Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "fantasy"

As most of you know by now, my latest book, The Dream, a fantasy/paranormal/timeslip novel, is now out in the world.

There are two giveaways you might like to know about:

1. On LibraryThing you can enter until 14th August 2011 to win a copy in the Member Giveaways: LibraryThing

2. On The Secret Writer Blog, I have a written a guest post all about the trials and tribulations of an indie writer's life, and until 13th August 2011 you can enter to win a copy of The Dream.
The Secret Writer

Good luck!

My new and improved book trailer for The Dream is currently being featured on World Versus Me's YouTube Channel!

World Versus Me on YouTube

The backing track for the trailer is 'Mansions of Thought' by World Versus Me. This is the tune I originally wanted to use for the trailer, but initially had to use a different one due to licensing problems. I think it fits the mood of my book well, and goes well with the photographs. Hope you like it!

Check out some of World Versus Me's other tunes while you're at the YouTube Channel! Find out more about their music at their official website:
World Versus Me

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My latest novel The Dream is a fantasy tale that explores the power of fate in our lives. There is no definite answer as to whether fate determines what happens to us or whether what happens to us is a result of choices that we make. Most people will believe in something in between.



In my novel, Lynne is about to get married, but she begins to question her choice of marriage partner shortly before she is due to walk up the aisle. When the story enters the realm of fantasy, the question that arises is whether Lynne's actions caused her to follow the path she took, or whether fate was holding the cards all along.

The idea of fate and destiny is an interesting one and as there is not definitive answer I found it was a fun subject to explore in a fiction novel. In real life, great thinkers, philosophers, religious leaders, and scientists have been pondering the subject for many centuries and their findings seems to create more questions than answers.

As many of you know, I am a reviewer for Bookpleasures.com

Part of this role involves sifting through emails and choosing books to review. I recently chose to read Destiny vs. Choice: The Scientific and Spiritual Evidence Behind Fate and Free Will by Marie D. Jones. My fate decided that I should end up with two copies of the book in the post... so, as I have an extra copy I am giving one away on my blog.

Will it be your destiny to win my extra copy of 'Destiny vs. Choice'? You'll have to enter to find out :)

All you have to do to enter is click the 'Like' button on this post, or leave a comment. If you do leave a comment I'd be interested to hear your views on whether there is such a thing as destiny or do we choose our future?

A winner will be chosen at random on 8th October 2011.

Today, I'm very happy to be introducing you to one of the nicest authors I have had the pleasure to meet on the Internet. J. Michael Radcliffe a.k.a. "Alderdrache" (which means, Elder Dragon) is a fantasy author who joined BestsellerBound in October 2010, and he is one of our most active members on the forum. He also loves cats, which means that naturally he is one of my favourite people.

His novel (book one in the Beyond The Veil series) The Guardian's Apprentice is a wonderful, fantasy tale, for lovers of magic, dragons, wizards, curses, etc., etc. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Michael has also written many short stories based around the characters in the novel (and the forthcoming books in the series):Beyond the Veil Anthology - the world of The Guardian's Apprentice, Tears for Hesh, Forsaken, and Scale of a Dragon

Michael has very kindly agreed to give away one signed copy of The Guardian's Apprentice and a pdf copy to two lucky readers of my blog. All you have to do to enter is simply 'like' this blog post or leave a comment below. Winners will be picked on the 30th of December 2011.


Here's my recent interview with Michael:

Your novels and short stories are steeped in magic, curses, witchcraft and the like.  Do you believe in magic?  If so, do you have any interesting stories you could tell us to back up this belief?


Do I believe in magic – now that is an interesting question. There are so many things in this wondrous world of ours that are unexplained – so many mysteries for which science has no answers. I certainly believe there are many things beyond our comprehension – whether or not this qualifies as magic, I’m not certain. I’m inclined to believe there are such things as spirits – or some elevated state of being beyond the physical and I’ll offer this story as an illustration.
In 2002, my father suffered a pulmonary embolism and was placed on life support. After the neurologist had informed us my father was brain dead, my sister and I had to sign the orders to disconnect life support. Late in the evening of the 2nd day, his heart finally stopped and he passed from this world. I and my sister and a couple of others were gathered around the hospital bed as he took his last breath. The moment the heart monitor flat lined and he stopped breathing, the window behind me – previously latched – blew open and a cold night wind rushed through the room, disturbing everything. Was this a coincidence? Maybe; or was it a tortured soul escaping to its final resting place? I may never really know, but I can tell you just the memory of that event gives me chills to this day.
So I suppose that is a long way of saying that yes, I would like to believe there is more to this world than just the physical, everyday things around us. ϑ

In your novel, The Guardian’s Apprentice, the character, Nisha  says: “Names can be powerful things...  To know someone’s name, especially their true name, is to have power over them.”  That made me wonder, is that why you don’t reveal your first name, and go by J. Michael Radcliffe?  Is there an element of superstition involved?





I will let you (and your readers) in on a little known secret. My first name is one I’ve never been entirely fond of; although it was the one I went by as a child in grade school. In school I was overweight and wore glasses – I also read every book I could get my hands on and did not have very many friends. As you can imagine, my self-esteem was not very high.

As an adult, I lost weight, got contact lenses and became more confident in myself, and as I transformed I also started going by my middle name “Michael”. My first name, associated with the persona of an unpopular, introverted teenager, was relegated to the past – thus the initial instead.  My wonderful wife, who actually knew me in school, tells me that I am not the same person that I was when I went by that name. So in a way, I guess there is a bit of superstition involved – I avoid using my first name, because I don’t want to be that person any longer!



Nisha is one of the characters in your book who is cursed to remain in animal form for 23 hours a day.  Her animal form is a raven. The other character, the wizard, Acamar, is a cat for most of the day.  If you could choose to be an animal for some time, what animal would you choose and why?


I would have to say either a cat or (since we ARE talking magic here) a dragon. Ironically I picture both animals – the real and the mythical – as having some of the same traits. Both are fiercely independent, strong-willed and sometimes aloof. Not that I picture myself as having those traits, mind you. Ironically my astrological sign is Leo – a big cat! ϑ







You have four cats.  What do you think each of them would be like if they had a human form?


I regret to say we now have FIVE cats – so the humans are outnumbered at our house… Each of our cats has a very distinct personality. I will give you a brief comment about each, in order from oldest to youngest.

Cocoa




Our oldest cat, Cocoa is devious – no, she is evil. She would be the person who hides under the bed just so she could grab your ankle and scare the living daylights out of you. She definitely does NOT play well with others.

Cookie



Cookie would make a good princess or perhaps a queen. She is regal, aloof and will only tolerate you for a short period of time, and even then only on her own terms. She certainly does not view me as her owner – I’m more of a butler or valet whose sole purpose is to keep the food bowl full.

Jasmine




Jasmine would be the crazy cousin escaped from the asylum; the recluse who avoids going out in public. She is very clingy, and if you don’t pay attention to her you are promptly bitten.

Maddie



Maddie is fiercely independent, going wherever she wants, whenever she wants – even though she is missing a leg. She would be the strong willed adventurer that lets nothing stand in her way. She would also be the first one eaten by a dragon.

Mickey



The youngest of our feline army, Mickey would be the big goofy brother that loves to play ‘tag’ or ‘chase’. He loves to run, jump and pounce on the others, and gets a fair amount of abuse from them for it. The other cats definitely do not appreciate Mickey, but he doesn’t let that stop him and he remains as playful as ever, like a loveable little brother.



As well as writing a novel, you have written a few short stories, indeed one of them: Tears for Hesh, is featured in the BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 1, and another:Scale of a Dragon is featured in the BestsellerBound Short Story Anthology Volume 3.  As a short story writer, myself, I know that it’s harder to sell short stories; some people seem to think that because there are fewer words in short stories they are somehow inferior to novels.  I have been trying to convince people for years that they are missing out on some great stories by only reading novels.  What would you say to encourage people to read more short stories?




I firmly believe it can be more difficult to write a short story than a novel. With a short story, you have very limited space to fully develop characters and plot. A novel may offer you the luxury of 100,000 words while a short story might just be 5,000! A well written short story is like an hors d’oeuvre – it is a little gem than can be savored quickly, while a novel is like a seven course meal that would take hours. Especially in today’s fast paced world where we all have so many demands on our time, a short story can offer the reader a little escape from reality that only lasts 30 minutes, but leaves them feeling satisfied and refreshed.





