![]() I am really happy to introduce fantasy author and artist, Shannon Pemrick! Shannon Pemrick was born in 1991 in a small city in the Southwestern corner of New Hampshire where she was raised with her younger sister. Thanks to her limitless imagination, she spent most of her days daydreaming about the impossible in hopes it could one day be possible. This imagination sparked a love of the arts that eventually lead her down the road to writing where she discovered her first book idea. F.P. Spirit suggested that I send Shannon a friend request on Facebook, because he greatly admires her work and he thought that she and I needed to get together and read each other’s books (which we do, and haven’t done, because all we’ve done is basically say “how-do-you-do”). As soon as Shannon’s status updates started showing up on my Facebook newsfeed, I felt like she was a part of my family. No. Seriously. She has the same sense of humor that all my family members have. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I haven’t decided yet. But it has definitely made me laugh more than once! So, without further snickers on my part, I am very pleased to present Shannon Pemrick! Thank you so much for joining me today Shannon! I am really excited about this. Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Do you have pets? Family? Shannon Pemrick - I'm from the northeast part of the United States where I live with my fiancée, three cats, and a dog who thinks she's a cat…a very large cat. My family is also in the area and I try to find whatever time I can to see them since family is very important to me. I'm an avid gamer (I play a lot of videogames) and I love animals. I'm particularly fond of horses, wolves and butterflies. I'm also an artist. I would be an avid gamer if I took the time to be such. However, I spend too much time on the internet READING about all these different games than actually downloading or buying any of them to play. Tell us a little about your writing. When did you start writing, and why? Shannon Pemrick - Writing wasn't something I thought I'd ever do. I was more into the visual arts and my reading and writing skills had always been subpar since I was a child. But one day I got an itch to write a fanfiction (fantasized story using characters from a favorite book, tv series, etc…) and while it wasn't all that great, it sparked an interest and I continued. Later, when I was in high school I attempted to write my own book but it died rather quickly. I didn't make another attempt until I was assigned a project in my senior year of high school that sparked the Experimental Heart trilogy. Do you write for a particular genre, or do you cross genres? If so, what is your favorite genre to write for? Shannon Pemrick - My current genre is a cross genre of Sci-Fi and Fantasy but I have several book ideas waiting to be touched that are straight Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Are you a planner or a “pantser” – do you plan out your books meticulously or do you write by the seat of your pants? Shannon Pemrick - I am definitely a planner. I write out outlines/timelines and plot out main events for my books and then place in minor events. I will deviate from the initial plan or add in more ideas as I go to improve my initial idea (like I've done with my trilogy), but in order for me to make a complete book, I have to plan it out from start to finish first. Some of the best books and successful authors I know were planners! Unfortunately, that does not seem to be a skill I have. Planning? What is that? Is it contagious? OMG, keep it away from me! Well then... where do you find inspiration? Shannon Pemrick - Everywhere. They're in my dreams, in my conversations, random thoughts in my head, and in the world around me. Do you listen to music or watch TV whilst you write? Do you do anything unusual while your write? Shannon Pemrick - I typically work best in silence but I will listen to music if I need some really nice inspiration. I can't have a TV on while I'm writing or I'll do more watching than writing. TV is my bane. I can write during some shows, but notoriously, if I don’t have my headphones in, I will start typing what the people are saying on TV. Tim Conway drawl in a fantasy story = bad thing. *Facepalm* Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Shannon Pemrick - I believe all authors have some sort of message even if they don't realize it. Most of my messages happen to be about self worth and accepting being unique. Messages about celebrating how unique we are seems to be growing in popularity. I think our culture is hungry for that. Most authors like to read, what have you recently finished reading? Shannon Pemrick - I haven't done a lot of reading lately. I've been rather caught up in my own writing and balancing a few other large life events. But the last three books I read (read them around the same time) were The Search for Mrs. Claus by Courtney Daisey, The Serpent Cult by F.P. Spirit, and A Week in New York by Louise Bay. The only one I actually enjoyed was The Serpent Cult. The Serpent Cult ROCKS! Oh… did I just blurt that out loud? Well, it’s the truth. Can you name your favorite traditionally published author? Shannon Pemrick - Garth Nix. I love his work. And your favorite indie/self-published author? Shannon Pemrick - F.P. Spirit. He figured out how to make this YA hater to like his work. YA hater? *takes a step back from you - hides my book* You frighten me, oh great wizard... But, Mr. Spirit does have a way about his books, doesn't he? We can fangirl over them together, if you want. *wink* Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? Shannon Pemrick - It really depends on the subject, but I like to make sure I'm as thorough as possible in my research because I want to make sure all aspects of my books are believable. My current trilogy needed quite a bit of research when it came to military and weapons. But because the world and natural laws for that trilogy is all made up, most of it came from my head and all I had to do was make it all feel believable even if it was only a tiny bit. Military is my bane in research. I come from a family of proud veterans and, sadly, I never understand a word they say when they talk about military stuff. It’s one of those things that I need to SEE it in order to understand. Do you self-edit? If so why is that the case? Shannon Pemrick - Yes, I do. I'm not a professional editor and I can't rely on myself to catch all errors but going through the book before my editor does really help catch the silly mistakes and save me a bit of embarrassment. It also gives me time to look over my work to catch any inconsistencies or spots I want to elaborate on. Self-Proof-Reading is very important in any form of writing. That importance only grows when it comes to one’s own novel though. Do you believe a book suffers without being professionally edited? Shannon Pemrick - Yes. There is only so much an author can catch before their brain corrects the mistakes automatically without the author realizing it. A professional editor not only brings in fresh eyes but also fresh opinions and…well…professional editing skills. They'll know more about editing than anyone else. AHA! So that is my problem: my brain has auto-correct. I knew auto-correct had issues. Apparently it has taken over my mind! *grabs aluminium foil - wraps around head* What was your experience with getting your book published? How did you start out? Did you have help? Shannon Pemrick - I tried for a year to be traditionally published. After getting rejection letter after rejection letter I became discouraged and thought I'd never be published. Then I found some information about self publishing and did as much research as I could before pursuing that route. Do I regret going this route? No. This route may be hard, but I'm happier than I would have