An interview!

I've got another cool update!

Today, Demain Publishing posted an interview about my upcoming Short Sharp Shocks! story, BREAKING THE HABIT. 

You can read it HERE.

If you want to find out a bit about the story, my writing process and a bunch of other stuff, go and check it out. 

You can also read interviews for all the other releases.

It's SO exciting! 😃

Q&A with Angela Slatter

Today I have a guest on my blog.   

 Angela Slatter is an Aussie author of dark fantasy and horror with a slant of mythology thrown into the mix.

The second book in her Verity Fassbinder urban fantasy series has just been released, and I was lucky enough to read an ARC copy. It's quite the mythological ride.

Hi Angela, and thank you for popping in today!

Thanks so much for inviting me, Yolanda!

I read VIGIL last year and really enjoyed it. I was hooked! So I couldn't wait to get stuck into the second book, CORPSELIGHT. How did you come up with the concept of old myth and legends co-existing with humans in an Australian contemporary setting?

It’s very much founded in ideas about how we bring our mythologies and legends with us, and that a lot of us have these tales from our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents, etc, that are handed down … even though we’re no longer living in the countries that spawned us! I’m quite fascinated by how stories and our ghosts travel with us, and then change when immersed in a new atmosphere, rather like humans change when they shift and travel to a different place, and stay there for a time.

Verity's adventure began as a short story, didn't it? At what stage did you realise there was enough story to become a novel-sized series/trilogy?

Ha! When my friend Jonathan Strahan said “This would make a great novel!” and then publishers started asking “So, where’s the novel!?”

It was a big process of mental evolution to get myself into the headspace where I could think differently about the story and how it might look in a larger setting. That took a while!

What came first: Verity, the world, or the plot?

Verity. It’s always characters with me, I get their voices in my head, they start talking to me. Then I start thinking about where they fit in the universe, what environments they bounced around in … and then I start thinking about how to make life difficult for them.

I'm a huge fan of urban fantasy because it mixes the best parts of so many different genres. And reading a series set in Australia is always extra awesome. What was it about Brisbane that made it the perfect setting? Did you always plan to set it in Brisbane?

I think that for me, having been away from Brisbane for four years, it was really interesting to see the city again and to view it with new eyes. I also use public transport (I don’t drive), so that’s a really good way to see things in a different fashion, you’re not separated from other humans in quite the same way (of course, that’s not always a good thing!). And because I was also walking a lot I was seeing and exploring places I normally wouldn’t, or wouldn’t have paid attention to … and I’m kind of naturally inclined to imagine weird things in ordinary places anyway! 

And lastly, is the world of the Weyrd open ended, or do you have a set number of books in mind for Verity & Co?

Well, as with every series it depends entirely on how the books are received by readers as to whether or not a publisher decides to go ahead with other books. I have a second trilogy plotted out, but whether or not I will write it is another matter! I wrote the first trilogy to be self-contained, but there are definite possibilities. I’d love to take Verity back to Europe to investigate her family there, but we’ll just have to see what happens.

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions, and I look forward to reading more of your books.

You’re more than welcome!

---

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading the Q&A as much as I did. 

I'd once again like to say thanks to Angela for stopping by today and answering all of my questions. 

I look forward to reading more of her books. 

Plus, I'd also like to thank Jessica from Hachette Australia for sending me an ARC, and passing on my questions. :)

CORPSELIGHT is now available!

VIGIL is also available.

You can find out more about Angela Slatter on her website. 

 Or check out her Hachette Australia page.

 Here's my review of CORPSELIGHT.

Interview at the SF Signal!

Hey, how's everyone doing?

 

To help celebrate the upcoming release of RECAST, Volume 1 I'm over at the SF Signal.

Andrea Johnson interviewed me and she came up with some awesome questions. We chatted about my Recast world, my urban fantasy series, my love of horror movies, and a whole lot more.

 

Check it out HERE.

 

It was a lot of fun.

 

RECAST, Volume 1 will be released on September 2 from Samhain Publishing. This is the first print edition featuring any of the books in this series, and includes Wither and Clash.

