Tag: fantasy

Posted in backstory, character interview, Creekside Cafe, interview, promo

On the Porch with Damian and Marble, a Creekside Cafe Chat

Posted on by Sherri

Damian is the hero of K.B. Davenport’s new adult fantasy novel, Magic in Autumn Springs. Welcome Damian Baxter to Creekside Café. 

Damian: Thanks for having me, Sherri! The café is beautiful. Reminds me of home! 

Sherri: Damian it is so good to have this chance to get to know you better. I enjoyed reading about your adventures in Autumn Springs. Have you always lived in Autumn Springs? You went to college there as well? Have you ever wanted to travel? Did you ever want to leave Autumn Springs? 

Damian: Thanks for reading my story! I have always lived in Autumn Springs. Born and raised! I love my hometown. It’s a friendly place (mostly), and there’s always something brewing. After I graduated high school, I went to Autumn Springs College. I wanted to stay close to home, despite not having the best relationship with my parents. The town always had a pull for me, though, so I couldn’t bear to leave it. I guess, after reading my story, you know why! There was something waiting for me there, I just had to figure out what it was. 

I’ve traveled a few times. Mostly to surrounding states and tourist destinations near Autumn Springs. Never too far. But I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland. It’s so beautiful, I feel like it’s the only place that could rival my love for my hometown. Springtime there seems like a fairy tale! 

When I was younger, I wanted nothing more than to leave Autumn Springs. From around ages ten to seventeen, I dreamed of moving far away and living a fast-paced life in a city somewhere. I was convinced that Autumn Springs was only for people who wanted big families and small lives. It took some time to realize how mistaken I was. Something clicked one day, and I’ve been happy there since. That’s not to say I won’t let life take me to other places. Who knows where I’ll end up now that Bartley and I are together! He’s much more of a traveler than I am. 

Sherri: You had a special relationship with your grandmother. What connected the two of you?  

Damian: Granny Sue was an interesting person. She had a steadfastness that I admired from an early age. I also felt her sadness about not being able to connect with her daughter (my mother), and I think it helped me deal with my own pain. But beyond that, she was an immensely creative and talented person with lots of stories and love. She would paint, sing songs, grow beautiful gardens, and it all came so naturally. I was her only grandchild, too, so I was a bit spoiled, I guess! 

Sherri: How old were you when you started experiencing strange things? Magic? Dreams?  

Damian: I think I was around seven or eight. At least, that’s when I have conscious memories of things happening.  

Sherri: What was your first magical experience? 

Damian: Just little things at first. Like, I’d be thinking about a snack I wanted in the kitchen and wishing it was in front of me. I would concentrate hard and try to move it, but the best I could do was lifting it an inch or so off the counter. I think wish fulfillment is every young witch’s first experience with magic, though! 

Sherri: Who started calling you Kachoo? Where did the name Kachoo come from? 

Damian: Granny and Grampa had an ornate toy train at their house when I was little. I’d always play with it when I visited them. Granny always called it a choo-choo, but I had trouble saying it. I would say “ka-choo” instead, like a sneeze, and Granny always laughed. It stuck around as my nickname as I got older. It was sort of an inside joke between us.  

Sherri: You spoke of the men you’ve dated just passing through, only in Autumn Springs for school. What type of man are you attracted to? What is the most important element in a partner?  

Damian: I love bookish types with a bit of a roguish side. A guy who can quote Shakespeare and swashbuckle pirates would be ideal. I mean, essentially that’s who Bartley is. He surprises me every day with new adventures. We just went spelunking a few weeks ago! The caves near Autumn Springs are spooky and mystifying. 

I hate to sound cliche, but communication is really it for me. If we can talk through what we’re feeling, no matter how silly or childish we may be feeling, we’ll get through any problem. A lot of guys in my past weren’t the best communicators, despite being in college. It’s like they spent all their time expressing themselves at school and wanted to shut off when it came to romantic involvements. Bartley is so much different from any other guy I’ve met. He listens to me ramble on and on and pretends like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever heard. I’m lucky to have him! 

Sherri: You and Granny Sue share a love of plants, what are your favorites? One of my favorites is rosemary but I’ve never had much luck raising it. I have some monster aloe plants though. 

Damian: Rosemary can be a bit tricky! I love herbs as well. My herb garden gets a lot of my attention, since I cook with them so much. Aloe plants are great! I love succulents, especially for the porch so I don’t have to spend too much time caring for them. I’ve been pretty busy lately, so I’d hate to let a more complicated plant suffer. I love my spider plants and rubber plants, too. I like classic and simple things. 

Sherri: Tell us about Marble, she is a bit of a diva, but she is more than a pet, isn’t she? 

Damian: Marble is… 

Marble: Marble can speak for herself, thank you very much.  

Damian: I guess I’ll let her share the spotlight! 

Marble: I was Granny Sue’s familiar for many years. I was assigned to her by the Elder Witches after my previous caretaker passed. I was sad and lonely, and so was Granny Sue after Grampa passed away. She volunteered to take on a familiar, and I was the one she got! I couldn’t have been happier. My time with her is something I’ll cherish forever. Although, Damian treats me pretty great, too. He even lets me help fish when we go to the river. I caught a huge salmon this spring. 

Damian: It was a tiny mosquitofish. But it was pretty feisty! 

Sherri: Were you a human at one time Marble? Where or when were you from?  

Marble: Long ago. As a lady of class, I won’t reveal my age, but I will say I had an adventurous life. Damian knows from our recent trip to New Orleans that I lived in the French Quarter for some time in my youth. I may or may not have gotten into some trouble there which led to my current state. I had a magic show in a little café there and a stunning girlfriend named Marie. We used to cause so much havoc, like when we lured that nasty old politician into the alley way and—oh, but perhaps I should share that story another time… 

Sherri: What is the deal with your co-worker Shay? Sometimes she seems a little lazy and others more enthusiastic. Is she bi-polar?  

Damian: Shay is an enigma. She’s never told me about being bi-polar, but she has hinted at it in the past. I try to be understanding, as I’m sure she does with my inwardness and quietness. I guess we all have our own things to work on. She’s always supportive of me, though, so I can’t say too much! I think she’s misunderstood by a lot of people, especially new people. 

Sherri: If you’d have known who Bartley was when you first met would it have changed your feelings towards him?  

Damian: I don’t think it would have changed my feelings, but I do think I would have been less confident! Something came over me when we met, and I presented my best self. That’s always been a challenge for me. I feel like I often misspeak or get tongue-tied when I meet new people and try to explain who I am or what I do. With Bartley, it was so easy. After I found out who he was and how prominent his family was and is in Autumn Springs, I was even more intrigued. But I probably would have freaked out if I realized he was sort of a local celebrity before we met! 

Sherri: If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would you change? Why? 

Damian: I would change how I dealt with my parents’ passing, if I could. While we were never very close, I did love them. I felt like I tried to push them and their memories out of my life once they were gone. I wish I would have been more reverent toward them and had taken better care of my dad’s study. Who knows what I could have discovered about myself earlier in life had I connected with their memories more? That’s been my mission lately. Since everything has settled down, Bartley and I are cleaning up the study, and I’m finding great artifacts for the library where I work. 

Sherri: Do you have any regrets? Anything you wished you’d done differently? 

Damian: Pushing away my magic and my sense of whimsy at an early age. Although Granny Sue encouraged me to be myself, I had so many other influences telling me otherwise. I let the naysayers get the best of me for a long time. If I could, I would be open and free with who I really was. 

Sherri: What are your hopes or plans for the future? Do they include a hunky Irishman? 

Damian: Oh, yes, definitely! Bartley and I are talking about all kinds of new adventures. As Marble mentioned, we’ve been fishing a lot, and we visited my aunt in New Orleans not long ago to help her with a magical dilemma. I can’t wait to visit his family in Ireland! We’re thinking of going to see them at Christmastime this year. Other than that, I just hope to stay happy and healthy with my family. I love to see Marble growing closer with her new pal, Harlan, and hopefully my former rival Elias and I can be friendly neighbors one day! 

