Tal Boldo's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-sound-and-the-echoes"
Author Interview
I have lots of author interviews coming up on different book blogs. Some are already live (visit: http://TheSoundAndTheEchoes.com)
In the meantime, here's an author interview for GoodReads.
So Who are Dew Pellucid?
They say I’m the oldest Echo in the world. Not quite. I’m not even a hundred. They say I’ve read over a million books. This time, reports fall short; a million by the age of ten. Yes, the bookworm and I share a common love for parchment. And so, when I’m not hard at work at The Orphanage of Castaway Children, you’ll find me hunting for a good read. And sometimes, even writing… stories that no Sound had ever seen… until now.
What's your genre, and why did you choose it?
The author who invented me (for I am only her pen name creation) tells me that she decided to write for children because she had such a fun time reading the Harry Potter books. Stuff and crystal nonsense, in my opinion! She wrote for children, because she wanted to create a magical world and feel like a kid again while she was in it. Yes, you guessed it. Peter Pan is one of her favorite children’s books.
Tell us about The Sound and the Echoes
Imagine that everyone around you has a mirror image living somewhere else. Your world is like a sound, which produced that other world of echoes. And in this land men are governed by a terrible law—no Echo is allowed to live after his Sound dies.
One Sound especially must die. The Prince’s Sound. The Fate Sealers and Fortune Tellers will make sure of that! Because after this Sound dies, the Echo Prince will have to die too.
Now, twelve-year-old Will Cleary is about to discover that he is the Sound the Echoes are hunting. And so begins his perilous adventure into a see-through, sparkling world, filled with spying crystal balls, an eerie fortress of castaway children, a hunt for clues in an ancient book of riddles, and a last-chance escape through a frozen gem-studded lake into a secret land that holds the key to placing the Prince on the throne and returning freedom to the Echoes.
What gave you the idea for this reflection realm?
Since I, Dew Pellucid, was not yet created at this point, I asked the author herself, Tal Boldo, to explain. She says she owes it all to insomnia.
Tossing and turning one night, her thoughts wondered to Plato’s Realm of the Forms. Perhaps she was trying to bore herself to sleep. But, far from it! As soon as that realm of perfect reality floated up before her mind’s eye, she was wondering about unintended consequences. It’s all very well for the perfect Forms, as she put it, but what about us here, the denigrated world of imperfect copies?
One sleepless thought tossed and turned after another and soon she was weaving a see-through world into being, a reflection of hers, an echo of the world of sounds. And so the high concept premise of the Children’s fantasy, The Sound and the Echoes, was born. And so was I, the erudite Dew Pellucid.
Who is your favorite character in The Sound and the Echoes?
Myself, of course. But you will have to wait and see which character I really am.
TMO: Did you find anything particularly difficult in writing this book?
Everything! Writing a story is like eating a cake the size of a house. It looks good on the outside but Fortunerific hard work once you start.
Are you working on anything new?
Ah! That is the Fortune changing question! If the book succeeds, more stories of Echolands will follow.
Do you have any interesting writing quirks you want to tell us about?
I’ll suddenly burst out laughing at my own jokes and crack myself up for hours.
What's your advice for other writers?
I could say, read, read and read some more. But that’s about as original as “I came, I saw, I conquered”. So, instead, I’ll recommend the book that influenced my writing most. It is the Hero’s Journey, a Practical Guide to Joseph Cambell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, by Michael Vogler,
Where can readers find you online?
Book Blog: http://bit.ly/RcSEEW
Book Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/TheSoundTheEcho
Book Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/Mj1WcT
GoodReads Page: http://bit.ly/Ox6hM0
Shelfari Book Page: http://bit.ly/Pt4oyn
Where is your book sold?
Amazon Page: http://amzn.to/MnvFnu
Book Website:http://TheSoundAndTheEchoes.com (check out the illustrations)
In the meantime, here's an author interview for GoodReads.
So Who are Dew Pellucid?