 

 

Q&A with Lucy Saxon

 

Check out my Q&A with Lucy Saxon...

 

 

1. Hi and welcome to my blog, Lucy! So, your pen name is Lucy Saxon. Is it a coincidence that you share the same name as the woman married to the Master, or is it a conscious choice?

 

That was definitely a conscious choice! Back when I started going to conventions, I met my friend Harry IRL for the first time when he was cosplaying the Master. Obviously his name being Harry, my name being Lucy, he started calling me his wife, and thus I became Lucy Saxon! I used the name online for years, to the point where half my friends forget it’s not actually my name, so when it came to publishing it seemed only natural to go with it. Especially as my real surname gets misspelled so often!

 

2. I've seen some of your Cosplay costumes online--they're awesome, btw--and was wondering when/how you got started? Oh, and do you have a Cat outfit already made?

Thank you! I got started after that first convention, spending time with Harry and some other online friends. They were all in cosplay and it looked like loads of fun, so the next con I went to, I got a cosplay together for it! Everything just escalated from there, and now cosplay takes up at least 75% of my waking thought, and a decent portion of my wallet, too!

 

I don’t have a Cat cosplay ready, no; I’m actually going to be cosplaying Fox, which I’m really excited for! My friend Lisa is cosplaying Cat, and some of our other friends are looking to cosplay the rest of the crew. It’s going to be amazing.

 

 

3. I read that you wrote TAKE BACK THE SKIES during NaNoWriMo.  So I'm wondering, is that the only time you've taken part, or have you written other books during the fun and frenzied month of November?

I’ve done NaNoWriMo every year since 2008, and am aiming to continue to do so, though I have no idea if I’ll have time this year what with actual publishing stuff going on. The first couple of novels will probably never see the light of day, but there are a few I’m hoping to revisit in the future! NaNo makes it easy for me to set aside a long period of time to get some serious writing done, so I really hope I can keep it up.

 

 

4. I read TAKE BACK THE SKIES over the weekend and loved it. I thought I spotted some influences--1984, Doctor Who in particular. Are you inspired by particular books, movies or shows?

I’m inspired by all sorts of things when I write, and a lot of the time I don’t realise I’ve been inspired until someone reads some of my work and tells me it reminds them of something. I think with Skies I was inspired by a lot of the dystopian fiction going around at the moment, and also the steampunk elements of Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices. It’s hard not to be inspired, when there’s so much available in the form of books and film; creativity inspires more creativity!

 

 

5. Without giving away any spoilers, what can we look forward to in future books of this very interesting series?

 

Lots of travelling! The series is unusual in that it will have a different set of characters in each book, with each being set in one of the countries of Tellus, moving across the map. So the timeline will shift around, and you’ll get to meet all sorts of people and their different cultures within the world of Tellus. I’ve got some interesting plotlines planned for this series, and I really hope people will enjoy them!

Lucy, thanks so much for answering my questions.

If you'd like to know more about Lucy, check out her website.

Also, you can read my review of her debut book below...

Good morning!

In spite of a very late night--hubby and I got caught up in watching Q&A because it turned out to be a very interesting episode--and feeling like crap when I opened my eyes at 5AM this morning, I now feel refreshed.

Why? Well, I just finished a yoga workout. For some reason, as hard as the workout is, I always feel more energetic after it. It's awesome. :)

I got off to an early start in my latest revision, too. I got halfway through the novella yesterday and reached page 64/114 first thing this morning. If I keep going at this pace, I should be done by this afternoon. Which means I might just be able to email this in sometime tomorrow. I'm hoping.

So far, everything I added late last week fits very well with the story. There was only one section that didn't make any sense, because I actually made the addition in the wrong place. O_o That's why I'm glad I decided to add things first, and then read the whole thing later. Phew!

Oh, I've got a few new reviews to share:

Happily Ever After Reviews gave DEMON OF CHRISTMAS PAST 4 Tea Cups.

Two Lips Reviews gave SHADE OF GREY 4 Kisses.

