A pair of UK fantasy writers, Lydia Baker, and Lucy McLaren, decided to get together and give indie authors a platform for conversation. I was Lucy’s guest this week!
You’ll also find authors reading from their books and they do written interviews. Check out their channel to help them share and give fledgling authors a voice. Follow them on Instagram and learn how you can participate.
Lucy and I had technical issues and some of our conversation got lost in the ether. Stay tuned for more in an upcoming Introverted Indies Blog.
My guests this month are writers who have played a huge role in my growth as an author practically from the beginning but in a whole new way over this last year. We formed a writing group to share and discuss our works in progress. Our goal is to improve our writing by helping each other be a better writer through feedback–a simple concept, but it really works!
In this discussion, we will share the benefits gleaned from our focused group feedback on this amazing journey as well as our writer’s life, goals, and processes.
The Writers
Isa Ottoni
Isa began her journey as an avid fantasy reader who often wondered if, one day, she could write a book herself. It turned out that she could.
For Isa, the lens of fantasy helps her understand the world; the good and the bad, the whimsical and the dark. Much more than a form of escapism, she believes that speculative fiction has the potential to show a better future for ourselves, to take us on new adventures.
Besides writing and reading, Isa enjoys long runs through local parks, watering her plants with her adoring husband, and obsessing over the fanart of her favorite fantasy protagonists. You can find Isa on Instagram and Substack for her newsletter and published works.
Dylan
Dylan has never written a bio before and, as such, made this one in five minutes and hopes it doesn’t show.
For Dylan, his love of fantasy, morally grey characters, and dark humour led to him writing his very first story – It didn’t make the light of day and is currently locked in an undisclosed cupboard – It did however show him that he could and he would write.
Currently, Dylan is working on a fantasy novel set in 18th-century Scotland filled with Jacobean Sorcerers and mythological creatures he is proud of and one day hopes to share with others.
Outside of reading, writing, and generally feeling sorry for himself, Dylan enjoys Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and runs through his local dams.
Dylan hopes you have enjoyed hearing about him in the third person…
D. L. Lewellyn
D. L. Lewellyn is an independent author writing fantasy romance every chance she gets. A passion for writing took her by surprise in 2021 following a summer of voracious pandemic-induced reading in a new favorite genre, paranormal romance. Her latest publication, Les Romances des Trois, features three enchanting ménage à trois romances.
Besides self-publishing her novels, her stories have found homes in anthology publications, and many more are in the works. Ask anyone who knows her, and they’ll tell you she’s a dedicated multi-crafter.
She also enjoys blogging, chatting with authors and other creators on her monthly Sunday Spotlight, and classic cinema nights with her husband, dogs, and a big bowl of popcorn.
The Group
Thank you for joining us today! It’s great to have this opportunity to share how beneficial and fun it has been to participate as a group with these talented writers on Zoom. I’ll start with how we got together.
Isa and I have shared beta reads since meeting on Richie Billing’s Discord channel in 2022. Because we love the same genres and Isa is a voracious and insightful reader, it has been a hugely fun and much-appreciated collaboration. Isa was one of my first Spotlight Guests. I met Dylan on Richie’s channel that same year and we have chatted regularly ever since. Dylan’s insights have often been game-changers. When Isa asked about forming a writing group, Dylan was the first person I thought of. The progress we have made over the last year has more than met my expectations.
We have another member who is taking a break. We hope Dan can return because we enjoy his writing tremendously and are dying to get to that next chapter! Besides being so awesome with sharing feedback, all three group members are much younger than me and live in different countries. Their unique perspectives have been phenomenal and multi-layered and why I encourage writers to reach wide to find a community.
Let’s Get Started
Can you share who or what inspired you to be a writer and your favorite genres, books, or authors? What makes them your favorite?
Isa. It is so hard to pick favorites, especially because my answer will vary according to the last book I’ve read. But I’ll say that I’ve read fantasy since I can remember, and magic is what draws me into the stories. I love whimsical tales with a dash of darkness, compelling characters, and romantic subplots.
Marion Zimmer Bradley was/is a huge influence. The Mists of Avalon was one of my first contacts with feminist retellings and made me realize how powerful stories can be. I’m also a huge fan of Susanna Clarke, Suzanne Collins, and Anne Rice. Now, as an adult, I’ve discovered wonderful writers who inspire me every day. R.K. Ashwick, Ella Mcleod, Aiden Thomas, D.N. Bryn, A.J. White, T. J. Klune, to name a few.
And of course, the friends I made along the way. You, Darci, have been a great source of inspiration—I adore your stories and your feedback!
The indie community is stunning, and it opens a world of opportunities to us. So I kept thinking, maybe I could do this too. I gave it a shot, and it worked. I’ll have my debut novel published with a small press next year, and it is honestly a dream come true.
Dylan. I was first inspired when I played the video game God of War (several years after its release.) I found myself immersed in the world that the Santa Monica studio created and loved their storytelling, but the thing that really caught my attention was how they mixed gods from different pantheons (Greek with the Norse) so seamlessly into one narrative. After this, I bought two books on writing, (Techniques of the Selling Writer, and Save the Cat! Writes a Novel). I read both in their entirety, scrolling notes across their pages, and creating my own notes of actionable points. Then I wrote the worst book I have ever written and loved it. Why? Because I had done what I had set out to do and learned so much along the way to help with my future projects.
As my above answer may suggest, I value storytelling above “writing” per se. A lot of my knowledge/instinct comes from different media outside of novels. I love playing video games, reading their scripts, and love comics/graphic novels.
The Last of Us gripped me from the get-go with the father and “daughter” story at its heart whilst they encounter a cast of characters that would live in this post-apocalyptic world. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Blacksad comics have also been influential to me as well. I believe both have isolated how dialogue can carry the story and have great character arcs over words and pictures.
But all of this does not make up for the fact that a novel writer must read novels. The top three, in no particular order I would read on a desert island until the pages fade away, are; The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and The Night Circus. All of which I have chosen because of the vivid experience I had whilst reading, the wide cast of characters, and the dark tale each of them tells.
Isa. I LOVE The Lies of Locke Lamora too! Such a great book.
Darci. Wow! Thank you both. It is so hard to pick favorites, but you two nailed the what and the why. Dylan, I love your take on the storytelling aspect. It comes through in our group time and again. And your three top faves are on my list. Isa, what a treat to know you love one of my all-time favorites, Mists of Avalon. Now, I know why we love each other’s stories so much. This link is to Thriftbooks in case anyone wants a paper or hardback. The book left images in my mind for years after reading it. I had the hardcopy edition on my bookshelf for so long and wish I still did so I could absorb it again as an author. I might have to buy it again.
I just remembered a framed print I had in the 80s of Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott inspired by Tennyson’s poem. I bought it because of the book like so many fans did back then.
Can you share an overview of your current projects and writing goals? If we came back a year from now, what would you want most to have accomplished? Five years from now?
Isa. I’m working on my second novel and sharing my writing with our group. In the meantime, I’ll be editing and marketing my debut—a colossal task. I hope readers will enjoy my book, and be as excited about it as I am. I hope I can find my readership and grow a community. I hope I don’t make a fool out of myself on social media, but given the number of silly videos I post, that ship might have already sailed.
Five years from now… Maybe I’ll be a full-time author? That’s the dream, isn’t it?
Dylan. Currently, I am writing a fantasy novel set in 18th-century Scotland with kilt-wearing whisky drunk sorcerers. Mythical beings aplenty, and a dark tale at its core. My number one writing goal is to continue fine-tuning this current draft month to month from the feedback I receive from this writing group. In a year from now, I want to have a polished story I can show to potential agents or publishers.
Five years? Hopefully a lot! I want to have written “What happens” next to my current novel (I have it outlined.) Redraft a horror Christmas novel I have a first draft of. And last but certainly not least I have written the first 8 issues of a comic set in the UK which is a mix of “The Walking Dead” and Disney’s “Zootropolis”. I would love to bring this to life with a talented comic artist, but those are all battles for different times.
Just now my focus is on the present and that means getting the best version of my first novel.
Darci. I’m super glad I get to be around to see all these wonderful goals in the works and the ones coming to fruition. And your IG is so fun, Isa! You’ve got a lively vibe. Keep up the good work.
I have seven novels started and two are my focus for 2025. I hope to publish one of those by the end of next year. Five years from now, it would be lovely to have two to three more published, but that means I need to speed up my process! There’s so much more work involved with self-publishing than the writing part, and I had no idea. Marketing can be a fun creative outlet, and I enjoy reaching out to readers and connecting with writers and all of it takes a lot of time. I’m constantly feeling like I’m missing opportunities, while I find others. Whiplash! It’s a matter of finding the right balance. Nearly four years in, and I’m figuring some of that out.
How do you fit writing into your busy work schedules and lives, and how important is it to make it happen? If you could manage it, would writing be your primary occupation?
Isa. Yes! I love my day job, I really do, but writing is what makes me the most happy, what gives me purpose. So I write whenever I can, in the mornings, weekends, and days off. When I can’t write, I think about it, make up scenes in my mind, and plan what I’ll write next.
I try to organize my time but also let it be flexible. For instance, I’ll usually work first, make sure all the “official” demands are met, and then I move on to writing. I plan my week out so it is easy to see which days are more open, and which days are not. But also, since I love writing, I’ll often do it anyway, even if I’m tired or busy. Sometimes, just a couple of lines, or a paragraph is enough. I’m writing and that’s enough.
Dylan. I have an excel sheet I update whenever I need to. I use it as a weekly schedule of my non-negotiables (Work hours, exercise, and family time.) After this I see where my “free time” is and plan in my writing. Typically, this means I have 1-2 hours of writing a day Sunday – Thursday. And a minimum of an hour Friday and Saturday. I do, however, always tend to “accidentally” write a little longer.
And I don’t know if I would make writing my main occupation. For me, it is an escape. I work in the science sector. In a job that I worked hard to get. I would like to add to my life with writing, but I would not want to choose one in place of the other. Besides, I feel writing benefits from having daily interactions in the real world. I feel if I became a full-time writer I would be more isolated from others. A lot of my idea’s on characters come from my interactions with others.
DLL. So, I would say you both make writing a priority because it’s a joy for you. Me too! And I’m envious of your organizational discipline! Of course, you have an Excel sheet Dylan.😄 And you make a good point. Isolation is a very real hazard. I retired early to write, and I can say I am officially a recluse. I’m sure I’ll just disappear one day and someone will find my bones piled up by my dilapidated computer. Thank goodness for both of you keeping me planted in the real world at least a couple of times a month.
Can you share your top highlights from our writing group engagement?
Isa. Community; Support; Learning; Accountability. Having a writing group is a game changer, and I would not be where I am right now without it. Having author friends gives us a sense of community and that is precious. Writing can be such a solitary endeavor, but knowing there are people out there excited about your story makes it so much easier. The support we get from a group is everything. We learn a lot — and I mean A LOT — from sharing what we write. We are sometimes blind to our own work, so having more people look at it makes all the difference. Giving and receiving feedback is such a formative thing; I learn as much from critiquing other people’s work as I do having my work critiqued. Finally, scheduled meetings mean we must meet the deadlines, and it gives us that extra boost to actually sit down and write.
Dylan. Darci, Isa, and Dan are all excellent writers with their own distinct styles, voice, and different strengths in their storytelling that always has me asking, “And then what?”
Through the course of our engagements, it has shown me that my writing problems are not unique. All of us at one stage or another of our stories come across similar problems in our writing but having this group means that instead of us individually hitting our heads against the wall until we break through we can discuss a solution that others have found that works for them. And even if it doesn’t work for me it at the least highlights the problem, giving me a direction to look.
Outside of this, I find having group submissions gives me a deadline that wouldn’t exist otherwise. It’s a cheesy saying that “pressure makes diamonds.” But I genuinely feel without this group, most of my ideas would still be carbon deposits (Not coal! Inner science nerd.)
Darci. Absolutely fantastic takeaways and all things I would list too. I would just add as I did at the outset that, having begun writing so late in life and writing to a younger, diverse audience, it has been invaluable to have the insights and perspectives of significantly younger, well-read, focused writers who also have varied cultural and world views. My writing has a better chance of appealing to a wider audience.
I used to tell Dylan I worried I was too old-fashioned, and I think I said the same to you, Isa. These days, thanks to bridging gaps during our sessions, I’m feeling much better about that, and hopefully, you both have gained from sharing your writing with an elderly person. 😁
We have a lot of fun discussing our process–the techniques or methods we’ve discovered along our journeys. The ideas and examples we exchange during our video meetings have often been huge motivators and eye-opening moments. I’ve found it interesting how our techniques evolve, giving way to completely different approaches and sometimes circling back to earlier methods. What are some of your best practices that have stuck with you and why?
Isa. I tend to rush my plot; I get excited about certain scenes and I skim over the connecting bits. I learnt that I do that with the group. It is funny how we don’t see the problem until someone else points it out. So now, as I draft, I pay much more attention to the details, taking my time to set the scene, to flesh out characters, to show beats where I’d otherwise use a montage. I’m a sucker for montages, but I must use them sparingly.
I listen to feedback and use it in my next session, without exception. That’s how I learn, always trying to improve, to make my thoughts clear on the page.
Dylan. Great question! My early drafts play out like a film with all my scenes, settings, and characters interacting but I tend to lack emotional depth in the form of indirect and direct internal dialogue where it matters. This has been highlighted in my submissions and now on completion of my draft, I go back through my piece and highlight all the points as I read where I feel if I was in my character’s position I would react. I also have trigger point characters where my character should always feel some deep emotions whenever they are mentioned so I search my drafts for their names/places/times and always make sure it’s a significant moment when they are mentioned (Otherwise delete them as why am I mentioning them?)
Darci. I can totally relate to rushing when those ideas hit! I still find spots where I leaped too fast between scenes in my published books! And we know how Isa loves her montages, so here’s a little Team America for you, Isa.
Along with the previous question, are you a pantser, a plotter, or somewhere in between? How do you get your plot and character ideas? How do you build on them?
Isa. I began as a pantser, which works great for short stories, but not so much for full-length books. So I’m trying to improve my plotting skills, and right now, I’m somewhere in between. My brain does not enjoy plotting, bullet points suck the life out of my story, so I’ve discovered a way to trick myself into plotting, making it fun as I go.
I start with vibes. A scene, and characters, an arc. Then, what I do is this:
My draft zero is an interview with my characters. That’s not for the reader, just for me. I know their end game, but I’m not sure how we get there, so I sit them down and ask.
For my current WIP, it looks something like this:
Hey, [name redacted], how did you become the consort of two immortal vampires?
Or
Hey, [names redacted], how did you two become vampires?
Then, I let them speak, in a monologue, I let them tell me their story. It sounds crazy, but I swear it works. I’m pantsing, brainstorming, and learning their voices as I go. Whatever comes out of it will have my plot, the scenes I must write, and a blueprint of my story.
Then, I draft. The first draft is messy, and honestly the most fun. I don’t stop until I reach the end, and that means NO EDITING. It’s hard, the urge to edit is strong, but I’ve learnt to control it.
The second draft is development editing and making it readable, and that is the draft I show people (my writing group and critique partner).
The third draft is applying the feedback, making it better. Still not polished, but the story and characters will be much stronger. That’s the draft I’ll show the editor. A couple of drafts afterwards and I’ll have a book!
Dylan. It all starts with the seed of an idea. Sometimes it’s a character, sometimes it’s a plot, sometimes it’s a conversation. I scribble these all on Word documents and then come back to them from time to time. If after some time has passed and I still feel the excitement for the initial idea and it’s longer than a short story, I purchase a nice notepad and expand on my starting idea and just write the longest mess possible, over a weekend at most. I then ask myself questions. Not limited to these but just a few examples:
What do I like about my story?
What don’t I like?
Is my current main character the correct POV to follow for this story?
What is the throughline of my story?
What arc will my character have?
After this I tend to have a bit of distance from the story but keep the notepad, sprinkling in any ideas, I have over the course of a week to a month. Then I make an outline for my story without looking at anything I have written (I hope the good ideas will have stayed with me.)
After I have this outline I sit down and write my zero draft of my book, treating the outline like train tracks to guide my story, but I welcome being derailed and following the train elsewhere.
When I’m finished with this draft, I give myself distance from the story. Then when I return it’s a lot of discovering if what I originally thought my story was about is still the case.
If not, what is it about now? Find this answer and make an outline for my next draft to make sure everything in this draft serves this purpose.
After this draft, it’s all about fine-tuning the story and that is what I am currently doing. As a newer writer, I have had less experience at these last steps. They are definitely the most rewarding and painstakingly difficult.
P.S. If anyone has an easier way, please tell me!
Darci. I just had the most fun diving into both of your processes! I can’t wait to sit down for an interview with my dragon shifter, Michael Elliott, and Onyx, his dragon. He’s one of the three MMCs in my series and getting his own book, hopefully this year. I might know him well but not well enough! My heart a swinging by the seat of my pants every step of the way. I have no patience for mapping things out because I just want that story to come out. Four years later, I am employing a bit more organization and development as I go.
