Second - We sold 76 copies of Chains of Prophecy at the California Poppy Festival in Lancaster. It was so great to meet people and expand my readership. Turns out I love in-person events! I hope that I get to do more in the near future.
Third - I'm working on the sequel to Chains of Prophecy, as well as editing my other three completed novels and writing a short story to submit to the Writers of the Future competition this quarter. If you haven't heard of them, you should stop by their website here and check it out.
Fourth - I have met so many awesome writers and readers over the past month or so! Here you will find a few that you should go look up, check out their books, get to know them...because they are amazing professionals and amazing people.
Ready? Here is my contribution to the Baton Pass Blog Hop! If you aren't familiar with this event, authors answer a few questions and then tag each other so that the tagged authors keep up the chain the next week. I was tagged last week, so here I go. Before I answer my questions, you should meet the author who tagged me.
Roberta Pearce is a romance author and 2013 NaNoWriMo winner. She writes about interesting characters with interesting problems (sociopathy, for one) and is always willing to give constructive advice to authors in need.
1.What am I working on? As I stated above, I'm working on marketing and editing, as well as the second in the Samuel Buckland Chronicles. I'm looking forward to summer vacation this year (my day job is a high school science teacher), because I'll have so much more time for writing! The second book, Bonds of Fate, will be released sometime at the end of this year. My other previously published work, The Drifter, is scheduled for a cover photo shoot in June, and we're talking to one of the winners of the 2013 Illustrators of the Future contest about cover art for my UF/PNR that I'm also finishing up.
It's an exciting time!
You can also find me every Monday participating in Clever Quickies, an amazing Facebook event wherein the participants write a 140-character passage designed to simulate an excerpt from a larger work...that we haven't written yet. It's tons of fun, and the writers enjoy each others' contributions. You should come by and check it out!
How does my work differ from others in this genre?
I suppose that the biggest difference between what I write and a lot of other urban fantasy that I've seen is that the focus of my work is not on the supernatural creatures, but on the people. I try to keep the focus grounded in the characters, whatever powers they may have, and explore the story from their perspective. I very much prefer character-driven stories to plot-driven ones, and I feel that this makes my writing connect with readers.
Why do I write what I write?
Because those are the stories that I have. Seriously, what will happen is that I will come up with an idea and then write about it...and most of the ideas happen to be urban fantasy. I also write sci-fi and have a very interesting idea for a high/dark fantasy novel, but I write UF because it's what I have.
The reason I enjoy UF in general is because I love the idea of magic underneath the world we're all used to. It's easy in today's society to become jaded and bored and think that there aren't any more surprises...and when, suddenly, there are sorcerers who can summon angels and genies...well. You didn't really know everything, did you?
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| It has all those things. Really. |
How does your writing process work?
You may have heard of the division between "plotters" and "pantsers." When I brought this term up in an online forum, an author informed me that he preferred to be called an "organic" writer than a "pantser," and so I have used that term since.
I am an organic writer - I come up with characters and a conflict, and I sit down at my computer and start writing. I don't know how the story will end - hell, I don't know what's going to happen in the next five pages most of the time - and that makes writing one of the most exciting things I've ever done. I am the novel's first reader, and, if I can be excited while I write, you will be excited as you read.
I type most of my work in MS Word, although I do have times where I grab a notebook and a pen and go to town. After I finish a draft, I sit on it for a month before talking about it or looking at it again. I normally work on one draft at a time, although I may be doing edits on other works simultaneously. I research whatever comes up in the story as it comes up so that I can keep my momentum going.
I don't like to plan. It doesn't work for me.
Introducing...
First is Wren Figueiro, author of the amazing YA paranormal book Atancia.
I read and reviewed this book as part of a Goodreads event, and I was just blown away. It is part of a duology, and the cover for the sequel will be revealed on the 15th! She is also amazingly supportive of the indie author community in general, and always has something helpful to say.
My second tag for this event is Jennifer R. McDonald. She is writing a paranormal series as well, involving sorcerors who can use their magic to walk in the land of spirits. I...I was utterly enraptured by the first in the series, Into the Veil, and when it was over I immediately ran back to Amazon begging for the sequel...which was there!
Thanks for stopping by! I'm going to try to update the blog more often, now that things are starting to settle down.
I read and reviewed this book as part of a Goodreads event, and I was just blown away. It is part of a duology, and the cover for the sequel will be revealed on the 15th! She is also amazingly supportive of the indie author community in general, and always has something helpful to say.
My second tag for this event is Jennifer R. McDonald. She is writing a paranormal series as well, involving sorcerors who can use their magic to walk in the land of spirits. I...I was utterly enraptured by the first in the series, Into the Veil, and when it was over I immediately ran back to Amazon begging for the sequel...which was there!
Thanks for stopping by! I'm going to try to update the blog more often, now that things are starting to settle down.