Silver Dolphin Reviews gave TOUCHING MOONLIGHT 4.5 Dolphins. (You can also read an interview here.)

Thanks so much to all the wonderful reviewers above! I really appreciate each of you taking the time to read my stories. :)

Well, that's it for today. I'm hoping to have another productive day, and will keep working on this revision until I get to the end of it. Have a nice day!

A little Loki update:

I took this cheeky Loki pic with my phone camera the other day while he was sitting inside a new box.

Yep. We got a package and as soon as I opened it and took out the contents, he jumped in. Oh, okay, he actually jumped in while the stuff was still in there. LOL.

Anyway. We got up early this morning and made our way to the RSPCA for his follow-up appointment.

The vet took a swab of both ears and checked them. The infection is no longer there. Yay! She cleaned them out to make sure any residue from the drops was gone, too. Then she checked his teeth and said they're not looking too bad. They're not 100% but are certainly getting there. We need to keep giving him the prescription food and then move onto the oral care stuff.

That's not so bad. :)

We're all very excited. It means our little buddy is back to normal. Well, almost. He's still got that bald patch on his back. :/ But it looks like the fur's already growing back.

This is a great start to the weekend.

Oh, and if you'd like to read my latest interview... I'm over at Rachel Brimble's blog. It was a fun interview and I'm chatting about my upcoming Eternal Press 'alien' novel, Shade of Grey.

Have a good one!

Doesn't feel like a Tuesday...

...so I'm going to treat today like it's a Monday. ;)

How was your long weekend? Ours was awesome! We spent a lot of time relaxing, went for a lovely walk every day, worked out a little, read, caught up on some movies, enjoyed some nice meals, and just had a good time being together as a family.

It was great. If only every weekend could be this long. lol.

Today also marks the (official) first day of my daughter's school holidays. She goes back to school in exactly two weeks. I think she's got plenty of stuff to keep her busy, plus we'll be doing some stuff together too. But she knows that I've also got a personal writing goal to achieve--the second draft of a novel. Yep. This happens to be a story in The Hidden series. Book 5, to be precise. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it.

The aim of this revision game: complete 38 pages per day for 10 days (not including weekends).

If I can do that, then I can get the second draft done by the time my daughter goes back to school. The first draft is 380 pages long, but that'll probably change. I think lots of stuff will get moved around/deleted/added because I wrote this book a while ago. The same thing happened when I revised Book 4 last year, but that's fine. Whatever it takes to sharpen, fix, and make it a better story...

This month, I'm one of the Featured Authors at The Romance Studio. So if you'd like to read a little more about CARELESS, you can check out my interview. :)

Also, today you can read my first guest blog post about my upcoming Eternal Press novel, SHADE OF GREY. It's over at Cate Masters' blog. Thanks Cate!

Well, I guess I better stop blogging and get revising. Catch'a later!

I think I missed a day...

Yep. I did. :/

To make up for it, I'm posting a very posh pic of my kitty, Loki. I forgot to mention that he turned 3 last month. He's still a young man. lol.

Which reminds me, yesterday I was interviewed by Meankitty. So, if you'd like to read it, you can here. There's another Loki pic there, too.

I'm still very excited about the news I shared on Monday, and today actually got my cover. I know, already. How's that for awesome? The cover's awesome too, and I'll be sharing it soon. I just posted it at my Bits & Pieces Group first. They get to see all the upcoming covers first. Unless I'm slack that week, of course. ;)

Anyway. Yesterday I started the second draft of what started out as a 14k novella, and is now past 16k. It's set in Alyce's world. Okay, who am I kidding? It's about Alyce and Ross. And that's all I'm saying about it. :) I'm moving at a nice pace too. Already hit 58/70 pages, and if I push myself tonight after I tuck my daughter in, I might be able to finish it. Maybe. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.

Well, that's it for today. I'm feeling very chipper this evening. See ya!