How I think of Isa working on her magical stories…
Isa. Okay, this is spot on! LOVE IT!
And Dylan, gotta love your notebooks! They work and they’re easy to hoard.
This is how I always picture Dylan at work on his plots.
If you haven’t visited Heart Breathings on YouTube, you might enjoy author Sarra Cannon’s channel. She has a notebook challenge every year and it’s coming up. It’s just one of her writing challenges and tips she shares with her huge following. I followed her before I started writing, back when I was a planner geek.
I told you I loved notebooks Dylan. I’m truly baffled that I don’t use them more for writing.
If you could share only one tip or resource for new writers, what would it be? Okay, so that might be tough to narrow down. Feel free to add a couple more.
Isa. Brandon Sanderson’s lectures on Youtube are a must watch. Even if you’re not into his books like me (I know, what a sacrilege, but it is what it is), his lessons are GREAT for baby writers. I’ve learnt a lot from him.
But I’ll also say that, if you want to write, you MUST READ. Not only crafting books, but books books, fiction within and outside your genre. Read and then think: Why did I like these books? Why didn’t I? What made me so invested in these characters, why am I grinning and kicking my feet, or why do I find this beat boring? This is the greatest exercise for writers in every stage of their craft. Read, read, read. Then write, write, write.
Dylan. I have two pieces of advice. One is to write what you want to read. There is no guarantee what you write is ever going to be successful (And in my opinion, it doesn’t have to be.) So why not write the story that you are proud of? I’m sure it will connect with someone who feels the same way and isn’t that what a story is all about?
And two. When it comes to the actual writing process, treat your first draft as your zero draft. By this I mean take all the pressure off yourself. Write with your initial plan, follow your instincts, don’t be afraid to bullet point parts you don’t fully know. Just get every ounce of that raw story on the page. After that comes the fun part. Look at that steaming pile of S…Story. And look for its strengths and weaknesses, make a plan you are comfortable with, and then work on your first proper draft. This draft is what you will edit. Otherwise, it is too easy to get hung up on getting it perfect the first time and for me personally, that is impossible. I need to fail before I can succeed.
Darci. I knew you both would have a wealth of great things to share on technique. I’ll just add how valuable I find writing analysis tools like Autocrit analyzers and Read Aloud on Word. Both trained me to recognize all those endless weird things you do when you first start writing… repetition, redundancy, overusing adverbs, passive voice, all things you overlook unless it’s reflected back to you audibly or statistically. Listen to your writing. Search for overused words like “this,” or those filter words Isa hates like… look, know, think, and feel. You might be shocked at the number of hits.
And really, this reflecting is what we give back to each other in our group participation.
Thanks so much! This has been a blast as well as inspirational. I can’t wait to see where we are at next year. In the meantime, happy writing!
Isa. Thank you so much for having us! Looking forward to seeing you in our next meeting!
Today, we get to chat with an author who is launching her debut novel this month… like this week… like Wednesday to be exact! Awesome. But that’s not all. The book is being adapted into a feature film. So, sit back with a cup of tea, mulled cider, or whatever November beverage is your favorite, and enjoy.
Let’s Meet the Author
Nikki Brooke, a science fiction author and scriptwriter from Australia, champions bisexual representation in books and films. A proud bisexual herself, Nikki challenges stereotypes, drawing from her own journey of self-discovery. Refusing to be confined by societal expectations, Nikki embraces the complexity of her identity, breaking down misconceptions and defying conventional beliefs about bisexuality with each stroke of her pen.
Her writing talent has earned accolades, including finalist in the 7th Annual Launch Pad Prose Competition and semi-finalist in the ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition. Several of her short stories have found homes in anthologies from various publishers.
Nikki’s debut dystopian novel, “Plagued Lands,” is due for release November 2024 and a film adaption is in the works with Crow Knight Films. This dystopian masterpiece promises to captivate audiences with its stark portrayal of a future built on deception and greed. Through her work, Nikki endeavors to pave the way for a more inclusive and diverse literary and film landscape.
With her boundless creativity and unwavering commitment to authenticity, Nikki Brooke stands as a trailblazer in the world of storytelling, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere.
Let’s Get Started
Thank you so much for joining me during your super busy month, Nikki! I’ve been looking forward to our chat.
First things first. I have to share this amazing cover for Plagued Lands.
Just stunning!
After following your debut rollout, I would have to say that your launch is the best planned, thorough, and most fun I’ve followed for any author. You’ve done a brilliant job engaging on Instagram. The story initially captured my attention.
Then came the announcement of the film adaptation and enticing invitation to follow the project through your beautiful website. And lastly, I was super impressed when the gorgeous cover and poster art appeared. You even have a nice swag package with character art to go with the purchase of your book. (There are still a couple days left to get in a preorder! I got my copy!!) And now you have a launch party in three days!
How does it feel to be on the cusp after this incredible journey?
NB. Wow! What an introduction! Thank you so much for your kind words. As you alluded to, a lot of work has gone into this launch. It’s my debut novel and a dream I’ve had since I was 8yo, so I wanted it to be a big deal. I feel a bit like I’m on the edge of a cliff, but whether there is water or rocks at the bottom is yet to be determined. It’s exhilarating and scary at the same time. But mostly, I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. It’s taken a lot of courage and I’ve had to overcome depression, anxiety and a lot of negative beliefs to be here today.
DLL. That is incredible! To fulfill a dream you’ve had since you were eight… I can only imagine the highs and lows, especially when struggling with the challenges of depression. I’ll go a little Aussie and say… Good on ya!
I couldn’t help tapping into my Aussie vibe with a bit of imagery. 😉 Can you share how you got started as a writer and who or what were your biggest inspirations?
NB. I wrote my first book at 8, it was a fantasy story about 5 pages long and illustrated which I bound myself. I still have it, haha. And since then, I’ve wanted to tell stories. However, I wouldn’t admit it then because I was such a slow reader and I was embarrassed. I read Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson which was the first story that made me cry (it still makes me cry) and from then on, I was a bookworm.
I got a diploma in Professional Writing in Editing after High School and thought I was on my way. But then crippling depression and anxiety stopped me from pursuing my dreams. It was only a few years ago after meeting a life coach that I started to believe in myself and my writing skills.
As a teen John Marsden, Sheryl Jordan, and R.L. Stine were my inspirations. Today lots of indie authors inspire me, like Alice Hanov, Nikky Lee, and Ash Oldfield, as well as traditionally published authors, Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff, and C.S. Pacat.
DLL. Thank you so much for sharing your journey. So inspiring. And thanks for the great additions to my TBR. I have not read any of these authors but Jay Kristoff. I still need to finish the very long Empire of the Vampire…
When did making the film come into play and how did that project roll into the novel debut? I find it fascinating how the two projects seem to be simultaneous, and it’s not often an author has such an exciting prospect for their very first novel, at least in my frame of reference. It also seems so monumental. I would love to hear the story.
NB. I was approached by a producer after my other novel (unpublished) was listed as a finalist in two different cinematic book competitions. He liked the concept of Plagued Lands better for a lower budget film so we decided to adapt it instead of the other book.
Of course, that meant it was best for me to hurry up and get the Plagued Lands book out, so I decided to self-publish. I founded Crow Knight Film & Publishing Realm to produce both the book and film.
Because it’s an independent film, I get a lot of creative input and it’s been wonderful going through the process of writing my very first feature film script! It’s been a whirlwind of ups and downs doing both the film and book together, and I haven’t had a lot of sleep this year, haha.
DLL. Wow! When would you have time to sleep? And who needs it when there are so many creative to-dos on your list. It’s awesome watching you check them off, which highlights again how momentous Wednesday will be.
What advice do you have for indie authors with the same aspirations?
NB. Because self-doubt was my biggest barrier, I will always encourage authors to believe in themselves and to believe their big dreams are achievable. Be brave and share your stories. And secondly, always continue to hone your craft. Read new releases in your genre so you know current readers’ expectations, but also read books in other genres and periods to find things you might want to experiment with. Take courses, go to conferences, get feedback on your writing, etc etc.
How did you find and build your connections/collaborations for the book and film? Can you tell us about Crow Knight Films? Has filming started and where will it be shot? Any other juicy details? 🙂
NB. The juicy news is that I dumped the original producer who approached me… let’s say due to ‘creative differences’ which I cannot elaborate on. I had already founded Crow Knight Films to produce alongside him, but now I am in talks with other producers and investors. So the project is still pushing forward. Although I don’t regret firing the producer, it has been a setback, so filming will still be a while off, unfortunately.
DLL. A great example of taking the bumpy risks that keep you in the driver’s seat and ending the ride where you need to be. I love it! I look forward to following you to the finish line.
I would love to hear about the artists who designed your covers, character art, and promotional materials. Can you share any tips or advice on seeking art collaborations?
NB. Oooh, I love my cover! It was designed by Alan and Ian at The Book Designers. They were fabulous to work with. They asked a lot of questions and got me to provide examples of covers I liked.
They provided several draft designs. I chose two and they worked on them further to whittle it down to one. This one became my favourite, and I asked for a few more changes to get it popping like it does now.
I found these designers by looking at other books with covers I love. The Book Designers also did The Head, the Heart, and the Heir by Alice Hanov which I adore! So it was a no-brainer to go with them. I suggest researching artists of covers you like and finding someone who can produce something similar within your budget.
For my character art, I found a digital artist on Fiverr. I liked the style of the work she displayed and she can draw from scratch without using AI. I started with a trial character but ended up commissioning her to do 9 different designs. I was really happy with the results.
And some of the designs in my promotional material I created myself using Canva. I also like to draw, so I’m hoping I can produce something good enough to give to people at a later stage.
DLL. I really like the color and lighting the artist uses for your characters. Thank you for these great tips.And I saw that The Book Designers features Plagued Lands on their home page. Awesome!
PersephoneNathanSebastianWillMother Jessica
Can you talk about the technical process for your debut? Now that you can look back, what are your best tips and what might you do differently or avoid next time?
NB. I learned a lot from my editor for this book. There’s not a lot I’d necessarily do differently, but thanks to her I’m more aware of the importance of high stakes than I was before writing Plagued Lands. I was a little too kind on my characters in the first draft. And each problem Martina faced was solved before she moved onto the next problem. Everything tied up nicely, but it meant it lacked tension and didn’t hold the readers’ attention. So there were some big rewrites, and I don’t think my future stories will require as much now I’ve learned that.
DLL. This is so great to share with new writers. It’s a common learning curve. Thank you!
Can you highlight the writing/publishing tools/resources you can’t live without, and how you discovered them?
NB.Scrivener!! I love it so much. I generally consider myself a fairly organised person, but I never felt it while using Word to draft with. Now I have Scrivener, it’s easy to find all my notes, research, and details. It’s easier to plot my novel due to the text and folder structure, plus the corkboard and outline views – oh and being able to label/categorise scenes. I also find it’s amazing for setting targets. And the cost is reasonable. There is a steep learning curve when you first start using it, but it’s worth it. In case you’re wondering, no I don’t work for Scrivener, haha, I’m just a big fan. I found out about it through another author mentioning it online, I think it was Victoria Aveyard.
Another one I can’t live without is The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi. It’s easy to get repetitive when describing emotions, and this book helps to mix it up a bit. It gives you a list of emotions, their physical signals, internal sensations, mental responses, and more.
DLL. Ooh. I’m getting that book! Thanks! I know how awesome Scrivner is supposed to be, but I’m so comfortable in MS Word. Still, Word is not the best for storyboarding or managing multiple parts of a project. I seem to live and breathe in my draft manuscripts, discovering the story as I write them, and I haven’t found that freedom in Scrivener, as ironic as that is since these platforms are meant to provide creative freedom. It’s clear you’ve discovered that. I keep wanting to try it again on the next project, especially when someone raves about how cool it is.
NB: I would say it’s probably not as useful for people who are pantsers or can keep all the details in their heads. I like to plot and have a terrible memory for details, which is why it works so well for me. If you feel comfortable in Word, then keep at it.
DLL. Lookie! I got my copy already…
This is awesome!
And I am a true pantser no matter how many other methods I experiment with. Flying by the seat of my pants is my creative zone.
Now, let’s talk about Plagued Lands. Elements of the plot remind me of a favorite classic movie, Logan’s Run. I do love a good dystopian tale! How would you describe Plagued Lands if someone stopped you on the street and wanted to know about your book?
NB. I absolutely love Logan’s Run!! What a classic! I’ve probably been subconsciously inspired by it. The Plagued Lands story and concept is completely different, but it does have a similar vibe in the sense that the people in charge are lying to the citizens and the main character has to figure out the truth.
I often compare it to The Hunger Games, because that’s the most famous comparable dystopian right now and it definitely influenced the writing style of Plagued Lands. And it’s a good benchmark because most people have heard of it, although it also has comparisons to Want by Cindy Pon and Legend by Marie Lu. But Plagued Lands does have a unique setting plus a bisexual main character.
Plagued Lands is a young adult dystopian. In the future, cities surrounded by glass bubbles promise safety from deadly diseases. But a resilient teen uncovers a dark secret kept from the people. Now she risks her health to expose the truth and save her little brother.
DLL. I’m always showing my age with my movie references. LOL. Though I love the Hunger Games Movies, too! I can’t wait to read Martina’s story.
NB. Seriously, I need to reiterate that I LOVE Logan’s Run!! It was one of my Dad’s favourite films and I remember watching it with him when I was little. It was true daddy-daughter bonding. That film, coupled with the original Star Wars, were the films that got me into Science Fiction.
DLL. I’m so happy to glean that precious nugget about you and growing up, Nikki!
(Had to share this image from the Amazon Prime Video thumbnail. It links to the movie)
What characters or character traits were the most compelling to write and why?
NB. Martina is just a touch gruff and I love that about her. She’s flawed and imperfect, which makes her more relatable.
She has a lot of self-doubt and I think that’s a reflection of how I felt when I was writing Plagued Lands because I was overcoming my own self-doubt. We both grew stronger and braver together. To clarify, she’s still her own character, she’s not a reflection of me, she just shares some traits.
DLL. Super compelling! All my characters channel some part of me, so I totally dig it when traits we relate to as authors spill into our characters, which in turn makes them relatable to readers.
That’s why I encourage people to try their hand at fiction, to experience life through a character’s surprising perspectives and watch in astonishment when they take flight on their own as a unique individual.
What inspired the setting and what elements were the most fun to get lost in?
NB. It’s set in a futuristic Texas. There are hints as to which city in the book, but a big hint is that I used to live in Austin. The bubble cities were inspired by a Sunday morning drive. Weird, I know. But I had to be up early on a Sunday, and the streets were empty, except for one guy who leisurely strolled across the road. It seemed out of place when the streets were so empty and it made me wonder in what other situation would it be strange to see someone outside. That’s when I came up with the concept of people living in semi-sterile bubble cities who don’t venture outside unless they’re wearing hazmat suits.
Many people have thought Plagued Lands was inspired by Covid, but in truth, this Sunday morning inspiration hit me several years before Covid was ever heard of. But I started writing it in 2020 because the pandemic felt like a sign this story should be written.
The most fun part is Martina experiencing things she never has before. I don’t want to give too much away but one thing that was fun was figuring out how to describe a lizard if you’ve never seen one before. And she has a few other innocent encounters with animals too. And the decontamination process for re-entering the city is fascinating. I love what I came up with.
DLL. The Texas choice is such a great story! And aren’t those quirky plot details the most joy during the writing process… all that amazing research put into action?
This is the start of the series. Can you share a glimpse into future installments? Will they also come to the screen?
NB. Yep, I’ve planned for Plagued Lands to be a trilogy. I’m writing book two now and have most of book three plotted out too. I certainly know how it all ends. Hopefully, we can make all three into films, however, it will depend on the success of the first film.
And some juicy gossip—which I haven’t officially announced yet, so you’re getting a scoop—is that I am also writing a prequel novella. It will have Martina’s backstory. I’m hoping to release it early next year.
DLL. Ooh. This is so exciting! Thank you for sharing your prequel on our Spotlight!
I love hearing about a writer’s daily life and how and where writing and creativity fit in. Can you share how you balance life with writing and the business of being an author?
NB. I’m not sure there is much balance, haha. Writing has to fit around my day job. Many people are surprised to hear I’m also a finance business partner (a type of accountant/analyst), so I’m both creative and analytical, which is rare. Although writing is my bigger passion, I still love my finance job, and it’s even better because I work for a wonderful charity. But it does mean my time is stretched between the two.
I find writing sprints work really well for drafting. In a twenty-minute sprint, I can write 300 to 500 words and I can usually find a few times a week to do that. This year it’s been harder because I’ve been more focussed on the business side of writing and publishing, which includes marketing and administration tasks. I don’t love that side of being an author, but it’s necessary for people to be able to find my book. That’s the goal and I love it when I hear Plagued Lands is now someone’s new favourite book (which one advanced reader told me, eeee!). But I’m sure now that I’ve published one book (or almost published) it will be easier going forward and I can focus more on writing again. Yay! I can’t wait to get stuck into the next Plagued Lands installment.