You’ve been a member at Bestsellerbound for some time and you are quite active on the board. Has having a forum like BestsellerBound helped you as an independent writer? If so, in what way?

Absolutely!! I cannot praise BestsellerBound enough. The site has allowed me to connect with such a wonderful group of people such as Darcia Helle, Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick,and of course, you! It is a great place to share ideas, concerns and seek advice. Jumping into the world of writing with no prior experience was a scary thing – this forum helped me find other authors that had the same questions I had when I first went Indie. One certainly will not get any advice or guidance from editors, agents or publishers unless you land a contract.


I know that you are working on the draft of the second book in your Beyond The Veil series.  It always interests me to hear how writers go about planning and writing a book series.  When you set out to write the story of Beyond The Veil, was it always going to be a series or is that something that you decided later in the process? If so, did you write the whole series before publishing the first one, or do you not yet know what will happen in book three?
 
I’m ashamed to admit that The Guardian’s Apprentice took me eight years to write. When I first sketched out my idea, I envisioned the story covering an arc of three books. The story has transformed over time however, and now I’m inclined to think it may conclude with two. I won’t say I’m ruling out a third book in the series or even a fourth, but I think all of the plot lines have been nicely resolved at this point. Although I had a definite idea of how the stories would progress, they are much different now than when I first started writing them.



When writing a series of books, does it put more pressure on you as a writer knowing that your audience are waiting for the next book in the series?


Yes, I believe it does. Speaking for myself, knowing there were people interested in Bloodstone definitely increased the pressure to write the story. My website has a nice analytical package that shows me how people find the site and what phrases they query to find it. Over the past year I have noticed more and more queries about book two, and I feel obligated to fulfill the promise I made to my readers. I certainly didn’t want to make them wait eight years, which is how long book one took to finish!


Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?


Oddly enough, I think most of my favorite authors are British. Among my top favorites:

Jonathan Stroud – author of the Bartimaeus Series, he imbues his main character – a demon – with a wonderfully sarcastic sense of humor. His characters come alive in my imagination when I’m reading.
J.K. Rowling– I envy Ms. Rowling’s level of detail – she creates an entire world within her books that just draws the reader in.
Arthur Conan Doyle– I have always loved a good mystery. I love the fact that the Sherlock Holmes stories often hinge on the tiniest of clues for the solution.
James Clavell – author of two of my favorite novels: Noble House and Tai-Pan. Clavell fills his works with strong, believable characters that have depth. The dialogue is great as well.



What was the last book you read?


I am currently reading Darke the seventh book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. My reading seems to cover a wide range of genres ranging from science fiction to fantasy, naval history and YA fantasy. Perhaps ironically, since becoming a writer I have had much less time to read!



What do you think of ebooks as opposed to print?


I think ebooks have opened up a world of opportunities for independent authors to connect with readers. Before the advent of ebooks and the direct publishing route, my works would never have seen the light of day. I also think they have opened up a world of reading to the electronic generation. Although I still love the feel of turning the pages on a book, I must admit the convenience of purchasing and downloading a new book in a matter of seconds is wonderful.



Do you have any tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?


Based on my experience, I would offer the following advice:

Join a writing group such as Bestsellerbound and connect with other authors

Join a critiquing group such as Critters.org where you critique the works of others and in turn have your works critiqued. It will help make your writing tighter.

Be open to criticism. I know it hurts, BELIEVE me I know. A two star review stings! But, if the reviewer is being honest (ignoring the occasional two star rant that just seems hateful) you can sometimes glean useful tips for improvement. If the reviewer says your book needs more editing – re-read your work and see if they are right. If someone says your dialogue is weak, read over it again and see if they might be right.

Keep writing. If you love to write, then DO it! Don’t let naysayers stop you from finishing a story.



How do you go about choosing a cover for your books?

Selecting and designing artwork for a cover is one of the hardest things for me. I consider it far more difficult than actually writing the story. It took me about four weeks of combing through images before I found one that was “just right” for my second book, Bloodstone – The Guardian’s Curse.



I usually start out with an idea of how I want the cover to look and the feelings I want it to evoke when someone sees it. The tough part is finding the image that fits with what is in my imagination!




Apart from the next book in the Beyond The Veil series, are you working on any other projects?


I do not have anything in the works at the moment, although I do have a rough outline for another book. This would be a departure from my current series and even from my current genre. This book would be more in the realm of science fiction, though I’m not sure yet if it will ever become a reality. I’ve also had an idea or two for another short story that touches upon characters from my current series.



Where can people buy your books?


My books are available at the following:
Amazon

Smashwords

Sony

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

My website is theguardiansapprentice.com and contains a large section devoted to the various creatures and characters from the books and gives some background on them you won’t find in the novels.

I also have a blog at michaelradcliffe.wordpress.com

Thank you Michael!

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Remember, if you'd like to be in with a chance to win a signed print copy, or a pdf copy of The Guardian's Apprentice all you have to do to enter is 'like' this blog post or leave a comment for Michael below!
Good luck! :)

I am thrilled to be introducing you to author Benjamin Jones today. I met Ben on Twitter quite a while ago when I ran a competition giving away hardback copies of my first novel Coincidences. He was one of the winners.

I recently read his latest novel Head Above Water, a romance with a twist of the paranormal. This fantasy tale is a fun and enthralling read, with a very unexpected ending. Ben has generously offered to give away some e-books to my blog readers, so to be in with a chance of winning a copy please either 'like' this blog post, or leave a comment for Ben below.

After reading his highly original new book, I wanted to find out more about this talented indie author. Here are the interview questions I sent him along with his replies:

1. Is there a particular author, or book, that inspired you to start writing?


Before I wanted to be a writer I wanted to be in the film business (specifically as a screenwriter and director) and I was HEAVILY influenced by Spike Lee so he was the one that really inspired me to write as I wanted to be just like him when I grew up.




When did you first discover your love of writing

I discovered my love of writing probably in middle school. Growing up in that particular time (before the internet and the emergence of cell phones to the masses like they are today), we didn't have a home phone so, in order to keep up with my school friends during the summer months I had to write letters as that was the only way that I could communicate with them (at least those that didn't live within walking distance to me). That was really when I got hit by the writing bug.


Do you have an tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?

Be prepared to do EVERYTHING. The job doesn't stop when you finish the book - that's the easy part. The hard part is getting the word out and promotion and all of that good stuff. Another good thing is to find some peers on Twitter, Facebook, etc... that are self publishing and learn from them (both their successes and failures).

Your first published books were in the H.U.B. series Humanity's Ultimate Battle (H.U.B.) Volume 1 and 2 Collection, and Volume 3. I haven’t read those yet. I understand from your website that these books are about Vampires but ‘not the Twilight kind’. Can you tell us a bit more about the series and what inspired it.



The H.U.B. series is set in a world where vampires and humans co-exist in a very fragile "truce"; vampires are the minority and most of them simply want to live amongst the humans peacefully. There are certain people/groups on both sides that aren't happy living with each other and are willing to do anything, even provoke a war, to re-insert their dominance.

The series was inspired by what I perceived to be the watering down of vampires. The vampires you see in movies and television shows today are about romance and partying and all that good stuff but I wanted to take it back to the essence and show vampires as I always knew and loved them to be - bloodthirsty animals that only wanted blood. Once the idea was born it really took off and I had the first three volumes written within 18 months.



I read in the bio on your website that you describe yourself as and ‘independent’ author ‘for the time being’, and you go on to say that you don’t have an agent ‘at the moment’. Does that mean you’re actively seeking a publisher or agent? Tell us more about your aspirations for your future writing career. What’s your ultimate goal?

I think it's most everyone's dream as an aspiring author to be represented by an agent and to be in a big publishing house but, at the same time, the odds for that are very slim. Plus, you have to look at the economics of it all; you sign with a big publishing house and you'll sell more books (hopefully) but you're gonna get less and you'll have less control over the whole process. Being an independent author, I like being able to control when and how I want to release my books and doing things how I want to do them. I may sell less books but I get more of the profit and it's, at least for me, a greater sense of satisfaction in knowing that I wrote these books on my own and people are reading and enjoying them; it's a great feeling.