Sherri: If you liked this interview with Damian and Marble check out their book, Magic in Autumn Springs by K B Davenport and my earlier interview with author, K B Davenport.

https://sherrilhollister.com/2021/06/09/celebrating-pride-month-at-creekside-cafe-with-author-k-b-davenport/

SOCIAL MEDIA

Website: davenportbooks.wixsite.com/home

Twitter: @KBDBooks

Reddit: u/KBDBooks

Tumblr: kbdavenport.tumblr.com

Goodreads: goodreads.com/kbdavenport

Amazon: amazon.com/~/e/B08P74BMF6

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview, Recipes

Celebrating Pride Month at Creekside Cafe with author, K. B. Davenport

Posted on by Sherri

I’m so excited to welcome my friend and fellow southern American writer, K.B. Davenport to my virtual café. Thanks for stopping by Creekside Café, K.B.

K.B.: Thanks for having me, Sherri! I’m really excited to chat with you.

Sherri: Is Magic in Autumn Springs your first published novel?

K.B.: Yes, it is! I released it in November 2020 through Kindle Direct Publishing. I thought about going the traditional route but ultimately decided to self-publish.

Sherri: I’m reading it right now and I’m enjoying it. It’s a slower pace for me but I adore the way you introduce the characters. Who was your favorite to craft? I’m a suspense writer and I often enjoy creating the villains.

K.B.: Thank you! Glad to hear it! I have to agree, villains are fun to write. They became some of my most emotionally complex and developed characters, now that I think about it. They have a lot to offer in terms of flaws and layers. But I also have talking animals in my story, so I have to say they’re my favorites. Marble the wise cat and Harlan the sassy pup. Harlan is a talking animal and a villain, so writing him was really the best of both worlds. And really, Autumn Springs is itself a crucial character. Creating this fictional place was a bit of a love letter to the town where I went to college and to the Natural State where I was born and raised. I wanted to be sure I created a world that represented how I felt about where I’ve grown up and lived within my life. 

Sherri: My town of Leeward is an homage to my hometown as well. I love Marble, she is an amazing character. Animals, like children present a unique perspective to the story. Getting into their minds and seeing the world through their eyes can change a reader as well as the writer.

This may have been your first published work, but you are not a novice writer. I can tell. You are too good for this to have been your first. How long have you been writing? Have you always been a writer?

K.B.: Thank you, I appreciate that! I’ve been writing poetry and fiction since I was a teenager, so almost 20 years now. I’ve written in academic and professional capacities over the last decade or so in my “real life” as well. Writing has always been more than a hobby for me. It’s like a sort of tether to reality. It keeps me grounded or lets me explore, whatever I need. I’ve been a storyteller since I was a kid, too, according to my mom. So, I guess the answer is yes, I’ve always been a writer!

Sherri: It shows. You describe yourself as a romantic at heart and there is a romance in your story, do you consider yourself a romance author? What is the difference between being a romance writer versus other genres?

K.B.: I have a hard time pinning myself to any one genre, but romance certainly plays a big part in many of my stories. Although it may not be in a way some readers are accustomed to. I’ve always been fascinated by Transcendentalist writers like Thoreau and Whitman. Romance has become intertwined and synonymous with nature and spirituality for me. That’s what I aimed to show in my book as well, a sense of longing and nostalgia that transcends companionship and gives reverence to the earth. Almost like being in love with the idea of the world itself. As for the second part of your question, I think being a romance writer requires a big heart and a passion for crafting vulnerable characters unlike any other genre. There is a certain level of pain and pleasure that goes into writing romance, and it takes just the right amount of both to create something truly spectacular.

Sherri: I always thought I was a romance writer but even though I want romance in my books, it often takes a secondary position. Sometimes I shy away from the hard stuff, especially the deeper emotions. My WIP has me crying a lot. I’m so ready to move onto the happier parts.

Is your partner a writer or reader? My husband doesn’t read much anymore but he does a lot of my research and helps me with some of my plot points. I enjoy discussing ideas with him because he gives me a different perspective.

K.B.: Definitely the same for me. Romance is one part of the larger picture. My partner isn’t a writer, but he does enjoy reading my work. He’s an idea man. He helps me work out plot points, too. Partners are great for that, aren’t they? They know you so well that they can connect dots even you may miss. Just don’t tell them that, or they may want their own writing credit!

Sherri: You have a serial you’re working on for Kindle Vella, it looks exciting. Tell us about it.

K.B.: Thanks! I’m excited about it. It’s a lot different from Autumn Springs, but I’m hopeful people will enjoy it. I’m calling it Game the Show. It’s a darkly comic look at Hollywood and the game show scene of the early 1980s. The characters are dramatic and flashy, and there are some steamy romantic moments. It centers around two rival game show hosts who vie for the same coveted time slot as well as the same love interest. A bit of a romantic triangle. There’s some bisexual and gay representation as well. I’m also using it as a platform to discuss some of the more sexist and phobic attitudes of the time. I’m a big fan of old game shows, but sometimes I cringe at the way they refer to women, people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community. So it’s a bit of a satire of that as well. Expect some uncomfortable but hopefully enlightening moments!

Sherri: I grew up watching the 70s and 80s television shows so I’m more aware of what you are talking about but how about younger readers, do you think they will be interested in this series? Who is your target audience? I have to ask myself this question often. When I wrote my Leeward Files series, I was hoping to attract a younger audience, but I’ve come to realize most of my readers are 40 and above even though my characters are mid to late twenties.

K.B.: That’s a great question! It’s interesting to find out who actually reads your work once it’s out in the world. Finding a target audience can be tricky! As a millennial, it feels like I’m straddling generations in some ways. I have close relationships with friends and family who run the generational gamut. I want my work to reflect that. Game the Show may be set in the early 80s, but I think its subject matter will be relatable from contemporary perspectives, especially considering its modern take on problematic social issues. I love historical fiction and seeing behind the curtain, so to speak, so I wanted to incorporate some of that into this project. My hope is that it’ll resonate with early to mid-millennials in America who grew up in a much different political landscape than today, but I want people of all ages and cultures to feel included as well. We’ll see how it goes! I look at writing as an experiment. I love to try new things and see what lands.

Sherri: Do you have any plans for an Autumn Springs sequel or are you writing something different?

K.B.: Yes! I’m currently working on the second book in An Autumn Springs Anthology. I’m calling it Mystery in Autumn Springs. It’s about a young empath and amateur sleuth from up north who has ghostly adventures with her girlfriend during a family reunion in Autumn Springs. I’m also working on a book of southern gothic poetry that I’m really looking forward to sharing more details about soon!

Sherri: Did you say you recently visited New Orleans? I was born not far from there. I went back there after my oldest son was born. We lived about a half an hour from New Orleans. There’s something about New Orleans that you don’t find anywhere else. I bet you found a lot of inspiration for your gothic poetry.

K.B.: Yes, we just visited New Orleans a couple of weeks ago for the first time! That’s interesting you lived near there! You’re so right. It really is a different world there. I definitely feel inspired, so much so that I spent some time there writing in our hotel room. I couldn’t help myself. It’s such a historically rich and vibrant place. Even with all the trials the community has faced, they still thrive. It’s encouraging. We stayed at the edge of the French Quarter near Armstrong Park and the Treme, so we got a good mix of touristy things and local culture. I can’t wait to go back. We’re thinking about visiting again for Jazz Fest this fall. And, yes, I’m absolutely using the experience for my poetry! The architecture alone was the perfect inspiration for gothic romance and drama. I loved it.

Sherri: I hear you like to cook, are you a fancy chef or do you prepare family recipes. I raised six sons and worked in fast food, so, most of my cooking has always been get it out quick. With my sons grown and gone, I like to experiment. I’m an avid Food Network watcher but my husband is more of a meat and potatoes guy, but he’s reforming. Do you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share?