They say I’m the oldest Echo in the world. Not quite. I’m not even a hundred. They say I’ve read over a million books. This time, reports fall short; a million by the age of ten. Yes, the bookworm and I share a common love for parchment. And so, when I’m not hard at work at The Orphanage of Castaway Children, you’ll find me hunting for a good read. And sometimes, even writing… stories that no Sound had ever seen… until now.
What's your genre, and why did you choose it?
The author who invented me (for I am only her pen name creation) tells me that she decided to write for children because she had such a fun time reading the Harry Potter books. Stuff and crystal nonsense, in my opinion! She wrote for children, because she wanted to create a magical world and feel like a kid again while she was in it. Yes, you guessed it. Peter Pan is one of her favorite children’s books.
Tell us about The Sound and the Echoes
Imagine that everyone around you has a mirror image living somewhere else. Your world is like a sound, which produced that other world of echoes. And in this land men are governed by a terrible law—no Echo is allowed to live after his Sound dies.
One Sound especially must die. The Prince’s Sound. The Fate Sealers and Fortune Tellers will make sure of that! Because after this Sound dies, the Echo Prince will have to die too.
Now, twelve-year-old Will Cleary is about to discover that he is the Sound the Echoes are hunting. And so begins his perilous adventure into a see-through, sparkling world, filled with spying crystal balls, an eerie fortress of castaway children, a hunt for clues in an ancient book of riddles, and a last-chance escape through a frozen gem-studded lake into a secret land that holds the key to placing the Prince on the throne and returning freedom to the Echoes.
What gave you the idea for this reflection realm?
Since I, Dew Pellucid, was not yet created at this point, I asked the author herself, Tal Boldo, to explain. She says she owes it all to insomnia.
Tossing and turning one night, her thoughts wondered to Plato’s Realm of the Forms. Perhaps she was trying to bore herself to sleep. But, far from it! As soon as that realm of perfect reality floated up before her mind’s eye, she was wondering about unintended consequences. It’s all very well for the perfect Forms, as she put it, but what about us here, the denigrated world of imperfect copies?
One sleepless thought tossed and turned after another and soon she was weaving a see-through world into being, a reflection of hers, an echo of the world of sounds. And so the high concept premise of the Children’s fantasy, The Sound and the Echoes, was born. And so was I, the erudite Dew Pellucid.
Who is your favorite character in The Sound and the Echoes?
Myself, of course. But you will have to wait and see which character I really am.
TMO: Did you find anything particularly difficult in writing this book?
Everything! Writing a story is like eating a cake the size of a house. It looks good on the outside but Fortunerific hard work once you start.
Are you working on anything new?
Ah! That is the Fortune changing question! If the book succeeds, more stories of Echolands will follow.
Do you have any interesting writing quirks you want to tell us about?
I’ll suddenly burst out laughing at my own jokes and crack myself up for hours.
What's your advice for other writers?
I could say, read, read and read some more. But that’s about as original as “I came, I saw, I conquered”. So, instead, I’ll recommend the book that influenced my writing most. It is the Hero’s Journey, a Practical Guide to Joseph Cambell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, by Michael Vogler,
Where can readers find you online?
Book Blog: http://bit.ly/RcSEEW
Book Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/TheSoundTheEcho
Book Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/Mj1WcT
GoodReads Page: http://bit.ly/Ox6hM0
Shelfari Book Page: http://bit.ly/Pt4oyn
Where is your book sold?
Amazon Page: http://amzn.to/MnvFnu
Book Website:http://TheSoundAndTheEchoes.com (check out the illustrations)
My Barking Inspiration
EVEN PETS HAVE ECHOES!
His name is Dorian (after Oscar Wilde’s character). He almost died of starvation and flea bites, before we found him. And now he is famous!
One spring morning in 2006, I sat on the floor with mounds of books and a buzzing idea. ‘Come on’, I thought to myself, ‘create that Echo realm, the place where our reflections live.’
Easier thought than done! I had no idea where to start, and Dorian kept eating my pens.