DLL. Awesome on the writing sprints! Those really add up. I’m wondering if being analytical is a beneficial trait to have when it comes to writing sci-fi. Hmmm.
Do you have a favorite work setting, a place you escape to that inspires your creativity?
NB. I have a desk at home, but I also use it for my finance job, so it gets a bit boring and can block creativity. Therefore, I love to go to cafes to write. Of course, I think I look like one of those mysterious authors in a dark corner of a cafe, but everyone does it these days, so it’s not so mysterious anymore, haha.
I like the happy vibes in cafes. It’s always best if it’s one with acoustics where you can’t really hear what people are saying too much, or else it interrupts my concentration. Although, I have heard listening in on people’s conversations can be a great way to learn writing dialogue and I have been guilty of that occasionally.
I also love traveling and feel inspired when I take a trip. I often take my computer with me, or at least a portable keyboard that allows me to write on my phone. I’m heading to Sri Lanka in a few weeks, so I’m sure to get a burst of inspiration there.
DLL. Fabulous! I can see how utilizing the day job location for writing might stifle creativity. This is why I enjoy asking about creative spaces–learning about so many fantastic ideas and processes. I love the coffee shop idea, and your super tip on listening into conversations for dialog ideas. And yes, there is so much to getting out in the “wild” for inspiration. Traveling is the bomb. That’s how you and I struck up our conversation. We’ve traveled (or in your case lived) in each other’s countries. I’ll say officially how much I love Australia… in case no one has picked up on that yet. 😉
I reached back into my 2018 photos and grabbed my favorite Melbourne shots. I stayed at a mini farm in a suburb called Hurstbridge, Nullimbuk Shire. We explored art at beautiful Montsalvat in Eltham and took a train into the city, naturally. I adored tea at the Hopetoun Tea Room and exploring the Bourke Street Mall.
What other travel experiences have inspired you?
NB. Yes!! That is how we connected which is so cool! It’s so nice to hear you enjoyed Australia. Obviously, Texas inspired me, hence setting my book there. I have taken a lot of inspiration from travelling through Egypt and Greece with all the rich history and mythology. But I think everywhere I’ve been has inspired me a little and even places I haven’t been to but want to go. One of my other books, The Huxian Fox, which I hope to release next year (not part of the Plagued Lands trilogy) has mythology from China and Greece throughout it, and I haven’t been to China yet. It’s a space opera where the characters visit lots of planets, and the descriptions of many of those places were inspired by real places I’ve visited, like the Wadi Rum desert, English pubs, Greek temples, Angkor Wat temples and even Melbourne when I grew up.
DLL. Fantastic! Is this another reveal? It sounds amazing and I can’t wait for more.
Can you share your favorite productivity techniques, tools, or resources?
NB. Like I said earlier, my biggest barrier is my mental health, so when it’s bad, I love to put on a guided meditation that boosts my energy (you’ll feel energised instead of relaxed by this meditation). It’s called, 6 Minutes of Courage, Confidence, and Positive Energy by Kenneth Soares and you can listen on Insight Timer which is free. It’s a great way to start the day or a writing sprint.
And writing sprints is the next one. Setting your timer for 20 minutes and you’re not allowed to do anything but write for that period. No looking at your phone. Anything that needs researching needs to wait until after (I make a note to come back to it in those instances). No using the thesaurus (again, make a note and move on). Just write. What I write might not be great sometimes, but it’s better than nothing, and it helps me to think up more ideas.
I also found that I work well with setting goals. It’s probably my analytical brain kicking in. Some people can write 10,000 words in a day. I know I’m not one of them. So I set goals more like 10,000 words in the month, or 40,000 in the month, depending on what else I have going on in that month. I did the 50k in a month for Nano one year, and it was hard. I don’t think I’ll stretch myself that much again, but I was glad I did it. Other potential goals are creating 4 social media posts and scheduling them, or something like that.
DLL. So many encouraging ideas! Thank you! And I’ll add my plug here on the benefits of meditation.
I’m trying for 50,000 words this National Novel Writing Month, but I’m running into so many obstacles with another really full schedule. Still, it’s early. I’ve got 7,000 words down and should pat myself on the back, eh?
NB. Well done on your 7k and best wishes for the rest of the month. It is tough but also feels amazing when you smash out 50,000 words!
This has been so much fun, Nikki! Thanks again for visiting my blog. Any last advice you would like to share?
NB. Thank you so much for having me!! It’s been a real pleasure and you’re an amazing interviewer! My last advice is to reiterate that writers need to believe in themselves and their dreams. You can do it!
DLL. Awe, thanks, Nikki! I can’t wait to check in with you a year from now and discover the latest on Plagued Lands.
In Part Four we will cover Writing Contests and what I’ve got in the works because Nicolas was kind enough to ask…
Let’s wrap up this amazing discussion with writing contests and the benefits and challenges. I’ve had so much fun participating with you in the Writing Battle Summer Nanofiction 250-word Contest we just finished where we navigated our way through the huge community and commented on each other’s stories.
I find I enjoy the shorter writing challenges when I’m in the middle of a busy writing period. You get all the benefits that Writing Battle offers the community, but the participation consumes less time with the nano-sized stories. But wow! The caliber of these little pocket fictions blew me away! Every story I read for the Duel and in the Debrief was exceptional. I did a little blog about the contest and my results here.
I also participated in a Fae vs. Punk Mashup competition with the Fantasy Sci-Fi Writers Alliance. My story was judged fifth out of nine so it didn’t make the anthology but I loved this story so much that I worked on it post competition and that’s what my readers are getting with my newsletters in parts through the end of the year. So, I guess my overall take on participating in contests is having opportunities to write more, in different genres, in shorter bites, and finding ways to share it.
I’ll turn the mic to you for your take.
The Writing Battle – What I loved
NL. I thought I’d break it down in a list…
Having a clear deadline to produce something outside of my ongoing projects. It’s super refreshing.
Reading ten great stories over one month, and a bunch more at the Debrief stage. Wow. They were all good, astounding and enriching, all in their individual, quirky, diverse, creative way. I stand amazed.
Commenting on other people’s stories. It’s a challenge, it’s a responsibility, it’s fascinating. Always easier to say what you liked about a story. More challenging to say something you think could make the story better, in a warm, understanding, respectful, constructive way.
Connecting with like-minded people eager to support and encourage and help.
Discovering so many great writers, and being introduced to their work.
Like you, I think it’s less involved, time-wise, to focus on the nano-fiction battles rather than the longer ones. I might try the long ones someday, but for now, having to read, and constructively comment on ten longer stories over one month, let’s say, each of them 2000 words long, however fun and captivating I’d have to do nothing else during all that time!
The Writing Battle – Questions I Have
It is fun; it is wonderful to connect with fellow writers and to read great stories, and dip my toes in constructive feedback, both given and received.
But one thing Simone Seol says is “If you don’t repel anyone, you can’t attract anyone either.” I’ve been mulling on that. It makes sense to me.
Hmmm. There is a risk when dealing with a lot of feedback from multiple people.
It’s a good thing to gather a lot of feedback, but how to use the feedback afterwards? If many people (let’s say more than three or four) tell me the same thing, and if it makes sense to me, then it’s probably a good tip to steer me into finding better ways of writing.
However, if I fall into the trap of trying to please everybody, then it can become counterproductive. If I tone myself down into trying to appeal to everyone, then I’m at risk of diluting my true self and writing something that may be somewhat acceptable to everyone, but not really appealing to anyone at the same time, even to myself.
The saddest thing about it is that the very people who might have loved my true, honest, sincere, creative work; they won’t even get a chance to see that I’m there.
If you don’t repel someone, you can’t attract someone either. I think it’s a life-changing notion, worth repeating.
If you quit being afraid of displeasing some, you have a better chance at pulling your true readers closer to you because they will see you when you show up in the world. The ones who will truly get and like everything you have to say or share, and who will love your work no matter what, because they’ve seen in you something that resonates deeply in them.
So who’s your ideal reader? Simone Seol says picking an ideal reader is BS. Don’t pick. Just imagine someone you really trust, someone who already loves what you do and believes in you. Someone who loves you unconditionally no matter what. Someone who drinks everything that you say and do and are. Write for that person, even if it’s just you; write for that person only. The others don’t matter. It’s not for them you’re doing this. Their opinion doesn’t matter. If there’s no one yet, just imagine them. Or be them. Be the first one. Start with yourself. How does your own work resonate with you? Be your own starting point.
But then, how do you improve your writing? Isn’t this a contradiction? How to find a balance?
I’d say, trust your instincts. Keep learning of course, but take your time choosing from whom you’re learning. Remember that any book you read, any course you take, any webinar or blog, or whatever you watch… is for you and for you only, to use at your own convenience, in your own time, with absolutely no strings attached, with nothing to prove to anyone and no reason to impress anyone either; with no other responsibility on your part than using whatever aspects serve you and your creativity, and help you grow into the true, sincere, wonderful, creative, honest, precious, human being that you already are.
DLL. These are awesome things to consider, Nicolas. I’ve had similar thoughts about the feedback and how to use it. In my previous work life, and I’m sure you will relate, it’s all about performance feedback and pleasing the boss, or the customer, or what have you. Writing is truly the opposite. Sometimes, old habits are hard to change.
It was interesting this round to read the feedback from those who didn’t get my story at all to those who raved about the power of the prose and emotion because they absolutely got what I was going for.
I’m in a writing group also and we critique each other’s work. I’ll be chatting with that group on my blog next month for my Spotlight. It’s been a real eye opener because I’ve had to have some serious talks with myself about utilizing the excellent feedback while maintaining my true voice. This speaks to the aspect I mention in my response to your questions – learning too much about writing! And how it feels like I’ve been stymied. I wrote much freer in the early days when I was ignorant. 🙂
While much of the feedback is consistent because it points to areas that everyone recognizes need work, a lot of it is very subjective and you can’t let subjective opinions mute your voice or color your efforts as you move forward. I feel like I’ve listened to too many people and tried to compensate (or compromise) much too often, and I need to pull myself out of the quagmire. I really like that idea about finding that one audience to write to even if it is just yourself. I also really appreciated something you said earlier about your rewrites of Seven Drifts. You love your story. I get teased sometimes about loving my own writing. Well, duh!! I wouldn’t be so dedicated to writing if I didn’t like what I wrote. We’re allowed to be our own worst critic and best fan, right?
NL. Absolutely. I believe we have too, in fact!
Darci, for the benefit of our lovely readers, what are you working on currently? What did you launch recently, and what are you about to release, mid term and long term?
In the Works
DLL.Thank you for asking! I’ve always been a multi-crafter with too many projects started at once and waiting to be finished even as many do get miraculously finished, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that my writing is the same. I would love to start jamming on all of them and stack them up on the publishing line, but I must be realistic. I’ve learned to work on what’s calling to me on any given day. Ah, those fickle characters…
I’m especially focused on listening to the passionate call as I struggle with that glut I mentioned.
Thankfully, it is currently a spinoff from The Starlight Chronicles (“TSC”), a contemporary paranormal romance series that is working for me. I’m committed to sticking with this one and publishing it next year. Crossing my fingers!! Michael Elliott is a dragon shifter, introduced in Ursus Borealis and featured in Drago Incendium, really a main character along with Selena Aires (human) and Andras Johns (a Kodiak bear shifter). Selena attracts both men to her cause and Elliott (as she calls him) comes to care for her as deeply as Andras does. Where the three end up takes us on a lot of twists and turns and concludes in Tigris Vetus.
It is important to me to follow my series with a standalone novel for Elliott. In TSC, we meet his dragon, Onyx, and are introduced, in tantalizing bits, to their backstory. Now I can flesh that out. Besides being the alpha of the Fire Star Pack with a territory that covers Oregon, Elliott has a medieval castle in the Scottish Highlands (due to his long history with Onyx). This will be the setting for his story where he gathers his friends from TSC and love and danger will find him there. The theme is trust and betrayal, and there will be lots of dragon lore and magic.
And thanks for asking about my latest release! It just so happens I have a volume of three fantasy romances on Presale in Les Romances des Trois. “The romances of threes,” (probably an awkward usage of French, so pardonne-moi, Nicolas! But it looked good for a title 🙂). It means we get three deeply romantic and adventurous fantasy stories in different settings and subgenres involving ménage à trois romances.
These threesome tales were previously published in anthologies, and I was dying to expand on them and offer them together because I love them so much. They average more than 20,000 words, so I’m calling them novellas. A short adult fairy tale is included as a bonus.
I have plot ideas for more spinoffs from TSC and I truly hope to get them out there in the next few years. I dream about a huge TSC world for readers to enjoy. The one I’m focusing on next is my vampire, Mortas. I left him on an awful cliffhanger and he is a fantastic character and deserves his story. He will be paired with a minor but important character from TSC, a witch named Ember. Their working title is Giving It Up for a Vampire.
The other TSC spinoff I’ve made huge inroads on is a historical fantasy romance, The Spanish Maiden Who Dreamt of a Bear. The main characters feature Andras Johns’ grandparents, Broderick Johns, and Elara Sofia Estrada de Luna. We dive into Andras’s family history when he shares his grandparents’ journals with Selena and their pack as they sail up the Inside Passage to Ketchikan on Elliott’s motorsailer – a scene in Drago Incendium.
This tale is set in a fascinating time in North American history, 1776 Alta California, when Spain competed for the Pacific Coast territory with Russia before the Spanish Crown gave it up to Mexico. I’m incorporating a historical expedition from Mexico to the Coast that established Monterey Bay and San Francisco. We will also explore early Alaska when Broderick and his father trek up the coast to Kodiak Island where Broderick takes on the first Kodiak bear spirit.
Other stories in the works outside of TSC that should go fast once I can get that mojo flowing again:
The Fourth Planet of Cinnamon Jones – a fantasy sci-fi romance that takes place in eastern Oregon and Portland and involves aliens from a nearby planetary system who have been visiting and inhabiting our planet for so long that they became the source of Earth’s elf mythology.
Caged Diamond – a sci-fi, cyberpunk, and mafia planet hybrid. My main female character is a retired MMA fighter who wants a peaceful life away from the UFC fight scene only to be kidnapped and taken to a fight ring on a mafia planet where she encounters many interesting characters including a towering barbarian warrior.
Can we say… “Three more lifetimes!” There’s more, but I’ll stop here… 😄
NL. Wow! Thanks for all this privileged, insider information about your TSC spinoffs and other projects!
About Les Romances des Trois, I love that you’ve chosen to use French in your writing, and from what I’ve been lucky to read already (from more insider information!), I can tell it is working beautifully.
I gotta say, I really dig your titles! Les Romances des Trois, Giving It Up For a Vampire, The Spanish Maiden Who Dreamt of a Bear, The Fourth Planet of Cinnamon Jones, Caged Diamond… I mean, come on! And not to mention, Ursus Borealis, Drago Incendium, Tigris Vetus… There is an art to finding great titles, and I believe you’ve mastered it.
DLL. Thank you, Nicolas! And I can say the same for Seven Drifts!
I Love Designing!
I will add that my writing process includes designing covers early on and coming up with working titles. Both steps inspire my storytelling and help me meet my publishing goals, effectively establishing a vision.
I design my covers with tools like Canva, DIY Covers, and Bookow, and with the help of a few generous friends. The paperback edition of Les Romances will feature my first wraparound cover using a free template by Bookow. I’m working on a new edition of my collection of short stories in Priss Starwillow & the Wolf, A Starlight Chronicles Short Story, and Other Stories to incorporate a wraparound cover. I’ve decided to get this volume into more stores like Les Romances. TSC is available only through Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited. Deciding to be exclusive to Amazon or going wide (other markets like Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, and Kobo) is a story for another day, and it’s been an endless headache.
NL. Each time I look at your work, I am delighted at how my eye is caught. I know that whatever tool you choose to use, you’ll always come up with something beautifully engaging to reflect the gems from the inside. I hope you find solutions for your headache! The choices are infinite and often painful but know you’re blasting a trail for others to follow, and we’re grateful for it.
DLL. Thank you Nicolas for your comments, support, and for letting me elaborate on my projects!
NL. Thank you Darci, for elaborating on them! It’s been such a blast!
And thank you to those who have sorted through our writer’s life discussion and taken away a few inspiring nuggets to add to your arsenals. This is it until Nicolas and I catch up again next year!
You’ve seen Part One and Part Two. In Part Three we will dive into the endless decisions indie writers must tackle in the branding arena. We’ll also sidestep into a discussion about fun collaborations.
I asked you recently about your insights on branding. We discussed what types of website platforms work best, whether to have a book sales platform separate from our author platform, and how it links up with our newsletter subscribers. We also talked about publishers’ marks and logos. Now that I can look back over four years of writing and creating my own marketing content, I wish I had given branding more consideration from the start for a consistent image. Still, I admit it has been a fascinating and fun journey creating all the content and seeing how it has advanced and improved to where I am now.
