Author Interview - Katherine D. Graham

 

Katherine D. Graham is a fantasy author, developmental editor, and Reedsy Reviewer. Her debut Epic Fantasy novel, The Vow That Twisted Fate (July 2021), is a 5-star Indie Reader Approved novel and one of five fantasy finalists in the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Q&A 

Q1: What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?

The Vow That Twisted Fate is the name of my latest book (and debut epic fantasy novel). I actually had a dream about what turned out to be one of the key chapters in the middle of the book, and couldn’t get the story out of my mind after that.

Q2: What are five words that describe your writing process?

Dreaming, writing, waiting, and revising.

Q3: What authors, or books have influenced you?

This is a really hard question to answer, because so many authors have inspired me on this journey. While I will always be a Tolkien and C.S. Lewis fan, it was Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (author of Hawksong) who helped me realize as a teenager that women can be writers, that young women can be writers, and that there are amazing epic fantasy stories about female main characters (but there’s always room for more).

Q4: What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused? 

Ideally a cat (I have three). Other than that, I’m pretty laid-back and can focus pretty easily in different settings, which I attribute to growing up in a small house as one of ten kids.

Q5. What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?

As a developmental editor for my day-job, my personal opinion based on what I’ve seen is that a relatable/believable main character with defined before-and-after growth, a plot arc showing conflict and a satisfying resolution (sad or happy are both fine), and immersive world-building are the key elements of ‘good writing’.

Q6: What is the best advice you have ever heard?

Be teachable/kind to yourself. In other words, understand that this is a craft, and to improve you must accept constructive criticism while still showing yourself the same kindness you show others.

Q7: What is your favourite genre to read?

I enjoy Fantasy and Sci-Fi (all target ages and sub-genres except erotica).

Q8: What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why? 

Because I’m a pantser (I don’t outline until the book is fully written, and even then it’s only to check for plot holes), they both sort-of come together. I guess aspects of the plot are what pique my interest first, though.

Q9: What are you working on now?

My next novella, Down Falls The King, comes out in December 2021, and the first novel in a Portal/Adventure Paranormal Fantasy duology called “Starfire Express” is in the drafting stages for release in spring 2022.  

Q10: What are you currently reading?

I am currently finishing The Princess Knight by C.H. Smith, and Heavy Is The Head by Katrina N. Lewis, both of whom are amazing indie authors.

Check out the blurb for The Vow that Twisted Fate below:

A world without evil is all Queen Arlena has ever known. But when an ominous pentagram appears in the sky, her innocent days of blissful court life, playing politics with other races, and daydreaming of marrying the stoic elven prince Talen come to an abrupt end.

When an eerily familiar phantasm warns her of the imminent collision of a parallel world ruled by an ancient sorceress, Arlena must confront the true nature of not only her own world, but her very existence.

Calling a company of legendary dwarven warriors forward into her time, Arlena and her allies must brave a world they are completely unprepared for in order to save their own.

Will the naïve Queen and her companions be able to stop the invasion without being forever changed in the process?

To find out more about Katherine D. Graham follow the links below:

The Vow That Twisted Fate 

Instagram

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

Website

Author Interview - Julia Blake

 

Julia Blake is a multi-genre writer, and has so far published contemporary fiction, romantic suspense, YA fantasy, dark folklore fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, short stories, and poetry. She has had ten books published since 2014, as well as one novella, and a collection of short stories and poetry. Julia Blake resides in Bury St Edmunds in the East of England with her teenage daughter, one cuddle cat and one baby tortoise.

Julia Blake has been kind enough to share an exclusive snippet for her current writing project, the third and final installment of The Perennials Trilogy.

Back downstairs after a protracted story time, Rose silently cleared away the dinner things and finished unpacking the shopping that was still sitting there.
She looked at the bottle of wine standing on the side. She had told herself she wouldn’t open it that night, that she would wait until a special occasion or at least until the weekend. But all the while had known she was lying to herself.
Giving in to the inevitable, she opened the bottle and poured herself a glass – just one – she’d only have one. Sitting at the table she sipped at the welcoming warmth of the wine and felt it ooze down her gullet. She’d forgotten how good a decent wine could taste.
Slowly, as she drank, the events of the long day unravelled until the knot of stress around her heart finally relaxed enough for her to take a deep breath and another, and then the tears came.
Hot and regretful they slipped down her nose and over her chin. Trying to cry quietly, aware of Jessica sleeping above her head and that sounds tended to travel up the open staircase, Rose wiped at her face with a torn-off piece of kitchen paper.
“How did my life get like this,” she whispered and finished the glass in one gulp. She looked at the glass and then looked at the bottle.
Just one glass, she had said, but even as she had promised herself that, she had known she was lying.