been with a big publisher breathing down my neck telling me what to do. Yep. People still kind of snort at the “self-publishing” publishing idea, but I always tell them that I am happier with it because I am my own boss and I get more money. I’d like to see a Trad-publisher fork out 70% royalty! So, sort these into order of importance: Great characters; great world-building; solid plot; technically perfect. Can you explain why you chose this order? Shannon Pemrick - 1. Great World-building 2. Great Characters 3. Solid Plot 4. Technically perfect. I chose this way to line them up because even though you can have the greatest plot idea, in the end, if your world is bland and your characters suck, the plot isn't going to matter. I love how everyone always puts “Technically Perfect” at the bottom. I think it is because, if we get the others right, perfection comes a little more naturally. If you could change anything in an existing book, or series, of yours, what would it be? Shannon Pemrick - Funny you should ask because this year Experimental Heart: Pieces will be getting a small makeover. I put a lot of work into this book but didn't have the resources I have now and have found many problems that would benefit from being fixed (Plot holes, unneeded content, etc…). Am I ashamed to admit this? Nope, not at all. Personally I feel all books deserve a chance to be gone over and fixed after publication, regardless if they're written by indies or traditional published authors. Once the changes are done, the book name will be condensed down to Pieces, matching how the rest of the books in the trilogy will appear. That is the glorious part I love about independently publishing with CreateSpace: there is so much more freedom to go in and “fix” things later without a huge rig-a-ma-ro… What is your latest book or series? Any forthcoming books? My latest book is Experimental Heart: Pieces (soon to be Pieces), which is book one in the Experimental Heart Trilogy. Secrets, is the next book in the trilogy to come out this year, and the third book (Surrendered) is planned on coming out the end of this year to the beginning of next year. I'm also currently working on a fantasy that may become a series, a romance, and a few spin-offs for my current trilogy. Cool beans! Lots of plans: that’s good! Tell us a little about the world of your latest or favorite book or series. Shannon Pemrick - My current running trilogy is Experimental Heart. Pieces, is the first in the trilogy that came out November 2013 and, Secrets, the second in the trilogy, is expected to come out this spring. The world of these books is called Lumaraeon and is a world that has been devastated by war and currently trying to rebuild to its former glory but is under threat of another devastating war driven by the tyrant Zarda who believes he is the only one worthy of running Lumaraeon and holds himself to a god status. Lumaraeon itself, while struggling with this impending war, is a lush land with diverse creatures. The main races of the land are Humans, Nu Humans, and Elves. Dragons, Dwarves and Wogrons also live in this land but are far fewer in numbers and most prefer to keep to themselves. There were other races in the past but they were wiped out by either wars or Lumaraeon's volatile nature before it was stabilized by the gods. The land itself is beautiful and diverse with snowy mountains in the North, vast deserts, meadows, and wastelands in the West and beautiful oceans in the South and East. The land's natural laws are governed by the elements, which can be harness by gifted individuals, spiritual plane, which can be access by certain chosen individuals, and the gods who all posses unique abilities that can help the mortal races when needed. If it has dragons and elves, you know it has got to be a smoking awesome world! Introduce us to some of your characters. What do you like about them? Shannon Pemrick - The main two characters for my trilogy are Eira and Raikidan. Eira is a human war experiment of an advanced human race called Nu Human and former assassin with psychotic tendencies due to her gruesome past and lacks certain emotional understanding. Raikidan is a dragon that follows Eira around like a lost puppy. He's overprotective and lacks understanding of human culture and human nature as well as lacks understanding of the concept of personal space. The differences in these two create an interesting relationship that is rather volatile to begin with but becomes strong over time as the two realize they're more similar than they first believed. There are also many support characters in this trilogy but the main two that stick by Eira and Raikidan's side the most are Ryoko and Rylan. Ryoko and Rylan are also war experiments that have stuck with Eira since they met in the military. Ryoko is a Wogron (type of werewolf that doesn't go back to a human state but still carries some human-like traits both physically and mentally) and Nu Human hybrid and is a brute class (very strong melee fighter). She's one of the strongest out there and is one of the few female brutes in existences. She is also incredibly beautiful having most desired traits from their society but Ryoko lacks confidence because of it. She finds that her worth is superficial and doesn't believe people can see past her looks to understand the real her. This is where she connects with Eira. The two understand each other in this way and they try to help one another in only ways that they can. This has created an unbreakable bond that sometimes makes it look like they're arguing when they're just talking. Rylan is a wolf-dog and human hybrid experiment that was an early attempt at creating shapeshifting experiments. He's an excellent shot making him a prime choice for a sniping position in the military and had ice elemental abilities that he's not proud of. Despite his good looks and nice personality, he lacks self esteem and wishes to be more normal than most people around him. Much of this is attributed to his animal DNA. But this esteem doesn't stop him from looking out for Eira much like an older brother would creating an impeccable bond that most don't understand. I have a particular fondness for all of these characters because of their dynamics. They're all different from each other but it's their differences that bring them together and created a type of kinship that can't be explained or understood by most. Awww… I love them all already! Random note: You apparently like “R” names, huh? *snickers to self* Do you have a favorite character? Why? Shannon Pemrick - I love all my characters but I do have a particular fondness for Eira and Shva'sika. Many would roll their eyes at an author for picking their main character as a favorite but I can't help it. Eira is so complicated and misunderstood even by herself. She doesn't realize how amazing she is and can only see her dark past. She struggles with seeing how she could possibly move beyond that and create a future for herself. But even while she struggles to like herself she still finds a reason to continue living even if she doesn't understand it herself. She's a strong woman that won't take crap from anyone and will be brutally honest when others would rather lie or sugarcoat a situation. She believes honest truths, while painful sometimes, are better to hear in the end than a half truth or a lie because they hurt less in the long run. She's the kind of person that goes through issues real people have to face and she's the kind of woman some people wish they could be. Even with her past and her abrasive nature, I just have to pick her as one of my favorite characters. Shva'sika is another character that I love to pieces. She doesn't get a whole lot of face time in the first book of the trilogy but when she does get more later on, she's not someone you can hate. She's an Elvin woman who has lost her entire family