K.B.: That’s great! I think it’s fun to experiment and to try new things in the kitchen. I love to cook. I learned how to cook for my family when I was a teenager. My parents didn’t really care for cooking, so I took it on myself to save us from frozen meals and canned chili. I have to admit, I’m mostly a comfort cook. Fried chicken, pork chops, mashed potatoes, tacos, stir fry, breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls. But my partner and I try new recipes fairly often. We recently made a tres leches cake that was delicious! One of our favorite meals to make is pizza from scratch. I roll a mean thin crust. I’ve made a lot of breads since the start of the pandemic, like most bored home cooks. Here’s a recipe for a citrus bread I made when I ran out of ingredients for banana bread!

Glazed Citrus Bread

For the batter:

  • 1 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp water, more if needed
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Prepare a standard loaf pan with butter and flour.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine orange juice, lemon juice, buttermilk and melted butter.
  3. In the same bowl, mix in baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, beaten egg and vanilla.
  4. Mix in flour until all ingredients are combined. Do not over mix; the batter should be light so the bread stays soft snd fluffy.
  5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
  6. Remove from oven. Pour on glaze, making sure to cover all of the bread. Glaze should melt evenly and cover the sides of the bread as it cools snd separates from the pan. Cool for at least an hour. Enjoy!

Sherri: Do any of your hobbies, life experiences or acquaintances show up in your stories?

K.B.:  Absolutely! While I’m not as much of a green thumb as Damian in Autumn Springs, I love gardens and being in nature. I grew up visiting a lot of watering holes and going on long drives through the Ozarks, so I love to use those scenic experiences in my writing. Hot Springs and Eureka Springs, Arkansas are two big influences in my work. I wanted to pay homage to their natural beauty. Also, I’m a TV buff. Game shows, sitcoms, live events—there’s always been something really fascinating about the way television operates to me. I figured I should put that to use in my writing, so that was sort of the genesis for Game the Show. In terms of people, I feel like most of my characters are composites of a lot of different people I’ve met. While I don’t want to use any one person as direct inspiration for a character, of course, I will pick certain aspects to infuse in my work. Really, I feel like every character I write has a little bit of myself included, too.

Sherri: If you liked this interview with K.B. Davenport, follow him on social media and check out his book Magic in Autumn Springs.

K. B.’s BIO

An independent Southern American writer and designer, K.B. Davenport loves reading and reviewing books by other indie authors. He writes cozy supernatural tales and dramatic stories with LGBTQIA+ themes. K.B. also designs book covers and promotional graphics. He lives with his handsome partner, loves to travel and really wants a pet.

BOOK BLURB

A picturesque small town. A budding romance. A mysterious grimoire.

Welcome to Autumn Springs, a woodsy southern hamlet full of charming folks and scenic beauty. Meet Damian Baxter, a self-professed homebody who works diligently as a librarian at Autumn Springs College. He spends his evenings in his cozy Victorian home on Starry Night Way reading and curling up with his cat, Marble.

After he unlocks his grandmother’s grimoire, Damian begins a magical journey he never could have imagined. With his trusty feline friend by his side, he trains for an incoming threat from a reclusive neighbor and the most powerful dark witch in town, Elias Robicheaux.

Will Damian be able to protect his uprooted life while managing his busy job and a new romance with Bartley O’Dowd, a handsome Irish transplant with a secret of his own? Come along for a moonlit hayride and discover the mystery and magic in Autumn Springs.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Website: davenportbooks.wixsite.com/home

Twitter: @KBDBooks

Reddit: u/KBDBooks

Tumblr: kbdavenport.tumblr.com

Goodreads: goodreads.com/kbdavenport

Amazon: amazon.com/~/e/B08P74BMF6

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

On The Porch With Kevin Lane

Posted on by Sherri

Welcome to my virtual café, author Kevin Lane. This is my daydream to have a coffee shop on the river to visit with my writer friends. The Netherlands is a long way from North Carolina, do you live on the coast?  

Kevin: No actually. I live rather close to the German border if I’m being honest!

Sherri: We have several Dutch communities in eastern North Carolina. My mother-in-law was raised in Terra Ceia, a small community near Pantego. She even worked on the tulip farm and tulips are still one of her favorite flowers. Do you live in the country or city? How does where you live effect your writing?

Kevin: I have lived mostly in urban areas over my life. I pretty much grew up in what is often called my city’s ghetto! It was interesting as it taught me early not to judge by first appearances and I reflect that in my work!

Sherri: How long have you been writing? When we were talking earlier, you said you’ve been planning your world since age six. Did you start writing your story then?

Kevin: The worldbuilding back then was mostly a way for me to deal with my home situation. I won’t go into too much detail, but it was pretty unpleasant back then. I did not start writing my story until about age 12. Those stories were bad, I cringe when I remember them. The current story did not enter its first version until I was 17 when the base elements started being created that makes my main hero and villain who they are!

Sherri: You’ve published a short story on Wattpad, is this part of your novel?

https://www.wattpad.com/user/warriorxp7

Kevin: It is not. It is supposed to be the start of a larger story based on the series RWBY. It is a very Great world which I feel more can be done with and I wished to try my hand at it. I’m actually planning a follow up and to create JADE as a proper mini writing series. Of course, I will be focusing on my main novel as a priority!

Sherri: Do you find it difficult to juggle real-life work and your writing life? How often to you write? Do you have a schedule?

Kevin: It is sometimes. I have trouble maintaining a schedule in combination with my work, but I would not want to quit because a writer is what I wish to really be!

Sherri: Is there a writing community in your town? I belong to a great local community and an international community they have been a big part of my getting published.

Kevin: There are very few local communities and the ones that exist are mainly book clubs and not focused on writing. Netherlands simply is focused on a pretty grounded living which does not often support creativity!

Sherri: You write fantasy, can you tell us about your novel? When do you hope to release it?

Kevin: It is more dark fantasy. It can be described as Game of Thrones meets Lord of the Rings as my dad put it. It takes place in a world ravaged by chaotic energy which causes natural disaster and beings called Remnants to pop up and with the lack of balance the world is slowly crumbling into the void. It is a very unforgiving world in which death is just a part of life. A religion actually spouts the importance of death to return energy to some Lord of Light. Much attention has been put into the political climate of my world as it is central to the story. I like to say Frostspire is the first chapter of a much larger story. As for a release date, I really can’t say. I still need to work on it a bit as I feel a few things don’t flow as I want them to. But my aim is a 2021 release if possible!

Sherri: I started writing at ten years old. A friend’s hurtful comment kept me from sharing my writing for several years. Another friend and my husband encouraged me to start taking my writing seriously and follow my dream. It takes a lot of courage to put our work out there for others to read. Are you ready to deal with good and bad feedback?

Kevin: I feel so long as it is about my work or my personal actions, I can be fine with it. Bad feedback is a part of putting yourself out there. I am rather shy and anxious much of the time which is why I tend to not show my face much. I believe my work should speak for me.

Sherri: You’re a gamer, what are some of your favorite games? Do they influence your writing? Have you considered writing for games?

Kevin: Video games are a medium I enjoy. Mainly ones that require tactical thinking. Fire emblem. Many JRPG’s (Japanese Role Playing Games). But of course, ones with a great story are my favorites. I love Pokemon, but that is one area it tends to lack in a bit. I have considered writing for video games at one point, but I decided that if I did a visual medium, I should do anime as it is more story driven.

Sherri: What do you love about writing? What has been the most difficult for you to learn?

Kevin: I love the ability for pretty much everyone to share their own Fantasies. Some want to write about an epic fantasy adventure to slay a dragon. others about a coming of age story. And others have more…. physical fantasies. Personally, I think it’s all great as we live in an age where writing is more accessible than ever before as back then it was hidden behind publishers; services like Amazon kindle have made the process much smoother.

