This book review, if you will, is an excerpt from one of my (now many) novels in progress.
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Part of Melissa’s job at The Antiquarian was to close up the bookstore at 9 PM promptly. She didn’t always though and often times because she was lost in reading. If there were still customers in the store, she would leave them be as long as they were quiet and lost like herself among the stacks of used paperbacks. Richard kept the first editions under lock and key at the front of the store, near the desk where she sat. Sometimes Melissa wondered if he really wanted to part with any of those first editions. As long as she had been working for him, now about a year, she hadn’t seen one sale.
M: Charles, thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed. I’m excited to be able to talk with you about your novels and the sequels you have planned.
C: Marie, it’s a pleasure. Thanks for interviewing me. I’m always happy to do these things.
M: Can I get you anything? A beer perhaps? Or … ?
C: I’m in a chocolate milk mood tonight. Trying to minimize the beer gut.
M: One chocolate milk coming up. It’s a pleasant evening so let’s sit out on my back porch. I don’t think the cats will be a bother. They’re having their usual after dinner nap.
C: Cats always seem to have the right idea.
M: OK, let’s get started. Now, you currently have two novels published and we will talk about those. But first, I would like to discuss a selection of your poems called Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale. This is the first of your published writing that I read and I loved it. I believe Bestiary was published after you had started The Legends of Windemere series? What prompted you to publish these poems?
C: Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale was published a few months after Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero. I was waiting on cover art for my second book and I was doing a lot of poetry prompts. At one point, I went back to look at Bestiary and put out a question about illustrations on Kindle. People were telling me that I didn’t need illustrations, so I thought I would try my hand at publishing poetry. I considered it an experiment in a new genre and with minimal marketing to see what would happen. I was hoping to learn a few things for when Prodigy of Rainbow Tower came out, but the poetry book barely sold even when I tried a few free advertising ideas.
M: Barely sold? I am surprised. The imagery of the beasts is so vivid. Well, let’s talk about the first two novels in your series, both of which are currently available for purchase. What inspired you to write these novels, to even conceive of writing a whole series?
C: I’ve always been a fan of series and dreamed of creating them. Whenever I tried for a single book, I would find myself developing subplots and putting various twists in the main plot. This always made my stories bigger than I initially intended, so I guess I think series more than solitary book. Basically, I think too big and don’t put much of a check on my imagination.
In regards to Legends of Windemere, it’s based off a Dungeons & Dragons game that I played in college. The story was fun and the guy running the game agreed to let me write the stories. Since games typically run for a few years, if you’re lucky, the idea of a series was necessary. Each quest was a book, so I added character plots and events that made more sense in the book. The problem with a game is that the characters are almost always together, so you don’t get much in the way of individual development or scenes with only one character. This is probably another reason I went for a series because it gives me time to let each of my main characters develop naturally instead of competing for attention.
M: Are any (or all) of your characters, Luke and Selenia and Nyx, to name a few, based on people you know? Did they spring from your imagination in whole cloth or have you woven bits of people you know, other characters you’ve read, into them?
C: Luke Callindor is all me because he’s the one I played in the game. Most of the villains are mine too because the game never delved into them. Many of the other characters are variations of the other players. For example, Aedyn Karwyn the priest had no personality in the game and was named Aidan Quinn. I had to change all of that. One of the things I learned was that not everything translates well to a book, so I had to make a lot of changes. As the series progresses beyond the game (it died before it could finish), more 100% original characters will appear.
M: One of the things I find fascinating with your particular story is the plan you have for your writing. I believe the series will consist of five novels, is that correct? So many authors, traditionally published authors, may take up to a year in-between publications. You have yourself on a fast-track. Why is that? Is it the nature of self-publishing? The genre of Fantasy that lends itself to fast and furious publications?
C: Actually, I have 5 novels of the series done with 4 and 5 needing editing. The series will be 15 books long and then I move on to a solitary to close up a secondary’s character story. After that, I’m going to tackle vampires and so on and so on. I have about 30-40 series in various stages of outlining.
I think self-publishing does allow for faster releases, but some indie authors sacrifice quality control for that. I don’t think I will keep up this publishing rate when my publishing catches up to what I have written. I try hard to edit my books and get second opinions before putting it on Amazon. Truthfully, I’ve been trying to get published for 18 years. So, the reason it looks like I’m ahead is because I continued writing Legends of Windemere and outlining future series while submitting to agents and publishers.
