A blog showcasing Indie and Small Press books and authors

The publishing world is changing and the boom in e-publishing has allowed both small press publishers and self-publishers to gain greater exposure than ever before.

The Roaring Mouse aims to bring you the best selection of those books as reviews, interviews and features. You don't have to look to the Big Six for quality literature, you can look towards the little guys.

Wednesday 31 October 2012

Crown Phoenix: The Night Watchman Express and The Devil's Kitchen by Alison DeLuca

Amongst the avalanche of books that came my way when I first started dabbling in social media, self-publishing and overloading my kindle there were a few that stood head and shoulders above the rest. For me the mark of a truly excellent book, like a truly excellent record, is something that afterwards I think ‘Nah, I couldn’t have written that!’ If you are an author, you’ll know what I mean.



Alison DeLuca’s ‘Crown Phoenix: The Night Watchman Express’ is one of those books. I loved it when I first read it, and when I found that Alison was re-formatting and re-issuing it on a new label I was thrilled. So thrilled that I offered to draw the maps for the book! I suppose I should also declare that Allie is the editor of my YA book, The Infinity Bridge too, and her steam-punk touch on it has been invaluable.
Oh, steampunk! Yes, had to mention that early on! The Night Watchman Express is an Edwardian fantasy, the first of a series of books collectively called The Crown Phoenix, after a mysterious typewriter. The book oozes style—from the richly described settings, to the marvellous characters that inhabit it. There is a real traditional adventure feel to the book—you can almost see the BBC Sunday tea-time series now. There is an underlying mystique to the plot, capturing the macabre air of Victorian sci-fi perfectly, without becoming too sinister or dark.

The first book introduces us to our key characters. Miriam is an orphan, who falls under the guardianship of the Marchpanes, former partners of her deceased father. It’s clear that they are bad ‘uns from the onset, struggling with the wilful Miriam. Then a mysterious governess arrives, Mana, who helps Miriam in many ways and also facilitates her friendship with two boys, Simon and Neil. Simon is the son of the Marchpanes, and initially clashes with Miriam. Neil is a friend from school, staying at the mansion over the holidays. The plot thickens when the sinister Cantwells arrive at the house, and it’s clear they are looking for something hidden there.
Book two, The Devil's Kitchen, follows directly on from the conclusion of TNWE and features all three of the children as they tackle the Cantwells and the fearful Devil's Kitchen. The second book has a real pace to it, extending some of the mysteries of the first book (such as the Crown Phoenix typewriter) and wrapping up story arcs from book one. It has a very stylish feel to it, and wonderfully drawn characters, especially the ones who inhabit the workhouse of the Kitchen.
So with book three now out, I took the opportunity to interview Alison about her books:

Me: Easy one to begin with- tell us briefly about your trilogy.
Alison: Hello, and thanks for having me on the blog!
My trilogy is The Crown Phoenix, named after a quantum typewriter that can bend time and space. Some very nasty villains are after it, and it’s up to Miriam and Simon to stop them. Unfortunately, they don’t like each other very much at first, so that complicates things. Plus, their character flaws get in the way – Miriam is very angry at her situation (she’s an orphan) and Simon falls for Barbara, one of the villains, since she is breathtakingly beautiful.
Me: Which of your characters do you empathise most with?
Alison: All of my characters have a little bit of me in them. I started by liking my main character, Miriam, the most. As I continued with the books, I really began to sympathise with Simon. Mana, Miriam’s magical governess, appeals to me as a former teacher, and even Barbara, the beautiful villainess, has a softer side. It’s hidden deep beneath the surface, but it’s there.
In The Lamplighter’s Special, the third book of the series, the main character is Lizzie. She is very near-sighted and can’t afford glasses, so she has to negotiate a world that is out of focus. I’m a four-eyes myself, so I can really relate to that plight.