As for what was hardest to learn, I would have to say accepting not everyone will like what I write! We as writers have an omnipotent view of our world and so everything is clear to us but to our readers it might seem confusing if we write with that assumption and so I had to learn to write as if I was reading it.

Sherri: I’m so glad we met on Twitter. The Shameless Self Promo group has been an awesome boon. I’m not sure if they’ve helped me sell books but they’ve taught me about marketing, and I’ve made some awesome friends.

Kevin: Yeah, the others are amazing. And I’m glad I met you and them! The promo group helped keep me motivated when I was not feeling well and I’m really grateful for that.

Sherri: Thank you Kevin for joining me on the porch of my Creekside Café. I wish you all the best with your career and thank you all for joining us for another Creekside Café Chat. If you enjoyed this interview you can follow Kevin on social media and keep a lookout for his upcoming novel.

Follow Kevin’s Links below

Wattpad https://www.wattpad.com/user/warriorxp7

Twitter https://twitter.com/LaneWriting

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Cafe Chat with Neostriker, J.D. Nyle

Posted on by Sherri
J D Nyle

Welcome JD Nyle to my virtual café. If I ever win the lottery I’ll build a real café on the river and invite my writer friends to drop in and talk about books, writing and the business of being a writer, but until then, I’m here on my blog, dreaming.

It’s good to have you here JD or should I call you Neostriker?

JD: Thank you for having me. JD is good. Neostriker is the name of my series. I had thought about separating the brand from the author profile, but when I asked my followers, I got more votes to keep them together. And keeping the profile name as Neostriker helps with SEO traffic.

Sherri: JD/Neostriker and I met through our connection with the Twitter group, Shameless Self-Promo. We’ve become a bit of a family online, supporting each other and promoting each other’s work. How long have you been a member of the group? I’m one of the newbies.

JD: I don’t exactly know since I don’t think new members have access to the old messages, though I would assume from the start. It’s been a great group that has more become a community to chat and get feedback. They’ve been very supportive. I even found my cover artist for The Vixen through that group and a new fan of the stories. I really appreciate C. S. Ratliff for organizing it.

Sherri: You have done something a little different with your Neostriker series, you published a book “Neostiker: Shining” but you also have it online on your website, is that correct? Why did you choose to publish this way?

JD: So, for the novel, which I’m beginning to think might be a misnomer, I did not originally plan to publish as a paperback. It started as a fun project to explore writing and catalog some adventures. The result was I had a series of 24 episodes. I did not know about Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) at the time, so I decided to publish on the blog.

When I learned about Amazon’s paperback service (now merged with KDP), I decided to give the story another few rounds of edits and publish after that. There’s an exclusivity clause in KDP’s higher royalty program so most of the blog version has been pulled down in order to accommodate.

Sherri: Would you classify the Neostriker series as dystopian? What genre does it fall under? I know it’s often difficult to know what label to give our work, but it helps when we are promoting it to know what category it fits into.

JD: I wouldn’t think it’s dystopian, though I have contemplated trying it before. However, I like to write hopeful or inspiring things as I cannot maintain a negative perspective for long periods of time.

As for the genre, that is a good question I constantly struggle with. 😀

If we can say Power Rangers is fantasy, then so is Neostriker. The magic system is never referred to as magic. I approached it more as a video game system where I try have things make sense. For instance, if a normal teen gets a sword, he’s not going to be an expert, so he’ll take a few hits, which would be fatal in real combat. However, video game logic allows for multiple hits.

Sherri: What are you working on now? Are there more stories in the Neostriker series coming out soon?

JD: I have six stories drafted currently with a seventh brainstorming. Two which follow up The Vixen are about ready, but I’m trying to figure the best approach for release. It’s tricky since the first one is more romance focused and contains no fantasy elements. Then there is the cover art ordeal. I hope to release them soon, but I need to figure those two parts first.

Sherri: What other genres would you like to explore? What goals do you have for the future?

JD: So, part of my problem is that I don’t limit by genre. Neostriker Shining was consistently action-adventure, but for SABRE, I’m allowing for it to be character and theme driven. As a result, the genre is free to change with the story.

For example, Intent to Join is more serious and focused on family with some fantasy that plays in the background to facilitate the theme. The Vixen is a fun character-focused story with an action climax. The first follow-up is a quiet second date, so it feels like a romance. So, I would say I’m open to genres that aid a particular story. Considering that’s how life is, I figured it would be good to reflect it.

Sherri: What or who has been some of your greatest influences and how?

JD: For the world and mechanics, Digimon and Mega Man were the main ones I focused on to make my own. It took many years, but with Shining, I felt like I had finally succeeded, free to pay tribute but claim that it was mine. For storytelling, I mostly come up with them myself based upon what sounds fun or interesting.

In terms of mechanics, I take inspiration from many places and try to analyze why I liked them and if I can do something similar. For example, one thing I want to dabble with is not having dialogue tags. This is probably because when I grew up, I mostly listened to audio dramas where all action is mostly conveyed through dialogue and sound effects. Though I must say that I sometimes wish I wrote in Japanese since they have way more onomatopoeias.

Sherri: You mentioned that you have lived in Japan, that is somewhere I’d love to visit. How long did you live there? Did your life there influence your writing?

JD: A few years now. I would admit it was a dream to live here that I worked towards. However, fun fact is that when I first came, I could not think about why I wanted to make the trip anymore, in part because I did not like many anime tropes, but I decided to go through with it. I do not regret that decision. Japan is a beautiful country and there are many features and people I love.

In terms of influence, I would say yes, but in an indirect way. The experience I have had has helped me develop my philosophy which then influences the stories I tell and how I develop my characters.

Sherri: What has been the most difficult to learn as a writer? For me it has been punctuation and marketing. I’m still learning both.

JD: Grammar and marketing are definitely my weak areas. Though maybe depression too as I would see friends get much support for their writings, but I would get none from the same group. That’s one reason why I avoid Facebook since it hurts so much more to not see support from “friends”, which my wife thinks is more due to the algorithm and that most people left the platform. Switching to Twitter and interacting with the supportive writing community, especially the self promo group has been great for dealing with that.

Sherri: Who is the perfect client/reader for your books?

JD: I guess myself is the only one I can guarantee. It varies for each story so I guess those who like the variety could be a good one. As well as people who want clean fun that doesn’t write down to the audience.

For the novel, probably teens who want a fun adventure and like having mechanics worked out. I often hear it said it reads like a game. Though my approach was to more emulate an action Saturday morning program for that one.

For the short stories, people who like character-driven stories that follow the lives of the cast with fantasy to play up the themes. Also, people who don’t have much time to read as each story so far is less than 30 minutes.

Personally, I would like to get some YouTubers I follow to give me their thoughts on the stories like Hello Future Me, Captain Midnight, OSP, and Daniel Greene.

Sherri: What are some of the fun and interesting things about you, your characters, and your books that you’d like us to know?

JD: For two of my characters, Helene and Danny, the fight scene was written first, and it was their fighting styles that led me to figure their personality. It works nicely with Neostriker, because the basis of the armor is that it’s a reflection of the character’s spirit.

Another thing is I like to hide Easter eggs or allusions in my works. In Intent to Join, there are references to the song that inspired the story. In The Vixen, there are a few Japanese cultural references. However, some things are pure coincidence. For example, Danny evokes a martial artist when fighting. In one of my drafts, I referred to him as karate kid as a taunt from his opponent. I only recently remembered that the Karate Kid’s name was Daniel.

Sherri: If you have enjoyed our interview you can follow JD on his social media sites through the links below and find his books on Amazon. The links for his books are also below. Thank you for dropping by.

Social

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JDNyle/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NeostrikerUniverse
Blogs:
http://neostrikershining.blogspot.com/
https://nylecorner.blogspot.com/

Books:
Neostriker: Shining
https://www.amazon.com/Neostriker-Shining-J-D-Nyle/dp/1530392748

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07KDD1NBN/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07KDD1NBN/

Intent to Join https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07ML1FG23

The Vixen
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SSFHZF5

Photos

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Creekside Cafe Chat with Debut Fantasy Author, Cady Hammer

Posted on by Sherri

Welcome debut author, Cady Hammer to my Creekside Café. Cady it is good to have you here.