But at the end of the day, I had come up with the main characters of the story (can’t say who they are, or you’ll figure out the name of the villain)—and I also invented a fictional dog.
That dog, later to be named Poudini, gave birth to another idea. Every child at the Orphanage of Castaway Children will have a pet, I decided. Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, frogs… a whole menagerie of animals was born in an instant.
Dorian asked to be a shade braver than he is in life. I obliged. His alter-ego, Poudini, saves the day more than once.
I would later spend many months inventing the world of the Echoes, followed by years of writing and more periods of intense planning mixed in. Now, the Echo realm is as real to me as my own life, but far more magical and inviting.
If The Sound and the Echoes charms the imagination of readers, I will one day write a sequel so my little white dachshund, Sophie, can fulfill her dream of becoming a Fate Sealer’s pet.
P.S.
Check out Dorian's illustration on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSoundAndTh....
His name is Dorian (after Oscar Wilde’s character). He almost died of starvation and flea bites, before we found him. And now he is famous!
One spring morning in 2006, I sat on the floor with mounds of books and a buzzing idea. ‘Come on’, I thought to myself, ‘create that Echo realm, the place where our reflections live.’
Easier thought than done! I had no idea where to start, and Dorian kept eating my pens.
But at the end of the day, I had come up with the main characters of the story (can’t say who they are, or you’ll figure out the name of the villain)—and I also invented a fictional dog.
That dog, later to be named Poudini, gave birth to another idea. Every child at the Orphanage of Castaway Children will have a pet, I decided. Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, frogs… a whole menagerie of animals was born in an instant.
Dorian asked to be a shade braver than he is in life. I obliged. His alter-ego, Poudini, saves the day more than once.
I would later spend many months inventing the world of the Echoes, followed by years of writing and more periods of intense planning mixed in. Now, the Echo realm is as real to me as my own life, but far more magical and inviting.
If The Sound and the Echoes charms the imagination of readers, I will one day write a sequel so my little white dachshund, Sophie, can fulfill her dream of becoming a Fate Sealer’s pet.
P.S.
Check out Dorian's illustration on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheSoundAndTh....
Writing Chapter One
So what part of The Sound and the Echoes was hardest to write? The Beginning! Definitely.
In fact, there were more than eight versions of chapter one.
In my first version, a strange Echo came to fetch Will in the middle of the night (that character was cut from the novel).
In another version, there was no Gravestone Book. The conversation about all those children disappearing and no one remembering anything… it all took place without reference to the book, which records it.
Only the last version included the crystal ball clock, now featured on the cover. Readers find that amazing. That’s the best part, they say, unable to imagine chapter one without that glowing basketball with its secret holograms.
Ironically, in the end, chapter one doesn’t begin the novel. To immerse the reader in the strangeness of the Echo realm, I invented my pen name persona, Dew Pellucid, and wrote his letter to the reader.
“Dear Un-Pellucid Reader,” it begins. “Far, far away, in a land few Sounds have ever seen, stands the palace of Agám Kaffú... The walls are carved from gleaming ice that never melts, and the floors look like silent ponds you can walk on.”
Dew Pellucid is a mystery and remains so until the end of the novel. Who this old Echo is, you may ask? To quote his letter to the reader, “You’ll have to find it out in the proper way, turning page after page in this strange story.”
I hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes peek at The Sound and the Echoes. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post? Do you like the way the book starts? Would you come up with a different opening? And what was your favorite part?
DEW PELLUCID
http://DewPellucid.com
In fact, there were more than eight versions of chapter one.
In my first version, a strange Echo came to fetch Will in the middle of the night (that character was cut from the novel).
In another version, there was no Gravestone Book. The conversation about all those children disappearing and no one remembering anything… it all took place without reference to the book, which records it.
Only the last version included the crystal ball clock, now featured on the cover. Readers find that amazing. That’s the best part, they say, unable to imagine chapter one without that glowing basketball with its secret holograms.