As for my ultimate goal - it's to continue to get better at my craft and build my fanbase one book/person at a time in the hopes that, one day, I can quit my corporate job and be able to live off of nothing but writing.

I’ve seen that you have taken part in a few blog talk radio interviews. Do you find that those types of interviews help with promoting your work? Have you found new readers through that medium, as far as you know?

Yes, I've done a few blog talk radio interviews and I think it does help promote your work as you never know who's listening to it. As far as I know I think those interviews have translated into a few new readers, which is great, but, at the same, I'm also hoping to inspire someone to work on their dream of being a writer by them listening to me and my story and them knowing that I'm just like them.

I understand that you are currently involved in a non-fiction Hip Hop book project with co-writer, Debbie Cunningham. Tell us what that’s about and how you got involved with this. What can Hip Hop fans expect from the book?

I got involved with the Hip-Hop book project through an interview that I had with Debbie Cunningham and her online blog/magazine entitled For The Masses. We follow each other on Twitter and we both were familiar with each other's taste in Hip-Hop music so, at the end of the interview, when she asked me if I would be interested in writing a book on Hip-Hop, I jumped on it.

As for what the book is about, it's simply two fans (Debbie and myself) profiling the Hip-Hop artists that we feel represent what Hip-Hop is to us. Hip-Hop fans can expect to get different takes on their favorite artists and also to read some interviews that we have conducted with some of the artists that we talk about in the book. It's gonna be really nice when it comes all together as you have Debbie who lives in New York and me who was born in Tennessee and currently lives in Dallas, and the different likes and dislikes that we have in regards to Hip-Hop. We tend to agree on a lot of the artists we talk about but, some, not so much. :-)

Is Hip Hop your favourite music? What bands are you listening to these days?

Hip-Hop is my favorite form of music but my interests in music are varied. My favorite artist is The Notorious B.I.G. and I love Jay-Z. Outside of Hip-Hop, I like Adele, Sade, Beyonce, Fiona Apple, Corinne Bailey Rae, etc...




I also read on your website that you’re working on a book called The Girl in the Red Balloon. What genre is that book, and can you tell us a little about it?

The Girl In The Red Balloon is, at it's heart, a romance, but there's another element to it, much like Head Above Water. As for what it's about, it's about how a note in a balloon sets off a very "interesting" relationship between two people that have never met each other before, both of which are "broken" in a sense.



I know that you’re involved in a separate project Clan of the Flying Pen, which I understand is a group of writers that have got together to release a book. Is this going to be an anthology of short stories in many genres, or is there a theme to the book? Do you have an anticipated release date?

The Clan of the Flying Pens is a group I put together with 4 other writers that I met on Twitter. Their is no theme to it, just a collection of our work (excerpts from novels, poetry, flash fiction, short stories, etc...) to give potential readers a taste for our writing and hopefully allow one (hopefully all) of us to sell some more books and get some more shine in the industry. I call it a big writing gumbo as you're getting so many different tastes of things from 5 very different writers and it's gonna be great when it's all said and done.

As for a release date, all of the work has been submitted and everything so I would anticipate a late spring/early summer release.

You have book trailers for the H.U.B. book series. What’s your opinion about the effectiveness of book trailers as a promotional tool, and have you ever been influenced to buy a book after watching the trailer?

I'm kinda torn on book trailers. They do serve their purpose of getting people to notice the book and what not but I would have to say that I've really never been influenced to buy a book after watching a trailer. I'm more influenced by the synopsis and, if that catches me, then I'm good.

Your latest book, Head Above Water is a wonderful romantic novel with a twist of the supernatural/paranormal. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I’m not giving too much away by saying that I noticed one of the themes in the book strikes me as quite similar to the H.U.B. series in the sense of ‘we are not alone’, there are other types of ‘humans’ on the planet (of course in H.U.B. they’re Vampires). Is this something that you believe, or is your inspiration purely derived from imagination?



The similarities between H.U.B. and Head Above Water was purely coincidental and was/is inspired purely from imagination. But, do I believe that there could be "others" out there (i.e. aliens), I would be hard pressed to rule it out. The universe is a big place and who knows what could be lurking out there waiting to be discovered?

Head Above Water is a very romantic novel, I especially found Darryl, the lead male character, to be romantic. Leena and Darryl are portrayed as soulmates. Do you believe in true love?

As a romantic at heart, I am prone to believe in true love but I often struggle with the concept of there only being "one" person out there for someone; I feel if that were the case then people would only get married once and stay married. I tend to believe that there are several individuals that someone could find "true love" because, as we grow and mature, sometimes our ideals of love can change and what used to be true isn't any longer.

I felt that the ending of Head Above Water left the possibility that there could be a sequel. Is this something you had in mind when writing the book? Or, if not, do you have plans to write a sequel?

When I initially wrote the book I had never really intended for it to be a sequel but, the more I worked on it, my ideas started to change a bit. I have a few thoughts swimming around in my head in regards to where a potential sequel could go but, right now, I'm happy with where things are in the book. Ask me again in six months, I may change that answer. LOL

I read that you have been working on Head Above Water for many years, changing bits until you were happy with it. How long in total did it take to write the book?

I would say all in all, I worked on Head Above Water off and on for a decade; putting it down, picking it back up and editing, etc..., etc... At one time I had tried to find an agent and get published the traditional way with the book and I got rejection letter after rejection letter. I kept tinkering with it until I was happy with it and that is what I released. It helped that I learned a lot by putting out the H.U.B. series and getting the little bit of success with that definitely made me feel better about putting Head Above Water out.

Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

Stephen King is my all time favorite; he's the master at what he does. I grew up reading his books and watching the movies of his and was in amazement in all of the great stories he was able to tell.





I'm a big fan of a writing friend of mine named Reena Jacobs who wrote a WONDERFUL book entitled I Loved You First; I just loved everything about the book and her characters were so well written and made me care about them. By being able to network on social media I've been able to read so many good books by independent authors such as myself and they all inspire me as there are some GREAT writers out there.

Is there a book you own that you’ve read more than once?

Yes, The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King which is my favorite book. The story is just so different from his other works and there's just something about it that I love.

Are you reading a book at the moment?

I just finished reading 11/22/63 by, again, Stephen King which was fantastic. I do have 4 books from my writing friends that I need to read, though.

What do you think of e-books as opposed to print books?

As a reader I'm still the type of guy that prefers to have a physical book in my hand but I'm coming around to the idea of e-books. As a writer, the importance of e-books can't be stated enough. E-books allow authors like myself to reach a wider audience at less cost to us which is always a bonus.

What is your opinion of the new Amazon KDP Select option for authors? Are you planning to try it out?

I think for someone more established the Amazon KDP Select program is good but, for someone like myself who needs to get my book in as many different places as I can, it doesn't appeal to me. It doesn't help that I sell the majority of my books via the Nook anyway (for whatever reason that is) so, I'm not liking the appeal of having my book in only one place for a certain amount of time.

How important are reviews for you as a writer?

Reviews, to me, are the life blood of any book, especially from an "unknown" writer like myself. Reviews are like word of mouth and the right buzz can do wonders.

How do you go about choosing a cover for your books?

Once I finish a book I usually have an idea of which scene/idea from the book that I think will signify something special enough to be on the cover. I was fortunate enough to find a very good cover designer named Chris Leepow that is awesome at taking my ideas and turning them into a great looking cover.

Do you have any upcoming events or news you’d like to share with your readers?

On March 3rd I will be in Oklahoma City, OK promoting my H.U.B. series at the Underground Monster Carnival. Also, on March 24th I will be conducting a live radio interview that can be heard at 6 AM EST (I know it's early! LOL) with Mr. Marc Medley at http://gobrave.org . Readers can always keep up with me by visiting my Event-Calendar

Where can people buy your books?

My books can be found via the following:
Purchase links
All e-book at $0.99 each

Paperback of H.U.B. Volumes 1 & 2 are available for $10 (autographed) via the website

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Thank you, Ben!!

Remember, if you'd like the chance to win an e-book of Head Above Water, leave a comment below, or simply 'like' this post :)
Good luck! Winners will be picked on 24th February 2012.