The heat is on

Let me start by saying that Day 4 of my Novelspot Behind the Scenes feature is now posted. Wow. I'm only three days away from finishing up the week. But today I actually finished writing all of it. The next three days are ready to post. Well, the next two are. I need to revise the last one before I can say it's ready, but everything I wanted to say during the week has now been said. :)

I've actually enjoyed splitting up my road to publication story into seven installments. It's been nostalgic.

Oh, and my interview has been posted at Raine Delight's Blog.

I've been pretty busy this week, haven't I? lol. I didn't get too much done in the way of actual writing, but it's important to find the balance between the writing stuff and the promo stuff. It's nice to get out and about every now and then.

Gosh, I'm not sure what the temperature is but it's really hot today. I can feel the heat coming in from the open windows. Not looking forward to walking in the sun this arvo, that's for sure. But I'm not going to complain. I like summer and it's almost over, so I'm determined to enjoy every hot, sweaty, sticky moment that's left. ;)

That's it for today. I hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Midweek thoughts

Wednesday is here already. Yikes! I say it every week, but where's the time go?

Hubby's at work, daughter's back at school, and I've decided to squeeze in a quick blog entry before getting stuck into things.

Today my interview has been posted at the BookWenches. I had a great time answering these questions. They were awesome, detailed, and really made me get into the nitty-gritty with my answers.

I'm still over at Novelspot's Behind the Scenes. Day 2 has just been posted. I'll be posting an entry every single day, for seven days. It's all about where/when I started to write. It's also about my long and winding road to publication. The false starts, the pausing when real life hit, how writing has always been there in the shadows for me, and how it pretty much will remain. It's strange, digging deep and remembering everything.

As for what I'll be working on today... I'm going to do a few things. I want to write my next two BtS posts and work on my Sci-Fi series overview. It'll be good to jump from one to the other, and hopefully make progress on both.

Well, better get to it...

Hello!

I'm taking a break from revision to blog.

You know what I forgot to mention the other day? That Issue Six of Ethereal Tales is now available! You can check it out HERE. And you can have a Sneeky Peek too.

I got my author copy yesterday and it's lovely. It looks fantastic and I can't wait to read all of the stories. Mine's called FALLING INTO NIGHTMARE, and it's the story of a mother who can't let go of the son everyone else believes doesn't exist. Creepy, huh?

Also, this month I'm featured at the Midnight Moon Cafe Midnight Brew. You can check it out HERE. There'll be a contest later in the month too, so look out for that. :)

This week's been all about the revision. It's going well. I'm currently sitting at page 125/233. I've got to get through another 13 pages in order to meet my daily goal for today. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it before it's time to head out to get my daughter from school, but maybe tonight. I'm enjoying it so far, let's hope it stays that way.

I've also been thinking and actually changing a few things around the Internet world. Yesterday, I deleted my Bebo page. I just wasn't popping over there anymore and hadn't updated it for ages. It's one less thing to maintain/update. Which also means that I tore up a bundle of business cards that I'd made with the Bebo link. But that's fine. Next up is probably updating my MySpace page--I'll be keeping this one. And updating my website, maybe even making a new banner for it. Maybe. My main focus still needs to be the revision.

Next week I can possibly muck around with all that, but it doesn't hurt to get started.

Anyway, break time's over. Time to get back to it...

Hey!

We're in mid-week territory already. That means that Christmas is only a few days away. I always find it strange how the build up for this starts at the beginning of the month and then it's over in one day. Gone, forgotten. Very strange when you actually stop to think about it.

Anyway. If you're interested, I've got a new blog post over at the Fang-tastic Books Blog. Roxanne was lovely enough to have me over there again. This time I'm chatting a little about Alyce Kerr. You can read it here. I'm also at The Romance Studio. So if you'd like to read a little more about Wither, you can here. :)

This week's turning out to be a little strange. I don't know why, but it just feels kinda... odd. Maybe it's just me. But I can say that I feel a little restless. Like I'm kinda floating past the days instead of really living them. Does that even make any sense? lol.