but doesn't let her loneliness drag her down to cause her to be bitter. She is charismatic and has a big heart. She'd give you the shirt of her back without question. She doesn't let her beauty cloud her judgment and cause vanity or pride and she isn't the type of person you can just boss around. As big as her heart is, she won't be walked on. Such strong characters are so easy to make favorites of. And, just a note, I don’t think it’s weird for you to pick your main character as a favorite. I can't exactly say the same for my main character, though. He is… well… special in my eyes. *glares at Keegan, who glares back* Ahem! Anyway… do you have a character you hate/dislike? Why? Shannon Pemrick - As much as I want others to have a character they hate and want dead, I don't have one. I know the histories of all my characters. I know what made them who they are. So it's impossible for me to really hate them. Even Zarda, as evil as he is, is so good at being twisted and evil, that I can't really hate him. I totally understand you there. I think I’d actually feel guilty for hating my baddies. I mean, I MADE them that way. What kind of person would I be if I hated them?! Well, anyway. Are your characters ever based on real people? Shannon Pemrick - My characters aren't based on a single person but many of them do have traits from several people I know or have met. I believe this helps them feel more three dimensional. I think all authors with well fleshed characters find that many of their characters have traits from real people, though not always from anyone specific. It is just the way our imagination works to make things real! Have you ever used a person you don’t/didn’t like as a character then killed them off? Shannon Pemrick - While my more hated characters may deserve death (or may die), none of them have been based off someone that I've hated in life. Like my other loved characters, hated characters have personalities that are taken from multiple people. What formats are your books available in (E-book, print, large print, audio)? Are you intending to expand these and if not, what is the reason? Shannon Pemrick - My books are available in e-book, hardcover, and paperback format. I'd like to get it into an audio format at some point as well because I know how useful that format is first hand as well as translated into other languages at some point. Would you give a fun/silly fact you would like your readers to know about you or your book? Shannon Pemrick - I'm a poor organizer except when it comes to my books. They have to be planned out while the rest of my life is a total chaotic mess. Well, I am glad to know I'm not alone. I am of the opinion that chaos does do something wonderful for the twisted author mind… Is there any advice you would pass on to those authors who are still just starting out? Do's and don'ts? Shannon Pemrick - My first advice is to never give up no matter how hard it seems. There will always be hurdles and people telling you no, but that doesn't mean they're right and that doesn't mean the hurdles are too big to get over. My next piece of advice is to make sure your book is sound before publishing. Make sure the book has had other (trusted) eyes on it and make sure you have a professional editor look it over. Also, don't skimp on a cover because that draws a reader in. Actually, just don't skimp on anything. Self publishing can get expensive, but the worst thing you could do is to publish prematurely and get the title most Indies dread…"Amateur". My last piece of advice will sound a bit harsh to some but I feel it's necessary. Grow thick skin. As an author, I know a piece of work is your baby and you don't want it being torn apart, but if you plan to publish you need to understand that you will get criticism. If you can't handle that, then hide your baby from the world until you can. No one wants to deal with an author who can't handle honest critique and can't accept that not everyone will enjoy their work. Please, make sure you can handle this before you let the world see the precious piece of work you worked so hard on creating. Amen! Publishing is not for the faint of heart! Well, thank you so very much for joining me today, Shannon. This was a TON of fun, and I am glad to have gotten to know you just a little better! For the rest of you out there, I would ask that you please give Shannon’s books and social media a look-see! And, if you find the time, please leave a nice comment below? There will be a dragon at every exit who will kindly inquire if you have done any of those things… Web: Check out Shannon's website! Facebook: Follow Shannon on Facebook! Twitter: Follow Shannon on Twitter! Shannon's Book: Amazon - http://getBook.at/EHPieces Barnes and Nobles - http://goo.gl/335WDj Toadstool Bookshop - http://goo.gl/wXPs74 iBooks: http://goo.gl/PXQYJG Page Foundry: http://goo.gl/v18i7S Scribd: http://goo.gl/GVMxEQ
![]() Hello everyone! Happy Monday! Today I am really excited to introduce to you another Independent Published author, one who is local to my area. During the summer, an acquaintance between the two of us contacted me and informed me that this author was going to be having a book signing at one of our local museums. I made a special point of going to introduce myself, since he was only the third Indie Author I’d heard about in my area at the time. After meeting him, it did not take me long to figure out that we both had similar tastes in geekisms. However, I am getting a little ahead of myself. Without further ado, I am pleased to introduce author Dakota Kemp! Yay! Mr. Kemp, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Please tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Do you have pets? Family? Dakota Kemp - I’m a twenty-four year old graduate student at Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford, OK. I’m a colossal geek who loves good science fiction and fantasy, and I spend most of my time stargazing, playing sports, reading, writing, and spending time with my friends and family. I get absurdly excited about good stories, and I love storytelling in any genre, whether in literature, in film, in video games, or even a good ol’ fashioned campfire tale. I have two lovely sisters (Kaitlin and Emilie) and an older brother (Kaleb), and all three do their best to keep me humble. Hey, what are siblings for? Well... not that I would know. I'm the oldest in my sibling group and I make sure that my little siblings keep my ego well fed AND groomed. *wink* So, tell us a little about your writing: when did you start writing, and why? Dakota Kemp - I started writing when I was about fourteen – mostly variations on the King Arthur legends – but eventually decided it was too time consuming and difficult for my delicate teenage disposition. That period of writing resulted in the early ideas and groundwork for the first novel I ever completed, The Arrival, so I like to think back on my early writing forays as much needed experience for my current writing attempts. It was about eight years later during my junior year of college that I started seriously considering picking up writing again. I’d always wanted to write a novel, and in the summer preceding my senior year and much of the first semester, I wrote my debut novel, The Arrival. My own childhood inspired much, if not most, of the story in my own novel. My novel had to go through a lot of malicious editing though, because I wrote the story during my "delicate teenage" years. *gags, shudders* Yeah. Ugly things that were not supposed to be there appeared in that story. Well, anyway. Moving on! Do you write for a particular genre, or do you cross genres? If so, what is your favorite genre to write for? Dakota Kemp - I definitely cross genres. I’m interested in far too many topics, ideas, people, and theories to pigeonhole myself in a specific category. That being said, most of