Author Alex Sumner writes dark fantasy/occult tales. The author himself is a bit of a mystery. He doesn't reveal his true identity, so I don't even have an author picture for you.



I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading The Magus, the first book in Alex Sumner's Magus Trilogy. The subject matter seemed quite scary. But I was curious enough to have a look. The book kept me entertained, with the intriguing murder/mystery plot and I was soon hooked on the series. The Trilogy is not really like anything I've read before. It deals with subjects such as magic, occultism, satanism, alchemy, secret societies, etc., etc. Sumner's talent is to take quite dark subjects and makes them entertaining.

He was kind enough to agree to an author interview and he is also giving away a free Kindle copy of his short story 'The Demon Detective'






To enter, please leave a comment below, or simply 'like' this blog post. A winner will be chosen at random on 31st March 2012.

Here's the interview:

I saw on your bio that you’ve been writing since 2001; you began with non-fiction including subjects such as astrology, tarot, alchemy and magick.  Many of those topics are covered in your fiction series, The Magus Trilogy.  When did you first begin writing the trilogy, and was it your intention from the start to write a series of books or is that something that developed as the story unfolded?

I first had the idea of turning my hand to fiction in 2006. Dan Brown had just successfully defended himself against a charge of plagiarism in regard to The Da Vinci Code, and some remark he made to the TV reporters round the time convinced me that it might be worth reading after all (I had held myself aloof from the hype surrounding the book up til then). Reading it – which I did in one sitting in the course of twenty-four hours – I felt gripped by two very extreme and completely opposite emotions. The first: that Brown had done an admirable job in engaging interest, in creating a “page-turner.” The second was the complete lameness of the puzzles that the characters were supposed to be solving! I was solving them before the characters were! Several times I had to suppress a violent urge to shout out “Look, it’s bloody mirror writing!” or “It’s an anagram of ‘Leonardo Da Vinci,’ for fuck’s sake.” I finished the book convinced that if Dan Brown could write a book as bad as this, and make tons of money in so doing, then I could do the same! Plus, I would make sure my books contained better research. And more sex.

That was my plan. What actually happened was that I realised writing fiction was more difficult than I’d first imagined, which delayed and almost put me off the project. So I took the trouble to educate myself in the noble art of Creative Writing, which got me my inspiration back. That was also when I decided to make it a trilogy – it seemed only natural to trace the character development of the Nichola, the heroine.

On your blog you continue to write non-fiction articles about various mystical subjects. Which do you prefer, fiction or non-fiction writing?

They each have their merits. I write non-fiction pieces to communicate my ideas immediately and directly. I write fiction to communicate my ideas in a more subtle and roundabout way. Also, I’m quite up front about trying to make money out of fiction, but my non-fiction work is my attempt to do pro bono work for the Universe.

You have dedicated a page on your website to the fascinating topic of lucid dreaming, where you teach a virtual course in the subject.  Have you always been a lucid dreamer, or did this develop with your interest in the subject?  Can you remember what your first lucid dream was?

No! I was only lucid for a brief moment before waking up. I think it was something like I was walking around somewhere, and I realised I was dreaming, and that was it. This would have been about seventeen years ago. Mind you, I seem to remember that once I had broken my duck, as it were, the number and quality of my lucid dreams multiplied rapidly within weeks.

What’s your favourite lucid dream that you’ve experienced?

The one where I proved the existence of God, and the reality of life after death, or “the inter-carnatory experience” as I now call it.

I think I inherited my talent for lucid dreaming from a past-life, because I went through quite an “awakening” when I first heard about it. But really I think that anyone can experience lucid dreams if they are prepared to practice hard.

The Magus Trilogy is a very entertaining series of books.  It’s a murder mystery series but with an original twist, dealing with topics such as occultism and magick. What is the difference between magic and magick? Enlighten us.

“Magick” is an archaic spelling which was re-introduced in the 20th century by Aleister Crowley. He used it alternatively to mean: 1. the science and art of causing change in conformity with Will; 2. rites which aim at, follow on from, or are generally connected with, attaining “Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel”; 3. Sex magick; and 4. all of the above.

“Magic” on the other hand Crowley used to refer to either stage-magicianship, illusionism, etc, or any occult practice of which he happened to disapprove.






The police station action in the Magus Trilogy was very realistic.  Are you a fan of TV cop shows?

That procedural realism was mostly inspired by the fact that I was a fan of The X Files when it was on. I seldom watch TV nowadays though.



There is a lot of technical information in The Magus trilogy about murder investigations, occult practices, the Freemasons etc. etc.  How much time did you spend researching the subjects and what were your sources for research?

About police procedure - a lot. As much as I felt necessary to convey the authentic flavour of what homicide detectives in London have to go through. I think the icing on the cake was to look up the actual annual homicide statistics broken down by month so I could get an idea about how many new cases per day a homicide detective could expect to be assigned.

About the rest of it though - less “research” per se than you would actually imagine - because I already live that lifestyle, so I was just drawing on my everyday life experiences -

HOWEVER - I must point out though, that the occult practices of the villains in the three stories were ramped up for dramatic purposes. Especially the villain in the first book, “The Magus.” For him, I was deliberately trying to be transgressional - trying to make him the most vile person I could imagine. Anyone who tries to reconstruct an occult ritual based on that character's practices will either go to hell or be locked up in Broadmoor, or both. I asked myself: “what's the most outrageous occult practice I can think of?” And then I had that character do it, e.g. there is a certain scene in which he tries to evoke a demon using a method that is liable to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Only later, after I had excavated all these evil occult practices from the bottom-most recessess of my consciousness did I find out that this is actually what passes for a normal night down at the real-life Chaos magic organisation “The Illuminates of Thanateros.”




How long did it take you to write the Magus Trilogy?

The first book took an abnormally long amount of time, because I was still learning to write. The second and third books, around about seven or eight months each, because I knew what I was doing. I think I finished “Licence To Depart” soon after Christmas 2010, but I delayed releasing it because - using my powers of astrology - I had worked out that the planets would be best aligned for me releasing it in May 2011.

You have three new books available: Shall we Kill the President ?, A Greater Power, and The Demon Detective.  Can you tell us a bit more about each of these books?

One of the goals which I Cosmically-Ordered myself in 2011 was to write a Lester Dent type of short story. That was how I invented the character of Guy Shepardson, the eponymous “Demon Detective.” He’s like a James Bond type of character, except that instead of using fancy gadgetry he casts spells, mostly involving demons of varying degrees of helpfulness. The writing of the first story proved enjoyable and gave me a large boost of inspiration of what to do next. I had finished the Magus Trilogy and it would not have worked to continue writing books with those particular characters, so I needed a new direction. So I came up with the idea to write a series of Dark Fantasy short stories.

As to the stories themselves, “The Demon Detective” kicks off the series by showing how modern day sorcerer becomes a Detective-of-sorts after an old friend of his is murdered. “A Greater Power” is about an adventure he has out in the Oxfordshire countryside when another acquaintance of his found dead in mysterious circumstances.





The third story is actually a novella: “Shall We Kill The President?” has Guy visiting the United States on holiday, and uncovering a plot to kill the President. This is an adventure featuring Vampires, Demons, US Politicians and Catholic Priests, not all of whom are villains in this story. ;-)



Which of the characters in The Magus Trilogy do you most relate to and why?

Almost all of the characters represent different aspects of my personality. The unsympathetic characters are the repressed, evil, dark and sinister aspects of my psyche which haunt my nightmares, whilst the sympathetic ones are aspects of my conscious personality. Nichola, the main female character, represents my Anima; the Magus himself is my Wise Old Man archetype; whilst Gary, on account of his intelligence and heightened sexual prowess, obviously represents me in real life. ;-)

You are very active on YouTube.  One of your most recent videos, Manifestation, is interesting.  Can you tell us a bit about your thinking behind creating the video and what you hope it can achieve?


It is a magic spell to Manifest good things in your life, and in the world generally. Prosperity, success in all sorts of human endeavours, happiness, celebration, respect for human rights and world peace, and even higher consciousness. All you have to do is watch it – preferably several times, as each successive viewing gradually unlocks your power to Manifest all these things. The soundtrack and the images were specifically chosen to induce that state of consciousness.

Do you have any tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?


