Kim Jewell's Blog

This week – September 9-15, 2012 - is National Suicide Prevention Week.  What many of you don’t know (because I’ve been unable to talk about it) is that I lost my brother, Chad, to suicide in May. To say it was devastating for me and my family…  Well, that would be an understatement.

But I’m trying to move on, somehow, some way.  Trying to spin something positive out of what we’ve been through. There’s nothing I can do to bring Chad back, but if I can just do something – even help just one person – perhaps my pain won’t be for nothing.  Slowly but surely, I’m learning more about recognizing the signs, and finding the resources to help someone who may need it.  I’m having lunch later this week with a lovely lady, also a survivor, who is going to help me get involved in our local suicide prevention coalition. I’m taking baby steps toward healing, by trying to help someone else. And in the end, I think it’s helping me.

If I could ask one thing of you…  Please program this number into your cell phone: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).  It is the number to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.  Hopefully you’ll never need to use it, but have it close – just in case you find yourself face-to-face with someone who desperately needs it.  Heaven forbid, I know.  But just in case.  Just in case.

So bear with me this week as I share and retweet information about suicide prevention. It’s my therapy. And if you want to help me – spread the word, share the hotline number, you can even share this blog article if you can’t find your own words.  Thanks.

It just occurred to me as I got yet another vote to my reader poll this afternoon… The decision has been made, Tandem Justice is currently being penned, and I didn’t let any of you know which character will take the lead in TJ.  Oops, sorry gang!  This one will be told from Leesha’s vantage point - she’s fiercely independent, brainy, and has the ability to move objects with the power of her mind.  She’s complicated, and I’m having fun getting into her brain and personality as I write this.  Want a sneak peek at the first part of Chapter One?  You got it…

Chapter One

The buzz of her cell phone vibrating against the night table woke Leesha from a deep sleep. Without opening her eyes, she reached up and grabbed it before it fell to the ground.

6:30 on a Saturday morning. Brutal.

She knew why she had to get up, but that didn’t make it any easier. The dread in the pit of her stomach doubled when she opened her eyes and saw the outfit she had hanging from her door frame, freshly pressed. It was a pantsuit, purchased by her grandmother about six months ago when Leesha made the debate team. The suit lasted longer than her tenure with the intramural activity, but she was glad she had it for special occasions.

Not that she would call today a special occasion. Just one where she would have to look as presentable as possible. She was expected at a conference room at the university – the most neutral place they could agree on. “They” being the teenagers with mutant powers like herself, their parents, and Patrick Martin – a special agent with the FBI and liaison to the US Navy.

Martin had only recently tracked down the teens and had been insisting on a face-to-face meeting ever since the disaster at the clinic. Well, the teens called it a disaster. Martin seemed quite pleased with his good fortune, finding six individuals all in the same place after years of fruitless research and tracking.

After three years of trying not to be tracked down and turned into a lab rat, Leesha and the others were faced with the startling realization that they had been discovered. And they were about to be interrogated. To what extent they shared information with the government was up to them, at least according to their parents.

Parents. Mom. Mom?

Leesha threw open her bedroom door to look into the doorway of her mother’s tiny bedroom. She didn’t even have to cross the hallway to know it was empty. She cursed under her breath.

For cryin’ out loud, Ma. I told you this was important.

As usual, what Leesha deemed important was not necessarily so in the eyes of her mother. Toni Conway, pregnant at fourteen, had never really grown up. She was selfish and irresponsible, and now with a new sense of freedom at thirty-one, was living the life of a college party girl. The baby was a burden, even from the time she was born. True, she got help from her parents, but they always made her feel guilty for needing it. Now that Leesha was seventeen and independent, Toni was determined to live out the adolescent livelihood she felt was stolen from her.

That left Leesha to fend for herself. She had worked for cash since Toni never had any. Babysitting at ten, lifeguarding at fourteen, and now serving as hostess to a steakhouse, she had become very adept at taking care of herself – and others. Even before she could drive a car, she made her way to wherever she needed to be on her bicycle. No challenge stood in the way of Leesha Conway, and she didn’t intend on having that change today.

With one last exasperated sigh in the direction of her mother’s room, she stalked off to take a shower.

Over the last few years, there were so many times she had wanted to talk to her mother about what was happening to her. The painful migraines, the telekinesis, and most recently – the blessing of finding others just like her. She had always hoped her mother would come around, want to be a friend to her. Even just a parent. But she never did.

The heartache in what she was missing was never as glaring until she started spending time with the Dixon parents – Marcy and Dan. Lexi and Sam were lucky to have their parents help them through all of this, and even though they had opened their home to the other teens, Leesha still wished she had an active parent in her life. One of her own blood.

She had hoped today would be the day she could share with Toni what happened to her shortly after she was born. That a stranger injected her with drugs designed to alter her genetics. That for months she lived with debilitating migraines as her body transformed. That even now, after the pain was over, she was still living in fear that her ability to move things with the power of her mind would attract the attention of strangers wanting to study her.

Did she need her mother to know? No. But she desperately wanted someone in her life that she could cling to for comfort. And yet today was just another day where she felt utterly alone.

One last final note from me…  I’m still looking for reader reviews for After the Pulse.  If you’re interested in a copy, and are willing to review it on Amazon or any other online retailer, let me know.  I’ll need to know what kind of e-reader you have and where to email your free copy!

It only seemed fitting to dedicate this one to my brother.  After all, the setting of After the Pulse - an A-frame house on Lipsett Lake just outside of Spooner, Wisconsin – was a place where my brother and I spent a lot of time together.  My grandparents’ cabin afforded us a place to get dirty in the woods, clean in the lake, and cold in the winter as we snomobiled together. Good times, great memories.

Likewise, it seemed appropriate to publish this yesterday – on the day which we laid my brother to rest, in a small cemetery in rural Iowa where we grew up.

This one’s for you, Chad.  I hope I did you proud.

