This is a re-release of the "Artesans
of Albia" series, can you discuss your experience with the
original publication of these books?
First I'd
like so say a HUGE thank you, Walter, for helping out with my
relaunch, and for posing me such interesting questions. I had much
fun answering them!
So - first
answer:
The books
originally came out with indie publisher Rhemalda Publishing. The
first book was available in August 2011, and the next two books
followed, each a year apart. I did already have a self-published
non-fiction book out there, titled For The Love of Daisy, but my
fantasy series was my first experience of a 'traditional' publisher.
I have to say that I found it all very exciting. Rhemalda was a
relatively new company, and I realized there might be some risk in
this, but I was prepared to take it. My thinking was that they stood
as much to win or lose as I did over my books, and that meant they
would do all they could to make them successful. I learned such a lot
from Rhemalda - about cover design, about layout, about using social
media, and about marketing. It was a blow when they were forced to
close, but I have to commend them for being very straight and honest
with me, and for returning all my rights with no fuss and plenty of
help. I now feel so much better equipped to handle my books as a
self-published author.
Tell me about the new cover design.
Who is the artist?
The artist
who designed the new covers for King's Champion and King's Artesan is
Mikey Brooks. http://www.insidemikeysworld.com/ I met Mikey in 2011
at the "Rhemalda Publishing Got Stories?" conference in Utah. We hit it
off and have been good friends ever since. I edited Mikey's two MG
fantasy novels, The Dream Keeper (2012) and The Dreamstone (2013),
and another novel not yet published. As well as being an author, and
father to three young girls, Mikey is also an illustrator and
designer, so when I was thinking of changing two of my covers, he was
right there, eager to help. I love the new designs, and working with
Mikey was a dream. He's already made a start on the cover for my
fourth Artesans novel!
Why did you make the change?
The appeal
of a book cover is such a personal thing. As an author, you want the
cover to represent what's inside your book, but you also know that
its main function is to attract readers. Your personal tastes should
take second place to the business aspect of the design, and that's
what happened with my second two covers. I always loved the cover of
King's Envoy. It was entirely my vision, realized to perfection by
digital artist Eve Ventrue. Yet Eve was not available for the next
two covers, and I always felt that they didn't quite fit what I would
have chosen. The third cover especially. Getting the chance to
redesign them was the one thing that kept my spirits up during the
closure of Rhemalda, and the uncertainty I felt over my writing
career.
These are the first three books in a
larger series. Can you tell us about the rest of the series and
when you expect those works to be published?
Oh, yes!
The Artesans of Albia series is a triple-trilogy, and all nine books
have already been written. I carried on with the series while trying
to get the first book published, so by the time I snared a publisher,
all nine books were complete. That's not to say they're ready for
publication - they need editing - but I have a firm time frame for
their publication.
The first
trilogy, the eponymous Artesans of Albia, concerns the deadly weapon
known as the Staff. The novels deal with its discovery, its power,
its effect on those who come into contact with it, and its
implications for Artesans and the entire world. Those three books,
King's Envoy, King's Champion, and King's Artesan, are available
right now.
The second
trilogy, Circle of Conspiracy, deals with the creator of the Staff
and the plans the weapon was created to achieve. I'm not going into
any more detail than that, otherwise I'll give too much away! The
first book in this set, The Challenge, is scheduled for publication in
Spring 2014; the second, The Circle, in Fall 2014; and the third,
Full Circle, in Spring 2015.
The final
trilogy, Master of Malice, is the thrilling, heart-rending,
catastrophic finale to the series. It has much more of a horror
element than the other two (the clue is in the title!) and I cannot
guarantee that all the characters my readers have come to love and
relate to will make it to the end. *Mwwuuhahaha!*
The first
in this set, The Scarecrow, is due out in Fall 2015; the second, The
Vagrant, in Spring 2016; and the final novel, The Gateway, in Fall
2016.
So much to
look forward to!
I understand that there are some
performances available of the songs that appear in your books, can
you tell us about that?
Before I
was a writer, I was a singer. I learned to sing in childhood by
listening to folk bands like Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention.
Sandy Denny was my idol. I saved up and bought a Spanish guitar when
I was 15, and took lessons at school. Soon, I was writing and singing
my own songs, and performing some of them in my local church.
Music is a
huge part of my life, and it percolated quite naturally into my
writing. My characters inhabit a medieval-style world where singing
and playing music was one of the major forms of entertainment. I
could not help but incorporate it into their lives. 'The Wheel Will
Turn', from King's Envoy, is an integral part of the book, but I
didn't at first even dream of making it into an actual song. It was
only when I was trying to find a USP for my series, something unique
and interesting that would grab readers' attention, that I realized I
already had the perfect vehicle. If I could put music to the 'song'
in the book, I could record it and offer it to readers.