M: I’m glad you make the point that you’ve been writing and trying to publish for so long. This isn’t some fluke or casual, “hey I got an idea for a book. I’ll just self-publish kind-of-thing.” You sound like the quintessential writer who simply has to write because you have so many stories in your head. You know, so many writers are influenced by other writers. Are there writers who have influenced you?
C: Being a fantasy author, I have been influenced by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Both of them created such amazing worlds that are still enjoyed today. I’ve also been influenced by Fred Saberhagen and John Flanagan because I love the memorable characters that they made. This fits into my goal of making a world and characters that people remember after they finish reading.
M: What is a typical writing day for you? Do you set yourself goals like word or page counts? What needs to happen for you to say that you’ve had a productive and satisfying writing day?
C: A typical day is getting a chapter edited or a chapter section written, depending on what I’m working on. I try to write a chapter or two a week when I’m doing a first draft. I have a lot of distractions at home, so I play it by ear a lot. So, I’m getting to the point where I need to get at least a few pages ahead to say I made progress.
M: Publishing, whether it’s self-publishing or traditional publishing, is very competitive. Writers who are coming out with their first novels or short stories may feel overwhelmed or intimidated by the marketplace. Do you have any advice for writers who aspire to be published authors?
C: Remain confident and promote your book on as many sites and mediums as you can find. Readers who see that you are determined and serious will take your book more seriously. Make friends with other authors of various levels to create a network of support. This is where you can get advice and can improve your writing skills by talking shop. The path of being an author isn’t one that you should take alone, so make friends and see it as a team sport.
M: Well, Charles, that’s great advice. I want to thank you again for taking the time for this interview. I encourage all my readers to immediately subscribe to your blog so they can stay on top of your progress and to purchase all three of your current publications. Would you like another chocolate milk before you head back?
C: I think I’ll get one to go. Marie, it was my pleasure to be interviewed by you. I’m looking forward to your next vict . . . guest.
M: (aside) Ha ha, Charles. Be careful I don’t spike your chocolate milk.
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Well, that’s it, folks! My interview with fantasy author, Charles Yallowitz. Be sure to follow his blog Legends of Windemere and pick up your copies of Bestiary of Blatherhorn Vale, Beginning of a Hero and Prodigy of Rainbow Tower at Amazon.com:
Welcome to an interview with John W. Howell, author of a new novel (working title: My GRL) soon to be published by Martin Sisters Publishing. John is also an editor at The Community Storyboard, a student of the haiku, a short story writer when he is not writing haikus or working on his next novel, and is my “partner in crime” in producing a weekly Top Ten List of Things Not To Do at both his blog, Fiction Favorites, and my own, 1WriteWay. John worked for 40-plus years in the private sector world before taking up writing full-time and is currently undergoing “margarita therapy” in an effort to overcome the unpleasant memories he has from that long, painful experience.
M: John, thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed. Of course, I wanted to return the favor since you had interviewed me not too long ago. And I do need to return this margarita glass that I inadvertently took with me when we last met. All that aside, I am very interested in your writing, how it all came about and where you want your writing career to go from here.
J: Marie, it’s a pleasure to be here. Thanks for returning the margarita glass. It was getting embarrassing to have to serve the odd margarita in a mason jar. Aren’t you going to offer me anything?
M: Oh, of course, my manners. I’m no good at mixing drinks so …
J: I’ll have some hot tea. I have a long drive back.
M: A pot of hot tea coming up. Be careful where you sit. There may be a cat on the chair.
J: Thanks for the warning. Since I have two cats as well and know they don’t like to be disturbed. Perhaps if you could just find me a chair without a cat in it.
M: Here you go. OK, let’s get started. So, elsewhere you’ve said that you worked for over 40 years in the business sector. If it’s not too painful, could you talk a bit about what you did, what your occupation was?
J: Yes, Marie (takes sip of tea). I actually had three separate careers. The first was in consumer marketing and sales where I worked for over twenty-two years. In that time I started as a section sales person and finished as President of a consumer healthcare division. The second career was as a consultant in consumer marketing. I worked as an independent consultant for about five years and then for my third career started when I was hired by one of my clients. The client was a major telecommunications company and I started as a cube dweller and worked for about fifteen years and finished as a director. I retired and began writing full time in 2012.
M: That’s really interesting! Has any of this experience influence or play a part in your writing?
