Today I'm sharing a short story with a theme of goals over on the Lightning Quick Reads blog. I'd love it if you could stop by, read it, and leave a comment. If you haven't visited there before, be sure to take a few minutes to look around and read the others stories, interviews, and goodies there.
I've been spending my weekends at the rink, enjoying our first foray into the world of travel hockey. It's been amazing watching this group of boys work toward their goal of making States.
Speaking of goals, here are some of mine for this year:
Release a newsletter once a month, with special offers for newsletter subscribers only
Finish releasing The Love Talker's Daughter on WattPad
When you're an author, part of getting the word out about your books means being interviewed and working with reviewers. Well, today I'm turning the tables, and I'm interviewing the reviewer.
Please welcome Teen Book Reviewer to the blog! So, tell me, how did you get into doing reviews?
Well, it began a few years ago. I have always loved books and at the time wanted to be a journalist. I thus formulated the idea that if I practised by doing reviews, I could learn to view things more objectively, as a reporter does. I don't know really what triggered me to start a blog, per se, but it just seemed like the obvious choice.
My top ten list, in no particular order, is as follows. I know some of these weren't published this year but I read them this year, so here goes:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson Endgame by Nils Johhnson-Shelton and James Frey Looking for Alaska by John Green Paper Towns by John Green The Prophecy by Erin Rhew Withering Tights by Louise Renninson Tethers by Jack Croxall The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
I have to confess, I've only read one book on that list.
If you could pick an author to write any novel for you, who would you pick and what would you want them to write?
I'd have to choose one of my favourite modern classics authors, Malorie Blackman. I would ask her to write me a horror story because of her wonderfully unadulterated and unprecedented way of writing. I am certain she could produce a fantastic horror or even a fantasy!
What kind of book would you like to see more of?
I'd really like to see more books like Malorie Blackman and John Green's, for example, because they write so truthfully and don't embellish anything. What I really want is more books who dare to be controversial and different because it's the beauty of the stark nature of the novel which makes it so good.
That's a great wish for a book!
What kind of book would you like to see less of?
I know I said I like supernatural, but I suppose I want to see less of the same novels about lovers and werewolves and vampires. People, if you're going to write a supernatural novel, move into some new territories! No more Twilight, please. It's been done.
Anything else you want to share with us? Sure! If you want to hear more from me, remember to check out my blog at http://teenagebookwormreviewing.blogspot.co.uk/ to see my interview with Mary and keep tuned for a couple of blog tours!
And there you have it, Teen Book Reviewer. Be sure to check out here reviews [one for FAERY MARKED can be found HERE!
Thank you to the incredible Mary for letting me take over her blog today. This marks the first of a nine week blog-swap-aganza to help promote the release of my second novel, Alliances, which is available now for pre-order for Amazon Kindle (and book 1 of the series, Double Life, is now free on all ebook platforms!)
The Razia series is about a woman dealing with a lot of inner demons while trying to balance lives as a scientist and space pirate bounty hunter. In the first book, she comes to understand that she has to accept both sides of herself in order to be happy. In the second book, she learns that she needs to be able to accept help from others - and that's what I'm going to talk about in today's guest post.
Accepting help is incredibly difficult for me. I'm not sure if it's my stubbornness or pride or because I don't feel worthy of help or what. Probably a combination. But asking for help is something I've never been comfortable doing.
2014 was a year of major change for me. I decided to publish a book, and then I decided to go all-in and become an indie author. I set up a company, I attended 10 comic book conventions this fall and held a book signing here in Washington, DC. And I did it all by myself.
Except, you know - it would have been a hell of a lot easier if I had some help.
For Double Life, I did everything by myself - including the copy-editing and quality assurance piece. Which also meant all of the pressure was on me. I had more than one panic attack about missing a major typo.
I decided to ask for help with Alliances, the second book of the series. And you know, although my copy-editor found a lot of formatting stuff wrong with it, she only flagged 3 major typos. But it felt so much better to have help with it.
If you've never been to a comic-book convention, I recommend that you go at least once. It's a trip, let me tell you. And if you're a science fiction/fantasy writer - there's no better place to get in front of prospective fans. But it's a long day, especially if it's far away. I did one convention in Virginia Beach that was a 3 1/2 hour drive - one way. And I drove there and back and stood on my feet all day (I sold 42 books, so I ain't complaining).
A photo posted by S. Usher Evans (@susherevans) on
I've got a huge convention coming up for my second book release down in Pensacola, FL (my hometown). And you know - I asked for help. I've got my mom, my best friend, and my baby cousin all signed up to help me man the booth. Which means that I'll be able to, you know, run to the bathroom instead of holding it all day.
There's something so empowering about doing it all yourself. You can look at a product and say, "I made that." But that also means that you've got the baton to handle everything, and all of the pressure is on you to make it right.