I am
fortunate in that my brother is also a musician, and a much better
guitar player than me! He and the guy he writes with have a small
recording studio and they record their own stuff. So they gave me
masses of help with producing 'The Wheel'. We decided to perform it
live for the King's Envoy book launch I organized in my home town,
and our local shopping mall agreed to let us erect a small stage and
perform the song. The video of this performance is on my website: www.caspeace.com. Once I had
'The Wheel' under my belt, and saw how well it was received, I knew I
had to continue with writing songs for all my books. 'The Wheel' is
essentially a love song, a song of hope. King's Champion has a sea
shanty called 'The Ballad of Tallimore', and the song for King's
Artesan is called 'Morgan's Song (All That We Are)'. This song will
appear at various times throughout the series, but all the books will
have unique music. We are currently working on an instrumental called
'Larksong' for Book 4, The Challenge. It will have vocals, just not
actual words. It's great fun and I love being able to use my other
talents to help readers connect with my books.
Major Sullyan is the strong female
protagonist of these novels, and she is forced to endure some pretty
horrific situations. What was your motivation for dealing with
the themes and scenarios which you have chosen?
I'm glad
you asked this question. Every story must contain conflict, and when
I decided I wanted to create a powerful, beautiful, but still
entirely credible female fantasy lead, I knew I was going to have to
pull out all the stops where conflict was concerned. Sullyan lives in
a male-dominated culture, and her chosen profession - Albia's
military - is even more so. She has to be able to hold her own among
these hard-bitten types, and even be able to lead them, without being
either a harridan, an archetypal Amazonian woman, or someone who
holds her position through unnatural means (i.e., her own powers).
This meant she had to endure life experiences that such men would
respect, as respect is earned and won; it cannot be forced. Also,
because of what comes later in the series, I needed her to have a
powerful motivation for what she does. She becomes a champion of
those weaker than herself, and such sentiments are often much deeper
and stronger in those who have suffered trauma. I also needed a
reason for her to 'lose it' sometimes. She had to be flawed,
otherwise she would not be credible.
I know from
your review that you felt skeptical about one aspect of her life
experiences - I am hoping that as you read further, you will come to
understand why that aspect exists (Editor interruption--here's the review that Cas is referring to).
The dual world situation that you have
created in Artesans brought to mind Raymond E Feist's "Riftwar
Saga" for me. Is he among your influences? If not,
who is?
Actually,
he is not. I have only read one Feist novel (to my shame), so he was
not among the authors who have influenced my writing. When I was
growing up, my love for fantasy was kindled by C S Lewis (Narnia),
Anne McCaffrey (Pern), and Elizabeth Goudge (The Little White Horse).
Then, of course, came J R R Tolkien (LOTR). I guess it was C S Lewis
who planted the notion of other worlds being available to the chosen
few, and when I discovered Stephen Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas
Covenant, that notion was strengthened. However, I didn't consciously
decide to build a world with 5 different realms - they kind of built
themselves as the story evolved. I'd love to tell you that I
meticulously planned all nine novels, and that everything was clear
and in place before I started writing, but that would be untrue. Me -
plan a novel? I wouldn't know where to start ... ! :-)
Overall, how have these books been
received?
Actually, I
have been thrilled and humbled by how well my series has been
received. For someone who never set out to write novels at all, it's
nothing short of miraculous. But you know, writing this series was an
incredibly intense and strange experience, and because of the way it
came about, I always felt there was some 'reason' why it had to
exist. This was what kept me going through all the years of
submission and rejection - harder to bear, I found, because of the
constant encouragement from the agents and publishers who rejected
me. "It's very good," they often told me. "Your
writing shines," one said. "Don't give up," several
wrote back, "you will eventually find a home for this."
Wonderful comments, and hugely uplifting, but also screamingly
frustrating when none of them would accept me! None, that is, until
Rhemalda Publishing. :-)
What other writing projects do you have
besides "Artesans of Albia?"
At the
moment, relaunching the first trilogy, and prepping Book 4, The
Challenge, is taking all my time. I'm also a freelance editor and
proofreader, so I don't get much free time. I seem to need an empty
and bored brain for ideas to present themselves, and I'm still
undergoing 4 years of pretty intense stuff over 'Artesans'. I do,
however, have one project, although it's connected.
Once two of
my books were published, I realized I'd missed a trick with Sullyan.
I ought to have started earlier in her life. My books are aimed
primarily at adults, although there is nothing in the first 6 that
younger people couldn't read. My characters rarely use strong
language (Sullyan's soldier curses are seldom written down!) and I
have had readers as young as 12 thoroughly enjoy the books. But I
can't market them as MG or YA because of the characters' ages. Yet YA
is one of the fastest growing age-groups, and it's also one where
readers freely share, by word-of-mouth, FB, Twitter, etc, the books
they love. And that's what I want to tap into. So my project is a
prequel to the Artesans series, dealing with Sullyan's early life and
how she developed her awesome powers. Its working title is Maiden of
Mystery, and all I can say is - watch this space!
Where should we go to learn more about
you?
My website
is a great place to start; you can find all the sales links to my
books, and you can also download - FREE - the songs from each book.
I'm also on Facebook and Twitter, and I have a blog, Peacewrites.
Here are all the links:
Many thanks
once again for hosting me, Walter - you are a star!
xx
Cas
Great feature, Walter. I tweeted it as well as liked it.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for posting this, Walter, even if it was a touch early!! *giggles*
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate it.
xx
Cas
Thanks so much for posting!
ReplyDelete