J: I have a reoccurring character named Frank who embodies all the arrogance I witnessed by upper management when I was working. You know the attitude, believing everyone else is less than equal and not quite as smart. I am slowly torturing Frank by giving him a life that he loves mixed with a life of a homeless person. I do this in various stages of his dreams. So whenever Frank goes to sleep he wakes up under a different situation and the beauty is he remembers the previous dream and is in agony. I love it.
M: And you wrote a short story about Frank that received an Honorable Mention from Writer’s Digest in their Popular Fiction Contest. Our readers can enjoy “Cold Night Out” on the Community Storyboard. Congratulations on that award. So now you are retired from the business world. What prompted you to take up writing? Had you done any writing while you were employed before?
J: I actually did a fair amount of contract writing on my last job. I became very interested in the creative process which I then infused into the contracts I was creating. I was able to have living documents that two parties could embrace. It was this experience that got me to the keyboard so to speak. I finished my first book while still working. I printed it off and it is now holding the laundry room door open which seems the best purpose for a 122,000 word piece of trash.
M: I think a lot of us may feel the same way about our first novels. You’ve said that Kurt Vonnegut is a writer you look up to and that Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is the book that got you interested in reading. Do you have any other literary influences?
J: In college I studied comparative literature and part of the curriculum was a concentration on the classics. I guess if I were to pick another influence it would have to be Stephen Crain who wrote The Red Badge of Courage. It was not only a compelling story but also reflects the inner experience of its protagonist. This inner experience or feeling I continually bring out in my characters. One of the reasons I like to write in the first person is that my protagonist has the responsibility of interpreting the scenes around him and then explaining those scenes to the reader. This makes a story not so much as an external circumstance driving the protagonist but an inner conflict that is causing the behavior.
M: And it makes for a compelling story, much like “Cold Night Out” where the reader only knows as much as Frank knows. Let’s talk about Haikus. When did you start writing Haikus? You know, you are quite the master. For our readers, many of John’s haikus are featured on The Community Storyboard.
J: Oh, Marie, you are so nice to say Master, but I am a humble student. I was challenged by a fellow blogger who you know as Kirsten to bring some of my poetry out of the closet (so to speak). I had a great fear of being laughed out of the blogosphere with some of them. I started studying the various forms and somehow fell into Haiku since it comes close to my natural writing style. I practiced and read a lot about Haiku and so I guess I learned with a hands on method. Here is one for you:
Marie is the best, Truly cares for all near her . . . Secret of her smile.
M: (blushing) John, that is lovely and so sweet of you. Thank you. Here, have some tea (clears throat and sniffs). Now, I understand that My GRL is will be published by Martin Sisters Publishing. How did that come about? How has your experience with Martin Sisters been so far?
J: I finished the book and then went through the query process to find an agent. After about two months of no response, I went on line and looked up publishers who would take a chance on first time authors. Martin Sisters Publishing and a number of others came up and since they did not require an agent, I sent a query. They liked my query and asked for that I sign a contract which I was very happy to do. They are very thoughtful and have great respect for writers. I have really enjoyed the experience
M: As you know, many of our fellow writers are self-publishing these days. What are your thoughts on self-publishing? Did you consider self-publishing at all?
J: I was actually going to go the self-publishing route before contracting with Martin Sisters Publishing. I think self-publishing is the way to go if you have some aversion to relinquishing some control over your book. I was very faint of heart when I knew some rights like cover design were now in the hands of the publisher. Martin Sisters also has an option on the next book which I just finished so I am not sure I will be in the self-publish mode for a while. I would like to try it though.
M: Oh, you just finished your second novel? How exciting! Is this a sequel to the first?
J: Yes, it seems the story was too big to fit in one book so I ended the first with some question as to the justice system’s ability to bring the true perpetrator to trial. The second starts off with the protagonist being hailed as a hero and scheduled to appear at the White House for an award. All the while the person behind the original terrorist plot has another in mind and he wants to get his hands on the hero. Many more bullets fly in the next book.
M: Sounds like fun (big smile). So, what is a typical writing day for you? Do you set yourself goals like word or page counts? What needs to happen for you to say that you’ve had a productive and satisfying writing day?
J: My day starts with normal chores like walking dogs etc. By noon I am ready to write. I set a goal for one thousand words for the day on my WIP. Of course with blogs and e-mails I write more than that totally. A successful day to me is moving the story along and working out a twist or plot problem successfully. (Oh and getting all the 150 E-mails put somewhere.)