Hey, all you Justice fans…  I'm ready to start writing the next in the series, Tandem Justice.  But I need your help – I can't decide which character's perspective I should write this one from.  Invisible Justice followed Sam, whose power was heightened senses and telepathy. The sequel was written from Clint's perspective – his power is super strength.  Rounding out the original foursome is Lexi (invisibility), Sam's twin, and Leesha (telekinesis).  We've also added a couple of other characters in the Brute Justice - Jade and Trey – who would be excellent write-in votes.

So what say you?  Should Tandem Justice be written from the perspective of:

Let me know who you choose and why!

Yes, I have neglected my blog as of late.  I'm sorry.  Among other things, I have been busy working on putting some final touches on my current WIP, After the Pulse.  Early reader feedback (huge thanks to Mark, Jane and Jake!) indicated that the manuscript doesn't totally blow.  (How's that for a sell job?!)  Okay, they didn't say that – in fact, they were all very supportive and enthusiastic.  BUT…  They all agreed on one point: it needed more bad to be good.  More tension.  More danger.  More blood.  So I've been bludgeoning and killing people right and left.  Not really.  But sort of.

I will be doing another print edit shortly, and then will be ready for new beta readers…  If you're interested in beta reading After the Pulse, drop me a line!  Here's a short synopsis:

Shep Adams is miles from home when a mysterious electromagnetic pulse suddenly wipes out the electrical grid.  The phones are dead. All the computers are down. Planes fall out of the sky. Cars skid to a halt. Life support switches off.  The country is, effectively, stopped dead in its tracks.

People are dying too. Or rather, they are killing one another. Brutally.

The pulse doesn't just affect inanimate objects; it affects the electrical circuitry of people too.  Large portions of the population go completely insane, fighting and killing anyone they can reach. Others are rendered vacant, in a coma-like state, eventually rotting quietly from within. Others look normal from the outside but the pulse has stripped away their humanity, leaving them devoid of compassion. These might just be the most dangerous of all…

Shep, along with his father, sister and sister's friend Zoe, must work their way home. But what is waiting back at their remote cattle farm?  Is the rest of their family alive, dead or, even worse, turned into the living dead? What has happened to their close-knit rural community? Can Shep and his family save their family farm? Can they and their neighbors survive in a world where lack of power presents a challenge greater than they could imagine? The threat from the 'crazies' is bad enough but the madness seems to have switched to the animal world too.  However the greatest danger may lie in the craziness that can't be seen.

After the Pulse is a story about survival; about strength in family and community.  It looks at our fateful dependency on modern technology and our helplessness when that technology fails. If the grid went down tomorrow, would you cope?  Could you go back to basics?  Could you learn to live off the earth? In the face of terrifying danger, would you unite for protection, sustenance and to maintain some semblance of civilization? Or would you kill your neighbor? 

In the meantime, I have gotten so many wonderful notes from readers wanting to know if and when a new Justice book will be out.  First thing's first – yes, there will be another installment, entitled Tandem Justice.  I will begin working on it shortly, and will keep you updated on release dates as I get closer.  Thanks to all of you who have reached out and inquired!

Okay now, I'm off to go bludgeon some more…

I recently had a chance to catch up with another fellow YA writer, Debbie Bennett, who just released a new YA book entitled Edge of Dreams.  Read on to learn more…

Q.  So you've got a YA fantasy hitting the bookshelves…  Can you tell me more about Edge of Dreams?

Edge of Dreams came from the tagline: What happens when you realise that the bad guys care more about you than the good ones? It's something that has always fascinated me – the blurring of lines between good and evil. I've blogged about this recently here.

Edge started out way, way back and has been through dozens of rewrites, both minor and major. It was almost picked up twice by big publishers, but fell at the acquisitions meeting hurdle when for whatever reason, the marketing people weren't prepared to put money behind it.  It was then accepted by an e-publisher but we're still 5 years back, before e-books came of age in the last 12 months. I

got the e-rights back recently (I decided not to go with their POD option and so never gave up print rights) and decided to edit yet again, sort my own cover and publish on kindle. It's aimed at the upper end of the YA market and since my two main characters are male, I'm hoping to pull in readers of Scott Westerfeld and Antony Horowitz. But there's a love-interest in there too, so

I'm hoping it won't alienate female readers.

Q.  Is it a stand-alone novel, or the first in a series?

Originally a stand-alone, there is now a sequel Flashpoint in the pipeline which is much darker than Edge of Dreams and hence why I'm aiming for the upper end of the YA market. I'm still not entirely sure I can have a main character commit murder in a YA novel, no matter what the provocation or circumstance – and yet it has to go somewhere or the whole thing becomes meaningless. There may well be a third in the series if the first two do well enough.

Q.  You guaranteed that Edge of Dreams is 100% free of vampires, werewolves, dragons, wizards, elves and faeries.  And zombies, too.  What's wrong with zombies? 

Well, they're dead for one thing…. Don't get me wrong – I like Twilight, really I do. I didn't think I would with all its implausibilities (*sparkly* vampires?), but it's curiously readable. But I can't write stuff that is patently impossible. Zombies and vampires are dead creatures. How are they going to move about? How do their brains work with no blood supply? I'm not beyond imagination – my own characters have psychic abilities – but I like a thread of credibility in my fiction. Werewolves I can relate to: shapeshifting is fine if it's done properly, but I'm not sure I could write about the undead with any conviction.

Dragons and wizards are practically clichés these days, although I do admire the few authors who can still put a fresh spin on them. Elves – well nothing compares to Orlando Bloom's Legolas, does it? And as for faeries, I don't think anyone can do them better than Melissa Marr and Tom Deitz, so I wouldn't even try to compete.

Q.  You're a fellow indie author, with one title – Hamelin's Child – already released (February 2011).  Can you tell us more about your decision to self-publish?  What has been your experience so far?