Eh he he he he....
And don't forget to pre-order your copy of Alliances for Kindle!
Today I welcome S. Usher Evans to the blog to talk about her writing process. Welcome! Please, tell us a bit about what you write.
The breadth of my unpublished portfolio is actually fantasy (contemporary and epic-ish), but my first published series is science fiction. Most of my characters are in the young adult/new adult category.
Do you use 1st person, 3rd person, multiple POVs?
I used to write primarily in third person, but recently I began writing a book where I'm using dual-1st person POVs. I think it adds to this particular story because you get to add in a bit more opinion than in 3rd person.
[I have found writing in 1st person to be quite an enjoyable break, too]
For the Razia series, the third person helps establish who she sees herself as in any given time. The first book is pretty cut and dry - she's addressed as Lyssa when she's in her "scientist" world and Razia when she's in her "pirate" world. But in the second book, there's a nuanced change - when she's alone on her ship with Lizbeth, she sees herself as Lyssa. This is a subtle shift towards her fully accepting that side of herself.
That sounds really interesting. I look forward to reading the series and seeing how this works.
How do you get started with a book?
For my upcoming contemporary fantasy novel, Empath, the idea came to me because I had just recently been in touch with my ex-boyfriend, drudging up lots of anxiety-producing feels which got channeled into this blog post. Soon after, I went to one of those jewelry-buying parties where I mentioned the only thing I ever wear is my sun necklace, which I bought to help remind myself to calm down and keep to my intention.
On the way home from the party, the idea came to me of a girl battling her anxieties, who can avoid her own emotions by reading the emotions of others, but tormented by a fire breathing dragon that reminds her of all the things she's afraid of. And voila...Empath was born.
For the Razia books - they've been floating in my head since I was 15 years old.
Do you draft quickly?
I can put down anywhere between 3-4k a day in a single story, and sometimes if the urge strikes, I can do that on two stories a day. Since I'm planning on releasing 2-3 books a year for the next couple of years, I give myself about 3 months for a draft that is acceptable to send to beta-readers. They get a month or two to crack on it, then I get another month to poke at it, then it goes to a copy editor, then it gets formatted, then it's available for pre-order. And repeat.
Do you do research before your first draft, during?
Sometimes when I want to add some more science-y things to the Razia books, I will. Mostly I like to make everything up as I go along.
Do you outline?
I use Scrivener to write all of my books now, and I love the ability to put together scenes and chapters. Outlining for me is more a matter of being lazy - I know what I want to happen in a particular scene, but I don't want to write it right at this very second.
Do you name everything up front when you are drafting or do you leave comments for yourself to go back and fill in later so you don't lose the flow of what you are working on?
If I've turned off the internet to get to writing, I'll just put () in place of a character name. But otherwise, I use Random Name Generator to come up with all my names (especially pirate aliases).
That's a great site for names. Do you work with CP's or Beta's? How soon into your draft do you let them see your work?
No one gets to see anything until I am no longer embarrassed by it - usually 2 compile-and-read-on-iPad drafts.
I've got two very close friends that are the first to read Razia books, but for Empath, I decided to use complete strangers because I needed them to separate the inspired-by-a-true-story-stuff and tell me if it's actually entertaining.
What books/websites have you found most helpful to helping you write your best?
This sounds like I'm up my own butt, but I really don't want to read or research anything about writing. I write because it's what my soul tells me to do; my beta-readers tell me when my soul is making no sense, and my copy-editor when my soul is grammatically incorrect. :D
Lol! I like the way you phrased that. What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started writing?
I'd like to say that I wish I hadn't given up on it when I went to college, but if I hadn't learned all of the business stuff I learned as a consultant, I never would have been able to set up a company, and know how to make it successful.
So I'd probably say that you have to do a double -- to do a dash in books. It's a small thing but now it bugs me in my work.
S. Usher Evans is an author, blogger, and witty banter aficionado.
I'm super excited to be part of the 12 Indies of Christmas blog hop. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the other hosts and a special giveaway. For my post, I thought I'd share some Top 5's, so, here we go! Top 5 Christmas Songs: 1) Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 by Trans-Siberian Orchestra 2) Silent Night by Mannheim Steamroller (if you've never heard this rendition, you really need to listen to it. It's amazing!) 3) Do You Hear What I Hear by Perry Como 4) White Christmas by Bing Crosby 5) Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth by Bing Crosby and David Bowie Top 5 Stop-Motion-Animated Christmas Movies: 1) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 2) Frosty the Snowman 3) The Year Without a Santa Claus 4) Santa Claus is Coming to Town 5) The Leprechaun's Christmas Gold What are your favorite songs and movies? Share in the comments below. And don't miss the rest of the 12 Indies of Christmas!