M: Hmmm, you get a lot of emails, too. Ah, you know, publishing whether it’s self-publishing or traditional publishing is very competitive. Writers who are coming out with their first novels or short stories may feel overwhelmed or intimidated by the marketplace. Do you have any advice for writers who aspire to be published authors?
J: Anyone who wants to be published needs to understand that the work is hard and the result needs to be a personal goal not driven by some other person. Given that understanding, the writer needs to write every day. It really doesn’t matter how much but every day is a must.
M: Well, John, that’s great advice. I agree that writing everyday, even if it’s just an email in response to 150 emails, is worth doing. I want to thank you again for taking the time for this interview. I know I am one of many others who are eagerly awaiting the publication of your first novel. I assume you will announce it on your blog, which again is Fiction Favorites. Would you like some more tea before you head back?
J: Marie, it was my pleasure to be interviewed by you. You have a lovely new kitchen and I must say your cats are well-behaved. Yes, I would love some more tea.
Well, that’s it, folks! My first interview with Haiku student (master), novelist, blogger, and all-around great guy, John W. Howell. Be sure to follow his blog Fiction Favorites. And please stay tuned for more interviews by 1WriteWay.
Totally awesome review about a totally awesome author! Sarah M. Craditt, Anne Rice, and Dickens all in the same breath. Go to Sarah’s blog now and find links to purchase her novels St. Charles at Dusk and The Storm and the Darkness.
So, something incredibly cool happened to me this week. And its just Monday!
It started a few weeks ago when Becket, who is the endlessly interesting and endearing assistant of Anne Rice, posted on his page that he was interested in knowing what other indie authors were working on. He is getting ready to publish his own stories, and has been very supportive of the indie community as a whole. I responded with some info about my novels, and a link to my Amazon Author Central profile. He replied that he had read the sample offered by Amazon (you can’t adequately imagine my surprise at that), so I offered to send him a copy, and he accepted. He was incredibly kind and gracious about the whole thing, and of course I was completely useless to the world for the rest of the day.
A couple of weeks ago I became a member of the Rome Construction Crew, a wonderful group of supportive bloggers and writers. I really want to use my membership as a way to advance my writing by setting attainable goals. Emphasis on the word attainable. Some of you may already be aware that I have a tendency to “over-do.” When I was (much) younger and better skilled at multitasking, “over-doing” was not too much of a problem. But I’m older now and multitasking often leaves me feeling dissatisfied: I might get a lot done, but none of it very well. With that in mind, I’m revisiting the goals I set out just a short time ago.
(1) Get off my own back. Now this is a worthy goal that needs to be at #1. If I don’t cut myself some slack, then I’ll just spent my precious remaining productive berating myself … you know, kind of like what I’m doing right now.
(2) Set up a schedule of posting that gives me time to write, but doesn’t make followers think I’ve fallen off the face of the earth.I want to start slow, let’s say with one original post for my blog and one original post for The Community Storyboard and one for Stuff It Tuesdays a week. Reading this goal again made me laugh. Really, “I want to start slow”? I admit that as soon as I wrote it, I realized I was probably setting myself up for failure. While, in the interim, I have managed to post to The Community Storyboard and to my own blog, I did miss on last week’s Stuff It Tuesday. So maybe I’ll just adjust this goal down to posting to The Community Storyboard and my blog. And maybe alternate. That all depends on whether I:
(3) Get organized. This probably should be Goal #2, if I want to think and act linearly. My office at my day job is fairly organized with files and drawers and post-it notes. But my working space at home is anything but organized. And it’s just going to get worse as we get closer to our new cabinet installation. OK, well, today is Saturday, so maybe tomorrow ???
(4) Write the third novel in my series, The Widow’s Club (working title). This is for July Camp NaNoWritMo and I will NOT adjust this goal. I am psyched about actually writing a third novel in a series, getting to know my characters that much more, see what sort of trials and tribulations I can put them through. See if any one survives ;)
So now I’m feeling a bit better about what I’m committing myself to. At least until my next update when I again berate myself for being lax in posting to The Community Storyboard ad nauseam.
For the duration of the summer, The Dragon’s Disciples will be available on Kindle for $1.99 ! Don’t have a Kindle? The paperback is only $9.99 ! Did I mention it is ever so beautiful?
BUT THAT IS NOT ALL.
Tuesday and Wednesday, The Heretic Priest (that would be The Age of Waking Death series book TWO!!) will be having an early release celebration sale to the tune of completely free on Kindle. But it is only for Tuesday and Wednesday (because random!) so be sure to grab your copy while you can. Again, no Kindle? Well, the paperback is only $7.99! Not bad for a new release!