1. Marketing is everything. You should prepare for the fact that only 1% of the people who see your publicity will be willing to pay good money for your book. So in order to have a best-seller, you should be aiming for a “reach” of at least one to two million people. (If you can improve on this ratio, that's a bonus.)
2. “Calibre,” a free to download ebook manager contains its own Kindle-converter. This is an excellent way of checking the formatting of your book before you submit it to KDP or SmashWords.
3. The best time to release a new book is when the planet Mercury is well aspected with a waxing moon. But make sure Mercury is not retrograde, as this would be a Bad Thing.



Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

Apart from Dan Brown, I would say my biggest influence is Michael Moorcock. I always enjoyed reading his Elric books as a teenager. Then when I turned to writing fiction myself I discovered that he had also written a lot of essays containing helpful advice for new writers.

Other authors: Christine Feehan, author of the Ghostwalker series, influenced the sexy side of the “Magus Trilogy.” Also, I have to say: my favourite author of Literary Fiction is Ben Okri. I am quite certain that he is a future Nobel Prize winner.



Is there a book you own that you’ve read more than once?

Plenty! But there is one in particular which springs to mind – a non-fiction book called The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order by Israel Regardie. I bought it in 1996 and it has disintegrated through use. I purchased my first Kindle device purely so I could have an electronic version of it as a replacement.



If someone wanted to read your books, which would you recommend they read first, and why?

The books of the Magus Trilogy are colour-coded! Black, White, Red - the three colours of Alchemy, which are the three stages of perfection of the Philosophers' Stone, also the three stages of initiation - the first order, the second order, and the mysterious third order. In the first book Nichola is plunged into Chaos as her life is turned upside down on first meeting the Magus. In the second, as a police officer she becomes an adept: but at the end she is stripped of everything she holds dear, so that at the beginning of the third she is staring into the Abyss (almost literally) and realises she has to strive by her own efforts to reach her final goal.

Or more prosaically: get The Magus first because it's the first book in the series.


Are you reading a book at the moment?


Yes, mainly a lot of non-fiction books for my own personal edification and indeed for possible background information for future stories. Now that I have a Kindle device I’m making full use of it! At time of writing I’m reading an old book called Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece which was like one of these dime-a-dozen New Age knock-offs when it first came out, but lots of people keep coming up to me and saying that it’s really good.


What do you think of e-books as opposed to print books?

I think e-books are the future – especially seeing as there are a growing number of great quality e-book readers on the market. An e-book is better value for money for both the writer and the reader. They don’t weigh anything, and no trees are harmed in their making. So that it actually gets my goat that currently, e-books are subject to VAT in the United Kingdom, whilst print books are not. The government is always banging on about how it is supposedly concerned about the environment, so I should have thought it makes more sense to make e-books VAT-free.

I try to tell people how e-books are enviromentally-friendly, but some of them tell me that they need to feel a real book. I think they have the sap of innocent trees on their hands. :)

How do you go about choosing a cover for your books?

I design them all myself, using Adobe Photoshop. The images all refer to scenes from each book, albeit in an abstract and sometimes symbolic way.

What are you working on now?

A story featuring Guy Shepardson, the Demon Detective - uprooted from his usual surroundings and trying to survive in an alien environment. My working title for it is This Is Not A Fairy Story. I'm aiming to have it ready for the Summer Solstice, June 21st 2012

Where can people buy your books?

All relevant links can be traced through my website

Both my print and e-books (i.e. Kindle) can be purchased from Amazon

My ebooks are also available in alternative formats from :
SmashWords

You can also find my ebooks on iTunes, Diesel, Barnes & Noble and more by searching for “Alex Sumner.”

Thank you, Alex!

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Remember, if you'd like to win a Kindle copy of The Demon Detective, leave a comment below or simply 'like' this post.
Good luck!

Those of you who follow my blog will know that Julie Elizabeth Powell is one of my favourite authors. I met her here on Goodreads in 2008 and we've become great friends. This weekend 28th/29th and 30th April 2012, Julie is offering two of her books free on Kindle. The books she is offering are very special to her because they tell the story of the tragic circumstances surrounding her daughter's death. This giveaway coincides with the date that would have been her daughter's 30th Birthday. Julie's daughter, Samantha, was born with a heart condition which resulted in her death.The novel Julie created Gone is a fantasy that introduces the world of Avalon and is based on her daughter's life and death. Julie says that the title is 'Gone' because the book came about as she was wondering where her daughter had 'gone' after her heart stopped and she died for the 'first' time at the age of 2. Her daughter lived for a further 17 years but was unable to communicate. The other book she is offering free this weekend is Slings & Arrows which is Julie's story about what happened to her daughter, it's non-fiction and very moving.

I would recommend that you download your free copies of these two books this weekend and get to know the writing of Julie Elizabeth Powell. She is a truly inspirational lady and a wonderfully gifted writer.



Here are the links you'll need:

Slings & Arrows, Amazon US:http://www.amazon.com/Slings-Arrows-e...

Gone, Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Gone-ebook/dp/B...

Gone, Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gone-ebook/dp...

Slings & Arrows, Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slings-Arrows...

Today, I am pleased to welcome back to my blog, author J. Michael Radcliffe, one of my favourite people. Michael is one of those people that brightens my day when I'm navigating my way around the Internet jungle. He is a truly genuine and supportive friend and he also happens to be an awesomely talented author.

Those of you who follow my blog may remember I interviewed Michael last year after reading his wonderful book The Guardian's Apprentice, the first book in his Beyond the Veil series.



Here's a link to that interview: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

Since then Michael has published the second book in the series, Bloodstone - The Guardian's Curse, and after reading it I was keen to invite Michael back here for another chat.

As well as answering my questions, Michael has also generously offered to give away one signed print copy and one e-book of Bloodstone to followers of my blog. If you'd like to be in with the chance to win a copy, please leave a comment below, or simply 'like' the blog post. Winners will be picked on 30th May 2012.



Here's the interview:


Having just read Bloodstone - The Guardian's Curse, I have to say I am in awe of your storytelling abilities and am now a fantasy genre fan. I shall be reading more books about dragons, wizards and witches etc. What is it about the genre that made you decide to become a fantasy author?

Thank you, Maria, I am very flattered! I have always been drawn to the fantasy and science fiction genres, starting with Tolkein's The Hobbit and Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars series when I was kid. As an introvert, I had few friends in school, so I would lose myself in those worlds of magic for hours on end. It seems I always had a book in my hands, and eventually I decided to craft a story of my own. I think what I love most about the genre is that you can create entire worlds out of your imagination where anything is possible. I think this ability to create and structure worlds of my own is what appealed to me most.

One of your characters' names in the Bloodstone novel was inspired by my surname. Sava is a very evil character, but in a strange way I felt honoured to have her named after me lol. When writing a fantasy book, it must be quite a task picking the characters' names. How do you come up with such original names? Do they just pop into your head, or is there a method to how you name characters?

Names are perhaps one of the most difficult things for me ('Keegan' is actually the third name I came up with for the main character). Believe it or not, when I see a name that I find interesting I will sometimes jot it down for future use in my notes. I have a list of astronomical names that I found years ago - in fact that is where 'Acamar' received his name. When trying to develop the right name, I try to picture the character in my mind and imagine what they are like, and then try to pick a name that fits that picture. Sometimes a name will strike a chord with me and I can immediately imagine a character for it - such was the case with your surname. I thought 'Sava, Stealer of Souls' had a ring to it, and I am so glad you consented to its use in 'Forsaken' and 'Bloodstone'! And I should point out to readers that you are most certainly NOT evil - as one of the nicest online authors I have ever had the pleasure to meet, you are quite the opposite, in fact! :)


Shimmerscale, the dragon from an ornament you own, made an appearance in your novel, Bloodstone. I had to smile when I read that part because I already knew of your purchase of that ornament. I know that you state on your website that he speaks to you ;) Did he approve of the role you cast for him in the novel?



Idris (a.k.a. Shimmerscale) is a demanding taskmaster and can be incredibly snarky, even for a dragon. He is a devious little fellow and as you can see, he managed to work his way into the story. I will say he was quite pleased to have a permanent place on the Guardian's desk. ;)

Bloodstone - The Guardian's Curse, is the second book in the Beyond the Veil series. I was very excited to read on your website that you are planning a third book. What progress have you made and can you tell us a bit about it?