Me: I've read your first book, The Nightwatchman Express, and especially loved the atmosphere of the novel. What attracted you into writing in the 'Steampunk' genre?
Alison: I loved books by Conan Doyle, Wells, and Verne when I was young. Adventure driven by technology that depends on clockworks and gears is very exciting to me, and it leaves loads of scope for the imagination.

My technology depends on quantum physics and some impossible things that create adventures for my characters. I love magic, but I think that the fantasy must have a reason for existing, and the magical powers must come from somewhere. In my books, both are caused by the Crown Phoenix Typewriter.

Me: With the success of movies like Hugo, and books like Clockwork Prince, do you see the genre taking off a bit more? Or is it still a bit eclectic?


Alison: I think we’ll have lots more steampunk in all types of media, as long as the genre doesn’t get bogged down in the usual airships and automatons. I love both, but an airship can’t rescue a book that doesn’t have a killer plot.

I’m fascinated by the rise of ethnic steampunk – Brazilian authors, in particular, are doing some very interesting things – as well as different “punks” such as dieselpunk.

Me: Do you find being an editor impairs your writing or augments it? Namely can you flip easily from one to the other?
Alison: Great question! Yes, it really is easy for me to switch hats. The funny thing is that errors that leap out at me when I’m editing run and hide when I write. Like all authors, when I’m in the middle of the story, typing out the movie that I see playing in my head, I don’t see the words. Since I’m too close to the story, I have to rely on my own excellent editors for feedback.

Me: You are a Twitter maestro. What impact do you think social media has had on authors, and is it a useful medium?

Alison: I love the immediacy of Twitter, and Facebook has introduced me to many, many talented writers. Social media is a blessing and a curse, however. There are beautiful people out there, but there are wolves as well. The difference isn’t always apparent at first.
However, for the most part the impact has been very positive. Instead of scribbling away in a garret, secluded from the rest of the world, now writers can interact every day. In my own publishing group, we do betas, edits, and covers for each other. We critique and support, and we make each other laugh as well. I can’t imagine being without those online relationships.

Me: What projects have you got cooking next?
I have almost finished the final book in my series, The South Sea Bubble. It’s set in an Edwardian hospital, much like Downton Abbey, so I read up on Edwardian medicine and the history of nursing in England. That was really fascinating.

Along with four other authors, I’m going to release a Christmas collection soon called Christmas O’Clock, to raise funds for third world countries. My contribution is Magic Coal for the Naughts, a novella about two very naughty children who get coal from Santa Claus. However, coal from the Big Man simply must be magic…

After that, I can turn to a dieselpunk book, The Gramophone Society, that I have on the back burner. It’s the story of a girl who goes back in time to experience what being a London refugee was like during World War II. And of course, there is diesel tech and loads of fantasy adventure involved. I really look forward to getting back to it.

You can find Alison De Luca's books on Amazon UK right here!

And on the other side of the Atlantic in the US just here!

And this is the video trailer for her CRown Phoenix series. OMG!







Sunday 28 October 2012

HeartSearch: Loss by Carlie Cullen (interview)

Those who follow the Roaring Mouse will have already read my review of Carlie Cullen’s Heart Search: Lost last week. Now reviews aren’t always a big aspect of the blog, as I tend to feature books I love rather than ones that make me go ‘meh.’ Rather I prefer doing features, telling you why I like a book and why it might be worth your while reading it. And I love this one!

Heart Search: Lost is the first book in a new paranormal romance series. It takes an interesting approach in its evaluation of a couple who are torn apart, days before their wedding, when one becomes a vampire. Josh, the newbie in the vamp world, has been targeted by the leader of a coven of vampires who hang out down in t’South of England. This leader, Samir, has an ability to sense vampires and communicate with them, as well as sensing which humans will make good additions to the vampire covens.

We follow two parallel stories through the book. Josh learns about becoming a vampire, discovering his own unique powers, and coming to terms with the loss of his prior life. Remy, his fiancĂ©e, resolves to track Josh down by visiting all the places that they had been together before the split. This is a great literary device, both to build Remy’s character, but also to flesh out the details of their relationship in retrospect.