I could wallpaper a room with rejection letters – lovely personalised rejection letters, true, but still "thanks, but no thanks". Now I have some industry contacts from over 20 years in running the British Fantasy Society and fantasy conventions. I've met a lot of writers, editors and agents and have been lucky enough to get some "real" feedback on my work. And the feedback I was getting was that I could write and I could write well. Hamelin's Child was publishable. But – and it's a big but – it wasn't commercial. At the end of the day, publishing is a business and none of the big 6 is going to take

on a new author unless there is serious money to be made, especially in the current economic climate.

And then my dad bought me a kindle for my birthday in January this year and it was an epiphany. Suddenly I didn't need to be commercial. With some last-minute feedback from writer friends (thank you, Jake and Lallie), I thought I'd go it alone. I have nothing to lose. So far I've sold well. Not breaking records, but it's still early days and real people are reading my book – not friends who might feel obliged to be nice, but strangers who are leaving me 5* reviews. Readers enjoy it. How cool is that?

Q.  Are you involved in any indie writers' groups?

I lurk in the usual online forums. And I'm a member of Alchemy Writers. We're a group of writer friends who've known each other for many years and get together every couple of months to eat, put the world to rights and occasionally talk about writing. They keep me sane. I'm also involved with Authors Electric which is another group of mostly traditionally-published authors who are independently e-publishing their backlists and or new works.

Q.  Do your family and friends read your work?  What has their reaction been to the fact that you're a published author?

Well it's not real, is it? Mum's just sat on her backside at the computer. Of course if my books were in shops and I was making enough money from them to give up the day job, they might take me seriously, but somehow I doubt it. And if my parents ever read my thriller, I think I'd die of embarrassment.

Q.  Okay, now give me the deets on the real Debbie Bennett…  Do you have day job?  If so, do you like it?

I work for the police in IT. It's not a bad job – close to home, so no commuting anymore. It also has the advantage that I have lots of resources on hand for crime writing!

Q.  What was "teen Debbie" like?  Were you a social butterfly or more of a wall flower? 

Ag. I was a wallflower. My teenage years were not the best of my life. At 11, I was quite bright and managed to win a "free" place at a private secondary school – the education authority paid all my school fees. Naively, I thought this was a Good Thing and it took me a few years to realise that most of my school friends belonged to a different social class than me. It didn't help that I lived a long distance away so could never socialise outside of school. And all my local friends who had gone to the local school made their social arrangements in school and simply forgot to invite me as I wasn't there. I'm sure it wasn't anything intentional on their part – I just fell through the gaps and spent many evenings alone at home, desperately wanting to "fit in" and be part of a group. It wasn't really until university that I somehow found my niche with the right group of people and felt like I was actually being me for the first time.

But those years shaped my life. I started writing at 14, when I was bored in the evenings and there were no teenage books to read (there was no real YA fiction in the late 1970s). And I dug into a lot of those feelings in Edge of Dreams with Calith, who has only ever wanted to be accepted somewhere for who he is.

Q.  Can you tell us anything about your family?

Here's something few people know: my dad is half Chinese, which makes me one quarter foreign. My grandfather came from a high-born very wealthy cantonese family – we're going back to the early 1900s here when the caste system was still very much evident in China. He joined the Chinese navy and came to Liverpool at the start of the 20th century where he met and married my Liverpudlian grandmother. He was disinherited by his family for marrying "beneath him" and yet he tried to appease his own parents by sending his two eldest sons back to China around 1910 – to be educated as befitted their "station" in life. My grandmother was devastated and never spoke of the matter again (but went on to have 8 more children!). My grandfather never spoke a word of English so I never knew him (he died when I was 16) and as far as I am aware I still have relations out there – the records were lost in the revolution and so nobody has known anything for a long time. I have a millionaire cousin who has tried to find our relatives but had no success, so I don't hold out much hope. I'm sure there's a novel in there somewhere!

Q.  I read somewhere that you once asked Stephen King to dance…  Please dish – we want all the details!

It's true. I did. The man himself.  Way back in the mid-90s, Mr King did a UK tour to promote Bag of Bones. One of the senior editors at Hodder is a lovely lady called Carolyn who I've known for many years since she tutored a group of us at a writing conference, and she kindly sent me a ticket to the UK publishers' party.  There was an awful lot of free alcohol and live music and so a couple of us decided that Mr King should be dancing too…. Unfortunately his minder wouldn't let him, but I did get to see him play guitar with his band.

Q.  What three things would always be found in your refrigerator?

Little individually-wrapped portions of cheddar cheese. I had my gall-bladder removed last year and I can't each much cheese anymore, so I buy the individual ones and just have one very occasionally for a treat…

Q.  You and I met on Authonomy, the HarperCollins community for writers, where your psychological thriller Hamelin's Child made the editor's desk.  Tell us about your

experience there.

Autho was/is a place of opposites and I think you make of it what you will. I was lucky enough to be part of the beta group in early 2008 when there were only 100 of us. Yes, there was less competition to get to the Editor's Desk, but there were also less people to vote for you! My HarperCollins review was pretty much what I expected – great writing but not commercial. I don't necessarily agree (there are lots of crime and thriller books selling well out there), but I can understand what they are saying. I think we all had higher expectations back then. The benefits for me were the number of friends I

made who have helped me so much in my writing.

Q.  Pen and paper or keyboard?

Oh keyboard definitely. My brain doesn't think in the right order for pen and paper anymore!

Q.  At what age did you start writing?  Did you always want to be a writer?

About 9. When everybody else gave in a page of story and I'd regularly write 10 at a time. But I started writing seriously at 14 when I finished my first novel. It's truly awful (I still have it), but at least I

finished it.

Thanks, Debbie, for taking the time to tell us more about you and your work!  If you'd like to buy Edge of Dreams, it can be purchased at Amazon UK, Amazon US and Smashwords. For more information on Debbie Bennett, check out her blog or follow her on Twitter.