Ironically, in the end, chapter one doesn’t begin the novel. To immerse the reader in the strangeness of the Echo realm, I invented my pen name persona, Dew Pellucid, and wrote his letter to the reader.
“Dear Un-Pellucid Reader,” it begins. “Far, far away, in a land few Sounds have ever seen, stands the palace of Agám Kaffú... The walls are carved from gleaming ice that never melts, and the floors look like silent ponds you can walk on.”
Dew Pellucid is a mystery and remains so until the end of the novel. Who this old Echo is, you may ask? To quote his letter to the reader, “You’ll have to find it out in the proper way, turning page after page in this strange story.”
I hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes peek at The Sound and the Echoes. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post? Do you like the way the book starts? Would you come up with a different opening? And what was your favorite part?
DEW PELLUCID
http://DewPellucid.com
Listen to Dew Pellucid's Letter
In the past, authors used to write a personal note to their readers at the beginning of a novel. When I invented my pen name persona, Dew Pellucid, I jumped at the idea of doing the same.
Here is a recording of Dew Pellucid's opening to The Sound and the Echoes. It's just a letter, but it reveals so much about the Echo realm and what's to come, while leaving so much unsaid. The perfect taunting teaser.
Would you like to hear it? http://www.talboldo.com/Audio/A_Lette...
Here is a recording of Dew Pellucid's opening to The Sound and the Echoes. It's just a letter, but it reveals so much about the Echo realm and what's to come, while leaving so much unsaid. The perfect taunting teaser.
Would you like to hear it? http://www.talboldo.com/Audio/A_Lette...
Kindle Kids Corner Interviews Dew Pellucid, Author of "The Sound and the Echoes"
The Sound and the Echoes & Comparisons to Harry Potter
October 18, 2012
By KindleKids (Candace Cheatham, Editor, Kids Corner at Kindle Nation Daily)
We announced last week that Dew Pellucid’s Fantasy Adventure For Middle Grade Readers, The Sound and the Echoes is the Kids Corner Book of The Week. Today we are very excited to post an exclusive interview with author Dew Pellucid.
KIDS CORNER’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
Kids Corner: The Kids Corner Book of The Week, The Sound and the Echoes, is such a unique concept. What can our readers expect?
Dew Pellucid: When I was fourteen, I saw an ice storm for the first time. That memory was my inspiration for the Echo realm.
Imagine a winter wonderland with rivers of melted sapphires, icy topiaries that look almost alive, and everything glistening under a giant amber sun. And in this frozen kaleidoscope, everything is see-through, flowers showing through trees, cats through dogs. Even the people are see-through.
But that’s not all that makes this strange realm magical. The Echoes are superstitious people, because of a terrible law that rules their lives. When one of us dies up here in the Sound realm, his Echo is put to death in the Echo realm. So what can the Echoes do but hope that Fortune will spare them?
And so the Echo realm is filled with flying crystal balls and moon worshipers who think the silver orb is a giant, celestial crystal ball. The people wear watery robes, the solid floors spread rings under your feet as you walk, and the liquid ceiling in the great dining hall splashes in arches overhead.
The Echo realm is magical, without magic. And to be in it feels like being in a snow globe of wonders.
Read on Kids' Corner at K Nation: http://bit.ly/PElRuL
October 18, 2012
By KindleKids (Candace Cheatham, Editor, Kids Corner at Kindle Nation Daily)
We announced last week that Dew Pellucid’s Fantasy Adventure For Middle Grade Readers, The Sound and the Echoes is the Kids Corner Book of The Week. Today we are very excited to post an exclusive interview with author Dew Pellucid.KIDS CORNER’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:
Kids Corner: The Kids Corner Book of The Week, The Sound and the Echoes, is such a unique concept. What can our readers expect?
Dew Pellucid: When I was fourteen, I saw an ice storm for the first time. That memory was my inspiration for the Echo realm.
