I was interviewed by Jackie Pantello about my book, Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest on Brevard Notes, a local television show last week. Below is a video of the interview. I hope you enjoy!
Blog Tour Stop: 13 Quotes from Zaria Fierce
Today I’m having fun at Jaclyn’s blog, Living in a World of Book Quotes, talking about 13 quotes from Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest. Which one is your favorite?
Blog Tour Stop: Beach Bound Books and a Checklist for Self-Publishing
I’m over with Stacie at Beach Bound Books sharing a detailed checklist for those who want to self-publish. Some great tips for traditionally published authors too – including information about author websites, book tours, and audio books.
Blog Tour Stop: What Sucks the Most about Editing Your Book
I’m over at I Smell Sheep talking about malapropisms. Do you know what they are?
Q: Who or what is your muse at the moment?
A: A lot of things inspire me. When writing Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest for instance I was inspired by John Bauer’s art, a pair of troll statues from Slovakia, a recent trip to Europe, a conversation with coworkers, several grammar blogs, and a previous start for the book which perfectly described the main character.
Q: What makes a writer great?
A: The same things that make a book great. It’s subjective. So for me a great writer wants to write and loves to be immersed in their stories. I think that passion for storytelling shines through and is felt by the reader.
Blog Tour Stop: 6 Things to See and Do in Norway
Join me at Sandra’s blog Japan Reviewer for a look at some of the things I would want to do on a vacation to Norway. I could always use more ideas so be sure to comment and add to the list!
Character Casting the Fierce Family
I bet you’re a lot like me when you read a book or book series. You develop a mental picture of the character and sometimes cast famous people to play the role of your favorite characters. It’s fun to do and it’s fun to compare notes… especially against the author of the book or if the book is ever picked up to be produced as a motion picture. I’m sharing my vision of the Fierce family with Zaria, Merry, and Colonel. Let me know what you think!
Zendaya as Zaria Fierce:
She’s the perfect blend of cute and sassy.
Rani Mukherjee as Meredith “Merry” Fierce:
She’s warm, friendly, and happy.
Tyson Beckford as Colonel Fierce:
He’s handsome, strong, and wonderful.
How do you visualize the characters? Who would you cast for the role of Zaria, Merry, and Colonel Fierce?
Blog Tour Stop: Formatting for the Print Book!
Join me at I Heart Reading to discover and learn 10 print book formatting tips that will save your bacon! Being a technical publications librarian has its uses! 😉
The Hardest Part about Writing a Book
In a word? Starting.
Starting is the absolute hardest part about writing a book. Everything after that is easy, even if parts can be frustrating or annoying.
So how do you start a book?
Give yourself permission. You don’t need permission from anyone else. Just yourself. When you’ve done that, sit down and write… and write… and write. Even if you trash it later and start over, you have to write. Without the words there is no story to share.
For me, I wanted to write Zaria’s story for a while. I knew Zaria Fierce as a character, but I didn’t know her story. I did a lot of world building for a school of misfit fairy tale children and archived it all, including the prologue and first chapter. Then I wrote her in a Beauty and Beast fairy tale setting where her kingdom was under attack. Hm… not that plot either. So I put those chapters aside.
What I did next was write about Zaria. I wrote her description, her character, and her background. She became a younger character at age 12 instead of age 16. It was amazing how quick it poured out of me. But I hesitated to keep going… I had two previous false starts. All I had now was Zaria. Who was the villain? What was the plot?
I set the story aside for a few months and returned to it when I found the villain. I ruminated about him for a long time. What was his name? What was his goal? Would he have powers and what would they be? When the villain came to me, he arrived fully form as a particularly nasty river-troll with an agenda. When I had Olaf the world built itself, but I would never have found the villain without having Zaria fleshed out.
It doesn’t matter where you start or how you arrive at your story. What matters is that you tell it.
Blog Tour Stop: Interview with Eoghan Kerrigan (Illustrator) Part 1
Eoghan and I are over at Sanovia’s blog Creatyve Books. This is part one of three. Join us to learn how Eoghan got into illustration and graphic design, designs characters, a typical day illustrating, and more.
Blog Tour Stop: Character Interview with Zaria Fierce
I’m over at my college roommate’s blog interviewing Zaria about her recent move to Norway, her favorite books, and trolls. Join us at Little Pink Blog!
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