Jake Barton is an enigma.  He's a best selling author with a past he can't talk about.  Or won't.  He can't elaborate.  So for this week's interview, I sent Jake a list of questions and made him promise he'd answer at least half of them truthfully.  Which answers are true and which ones bold-face lies?  I'll let you decide…

In Jake's own words: I'm grateful for this opportunity to appear under the byline of a writer, blogger, sensual woman (whom I both admire and have reason to be grateful to. Mindful of my strange and distinctly murky past, Kim suggested I take an approach whereby not all answers are the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The very idea! In retrospect, there may be the odd word, here and there, which may not stack up in the real world.

Q.  You recently released Ramblings of a Deluded Soul, which is a compilation of Jake Barton writing snippets.  Can you tell us a little about the book?

A. Ramblings began as a blog, a refuge for scribblings, ideas for future novels, memories and random musings on the craft of writing, specific to myself. It contains the best material I've ever written, together with much else. I'll allow the reader to decide whether there's any merit here, but it's the only project, so far, where I've been anywhere near satisfied with the result.

It's a disjointed format, deliberately so, and as such may irritate a reader expecting a conventional novel, but has allowed me scope to branch out in my writing. I'm still, desperately, trying to make it 'free' in the Kindle version, but to no avail as yet. As the least mercenary man on Earth, I'm not interested in making money from such a self-indulgent piece of work, but Amazon don't agree with me. Perhaps I've made them too much money in the past with my other books!

Q.  How did you come up with the idea of combining all of this into one piece?

That pre-supposes an element of prior thought – in my case, a characteristic in very short supply.

Q.  Are you really a deluded soul, or do you just play the part well?

I play many parts, well on occasions. I'm not remotely deluded about the important aspects of life, but am easily baffled by others. Technology defeats me, absolutely, for example. I've had to think 'on my feet' for most of my adult life, as a means of self-preservation and a distinctly frivolous, even feckless, nature masks my true self.

Q.  All of your work is very dark…  How did you get started writing crime thrillers?

A. When I first thought about writing a novel, both legs in plaster and unable to do anything physical, I thought long and hard about what was involved. I underestimated the work involved, massively, but considered what was 'selling.' At that time, as now, crime fiction was selling well, so that was it, decided. I didn't have any clear link with the genre as regards my reading choices, but had met and mixed with any number of violent criminals in my time and thought this experience would help. I know the methods of very bad men, their habits, thought processes – it's a start.

I deliberately made my first books very dark. Why hold back? I like writing about villains, the nastier the better. My first 'nasty,' Marcus, has no basis in reality, yet I've met several men during my working life who made Marcus look like a choirboy.

Q.  You're a fellow indie author.  Can you tell us more about your decision to self-publish?  What has been your experience so far?

A. I'd been down the submitting to agents and publishers route and had several offers of interest but nothing resembling an actual contract. I looked at e-books as I feel certain they're a trend which will continue apace and thought I'd make the attempt, see what happened. Two authors I'd known about from Authonomy, Lexi and Mel Comley, had already taken the plunge and done well, selling books, finding a readership. Mel, in particular, persuaded me to publish my first book to Kindle.

I published on Christmas Eve, 2010, and sat back, expectantly. In retrospect, having become reasonably widely known on Authonomy, having a successful book there, it may not have been the best idea to change the title of the book and my own name, thus losing a vast potential customer base, at the same time. My book sat there, sold a couple of copies a week for about six weeks. I did nothing to help it, no marketing, no publicity, at all. That's an area I just can't go into. I'm happy to proclaim the work of friends, but can't do it for myself. That very British fear of being thought big-headed or pushy, I suppose.

One day, in February, Burn, Baby, Burn sold 151 copies. Gulp! That proved to be just the beginning as in another few weeks it was in the Amazon Top Ten chart, outselling the likes of Lee Child. Gobsmacked is such an appropriate word.

Q.  Do your friends and family read your work?  What do they think, and are they supportive?

A. Scarcely any of my friends and none of my family even know I write at all. I have a few close friends, those who knew me before I took on other identities, who are supportive and my wife reads everything, not always with absolute pleasure as she finds my violent episodes – fictional episodes – distasteful on occasions.

Q.  What kind of reaction have you gotten from your readers?

A. I wrote my third book, Heat, for a different readership. A more refined novel, far less violent, yet still a murder mystery in nature. By far, my worst decision. Most people wanted me to return to what I did best, murder and mayhem. I'd dispute the term as I don't see what I write as being, in itself, in any way a celebration of violence, but it does reflect a violent world to which a reader may escape, for a time. Even the worst excesses of my characters are tame in comparison to things I've witnessed, and taken part in, over the years, but few readers would accept these revelations as being believable.

Q.  You and I met on Authonomy, a writers' community started by HarperCollins.  Tell us more about your experience there, and was it beneficial to you as a writer?

A. Authonomy was the very best resource for a writer. I loved the opportunity to read thousands of books, free of charge, and have fellow writers read my own work and criticize it. It's far from perfect, but the good parts massively outweigh the bad. Best of all, I met fellow writers there whom I'm still in touch with and treasure their help and friendship. Writing is a solitary practice and having a support system in place is essential for the dark hours of self-doubt that are a writer's lot. In particular, Poppet, Jane Alexander and Kim Jewell kept me sane, improved me as a writer, if not as a person, but there are many others whose help has been invaluable. You know who you are – I certainly do! Then there are the writers, mostly unpublished, who have lifted my spirits and aroused my admiration. Dan, Cody, Glenn, Diana, oh there are so many.

Q.  Who are your favorite authors, favorite books?

A. In my 'own' genre, I like Lee Child, Gerald Seymour, writers of that ilk, but my reading tastes are very wide. Favourite book, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, magnificent. Others that come to mind, immediately to hand within view as I write, are American Physcho (predictably) by Brett Easton Ellis, The Talented Mister Ripley, Plum Island, The Godfather, Catch 22, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Child 44, The Road, A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and Gormenghast.