What are your goals for branding, Nicolas? What aspects of creating an author presence excite you most? What if any step seems like a necessary chore? Any favorite resources?
NL. I have barely started thinking about these presentation aspects of my indie business. I want to follow in your path eventually, but I admit I know nothing about logos and press marks, and creating an edition / publication company. I haven’t really given it any thought. I only know I should buy an ISBN number upon publishing a book, and grow my platform over time. I look forward to learning all about these details!
I’ve been thinking of domain names, though. For my website, I bought nicolaslemieux.com years ago, but I didn’t think of getting also the English version of my first name, with an “h”. Result: nicholaslemieux.com with an “h” is already taken. It’s a store with nothing in it (I saw a t-shirt at some point). It brags about being the “least profitable store on the Internet”. I offered them some money one time through my domain name registrar, but never got an answer. It might become available again because their site has gotten even worse since the last time I looked at it. So this was why I bought my .xyz extensions, both with “h” and without. Just try out and see: nicolaslemieux.xyz and nicholaslemieux.xyz.
I’m thinking of going more and more with book titles for my domain names, like sevendrifts.com and septaladerive.com, but I think I still want a website attached to my name. What do you think is best? One or the other? Or both? I could also get nicolaslemieuxauthor and nicholaslemieuxauthor, or something similar, but so far I haven’t fallen in love with another domain name. I’m not thinking of managing more than one website for the time being. I just redirect all my domain names, either to my only website or to my MailerLite landing page, as I do with the .xyz ones.
I may know next to nothing about branding, but I keep notes. The Creative Penn Podcast is a tremendous source of advice on the more technical aspects of writer marketing, so I guess I would rely on it when I get to that point. I know I’ll be able to rely on you as well, Darci, to answer some of the questions I will have. But with the limited time I have, I need to take those things one at a time.
Until I come closer to publishing, and I’m not there yet, I suspect I’ll want to play a bit with some ideas and questions before I can come up with anything like a brand.
Yes, I think branding may also be about presence, taking place in the world, being utterly and unapologetically ourselves, and finding our voices, not only as writers but also as marketers – maybe it’s the same. This comes with more questions. What do I give the hugest fuck about? What makes me mad, frustrated, sad, terrified? What is something I cannot bear to not act upon over the course of my life, or speak up about before I die? I want to find the most crucial questions and formulate them in a way that burns and drills down the murky depths of my soul. Everything will get more lively and interesting that way.
Darci, I love that you’re finding new avenues to share your work and grow your audience. I definitely believe the email list is a great move. You’ll own it forever, it is yours and yours only. The challenge is now to grow it. But time is on your side.
I followed Tim Grahl’s advice when I started building my writer platform and went for an email list from the get-go since he says it’s the most important part of it.
My first approach was to simply invite a lot of people to join my list, with just a simple DM, something short, nice, and respectful like “Hi, I’m sending out an email newsletter about my novel project. Would you mind if I added you to my list? Just tell me the best email for you.” I was thrilled at how positive the response was. About two out of twenty people I wrote to without any targeting joined my list. One out of two when I reached out for other writers. That’s 50%! I couldn’t believe it. And most people were so nice, and many gave me positive feedback on my free story Cradle. So I did this gradually, without spamming, without angering anyone, sending maybe ten or twenty messages per session, a little bit every day plus follow-ups – and there were many. Over 2021 and 2022, I built my list up to well over 2000 subscribers. I’ve kept it there since then.
Some would say my approach was flawed, not targeting the right audience. I say nah. I’m glad I reached out to so many fellow writers.
It was hard work, but oh my, was this rewarding! What it gave me, it’s priceless. It led me to connect with many new friends and acquaintances all over the planet. And now that we’re in touch, we can build upon those long-lasting relationships. Support each other. A good number of writers invited me to do interviews with them. This is how we met, Darci! So, yes, it was more than worth it.
But after a while, believe me, it can get old to keep sending the same kind of message over and over, no matter how rewarding it is. So my invitations trickled to a stop over time, probably sometime during 2022. But that’s okay. I have plenty on my hands already. It’s a good start, let’s say, and now I hope to grow my list all more organically.
How? I’m looking forward to creating my own podcast. It’s been a dream of mine for a while now. Podcasting… Will I really do it? When? Am I crapping my pants? Gotta think of finishing that book first…
After I publish Seven Drifts, I’ll want to crank up my collaborative project a couple of notches. I’ll want to do more of what we’re doing now. Or maybe, in a podcast version, audio or video or both, we’ll see. I love author interviews. I always derive so much from them. Again, it’s a matter of balance – I gotta write that book!
RomanceBookLovers.com – I like the concept. It sounds great. I’m intrigued. I’ll want to know more about it. Do they have the equivalent for science fiction? They probably do; I’ll want to spend some time researching that. Unless our awesome readers can help?
DLL. Thank you for breaking down your fantastic email list outreach. I love it! It seems pretty organic to me, which is awesome. I will definitely check out the Creative Penn Podcast and get back to Tim Grahl. You’ve talked about him before and he got lost in the shuffle. I predict when we come back next year for another chat, you’ll be on the finished side of publishing!
And aren’t those numbers mind-boggling? The first one back in February had me in a daze. The numbers kept going up by the hundreds every time I looked (which was often and I’m not ashamed to admit it 😁). The whole day seemed like a dream.
I discounted my Priss Starwillow short story collection to $.99 during the last one in July and got my first sales for that one too, 56 total! It made it to #4 on Amazon Best Sellers for Short Story Collections. I do believe there are similar blasts for sci-fi and fantasy without the romance component. But romance does seem to really take off with these kinds of collaborations. It’s those HEAs!
Something you are probably getting from me throughout this discussion is that other than the amazing help from my niece (recent editing and designing), readers, and fellow writers like you Nicolas, I have carried out every aspect of being an author on my own. I would love to hire services like editors, designers, audiobook narrators, etc., but I have no funds. I do have lots of determination to learn and for the most part it has all been a blast even if a ton of work I never anticipated engaging in post retirement. 😁
Here are my goals and progress in the branding arena:
Purchase a bundle of ISBNs for my upcoming paperback books so that I have more control over where to sell them, including developing a sales page on my website for signed copies (big goal – barely scratched the surface). I should say here though that I have had very nice experiences for the most part (a few little hiccups on occasion) with using the free ISBNs provided by Amazon and Draft2Digital. The print quality is excellent and the platforms are easy to use. It’s just that I end up with two versions of paperbacks out there with two ISBNs. It hasn’t killed me yet.
Create a publisher’s mark and name. I’m getting close and it will be added to my next paperback cover.
Decide whether to register the mark. (Decide whether to formally copyright my books for that matter… on my list but haven’t prioritized it yet.)
Learn to make wrap around cover in conjunction with displaying publisher’s mark. ✅ I’ve created my first wrap around with the help of another early connection and great friend, Lucky Noma. He referred me to a free resource, Bookow.com that provides a template service.
I considered designing a new logo recently but am sticking with the nice simple one I purchased for $30 using Fiverr’s logo design tool and have used since the beginning. The logo background color which is a deep purple is the brand color I incorporate into my newsletter, website, and other marketing graphics. I also try to stick with the same font. That is the extent of my branding so far. Any designs I create, I make sure to incorporate themes from my very first main female character and book, Selena Aires in Ursus Borealis. Her name means moon and she’s linked to the alpha of the North Star Pack. Moon and stars. I also created a logo on Canva specifically for The Starlight Chronicles covers.
I love collaborations!
NL. Speaking of collaborations… How did you come up with the delightful, very fluid format for your interviews? Did you have a lot of previous experience? The way you make them flow from one question to the next like a natural conversation, how you comment and answer each and every part of your interlocutor’s interventions; you transcend the Q&A format into a real conversation. I admit I am awed each time I read your Sunday Spotlight, and I marvel at the amount of work they must give you; but they are so masterfully done that I’d be sure not to be wrong if I say you’re having a blast doing them! Can you tell me a bit about how you started doing these great interviews?
DLL. Again, thank you so much for your comments and for appreciating what goes into creating my content! Q&As are fun AND a lot of work. I had to really think about how I went about this journey. For sure I did it in my typical pantser way like everything else. But I suppose I can point to my years of business correspondence for my style. When you want to communicate accurately and efficiently with a person who has no face but is important to getting the work done, you develop a writing style that is professional but also friendly and appealing, conversational.
I’ve always been thoughtful in my correspondence so that my message comes across cleanly and concisely and gets the results I need. That’s not to say I haven’t blundered or gotten wires crossed. Sometimes, I’m too hasty and that can lead to problems. It’s a delicate dance. The most enjoyable part of my interview sessions is responding to the answers because my guests never fail to inspire and spark more conversation
Learning As You Go…
NL. Now here’s another question I had in mind, Darci. You started writing your novels back in 2021 – at a time when I was already toiling away at the same draft of mine, I just finished only this year! You published an entire trilogy since then, and many wonderful short stories along the way, along with creating and tending to a beautiful, flourishing online platform. Watching you has been a great source of inspiration to me to be sure. I wonder, have you been learning everything as you went, or did you have prior experience or background that helped you get started so fast and so efficiently in both writing and marketing? What does your routine look like, what’s a typical writing/marketing day for you?
DLL. Thank you for your lovely comments, Nicolas! It is satisfying to put in the work to provide interesting, aesthetic, and hopefully helpful content on my website. To have someone appreciate not only the results but what goes into it is something to treasure. And to inspire someone… that’s always my hope. Thank you!
As for getting things published quickly, I have found after interviewing a multitude of authors, that each of us finds our own unique pace for every one of our stories. No two writers are alike, nor are any two stories. There are so many reasons for this that it is hard to distill into a simple answer. It comes down to deciding to let our baby go and what goes into that decision. I could very well have published mine too soon. Maybe the series would be better if I held on longer and did more rewrites. You’ll probably understand why I published when I did after reading more of my answers.
Learning as I Went – Yes! That’s the shortest and best answer. I’m a pantser at every level of life. Even my 34-year marriage has been nothing but learning as I go. LOL. I tend to dive in head first and navigate eagerly through the fishes, no matter how stinky or how beautiful, and I like to think I stick things out to the end. I’m sure readers can see that reflected in my books. It means I often learn things the hard way and have to go back and make adjustments. But that hasn’t killed me yet…
Prior experience – I spent my career as an admin assistant and paralegal, which equals decades of business and legal writing and editing. That’s about as formal as my experience gets. And that’s okay because my age is my biggest benefit when it comes to experience. Some might find age to be a questionable bullet point on a resume. I’m a dedicated learner, and every decade has seen me embracing a new craft, which makes life more interesting and gives me the tools I need to tackle more new things, like the mechanics of writing and publishing. It also means I can draw on a long work history, life experiences, traveling adventures, and hundreds of books, movies, and documentaries.
Starting fast and efficiently – Freedom is the best word to explain how I dove right in and kept up with the indie author learning curve. My husband has supported my need to spend inordinate amounts of time on this pursuit. We are also both committed to living a financially simple lifestyle, and I was able to retire at 59 to write full-time. Freedom.
Typical routine – What’s that? LOL. Being a pantser plays havoc with routines. That said, after writing full-time for the last year and a half, I can happily say there is some structure to my days. Retirement in those first months looked a lot like letting a kid run amok in a candy shop. I was all over the place doing everything I wanted when I wanted… early morning, late night, and everything in between just because I could.
These days, I’m in my office at a normal time of the morning, not the same time mind you, just normal.
It depends on whether my husband is available for chats over the breakfast table. But at some point, I sit at my desktop computer, dogs in their beds, and divide the next eight hours between writing, researching, learning, and creating and implementing marketing content. (Mixing these up helps when I get stuck on a scene.)
However, if we want a cozy day in the living room where he watches classic movies, my office becomes my laptop and the couch, dogs in their beds, maybe a little knitting or cross-stitching.
NL. I don’t even know myself, whether I’m a pantser or a plotter! I guess I must be both because I’ve been doing them both profusely over the course of writing Seven Drifts. It seems like the more I plan, the more room there is for improvisation and brainstorming within the constraints of the plan, and the more I go by the seat of my pants, the more there is to plan and organize afterward.
DLL. And I can’t wait to read the results, Nicolas. Seven Drifts is going to be epic!
I hope our discussion has highlighted issues and considerations for those of you who are on this journey. Questions and comments are welcome! Part Four, Writing Contests, is next and will close out this month’s writer’s life conversation with Nicolas Lemieux.
Another topic Nicolas and I like to get into is engaging with our readers through our newsletters and social media. Nicolas shared creative ways to reach out and offer encouragement in Part One. He also covered his recent website and newsletter revamps. We’ll go more in-depth here in Part Two and cover other avenues. We veer into the writing process as well. Enjoy!
I’ve found that what I use for outreach and how I use it has morphed quite a bit throughout the different stages of my writing career. I’ve now focused my activities on the positive places where I have the most fun and even if they don’t quite achieve all I’m going for, I’m sticking with them because I enjoy the creativity and the connections. Even the smallest rewards keep me going. You happen to be one of those early connections I met on Twitter that I’m grateful for every day. 😄
The X platform bears mentioning as one that I’ve since left despite meeting you and a few other supportive writers. It turned sour after becoming more political and rife with unchecked misinformation, so I made the hard choice and gave up a large following. Today, my four main engagements are:
4) an amazing promo collaboration with RomanceBookLovers.com, coordinated through a Facebook group.
I’ll break these out a bit below.
What outreach avenues work best for you? Have you given up certain platforms in favor of others?
NL. I have my email list that I hope to grow further over time, and my website, with my blog, Writing Notes. I added a new page this summer, to show off my past interviews.
I use social media as well while keeping in mind they may not be the awesome, efficient marketing tool they are often portrayed to be. But they are a great way to find people and reach out to them, and to practice showing up and being visible in the world. I am not too systematic about them, but I use a tool you might find interesting. It’s called Buffer. It has a free version that allows you to connect up to three social platforms. So instead of having to post three or four different times, I can do it only once. I post to Buffer, and my post goes automatically to Instagram (and Facebook), LinkedIn, and Twitter-X. Buffer has a scheduler, so you can spread your posts over time.
I agree, Twitter-X has turned sour. I have been thinking of leaving it for a while, but I feared losing contact with some nice, interesting people I met there. I went with the wave a couple of years back and opened an account on Mastodon, hoping to find a replacement. It didn’t work for me. Although I met some nice people during the short time I was there, I found the platform itself, the way it works, kind of tedious. Eventually, I closed the account. Sorry guys, if you love Mastodon. I wish you all the best. I’m not saying I won’t be back someday.
Anyways. Granted, it was easy to reach out to a lot of new people over X, but LinkedIn is even better. LinkedIn is where I connected with the most people while first growing my list, so I’m keeping it as one of my two favorites. I have good friends and contacts there. My other favorite, the most fun and addictive to be in, is Instagram. My Facebook page is more like an afterthought, already taken care of whenever I create something on Instagram.
Also… Did I mention I have a mild obsession with podcasts?
DLL. And you always have great suggestions for them! I need to catch up. It’s funny, I visit LinkedIn more now that I’ve connected with you there. I decided not to accept every invite for a connection because so many are trying to sell services. So, I’m being picky and haven’t yet found my voice. Plus, I left my previous work history intact, which is kind of weird now that I’ve updated my profile to my pen name. So, my connections include old work life and new work life.
I tried Threads but didn’t make waves there at all. It probably would be helpful to use an app that lets you post simultaneously. Thanks for sharing that. I confess after Facebook account mixups, I have moments where I contemplate going offline, but there would be so many people I’d miss like you. And there’s that momentum you can’t get back… And that marketing thing…
NL. Isn’t that so? I’ve been having the same thoughts about going offline, at least for longer periods of time. And Facebook, yes, it is a puzzle. How all the Meta tools relate isn’t really clear in every aspect. Particularly FB profile vs FB page; how to use them in clearer, different ways… I do not really know.
DLL.I’ve enjoyed blogging about the writer’s life and interviewing authors on my website from the outset of this journey, but this year, I’ve tried two new activities. I was thrilled to finally launch my newsletter (with assistance from my niece), and I’m having a blast with that creative outlet despite the challenges of adding subscribers. While I managed to grow my audience through a couple of promotions, the unsubscribers far outnumber the new ones. Sigh… That doesn’t stop me from thinking of new ways to offer fun content and writer’s life insights and tips. Right now, readers are getting monthly installments of a paranormal fantasy short story, a Fae vs. Punk Mashup…
You’re getting a sneak preview of my next installment.
The second boost in my outreach was joining the RomanceBookLovers.com quarterly book blasts. I discovered the collaboration concept last year and was grateful for the opportunity to hop on the bandwagon where a wonderful coordinator created a Facebook page and a website and invited authors to participate together in blasting out their books. I combined the first event with the launch of Tigris Vetus. You’ve probably seen those posts about stuffing your Kindles. That’s the kind of big event I’m talking about.