Cady: It is great to be here. Thank you so much for having me.

Sherri: I have to admit that I am so jealous. You are a college student publishing your first book. That is fantastic. I wish I’d been as confident. Tell us about your book. What genre, age group and when will it be out?

Cady: Haha, thank you! It is pretty crazy; I’m still very much in awe of it myself. So, this book is titled Chasing Fae. It is a young adult epic fantasy novel, and it is coming out during the last week of July. My publisher is still working out exactly which date at the moment. The story follows Grace Richardson, a young mortal woman whose brother goes off to the Fae’s realm, the Upper Realm, to serve as a mercenary. Now, she expects him to return with all of the honor and accolades that he deserves. But when he dies in a mysterious accident, not a word, medal, or penny comes down from the Fae. Grace suspects there’s a little foul play going on, so she decides that she is going to disguise herself as a Fae and sneak into the Upper Realm to get some answers. It is a fantastic adventure with a lot of twists and turns, lots of secrets. I’m really excited to put it out into the world.

Sherri: I bet. I’m excited for you. It sounds like a book I would enjoy reading. I know my grandchildren would love it.

Cady and I are part of the Shameless Self-Promo group on Twitter that C.S. Ratliff started. The group has been a wonderful source of support. What have you learned from the group?

Cady: I actually have learned quite a bit of marketing advice from the group. I learned that marketing can often be sometimes like screaming about your book into the void and hoping something sticks. That helped me relax a little and not feel like I was so behind in thinking about these things. When I revealed my cover for the first time, one of the authors pointed out that I might want my name to be a little bigger on the front cover in order to be seen from a thumbnail as well as easily recognizable when looking for future books of mine. She said it was all about building a brand. I thought that was really useful.

Sherri: What has been your most challenging experience publishing your first book?

Cady: Finding time and using that time to the absolute fullest. I started this book during my first semester of college, and now I’m entering my fifth semester. I am taking a major and a minor (history and anthropology) as well as working towards a certificate program. I’ve been involved in my honors fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, and ballroom dance club since my freshman year. So, there was always a lot going on. For me, it was all about finding those moments after my homework was finished and in between club meetings to really sit down with the story and revise. Some days I would take time off from clubs to focus on getting a chapter or a scene just right. But it has always been worth it to me so far!

Sherri: Did you indie publish or go with a traditional publisher? What has surprised you about the experience?

Cady: I am with a relatively new small press called New Degree Press. And honestly, they have been just amazing. They have really taken the time to cultivate my abilities and teach me about the publishing process from start to finish. I had so much more say over my book and particularly the cover with them than I would have had under a traditional publisher, and I have really enjoyed that.

Sherri: Your cover is awesome. Did you design it or someone else? Is it what you envisioned?

Cady: I came up with the vision, and New Degree Press sent those ideas to their creative team. The designer for my cover is Milan Krstevski, and he is just amazing. He told me that mine was the most complicated cover that he had worked on, but he really just brought my ideas to life in a way that was so much better than anything I could have imagined.

Sherri: How long did it take you to write this book? Is this your first full-length novel? I know it is your first published novel, but have you written others that you haven’t published, if so, why not?

Cady: I wrote my first novel, or I guess novella when I was eleven years old. It was a middle grade adventure/fantasy novel, somewhere around 34,000 words. That will not see the light of day, but for a fifth grader, it was pretty solid work. I did multiple revisions on it and had actually thought about sending it off to literary agents before deciding not to. I wanted more writing experience first. The first draft of Chasing Fae took about a month, but before that I spent about eight months working on character building and worldbuilding. After the first draft, I spent six months on revisions. Once I got my publisher, I spent another two months approximately doing more revisions. It’s been a fulfilling journey from start to finish, really.

Sherri: Juggling writing and the rest of your life can be difficult. You are a full-time student. How do you manage school with the demands of writing especially now as a published author?

Cady: I find time whenever I can to write. Usually, that’s in the evenings after the day’s work is done. I also write in the afternoons and evenings on the weekends. Usually on Sundays. I get my homework done on Saturday so I can write all day Sunday. It’s a fairly good setup. I write less when there’s more assignments to do, and I write more when there is less homework.

Sherri: What or who inspired your characters for Chasing Fae?

Cady: I’m a huge fantasy nerd, but one of the things that I think that there is a lack of in the genre are really strong yet introverted female leaders. My high school really pushed the student body to try to stand up and be leaders, but they had a very specific vision of what a leader was, a very extroverted personality view. I think that really deterred me from seeing myself as having the potential to be a leader. Grace comes from this idea that introverts can have a lot of power and stubbornness and leadership skills that can really shine through in different situations. I hope that she will be inspiring to people. Outside of that, my characters do draw on the people in my life a little bit. I like to mash up personality traits from different people and make them into entirely new characters.

Sherri: Being a writer isn’t often easy, we are often alone or inside our heads. Do you have a good support group: family, friends, other writers whom you can share your ideas, frustrations or who will encourage you?

Cady: My family is a good support group for me, especially my younger sister, Morgan. She’s my first and biggest fan. She loves to help me out with character building and worldbuilding ideas. I have a fantastic group of friends, a couple from high school, a few from college, and of course, the majority from my honors fraternity. They have just been incredible, so supportive. I am so lucky to have them in my life. I also have a solid group of writing friends to connect with and bounce ideas off of. And I would not be where I am today without my boyfriend, Daniel. He is always helping me get inspired or reading over a section to see if things make sense. He actually read the second draft of my book because I knew that he would tell it to me like it is, and he wouldn’t sugarcoat the truth. I’m really lucky to have all of these wonderful people in my life.

Sherri: I know you just finished your first published novel but what are you working on now? What do you plan to do in the future? Will this book be a stand-alone or part of a series?

Cady: Right now, I have just started the sequel to Chasing Fae. The series is going to be a trilogy; I hope my readers will be ready for a wild ride.  I also have a nonfiction book that I am working on about innovative ways to teach history across all ages, both in the classroom and outside of it. I have a few more ideas as well that are in the brainstorming stage.

Sherri: What are your plans and goals for you writing career? Where do you hope to be in five, ten, twenty years?

Cady: If you had asked me this question even two months ago, I would have given you an entirely different answer. I would have said that after the Chasing Fae trilogy, I was probably going to be finished writing because I didn’t think I had more stories in me. But as I have been working through the publishing process, I found a few more story ideas that I would love to see as stand-alone fantasy novels. So, I think you’re going to see a lot more from me in the future. I realized I can’t stop at just these three books; I have a lot more in me to share.

Sherri: What do you hope readers come away with when they read your books?

Cady: I hope that readers find Grace to be someone they would love to be friends with or to follow into battle. I hope they get swept away by the world that I have created. I hope it inspires those readers who would be writers to take that first step and start their own story. And most importantly, I hope it makes readers hungry for more.

Sherri: If you liked this interview with Cady Hammer, her social media links are below and don’t forget to check out her debut novel, Chasing Fae. You can find the buy links to her book below as well.

Thank you, Cady for joining me here on my virtual café. I wish you great success with your book and look forward to reading it. To all of you who stopped into the café, we hope you’ll come back again. See y’all later.

Check out Cady’s Facebook Launch Party August 5th, 10 am – 10 pm!

https://facebook.com/events/s/chasing-fae-launch-party/309178733561124/?ti=icl

Website: www.fluffaboutfantasy.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CadyHammer

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/fluffaboutfantasy/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluffaboutfantasy/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cadyahammer/

Current Book Summary: Grace Richardson is a young mortal woman whose only concerns are providing for her family, playing her violin, and spending as much time as possible with her brother Leo. When Leo goes into service in the Fae’s world as a mercenary, she expects him to return with the honor that he deserves.