Some oddities, the Bindle books, very rare, but available for the persistent among you and the following that have occurred to me as I write. What the hell, here's a list of some favourites: Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, Anything at all by John Le Carre, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Candide by Voltaire, Just William by Richmal Crompton, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, The Castle by Franz Kafka, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne, Notes from the Underground and The Idiot, particular favourites by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Bouvard et Pécuchet by Gustave Flaubert, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, in translation, sadly. Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, The Plague by Albert Camus, White Noise by Don DeLillo, The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Debacle by Emile Zola, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, The Beach by Alex Garland, Anything and everything by Cormac McCarthy, Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, Count Belisarius by Robert Graves, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez…  Enough? Ten minutes thought, so many more I've missed.

Q.  Do you prefer real books or an e-reader? 

As an 'e-book phenomenon'' as I was described by some strange person from the Guardian who interviewed me a month or so ago, the answer's easy. Books, of course, real books, 'proper' books. That said, I'm happy enough reading on my Kindle and it's such a boon when travelling.

Q.  Okay, now give me the deets on the real Jake Barton…  Is that your real name?

A. Ah, thought this might come up. No, it isn't my real name, but it's MY name, for now. A year ago, I was Jared Conway, had been Jared for almost twenty years and only a very few people knew my by my real name. A security issue, since resolved, brought about a new name, for online usage at least and I picked Jake. Such a manly, no-nonsense name.

Q.  You're quite mysterious about your past…  What can you tell us?

A. Kim, I could tell you anything you want to hear. I have to be cautious about my past. For twenty years I worked, mostly undercover, for the 'good guys.' Nothing to do with police, a Government agency with wide-ranging interests. I was head-hunted while at a loose end after reluctantly concluding there wasn't a living to be made as a surfer. I've made a few attempts to reveal a small part of what my work involved in Ramblings of a Deluded Soul, but this was dangerous work and revealing any more would endanger others. The work goes on.

I'm a Scouser, fanatical Liverpool fan, have lived abroad for twenty years, mostly renovating old houses to provide enough money to live on, even though my building skills were at zero when I started. Travel is my passion, I have been deliriously happily married to the same fantastic woman all this time and there is so much more I want to do with my life, even in my dotage!

Q.  Where do you live?

A. On a beach, in a cave, in the back of a van, in a penthouse, in a ruined house with no roof but magnificent views, in a desert, in a squat with heroin addicts, in a prison cell – all of the above, at different times. Wherever I lay my hat wouldn't be far off the mark. I've owned 22 different properties, lived hand to mouth, all dependent on circumstances. NB, in all cases the prison cell tenure was work-related, yet fully justified.

Q.  Do you have a day job?

A. I refuse to answer such a demeaning question. Do I look like a wage-slave, beholden to others, an alleged superior overseeing my daily routine?

Q.  Tell me something random that no one knows about you.

A. Hmm. I have an IQ of 184. This does not mean I am clever, just a fact. Others, took this to mean intelligence, more fools they.

I played sport, at county level, – the Brits will know what I mean, others think State level – in five different sports.

My knees are disaster areas – oh, hang on, everyone knows that.

I was once, while living in London many years ago, a poster boy for a gay magazine. I was photographed, without my knowledge, and appeared on the cover of a magazine for gay men. As a heterosexual male, not my proudest hour, yet I still have the magazine. Hmm!

Q.  Favorite horror movie?

A. Don't be ridiculous. What do you think I am, an adolescent?  (Kim's note – why yes…  Yes, I do, in fact!) 

Q.  Are you a social butterfly or wall flower?

A. Interesting. I can, and indeed do, talk to anyone and everyone, but am far from a party animal. I'm certainly not shy, but prefer small groups to crowds and one person's company to anything else.

Q.  Most reckless thing you've ever done?

A. Where to start? I've been knocked about many times, broke my nose seven times, broken at least twenty different bones, been in traction twice and that's just sport!

As for work, well I've had guns pointed at me, including having the trigger pulled twice only for the gun fail to fire, (well, obviously), received numerous kickings, had fights on a regular basis, but none of the above were what I'd call 'reckless'.

A few years ago I crossed several hundred miles of the Sahara without any support system or anyone knowing where I was. That was 'reckless.' I also swam across Loch Ness, alone, which wasn't terribly bright with hindsight.

Q.  Where and when do you write?  Pen and paper or keyboard?

A. Quill pen and papyrus. All of them. I scribble on paper, often in the small hours, reject all I've written by daylight, but mostly I tap away on a keyboard. Laptop or Ipad.

Q.  Do you create your own cover art?

A. I'm an artist of great acclaim. I passed 'O' level art. One of these statements is true. My new book, Ramblings of a Deluded Soul, is about to come out in paperback. The cover art is all my own work. The kindest description, so far, has been 'dowdy.' I'm okay with that.

As for my e-books, I had offers of help for covers from Bradley Wind, Kim Jewell and Shubie Richmond, all gratefully accepted. They're far more talented than I'll ever be.

Q.  At what age did you start writing?  Did you always want to be a writer?

A. I wrote my first sonnet at the age of three weeks. It wasn't very good and I never even bothered writing it down. Since my teens I've written regularly, but never for public scrutiny. Poems, heaps of them, a couple of stage plays that were performed professionally, long ago, but only took on a novel when so incapacitated as to be fit for nothing else. I never wanted to be a writer, still don't. My Kindle success brought me offers from publishers, all of whom wanted control over output and content.

I don't need money, a simple soul in many ways, and certainly don't need to be told what to do and when to do it. My own boss, well a partnership, for far too long to change now, I'm happy to do everything myself. That may or may not involve writing which remains one of my least viable abilities, just below playing a recognizable tune on a comb and tissue paper, at which I'm a virtuoso.