Imagine a winter wonderland with rivers of melted sapphires, icy topiaries that look almost alive, and everything glistening under a giant amber sun. And in this frozen kaleidoscope, everything is see-through, flowers showing through trees, cats through dogs. Even the people are see-through.
But that’s not all that makes this strange realm magical. The Echoes are superstitious people, because of a terrible law that rules their lives. When one of us dies up here in the Sound realm, his Echo is put to death in the Echo realm. So what can the Echoes do but hope that Fortune will spare them?
And so the Echo realm is filled with flying crystal balls and moon worshipers who think the silver orb is a giant, celestial crystal ball. The people wear watery robes, the solid floors spread rings under your feet as you walk, and the liquid ceiling in the great dining hall splashes in arches overhead.
The Echo realm is magical, without magic. And to be in it feels like being in a snow globe of wonders.
Read on Kids' Corner at K Nation: http://bit.ly/PElRuL
"The Sound and the Echoes" Online Links
The Sound and the Echoes on the Web
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Book Website:http://TheSoundAndTheEchoes.com
Book Blog: http://bit.ly/RcSEEW
Book Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/Mj1WcT
Book Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/TheSoundTheEcho
GoodReads Page: http://bit.ly/Ox6hM0
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dewpellucid/pins/
Shelfari Book Page: http://bit.ly/Pt4oyn
Author Amazon Page: http://amzn.to/PTf1Bk
Author Website: http://DewPellucid.com
BOOK BUY LINKS
Amazon eBook $2.99: http://amzn.to/MnvFnu
Amazon: Paperback $19.58: http://amzn.to/PfMWVp
Barnes & Noble: eBook $2.99: http://bit.ly/Py98cV
Barnes & Noble: Paperback $18.79: http://bit.ly/Py98cV
Kobo: eBook $2.99: http://bit.ly/RkdIc6
Amazon UK: Paperback £12.27 http://amzn.to/TzVebR
Amazon UK: eBook £1.95 http://amzn.to/WJ5Up6
Amazon DE: Paperback EUR 16,48: http://amzn.to/PQH3Od
Amazon DE: eBook EUR 2,68 http://amzn.to/WJ6OBY
Book Depository: Paperback $21.86 (free world wide shipping): http://bit.ly/Ry65Rg
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Book Website:http://TheSoundAndTheEchoes.com
Book Blog: http://bit.ly/RcSEEW
Book Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/Mj1WcT
Book Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/TheSoundTheEcho
GoodReads Page: http://bit.ly/Ox6hM0
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dewpellucid/pins/
Shelfari Book Page: http://bit.ly/Pt4oyn
Author Amazon Page: http://amzn.to/PTf1Bk
Author Website: http://DewPellucid.com
BOOK BUY LINKS
Amazon eBook $2.99: http://amzn.to/MnvFnu
Amazon: Paperback $19.58: http://amzn.to/PfMWVp
Barnes & Noble: eBook $2.99: http://bit.ly/Py98cV
Barnes & Noble: Paperback $18.79: http://bit.ly/Py98cV
Kobo: eBook $2.99: http://bit.ly/RkdIc6
Amazon UK: Paperback £12.27 http://amzn.to/TzVebR
Amazon UK: eBook £1.95 http://amzn.to/WJ5Up6
Amazon DE: Paperback EUR 16,48: http://amzn.to/PQH3Od
Amazon DE: eBook EUR 2,68 http://amzn.to/WJ6OBY
Book Depository: Paperback $21.86 (free world wide shipping): http://bit.ly/Ry65Rg
Author Reading Video
Dew Pellucid speaks enigmatically about the Echo realm, in this new video, featuring Andy Simmons' beguiling art, with Mary Fan's captivating soundtrack. I hope you check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M131N6...
GOODREADS GIVEAWAY WINNERS
The latest Echo giveaway is over. And the winners are: Bernadette, Mindy, Victoria, & Tasia. Congrats and check your goodreads messages for a note from
♥!The Young Adult Book Club!♥. You can message me on Goodreads and I'll send your gift certificate over!