I participated in two this year and will participate again in October. The events netted me 13,494 processed orders (I’m including orders outside the events because they’re nominal and it’s easier than deducting them 🙂). These numbers are primarily orders for books one and two in The Starlight Chronicles. I didn’t register Tigris Vetus, but it benefited collaterally with sales totaling 86 for the year (to date). That tells you how readers can’t resist free books. I know I can’t, which means I’ve got a huge TBR to get through!
Platforms like Apple Books and BookBub have also jumped on the bandwagon and are now helping us help them by promoting our events. Apple even encourages becoming an affiliate where you earn a small amount for each click on your book even if it doesn’t result in a download.
On the downside. When you get your book loaded into thousands of Kindles during these blasts, you risk saturating your market with readers who will forget instantly that your book is in their library and never read it. Out of this 13,000, I’ve received around 20 Amazon reviews and a handful of Goodreads reviews. Still, you never know when a reader will browse their Kindle library and get started on your book. That’s always an exciting prospect.
I didn’t mean to ramble on about what really is more of a promotion than engagement, but I think they are somewhat related because those of us participating have a lot of fun collaborating in the outreach. I recommend finding a group suited to your genre and community.
NL. Wait… woooah! Did you really say 13,494 orders? For books #1 and #2? My eyes are kind of bulging right now… And 86 more for the book you didn’t even register, book #3? Okay, I’m kind of dealing with a frenetic heartbeat right now. I can’t wait to try one of those! Even if they’re free books you’re giving away, that’s so many potential new readers… My head is spinning! Way to go, Darci!
Do they have statistics on how many people are likely to actually read the books? Even if it’s a small percentage, I’d say it’s still more than worth it for sure. You’ve received 20 Amazon reviews and a handful on Goodreads in a short time; I think that is extraordinary! I can’t wait to have one of two books published so I can experiment with all these platforms like you do. Thank you so much for sharing your experience Darci, it is such an inspiration and a big source of motivation. The reason I can’t wait is how fun it sounds, actually.
About The Writing Craft
So, I had a few topics in mind, more about the writing itself – If you’d like to elaborate on them… How do you structure your stories? Do you have one, or many, go-to techniques and mentors? How do you first approach a new story? Plot or character? Pantsing or planning? All of these answers, or is there an emergent pattern that you can identify?
DLL. Credit goes to pantsing, and I’m not talking about when mischievous kids pull down someone’s pants. 😉A pantser am I. At least that was my predominant method in the beginning. These days, I tend to engage in multiple techniques, and often apply many to the same project, even a little outlining and planning, but mostly pantsing. I let the story dictate what’s needed.
I would also say my story structure style developed after enjoying and distilling hundreds of books by authors who write in my genres (listed later). Another technique that seems to work wonders is playing out scenes in my head as I fall asleep or wake up. I’m not good at writing them down, but I manage to retain the highlights. I’ll keep calling up the scene and working it out in that fashion so that when I sit down to write, it flows.
Confessions…
So, the pantsing worked in the beginning, and it is my preferred method, but I’ve let too many other techniques get under my skin after all the learning I’ve done since I started. I’m going to admit something here for the first time. I have over half a dozen novels in the works with significant progress on all of them, but they are all in a holding pattern because I’ve learned too much about writing! What does this bizarre admission mean? I’m experiencing a form of writer’s block.
When I wrote my series, I didn’t know enough to understand I was making mistakes and my writing flowed. It was free. The story I wanted to tell came out as my characters told it. Granted, the results were amateurish, but I had a complete story I could rewrite as I acquired new skills. Now that I understand more about structure, story beats, showing versus telling, and all that crap, I’m getting stuck in story after story soon after introducing my characters and the initial chapters. The plot falls apart and I lose my mojo.
The instincts I relied on at the beginning of my journey that carried me through until now have gone silent. I think it’s a clash between intuition and rules. All the stuff I’ve learned in the last four years fills my head and haunts me at the keyboard.
I realize I am my own worst enemy and it’s up to me to figure it out. It’s just that writing has been so steady since I started that it’s hard to face writer’s block for the first time and with so many stories. It’s like having a log jam in my brain. It’s an environment that has fostered a bad case of imposter syndrome, a feeling I no longer have a complete story in me… I suppose it’s the first major readjustment I’ve had to face.
NL. I can empathize with that! Each time I think my writing has improved, or that I’ve mastered some new aspect of the craft, the exact same thing happens to me. Also, after pretty much every developmental editor call, it takes me a couple of days to readjust and switch gears. I have too many ideas, and it’s like my vision of what I’m trying to achieve is too clear, if that’s even possible. Too clear, too beautiful, too grand. If I try to write when I’m in that state, I find I just can’t.
I need to remember to lower my expectations, tell myself it’s only a “shitty n-th draft”, that it won’t be, and shouldn’t be perfect, that it’s not supposed to, that I’m not even expected to get this right the first time, or the second, or even this time around, because there will be opportunities to make things better later. Until I tell myself all of these things, no writing is really possible. It takes some doing. But I think that with time and practice, we can learn to reconcile what we learn and know with our inner natural flow.
It was the same with singing. Singing was easy before I took my first voice lesson. But when I started learning and being more serious about it, it suddenly became very complicated. Almost impossible. It was like I couldn’t coordinate my breathing and my jaw, and my tongue, and my shoulders and whatever other parts of my body, and sing the right notes with the right rhythm, and do all of it at once. My brain was interfering with my natural flow. But eventually, after some time and a lot of practice and training, the technique became second nature (at least to a degree), and singing became a positive experience again.
DLL.Ah. Muscle memory and forming habits. I like that comparison, Nicolas. Part of my problem is that I haven’t taken enough breaks since starting this journey. I have many mindful craft projects I can turn to. Balance is the key, isn’t it? But jeez! It’s so hard to peel myself away from my passion.
Then… there’s my age. The sense of time ticking away gives me a sense of urgency to get my stories out there. Why do we only get the freedom of time when we are old and there never seems to be enough of it?
Okay, that’s it for confessions and rants. 😁
NL. Why does time always insist on passing so fast? Couldn’t we just slow it down or something? At 58, I can feel it as well. And too often, that pressure, to get it all out before it’s too late, I’ll just say… It gets overwhelming. And the imposter syndrome. That too can get overwhelming at times. We could write an entire book on it, and we wouldn’t even scratch the surface. But I want to thank you for your confessions, Darci, and I enjoy reading your rantings.
How About Genre?
On a different note, I noticed you’ve been playing with all kinds of genres, generally staying within the realm of romance, but adventuring into historical pirate stories, full-fledged fantasy, and of course, shape-shifting supernatural… I love the underneath freedom of creativity that this underlines in your work. Generally speaking, what’s your approach to genre? If you feel like thinking aloud on this for a while… I’ll just sit back and relax, and bask in whatever you have to say like the true fan that I am.
DLL. You’re so chill, Nicolas. I can totally picture you basking in the sun with your hat. And you’re the first person who’s said you’re my fan! Thank you for that.
NL. Absolutely.
DLL. This is an easy question. I write what I love to read. As I mentioned, I read a lot, which covers the spectrum from thrillers, historical fiction, romance, cozy mysteries, to sci-fi and fantasy. But fantasy as you pointed out allows us to paint with such wide brush strokes.
Fantasy romance, especially the paranormal or supernatural variety was the genre that consumed me as a reader in that first pandemic summer in 2020. Writers like Grace Draven (whom I interviewed last December), Laura Thalassa, Jeanienne Frost, Ilona Andrews, Stephenie Meyer, Cassandra Clare, Stephanie Hudson, and Carrie Pulkinen (another interview in January), all best sellers and many of them independent, or an independent hybrid, wrote the stories that infected me with the writing bug. And yes, like you say, fantasy.
Part Three will follow where we talk about our thoughts on branding and the writer’s life.
I took a month off in August for family obligations, but I really missed chatting with a fellow author on my blog. What better way to get back to it than catching up with a good friend? We had so much fun we ended up doing a 4-part miniseries!
Nicolas visited my Spotlight in 2023 where we engaged in a two-way interview that was super fun. This year, we will do the same while we catch up on all the things that have gone on in our indie authors’ lives since. You can also find our discussion on Nicolas’s blog. I’m betting you’ll pick up a few writing processes, techniques, and experiences you can relate to and take away as you head off to your keyboards or notebooks!
How has your summer been Nicolas?
Funny you’d say you took a break in August, Darci because I did exactly the same! The break was necessary, and it felt good to lessen the inevitable pressures of life, but I missed the opportunity to exchange ideas about our writing as well. But now that my body and mind have refreshed a bit, and my head is full of ideas again, I feel ready to go back to my creative projects. This conversation is one such project, and so I am super excited to catch up with so many things that have happened in both our creative lives since our last conversation. Let’s tackle those big questions!
Let’s Meet The Authors
Nicolas Lemieux
His chosen genre is science fiction. Nicolas says, “I get my kicks out of dreaming up astonishing worlds packed with a sharp palette of badass, quirky characters who get tangled up in all manners of meaningful trouble.
Often funny, sometimes disquieting, always exciting. I believe each time you dive into a good book, you come out better off at the other end because you’ve gained a new, flaring spark that will stick with you until the end of times, helping you fend off the pits and falls that might have consumed you otherwise.”
Nicholas invites you to… “Be a badass reader! Read my free story today: CRADLE.”
D. L. Lewellyn
D. L. Lewellyn is an independent author writing fantasy romance every chance she gets. A passion for writing took her by surprise in 2021 following a summer of voracious pandemic-induced reading in a new favorite genre, paranormal romance.
Her latest publication is on Presale! Les Romances des Trois features three enchanting threesome tales and a bonus adult fairy tale.
Besides self-publishing her novels, her stories have found homes in anthology publications, and many more are in the works. Ask anyone who knows her, and they’ll tell you she’s a dedicated multi-crafter. She also enjoys blogging, chatting with authors and other creators on her monthly Sunday Spotlight, and classic cinema nights with her husband, dogs, and a big bowl of popcorn.
Let’s Get Started
Rewrites and Burnout
I’m so excited to look back at our highlights and learning experiences, Nicolas! We have a handful of fantastic topics, which we will share in this series of four blogs. Let’s start with what we’ve learned about engaging in the rewrite process in Part One, plus a bit about burnout and self-care.
Both of us have been working on epic novels since our last discussion. I truly felt like it was a miracle and something to celebrate when I finally launched the third book in my three-part paranormal romance series this February. You’re writing an epic space opera, Seven Drifts.
We talked about the ways you’ve rethought parts of your structure and what elements to focus more attention on, your character’s voices, all things that speak to us more powerfully during the rewriting process after having become intimate with every aspect of our story. I lost count of how many rewrites I did for Tigris Vetus, and the final version is starkly different from the first draft at the beginning of my writing journey before I even finished the first book in the series, Ursus Borealis. I would say it’s not even close to the same novel it was in its infancy.
I read recently that rewriting multiple drafts is a necessary part of the process, love it or hate it. Writers Write shared this thoughtful list of the pros and cons in its blog, Why You Should Love Doing Rewrites.
Gotham Writers shared these awesome and amusing insights in The 10 Revision Stages of a Novel (we definitely need humor as we stare down the barrel of this daunting phase of writing – Writers Write shared the meme).
Can you tell us where you’re at in the process and your takeaways? What or who has kept you going and motivated you to fine-tune your story? What has been your favorite part of the process and your least favorite?
Thanks for sharing these articles on rewrites! It’s very interesting to see new ways we can reframe how we view those long, repeated rewrites. Of course, we have to find ways to make our writing journey a pleasurable experience. I like to tell myself it’s very much about the journey, not only the destination. It takes both, and I enjoy the journey, it would seem to make sense that the reader is more likely to enjoy reading the result.
How My Summer Was
Let’s see… What happened since the last time we did this?
Over the fall and winter, I took some distance from social media and my platform in general in order to really focus on finishing my second full draft of Seven Drifts. Long story short, (but really, it’s long), this was the n-th version of the story, but only the second actual full draft, a full rewrite from the top.
It took way longer than I could ever have anticipated. But it felt good. Many parts of it felt very good. The deeper and the farther I went, and the closer to the end I got, the better it got. To sum it up, I really love that last part of the story and its ending that took me so many months to complete. I really feel like my writing was getting better and better as I went, and the story along with it as all its elements gradually converged and found their explanations, payoffs, and conclusions.
All in all, completing that full rewrite of Seven Drifts felt like a whole adventure in itself. I am proud of it, just for the sake of having done it, and I am super proud of the result. I can only marvel: How did it happen? Here I am, with this great story on my hands. Wow.
It’s not over, though, and far from it. Firstly, the story isn’t over. It has sequels lining up in my mind’s buffer – and with some substantial drafts already in my drawers. I can’t wait to turn my awareness to them.
But it’s not over yet either, in the sense that this one story, Seven Drifts, still requires a lot of attention on my part. It won’t be finished for quite a bit of time.
So here’s what I turned my attention to since reaching the glorious end of this draft…
Globally, the story seems a bit unbalanced, if you look at the word count for each of its parts. The last part – third act or ending payoff – turned out to be over 99K words. Wow. That’s longer than the average novel. While drafting, I chose not to obsess about the length of the scenes or their number. All I focussed on was taking the story to a point where it did make the active, exciting sense that it now does. I’m not bragging, I’m just talking from my heart. I really think it is that good, at least to my taste, as was my whole objective when I started on the project some years ago: to write a story I’d like to read. Check.
But wait, there’s still A LOT left to do. Some major challenges in fact.
How to balance the relative lengths of the first, second, and third acts?
From the moment I reached “The End”, there was a list of actions in my mind, all with the potential to help balance the story. I wasn’t even thinking yet about shortening my scenes or cutting stuff out. There will be a time for that.
While drafting, I came up with new ideas. Or solutions to problems I discovered along the way or answers to questions I hadn’t yet elucidated. I took notes. Things to change here and there (and also here, and here, and this whole section, and this scene, and this character motivation, etc.). I took many notes actually. Also, I saw things that could benefit the story if I moved them around a bit. A whole section that was in the second part, I’m now moving to the first part. Another that was before the midpoint, I’m going to use closer to the end of the second act. And so on.
And then, there are a lot of world-building elements that I allowed to stay fuzzy and loose on purpose during the draft, with a clear intention to come back to them after the story existed in its entirety, to flesh out more and use in a way that makes the story clearer and better.
There are also many places where I exposed some elements of the world or bits of backstory in a way that was redundant, just for the sake of clarity as I drafted. I’ll want some of these elements to drip on the story from earlier on, and I’ll want to make sure their exposition is well balanced; something that cannot be done, in my view, until the full story is written and I can see better; and know what goes where in the best way possible. Generally, it’s the first part – Act 1, or the Beginning Hook – that requires the most refactoring to start with.
So this is what I’ve been doing all winter and summer, ever since finishing that long, full rewrite of the story.
Burnout
Another challenge is that along the way I came to grasp just how exhausted I actually was – and am.
I took two weeks off this summer. One in July, another at the beginning of September – Off, even from my big writing project. This is unusual for me. I usually double down on writing whenever I can take time off from my work in IT.
Not this time though. I just couldn’t. Especially at the end of the summer, in August, it REALLY felt like I had to take that break. Actually, up to my week’s vacation in the first week of September, I stopped working on Seven Drifts for about a whole month. It was the first time I did that in more than 10 years.
I can cite many objective reasons for my exhaustion. Finding myself suddenly alone back in 2019 in my IT position – in my role as a DBA (Database Administrator). Then the pandemic. Then changing roles back in 2021, from DBA to sysadmin/DevOps (that’s another demanding IT position, exciting but also exhausting, with lots of steep, unending learning involved, and quite some stressful responsibilities). Also, general anxiety has been building up in me over the last few years. A lot of it was around my parent’s health, my wife’s and my own, and around my self-confidence in this IT work…
And also, my self-confidence in regard to my writing endeavors. As my project took more and more time, more than I would have thought, more than anyone around me would have thought… Today, I appreciate the fact that I won’t back down from being honest and open about this. That’s a huge positive in my book; a brand new way of thinking and being. It’s a brand new key to being more creative, productive, and happy in my whole life in general… But more about this later!
In short, I needed that break! I needed to be out of town for a few days, go sailing on my brother’s boat over the St. Lawrence River, swim in a lake, watch the lake, read, and basically just do nothing for a while… around some water.
… But I still managed to do a lot of exciting, constructive things over the summer.
What else I did this Summer
One upside to a slow writing summer was that I used the opportunity to revive my platform somewhat, to refresh my website and fix all kinds of little details about it, and to make its design incrementally better although I don’t have a clear plan for it.
Actually, I posted A LOT! I explored more personal content in my newsletter and over social media in general, as a practice in taking more space in the world, and I feel good about it. (I’ll tell you more about this later. Watch out for my bit about Simone Seol’s Garbage Post Challenge).
So I am now a little prouder of my platform overall, and much less self-conscious about what I post, write, and what bits of myself I show to the world. Plus, I discovered I like wearing hats.