Q.  Do you have any advice for indie writers?

A. No. See, I can be awkward. Okay, in brief as it's not my place to advise anyone about any aspect of their life, but I'll say what works for me.

Be happy with your book. I don't mean satisfied, that will never happen, but make sure it's the book you intended it to be, not a fudge, an amalgam of other people's opinions.

Focus massively on the first impressions of a browsing potential reader. A good cover helps, of course, even if it's dowdy, but the pitches, the blurb, what the book's about is key. Get that right, force a browser with millions of books to choose from to look at YOUR book. Make the pitch enticing, giving away a little but not all. Don't tell a reader it's a great book – let them come to that conclusion themselves.

At some point, tell yourself the book is ready. Edit with care, obviously, but if you wait until all is perfect… It will never be perfect, not ever. Make it as good as you can, then take the plunge. What are you risking? Money? No. Ridicule? Oh, come on, take a look at what books are selling in bucket-loads. Are they all great works of literature? Not even remotely. Just, go for it.

Finally. Be true to yourself. You're an Indie writer, not beholden to any outside agency. Poppet told me once, 'to thine own self be true.' Best advice, ever. We may not have much control over our book's success or failure in the marketplace, but give it your best shot. Succeed or fail, on your own terms. That way, you won't regret it later. You tried and if you don't ever try, how will you ever know what might have been?

Q.  What can we expect next from Jake Barton?

A. Oblivion. Being optimistic.

Jake Barton may yet endure. Write more books, engage with the Facebook friends who delight him so, become a better person and devote his life to good works. Alternatively, he may wander off into the sunset, travelling without map or compass, without any hint of a  discernable plan for an unspecified period, perhaps forever.

Close call.

Okay, Jake…  Thanks for that very enlightening chat!  I'm still scratching my head on some of those answers, but I'm guessing you intended that all along, didn't you?  If you would like to purchase any of Jake Barton's books, you can find him on Amazon UK and Amazon US.  For more information on the enigma that is Jake, follow him on Twitter, Facebook or his blog.

It never ceases to amaze me the abundance of different types of people you find, especially in the world of authors.  Here today to have a little chat is science fiction author Chystalla Thoma.  She speaks five languages, travels around the world, and oh yeah – has published loads of her own work!  Read on to learn about Chrystalla's literal and literary travels…

Hi dear Kim! Thank you for having me over today.

Q.  Your novel Rex Rising (Elei's Chronicles) was just released.  Can you tell us a little about the book? 

Rex Rising is a Young Adult Science Fiction novel about Elei, a young aircar driver in a world where parasites create new human races. He leads a peaceful life — until a mysterious attack on his boss sends him fleeing with a bullet in his side. Pursued for a secret he does not possess and with the fleet at his heels, he has but one thought: to stay alive. His pursuers aren't inclined to sit down and talk, although that's not the end of Elei's troubles. The two powerful parasites inhabiting his body, at a balance until now, choose this moment to bring him down, leaving Elei with no choice but to trust in people he hardly knows in a mad race against time. It won't be long before he realizes he must find out this deadly secret – a secret that might change the fate of his world and everything he has ever known – or die trying.

Q.  Is this a stand-alone book, or part of a series?

Rex Rising is Book One of Elei's Chronicles, and a sequel is currently in the works, called Rex Cresting. However, the book can also stand on its own, since the ending is quite satisfactory (as I've been told!), even if there are more books to come.

Q.  You're a fellow indie author.  Can you tell us more about your decision to self-publish?  What has been your experience so far?

I followed the developments with indie publishing with great interest, from the birth of small, independent publishers to the possibility of self publishing on Amazon, Smashwords and B&N. I hesitated a little, but the deal seemed good, so I took the plunge this summer and self published Rex Rising. Self publishing gave me so much control over the whole process that I became addicted, although it is also stressful as it demands a lot of responsibility from the author.

So far I really like the experience, from being able to choose my own cover to the date of publication and the ease with which I can upload revised, corrected versions of my books if I find any error that slipped all my careful efforts.

I am still planning on keeping one foot in traditional publishing, as small publishers are really good and provide excellent editors and cover artists. But I am definitely not regretting self publishing Rex Rising. 

Q.  Real books or e-reader? 

I don't really mind. Since I bought my e-reader, I am hooked. At home, I still live among mountains of print books and sometimes I still buy those, if there isn't an electronic version of the story I want. I do think, though, that the future of writing lies in e-books. It's just the way things evolve.

Q.  Okay, now give me the deeds on the real Chrystalla Thoma…  What were you like in high school?  Wall flower, or social butterfly?

I am not a very social being. Besides, socializing takes time away from reading and writing. *grin* Definitely wallflower.

Q.  Did you enjoy reading as a teenager?

I LOVED reading, I lived for that. I was a real bookworm (and still am!) My parents didn't think it was healthy for me, and they were probably right, but I was happy among my books.

Q.  Where do you live now? Can you tell us anything about your family?

I live in Cyprus, where I returned two years ago after sixteen years of wandering (France,England,Germany,Costa Rica). My husband, Carlos, is Costa Rican and a marine biologist who is also an archaeology and fantasy buff… like me. We have always had a great time together. He's very supportive and has always helped me spread my wings and do everything I want.

Q.  A random fact popped out on your blog…  You call yourself a professional escapist – why?

Because that's my official title… I don't handle stress and real life very well, so I find all possible ways to escape, from stories to music to wandering the countryside to watching movies. I am always happier elsewhere.                                 

Q.  You speak five languages.  How did that come about – study or travel?

Both. I studied languages. I studied in France, then moved to England for my MA in translation, then to Germany for my PhD (France and Germany have no fees for students). In Germany I met my husband who is Costa Rican and moved to central America for three years.

Q.  Most reckless thing you've ever done?

Besides marrying Carlos? lol! Hm… Left my job time and again to hunt for another, before being sure I'd find one. Came very close to an erupting volcano. Swam in the sea while I could see sharks below me (yes I did! Never swam so fast in my whole life…) Dived very close to electric stingrays. Lived in Costa Rica for three years… Can't remember more now.