The book is an entertaining read. It was the first paranormal romance book I’ve read (although my wife’s side of the shelf is replete with black covered vamp books), and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it. I really connected with Remy, found the plot intriguing, and was hooked enough to want to follow the series and recommend it to the missus.

Heart Search: Lost represents Carlie Cullen’s debut on the author collective group Myrddin. I asked Carlie some questions about her work and her plans:

Carlie: Hi Ross! I’m excited to be talking to you today and on our side of the pond too! Thanks for inviting me.

Me: I really surprised myself by how much I enjoyed the paranormal romance of your novel. Why do you think it has taken off as a genre? What is it about vampires?

Thank you, Ross. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

Apart from pure escapism you mean? Every young woman has dreams about finding her ‘perfect man’ and the way vampires are generally portrayed makes them desirable. I think the idea of having a romance with a man who is handsome, charismatic and immortal is attractive to readers. They can fantasise about how they could be swept off their feet by this dashing man, romanced by him and making him fall in love with them so maybe he would not want to lose them thereby becoming immortal themselves. Let’s face it, although we all know we’re going to die at some point in our lives, there are an enormous amount of people who’re really scared by it and the idea of finding the ‘Fountain of Youth’ or being bitten by a vampire and made immortal is a way of dealing with that fear. In case you’re wondering, I’ve used the male vampire here because it’s primarily women who read novels in this genre.

The other thing about vampires is the air of menace and mystery that surrounds them. A lot of women are naturally attracted to this type of person, even if they know these characters are wrong for them. Some men too dream of finding a dangerous and enigmatic woman – it’s not just women who are drawn in to the myth. Some people live ‘safe’ and often boring lives and wish they had the gumption to find some adventure. Fantasising about vampires is a way of fulfilling that need in them.

Me: As a fellow Brit, I loved the locations in your book. Did you visit the places that Remy went to?

Carlie: Quite a few of them, yes. My daughter attended university in Lancaster which isn’t far from the Lake District and we visited Ullswater and Windemere. She visited Dove Cottage on a uni field trip and told me about it. I’ve been to the Peak District on business and some of the other locations were passed through, visited or stayed at during family vacations when my daughter was younger.

I did do some research for some of the places I didn’t know very well to find out a bit more so I could then write about them as if I’d really explored the areas though.

Me: How much have the more famous Paranormal books like Twilight, Vampire Diaries etc influenced your writing? Are you a big fan of theirs?

Carlie: Famous books in this genre have opened my eyes to more possibilities and allowed my imagination to think out of the box a bit more than perhaps it might have done, but I wouldn’t say they’ve influenced my writing a huge amount. I think it was your review of Heart Search: Lost which pointed out a couple of similarities between my novel and the Twilight saga yet you also said my story was sufficiently different so as not to be compared to it. The funny thing is, I’d planned and started writing Heart Search before I read some of the Twilight books and the ‘resemblances’ to Stephenie Meyer’s books were in the outline prior to my reading most of her work and therefore, totally coincidental.

I do enjoy paranormal books and readily admit that yes, I’m a Twilight fan (no booing from the sidelines please). There are areas of her books, particularly the first two, where Bella comes across as totally boring, living a shell of a life without hobbies or anything to interest her except Edward. That, to me, was a little unrealistic, but apart from that they are entertaining and I do like the story. I’ve never read Vampire Diaries and only recently began reading Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series. Although maybe I should read more in this genre, I don’t because I want my work to be as unique as possible and don’t want to be influenced too much by the other vampire novels on the shelves.

Me: If you had to pick a character you enjoyed writing the most who would it be?

Carlie: Hmmm, I enjoyed writing all my characters for different reasons, so this is quite a hard question to answer. If you’d asked me which one was the most challenging to write I’d have an answer as quick as a snap of my fingers.