EVERYONE, thank you for taking part! I'm already hatching up a special giveaway for Valentine's Day (just two weeks away). To be sure of being notified, just send me a friend request on Goodreads.
P.S.: If you can't wait to read "The Sound & The Echoes" here's where you can buy it for $2.99 (eBook):
THE SOUND AND THE ECHOES
Kindle edition: http://amzn.to/OUVCjj
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/Poqx3i
Barnes & Noble Paperback & ePub format: http://bit.ly/NcKkFt
♥!The Young Adult Book Club!♥. You can message me on Goodreads and I'll send your gift certificate over!
EVERYONE, thank you for taking part! I'm already hatching up a special giveaway for Valentine's Day (just two weeks away). To be sure of being notified, just send me a friend request on Goodreads.
P.S.: If you can't wait to read "The Sound & The Echoes" here's where you can buy it for $2.99 (eBook):
THE SOUND AND THE ECHOES
Kindle edition: http://amzn.to/OUVCjj
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/Poqx3i
Barnes & Noble Paperback & ePub format: http://bit.ly/NcKkFt
eBOOK GIVEAWAY for "The Sound & The Echoes" + a Surprise
Who says nothing good comes of doing your taxes? After discovering a few lost Kindle editions among my business receipts, I thought it would be fun to hold a Facebook giveaway :-)
How to Enter? Just leave a comment here: http://on.fb.me/15zDgd0. Anything you fancy about why you love reading, what books you love, how many books you've challenged yourself to read in 2013, why "The Sound & The Echoes" sounds like a book you'd enjoy... just wax poetic about your love of books!
So how many prizes are there? 3 eBooks are up for grabs.
Kindle only? Well, officially, "yes". But if your comment wins you can wish for an ePub edition and it's yours!.
eBooks giveaway only? Yes and no. I'll randomly choose two winners from the people who graciously share this post, just to say thanks! And the prize? A stunning "Sound & Echoes" bumper sticker (never before given swag).
Winners will be announced on the 28th (good thing it's not a leap year or we'd have to wait another day).
I hope you'll all join in the fun. After all what could be more inspiring than talking about our favorite topic... BOOKS!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SOUND AND THE ECHOES
Kindle edition: http://amzn.to/OUVCjj
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/Poqx3i
Barnes & Noble Paperback & ePub format: http://bit.ly/NcKkFt
How to Enter? Just leave a comment here: http://on.fb.me/15zDgd0. Anything you fancy about why you love reading, what books you love, how many books you've challenged yourself to read in 2013, why "The Sound & The Echoes" sounds like a book you'd enjoy... just wax poetic about your love of books!
So how many prizes are there? 3 eBooks are up for grabs.
Kindle only? Well, officially, "yes". But if your comment wins you can wish for an ePub edition and it's yours!.
eBooks giveaway only? Yes and no. I'll randomly choose two winners from the people who graciously share this post, just to say thanks! And the prize? A stunning "Sound & Echoes" bumper sticker (never before given swag).
Winners will be announced on the 28th (good thing it's not a leap year or we'd have to wait another day).
I hope you'll all join in the fun. After all what could be more inspiring than talking about our favorite topic... BOOKS!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE SOUND AND THE ECHOES
Kindle edition: http://amzn.to/OUVCjj
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/Poqx3i
Barnes & Noble Paperback & ePub format: http://bit.ly/NcKkFt
$0.99 Book Sale & Swag Giveaway
Welcome Sounds,
Until the end of March The Sound and the Echoes Kindle edition is on sale for $0.99!
Better still, join our book swag giveaway for anyone who leaves an Amazon review. Check out the book's Facebook page to enter: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
I hope to meet you in the Echo realm!
Dew
Until the end of March The Sound and the Echoes Kindle edition is on sale for $0.99!
Better still, join our book swag giveaway for anyone who leaves an Amazon review. Check out the book's Facebook page to enter: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...
I hope to meet you in the Echo realm!
Dew