When Leo suddenly dies in an unspecified accident, not a word, medal, or penny comes down from the higher ups. Suspecting foul play, Grace disguises herself as a Fae and sneaks into the Upper Realm to get some answers. She anticipated being in way over her head, but the Fae soldier who catches her fleeing an angry bar and discovers her identity only a day in? Not so much.

Now Grace is forced to drag Aiden along as she tries to work out exactly how and why her brother died. Along the way, she has no choice but to confront her prejudices against the Fae as she attempts to sort out the difference between the honest and the dishonest. Political conspiracies, demon realm escapades, and family secrets will all lead Grace to the answers she’s looking for… and some that she isn’t.

Bio :  From the time she was a child writing her first novel at the age of eleven between classes, Cady explored her world through imagination. She was often teased for being in her own world, but never hesitated to invite others along on the adventure. As she grew older, Cady’s studies in history and anthropology set the stage for her detailed world-building that lets readers step into the story. Her stories explore the complexities of relationships crafted around the idea that love, friendship, and grief are all interwoven.

Cady runs the internationally-read website, Fluff About Fantasy, a place for young writers to learn the genre-specific craft of writing fantasy and be inspired by what they can accomplish.

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

On The Porch with C. S. Ratliff

Posted on by Sherri

Welcome C.S. Ratliff to my virtual café. It is so good to have you here. In eastern North Carolina summer has arrived with a combination of extreme heat and tropical rain but occasionally we will get the breeze from the ocean trickle down the river and it is lovely, until the mosquitos try to take us off to their lair to feed. But here in my virtual café the weather is perfect, the breeze is wafting, and the mosquitos have been banished to another universe.

C.S.  Thank you so much for having me. I live in Ohio so the weather is sporadic right now. 

Sherri: You and I met through the Shameless Self-Promo Twitter group. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at the camaraderie I have experienced through this group. It has been a wonderful experience meeting everyone. I am so glad to have this chance to get to you better.

C.S.  Absolutely. I originally created the Shameless Self Promo group as a pay-it-forward system. At first, it was simply retweeting other’s work. It’s grown over the months and evolved into a very nice support system of around 40 authors. 

Sherri: You are an artist as well as an author? You’ve shared some of your artwork in our message group and I have to admit, I was impressed. Do you design your own book covers? They are fantastic.

C.S.  Thank you. Yes, I am an artist. I studied fine arts for years, and as I’ve gotten into writing, I knew I wanted to design book covers. I have created over 50 book covers, and that does include my own covers. 

Sherri: Tell us a little about your books, you write fantasy, is that correct? I know there are different subgenres within the fantasy genre, where do your books fit on the shelf? Do they crossover to other genres as well? I’ve started reading The Lighting Rod, you bring the reader into the world in the very first scene.

C.S. Yes, I write Fantasy. I’ve had trouble really pinpointing where my books fall within the genre, but I think Epic Fantasy fits best. There are definitely across different sub genres. A nice blend of High Fantasy and Coming of Age. I try to break the mold of texture in the genre but creating my own magic system and highly detailing the world, Gnariam. My action sequences are quite different from other authors as well. 

Sherri: I listen to a lot of YouTube videos and even though I don’t write fantasy, I find the writing videos insightful, especially on world building. Do you plan your world and magic system before you write? Are you someone who plots a book before writing it or are you like me and write by the seat of your pants? I have to admit, I have started doing a bit of planning especially as my series has become larger.

C.S.  I knew going into my first book, The Lightning Rod, that I wanted an extensive magic system. So I really created two systems, Elemental Magic, and Elemental Power, which is rare in Gnariam. I had a good idea of how I wanted the first book to go but I didn’t plan much. I planned out a lot more of book 2, The Thunder King. Now, I am writing book 3, The Tempest Fate and I’ve grown into a full on plotter. I spent a month of just planning the entire book. 

Sherri: How long have you been a writer? A published author? How did you get started writing?

C.S.  I’ve been writing for myself on and off for about a decade, little short stories here and there. I really ramped-up my focus to write professionally at the beginning of 2019. I published my first book in July, 2019. 

Sherri: Who has inspired your writing? Do you have authors that you admire and emulate, or did your stories come from somewhere else entirely? I write suspense thrillers with a bit of romance. For me, I base my setting, my imaginary town on my real hometown. My characters are a combination of family and friends, but my plots come from a variety of places from local stories, news and questions of “what if.” How about you? Can you pinpoint where your ideas began? Did you start with a character, a plot or a setting?

C.S. Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle was my first big love for Fantasy. I’ve been a big fantasy fan and nerd since I was young. In 2012, I was deployed to Afghanistan in the Army and we were stationed in an area where the Kunduz Mountain surrounded us. Everyday, I would visualize the mountain with dragons, swords and sorcery. I’ve also always had a tremendous love and awe for Lightning. So I think the idea just grew out of a combination of all of that. 

Sherri: What has been the most difficult for you since becoming a published author? Are you traditionally or indie published?

C.S.  I think the most difficult part for me, in the beginning, was finding readers. The Fantasy genre is vast, and easy to get buried in the masses. I chose to self publish through KDP. 

Sherri: With each book I’ve written and published I’ve learned something new. What have you learned with each book or since becoming published?

C.S.  I’ve learned a lot about the actual writing part of being an author. My prose has gotten tighter and cleaner. My descriptions are not only better, but vary much more. Over all, I think everything I do has consistently gotten better. 

Sherri: You have three books out now, is that correct? What are you working on? Will it be a part of the same world?

C.S. So far I have two books, and I am working on the third. They are all part of the Gnariam’s Fate Saga. I have six books planned for this series. 

Sherri: What, besides entertainment, do you hope your stories bring to readers?

C.S. I hope that, being in the YA Fantasy genre, my stories may inspire young adults, or even younger. I hope that the idea of perseverance can inspire people to push on, take on challenges and fight for what’s right. 

Sherri: Is there anything else you’d like to share? What would you tell a young writer with dreams of becoming a published author?

C.S.  I always like to tell anyone that wishes to become an author to simply try. Write the book you want. If you hit barriers along the way, find a way through it, or around it. Never give up on your dreams. You are never too young or old to become an author. 

Sherri: Thank you for stopping by my virtual café. I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit. If you enjoyed this interview then follow C.S. Ratliff on social media and check out his books, the links are listed below.

Thank you C.S. for sharing your story.

Media Links

Website: https://csratliffauthor.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/csratliffnovel/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c.s.ratliff/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/cs_ratliff

Book Links

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084TT4T29

Posted in Creekside Cafe, interview

Creekside Cafe Chat with Natalie Bartley

Posted on by Sherri
Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Natalie-Bartley/e/B085B66PJ9

Welcome Natalie, it is so good to have you at my virtual café.

Natalie: Thank you Sherri, it’s a pleasure to be here.

Sherri: Natalie and I met through our Twitter group Shameless Self-Promo. I am so glad I got involved with this group. I have met some wonderful people.

Natalie: It has been a very supportive community, and I’m glad I found it.

Sherri: You are an author, poet, and priestess. Do these three connect?

Natalie: In my mind they do. I am a sea priestess by training and with that came a dedication to verse and poetry. But because of my novels, I’ve had to put the poetry on the back burner. I have been able to work some poems into my stories, generally by weaving into the tale by way of a spell, all my stories have magic in them some how.

Sherri: When did you first discover your love of writing?

Natalie: I first started writing poetry in high school, the stories were a bit later. Even though I enjoyed writing stories, I could never finish them A poem was quick (for me anyway), and it was done. I found I liked that, the immediate release from getting that which was in my head, out. When I got into college, the first time around, I started having recurring dreams, very specific, very repetitive dreams. I was forced to start writing them down. Most of the ones from that period (2005-2008) are lost, but a couple from my time in university (2008-2015) survived and I am working on finishing them. That in and of itself is exhilarating. Coming back to a project, realizing what I was trying to convey, and then having the voices return to get me to finish the project.