what I write is science fiction and fantasy, though I have written various short works that fall more in the mystery, drama, or non-fiction categories. I have two books available at the moment – The Arrival, which is an epic, medieval fantasy, and Goddess, which is an action/adventure/romance science fiction novella. Crossing genres are so much fun! It really just allows the imagination to go “BWAH! Lalalalalalalala! FruitLoopsTrippleDippedInDoubleWanka! Whoohoo!” Ahem. Oookay... sorry about that. So, are you a planner or a “pantser” – do you plan out your books meticulously or do you write by the seat of your pants? Dakota Kemp - A little of both, I suppose. I definitely lay down an in-depth, meticulous plan before actually beginning the writing stage, but I don’t shy away from opportune tangents or good ideas that strike me in the middle of a scene or chapter. Sure, those intuitive, lightning strike moments of inspiration may not fit well into the overall scheme, but then again, they might be the perfect touch I was searching for to bring out that special something in a character, scene, or plotline. I can always go back and remove the bits that don’t make sense or distract from the overall flow of a scene or plot. That’s what editing is for, after all. Aha! So you are a schemer. Schemers are tricky folk who lay out a beautiful plan, then randomly begin to erase little bits of it when nobody is looking, thereby causing extreme chaos and mayhem! *squints at Dakota* I have my eye on you... Well then... what do you write, and why? What do you enjoy about what you write? Dakota Kemp - I write a little of everything. My two published works are firmly in the fantasy and science fiction categories respectively, but I enjoy frequently branching out to crime dramas, mysteries, non-fiction, and, yes, on great occasion, even romance. Though, of course, I try to incorporate many elements into any story I write, regardless of the ‘main category’ in which a work is written. You really do dabble in a little of all the dark arts, don’t you? Non-fiction? *shudders* You must be a powerful word-sorcerer indeed, to manipulate such intangible stuff as non-fiction. Where do you find inspiration for all of this? Dakota Kemp - I’m not sure I can satisfactorily answer that. Sometimes inspiration comes from stories I’ve enjoyed myself. Sometimes it comes from music or research or a random experience walking down the street. One time it even came from a warning label. Occasionally stuff just pops out at you, ya know? Yep. The world is FULL of "writing prompts". Even ugly ones. I saw a curling iron once that had a warning label which read “For External Use Only”. Upon reading that, my brain went to places that no mind should venture. Needless to say, my brain returned disturbed... Ahem. What is the most difficult part of writing for you and what is the easiest part? Dakota Kemp - The hardest part is easily marketing, but that’s pretty self-explanatory. I’d much rather be writing, reading, playing with a bouncy ball, stabbing myself in the eye with a pencil, anythingbesides marketing, but as a self-published author, the marketing of your work falls to you and you alone. It’s a part of being an author that took some getting used to. Picking the easiest part is like asking which is softer – cement or asphalt. Both are hard, and hard pretty much explains every part of the writing and self-publishing process. At the end of the day, though, when you’re looking at a true-blue, printed-and-bound hardcopy of your book, it’s all worth it. What I’m trying to say is that there isn’t an easy part, but just as hard can be used to describe writing and self-publishing, so can fulfilling. Truer words have never been said… okay, well, maybe they have. But yours are really, really true. Do you listen to music or watch TV whilst you write? Do you do anything unusual while your write? Dakota Kemp - I listen to music – generally soundtracks from movies or video games that match the mood of the scenes I’m writing. The soundtracks from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age, and Skyrim get lots of playing time. Without doubt, however, my primary music for writing is a classical/epic music orchestra and choir group called Two Steps from Hell. They produce the best music in the world – bar none – and there is no better music for getting me in the writing zone. The music from Two Steps from Hell is awesome! Audiomachine is hard to beat though. But, when in doubt, always listen to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy music (it's my all time favorite). So, is there a message conveyed within your writing? Dakota Kemp - To a certain extent. There is a great quote from one of my favorite books, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, in which a storyteller named Wit says: “The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.” In a nutshell, this is how I feel about conveying messages in my writing. That being said, I often try to show the diversity of life and of morals by portraying everything from the most selfless, faultless of qualities to the most base, revolting aspects of existence. I’ve always felt it important to explore every facet of life, not just the parts with which I agree or feel comfortable. Of course, I do love to champion the values and themes I was raised to believe in, such as love, courage, friendship, hope, forgiveness, perseverance, justice, personal sacrifice etc., but to ignore the viewpoints, experiences, and activities with which I don’t agree would be to disregard a large portion of the imperfect, mistake-ridden, rollercoaster ride called life. I absolutely agree with you. Because of the “imperfections” of life, there is always room for improvement. If you take those same imperfections away from a story and characters, what is there left to improve? Most authors like to read, what have you recently finished reading? Dakota Kemp - I recently finished several books. One was Cryptonomicon by Neal Stevenson, which covered a number of mind-blowing concepts and delivered some of the most scathing, humorous writing I’ve ever read. In the non-fiction department, I recently completed The Mask of Command by John Keagan, which is a serious study of some of the most influential commanders in military history. My job as a book reviewer also keeps me pretty busy as well, and I’ve finished a few novels for my employers in the past several weeks. Now THERE is a job - Book Reviewer. I don’t know if it pays well, but it has got to be enjoyable: raising the saber of criticism above the trembling masses and belting out a loud battle cry "THIS... BOOK... WAS... AWESOME!" and then getting paid for it. Unbelievable power in the palm of your hands. Ahem. Well, back onto topic: can you name your favorite traditionally published author? Dakota Kemp - Brandon Sanderson – no question. There is no other author in the world that I can say – without doubt – I will read every single book they ever publish. Brandon Sanderson gets that honor. Specifically, if you love fantasy, try out the first book of his Stormlight Archive, The Way of Kings. Or, if you’re looking for a book that isn’t a 400,000 word monstrosity, you can’t go wrong with his Mistborn Trilogy. Sweet! *scribbles down note on “To Read” list* And who is your favorite indie/self-published author? Dakota Kemp - Would it be too narcissistic of me to say Dakota Kemp? Even if it would be, I’m going to say it anyway. Of course, it’s pretty tough to beat out Kathryn J. Fogleman! I hear she’s got a second Tales of Wovlen coming out soon… That is the rumor I’ve heard as well *whistles innocently*. However, I must back up and say that I do not think it is narcissistic of you to take pride in your hard work. I believe there are better words to describe it: gratification, satisfaction, conceit, egotism… Anyway… Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? Dakota