I really enjoyed writing Remy’s character, but if you’re going to pin me against the wall and make me pick just one then I would have to say Joshua. It was exciting to write his journey into immortality and all that entailed. I loved writing the coven scenes, especially when he became embroiled in a power struggle. It was also interesting to marry his new status with the vestiges of humanity which came from his enduring love for Remy.

Me: What's top of your To Be Read pile at the moment?

Carlie: It’s The Ring of Lost Souls by Rachel Tsoumbakos. She’s a fabulous writer and I can’t wait to feast my eyes with it.

Me: Crystal ball question: do you think print books are on a steady decline now, consigned to libraries and collectors, in the way that vinyl on records went?

Carlie: Actually, no I don’t. Recent figures show that more paperbacks are read than e-books! This isn’t my only reason for thinking this way. Digital books are still in their infancy. There are generations of readers around the world who’ve grown up reading print books and will continue to do so. Whilst I appreciate the portability of e-readers, I personally prefer to read from a print book and would pick that in favour of an e-book any day, despite the additional cost.

I think there will come a time when print books go on a major decline, but I don’t believe it’ll be in my lifetime and maybe not even in my daughter’s.

Me: What's up next for Carlie Cullen? What's the next project?

Carlie: Well, I’ve started writing book two of the Heart Search trilogy and plan to have the first draft finished before the end of the year. I’d like to get it published mid to late spring next year, if not before and then I’ll be onto the final one in the series. After that, I’m leaving vampires alone for a little while and am planning a fantasy novel based around the lovely lady I use as my avatar. That project will take a while as I’ve got some serious world-building to plan and magic systems to create.

Thanks so much for having me here today, Ross. I’ve really enjoyed our chat! Now where’s that cuppa you promised me?

Thanks very much Carlie- a great interview. If you want to check out Carlie's book it's available via Amazon in both the UK and US.

Amazon US http://amzn.to/OLwU59

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/PhC0Gu


Sunday 14 October 2012

Heart Search: Loss by Carlie Cullen (review)

Although this is the first ‘paranormal romance’ novel I’ve had the pleasure of reading, my wife’s dedication to the genre and its celluloid/TV derivatives have given me some familiarity. And if I were to choose a book to kick off my reading of the genre then Heart Search: Lost would be a great choice.

Unlike most books in this genre this one is a distinctly British affair. Set in England and, due to the nature of one of the character’s searching, it provides us with a wonderful range of scenes in our (seemingly vampire-rich) nation. There’s a definite ‘British-ness’ to the characters and the dialogue too, notably amongst the vampires and their coven, and their (initially) polite and formal discourse.

But before you consider you’ve wandered into Merchant-Ivory does Twilight, let me explain the premise of the book.

Joshua and Remy are a happily engaged young couple eagerly awaiting their imminent wedding. Whilst Remy is in the US, Josh gets bitten by a vampire, Samir, and begins a transformation process which continues as Remy returns. During this time he inadvertently hurts her and, wracked with guilt, decides to leave her (Dear John letter and all).

The book follows our two main characters through their separate journeys. Joshua is drawn by his ‘maker’ to join a coven of vampires in the South-East of the UK. Josh’s story introduces us to the vampire sub-society, with their etiquette and traditions, through the coven. Although initially a happy little group of vampires, munching their way through the population, the cracks in the coven begin to show when two of the members begin to clash. Joshua finds himself embroiled in the conflict, as well as coming to terms with his new ‘life.’

Remy’s journey is less dramatic, but in many ways more poignant and interesting. After the tears and heartache she resolves to seek out Josh by revisiting the places they have stayed together over the years. It’s a clever plot device—I was initially struggling to warm to the couple and their relationship as the split-up happens so early in the book that you don’t really know either character when it happens, so can’t empathise with their distress. But by building the relationship retrospectively by the end of the book I had a definite emotional link with both characters and their break-up.

The two main characters evolve nicely over the book, Cullen drawing realistic and likable personas. Remy, once she stopped crying every paragraph, really shone out for me. She fluctuated between vulnerable, strong, needy, independent and resourceful in a fascinating manner. The mysteries she unlocks are bound to make the further books very exciting.

