A New Journey

I sat for countless hours writing and rewriting the second book, By the Light of the Moon, in my young adult series until I realized that I needed to step away from the computer.  Writers block was drowning me.  In a desperate attempt to reach the surface for air another idea came to me for a new adult romance.  I thought "Hey, other writers write in different genres so why can't I?"  So now I am currently working on my first book in my new adult series called Say Yes.  I am very excited about this new journey I am taking.  I read somewhere that a way to over come writers block is write a completely different story.  So I am hoping through writing my new adult romance stories I will be able to unleash more of the witch drama of Lexi Reed.  

Interview of author Adam Dreece

I am blessed to have gotten to know Adam from my interactions with him on Twitter.  Not only is he a talented writer, he is also a wonderful mentor.  Adam has helped me more than he realizes and I truly appreciate his time and advice.  I recently finished reading book 1 in his The Yellow Hoods series, Along came a Wolf.   Words can't express how talented he is.  I love the way his mind works.   As soon as my daughter catches up on the books she's reading I would love for her to read Adam's series.   Before reading his book I didn't really know the term SteamPunk and Along came the Wolf made me long for the simpler times.  Book 2 Breadcrumb Trail is on my list of books to read next.

1. Many authors develop an interest in writing at a young age. What first sparked you interest in writing?

I loved being able to pull something out of my mind and put it into someone else's. I could share an experience, an idea, a feeling with them and I was hooked.

2. What difficulties and challenges (if any)  have you faced as a writer?

Time and energy management is the biggest one. I have a full time job that is very demanding, I have my family with three kids, and I've got a couple of permanent conditions that zap my energy on a regular basis (chronic pain, severe asthma, rib-cage tissue inflammation). Now, with the launch of book 2, I have a company managing a lot of the promotion for my books, which requires a significant amount of my time (in a good way) but it means further dividing my time.

3. Would you please tell us about the premise of your Yellow Hood series? How did you come up with the idea?

The idea really stems from a story I'd made up for my daughter one night, and combined with an idea I had from when I sing The Muffin Man to my son when he's going to bed. 

The Yellow Hoods takes place in a world that is in an equivalent to our late 1750s-1800s. The steam engine plans have just been drafted, and it, along with other inventions, will take that world on a different course than our world went on. The inventors responsible for this, as well as the steam engine plans themselves are incorporated into the tale. It also incorporates some elements of fairy-tale but from the perspective that Ring-around-the-rosy was about the real world black plague, and therefore I've incorporated other rhymes and tales from the perspective of 'what real world events could they have been based on?'

Ultimately, it's a team adventure series with three teens at the heart of it, and two other generations of characters involved (20s-mid thirties, 50+).

4. How many books do you have planned for the series?

I have planned for The Yellow Hoods to be a five book series (watch me reading this when I'm writing the REAL finale, in book 7), and then I plan to jump 10 years and write about the Steampunk world that's been created.

I also have several side-books sketched out, one about the Cochon brothers that would take place between books 1 and 2, and another that would take place later on. I'm not sure if I'm going to write those, but they're there in the background.

5. Do you have a favorite character (of your own) that tugs at your heart and why?

I get asked this question on a regular basis, and from book 1 I'd say no. As soon as I'd start to answer one, I'd realize I'd want to change my answer. From the new characters I introduced in book 2, Marcus Pieman edges o

6.  Many authors share their ideas with friends, family and other authors. With whom do you share your ideas?

My daughter and my wife are the ones that I share things with. Of the two of them, my daughter is really the one that I discuss the most with.

7.  What are you currently working on?

Book 3 - All the King's Men. It's due to the editor January 2nd and planned to be released mid-April at CalgaryExpo'15.

8. What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

Great conversation, a good movie or thinking. I also really enjoy answering emails from people with questions about writing or who are stuck, and keeping up with my tweeps on Twitter.

9. Would you ever branch out a write about a different genre?

Yes, absolutely. I actually have a personal memoir I need to finish editing and get out, as well as a series of non-fiction books related to what I do in my full-time life. From a fiction perspective, I'd broaden to other forms of science fiction but I'm not really interested in writing romance or mystery at this time.

10. How do you deal with procrastination?

Can I get to this question later?

In all seriousness, I think of it as procrastinating later. If there something that I really don't want to deal with, I usually make myself knuckle down and get it off my plate and out of my mind.

11. Who or what inspired you to write this series?My daughter inspired me to write Along Came a Wolf, and my son inspired me with the world of the Muffin Men. As of yet, fans of The Yellow Hoods won't know who the Muffin Men are, but they will. There's a reason why I whistle the Muffin Man tune regularly.

12. What are you currently reading?

I recently finished Flashboys, and am now listening to the audiobook of Zero to One by Blake Masters and Peter Thiel. It's about startups and making things that are different. As an author-preneur, I don't want to just make SOME MORE books and be like everyone else. I want to introduce great ideas from other knowledge domains to push my thinking.

Adam Dreece

Author of emergent Steampunk series  The Yellow Hoods

Young Adult written for everyone

Book 1 - Along Came a Wolf at Amazon, Amazon.ca, Kobo, Smashwords, The Yellow Hoods Store

Book 2 - Breadcrumb Trail at Amazon, Amazon,.ca,  Kobo, Smashwords, The Yellow Hoods Store

3 Chapter free samples available

Blog: AdamDreece.com

Twitter: @AdamDreece

Interview of author Jason Cantrell

I have met some awesome as well as talented people on Twitter and one of those creative people is fellow author Jason Cantrell.  Jason has written a short story called Radiance (Arcana Revived) as well as Manifestation: Arcana Revived Volume One.  Both of these books are available on Amazon.  His imagination takes you on a wonderful and intense journey.   I am excited to introduce to all of you Jason Cantrell.