I am pleased to say that I am indeed working on Book 3 - tentatively named 'Rise of the Shadow'. I am currently up to chapter 5, I think, and have also written the last paragraph of the last chapter. I know that may seem strange, but with both of my books I knew exactly how they would end before I wrote the beginning! I will give you a preview for Book 3 as follows:

On the thirteenth hour, of the thirteenth day, of the thirteenth month after he was killed, the spirit of Ducat returns in the form of a wraith with the help of the Shadow. With the power of the Shadow, Ducat's wraith travels 5,000 years in the past in order to rewrite history and destroy the Guardian before he ever exists. A large part of the story will take place in Sakkara, Egypt - the birthplace of magic in our world. You will also learn a great deal more about Ms. Hoskins, who has always been more than she seems. Not only will Keegan have to stop a murder 5,000 years in the past, but he will also face a terrible choice that will determine his future and that of the magical world.

If you were given the choice to live in the World of Magic created by your series, would you? If so why? If no, why not?

I would love to have the chance to experience the magic, but only if I could share it with my family. If it meant being separated from them, then I am destined to remain a muggle. :)


If you could live for a day as one of your characters, which one would you choose to be, and why?

Now that is a difficult question!! I think I would choose to be Acamar - he is quite an accomplished wizard, plus he can turn into a cat - I think that would be an interesting perspective.

I saw on Facebook that you recently took part in a local library event for authors. Can you tell us a bit more about how that came about and what was involved. Any interesting stories to relate from the events of the day?

I received a call from one of the librarian's organizing the event - a friend of mine whose sister works at the library had submitted my name. I was surprised to find out that there were so many people here locally who were authors. The vast majority (probably 80%) were self published like me, although there were several traditionally published authors as well. There were about twenty of us total. One of the published authors spoke for about fifteen minutes about her process of finding an agent and publisher. All of the authors were seated around the perimeter of the room with the audience in the middle and there was a short Q&A session and then people were given a chance to chat with us, buy books, get them signed, etc. I must admit the most wonderful thing happened when a young lady came up who had already read the ebook version of both my novels - she purchased signed copies of both and couldn't wait to tell her friends she had met me. Getting to meet my first "fan" was really a neat experience.

Your sister, Maeve Greyson, is also an author. I think it's really cool that you both write. Do you read each other's books? Is there or has there ever been any sibling rivalry or competitiveness involved, or do you support each other?

I am very blessed to have such a supportive sister. We both occasionally will email paragraphs/pages/chapters to each other for opinions/critique, or sometimes we will just bounce ideas off of each other. It is really nice to have that resource, and I truly appreciate and respect her advice and opinions. There really hasn't been a rivalry, as we write in different genres - me in fantasy and her in paranormal romance, though her novels often have an element of magic in them. Plus, she loves dragons, so that makes us kindred spirits!


Do you have any other news for your readers?

I hope to have 'Rise of the Shadow' out by the Spring of 2013. I know that seems like a long way off, but it is a huge challenge trying to find time to write. I decided however that posting a definite date will give me a goal and keep me accountable (hopefully). :)

Thank you for being a wonderful guest as usual, Michael!

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Remember, if you'd like a chance to win a copy of Bloodstone, please leave a comment below, or 'like' the post :)
Good luck!

Thomma Lyn Grindstaff, is a talented author and also a gifted musician. I met her a while ago on BestsellerBound.com, and had no idea that as well as writing some great fantasy novels and stories, she has also composed some fabulous music. Recently, I heard about the release of her first album Womanspirit Rising and being a music lover, I decided to download it. I am so glad I did. The music on Thomma's album is beautiful. After listening to the album, I was keen to introduce her to all of you.




Here's my interview with Thomma:


As you write classical music, I've always wondered about the thought process behind giving the tunes a title. How do you come up with titles for your tunes, or do you come up with the titles or theme first and then write the tune around that?

That's a great question, Maria! I do think of my music as classical/neoclassical, but many of my compositions double as instrumentals and as songs. That means it can go either way. Sometimes I think of a title or theme first, and then the music comes to me based on that. Sometimes I'll put lyrics to the music once it's written. Other times, I'll write poetry / song lyrics first, then compose music for the lyrics. When I read poetry, I often hear music to fit its cadences, and when I do that with my own poems, they become song lyrics.

You have quite a few cats. I love cats and I know that many of my blog followers do too, Can you tell us a bit more about yours?

Hubby and I have four cats, all rescues, collectively known as the Ballicai. Why Ballicai? Well, the first cat who came to us we named Brainball, since he's a fuzzball with eyes -- a big, floofy, orange boy. Next came Dorydoo, a petite, sleek black cat whom we nicknamed Blackball. Brainball and Blackball -- a "Ball" theme, and that morphed into "The Ballicai." After Dorydoo came to us, a lovely, odd-eyed white cat showed up as a stray on our back porch. We named her Marilyn MonREOW and nicknamed her Eyeball. Our fourth Ballicus, a Snowshoe Siamese boy, also came to us as a stray. We named him MaoMao, since that's how he introduced himself to us: with a loud "MAO." His nickname is, of course, Maoball. Brainball and Marilyn are our two Venerable Ballicai, both of them around 15-17 years old. Dorydoo is going on eight years old, and MaoMao is going on six. Brainball is our Gentle Giant and Benevolent Alpha Cat, while Dorydoo is our intense kitty genius (if she had opposable thumbs, she'd take over the world). Marilyn MonREOW is a lapcat and love bug, while MaoMao is our comic (Charlie Chaplin in a cat suit).





Have any of your cats ever inspired a piece of music or a story?

Oh, yeah. One of my songs, "Lion Boy" (which I plan to include on my third album), was inspired by and written for Brainball, our big Alpha Cat. Collectively, the Ballicai all inspired Misty Laurel's love of cats in my novel Heart's Chalice (in that novel, there are two very interesting feline characters). MaoMao makes a cameo in my novel Patchwork Stained Glass. The heroine of Mirror Blue, another of my novels, also has cats, who are loosely based on Brainball and on a neighbor's kitty who sometimes visits our back porch.

Which came first writing fiction, or writing music?

When I was very young, maybe about three years old, I taught myself to read and to play piano by ear. Writing stories and writing music followed shortly thereafter. So I can't really remember which came first, but I do recall my mom telling me that I was singing before I was talking.

If you could choose any venue in the world to perform your music where would you choose, and why?

Madison Square Garden. That would be just plain cool. :) Or maybe Carnegie Hall, since it's such a gorgeous concert venue and, from what I hear, so acoustically perfect for performances.

When you finish a piece of music who is usually the first person to hear it?


My husband. We've been married for going
on sixteen years, and whenever I compose a new piece of music, I play it for him to get his impressions. Now that I have my digital piano and can record directly to a flash drive, I save arranged versions of my pieces, and he's the first person to hear those, also. He's always been wonderfully enthusiastic and supportive of my music goals and dreams.

Do you have a favourite song or classical tune?

Oh my goodness, I could write an endless list for this question. There are so many songs and classical pieces I love. I adore Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Chopin, Brahms, Vivaldi, and Tchaikovsky. I also adore Kate Bush, Led Zeppelin, Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel, Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Patti Smith, the Alan Parsons Project, Trent Reznor, and Jethro Tull. The composition standing out in my mind right now, though, is Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, played by my favorite-ever concert pianist, Sviatoslav Richter.

What bands/composers were your favourites when you were growing up and have any of them influenced your style?

The classical masters cited above were all major influences -- both listening to their works and playing them myself. Other influences while I was growing up were quite diverse: Led Zeppelin, Kate Bush, and George Winston all come to mind. I'd have to say that my style was influenced the most by classical music, since as a child and a teenager I studied with a wonderful teacher (a professor at the University of Tennessee), I and played various works of Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and contemporary composers. Other music influenced me as well, whether classic rock or new age.

Which classical composer would you like your music to be compared to?

I'd have to say Ludwig van Beethoven. The emotional range and intensity of his compositions is simply mind-blowing.




I have read your short story, Deadfalls, and really enjoyed it. It's a fantasy tale. Do you only write fantasy, or have you written other genres?