Joshua, undoubtedly the more exciting character and storyline, didn’t resonate as much with me until the latter part of the book where I got a real sense of his trauma and dilemmas. He seemed initially to simply accept his new status and new life in an unrealistic fashion, but that is explained later as a coping strategy, as a method of ‘boxing up’ his emotions. His handsome, slightly dark, moody and impulsive character is very much the stuff of this genre—I can see him alongside a guilt-ridden Edward Cullen, or a troubled Stefan Salvatore. I hope in the future books we see him evolve as much as I felt Remy did within the first book.

One of the difficulties in writing in such a saturated and popular genre is introducing new ideas. There are traces of other paranormal books in here: the coven feels very much like the ‘family’ of Cullens in Twilight; we have vampire venom, which pops up in a few places in other works. The vampires have magical powers—Joshua has several—in addition to their super fast speed and strength. The societal structure has traces of the Volturi, although in a far more pleasant way. It is tricky to do different things with vampires—you go darker you end up with ‘Being Human’, ‘Vampire Lestat’ or ‘True Blood.’ You go lighter, it’s beautiful teen vamps in ‘Twilight’ and ‘Vampire Diaries.’ So it’s really all the more important that the story you are telling has verve, given that vamps are vamps are vamps.

And Cullen’s story is suitably different and very well told. It’s a tale of love, a tale of dedication and a tale of passion. I felt reaffirmed by Remy’s quest to find Josh, that she wouldn’t take this lying down, that she didn’t believe someone she cared about could change so abruptly that he’d just dump her and run off. She does what we all would want to do, would want to have the courage to do—to cast our lives aside and not take it passively—to fight for what we would want.

The style of the book is very readable, and the dialogue bounces along well. The diction of the vampires feels almost unrealistically polite at the start, like an undead ‘get along gang’, but when they all start squabbling it gets some hairs on its porcelain-white chest and bites nicely. The descriptions of scenes and places are lavishly detailed and draw you deep into the book. My only grumble was the tendency to flip between multiple points of view in scenes—I found it quite distracting and often unnecessary.

Heart Search: Lost is a great debut for a series and leaves you with a smorgasboard of teasers and plot threads for the next book. I was left pondering which ones are going to play a big part in book two, and which ones will mull like a good wine until book three.
 
You can check out Carlie Cullen's book here:
 
 
Carlie has agreed to do an interview on the Roaring Mouse in two weeks time, so I'll look forward to finding out more about the book and how it was written.
 

Tuesday 2 October 2012

The Banned Underground Series by Will Macmillan-Jones

A triple wammy this week on the Roaring Mouse. Last year,when I was digging around forums on the Authonomy website, I met a UK author WillMacmillan-Jones, who contributed far more frequently than I on the (infamous)Alliance of World Builders. Will had just been signed up by Safkhet Publishing,a small press based in Cambridge and now London. His first two books, The Amulet of Kings and The Mystic Accountants, have since been released and I had the pleasure of reviewing the second for Fantasy Book Reviews earlier in the year. With the third Banned Underground book hovering in the ether and ready to materialise any day I thought it a great time to badger Will for an interview.
 
The Banned Underground books follow the misadventures of a rock band whose member include a bog troll and several dwarves. Associated with the band are two human children, the nephew and niece of a rather cranky witch called Griselda. The first book is set in the Lake District, in the current day, wherein the home of the dwarves (the Helvendelve) has come under attack by sinister sorcerers (Caer Surdin, who happen to be accountants). What follows is a witty and chaotic adventure which rapidly establishes the bizarre hidden magical world in which the protagonists live.
 
The second story shifts the action to Wales and introduces us to an alcoholic dragon called Dai (of course). We see more of the beer loving Tuatha (drunken faeries) and the Edern (High Elf managers who talk about CEOs and the Board all the time).
 