Q&A: 

Q1: What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?

My latest book which was released last April is called Kiss & Tell and it is book four in my romantic suspense series, The Blackwood Family Saga. Each book tells the story of a different member of the Blackwood family and in Kiss & Tell it was Isabella’s turn. Just like Isabella herself, the book is exciting, fast paced, and action packed, and takes the reader on a whirlwind adventure ranging from London to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and the wilds of North Wales.

 

Q2: What are five words that describe your writing process?

Chaotic ~ unplanned ~ pantser ~ spontaneous ~ discovery

Q3: What authors, or books have influenced you?

The Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis instilled a life-long love of fantasy in me as a child, then the Dark is Rising books by Susan Cooper gave me a love of ancient British lore and myth. As an adult, Robin Hobb taught me not to be afraid of big books and long, rambling sagas.

Q4: What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused? 

Very little really, peace and quiet and solitude. I’m not one of those coffee shop authors – I really don’t understand how they manage to focus in such a noisy and distracting environment. I couldn’t possibly work that way, and besides, I have a suspicion I pull funny faces when I write.

Q5. What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?

The writing must be genuine. I think sometimes authors try to write what they think is “on trend” and will sell better, but fake writing will never fool a reader for long. Whilst I don’t believe in the saying – write what you know – after all, if that were true then so many genres like fantasy and sci-fi wouldn’t exist and we’d all be looking very long and hard at crime writers – I do believe in write what you feel. There must be honesty and emotion behind your words. If you are moved to tears or happiness by what you have written, then so will the reader be. 

Q6: What is the best advice you have ever heard?

“Do the best you can, until you know better. Then do better.” ~ Maya Angelou

I think this is such an apt saying for us indies, in that when we begin, we don’t know everything and we make a lot of mistakes, at least, I certainly did. Then we learn and improve. It is knowing that there is always still so much to learn and being prepared to grow and adapt as an author, that is so important.

Q7: What is your favourite genre to read?

I read pretty much everything but do have a firm love of fantasy.

Q8: What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

Characters, definitely characters! They stroll into my mind as if they own the place and start talking to me, telling me their stories. Plot tends to come second as I listen to what my characters have to say.

Q9: What are you working on now?

I am about 8000 words into book thirteen. This will be the third and final book of The Perennials Trilogy and will tell the story of Rose, as well as tie up all the loose ends and storylines begun in Becoming Lili and then continued in Chaining Daisy.

Q10: What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading The Ezekiel Factor by Caroline Noe, plus I am re-reading a book by Terry Brooks from the Shannara Chronicles.

To find out more about Julia Blake you can find links to all of her social media and books on her website at www.juliablakeauthor.co.uk.

Book Cover Reveal - Fyrebyrne Island

I am so excited to reveal to you all the shiny new cover for Fyrebyrne Island, Book 1 of The Rachaya Series. I cannot wait until it has jad tje final formatting and is ready to go to print (watch this space for the release date!)

Drum roll please ***

And here it is!!!

I will reveal the cover for book 2 next week :)

My Writing Schedule

 I thought it might be interesting/useful to beginning writers to see the schedule of other writers. The thing many people don't realise is that most of writing is in the marketing of your books, and my schedule reflects that (although I am still learning this side of writing if I'm honest). So here is my schedule:

Breakfast: While I eat breakfast with my son I do my Instagram posts for the day. One photo with a caption and 7-8 Stories. I find different people interact with Stories than with regular posts. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Morning: I hang out with my son so I put my mind off my work. I sometimes check in on my social accounts if my son is wanting to play without me.

Lunch: This is also time dedicated to my son.

Early-Afternoon: My son goes for a 1.5-2 hour nap, so I use this time for more marketing. While he sleeps I interact with people on Instagram and TikTok. I try to limit this to half his nap time, then I spend the rest of the time reading ebooks on my phone. Reading widely is an essential part to writing as well that is often overlooked.

Mid-Afternoon: My son and I have a snack and a play.

Late-Afternoon: From 5-6pm I plop my son in front of the tv (I hate that I have to do this!), and while most people are cooking dinner, I sit on my laptop next to my son and do the admin side of writing. I reply to emails, send invoices and consignment invoices, check sales, organise promotions, write blog posts etc. If I don't set aside time for this stuff it builds up, I put it off, and bookstores lose track of my books. It also eats into my writing time if I'm not careful.