Both books for less than $2.00, and endless amounts of intrigue, love, and sexy vampires? Yes please!!
Recently (okay, yesterday) I became a member of the Rome Construction Crew, and I am pretty excited about it. The crew are a wonderful group of people who I have been “following” (not stalking, following) since I rebooted my blog. From reading their posts on their goals, I could ascertain that nobody was putting the thumbscrews to anyone, no dissing or taunting if a crew member fell behind (well, ok, some good-natured ribbing now and then). Even though they have a lofty name to their crew (Rome Construction!), they are a warm and fuzzy group. Just what I need right now.
I gave serious thought to membership, to the point of making Green Embers wait a week, thinking he had missed my submission when in fact I hadn’t followed up when I said I would. Yes, off to a great start I was. I have a tendency to “over-do.” I usually have several projects of various types going on at the same time (including at my day-job). It was worse when I was on Zoloft. Now that I’m medication-free, I experience the appropriate sense of panic every time I commit myself to yet another obligation. But I still overcommit. Yet this, the RCC, feels very different.
In fact, my whole blogging experience feels very different. I don’t feel pressured by anyone, except myself. I know I’m not keeping up with reading and commenting like I had at the beginning, but no one is scolding me. I’m struggling with trying to write original posts, both for my blog and for The Community Storyboard and the Stuff It Tuesday collaborations with Writings of a Mrs, but nobody is giving me any grief over it. Nobody except me. So, in thinking about the goals I want to set for myself as a member of the RCC, I think the first one should be:
(1) Get off my own back. I am my own worst enemy. It’s been a lifetime pursuit to thwart my every chance at success and happiness. Rather than pat myself on the back for what I do accomplish, I admonish myself for what I don’t accomplish. This has to stop and it has to stop now. I think I can make that happen if I follow through on the next goals.
(2) Set up a schedule of posting that gives me time to write, but doesn’t make followers think I’ve fallen off the face of the earth. I want to start slow, let’s say with one original post for my blog and one original post for The Community Storyboard and one for Stuff It Tuesdays a week. That actually may be too much, but I am building some draft posts and I have plenty of writing around. I just need to:
(3) Get organized. Start taking time to go through my extant writing and sort out what may be appropriate for The Community Storyboard, for example. Organize my reading as well because I’m committed to provide reviews of books/stories from fellow bloggers (and those reviews would be original posts on my blog … two birds with one stone, except that I like birds and hate that little homily). Also, I plan to participate in the July Camp NaNoWriMo, write another 50,000 words for a third novel. And our kitchen is going to be redone in July, so getting organized would be nice. Not to mention how it would help with:
(4) Write the third novel in my series, The Widow’s Club (working title). You will be hearing a lot more about the three novels over the next several weeks (or into infinity) since once I start writing in July, there will be little to nothing of me left over for much else.
So these are my goals for the foreseeable future. I do have other goals, like ensuring that I go to yoga classes at least twice a week, that sort of thing. But for RCC, I want to focus on writing. That’s why I’m here. It’s what I do. (Well, I also knit but right now writing trumps knitting.)
So now I’ve put this all in writing and am about to send it into the blogosphere (I can hear the NSA starting to yawn). And since it’s past my bedtime, I’ll wish you all a good night.
This has been an incredible week for me. I’ve been honored with two awards; an essay that I posted to The Community Storyboard was Freshly Pressed; and then I was invited to be an editor on The Community Storyboard. It’s perhaps a bit ironic that, right around this time, I had responded to a post by Victoria Grefer on the milestone of considering yourself a writer. Part of my comment was: “I’m still hesitant to call myself writer, but I’m getting there.”
Well, after all that has happened this week, I want to announce that “I’m there.”
I AM A WRITER.
It feels good to put this in writing. It feels so damn good.
I subscribe to a few literary agent blogs: Nathan Bransford-Literary Agent, Bookends, LLC–A Literary Agency, and Lyons Literary LLC. I’m sure there’s plenty more out there, but these suffice for my limited perusing time. The great part of these blogs is that they are interactive: that is, their posts encourage lively discussion, and they sometimes offer free critiques which they then post as part of their blog. They are educational, which is their greatest appeal to me. Although I’m not yet peddling a novel, it’s never too early to learn about agents, that crucial link between you and publication.
Marie at 1 Write Way 