Kemp - It depends on the book, honestly. Most of my stories take place in fictional worlds that I created from scratch, so I think it’s probably fair to say that I do much more research than the average writer to make certain that my worlds, cultures, peoples, characters, etc. appear realistic. That being said, I’m still creating my own worlds, which means I have the option to make stuff up or ignore reality if I feel like it. That is the reason I love fantasy so much. I can input stuff that I know and stuff that I learn, but the rest of it I leave for the imagination to gnaw on. Do you self-edit? If so why is that the case? Dakota Kemp - Certainly. I do as many as ten edits of my final manuscript myself before even sending the draft to my editors and beta readers. Editing and altering your prose to get just the right wording or feel is as much a part of writing as the actual transfer from thought to page of the first draft. My sentiments exactly. So, do you believe a book suffers without being professionally edited, then? Dakota Kemp - Absolutely. Now, I’m not saying a book can’t be good without professional editing, but I am saying that 95% percent of the time, that is the case. In addition to writing, I am a professional book reviewer for the Self-Publishing Review, and I see so many books that would have benefitted greatly from a professional line edit. If there is anything I’ve learned as both a self-publisher and a book reviewer, it’s that appearance matters. It is beyond vital that a self-published work appear as professional as a traditionally published book. Otherwise, it will not succeed. That being said, I do not pay for professional editing – but there is a reason for this. I have professional friends who do this for me. My mother is an English teacher, and my old literature professor from college is gracious enough to aid me in editing my work – sometimes she does as many as three or four read-throughs of my manuscripts. Needless to say, she is a lifesaver, and, in my opinion, one of the greatest individuals on the face of the planet. The point here is that professional editing is key. Don’t skimp on it. Get it done. If you cannot afford it, find someone knowledgeable about grammar, sentence structure, and flow willing to do a thorough critique. Put simply: Meticulous, expert editing is non-negotiable. I feel much the same way. Of course, there will always be the Nazi’s out there that will find SOMETHING wrong. But if indie authors wish to have a good reputation among the masses, then pro editing is a key part of building that good rep. What was your experience with getting your book published? How did you start out? Did you have help? Dakota Kemp - I started out by applying to agents and publishing houses. However, it wasn’t long before I realized that the traditional publishing industry is incredibly exclusive. Being a good writer and storyteller just isn’t enough. You have to know people. The right people. If you don’t, you have next to no chance of being picked up. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning. I sent queries and applications to over seventy agents and publishing houses, and I never found a single person willing to read my manuscript. I’m an impatient person, and I quickly tired of the gatekeeping game. Luckily, I have great mentors, and when I announced that I was going the self-publishing route, they were more than willing to help out. Dr. Gaydosik, my literature professor, was instrumental in helping me get my manuscript for The Arrival ready for print. I personally had no hope of ever becoming a published author. I felt like I could blow up a sun and not get a traditional publisher or agent to look my way, and all the “vanity” publishing companies charged an arm and a leg just for printing (they still do)! Thank God a couple of local authors pointed me to CreateSpace. Did/do you find marketing difficult? What strategy do you use, if any? Dakota Kemp - Marketing is difficult, but it’s essential. Self-publishing is playing the long game, building a base of readers and fans slowly over time. Keep putting out solid work, making it visible and accessible, and you’ll see a gradual increase in readership and interest. I make sure to appear occasionally at book signings to promote my work, spread the word about my books on my website and on social media, and on great occasion set up promotions on Kindle Nation Daily or Bookbub. Marketing is my worst nightmare… and I didn’t even know I had a worse nightmare until I started having to market my book! Sort these into order of importance: Great characters, great world-building, solid plot, technically perfect. Can you explain why you chose this order? Dakota Kemp - The only one I can definitively put ahead of any of the others is: great characters. All those others are incredibly important, but characters are what people grow attached to and identify with. Without that connection, a great story is meaningless. A fact of life: people want to relate to people. People do NOT want to relate to trolls. Yes. That was random. Do not worry, the first one is free. If you have more than one published work, which book or series was your favorite to create? Dakota Kemp - Seriously, Fogleman? That’s like asking me to choose between my children…if I had any…which I don’t. But in all sincerity, I’ve had good days and bad days on every project, but I’ve felt the same about them all at the end – proud to show off to the world, relieved to be finished, terrified of a crushingly negative response by my readers, and utterly exhausted and just ready to pass out for awhile. Pretty much exactly like parenthood, right? Yeah. Just by having to help raise my siblings, I'd say that "parenting" and "authoring" are almost the same thing: teething, growing pains, sleepless nights, sad days, happy memories… diapers… minus the smell. Wouldn't give it up for the world! If you could change anything in an existing book, or series, of yours, what would it be? Dakota Kemp - Mostly it would be nitpicky things. There’s an old saying that a novel can be best described as a long piece of prose with something wrong with it. There have always been and will always be small things I feel I can improve upon in my novels, no matter how long I nitpick at them. But there comes a time when you’ve got to release it and move on. I eventually get around to that, but it’s never easy. Ugh. Yeah. There have been several times lately where I have looked at The Dragons Son, groaned, then closed my eyes and forced myself to walk away. It is a FIRST book for a reason, after all. Well, what is your latest book or series? Any forthcoming books? Dakota Kemp - Both The Arrival and Goddess came out this past year. The Arrival is the first book in my Ascension fantasy series, which I’ve projected to encompass four novels. Goddess is the first in The Shrike Chronicles, a series of science fiction novellas (short novels). At the moment, I’m working on two different projects. One is a steampunk/sword-and-sorcery novel, and the other is the second installment in The Shrike Chronicles. Both are coming along well, and I’m estimating that I’ll have them both published around July or August, perhaps sooner. YAY! You must let me know, so that I can buy signed copies. Is there any project you started and are just completely stuck on? (No, don’t tell me… let me guess… *wink, wink*) Dakota Kemp - Oh, yes. Too many to count, which is when I set aside that project for a week or a month or a year and I work on something else. Then, when I come back to said project, I’m usually bursting with enthusiasm to get on with the story! If I were paid for my unfinished stories, I would be bloody rich right now. I could afford my own Batmobile. *heavy sigh* Tell us a little about the world of your latest or favorite book or series. Dakota Kemp - The Arrival