I did another Writing Battle. Fun times! (More on it below of course.)
I did the Garbage Post Challenge. That again? What on Earth is it? I’ll tell you about it, but first I’ll have to tell you about its creator, Simone Grace Seol. Stay tuned.
I got myself printed copies of your trilogy The Starlight Chronicles – I even got a signed copy of Drago Incendium! I’m diving into Ursus Borealis as we speak, and loving it…
One big highlight of my 2024 spring and summer was getting familiar with the work of Simone Grace Seol.
I was captivated as soon as I stumbled on her Instagram content, and I soon followed up to listen to her new podcast, called My Notes, and to her other, older podcast, I Am Your Korean Mom. I missed her May class by a hair, Writing With The Sword, but I did enroll in her online courses Cold Pitch Magic and How to Write Specific Copy. I’m now following her free course, The Simone Starter Pack: Marketing Essentials.
It may sound like it’s all about marketing, and it is… but it’s really not. In different words, you might want to say that everything in life is a kind of marketing, to a certain degree. Or better yet, just replace the word “marketing” with “expression”, or “creativity”, or “writing”… and there you have it. It’s the true essence of Simone Grace Seol’s work and philosophy.
This is life-changing stuff, you guys! Mind-bending. Me, I can’t get enough of it. It makes me hopeful, energized, self-loving, confident, free, bursting with ideas.
What she says is universal. Her advice and thoughts can be applied to ANYTHING – any kind of endeavor, really. They certainly apply to any kind of writing, and not only to copywriting. As I said, this is far from being all and only about marketing.
Because it’s not about the specific, technical details. I already have plenty of wonderful, plentiful, awesome, helpful mentors for those.
She’s made millions (no sh*t!) talking about doing your thing and feeling good about it. Imagine: Writing. Freely. Making your work known. Easily. Living. Lovingly. All the while, with everything in you aligned with your own truth and your own values. No BS. From your inner truth and whatever you do with it, to how you show up to do your work, to how you speak about it to others and present it and make it known to the world.
Simone Seol does away with so many received ideas and practices! She will help you take the ick out of the act of writing, by saying things like, and I quote…
– “Enjoy the people you’re writing to.“
– “Consistency is a product of dopamine.“
– “Writing (copywriting) is all about safety.“
– “Good writing doesn’t widen. It narrows. It’s an extreme zooming in of the imagination.“
– “Nobody has their shit together.“
– “Is your writing (copy) broadcasting fear?“
– “What if you have multiple passions?“
– “People want to fall in love with someone like you.“
– “How to create ethical urgency.“
– “Experts are obsessed with knowing, and knowledge. They want to give you their knowledge. They’re the ones who are the most afraid of not knowing.“
– “It breaks my heart because we are bypassing these great opportunities to learn and to connect when we wait until we know things.“
Here’s my personal understanding and experience of the GPC:
It’s SO simple. All you have to do is post one hundred times over a period of 30 days.
That’s it.
Minimum Word Count per post: 2
Maximum: whatever you like
Platform: whatever floats your boat. It can be social media, your newsletter, commenting on someone else’s posts, etc. (Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be!)
It’s not even about widening your audience, or growing it, or even building your email list. It’s not about selling stuff in any way. It’s not about showing off or converting anything or anyone into anything or anyone or compelling anybody into doing anything.
No.
It’s a practice. A simple one. It’s about learning to take up space in the world and getting comfortable with it. It’s about claiming your right to exist, and to speak up, and to show yourself as you are, and to create whatever you want, or to just say two words or whatever, freely, whenever we feel like it. It’s about discovering how easy it is to take up space in the world, and accessible, and how many possibilities we have at our fingertips, all the time, all around us, inside and out.
It’s about learning to trust that we have a voice.
It’s about slaying our perfectionism and speaking up, or just sharing who we are to the world despite it.
It’s about daring to exist, even in the eyes of our imagined critics and detractors and frenemies.
It’s about realizing it doesn’t matter at all if we made a typo or a mistake; if we said something that reads weird or sounds weird or something we don’t even agree with. We can always correct, replace, readjust, say more, contradict… or just let things drown under piles of other things we put out.
It’s about understanding that people don’t care as much as we thought, that we’re freer than we thought, and above all, that people will adjust to seeing more of us. They’ll come to rely on us being there, with more pixels on their screens. They’ll love what they love, and they’ll just ignore whatever doesn’t resonate with them.
Most of the people from whom we fear judgment or remarks won’t even notice what we put out. But the ones who are more like us, the ones who share our tastes and thoughts, who vibe just like us or aspire to, the only ones that really count in the end, will enjoy and like and follow, and then they’ll always be on the lookout for more from us, no strings attached, whether we post three times a day or three times a week, or per month.
When we realize how much fun this can be, we’ll want to keep it up to a degree that we’ll choose ourselves and for ourselves, and it will help us build, slowly and gradually, but surely, many long-lasting relationships.
Over time, something is bound to happen. Some people will subscribe to our email lists, read our work, buy our books and other content we put out, and whatever big and small offers we craft for them. Some will talk about our work to their friends. Whatever we build, however slowly it seems to start, if we keep at it over the long run, it will snowball over time, and gather momentum. That’s a platform, our platform, at our disposal.
But that’s not even the best part of it.
In the process, we make friends. We’re called to have fun on collaborative projects. We’re fed more ideas. Presented with an infinite array of doors and avenues to explore at our own leisure.
Sounds exciting?
I see I got a little carried away. Did I digress? I hope it was worth it!
What I ended up posting as “garbage posts”
Photos of my walks around the neighborhood: flowers, back-alley surprises, selfies.
Sharing great blog posts from other writers and introducing them in a few words, or saying what I like about what they write. Telling people I appreciate what they do and why. Showing bits of my writing. (Like on Instagram: here, here, here, here and here.) Talking about aspects of my story, like here.
Anything goes really. Two words minimum. It’s nothing. One image of a colorful bunch of flowers, and then “Hey, hi!” – That counts as a post, because it is really me, taking up space, existing online by just showing up with something nice.
And why not improvise a quick poem, or a snippet of prose, just for the Heck of it? Or revisit topics I’ve barely brushed in the past; expand on them, one at a time. That’s a considerable source of ideas, right there!
I want to take more notes of my everyday thoughts and ideas, big and little, and most importantly, questions. I think questions are generally more interesting than answers; they are doors to countless new avenues to explore later. I’ll keep doing Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages, even if not every day. You’d be surprised how many ideas get caught on these pages.
And then, it’s just a matter of taking a few minutes here and there. Post. Reel. Story. Share. Buffer to the socials. Often, these little posts can make great newsletters that I can turn into great blog posts. And then I can post about them again. Simple. Lean. Quick… Repeat!
If you look at your social media, you may be doing the Garbage Post Challenge already: Three posts per day on average, plus ten more, all over the course of 30 days. No big deal. Easy and fun. You can post fifteen times one day, and then do nothing for a while. It’s entirely up to you.
And don’t forget. Embrace imperfection. Eff perfectionism!
DLL. Thank you so much for sharing these amazing summer journeys, Nicolas. I know folks will want to check out Simone Grace Seol. It’s so awesome to hear your enthusiasm and energy. You were already so generous with your time and support before you engaged in this learning and growth experience.
It’s super encouraging to see how you’ve coped with burnout and I’m glad you took that time to let down. The boating… Yes!I know I’ve been enjoying your revamped content and benefiting from all your shares and the joy that comes with it.
And let me tell you again how much it made my summer when I found you’d purchased my paperback books. I adore seeing them out in the wild! Great photos.Talk about encouragement, support, and great mentoring! Thanks, Nicolas.
The discussion continues in Part Two where we talk about Outreach and share Confessions!
My guest this month is Halli Starling, an author who participated with me and a couple hundred others in the Indie Author Spring Spectacular hosted by writer Hayley Anderton. It was a super fun event where I was surprised more by how many indie writers I enjoyed meeting than even the results of the group promo.
Halli’s book, ASK ME FOR FIRE (a fantastic title for a romance story and one reason I was captured right off), got added to my cart and proceeded to sweep me away. We’ll talk more about the book but I’ll just start with… Wow! It was a super compelling and satisfying romance.
I bought the second book in the series, A BRIGHTER, DARKER ART (another lovely title), which is getting checked off my Goodreads list this month. And this folks is all before I focused on the author’s first book about a vampire and other supernaturals! (I can never pass up a vampire story). I can’t wait to check WILDERWOOD off my list as well. This means we will be chatting about writing contemporary romance and fantasy romance, two separate animals, at least to me, in this month’s spotlight. Wait. Who am I kidding? Romance is romance, and love is love, and this author brings out the best of it all in her stories.
Let’s Meet the Author
Halli Starling is a queer librarian fascinated by the occult and strange history. She lives in Michigan with her spouse, feline supervisors, and is always surrounded by books.
When not writing, she co-hosts The Human Exception podcast, plays D&D, and spends time in the beautiful outdoors of Michigan.
Let’s Get Started
I love it! Feline supervisors. So, how many cat bosses do you have, Halli? And do they allow you any autonomy at all? Or, are they the secret to your prolific writing?
HS. I have four cat bosses! They all have different opinions about how much autonomy I should have, especially since 3 of them are quite elderly (19 years old, 16 years old, and 15 years old!) and sometimes their opinions supersede all else. And they’re all so so opinionated!
But seriously, I adore my cats, and maybe one of these days my dream of running a big farm where elderly and injured animals can live their days in peace and safety could be a reality.
DLL. Awe. What ages they’ve reached! So precious, and yes, the older the bossier. I can see that. I wish you the best on your dream farm. How lovely!
So, now that we have your household organization sorted out, Let’s dive into your books. You write all levels of spice, dip into different genres, and explore mental health and healing issues… And I love the diverse, layered variations in the settings, characters, and relationships.
As an example, you rate the spice in ASK ME FOR FIRE (AMFF) as a four and then Raf’s story in A BRIGHTER DARKER ART (ABDA) as a three. Raf, a main character in ABDA, is Ambrose’s best friend in AMFF. This means it’s a two-book series and the stories connect. While book two might have less on-the-page sex, that doesn’t mean the delicious page-turning sexual tension or any of the hot, sweet engagement is any less. The romance and spice levels were spot on and perfect for each story. I found that interesting and refreshing because so many romance authors write to a specific spice level.
Does the spice decide itself as the stories and characters develop? How do you build your diverse worlds, i.e. a lakeside community and wilderness in AMFF and a coastal art gallery business scene in California in ABDA? Where do you get your character inspiration? And my big question is, where does your insight and inspiration on the human condition come from? I’ve found the phenomenal struggles, growth, and ultimate revelations of your characters to be fleshed out so well and so powerful.
HS. Well, first of all, that’s a huge compliment and I’m totally floored by it!
The spice definitely decides itself (mostly) as I write. As the dynamic between love interests develops, it becomes quite natural for me to figure out the spiciness as I go. It’s hard to describe but I think a lot of authors will understand!
As far as how I build my towns and settings, it’s all about the vibe. I am, to both my benefit and detriment, an intuitive person and certain places I’ve visited over my life have installed themselves in my mind as potential settings for books. I grew up in the Midwest in the United States, but have always been in love with the cooler, darker, more forested places. The inherent mystery and allure of pine trees and mountains, crystalline lakes, and rocky coastlines, is pretty romantic!
Character inspiration is probably the hardest part for me as I write. Sometimes it flows really easily, and other times I have to metaphorically wrestle it to the ground and figure out what to do with a certain character, from how they talk to how they move their body, how expressive their face is, etc. I’ve certainly had characters fight me and over the years I’ve learned to put aside those projects until the character(s) come to life. The books I’ve published are the success stories for me!
The insight and inspiration question is also kind of tough to pin down, so I’ll do my best! A very long story short, I grew up in a household with very mentally ill parents who expected me, as the oldest child, to manage their emotions for them. When you do that starting at a young age, you become pretty hypersensitive to people’s emotions, the tone of their voice, little movements in their faces. Now, this is something that anyone who grew up in an abusive household will recognize as a trauma response. It’s one that I’ve taken to therapy and have been working on, but I also somehow learned to utilize it in my writing. I don’t want to use terminology like I’ve turned my trauma into some kind of “superpower”; that denigrates my experience and trivializes what trauma does, but I would never say that it’s not been a useful tool, even subconsciously, in my writing. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you saying that the realness of the characters is so powerful, that means a lot!!
DLL. Thank you so much for sharing this, Halli. There are so many insights here, and it’s utterly inspiring how you’ve tapped into the experiences of such a challenging childhood to bring amazing depth to your writing. This helps me listen to my own voice when I’m struggling not to cater to tropes and trends and stick with what my characters are telling me.
I should also note that this depth doesn’t only apply to the main characters, but the richness comes out in your secondary characters. You bring to life the layered and varied backstories of the people most important to the MCs. They are entirely believable as individuals and add color and all the right touches to bring out the flaws and strengths of the MCs while not taking over the spotlight.
Here’s what one reviewer had to say about ASK ME FOR FIRE.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Mature communication is everything! While the two love interests spend a good amount of time in their own heads thinking about how the other feels, once they actually start vocalizing their interest in each other, their communication is fantastic. They’re transparent and honest about their needs, open to compromise and willing to lay out their expectations. We love to see it!!
This book doesn’t follow the typical romance pattern of them getting together super quick, having some misunderstanding and breaking up, and then getting back together by the end. Because of that, this may feel like a slow burn to some. And it kind of is with the way they agree to take their time with each other, but to me it fees like a realistic simmer of getting to know someone rather than the more common insta-lust/love. I love the way you can see what they see in each other by their first kiss. That kiss happens just over 40% of the way in, by the way.
An entertaining mystery plot line occurs while our MCs fall for each other. It’s important and is ultimately what sets the romance into motion, but it isn’t the main draw of the book so manage your expectations on that front.
Overall, Ask Me for Fire is a soft and sexy romance read featuring mature, communicative men in their mid-30s. Their romance feels good, makes them feel good, and is just plain satisfying. Nice job, Starling.
I’m looking forward to Raf’s romance in the follow-up A Brighter, Darker Art! ~ Phobos
Note to our readers, I adore Halli’s Book Guide on her website. It’s a handy and attractive way to showcase not only the books but also the themes and spice levels before her fans pick their next read.
Now, let’s break it down a little further and talk about contemporary romance vs. paranormal or fantasy romance. First, are all your stories in the romance category, and are romantic relationships (HEAs) your focus? Second, what might drive your story into a fantasy setting as opposed to what drives it into a contemporary backdrop? What is your overall process for developing a story?
HS. Ooof, you’re asking the hard ones, I love it!
Most of my stories are in the romance category. As far as if romance is the focus of the books, it very much depends! When I started writing, yes, romance was the big focus. As I’ve gone on to different projects, different genres, romance sometimes takes a backseat to something else. My upcoming release, VENOR, is first a paranormal thriller featuring queer characters. Romance is only hinted at in the mutual attraction between the main characters, but only a bit of flirting and a few kisses happen toward the end of that, and the reader is left wondering if Renzo and Cedrick will or won’t get together.
As far as driving motivations in fantasy vs contemporary settings…there’s this idea I see pop up every now and then that books without a giant plot and ALL THE THINGS HAPPENING aren’t worth it. That the quieter, cozier stories aren’t actually books, and because “nothing happens”, they suck. I think a lot of us, as readers and consumers of media, are starting to realize that those quieter, softer stories are sometimes what we really need in a world that is constantly on fire. Contemporary settings allow me, as a writer, to weave those quieter stories. That’s not to say that cozy fantasy/cottagecore fantasy isn’t possible; it’s a great subgenre with some wonderful titles! I aspire to write something like that in future and admire the authors who have created those cozy little worlds. But in a contemporary story, I can really focus on the characters.
With fantasy…I grew up reading so much fantasy and loving all the sword and shield books, all the ones with magic and mystery and tales to unravel. I’m also a huge D&D/TTRPG player, so fantasy is kind of my jam. So in my fantasy books, my brain immediately wants to create these big worlds, but with a twist. We don’t always need to explain the “magic systems” (I low-key hate that phrase, why is it a “system” all the time?? Why does it have to have laws? What happens if magic simply is?), we don’t always need the big hero stories. Fantasy settings give me so much room to run around as a writer, so I try to take advantage of that.
My overall process for developing a story is different book to book! A lot of it has to do with where I am mentally and emotionally in the moment. My novellas were written at a time when I was wrestling with some personal demons, and I just needed some soft, sometimes sexy, stories. I mostly wrote the novellas to entertain myself, and they’ve all thankfully found an audience who appreciate them for what they are: low or no-stakes books about people falling in love.
With novels, I’ve slowly become a fan of scattershot plotting. My latest book, COUP DE COEUR, is an example of that. I wrote an outline! I kept it nearby as I started to write the first draft! And then…everything went sideways and the book veered in a direction I was not expecting but was so excited about. Basically, my imagination doesn’t shut up and I’ve learned to let it take the wheel now and again.