Q.  What three things would always be found in your purse (keys, wallet and cell phone don't count)?

A notebook for stories (moleskin)

A pen.

Sunglasses (I have eyes very sensitive to the sun, like a vampire!)

Q.  Do you create your own cover art?

Yes, that's one of the main reasons I love self-publishing. I love creating my own covers.

Q.  Do you have any advice for writers, young and old alike?

Write what you really like reading. Get honest feedback and study your art as much as possible. Don't rush into publishing before you're sure you've done your best and produced something of good quality.

Q.  What can we expect next from Chrystalla Thoma?

Many things. But first of all, an anthology called Corpus Pretereo by Escape Collective Publishing is coming out in October which contains my short fantasy story "Dreamdancer".

I am working on the sequel of Rex Rising and hope to have it ready by the end of the year.

In the works are also the prequel to Rex Rising, as are also an epic fantasy trilogy (YA), a novel about a cloned angel, a steampunk fantasy with vampires set in Cyprus, and plenty more.

Thanks for taking the time to chat, Chystalla!  You can learn more about Chrystalla Thoma at her blog, or by following her on Twitter and Facebook.  If you'd like to read Rex Rising, you'll find it available on Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon DE and Smashwords.  And be sure to check out for her Rex Rising book trailer!

Recently I got the chance to sit down with vampire writer Rebeka Harrington.  She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her experience in the self-publishing world.

Q. – Your debut novel *Vampires Revealed* was just released.  Can you tell us a little about the book?

Vampires Revealed is about answering all the questions a lot of people have about vampires but have never really been answered before.  For example; who was the first vampire? How did it happen? What's their lifestyle like? Do they have laws? What makes vampires tick? That sort of thing and heaps more.

Q.  Okay, tell me the truth…  Do you really believe in vampires?

Honestly, I think there is way too much we don't know to automatically dismiss the possibility.

Q.  What made you start writing about vampires?

I've always been fascinated with history and vampires are a great way to explore history while keeping it fun. Vampires open the door to so many creative possibilities. I mean there's nothing you can't do with a vampire character. Throw away social conventions and bring on the mayhem.

Q.  Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?

At times, definitely. There is a lot of me in Bektamun. But as a writer I try to remain faithful to my characters. A couple of them are very strong-willed, they say and do exactly what they want. Am sure if the neighbors could hear me "talking" to my characters they'd think I am a crazy person.

Q.  You're a fellow indie author.  Can you tell us more about your decision to self-publish?  What has been your experience so far?

At first I wasn't even sure if I would publish Vampires Revealed. For the usual reasons of insecurity and self-doubt .  Then I got chatting with a couple of long-established authors, in particular Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc. After talking to her I investigated all my options for publishing.  When I weighed up the pros and cons for both self-pub and traditional publishing, self-pub won with no contest.

Ultimately it came down to this: whether self-pub or traditional the onus is on the author for marketing and promotion. So either way, there was going to be a lot of hard work involved. Traditional publishing had nothing to offer besides taking huge commissions on royalties and losing control over my content and image.

Up until now I've found the experience gratifying.  It's great to see your hard work come to fruition. I would encourage any writer who is serious about their career to give self-publishing serious consideration.

Q.  Do your friends and family read your work?  What do they think, and are they supportive?

A few of my friends read what I write and they've loved it, which is always nice. Most of my friends are heathens though, who rarely read anything. My Mum can't quite get past the fact I write about vampires. But I'm really lucky, everyone around me is incredibly supportive and they don't mince words when giving me feedback.

Q.  What kind of reaction have you gotten from your readers?

The reaction has been overwhelming and extremely humbling.  I can't believe how much people have enjoyed it.  There are more than a couple of readers pestering me to finish and release the follow-up book. I'm just pleased people have as much fun reading as I do writing.

Q.  Who are your favorite authors, favorite books?

This is an easy one, absolutely anything by Alexandre Dumas. And as far as I know he never wrote about vampires. I love the way he portrays his characters. He makes you feel like you'd recognize them walking down the street.

Q.  Real books or e-reader?

Can I be diplomatic and say both?

Q.  Okay, now give me the deets on the real Rebeka Harrington…  Do you have day job?

I balance writing with managing my own business. It's a small entertainment agency.

Q.  Where do you live?

Australia, the land of endless beaches and infamous creepy-crawlies.

Q.  Tell me something random that no one knows about you.

I have deep and meaningful discussions with my cat.

Q.  Favorite vampire movie?

Underworld I, purely because Kate Beckinsale looked so hot in the black leather.

Q.  Sun bathing or sky diving?

Neither. Keep me out of the sunlight please.

Q.  Are you a social butterfly or wall flower?

Bit of both really. I can stand up and deliver a speech in front of dozens of people, but I don't like parties. For socializing I prefer small groups or one-on-one.

Q.  Most reckless thing you've ever done?

Sold everything I owned to fund a trip overseas.

Q.  What three things would always be found in your purse (keys, wallet and cell phone don't count)?

Cigarettes (don't judge me, everyone has a vice), business cards, lip gloss.

Q.  Where and when do you write?  Is it hard to find time to write?  Your preference – music blaring, or absolute quiet?

Always write in my home office.  Generally I prefer quiet, is hard enough to concentrate with characters yelling at each other inside my head. But sometimes I'll put on some music to help me set a mood or tone and get inspired.

Q.  Pen and paper or keyboard?

Keyboard mostly, though I do make quite a few notes on paper. I have an astounding collection of post-it notes stuck around my computer.

Q.  Do you create your own cover art?

No, I use a cover designer.

Q.  At what age did you start writing?  Did you always want to be a writer?

I think it was probably during my early years at high school, my teachers encouraged me to study and participate in advanced English and writing courses.