takes place in the medieval fantasy world of Vrold. It’s a world filled with magic and adventure and myths and all kinds of extraordinary creatures. I drew inspiration for the world of Vrold from all my favorite mythologies (Norse, Greek, Egyptian, Hebrew, Mesopotamian, etc.) and from the King Arthur legends. Vrold is really like a giant melting pot into which all the best fantasy creatures, races, monsters, and magics have been poured. I've enjoyed reading and learning about mythology since I was a child, and I have a lot of fun seeing how people twist it into stories, such as you have done in The Arrival. So, would you introduce us to some of your characters? What do you like about them? Dakota Kemp - The Arrival has many characters – certainly too many for me to go over in detail here – but the some of the main protagonists include a determined sorceress who is playing detective to unravel the mysteries behind a destructive war, an excitable history teacher turned investigator, a conflicted mercenary who is at some times brutal and at others kind, and a peasant boy bent on adventure. Sounds like the perfect mixture of people for an explosion of grandeur! Do you have a favorite character among the many in your book? Why? Dakota Kemp - My favorite character in The Arrival is probably Jarwulf. There is just something incredibly fun in writing about a character who resides in the moral gray area – both in the readers’ minds and his own. A mercenary is the perfect place to explore the concepts of morality because ethical dilemmas crop up so often and in such extreme circumstances. I have been working on a character in my second book who is "morally challenged" as well. It has been a lot of fun to write him, but he has also been really hard to work with because he can be so mean and unpredictable. Do you have a character you hate/dislike? Why? Dakota Kemp - Not exactly – not really for their qualities, anyway. Korrigan might get on my nerves in real life, though. People who never stop talking drive me crazy. And people who are cheery about everything? Yep, being around Korrigan would likely be like banging my head on a desk all day. Other than that, there were certainly characters about whom I had a tough time writing, because they were just difficult to write. They didn’t flow as easily as others. Those characters who don’t move with the flow are really aggravating *glares at Keegan, hero of The Dragons Son*. Are your characters ever based on real people? Dakota Kemp - Not entirely. Often I put certain attributes from people I know into characters, but I rarely make carbon copies. For instance, Barlgruuf talks, laughs, gestures, smiles, and does everything else imaginable very loudly – just like my friend David Schoenhals. Is Barlgruuf just like David? Nope. For one, Barlgruuf’s morals are about fifty times looser than David’s. But is Barlgruuf loud because David is loud? Absolutely. I specifically based that part of Barlgruuf on my friend. Have you ever used a person you don’t/didn’t like as a character then killed them off? Dakota Kemp - I haven’t…yet. Can’t say I haven’t considered it. My youngest sister, Emilie, who hates gerunds in English grammar, has often pushed for me to name a character Gerund – then, kill him off in the most gruesome way possible. People, though? You know, I can definitely see myself going that far… I agree with your sister. Kill off those nasty gerunds! Make them evil minions of darkness that talk funny (ending every word in “ing”) and then kill them in horrible ways. Anyway, back to the interview: what formats are your books available in (E-book, print, large print, audio)? Are you intending to expand these? Dakota Kemp - Both The Arrival and Goddess are available in paperback and on kindle as an e-book on amazon.com. I don’t have any audio or large print versions out unfortunately. Getting an audio book released would take some doing, but it’s definitely a good idea. Yes. Audiobook = good idea. Give us a fun/silly fact you would like your readers to know about you or your book. Dakota Kemp - When I’m at a point in my life that I have the time, I often spend as much as fifteen hours a week stargazing. I can spend hours and hours outside looking at the stars on a clear night. It’s as much of a time for me to reflect and think as it is for me to take part in an enjoyable activity. I love laying out on the hay bales with my sister and watching the stars together – very few things are better than that. I need to put it into a book... hmmmm.... Is there any advice you would pass on to those authors who are still just starting out? Do's and don'ts? Dakota Kemp - DO keep writing. Write when you’re on top of the world and write when you feel like everyone hates your books and would rather use them as fuel in the winter. There are going to be days in both categories. Don’t give up. It’s worth it. If it were easy to write a book, then it wouldn’t be worth doing. DON’T think you can edit your manuscript once or twice and have it ready for publication. Pour over that sucker about fifty thousand times until you’re absolutely sick of it and never want to see it again. Then, send it out to a bunch of people who know how to write and have them look over it. Then, you read it over a few more times. Would you rather set the manuscript on fire than read it one more time? Now it’s ready to publish. That is excellent advice… advice that I must (reluctantly) put into use very soon on my second book. *cringes at the thought* Well, thank you so much for allowing me to interview you, Mr. Kemp! I have thoroughly enjoyed it! For the rest of you reading this, I and Dakota would GREATLY appreciate it if you shared this interview with your friends, checked out Dakota Kemp’s books, and perhaps left a comment. I have a few sweet dragons at the “exit” button with really big teeth who will inquire whether you’ve showed this to your friends… Where you can find Dakota: Web: www.dakotakemp.wordpress.com Dakota’s Books: The Arrival, Goddess ![]() Today I have another author to introduce to you. I met her at a local library signing in December 2014, and, boy, was I excited to find out she lived more in my immediate area, which makes her a "local, LOCAL" author to me! In fact, she originally came from the town I was born in (and still live near). Totally, awesome. You just don't understand how cool it is to have another author living so close to you, until the day that you wish one or two did. (Living out in the wild, wild west has its neat moments, but when it takes you thirty minutes to get to the grocery store, much less to a friend's house...) So, without further ado, I introduce (with much enthusiasm), Author Lottie Wright! *Round off applause* Thank you SO much for joining me today, Mrs. Wright. Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Do you have pets? Family? Imaginary unicorn friend? Lottie Wright - My name is Lottie Wright. I live in Forgan, Oklahoma. We have 3 dogs. We also feed 2 cats at the moment, but that changes regularly. (Sometimes more, sometimes less.) I am married to Mark Wright, we have 2 sons together, and a step-son. My step-son is my age, and he has given us 10 grandchildren (Some of which are adopted.) I don’t remember any imaginary friends, but I talk out loud a lot. 10 Grandchildren!? Wow! That is so awesome! You guys must have a blast-and-a-half when y’all get together. So, tell us a little about your writing. When did you start writing, and why? Lottie Wright - I have always been interested in writing. I wrote a lot of short stories and poems throughout my life. Writing is easy, the editing it is the hard part. I wrote “The Gifted Sight” in 10 days, but it took me several months to edit it. Even after having someone help edit, I am now working on re-editing it, and almost have it ready to print the second edition. Ugh. Editing IS the worst. I wish I could bottle an editor’s skills. Then I’d make a fortune selling it to people like me. Tee-hee… Well, anyway, do you write for a particular genre, or do you cross genres? If so, what is your favorite genre to write for? Lottie Wright - Most of my story ideas come to me while I am asleep. So, I write about whatever I happen to dream about. Dreams make the best stories! So, on that note, are you a planner or a “pantser” – do you plan out your books meticulously or do you write by the seat of your pants? Lottie Wright - I never know what is going to happen in the story I am writing. I get the idea and start it. Sometimes I am surprised by what happens. I hear ya. Sometimes the surprise is really cool and other times it is wretched! What do you write, and why? What do you enjoy about what you write? Lottie Wright - I mostly write fiction, however most authors write about things they know. True events have showed up, with a little tweaking to make it a better story. True stories make the world go round, even if they are just a little “fictionized”. Though, horror stories based on a true story is just a little much for me… *wigs myself out* Okay, moving on. So, where do you find inspiration? Lottie Wright - My imagination. I have a very good imagination & two boys that help me use my imagination daily. Also, like I said before, my dreams are so crazy sometimes and I think how good a book it would be. So I write about them. Thank God for building us with an imagination! What is the most difficult part of writing for you and what is the easiest part? Lottie Wright - Finding the time to write is difficult, but once I get started it just pours out. I have a hard time keeping my hand caught up to my brain. Again, I hear ya. My brain outruns my hands… and my mouth… but sometimes they like to switch places, just to get me confused. Do you listen to music or watch TV whilst you write? Do you do anything unusual while your write? Lottie Wright - I listen to all kinds of music. More than anything it blocks out sounds that may disturb my writing. If it is too crazy in my house while I am writing, I go to my “office” aka the bathroom and shut the door to write. Haha! The bathroom would be the worst place in my house. Everyone is always needing to use it (of course, it is the only bathroom, and there are 8 people in my house). Is there a message conveyed within your writing? Lottie Wright - Some of my stories have messages, however the one I published -not so much. Most authors like to read, what have you recently finished reading? Lottie Wright - I have read all of the “Immortal Instruments” series, Cassandra Clare. The “Nightshade” series, Andrea Creamer. The “Maximum Ride” series, James Patterson. These are some of my favorites that I have read lately. The "Immortal Instruments" has caught my interest, but I've not read them yet. I am glad to know it is in your “favorites” list! Can you name your favorite traditionally published author? Lottie Wright - I read a lot of James Patterson & Steven King books. And your favorite indie/self-published author? Lottie Wright - I believe Cassandra Clare is self-published. Very cool! So, research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books? Lottie Wright - For “The Gifted Sight” I didn’t really do much research. But, the book I am working on now I have researched a bit, and still need to do more. Now here is a question that makes most authors cringe: Do you self-edit? If so why is that the case? Lottie Wright - I did, but I didn’t trust myself. I had someone else edit for me. I changed a lot due to the editors suggestion that I am changing back to how I had it originally. (She is an old time writer and used the old time rules to edit by.) It seems like the editing rules are always changing! I’ve found it helps me to keep up with current editing is to read fresh, new books and make note of their techniques. So, do you believe a book suffers without being professionally edited? Lottie Wright - This time, being my first I should have used a professional when I doubted myself. But, I think I did a pretty good job with my editing. Of course, there are a few misspelled words, but even the best of authors with professional editors still will have an error that they missed. “To error is human.” Exactly. Besides, in my opinion, you need some errors to make the perfectionist reader fume. (Of course, I am a bit of a pot stirrer...) What was your experience with getting your book published? How did you start out? Did you have help? Lottie Wright - I sent out a few Quarry letters to agents, because all of the publishing companies say you have to have an agent before they will look at your manuscript. All of the agents refused to read my manuscript because I have not had any work published. So I decided why mess with them anymore when I can self-publish and not have to pay an agent. Amen sista! The book market has gotten so circular, it is practically pointless to try and publish traditionally anymore. Did you find marketing difficult? What strategy do you use, if any? Lottie Wright - I am a newly published and haven’t done a lot of marketing. But, I have done pretty well with selling to friends and family. (And their friends and family.) I have sold more than I thought I would in just two months. Hopefully it will pick up and I will make more sales over the next few months, once I do more marketing. I wish you the best of luck! I hope you find it easy, rather than a challenge (and, if you do find it easy, then I shall have to interview you again and wring out all your secrets! *wink*). So, would you sort these into order of importance for us?: Great characters; great world-building; solid plot; technically perfect. Can you explain why you chose this order? Lottie Wright - This is a very hard question. I think they are all about as equally important. Maybe characters and plot are just a bit more important than the rest. If you have more than one published work, which book or series was your favorite to create? Lottie Wright - I only have one published at the moment. However, I am working on another story. If you could change anything in an existing book, or series, of yours, what would it be? Lottie Wright - The editing changes I made in my first book. Do you have any forthcoming books? Is there any project you started and are just completely stuck on? Lottie Wright - I have started a story, but I have an 11 month old that gets jealous of everything that doesn’t have to do with him. So, it will take some time before I will be able to finish it. Aw, well, didn’t you know the world should revolve around the lil fella? *wink, wink* Tell us a little about the world of your latest or favorite book or series. Lottie Wright - “The Gifted Sight” is about a 17 year old girl. She thinks she is crazy and her mom tells her that she is. She connects with people in trouble (or even some that have passed) and is able to help them. She meets a boy and falls in love with him. She learns her boyfriend also has the gift. They go through a lot together and help each other throughout their lives. Very cool! Would you introduce us to some of your characters? What do you like about them? Lottie Wright - Oakley is the main character. She is 17 and very smart, but gullible. Once she learns about her gift and how to use it, she grows out of being gullible and becomes a very great resource to law enforcement officers and helps them with lots of cases. Cale is the other main character, he helps teach Oakley that she has a gift and is not crazy, like her mother has told her. Cale has the gift as well, but his gift is not as strong as Oakley’s. Cale falls in love with Oakley and wants to protect her, however he learns there are some things he cannot protect her from. Aw! I love them both already! Do you have a favorite character? Why? Lottie Wright - I love both of my main characters. Together