Last night I picked up THE ELECTRIC CHURCH by Jeff Somers and got stuck into it. I have to admit that when I first started it, I felt a little overwhelmed and even lost because there seemed to be so much information shared in like twenty pages, while a lot of action was also going on. But I stuck with it, and I'm glad that I did. Wow. This book is fantastic. The concept's dark, gritty and very dystopian. Did I mention that it's a futuristic? I love futuristics. The freaky monks are really, really creepy. Seriously. And the hero's not exactly heroic, but I love that.

I can't wait to get back to it. I'm 100 pages in already because it's such a fast-moving story.

Although I haven't been doing any new writing stuff, the last few days I've been very busy answering interview questions and emailing them in. I'm slowly, slowly working my way through the list. I've got quite a few spots planned for Feb. So I'm using this quiet period to decide what I'm going to be focusing on with each interview/post. It's actually quite fun. I love that I've worked on about four different interviews so far and the questions are all so different. That's very cool.

Okay. I think that's enough chatter for today... don't you? ;)

Have a good one!

Writing it out usually helps

I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm one of the Featured Authors over at The Romance Studio this month. So, if you'd like to find out a little more about my story WITHER, you can read the interview here. :)

I've been having a bunch of headaches this week. I'm not quite sure what the reason is, but they just linger in the background. Or blast through my brain. Funny thing is that I'm not the only one getting them. I was talking to hubby this morning, and he's been having headaches as well. WTH? All I know is that I'm going to not take any tablets for it. I think I've taken enough during this week. Strange.

Hopefully they'll clear up by next week because I've got revision work to do. lol.

So, what do you do when you've written a trilogy/series and you're pretty sure it's finished... then one day the characters hit you up with a new story. One that complicates their relationship a little more, throws them a new situation they might not be able to deal with, yet at the same time promises to tie up that loose end that refused to be neatly tied before. Yikes, was there supposed to be a question mark somewhere in there? I think it started as a question and turned into a rant. :D

Anyway. Since my muse was chatting last night, I picked up a notebook and before bed managed to write the first six pages of the idea I was just rambling about. I like where it's going, and I know that it won't be a long story. We're talking novella territory. So, why fight it? I think it's okay to give it a go, see where it takes me. Except, I've got revisions planned for next week. Then after that I have one more week before my daughter goes on holidays for *gulp* over five weeks! Now that I've written that, I think that sounds like a good plan: Recast #2 final revision next week, writing this story the week after that.

Sometimes, writing --or typing-- it all out really does help. Thanks Blogger. ;)

Well, I'm going to make good use of what's left of my alone (writing) time.

Catch'a next week. Have an awesome weekend!

Hello New Week! I'm kinda ready for ya...

Before I get started today, I just wanted to mention that I'll be over at The Pen and Muse this week. Denisse was lovely enough to interview me and will be posting it shortly. :)

Well, how was your weekend? Mine was great, but tiring. We continued our spring cleaning kick. Got rid of a lot of dust -- I don't think they were dust bunnies anymore, more like dust kitties -- and some garbage, as well as a lot of recycling. I always feel so much better about getting rid of stuff that'll be recycled into something else. I'm trying to think as green as I can. Too bad other people in our apartment block don't seem to care.

Today, I've had a shitty day in regards to the people around us. We live in an apartment block and a lot of the people who live here don't give a crap about keeping the place clean and tidy. Or even safe. This morning, when we got home from dropping my daughter off at school, we couldn't get the key into the lock downstairs because someone had stuck something into it. It's not the first time it's happened, and the locksmith pulled out bits of sticks that had been shoved into the barrel. Seriously, who would do that? And other people have been dumping their carpets and furniture into the garage area. Once again, WTF? Makes me so angry!

Anyway. I got back into my NaNoWriMo novel today. Yay! I've reached 25,025 words. So, I'm halfway now. Haven't gotten back on track with my own personal goal, but I'm getting there. Slowly, slowly.

Well. I'm all outta words for the night. See ya!

I've been interviewed...

... by the lovely and very talented author, Cynthia Eden. I love her books!

If you'd like to read a little more about me and my latest eBook release, you can over HERE.