Sherri: When did you first become a published author?

Natalie: My first book, Love and Pain in Zion, was published on December 13, 2019 on Amazon.

Sherri: Are you indie published or traditionally published? What obstacles did you face when you first began your career as a published author?

Natalie: I’m independently published, through Amazon KDP. My main obstacle is marketing, honestly, I’m not very good at putting myself out there. Just publishing has been a nerve-wracking experience for me. But I’m trying, and I’m getting a few sales here and there. Having a couple more books up certainly helps.

Sherri: What are some of the things you’ve learned along the journey that you wish to tell others who are hoping to become published?

Natalie: Don’t stop. Don’t think you can’t do it. Because you can. Keep pushing forward, because the only person who is truly stopping you from doing what you want, is you.

Sherri: How do you juggle real life with your writing, publishing, and promoting?

Natalie: I haven’t, really. I wrote while I was in class, or working. Not so much that it distracted me from finishing my work or school work, but I wrote whenever I could. And now, with three books up on Amazon, I’m really working on the promotion and marketing aspects. I’ve been a little lucky. My job contract ended while we are in quarantine/lockdown, so I’ve been able to devote more time to my writing and promotion. But it has still affected my family life, I haven’t been as engaged in helping my stepson with his schoolwork, and it’s straining our relationship.

Sherri: Do you have any writing/business tips or tricks that have helped you that you’d be willing to share?

Natalie: Keep a book or a journal with you to scribble down ideas, because I’ve been out someplace and had an amazing idea for how to connect two plot points, and nothing to scribble on. And yes, I know that all phones have a notepad, I never seem to remember that. Then I lose the connection and must struggle later to recall it. Also, no idea is too silly. It may not fit with one story, but it may start off a separate one.

Sherri: Share with us one of your favorite moments as a writer/author.

Natalie: When my first book was officially published, I cried a little. Also, when I received the first author copy of “Love and Pain in Zion!”

My second favourite memory, was when my friend told me that he bought the eBook of Apotheosis, but then stopped reading it when he found out there was a paperback, and ordered the paperback. He put reading it on hold until the physical book came in.

Sherri: If you could turn back time, what would you do differently?

Natalie: I’d focus on finishing my stories earlier, get them published sooner, and focus more heavily on promotion and marketing. I think that if I had devoted more active time to my writing, I’d have more finished, and may be a little more along than I am.

Sherri: What do you have in the works now?

Natalie: The next one to finish, hopefully, is The Domed City (working title), is currently up on Wattpad, along with my other works in progress. I don’t see the end to it though, but I am enjoying the ride that Jillian is taking me on. Also, I would very much like to work on my poetry some more.

If you enjoyed our chat, follow Natalie on social media and check out her books. Her links are below:

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: @NatalieBAuthor

Website: www.nataliebartley.ca

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Natalie-Bartley/e/B085B66PJ9

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/ElysiaWaterchild

Thank you for having me!

Posted in interview

A Warm Friendly Chat with Hannah Meredith

Posted on by Sherri

also known as Merry Simmons

I am thrilled to welcome Hannah Meredith to Creekside Café, my dream job if I ever win the lottery or get a million-dollar movie deal, for now, the café only exists on my website. Hannah and I are both members of Romance Writers of America and our local Heart of Carolina RWA. We met at local meeting and became friends. I have learned as much from riding in a car with her as I have from classes I’ve attended. It’s so good to have you here, Hannah.

Hannah: Thanks. It’s great to be here. Your café is so warm and friendly, it’s a great place for a chat.

Sherri: I have been blessed to have met some wonderful writers and interesting people through RWA and HCRW. You are one of my favorite people. You came into writing romance from a little bit different angle, tell our readers about your interesting path to publishing.

Hannah: Well, first of all, I’m honored to be included in your “favorite people” group. 😊 And I think my wandering journey to publication is pretty typical. Few of us seem to arrive there in a straight line.

Since I was a child, I’ve loved making up stories and have always been an avid reader, but like most of us, these impulses were overshadowed by just living life. I got a couple of degrees in English from SMU, married, taught at the high school and university level for 15 years, and then switched to a career in Real Estate for about 25 more… and then, finally, life slowed down enough that the characters who lived in my head could be heard screaming to get out.

Since I was still working, I figured writing short fiction was the way to go, but the market for short stories was quite limited. The one genre that still had a number of active magazines was science fiction and fantasy. I’d long been an enthusiastic reader of C.J. Cherryh, David Brin, Anne McCaffrey, etc., and so decided to give it a try. This pursuit was greatly advanced when I won the grand prize for the Writers of the Future Contest—which I highly recommend for those writing sf&f. It’s free to enter and has decent cash prizes and an excellent workshop. I went on to sell over a dozen stories to many of the major science fiction and fantasy magazines before switching to romance.

Now, if you add up all the years before I began writing seriously, it’s obvious that I was not a spring chicken when I got around to putting words on paper. But this is one of the joys of most any creative pursuit – age provides no barrier and instead brings a better knowledge of the world. I have a saying painted on my kitchen wall, “Some of the most interesting flowers in the garden are Late Bloomers” and I hope that applies to me.

Sherri: Well, I hope it applies to me as well, since I’m new to publishing and not quite fresh as a daisy myself.

I’ve been a fan of yours for several years. You started writing science fiction but when I first read your work you were already writing historical romance. How did you make the switch to romance?

Hannah: After writing short stories for a while, I wanted to expand my ideas into a fantasy novel. Alas, I must have been channeling George R.R. Martin as I wrote and wrote and wrote. After about 200,000 words, I realized what I had was—a mess. I’ve always read broadly and, consequently, had enjoyed a number of historical romances along the way. I recognized that this was a genre where I was not expected to fill such a large canvas, so decided to give it a try. The transition to romance was not easy, however. The reader expectations were very different, and the contacts I had in ss&f didn’t transfer to another genre. I was now sailing on uncharted waters. In this, the advice of other romance writers was really helpful, and the support and programs offered by the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers were priceless.

Linda Johnson, Hannah Meredith and me at 2019 HCRW Writers Workshop, photo by Donna Steele

Sherri: You started self-publishing early, how and why did you make the decision to self-publish?

Hannah: Submitting to a romance publisher was very different from sending a manuscript to a magazine editor in a genre where I had a track record. Now I had to start from scratch. The process was totally different. There were pitches and log lines and all sorts of dance steps I didn’t know and wasn’t sure I wanted to learn. And then, if I were successful, I would be looking at potentially a year before anything would make it to print. Okay, I am not getting any younger. I simply did not want to go through the process and take the time. Especially when self-publishing had become a viable option.

I also found self-publishing appealing since I’m a bit of a control freak. (I must admit here that my husband of 52 years would probably question the “a bit” part of that last sentence) I like the fact that I have control over what my covers look like. I like the fact that my stories don’t have to conform to what a given publisher thinks readers want rather than how I think a story should be told.  I like that my books will come out on a schedule of my own making.

I happily embraced self-publishing—and I’m glad I did.

Sherri: What changes have you seen in publishing since you first started? Do you think it is easier or more difficult for new writers?

Hannah: There’s been a consolidation in publishing caused by a lot of mergers and, unfortunately, by a number of disappearances of excellent mid-sized and smaller lines. All the Big Five New York publishers are now just a part of some bigger conglomerate. Penguin Random House is owned by Bertelsmann (German) and Pearson (British), Hachette by Lagardere Publishing (French), HarperCollins by News Corp (Australian), Macmillian by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group (German), and Simon & Schuster by CBS (American). Big conglomerates tend to streamline and so the number of editors has been reduced and their work load increased. If it seems to you that many traditionally published books aren’t as carefully edited as they have been in the past, this is the reason. But this has also reduced the number of slots for new authors. The best way to get a “foot in the door” is now through the eBook only imprints and these seldom pay an advance. So, while I have no personal experience, I would say finding a publisher is probably more difficult.  