they help make the story feel more real. While reading, you can feel yourself “becoming” the characters and feel what they are feeling throughout the story. I love stories and characters like that. So, do you have a character you hate/dislike? Why? Lottie Wright - I loved Oakley’s mom in the beginning, but when she turned into the bad guy, I decided I didn’t like her anymore. (I know that sounds funny, that I didn’t know she was going to be the bad guy, but I just wrote as it came to me.) Characters like that are so funny! And they can be heart wrenching too like Morgana on the BBC series, "Merlin". Yeah... stab my heart… pour some salt on it… Back onto topic: are your characters ever based on real people? Lottie Wright - Authors write about what they know. My characters do have a bit of some people I know, but they are not based on just one person in particular. Have you ever used a person you don’t/didn’t like as a character then killed them off? Lottie Wright - Not yet. Hee-hee… I love that “yet” word. What formats is your book available in (E-book, print, large print, audio)? Are you intending to expand these and if not, what is the reason? Lottie Wright - At the moment my book is available in print and E-book. It is available on Amazon.com and Amazon Kindle. The E-book version is also available at Createspace. At the moment I am still under contract so I cannot expand until the contract is up. Would you like to give a fun/silly fact that you’d like your readers to know about you or your book? Lottie Wright - I don’t know, I am very modest and have a hard time talking about myself. I can talk about someone else easier than myself. I am still a kid at heart. I can draw. My favorite thing to draw is using a name, I draw an object for each letter in the name. For my son I drew his name with an amusement park theme. So each letter is something you would find at an amusement park. (Does that make sense?) I use fun themes for each person. AWESOME! I want my name turned into an amusement park! Ooh! Or a bunch of dragons would be cool… but, I’ll save that for another time. Is there any advice you would pass on to those authors who are still just starting out? Do's and don'ts? Lottie Wright - Set your book up before you start typing it. Pick your book size, font size, spacing, and so on before you do anything else. Don’t trust someone else’s judgment over your own. If you are doubtful about what they have suggested, then don’t do what they suggested. Very good advice. Take the suggestions of others into consideration, but if your gut tells you otherwise, you’d better go with your gut (use the Force, Luke…). Thank you so very much for joining me today, Mrs. Wright! I had a blast, and I am sure our audience did too! Speaking of the audience: I suggest y’all check out Lottie Wright’s cool book on Amazon, then friend her on Facebook and keep an eye out for her forthcoming book! And, as always, if you liked this, I would love to see a comment saying as much. And, like before, there will be a polite, huge, smiling dragon at every exit who will ask if you left a comment or visited Lottie on Facebook... E-Mail: [email protected] Facebook: Send Lottie Wright a Facebook friend request! Lottie Wright's Book: “The Gifted Sight” on Amazon “No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be.” Jonathan Harker ~ Dracula ![]() I read my first Gothic Horror novel: “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. I personally am not into vampires. I don’t like them; they have gone from creepy and disgusting to just plain annoying in today’s world! So, when my mother suggested I read the old classic “Dracula” I was naturally leery. However, Dracula is now on my “Favorites” shelf and I think that it throws any other vampire stories I have read so far “into the mud”. I also think it was one of the most Christian books I have ever read, next to anything written by Frank Peretti. It surprised me that Bram Stoker actually depicted the vampires as demons, with no heart or mercy or pure thought, inhabiting a human’s body. Try to find that in today’s vampire stories! However, before I would recommend Dracula for reading I would give a warning: it is a horror genre novel. It has some very gruesome, morbid parts and it does suggest some very mild sensuality in some parts that would be somewhat disturbing to a few readers that I know. But, if you can handle watching the news on TV or if you have read any of Frank Peretti’s books, I can guarantee you will be able to handle Dracula. So now that I have that said and done, shall we move on? It took about three chapters of for the story to really get rolling, but I must give the author some leeway because “Dracula” was written in the late 1800’s and does not follow the guidelines of today’s modern fiction: begin with a KAPOW that grips your readers on the very first page! Dracula actually eases mysteriously into the story, which was a nice change from today’s fiction. Once I got past the first couple of pages, the story became very intriguing. I was amazed at how well the author tinged the story with deep mystery, really arousing my curiosity in the plot. This kept me turning the pages through the first part of the book. The book is written completely in first person, being a collection of diaries and memoirs from each character involved in the story. I was certain that the first person narrative was going to drive me crazy, as it did in Mobey Dick, but it flowed smoothly in this book and made the characters VERY realistic. Again I was amazed at the author’s skill as he was able to craft each of the characters with such different personalities! I generally pride myself in staying detached from fictional characters in a story, but Bram Stoker’s skill in the first person narrative made it impossible for me to remain indifferent to these characters. In other words, I became attached to the characters of the story very quickly. One of my favorite characters was Abraham Van Helsing. Caring, gentle, intelligent, crafty, and humorous, Van Helsing has a right to be one of the main heroes in “Dracula”. He is a brilliant Dutch doctor who is in England, trying to help his friends smoke out and destroy Count Dracula. Because he is a Dutchman in England this causes some humor throughout the book as his English is sometimes a little shaky and he gets things a little mixed up. Midway through the story it became practically impossible to set the book down! The plot grew intense as the characters started making discoveries and finding out their foe, and the story started to roll very quickly as Count Dracula tried to destroy them and they quickly learned how to fight the demon back. The ending seemed a bit rushed to me, but it ended better than I thought it would. I expected everyone to die and the bad guy to live on, as in many horror novels, but it was not the case and all the mystery and puzzles presented throughout the book were wrapped up very well in the end. All in all, it was a very good book that I would recommend to most people, and I like it much, much better than any other vampire literature I have come across. Thumbs up for Bram Stoker’s Dracula! “I saw the Count lying within the box upon the earth, some of which the rude falling from the cart had scattered over him. He was deathly pale, just like a waxen image, and the red eyes glared with the horrible vindictive look which I knew so well.” Mina Harker - Dracula |
Kathryn FoglemanAuthor of the fantasy series, Tales of the Wovlen, Kathryn spends a great deal of time in the world of her imagination, having tea with fire breathing dragons, writing books on flying space ships, and practicing her mad scientist laugh with gusto. However, on occasion,she returns to this world just to play with her dog and blog about her fun. My BookGrab a Button!![]() Archives
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