes of making millions.
Imaginarium Recap
This weekend was the Imaginarium Writing Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. What a blast! I got to meet a ton of my favorite authors and guys I've seen at other conventions around the Midwest. We had a launch event for a few Hydra books including For We Are Many and I think the Hydra booth outsold all others over the weekend. I look forward to attending next year!