DLL. I’m trying to figure out where to start. There are so many great points resonating with me right now. I guess I’ll just say that you’ve put into words the things that are important to me and it’s wonderful to know other writers feel the same. I totally dig what you’re saying about a place for slice-of-life, calm stories without the need for intricate worlds or magic systems because character-driven stories and complex relationships in everyday settings can have the power to engage and entertain in a way so different from full-on action pact adventures.
I’ve used my short stories to hone that idea since there isn’t time to build rules and societies. The backdrop has to be woven in with choice words, letting the reader’s mind conjure the details while they enjoy the characters’ journey, which they do! Readers are great conjurers.
HS. Yes, exactly! Short stories are so much fun, but it is a whole other art form than long prose. I love dumping readers into a world all set up and ready for them in short stories.
I did that with “Neon Needle” in A Chronicle of Monsters, which came out earlier this year. Who doesn’t want to read about an outcast gorgon who now works as a tattoo artist in a shop run by an automaton and a poppet, where the shop computer is also trying to be a cult leader? Short stories are amazing.
DLL. OMG. I’m going to have to read that one just to see how you put those things together!
Can you talk about your latest release, COUP DE COEUR, your presale VENOR (ooh yeah… a werewolf story!) coming in September, and your works in progress? What can we expect next and when?
HS. Oooo yes! COUP DE COEUR started as a novella titled THE PERMISSIVE LIBERTINE, which is a phrase I read in one of my favorite books (THE CITY OF STAIRS by Robert Jackson Bennett), and it stuck in my brain. I really wanted to write a book about the toxic friendship between two people. I had no idea who they were or how they presented, but the idea was like a hook in my brain. I sat on it for a bit, worked on other books, and after about a year, I went back to the idea. At the same time, I had just learned about Dr. John Dee, who was (and this is true) Queen Elizabeth I’s court mage/advisor. He would do all the predictions for her of the future, and advise her on all matters of the court, but he was both deeply religious and fascinated by the occult. A lot of people were at that time, in the 16th and 17th centuries, which is very different from what we see today. People like Dee saw magic as religious, as a gift from God, and once I learned about him, I was fascinated. Suffice it to say that he and his partner, Edward Kell(e)y/Talbot, and their work with attempting to talk to angels, plays a huge role in COUP and the rest of the trilogy. So if you like super weird occult stuff, magical books that talk, and a bit of multiverse shenanigans, COUP might be for you! It’s also a “why choose” romance between three men who are thrown together by accident and quickly fall for each other, but then have to reexamine their relationship as the story goes on.
VENOR is a werewolf story! And a thriller! And a story about a city on the brink, and addiction, and enmeshment. It’s part 1 of 2, with Book 2 (VERTO), coming out in mid/late 2025. Honestly, this book really wasn’t planned at all, and I started it as an experiment on writing werewolves and writing about addiction. I have personal experience with addiction and serious mental health issues via family and here I am again, writing to help exorcize my personal demons. But I quickly realized that Renzo and Cedrick’s story has a third character, the city of Bennek. It’s the story we keep seeing played out – a city where the gap between the wealthy and the poor grows each day and systematic oppression – a main tenet of capitalism – forces poverty to not simply happen, but become lodged into the workings of daily life, including the systems supposedly meant to help those who need it.
And as far as what’s upcoming…
DEMIMONDE, the sequel to COUP DE COEUR, should be out in early 2025. The cover artist is starting work this autumn, and the editing begins soon as well! I’ll want a few months to promote the book before it goes on sale. With any luck, I’ll have the first draft of Book 3 written by the time DEMIMONDE is out in the world. I’ll also be working on VERTO this autumn.
And I’m currently poking at a fantasy story about an 800-year-old sorcerer who gets pulled back into adventure by a mysterious visitor who seems to know quite a bit about her past. I love “one last job” fantasy books, and while that plotline is a lot of fun, I think it also works really well with themes about grief and loss and regret. I also have about four other ideas I want to work on, but I need to be patient with myself!
DLL. Wow! These all sound absolutely fantastic and are going into my Kindle as soon as they come out. Not to mention how inspiring your volume of ideas is to a writer who dreams about getting out more stories! Your imagination is boundless!
You started writing in 2020, which is the same time I got started. My ambition came after reading tons of fantasy romances my niece introduced me to during the first summer of the pandemic. Can you talk about what inspired you to start your writing journey?
HS. Oh, this is an easy one! I ran a D&D campaign for friends I met online (hey friends!) for almost 3 years. Before that, I had tried to write a book but nothing stuck. Running the campaign was like writing four or five novels…just PAGES of notes, whole notebooks of plotlines and locations, and NPCs and schemes, and it gave my creativity a serious jump-start.
DLL. I’ve had other guests with D&D backgrounds and am so impressed, as well as envious, of the skills role-playing fantasy games instill in writers, those layers upon layers of detail.
HS. I truly recommend folks give role-playing a shot! It seems super intimidating, and admittedly it’s not everyone’s jam, but the doors it can open in your mind! When you start to strip away preconceived notions we all carry with us and truly embody another character, the experience can actually be life-changing. I’m lucky to have people I’ve role-played with for years who also like to lean in and really dig into characters and stories.
DLL. Totally making me want to delve in! I’ve often felt that I missed out by not getting into gaming with real players, especially a group of friends.
What else has helped you hone your skills? How did you explore and make decisions about publishing your books? What are your favorite tools and resources you’ve assembled along the way? Are there any favorite discoveries or things to avoid you’d like to share? (Sorry for the multi-questions 🙂 but I could squeeze in even more!)
HS. I’m a reader first. So my writing has been heavily influenced by the books and authors who have stuck with me. From the way Robert Jackson Bennett structures his stories and overall narratives, to the romances from authors like K.J. Charles and Cat Sebastian, to the nonfiction writers who dive deep into the weird occult stuff that I love, everything always ties back to the books cemented in my brain.
As far as publishing goes, I am lucky in that regard. I’m a librarian and worked in public libraries for over a decade, so I understand a lot of the technical side of things (how to get ISBNs, which platforms to use to sell my books, etc). The other part of it – formatting, cover art, writing blurbs – is because, even after leaving public libraries, I still work with books. So a lot of it is job experience, but also because I am such a big reader. I know what books I love, so I try to write what I’d want to read. I know that’s cheesy, overused “advice”, but in my case, it’s pretty true. It also means that my books aren’t written to market, which means that my reader pool is probably pretty small.
The biggest piece of advice I’d give any author is to make sure you own all the stuff and develop skills where you can. That will save you some serious cash and make you more self-sufficient. This means that, if possible, you have your own ISBNs (how to get them varies from country to country, and in the US, they’re ridiculously expensive). If you commission cover art, you own the commercial license for it. And if you can, learn some editing/text placement in Canva or another program so that you develop your own method for formatting your books (whether it’s in Docs, Word, Atticus, Vellum, etc.). You might even be able to help out other authors in the long run or market your skills into a nice little side hustle.
And if you don’t know how to get started or how to do something, ask another indie author! Heck, come ask me! I would be more than happy to help someone avoid the mistakes I made and save them some time, frustration, and money.
And whatever you do, remember that reviews are for readers. I only read reviews I’ve solicited through ARCs and beta reads. Once my book is out there in the big world, how it is interpreted is out of my hands. I know I did my best to represent the story and characters fully, and how the book is read is none of my business.
DLL. Fantastic! So much great advice from your extensive background. We’ll dive more into being a librarian later. Thanks for the author shoutouts. I’m checking them out and added links.
I’m pretty much bound to Amazon and their free ISBNs. I’ve done separate ISBNs through Draft2Digital for sales in other stores, but have decided for now to be exclusive to Amazon’s KDP Select and delisted in those stores. Your advice helps me in this whole decision process going forward. Thanks!
HS. It’s so hard to get started publishing your own stuff! There’s a number of factors most people wouldn’t be aware of, and why would they? ISBNs aren’t things people think about a lot, if ever. It looks like a barcode like any other product, what does it really do?
And that’s the thing about Amazon vs. Ingram vs. D2D, etc…they all have advantages and disadvantages. You can absolutely publish your stuff on your own website but when you use another service’s platform, you’re tapping into their market. I started with Amazon-exclusive and gradually expanded my platform reach as I published more books. There’s no one way to do any of this, and thankfully it’s a ton easier to self-publish now.
DLL. Thank you for that encouragement and the reminder to get informed on all the options. There is a lot of free information out there on how to self-publish, and authors like you sharing experiences is what this Spotlight is all about. So all you struggling indie authors, reach out to other authors. Don’t be shy.
So, as we just emphasized, selling our books is a business, and time management factors in. How do you stay organized? What are your preferred methods or techniques to create and maintain a productive environment?
HS. “Organized” might be a bit too strong of a word! I’m a mood writer first and foremost, so unless I’m seriously dug into a story, sometimes my brain just needs to hop around. I usually have at least one project on the side that gives me a break from my main focus if I’m stuck or need a breather. It’s hard to describe, but my brain is pretty good at filling in holes and figuring out plot points randomly; like “shower thoughts”, where things suddenly clarify while you’re washing your hair. That’s my mind 90% of the time!
Productivity is easy-come, easy-go for me. I try not to stress if I’m not in the mood to write, which is admittedly very hard some days. I’m always reminding myself that no one is dictating my release schedule…it’s all me! So if I need to slow down or take a break, then I need to listen to that. Otherwise, I prefer to write in bed on my iPad while listening to rain sounds or some kind of lo-fi jazz. I’m easily distracted on the best days, so that particular set-up is how I’ve learned to focus on my writing. I also suffer from a chronic pain condition, so my bed is the most comfortable spot in the house.
DLL. Shower thinking! Perfect. A new term for organization and an awesome reminder to give our brains space to do their own thing… and to ease off that self-enforced schedule and enjoy the writing! Our deadlines are our own! (I need to chant that to myself a lot).
Who or what has been your biggest influence in fiction?
HS. Simply put, it has to do with how a book makes me feel. I’m an extremely picky reader, so when a book clicks with me, I immediately start tearing it apart to figure out why it resonates. It’s the same for me with most media, especially television shows.
DLL. I can see you deconstructing your reads. I need to get more analytical about why I love a story.
HS. I have a very particular vibe I latch onto, so several years ago I got curious as to why certain media hit me so hard. For example, I have watched all three seasons of Hannibal maybe 5 times. Certain episodes, more than that. Now, I am not a fan of horror when it comes to visual media (love it in books); I’m a big wimp. But that show has some of the most beautiful cinematic shots I’ve ever seen, and the themes are (and I say this lovingly) perfectly demented. I got curious as to why I love that show, books likeTHE MONSTRUMOLOGIST by Rick Yancey, the first season of Penny Dreadful, both seasons of Interview with the Vampire. The darkness, the monsters, the costumes, all amazing, but the deeper themes about the monsters in people and how extremes (despair, pain, lust, envy) make monsters of us all. I eat them up.
DLL. Sorry to say, I haven’t watched Hannibal, but I can add to your comments about the monsters in people, which I agree is such a compelling theme, by pointing to the books by Thomas Harris. The author created an extraordinary amalgamation of the deviant, resourceful mind. RED DRAGON was my first introduction to profiling, and it floored me like it did so many back in the eighties, especially the idea that to catch a killer, you have to think like a killer… And where do you stop that transition? Monstrumologist! What a great title!
I would like to talk about your cover art for two reasons. AMFF and ABDA had such captivating artsy covers. Can you tell us about the designer and your collaboration? And… You also design covers! Tell us about your graphic design background/passion and how to commission your work.
HS. Oh my gosh yes! So Daze is the artist for both covers. She’s INCREDIBLE. We met via the Witcher fandom a few years ago and she did some fandom art for me on commission, then I got the idea to ask her about doing a cover. Daze is so easy to work with and obviously wickedly talented; she deserves all the praise and flowers for these covers. Once she finished the art, I did the text formatting and layouts, and I realized I wanted to learn to do cover art. So I read some tutorials and taught myself how to put covers together in Canva!
I started doing some graphic design for a library I worked at many years ago. We had a really small staff and very little budget, so we were forced to do pretty much everything by the seat of our pants. I had a colleague at the time who was also passionate about graphic design, so we sort of taught each other different skills. I’m no professional but it’s the same with my writing – I know what resonates with me, and I try to recreate that.
If you want to commission me for a cover, you can DM me on Instagram or email me at hallistarlingbooks.com. I also have examples of covers in my Etsy shop (booksbyhalli.etsy.com) and I post examples of covers I’ve done in the past on my Instagram. I’ve been working really closely with the team at the Twisted Retreat Book Box and making covers for them has really helped me hone my skills.
DLL. This is exciting stuff. Collaborating with artists is a dream for me and a perk of being a writer. Hopefully, I can tap into that resource one day soon. Here is a beautiful piece Daze did for Halli’s awesome characters.
Along with the amazing covers.
What are your tips for engaging in outreach and marketing? You have a lively Instagram and a vibrant website. And you get out to meet your readers in public at signing events. How important is it to carve out that time and engage with readers? Where else can readers find you?
HS. I think a lot of indie authors will tell you that marketing is a slog because we’re usually doing it all ourselves! I was just saying this to the lovely and talented Laura R. Samotin (author of THE SINS ON OUR BONES, a heart-wrenching, atmospheric, freaking gorgeous queer romance inspired by Jewish fantasy and history) about this very topic. Her book is traditionally published and she was doing a lot of the marketing herself! In our increasingly hectic world, trying to gain anyone’s attention for 3 seconds feels impossible. So I’ve stopped thinking about it as “selling” my books and more putting them out into the world to find the right readers. Writing will never supplant my day job. I write for myself and for the readers who are looking for something different, something heartfelt and quietly introspective. Maybe occasionally sexy.
I LOVE meeting readers! I’m a very extroverted introvert, which comes from years of public service (including a five-year stint as a children’s librarian). And with my books featuring queer characters front and center, going to Pride just made the most sense. That’s my audience!
I did my first Pride event last year and got hooked, and did four more this year (with one more to go and a book conference in August). The events are always tiring, doubly so because I have a condition that exacerbates my fatigue, but it’s really important to me to be there.
Readers can find me on Instagram and my website. My website links out to aggregate pages where all my books are listed at online retailers, in physical and ebook form (and two have audiobooks as well!). I have a Threads account that I use sometimes, but Instagram is my go-to.
DLL. I’ve heard this so many times about the work involved with marketing even if traditionally published. I enjoy the control I have over my content and stories so will likely continue along the indie path. Still, pitching to an agent has its romantic appeal. I am definitely noting your method of getting books out into the world as the focus rather than slogging through the selling. It really should be about the joy and connection to our readers.
Yay on the audiobooks! How awesome is that?… And way to go, getting out there to meet your readers despite the challenges, and congratulations on the results.
HS. Thank you so much! I’m the same way, having control over my content is key. That’s not to say if someone offered me a publishing deal that I would automatically reject it. I’d have to think very seriously about it. I’ve queried ASK ME FOR FIRE and COUP DE COEUR, both with some success as far as agent interest goes. But I work in the book industry, and I’ve seen the good and bad aspects. Your agent should be your biggest champion, and the agents I interacted with for both of those books wanted to make changes out of the gate I wasn’t comfortable with. I’m a recovering people pleaser, so there was power in me telling those folks, “No, I won’t do that to my story” when they wanted to make changes. And no one’s feelings were hurt. It was just the reality of the situation.
DLL. Ooh! Thank you so much for sharing your journey! I dream about an agent who’s totally in my corner. For now, we can be that person to ourselves, eh? Way to go on sticking to your guns. I can’t imagine ASK ME FOR FIRE being changed in any way. Yikes!
Aside from writing, being a librarian, and your cats bossing a good portion of your life, you run an Etsy shop. Selling signed books, premade covers, book swag, etc. Awesome! I’m curious about that marketing avenue, particularly for your signed books. Can you give us some insights, pros and cons, and your best practice tips? How is it working out for you?
HS. Well, with the recent news that Etsy is going to allow AI-generated content to be sold on their site, I’m trying to figure out if I’m sticking with them or going back to listing my signed books and other stuff on my website. I started with a small shop on my own site, but I was struggling with the shipping aspect of it, so switching to Etsy, at the time, made sense. I’ll probably stay on Etsy for now; it is cheaper and easier for me, as a single owner small business, and if people are grossed out by the AI aspect, I would just encourage folks to take a few extra minutes to make sure that the person they’re buying from actually owns the product/art/etc. That’s the struggle when you’re doing this all on your own! It takes so much to make even a single dollar of profit, and the platform or tool you were using can suddenly throw a giant monkey wrench in the works.
I would recommend finding a rhythm that works for you. I know we all want to make things easy and appear accessible to everyone all the time, but even little things can help. For example, my Etsy store lists my shipping period as Monday-Friday. It gives me a bit of breathing room as a human being with needs outside of all the book stuff. It also keeps me from panicking and trying to fulfill orders on a weekend, especially given how busy this summer has been with Pride and book events.