As an author, I consider myself a genre-buster. My debut novel,Mirror Blue, is women's fiction and is marketed by its publisher, Black Lyon, as a Literary Love Story. Heart's Chalice, one of my indie-published novels, is magical realism, while Patchwork Stained Glass, my other indie-published novel, is mainstream fiction -- perhaps book club fiction -- and quite philosophical in nature. "The Saddle of Private Lucius Gray," another short story, is literary fiction.

I enjoyed your short story collection, Ripples. I understand it is based on characters from your novel Heart's Chalice. That's a very interesting concept and perhaps one that other authors would have fun with, working with their own characters. What inspired that?



A good friend of mine encouraged me to try my hand at writing flash fiction. Up until that point, I had mainly written long tales. I had such a good time writing the flash fiction that I started regularly participating in flash fiction weekly challenges. I'd still be doing that if I weren't so busy! ;) At the time my friend encouraged me to try flash fiction, I was writing the first draft of Heart's Chalice, so I used the flash fiction as a means by which to get to know my characters better and explore their lives in timelines that lay outside the scope of the novel.

Misty Laurel, one of the characters in Heart's Chalice, has second sight. Have you ever had any premonitions?

One thing that stands out in my mind was when a great uncle of mine died. I'd dreamed of him just the night before the very morning he died, even though by that time, I hadn't seen him in ten years. An interesting experience, to be sure.

I must find time to read your longer works. Tell us a bit more about those.

Mirror Blue is a May-December love story. At a book signing event, Aphra meets Isaac, the author she's idolized since her teenage years. He's twenty years her senior. She winds up redesigning his web site, and the two of them fall in love. From the beginning, it seems everything is against them. Isaac's ex-wife decides she wants back in his life and wants Aphra out of the way. Isaac's son naturally wants his parents back together, so Aphra feels, more and more, that this relationship simply cannot work out. Mirror Blue is a story of love faced with tremendous obstacles and what happens when people's greatest enemies to love and happiness aren't even other people per se but themselves and their own preconceptions.




Heart's Chalice is a wild, woolly magical realism ride. The tagline I use for the story is "Destiny rarely gives a woman a second chance at love, especially not with a man who died twenty years ago." Misty Laurel -- who goes by Laurel -- misinterpreted a vision when she was eighteen, and her first and only love, Nate, died as a result. Now, twenty years later, she finds herself pulled to an alternate reality in which he lives and they have two children, but a reality in which she has died. The story of Heart's Chalice is how Laurel -- in one reality -- and Nate -- in another reality -- try to bring their two worlds together to get a second chance to share their lives and have a family together. And the pressure is on in both realities. One of Nate and Laurel's children, in Nate's reality, is clinically depressed and has attempted suicide. And in Laurel's reality, she has an estranged, soon-to-be ex husband who's a fanatic and control freak and is, as he's faced with losing control over Laurel, becoming increasingly deranged. It's a dark and edgy story, to be sure, and it asks the question, how much would you do, how much suffering and hardship would you endure, if you had lost the love of your life and got a second chance to be with him/her?




Patchwork Stained Glass is a story that asks the question, "Can love and friendship triumph over differences in ideology?" Romilly, a college student and atheist, falls in love with Ernest, who is not only the graduate instructor of her Comparative Religion class but also a preacher in a little country church. Though Romilly and Ernest share common ground in that they are both open-minded and tolerant, the people around them are less so. Ernest's family think Romilly is a heathen in need of salvation, and Romilly's friends think Ernest is out to convert her. Tensions mount and nearly tear them apart. When Ernest is diagnosed with a chronic disease that threatens his life, labels become less important, but has their mutual awakening come too late? The story explores how people of different philosophies can come together to find common ground whether in friendship and in love, and what happens when they allow rigidity and intolerance to divide them.



Who are your favourite authors and what do you like about their writing?

Oh, there are so many. :) Let's see if I can limit myself (there again, as with music, I could write an endless list). I have always loved Carl Sagan's books, not just his wonderful nonfiction works but also his novel, Contact. I find him incredibly inspirational not only with his passion for knowledge but his reverence for the numinous, the awesome mysteries of the vast universe in which we live. I also love William Styron's works, particularly Sophie's Choice. I have never read a book in which an author combined tragedy and humor to such incredible effect, and the story shakes me to my core every time I read it (yes, I've read it multiple times). Haruki Murukami rocks my world. He's a Japanese author who is, like me, something of a genre buster, but he is particularly masterful with magical realism. His writing is also close to my heart because, like me, he has a passion for music and for cats. My favorite novel by Murukami is Kafka on the Shore, but I love all his novels that I've read. The Brontë sisters rock, and I have a particular love for Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. I also love J.R.R. Tolkien's works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which are masterpieces of world-building. Other writers I love include Madeleine L'Engle, Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, Victor Hugo, Khalil Gibran, Khaled Hosseini, Amy Tan, Manly Hall (philosopher), Alan Watts (philosopher and student of Buddhism and Taoism), Pema Chodron (Shambhala Buddhist), Jack Kornfield (Vipassana Buddhist), and Dogen Zenji (Zen master who lived in the thirteenth century).

Are you reading a book at the moment?

I'm reading The Roaring Stream, a Zen reader that includes teachings from Zen masters throughout the centuries. As Zen is my spiritual path, I'm finding The Roaring Stream to be wonderfully enlightening, pun intended. ;)

Do you prefer print or e-books?

I'm going to be wishy-washy here and say I like them both equally. It's kind of apples vs. oranges for me: each is great in its own way. I'll always have a love for paper books. I enjoy how they feel, how their pages turn, even how they smell. But I have also been won over by the sheer convenience and portability of e-books, since e-readers can store thousands upon thousands of great reads.

Where can people find out more about your music and books?

Here's my website, where I provide all kinds of information and links to my books and my music online:Thomma Lyn Grindstaff. I also maintain a Facebook Page for myself as a pianist and composer, from which listeners can stream all the pieces on my album and download some of them for free. I also have links to my music album and to all my books on my blog, on which I also feature posts that are accompanied by impromptu piano sketches.

Your new album is a collection of beautiful tunes, I really enjoy listening to it. I understand you've been writing music for many years, were these tunes all specifically written for one album or are they a collection of tunes you've written over the years? Which one did you write first, and which is the newest?

Thanks so much for your kind words, Maria! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the album. Those pieces were composed over a period of many years. I've composed, in total, around fifty songs and instrumental pieces, and I'm always composing more, so I don't expect to run out of material for future albums. :) On Womanspirit Rising, the title track, "Womanspirit Rising," is technically the oldest, though it's evolved quite a bit throughout the years. The newest composition on the album is "Sunflower Smile," written two years ago.

Do you have a favourite tune that you've written? If so, what makes it special to you?

All my pieces are special to me, but I'd have to say that "Sunflower Smile" is my favorite piece. It doubles as an instrumental piece and as a song (it has lyrics, and I'll be singing it on my next album). It's special to me because I wrote it to honor a dear loved one who passed away from cancer two years ago. He was a much-loved family member who taught me so much about joy in life and unconditional love. No matter what was going on, he always had a bright, loving, and brilliant smile for other people. He was unfailingly kind, selfless and optimistic, and he had the most delightful, shining smile I've ever seen, hence "Sunflower Smile."

What other projects are you working on at the moment?

On the music front, I'm preparing to record Finding Her Voice, my second music album. It will feature ten of my songs, with piano and vocals, and possibly some additional piano-only tracks. Yes, I love to sing, too. I also play guitar! I have a third music album planned, entitled Aurora Borealis, which will feature both instrumental pieces and songs. On the writing front, I'm writing the first novel in what I will call the Wandering Sage Series. The first novel is called The Renunciate, and it's something of a philosophical novel about a young woman nearing graduation who starts second guessing what she's been working toward all these years: a professional career, marriage, children, and the whole white picket fence thing. She decides, instead, to hit the road in search of adventure and other possibilities with an older friend of hers who is likewise wanting to start a new life. The novel, as well as the whole series, will be in the picaresque vein and very much about self-discovery and realization. Think of it as something of a combination of Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. ;)

Thank you for being a wonderful guest, Thomma, and good luck with all your future projects!

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You can listen become Thomma's fan and listen to her songs on Reverbnation at the following link!
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/ar...