Originally I wanted to be a journalist and I did work as one for awhile. But I can't honestly say I grew up wanting to be a writer. I've always had a spark of creativity, it's only now I have the time to devote to writing.

Q.  Do you have any advice for writers, young and old alike?

Writing is a craft, words are your tools…learn how to use them.

Q.  What can we expect next from Rebeka Harrington?

I'm currently working on Desires Revealed, which is the follow-up to Vampires Revealed. We rejoin Bektamun in the 16th century and discover the whole story behind her relationship with Nicole. Readers will also discover exactly how evil the Eleiveb vampires can be.

Thanks Rebeka for stopping by!  For more information on Rebeka, visit her blog or her book website.  Her books can be purchased at Amazon and Smashwords.

Recently I got the chance to sit down with vampire writer Rebeka Hamilton.  She was kind enough to answer a few questions about her experience in the self-publishing world.

Q. – Your debut novel *Vampires Revealed* was just released.  Can you tell us a little about the book?

Vampires Revealed is about answering all the questions a lot of people have about vampires but have never really been answered before.  For example; who was the first vampire? How did it happen? What's their lifestyle like? Do they have laws? What makes vampires tick? That sort of thing and heaps more.

Q.  Okay, tell me the truth…  Do you really believe in vampires?

Honestly, I think there is way too much we don't know to automatically dismiss the possibility.

Q.  What made you start writing about vampires?

I've always been fascinated with history and vampires are a great way to explore history while keeping it fun. Vampires open the door to so many creative possibilities. I mean there's nothing you can't do with a vampire character. Throw away social conventions and bring on the mayhem.

Q.  Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?

At times, definitely. There is a lot of me in Bektamun. But as a writer I try to remain faithful to my characters. A couple of them are very strong-willed, they say and do exactly what they want. Am sure if the neighbors could hear me "talking" to my characters they'd think I am a crazy person.

Q.  You're a fellow indie author.  Can you tell us more about your decision to self-publish?  What has been your experience so far?

At first I wasn't even sure if I would publish Vampires Revealed. For the usual reasons of insecurity and self-doubt .  Then I got chatting with a couple of long-established authors, in particular Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc. After talking to her I investigated all my options for publishing.  When I weighed up the pros and cons for both self-pub and traditional publishing, self-pub won with no contest.

Ultimately it came down to this: whether self-pub or traditional the onus is on the author for marketing and promotion. So either way, there was going to be a lot of hard work involved. Traditional publishing had nothing to offer besides taking huge commissions on royalties and losing control over my content and image.

Up until now I've found the experience gratifying.  It's great to see your hard work come to fruition. I would encourage any writer who is serious about their career to give self-publishing serious consideration.

Q.  Do your friends and family read your work?  What do they think, and are they supportive?

A few of my friends read what I write and they've loved it, which is always nice. Most of my friends are heathens though, who rarely read anything. My Mum can't quite get past the fact I write about vampires. But I'm really lucky, everyone around me is incredibly supportive and they don't mince words when giving me feedback.

Q.  What kind of reaction have you gotten from your readers?

The reaction has been overwhelming and extremely humbling.  I can't believe how much people have enjoyed it.  There are more than a couple of readers pestering me to finish and release the follow-up book. I'm just pleased people have as much fun reading as I do writing.

Q.  Who are your favorite authors, favorite books?

This is an easy one, absolutely anything by Alexandre Dumas. And as far as I know he never wrote about vampires. I love the way he portrays his characters. He makes you feel like you'd recognize them walking down the street.

Q.  Real books or e-reader?

Can I be diplomatic and say both?

Q.  Okay, now give me the deets on the real Rebeka Harrington…  Do you have day job?

I balance writing with managing my own business. It's a small entertainment agency.

Q.  Where do you live?

Australia, the land of endless beaches and infamous creepy-crawlies.

Q.  Tell me something random that no one knows about you.

I have deep and meaningful discussions with my cat.

Q.  Favorite vampire movie?

Underworld I, purely because Kate Beckinsale looked so hot in the black leather.

Q.  Sun bathing or sky diving?

Neither. Keep me out of the sunlight please.

Q.  Are you a social butterfly or wall flower?

Bit of both really. I can stand up and deliver a speech in front of dozens of people, but I don't like parties. For socializing I prefer small groups or one-on-one.

Q.  Most reckless thing you've ever done?

Sold everything I owned to fund a trip overseas.

Q.  What three things would always be found in your purse (keys, wallet and cell phone don't count)?

Cigarettes (don't judge me, everyone has a vice), business cards, lip gloss.

Q.  Where and when do you write?  Is it hard to find time to write?  Your preference – music blaring, or absolute quiet?

Always write in my home office.  Generally I prefer quiet, is hard enough to concentrate with characters yelling at each other inside my head. But sometimes I'll put on some music to help me set a mood or tone and get inspired.

Q.  Pen and paper or keyboard?

Keyboard mostly, though I do make quite a few notes on paper. I have an astounding collection of post-it notes stuck around my computer.

Q.  Do you create your own cover art?

No, I use a cover designer.

Q.  At what age did you start writing?  Did you always want to be a writer?

I think it was probably during my early years at high school, my teachers encouraged me to study and participate in advanced English and writing courses.

Originally I wanted to be a journalist and I did work as one for awhile. But I can't honestly say I grew up wanting to be a writer. I've always had a spark of creativity, it's only now I have the time to devote to writing.

Q.  Do you have any advice for writers, young and old alike?

Writing is a craft, words are your tools…learn how to use them.

Q.  What can we expect next from Rebeka Harrington?

I'm currently working on Desires Revealed, which is the follow-up to Vampires Revealed. We rejoin Bektamun in the 16th century and discover the whole story behind her relationship with Nicole. Readers will also discover exactly how evil the Eleiveb vampires can be.

Thanks Rebeka for stopping by!  For more information on Rebeka, visit her blog or her book website.  Her books can be purchased at Amazon and Smashwords.