Evening: Family time

As you can see, no writing!

BUT

Wednesdays 6pm-8pm: Dedicated, no interruptions, no compromise writing. Seriously, do not interrupt me during this time. I will not give this time up for anything. I usually write 1500-2000 words during this time.

11pm + : Once my son is asleep I sometimes read for an hours, but sometimes I can write small pieces, such as charater development scenes. I find that some days I am less foggy headed than others.

On weekends I also try to get another hour or so of writing. When a book is near completion I will send my husband and son away and I will spend the entire weekend reading through my book in one sitting.

So, there you go, my writing schedule. Progress is slow but steady and so different than it was before I had my son. However, I have adapted and made the huge lifestyle change work for my.

How does this compare to your writing schedule? Were there any surprises in here?

Author Interview - Devin Sloane

 

Devin Sloane writes Women's Fiction and Romance novels that feature older characters dealing with serious issues and winning at love and life. Following on from the release of her first two novels in the Bridgewater Series, Live Again and Breathe Again, Sloane will be releasing her third book, Feel Again, on August 30, 2021.

Q&A:

Q1: What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?

Feel Again is the 3rd Bridgewater Novel and all my writing has been inspired by the quote “Write hard and clear about what hurts.” Ernest Hemingway.

Q2: What are five words that describe your writing process?

Tigger, loud, spinning, wrestling, intense. 

Q3: What authors, or books have influenced you?

Kristen Ashley’s Magdalene series. I loved reading about older MCs. I also really enjoy quite a few of Jody Ellen Malpas. These two might be the biggest influencers. I also love Rebecca Zanetti’s vamps.

Q4: What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused? 

Music and headphones. And somebody needs to confiscate my cell phone.

Q5. What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?

It’s got to be honest and I need to be able to see it in my mind.

Q6: What is the best advice you have ever heard?

I kissed my forties and all my f**ks goodbye. A friend of mine once said this to me and it has stuck as something I aspire to do more than I do.

Q7: What is your favourite genre to read?

Romance - probably paranormal, and near anything Kristen Ashley.

Q8: What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

Characters and individual scenes. I’ll hear a song and people start to populate my head, showing me their story like a movie clip.

Q9: What are you working on now?

I am developing my 4th book.

Q10: What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading an ARC of Bed of Nails for Nola Marie

Read an exerpt of Feel Again below. Release date August 30!

The tension I had felt between us ratcheted up fourteen levels. I stepped closer to him, drawn to him without conscious thought. I looked up into his face. He tipped his chin down and continued to hold my eyes.

“You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in my life,” I murmured.

I was an artist. I noticed things like this, but anyone would notice his eyes. A true hazel, the dusky ring of his iris held a kaleidoscope of blue and green and brown, their colors mixing with the light making it impossible to discern a clear delineation between one color and the next.

“I could look at them all day,” I mused aloud as he held himself perfectly still not six inches in front of me.

My eyes took a tour of his face, his high cut cheekbones, the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes, the grooves of his forehead, his firm perfectly formed lips framed by that scruffy beard. He was older than me, I vaguely noted.

Suddenly his lips parted in a wide, white grin and my eyes flew back up to his now smiling ones.

“Are you done?”

Find out more about Devin Sloane by following the links below:

The Bridgewater Series Facebook Group

Instagram

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

Website

TikTok

Author Interview - R. B. R. Verhagen

 

R.B.R. Verhagen is a writer of fiction based in the Yarra Valley and a graduate student of the Masters of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing at the University of Melbourne. Beyond writing, he works as a bookseller, tutor in English and the humanities, and chair the not-for-profit community news magazine Mountain Monthly.

Q1: What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?

In the Company of Madness (2020) was based on the true story of Alexander Pearce, Tasmania’s most notorious cannibal convict, and his escape from the inescapable Macquarie Harbour prison. However, the story I tell was inspired by the close relation of two other characters to Pearce: his jailer, John Cuthbertson, and his confessor, Phillip Conolly. All three men were born within about 18 miles of each other in Ireland, and all ended up occupying vastly different social roles. I wrote In the Company of Madness to understand why.

Q2: What are five words that describe your writing process?

Lots of talking to myself.

Q3: What authors, or books have influenced you?

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce introduced me to both sides of the boundaries in writing. I am heavily influenced by the work and practice of other modernist writers, especially Ernest Hemingway, and most recently, I reread Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s debut The Discomfort of Evening (translated from Dutch) about six times. Christopher Hitchens also never put a comma wrong.

Q4: What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused? 

The absence of human contact.

Q5. What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing?