DLL. Great advice. Thank you! And again, I enjoy hearing how busy you are getting out there, which equals steady growth!
So wait! There’s more. You also host a podcast. Can you tell us about the Human Exception and where we can listen?
HS. I freaking love the people I do this podcast with. I met Nathan first, he was the DM for our online D&D group, and he was so laid back and loved every chaotic thing we did, and we quickly became friends. I met his partner, Cayla, via that game as well (we played in-game girlfriends, total chaos between a 7ft tall gnoll and a 2 ft tall gnome). And through them, I met Courtney. We’ve been recording for nearly 4 years (on Halloween!), which is hard to believe.
It all started when we were talking about our varied interests and the weird things that fascinate us, and I think it was Nathan who suggested doing a podcast. Mostly to entertain ourselves, but it’s slowly grown a wonderful audience of listeners who like the same weird stuff we do. And that’s what HEX really is, four friends telling each other stories about weird things we’ve researched, or in the case of a long-running series, them listening to me read aloud the infamous fanfiction, “My Immortal”.
HEX is available on our website, where we also list all our resources/references and you can read the scripts for each podcast. It’s also available on Spotify, Google, Redcircle, pretty much any podcatcher out there.
DLL. That sounds like an absolute blast not to mention fascinating. And Wow! I just took a look at the website–totally cool. HEX Files. I love it! And what a great thing to provide the audio content with all the backup resource material. Love the t-shirt, too. I can’t wait to dig in to those topics.
Let’s wrap it up with a peek into your other career–a librarian! One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t go into library sciences. Can you tell us how you followed that path and the highlights of a library work life?
HS. Library work was the love of my life for so long! And it still is, just in a different regard. Libraries pretty much raised me; I found solace in them at a very young age, and the librarians I met were very encouraging to a young girl who just loved books so much. I got a part-time job at a small public library when I was 19, and this was the kind of place so small that we did everything. Circulation, reference work, computer help, programming. I got a very intensive, very educational experience working there, and when I left that library to go to a larger branch in the same system after graduating with my Bachelor’s in English, my supervisor encouraged me to go after my MLIS (Master’s in Library Science). She was instrumental in helping me understand what I wanted and I’ll always be grateful to her for so much.
After that, I spent some years as a children’s librarian, and as someone who grew up the way I did, that job was the thing I needed. I fell in love with children’s books and working with kids, especially ones who didn’t have access to a lot of books at home and came to the library with their school or daycare groups. I made it my job to make them laugh and find a new book to take with them. This was a long time ago, but those experiences stuck with me. I stayed in libraries for several years after that, and I kind of bounced around between management and programming. My heart was always with the small community libraries, so I mostly stayed in those places and worked hard to advocate for literacy and book access. Libraries are SO important to their communities; they’re one of the few places that don’t ask for a monetary transaction for you to come in, stay, and use their resources. For an international audience, I know your libraries can be quite different but they’re no less important. When people want to take away your access to information, it’s for a reason and we should all be ready to fight back against that.
I left library land about 8 years ago but I still work with books. I was really burning out doing so much public-facing work and was struggling with my health, so the change came when I needed it the most. I started working from home way before COVID hit and was fortunate enough to stay in that kind of role up to now.
DLL. Fantastic! Libraries are the best fantasy worlds in my book. (Eeek. Sorry for the pun.) I was reminiscing the other day with my husband about our respective library experiences from our childhoods. Before computer games stuck us in our rooms, there were libraries encouraging you to venture outside your home and traverse multi-storied, awesome-smelling, real bound paper heavens. And to have worked in them… Sigh…
Thank you so much for visiting with me on my Spotlight, Halli. Any parting words of advice for those who want to explore writing fiction, and queer romance in particular?
HS. The indie scene is where it’s at! We’re the ones writing queer books that don’t just focus on tragedy. There are definitely beautiful traditionally published books with great queer stories, but if you want authenticity unfiltered, indie authors know what’s up. And as far as writing goes, give yourself time. I know it looks like we’re all competing against each other, but it’s true that a rising tide lifts all boats. We should celebrate each other! Don’t let anyone else try to tell you how to write or publish. It’s your story, and it will find readers.
DLL. What a fantastic thought to leave us with and I’m thrilled to be part of the rising tide with you. Thanks again, Halli!
My guest this month is a sci-fi author and poet. He’s also a regular blogger, and you can follow his works and musings at Lines by Leon right here on WordPress. Leon is a member of my Fantasy Sci-Fi Writers Alliance and his thought-provoking stories and cartoon illustrations captured my imagination, so I invited him for a chat. Read on and be inspired.
Let’s Meet the Author
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, and artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry in 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales. His newest publications are the sci-fi trilogy, The View from Here, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
Let’s Get Started
I’ve been looking forward to our chat, Leon! You’re my first space exploration type of sci-fi writer guest and I’m eager to delve into that genre with you and learn what inspires you most about writing sci-fi as well as poetry and music. I’ve been enjoying your collection of short stories in The Knot at the End of the Rope available on Amazon. Of course, The View From Here got me reading the novella trilogy. What an awesome premise!
You published your first book of poetry around the same time I started writing fiction. I’m wondering if you’re like me and quite a few of my Spotlight guests who used the time at home during the Pandemic to follow your dreams. Or, what’s the story behind your 2020 journey?
LS. I started writing song lyrics and poetry to get me through a difficult time before the world went through its own, and I decided to publish some of the poems so that others might benefit or at least be entertained. I enjoyed the writing process so I continued it by crafting some short science fiction stories.
DLL. Well, your reviews tell me you achieved your goal. Here’s what one reviewer had to say about Wonder of Words:
This is an inspiring, straightforward and original poetry borne from everyday experiences of the author. It contains poems created in lockdown, poems on the environment, a 30-day poetry challenge, and ends with a short biographic story.
I like how the author introduces each poem with his thoughts and how the author manages to speak to the reader in an everyday way, often with humour. There’s material here for the reader to want to create their own poetry, so can be a useful resource for newer poets.
5 stars is reserved for classic poetry, so this 100-page book gets a 4-star rating due to its ease of picking up the book from anywhere and easy understanding of the poetry content, and also the good value for money. I also like the author’s quick sketches. ~ Karuna
I think of you as an author firmly planted in sci-fi. When you say in your bio that you’re a multi-genre author, does that mean your stories fall within multiple sci-fi sub-genres, or do you also write outside of that umbrella?
LS. Well, I do write poetry, science fiction, humor, and romance, so that’s pretty multi, right? Wait, did I say romance? I may have written a short story about that…
DLL. Awesome! Multi is where it’s at. And every writer needs to write at least one romance. I thought of another question. Were you inspired by other humorist writers, and if so who is your favorite?
DLL. Ah yes! Dave Barry. Another that comes to mind is Patrick McManus. My Dad loved his pieces in Field and Stream and my husband has all his books.
As I read your eclectic short story and poetry collection, Knot at the End of the Rope (great title by the way), the thing that stands out is your use of a variety of short-story and poetic styles and how masterfully you craft each one at whichever length, whether three lines or three pages. Writing short pieces is quite different from writing novels. How long had you been writing short stories before publishing your first collection? Did you use or recommend using contests or community writing challenges to hone your skills? Or how else did you build your body of work?
I think I started with short stories because of my short attention span. Say what you want and get out, I suppose. Also many of my stories seemed to come to a natural conclusion on their own, sooner rather than later.
I don’t think I used any prompts for my short stories, but for my second poetry collection I did include all 31 poems I wrote during the National Poetry Month 30 poems in 30 days. The 31st poem was for my mom. I had mentioned my dad in two of them and knew she’d be mad if I left her out.
My first novella started as a short story and I decided to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Yeah, it ended as a novella, 20 000 words short.
DLL. That’s marvelous. You’re now my go to for short story and poetry inspiration. I recently tried my hand at poetry, and I’m hooked! I love writing short stories in between working on the big drafts and taking time out on occasion to participate in contests like Writing Battle. The creators Max and Teona are from Nova Scotia by the way and have been my guests the last two years if you want to get behind the scenes of a super creative writing contest platform.
Thanks for sharing the blog about your dad. We both had fathers who instilled the reading bug it seems. Can you add a little more here about how he got you into sci-fi?
LS You’ll have to read the blog post. How’s that for driving traffic to my website?
DLL. Nicely done! 😊
So, that leads to another aspect of writing short stories, which is the number of completed works you can produce compared to a lengthy novel, by which I also mean the volume of ideas. You’ve built up quite a collection in addition to putting out regular cartoon illustrations, blogging, and other endeavors. What is your idea process like? Are you one of those who dream stories while you sleep? What are your tips and practices for generating and keeping track of so many ideas?
LS. Most of my blog posts are written on the day I post, so they are often topical. With my cartoons, more often than not, a weird idea will just occur to me.
Sometimes I’ll come up with ideas when I’m out cycling or running. Or, after I turn out the lights and settle into bed. I don’t recommend that, though. I’m positive I’ve left many great ideas in slumberland.
DLL. I suspected it might be a grab them as they pop up sort of process, which makes your cartoons so fun–that momentary thought becoming an image on paper before it disappears. And I bet many of them slip into existence from your dreamworld. Dreaming ideas is a topic for a whole other conversation, eh?
LS. I used to write down my dreams as soon as I woke up, but not for quite a while. It is a good way to remember them before they fade.
DLL. It truly is. Now, if I could be so disciplined. My husband even bought me a small recorder, but do I use it? Not once. I’d rather wake up in a dither trying to keep all the threads of my imagination alive. Brain exercise.
At the outset, I mentioned the great premise in The View From Here–taking two ordinary outdoor explorers who stumble separately into a mysterious… I’ll just say ‘place’ to guard against spoilers… and then decide to explore the mysteries together using their nature skills and rudimentary knowledge about science. Can you talk more about your three-part story and the inspiration behind it?
LS. The View from Here is the short story that became a novella, which eventually ended up as a trilogy. The original idea was about a hidden entrance (or was it an exit) in an underground society, but I think I changed it because of my enjoyment of the outdoors.
Like many short stories, it had an open ending, so when I decided to attempt NaNoWriMo, I cheated and got a 4000 word head start, which didn’t help me any. The novella was written to be a stand-alone, but again the ending had loose ends, so I kept going.
Being my first attempt at a longer work, I limited the characters to two. I also wanted it to feel like the video game Myst, where there are situations that present a puzzle to be solved before moving forward.
DLL. Great stuff. Thanks! And hey, cheating at NaNoWriMo often leads to amazing success. So, glad we get to enjoy The View From Here as a result.
You have a new novel on presale, Euphrates Vanished. The premise looks amazing. Is this a full-sized novel? Can you give us a peek inside?
LS. I tried to make it a novel, I really did, but it tapped out at 39K. So close. Here is the blurb:
“This is not a drill!”
He wakes up to the sound of his alarm and the announcement blaring. Looking around the room, he realizes he is a member of a starship crew. There’s only one problem: he doesn’t remember who he is or how he got there. With no time to think, he finds his way to the bridge, while being careful not to call attention to his predicament.
The first problem is piecing together the puzzle of his missing memories to reveal his knowledge, rank, and friendships. Another problem is being stranded on an alien planet during his first away mission.
[You can download the first chapter when you sign up for Leon’s newsletter.]
Who or what is your biggest inspiration when it comes to writing fiction? What are your top three favorite reads? Or in the alternative, your top three favorite authors?
LS. My favorite authors would be Kurt Vonnegut and Isaac Asimov and my favorite books would be…Nope, can’t do it.
I grew up on the classics. Wells, Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein, Niven, I always joke that it was much easier to write science fiction in the early days because you could make up more stuff that the public didn’t question. Now, if you describe how a warp drive works incorrectly…Yikes!
DLL. LOL. That is so true! I love it!
I tried my hand at incorporating science fiction in the third part of The Starlight Chronicles. My antagonists were ancient aliens, so I eventually addressed their evolution and biology, how their moons gave them immortality (even delving into gamma rays), and other cool stuff.
For me, it’s another opportunity to fall down the rabbit hole of research in a totally fictional way. Fortunately, my readers aren’t likely to question my science because it’s more about the romance. But you never know, so I do my best.
So many amazing poems, Leon! Tell us about your love of writing poetry, how you got started, and your advice to someone who would like to write in prose.
LS. I mentioned earlier the impetus for writing poetry, but essentially, it’s a way to create a little snippet of life, always from the poet’s perspective but often relatable by the readers who are unable to put certain feelings into words. I try not to complicate my poems too much by creating confusing or obscure analogies. I want my readers not to have to think too hard about what I am trying to say.
My advice? Avoid rhymes.
No, that’s not true. There is a place for rhyming poems, but I try not to follow any specific form or rhyme scheme. Usually it happens when it happens.
DLL. Great insight! Thanks!
I enjoy your cartoons immensely though I admit I don’t always get the joke. Sometimes I do, and I laugh out loud or say to myself, “Huh… good point.” Other times, they make me stare at them while I scratch my head and think about what I’m seeing and why you decided to capture the idea with your brief “squiggles.” They truly are mini-stories, and your joy in conveying them comes through. I appreciated your Instagram post about “how a little squiggle can convey an idea.” Can you talk more about that?
LS. Yeah, some of the cartoons get the reaction, “Whaaa?!” I started The Miniscules because I had some funny—well I thought they were—ideas, but since I was terrible at drawing characters, I just did a squiggle and said, “That’s, good enough.” Later, I had to force myself to attempt more detail when I created The Untitled. Great name, huh? Guess how I came up with that…
DLL. Hmmm. I’m guessing because they’re untitled. It’s funny but I often gravitate towards poems titled Untitled. I supposed because right off, it asks a question.
By the way, Leon has a great Merch Shop on his website if you’d like to help out an indie author while enjoying his art on a mug or two.
You’re also a musician. Tell us about that area of your creative life and how it intertwines with your writing.
LS. Writing music is like writing words. Notes, put in the right order will tell a story, set a mood, or evoke an emotion. I don’t play or write as much as I used to, but I did write a short piece as homage to the story and the characters of my trilogy.
When a reader finishes The Final View, there is a link to a video I created for it as well.
I still have a couple of compositions I want to record, but I’ve always found it a long and difficult process to do, but all my recordings are here:
DLL.Here is a YouTube video with a classical guitar piece by Leon that I particularly enjoyed.
Oh. I forgot I had a YouTube channel…
DLL. Haha! Well, I found it.
Can you share how you benefit and what you enjoy most about engaging with your audience through your newsletter, blog, and social posts? What tips do you have for independent authors on finding their outreach niche?
LS. Authors love to hear from their readers! So many authors (both indie and mainstream) have embraced various platforms allowing them to interact with their fans. It’s pretty cool when someone like Neil Gaiman responds to a comment you have posted.
Newsletters, blogs, and social media posts have to be an extension of a writer’s craft. I feel it has to add value to the readership by entertaining them beyond the books.
DLL. Awesome. Thank you! And now I know someone who knows Neil Gaiman. 😄
LS. Yeah. “Knows.” I don’t think he follows me, though.
What are the best tools and resources you’ve found as an independent author for covers, editing, publishing, etc?
LS. There’s so many it can be overwhelming, but the top 5 are:
Canva (covers)
Reedsy (editor)
Ama— I can’t believe I have to say it…Amazon. It’s easy, and it has a large reach with good promotions.
ChatGPT
Wait! What?
Oh, I joke of course. Want to get into a discussion about AI “authored” books? I didn’t think so.
DLL. Lots of good stuff here! And yes, I could talk a lot about AI. So many sides to that controversial technology, good and bad. Just yesterday, someone I follow on Writer’s Digest posted a quick take on what she is hearing from the average person (non-writer) who uses AI to do their job. To them, “It’s just another tool.”
I love Canva for design. I’ve used other resources, but always end up there the most. Reedsy is also one of my favorite resources for instructional content, live and otherwise. It’s good to get a recommendation regarding their editing option. And yes, Amazon is super easy. However, I go back and forth with being enrolled in the 90-day KDP Select. I like having my books in more stores, but the truth is Amazon is where the sales are.
What are your favorite tips and techniques for staying productive while balancing life with your creative endeavors?
LS. I try to write every day, even if it is just a single line of dialogue.
DLL. So, do you keep a notebook close at all times?
LS. Nope, just sit at the computer and check my email, oops, I mean my social channels, wait, I mean write.
🙂Ah yes. Talk about rabbit holes. By the way, I recently decided rabbit hole is synonymous with retirement. I now have the freedom to spend the day going down them… until I remember I still need to be productive.
I’ll wrap this up with a question to a sci-fi writer I’ve always wanted to ask: Where do you most want to encounter life from beyond our planet… on Earth, or from a starship, and why?
LS. Want to encounter? Who says I haven’t?
DLL. Haha! Good answer. I’ll be looking for clues in your stories. Thank you so much for stopping by Leon. All the best to you!
Oh, and thank you so much for having me as a guest on your blog too in this beautiful month of June. I super enjoyed this exchange!
By D. L. Lewellyn 