Julie Elizabeth Powell has appeared on my blog a couple of times before. I am thrilled to be welcoming her back today to chat about her latest release, Lost Shadows.




I am a fan of Julie's writing and have read most of her books. Each one is always a joy to read, and I look forward to her new releases. She writes in many genres but fantasy lies at the heart of most of her writing. She's an inspirational lady who I have come to consider a great friend, and she's also a prolific writer.


Julie has offered to give away 5 pdf copies of Lost Shadows to lucky readers of my blog. To enter for your chance to win a copy, please either 'Like' this blog, or leave a comment for Julie below.
Winners will be picked on 1st September 2012.


Here's my interview with Julie:

Lost Shadows, your latest novel, deals with the mind -- in particular what can happen to the mind to cause memory loss. There are lots of different characters in the book, all dealing in one way or the other with memory loss. Was there anything in particular that inspired you to write a book about this subject area, or was it just something that developed into a novel from an idea?


I’ve always been interested in how the mind works, especially that it makes us what we are. Experiences imprint on our brain, therefore, storing memories – what then would happen if these were lost? Would we cease to be that person, or part of who we were etc.? What happened to my daughter, Samantha, obviously has some bearing on my ongoing interest, as she was severely brain damaged at the age of two – essentially wiping away anything she was. I’ve also taught people with part brain damage and those that have suffered a stroke, and my aunt developed Alzheimer’s – and then of course I read about all sorts of accidents or illnesses that cause memory loss. I find it fascinating and want to find out what differences it makes, especially to identity. So the idea, like all my ideas, are inspired by what I learn and think, curiosity being the key. For Lost Shadows, the question was: Where do memories go when they are lost?

In your book, one of the characters likes learning facts, often the type that are maybe good for general knowledge tests but not much more LOL. One of these facts got me thinking... is it really true that spiders lay their eggs in the bottom of bananas? Please tell me you made that up!

From what I’ve learned, yes, spiders can lay eggs in the ends of bananas! Although, I’ve never checked it out, and even if it’s not true, I would always nip off the ends just in case.

(Hmm... I'm going to be doing that from now on!!)




As your new book is all about memory, what's your memory like?

Ah, well, my memory is good on some things – especially with writing and all the characters I create (though I have to note down ‘facts’ about things occasionally) but sometimes I wonder if my brain has forgotten everything else! I can forget the most silly of things (e.g. ‘where are my glasses, oh, right, on my head?!’) I tend to write things down if necessary – I like lists – which help. Somehow, writing it down helps memory – I found this useful when at university with all those things to remember for exams. It really helped making smaller and smaller lists until just one word could expand into a whole host of explanations and facts in my head when faced with the exam paper. Having said that, I mostly write as it flows, never once making a list or knowing where it’s going. One thing I would like to say here is that having a good memory (those geniuses that never have to revise) is not necessarily a mark of intelligence. I believe ‘cleverness’ has everything to do with ‘understanding’, however long it takes to learn (whatever it is). Though, I suppose Shakespeare was right in the tragedy of ‘man’, in that many can learn, but too late and are bound to repeat mistakes over and over – this can be seen, of course, throughout history. Rambling a little here, sorry. But that’s how my mind works, I think of one thing and it leads to another and another... I think that the most important thing is to keep the mind open – to anything. As to my memory, although I can have trouble with the trauma of past, for the most part it’s intact.


Lost Shadows is part psychological thriller and part fantasy. The fantasy part seems to kick in towards the end but was obviously there in the novel from the start, in hindsight. I have read most of your books and I think although they are all different, one thing that seems to link your fantasy novels is that you create new worlds in your books, whether inside or outside the mind. After you debut novel, Gone, the world of Avalon was further visited in the Avalon Trilogy. Do you have plans to further visit the world of Mageia created in Of Sound Mind... or to create a series or sequel to Lost Shadows to further explore the fantasy element that is revealed at the end?




Yes, I love fantasy, and the worlds I create – which usually unfold as I write – Avalon being the first ‘official’ one, in Gone (explained in the book why I chose the name). And yes, I loved the world so much that I couldn’t let it go to waste, and what better way to have fun with it than to make it a children’s fantasy adventure. The Star Realm is book one, but as I wrote it, I realised that the story was going to be vast, so I had to break it into three parts – hence, The Avalon Trilogy. That’s it with Avalon, however, and I am very pleased with how it worked. I’ve wondered whether or not to write a sequel to Of Sound Mind, so to further explore the world of Mageia, and yes, I think it would work, however, my mind has been into other things so that’s an idea for the future. As to Lost Shadows, well, I’m not sure, because sometimes a story ends for me and that’s it – but maybe.




You have written in many different styles and genres, from poetry, short stories, fantasy, murder/mystery, and even comedy. Do you think you will continue to explore different genres and styles in your writing or settle on one genre for future writing projects?

Yes, I think I will continue to explore different genres – I like the challenge – and it’s good to force the mind to other things, out of the comfort zone, if you like. And I get bored easily, as in life, my writing has to be different /try new things. I could never settle for just one thing (not in writing, anyway).

You were recently interviewed by a local radio station. What was that experience like, and do you have any more radio interviews lined up?

The radio interview experience was terrifying! I hated it. The host was wonderful but my nerves were in overdrive. I would never want to do it again *sigh* but would if I had to – anything for my books. Although I have been interviewed for a magazine, but whether or not they will publish, I’m not sure – it’s supposed to focus on Gone and Slings & Arrows but I don’t know if I trust them to do it right...but if it creates interest... My worry is that the ‘human angle’ will make me look, for example, ridiculous. I’m always suspicious of newspapers and magazines, that’s why I never read them. Whose truth and all that? Build them up to bring them down – that sort of thing.


I've noticed that more recently, you have become very active on social networking sites in regard to promoting your work. Have you learnt anything from your experience that you could pass on to other indie writers? Have you had any successes with any particular types of promotion that you could tell us about?

Social networking seems to be a necessary evil and I’m not sure if it’s any good for sales or not, only if I do nothing, I remain in obscurity. When I offer ‘freebies’ through KDP Select, networking is one way to market the idea, and I’ve had quite a few downloads, although ‘free’ is a mixed blessing in that it can attract negative reviews – and of course there a millions of others out there with the same idea. I’ve had a few sales, but not many. I’ve run out of ideas about how to market /promote my work (and in truth, I hate this part), as I’ve no money for anything more than I’m doing. I’ve tried networking, talking on the radio, the library, talking to other authors, the high street bookshops, asking for reviews through Amazon and bloggers. I do have a blog with Goodreads, and I post when I can, but time is limited with everything Indie authors have to do (as well as our ‘other’ life). I have a website, but not much traffic. I also have ‘pages’ on Facebook as well as an Author Page through Amazon. I also post comments on all the books sites I can, as well as read and review other Indie books (without reciprocation) because I believe in supporting others as much as I can. And I continue to submit to literary agents and publishers – I’ve done this for many, many years with no luck. I think I keep trying because I believe in my work and I need a marketing machine, otherwise I wouldn’t bother, as I like the total control of self-publishing.

Are you working on any other books at the moment?

I’m working on two books at the moment. One is a collection of short stories, although that’s not quite true – it’s difficult to explain without giving away secrets – it’s different from what you might expect, it’s called 13. The other is, I suppose, if I use the term loosely, a romance. I’ve not written one before (though Misadventures Of Fatwoman has romance), so it’ll be a challenge. Again, it won’t be what you expect (I don’t think). It’s called, Changing Angels. Both are going to take a long time to write – maybe next year at least one will be ready – it depends on the characters and where they lead.



If readers want to find you online, what is the best website for them to find out more about you and your work?

All my books are on:
Amazon UK (Kindle)

Amazon USA (Kindle)

Lulu (Print) (where sample chapters can be read of all my books)

My website: For some writing tips and reviews of all my books.

Twitter

Facebook:

Gone

My Page

Interviews:

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2012/0...

http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2012/0...
http://theindieexchange.com/author-in...

I would just like to say thank you, Maria, for your support and encouragement, and to all those who have read my books (and even better, reviewed them positively) – please spread the word.

Thanks for being a wonderful guest as always, Julie! I'm looking forward to your new books.


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Don't forget to leave a comment below for your chance to win a copy of Lost Shadows!