The most important thing – and I am not saying I succeed in this – is to write for the reader. If a writer includes anything that is included for themselves, that the reader will not derive satisfaction from, or understand, that’s bad writing. Along with that goes commitment to voice, distrust of adverbs, avoidance of unnecessary words, fundamental accuracy of statement, etc. etc.

Q6: What is the best advice you have ever heard?

Beginning sentences with the gerund form of a verb is always a bad idea.

Q7: What is your favourite genre to read?

Literary fiction.

Q8: What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why?

They come equally, dependant on the story. If I am obsessed with a particular character or psyche, as I was with In the Company of Madness, then the plot is me figuring out what happens to that character. On the other hand, if I have a great concept, I must recruit a character who can take on the job. Depends where it starts.

Q9: What are you working on now?

I have just finished a manuscript titled Burning Distance, a coming of age story about the effect of the road toll on Australian families. I am peddling that around for publication at the moment, so if you know anyone!

Q10: What are you currently reading?

I like to read non-fiction because it’s a form I can’t borrow or steal from, so I just enjoy the reading: Mortals by Rachel and Ross Menzies and By-line by Ernest Hemingway (ed. William White).

To find out more about R.B.R. Verhagen check out the links for his website and social media below:

Website: https://www.rbrverhagen.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rbrverhagenauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rbrverhagen/

Author Interview - Margaret R. Blake

 

Margaret R. Blake is an accomplished writer and editor. Her first book, The Ring of Curses, as well as her book Merlin's School for Ordinary Children, were nominated for the Ditmar Awards, and she has also been a featured author for The Premier's Reading Challenge, Tasmania. She writes Children's Fantasy, YA, adult ficiton and Paranormal Romance. She is currently working on a Paranormal Romance novella, The Eye of the Ice Dragon.

Q&A:

Q1: What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it? 

The title of my latest writing is called The Eye of the Ice Dragon. It was inspired by a Facebook meme and a funny exchange with a friend. I was lucky enough to have another friend (British cartoonist, Karl Dixon) offer to design a fabulous cover for this work that I’m looking forward to using.

Q2: What are five words that describe your writing process? 

Chaotic. Unstructured. Pantser. Different. Whenever. 

Q3: What authors, or books have influenced you? 

Stephen King for his linear style (I have read most of his earlier works) Tolkein (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) for his imagination. George RR Martin (Game of Thrones series) for his use of historical events. 

Q4: What do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused? 

Silence and a great view. The view was once of the ocean. Now it is the things I have around me in my home. They tickle my imagination.

Q5. What, to you, are the most important elements of good writing? 

The ability to use one’s imagination so well that you can ‘see’ a great story and setting while you are reading.

Q6: What is the best advice you have ever heard? 

Just write (Stephen King)

Q7: What is your favourite genre to read? 

Thrillers and mysteries. I don’t mind if they are historical, fantasy or horror, but I’m not much into Sci-Fi. I do enjoy a good middle-grade adventure/fantasy occasionally too.

Q8: What comes first for you — the plot or the characters — and why? 

The title, would you believe. For me the story is inside the title … it’s like a many layered sweet that is tucked into a wrapper. You have to peel away the layers to discover the characters and their journey. As for why, I truly don’t know. It’s just the way it is for me.

Q9: What are you working on now? 

The Eye of the Ice Dragon, and another paranormal romance novella. I like to swing between a couple of books to allow the stories to evolve, plus it means no writer’s block.

Q10: What are you currently reading? I’ve just finished a Nora Roberts book - a romance novel - not something I normally read. It’s more for research for my own writing than enjoyment.

Margaret R. Blake has been kind enough to share an unedited exerpt from The Eye of the Ice Dragon with us. I love it when authors let us catch a glimpse of their work before it's ready.

     ‘Exhausted, Torathel dropped to the ground also. He gazed towards Solaris’ corpse. He saw the spear sticking out from its tail, with the large gash underneath, and he saw where he had tried to plunge the stake into the creature’s heart. It was only when he looked at his own hands that he spied the small droplet of blood and the sliver of red skin on the end of one of his talons that he realised he had found the true weapons that he wielded.      

     That was when he finally let out a loud cry of jubilation, allowing it to pierce the silence like an arrow. He raised his arms to the sky. The feeling that his power was growing with the knowledge of what he had just done was exhilarating. And there was also something else indefinable that seemed to emanate from the dragon. It was almost as if the Shadowmancer had taken on something that was of Solaris.’

Find out more about Margaret R. Blake by following the links below:

Website

Instagram

AmazonAuthor Page