I’d always been touchy about fantasy humour. Unlike many people I know I’ve never read Pratchett—it just never appealed. I think, common to many fantasy fans, I’m rather protective of the genre. There just seems so many things to take the piss out of in it. But Will has a definite love and respect for fantasy which shows in his work. His characters are well written and funny, and his wit shines in the dialogue. The gags range from double-entendres to astute satire of teenagers, corporations, music and, of course, accountants.
 
Book three, The Vampire Mechanic, is coming very soon and I look forward to reading and reviewing it. In the interim, go and treat yourself to a copy of The Amulet of the Kings—it’s a perfect antidote to the gloom of George RR Martin and the current wave of dark fantasy.
 
Me. Hi Will. Thanks for joining us. Where did you first dream up the idea of the Banned Underground?
 
Will: Hi Ross, the hard questions first, eh?  I love fantasy, and have one ever since I can remember.  It was just a natural progression to want to write a fantasy novel myself.  And when I did, it was awful!   I mean truly dreadful.(Hands up who said ‘No Change there, then’! No sweetie for you afterwards.)  But in the writing of that book, the characters that would form the basis of my series came to life inside my head.  It wasn’t long before they had taken over, and forced me to completely rewrite the whole book from a new perspective.  Their perspective. The Banned Underground were born…and already rocking.
 
As to where, well there was only one place for me to set the start of the series.  The Lake District.  Possibly my favourite place in the world.  A lot of the ideas for the first book started to arrive whilst walking there on the high places.  It’s no surprise to me that lots of writers have found their inspiration in the Lakes, and it’s an ambition of mine to one day be able to spend a lot of my time there, writing…
 
Me:  Is this a series which will run and run, or do you have a finite number of books in mind?
 
Will: I’m a very, very, lucky boy.  I’ve got a publisher who loves what I am doing, and has signed me for a whole series of eight books.  EIGHT! Some days that’s a terrifying idea, on others it is an exhilarating prospect.  The third book, The Vampire Mechanic, is about to be released, and I’m trying to finish the fourth book –Sax & Thugs & Rock N Roll as we speak. The submission deadline is November. The fifth book – The SatNav of Doom - is planned and started, and I have the concepts for the sixth and seventh books now.  The pressure really is to try and make each book better than the last.
 
Me:Anyone who writes fantasy and humour will inevitably face comparisons to Pratchett.Are you a fan of his work?
 
Will: Ah, the brilliant Sir Terry.  With a friend, I was privileged to hear the great man speak at the Hay Literary Festival this year.  How can anyone not be a fan of his writing?  He is warm, witty and so very human.  His books shine out like a beacon to those of us aspiring to write comedy of any sort, as a perfect example of it should be written. And more to the point, how to write a series. Look at the Discworld books.  Each is a complete story in itself, and if you read them out of sequence, it doesn’t really matter that much does it?  And THAT means that if the shop you are in doesn’t have them all, well that doesn’t stop you buying one does it?
 Brilliant.
 
Me:  What's the current work in progress? And feel free to tell us about new book!
 
Will: Right at the moment, I am very, very excited by the imminent release of The Vampire Mechanic. Yes, my take on the vampire stories so popular at the moment.  And, to kill two birds with one stone, the festive season gets a few knocks too as Santa’s Sleigh gets borrowed by His Little Helpers to get them to a gig by The Banned Underground.  But on the way, they crash into a hillside.  Now, they need some help getting The Sleigh fixed, and The Banned get dragged into another adventure.  All the usual cast of my characters get involved, and a simple situation quickly gets complicated.   Sax & Thugs & Rock N Roll (thanks to the great Ian Dury for the title!) is well in progress for the release date of next April.  Girls always get in the way,don’t they lads?  And this time there’s agirl who is determined to get in the way. She’s got something to prove, and a big bass guitar to prove it with…This one is a bit more about the characters,and a bit less of the usual wild romp. But a wonderful new character gets a cameo, and book Seven to himself!  Fear not, the Dark Wizards get the fifth book to themselves when they get sent on a dangerous quest to recover The SatNav of Doom…
 
Me: Ever considered a graphic novel of the Banned Underground?
 