Sherri: You do it all, write, publish, design your own covers, what advice would you give to other indie-authors who feel they don’t have a lot of money to invest in their first book?

Hannah: Yeah, doing it all is the control thing again. 😊 And I’m also afraid proves that I tend to be frugal. But anyone can put out a book without it costing a lot of money. Just remember that while everything you do yourself saves money, it takes up more of your time and adds to frustration. You need to determine what is important to you.

If you can use MS Word, or its cousin available on Apple products, you can produce a manuscript that can be made into both an eBook and a print file. If you follow Smashwords’ Style Guide, you can upload your manuscript directly to KDP and you should end up with a good product. I use Smashwords to upload all the other venders, and if I’ve followed the Style Guide, it will obviously upload to all the other places just fine. Now, this will be perfectly readable, but it will not have anything “fancy” on it. The plus is it costs you absolutely nothing. You can see what it will look like by emailing the manuscript to your Kindle. If there is anything weird, you didn’t follow the Style Guide. Alternately, you can pay someone to format both mobi and epub files to upload, Or you can use various purchased software, the most lauded being Vellum, which unfortunately for me, only works on a Mac. You’ll be able to personalize these.

You can use the same manuscript to build a print book. KDP has a template or you can make one using just Word, which is my choice. It’s more work, but I can make it prettier.

KDP also has templates on which you can build both an eBook and a print cover. These have worked well for many people. I use Photoshop to make my own. I took a $25 online class on Cover Making and got a Photoshop Elements on sale, so there was some initial outlay, but I’ve made a lot of covers for both myself and others. Now these are not award-winning covers, but I think they look professional. Or at least, professional-enough. If you need costumed people, you can buy them for about $10. For backgrounds I just use one of the stock photo places. I like Deposit Photos because about once a year they run a sale with 100 downloads for $39-49. I just finished the cover for an almost-completed Christmas story (I make covers when my brain is too tired to write) and it cost me $1.47. Yep, it’s made from pieces of three downloaded photos. 😊 If messing with covers is not your thing, there are a lot of sites where you can get a lovely pre-made cover personalized with your information for as low as $50.

One place you do not want to get cheap is with editing. Yeah, we all think we don’t need it, but this is usually the reason we see a bunch of not-ready-for-prime-time books appear from Indy authors. To get a comprehensive edit can be pricy, so you need to train yourself to do decent self-editing. Then also develop a group of “wise readers” who will give you honest feedback on where the book may go off the tracks. I’ve teamed up with some other authors I have confidence in, and we edit each other’s stories. I sometimes trade off book covers for editing. But before I developed this support group, I paid for edits. Again, this is one place to spend money.

The last potential cost is for an ISBN. You can get these for free from both KDP and Smashwords. I however, have purchased my own because I have my own imprint, Singing Spring Press. I think we’re back to control… I bought 100 from Bowker because they’re much cheaper that way. Of course, I’m in my 70’s and still bought 100. I think this is the definition of optimistic. 😊

Sherri: You have recently made a bit of switch into fantasy? What is the biggest challenge you face with changing genres?

Hannah: Changing genre makes finding readers a little trickier, but that’s the only difficulty. Song of the Nightpiper is a medieval-based, fantasy romance, so it was still in the same overall genre. The Christmas story I hope to publish shortly, The Last Gift, is also a fantasy romance.

Sherri: You and a few of you writer friends have been publishing an annual Christmas anthology for several years. Tell us about it. How did it start? How do you manage three other writers?

Hannah: Back in 2014, over lunch before the HCRW meeting, Kate Parker and I decided it would be fun to do a Christmas anthology. We each asked someone we thought would be a good fit, and the group was formed. Thus, Christmas Revels was born. We have just published Christmas Revels VI, and this simply has to be the last. I’m the cover maker and I can’t tweak any more semi-Christmasy colors out of the background file. 😊

I’m very proud of all our volumes. Each of the stories is interesting and unique and covers some aspect of Christmas in Regency England. Here’s a quick look at this year’s content –

            Come Revel with four award-winning authors for Christmas tales filled with laughter, tears,   and love…

Her Ladyship Orders a Christmas Tree – A pagan custom leads to an unexpected attraction.

“The Play’s the Thing…” – Going off-script prompts a surprise ending.

Yuletide Treachery – Two lonely people find a traitor—and love.

A Perfectly Unexpected Christmas – An accident brings redemption and a homecoming.

The heat level varies by story, but this year, totally by accident, all the stories are PG-13. As far as riding herd on three other creative people, most of the time it is delightful… occasionally, not so much. 😊

Sherri: You and Kate Parker, one of your partners in crime helped me get started. Who helped you? Who were your mentors, support or influencers?

Hannah: This is an impossible question since there have been so many who have been helpful along the way. I was lucky to find Kate as a critique partner at HCRW many years ago. Anna Allen, one of the anthology contributors, has exchanged manuscripts with me since we met at Writers of the Future about 17 years ago. She can be quite brutal, but her comments always improve a book. Back in my SF days, I was fortunate to attend four different residential workshops that each lasted at least a week. This is where I had a lot of bad habits thrashed out of me. And the entire HCRW group has always been knowledgeable and supportive.

Sherri: You enjoy traveling, what are some of your favorite places to visit? Have you used any of these as settings for your stories?

Hannah: My husband and I promised ourselves we’d travel when he retired, and we have done so with a vengeance. We’ve been to all the continents except Antarctica. And we’re not really wanting to go there. Too cold! We’ve been to the UK quite a bit, and we’ve spent a lot of time visiting historic houses where my character will live. We’ve also returned twice to Australia and New Zealand, but so far I have no stories for those countries. Almost two years ago we visited India, where I do have pieces of some tales taking place. Our most unusual venue was Mongolia, and I have a crackerjack story idea placed there, but it will probably never exist. I have more stories in my head than I can get written.

Sherri: What are you working on now?

Hannah: I’m trying to get The Last Gift finished so it can come out in November. It would qualify as a contemporary romance except the hero is half Fey, so there is some magic involved. I’d planned on it being light holiday fare, but it is turning out to be bitter sweet and at times tugs at the heart. I’m really liking it. But I could be prejudiced. 😊 I’m hoping to get two historical romances finished for 2020, Fortune’s Promise, a standalone story set in the early Victorian period and The Color of Night which follows Tremaine from Kaleidoscope. Both of these are well on their way. I have three more stories to follow in what will be a Kaleidoscope series, and these will hopefully appear in 2021-22. I’m basically a slow writer.

Sherri: Well, I hate to say good bye, but you know what they say, leave them wanting more. Speaking of more, tell us how we can find you on social media and how can we buy your books?

Hannah: People can find most my books at whatever online source they use. For Amazon, they can go to http://tinyurl.com/q8ywr39 for all of them. I’m a social media dud, but would love to have others visit my oft-ignored Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/HannahMeredithAuthor and my website, http://www.hannahmeredith.com.   

Sherri: Say Good bye Hannah. Let’s have a glass of wine, what do you recommend?

Hannah: Bye! And I like my wine pink…

Posted in Book Review

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter

Posted on by Sherri

by Theodora Goss, narrated by Kate Reading

The monsters’ daughters unite in this fun and fantastic mystery thriller. Based on some of literature’s best classic horror and sci-fi stories, The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter brings together a band of misfits, the daughters of some of the most infamous heroes and villains of all time: Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein. They team up with the legendary Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to solve a gruesome series of murders.

Together these women uncover a secret scientific society of immoral and power-crazed scientists. It isn’t always easy to see the true monsters in the light of day.

These strong and diverse female characters offer a different point of view on stories we all know so well. Ms. Goss has blended a little romance with bits of mystery and intrigue, fantasy and thriller for a delightful story of friendship and hope.

This is my first story by Theodora Goss but I am sure, it will not be my last.