Will: I’ve never considered a graphic novel, to tell you the truth.  They have worked well for Neil Gaiman though, haven’t they?  Actually,thinking about it, the books could do well in that medium.  A lot of the humour is quite visual really,and would translate easily.  Any offers,anyone?
 
Me:  Your love of music shines through in the books. Put together your seven song dream soundtrack for the movie of your book.
 
 
Will: I’ve been a music fan all my life, and I have music playing almost all the time. I work from home, so the stereo is always on,playing blues, jazz, and Rock.  To pick so few songs is a real challenge, as mood plays such a huge part of my selection on any day.  Well, here goes.
 
Jailhouse Rock. (Elvis) Classic Rock N Roll. Elvis will always be the king, and Scotty Moore – his guitarist – knew everything about timing a groove.
 
Johnny B Goode. (Chuck Berry) Every band worth anything can play this.  And do.  Why? Because that riff is hard wired into the heart of Rock N Roll.
 
Rock N Roll.  (Led Zeppelin) From the moment Bonzo hits the skins this one takes off, and the greatest Rock Band ever are flying.
 
Jumping Jack Flash (Rolling Stones) Yes.  Just yes.
 
Back to Black  (Amy Winehouse)  Such a talent, such a loss.
 
Whole Lot Of Rosie (AC/DC) And a classic riff from Angus.One for my funeral play list.
 
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (Dusty Springfield) A voice to melt chocolate. And me.
 
Me, Myself, I (Joan Armatrading ) Because it says a lot about where I am personally at the moment.
 
There you go.  Problem is, if you ask me tomorrow, you will get a different list.  I’m presently learning The Green Manalishi,and that would make the list, as would…
 
Of course, that’s rather my current list.  At heart, the guys are a blues based dance band, and that’s what they would play. Can you see a bearded, slightly drunken dwarf crooning ‘Will you still Love Me Tomorrow?’ convincingly?
 
Me:  For the newbies in the world of publishing have you any sage-like words of wisdom on how to get your book out there, or even garner a publishing deal?
 
Will: How to get your book out there?  Well there’s more choice than ever now, isn’tthere?  If you listen to traditionally published authors, a lot of them are extolling the virtues of self publishing.  The ‘snobbery’ that used to be attached to self publishing has been eroded, especially by the emergence of the ebook and the way Amazon and Smashwords have made it so easy for anyone to produce a book.  And everyone wants to see an actual copy of their own book on a bookshelf, and again CreateSpace and Lightning Source have made it possible for anyone to have that at a reasonable cost.  Before going down that route though, everyone is going to research agents and publishers and try to get a traditional contract.   But you need to have the right book, and be in the right place at the right time…I’m not going to pretend that my books are way better than anyone else’s.  I was just lucky with my publisher.  They are a small house, yet they get over 80manuscripts sent to them every week…
 
The advice I’d give a prospective author is this: select your  publisher or agent carefully, then read everything you can about them: then follow TO THE LETTER the submission guidelines they post.  If you do not, you will be rejected with your work unread, however good it may be.
 
Me:  You're published by Safkhet publishing- tell us a bit about them and how things are going there.
 
I think I’m really lucky with Safkhet Publishing.  They share my sense of humour and we share the same ethics and goals.  They are committed to getting some really great fantasy and rom-com books published in a professional manner, and have made a brilliant start in their first full year of operations.  We get on really well as people too, and that is important.  If you can talk to your publisher as a friend as well as a business partner, then the relationship is going to be fruitful for both parties.
 
This is going to be a really exciting second year for Safkhet Publishing, and I’m pleased and proud to be a part of that.
 
Thanks again for an awesome interview there, Will. Here are some of the links to check out Will,his website and his books!

The Banned Underground website
Safkhet Publishing
Will's Amazon author page in the US of A
Will's Amazon author page in the UK

(Banned Underground band image (c) Sam Dogra. Used with permission)