1. Many authors develop an interest in writing at a young age. What first sparked you interest in writing?

When I was in fifth grade, our teacher gave my class a creative writing assignment. We were given the first page of a haunted house-style horror story, which set the scene and introduced elements that we could play off of in our writing. Each student then had to continue the story from there, coming up with their own twists and turns. Most of the other students wrote about a page. I immersed myself in the project and wrote a gripping 7-page story with action, excitement, secret passages, and a twist ending. I had so much fun that I asked the teacher for another assignment.

After that, I spent my teenage years writing short stories based on my Dungeons & Dragons adventures. Eventually this led to me taking creative writing classes in college. Today, I have a bachelor's degree in Writing Arts from Rowan University, and I'll be earning my Master's in Writing in the spring of 2015.

2. What difficulties and challenges (if any)  have you faced as a writer?

Probably my biggest challenge is overcoming my issues with self-esteem and doubt. Like most writers I know, I tend to be plagued by worries about whether my work will ever be successful. On the other hand, there's also times that I'm a raging narcissist who is convinced that I've written solid gold. So, it swings to both extremes.

3. Would you please tell us about the premise of

​Radiance​

​ and Manifestation​

? How did you come up with the idea?

Manifestation introduces a world where magic has not existed for centuries. The story begins with the rebirth of magic, but with unpredictable consequences. The people manifesting these arcane powers have no idea where they came from, how to control them, or how to protect against them. Gabby Palladino, the main protagonist, finds herself trapped in a city that suffers an unexplained catastrophe, and she has to struggle to survive while trying to figure out why these supernatural events are occurring and why she's been caught in the middle.

Radiance is an independent short story set in the same world, taking place just after the climax of Manifestation. It provides a more up-close-and-personal look at one of the people who has been altered by these magical forces. Maria Vasquez finds herself transformed when she is touched by mystical light and she manifests an arcane power of her own.

I developed the idea for this series after seeing a number of post-apocalyptic fantasy stories that introduce a world years or centuries after a supernatural change. What all of these stories usually have in common is that the changes to the world and the rebirth of magical abilities are always part of the history and back story. I wanted to write a series that shows the initial changes that come to the world and guides the reader through the entire transformation.

4. How many books do you have planned for the

​Manifestation: Arcana Revived ​

series?

The series will consist of a number of sub-series, as well as short stories, poems, and a novella. Manifestation is the first book of Series One, which will be a six-volume series that shows the rebirth of magic, the conflicts that erupt as a result of these arcane powers, and the changes that take place in the world. The second series will then focus on the world after the change as people adapt to the new world and the supernatural forces that have altered it. Each future series after that will focus on a new, self-contained story arc that explores different aspects of the setting.

The short stories, starting with Radiance, are being released one at a time as eBooks. Eventually they will be compiled into a short story collection that will be available in paperback and eBook. A poetry collection, with poems inspired by the lives of the characters and the struggles they go through, will also be released in the future. At least one independent novella is planned with its own individual plot, separate from the main story arcs but still fitting within the world of the Arcana Revived series.

5. Do you have a favorite character (of your own) that tugs at your heart and why?

It's hard to pick favorites, but the one who "tugs at my heart" most of all is Gabby Palladino. She's a gentle soul, a poet, and a girl who bears an impossible burden. Throughout the series she grows and changes, starting off as a frightened high school student caught in circumstances beyond her control or understanding, and eventually becoming something much more. But that's a story for the sequels.

6.  Many authors share their ideas with friends, family and other authors. With whom do you share your ideas?

I'll talk to anyone and everyone about my ideas, but my fellow grad students in Rowan University's Master's in Writing program are the ones I go to most often. Many of them have read various versions of my works-in-progress, especially since many of them were written as part of my class assignments.

7.  What are you currently working on?

I'm in the middle of revising Volume Two, Contamination, which will be released in 2015. I'm also prepping to begin Volume Six, currently untitled, which will be written for the 2014 NaNoWriMo.

8. When do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

Reading, video games, Star Trek, Doctor Who, webcomics, and a variety of other aspects of geek culture. I'm also a big fan of steampunk in all of its forms.

9. Would you ever branch out a write about a different genre?

I frequently write in other genres for either school assignments or freelance ghostwriting jobs. I've dabbled in romance, mystery, sci fi, and contemporary fiction. Though if I were ever to write a serious project of my own, such as a contemporary novel with no supernatural elements, I'd still be able to fit it in with the Arcana Revived world by making it a prequel. For example, three of the short stories I mentioned that will be included in the collection are "origin stories" that show the backgrounds of some of the major characters, before the rebirth of magic. Those stories deal with psychology, family drama, and romance, each addressed using very different genre conventions than the rest of the urban fantasy series.

10. How do you deal with procrastination?

I put it off until I can't help it anymore, then I procrastinate as much as I want.

11. Who or what inspired you to write th

​ese stories​

?

The stories themselves were mostly inspired by the two main characters, Gabby Palladino and Tock Zipporah. I had originally written both of them in separate, independent short stories on collaborative writing sites. I felt like they had a lot more potential for growth and development than they ever achieved in those stories, so I decided to put them together in a novel and see what happened.

12. What are you currently reading?

At the moment, New Life and New Civilizations, Exploring Star Trek Comics. It's a collection of analytical essays that explore the often-ignored world of Star Trek comic books, newspaper comics, and even coloring books, all of which are fascinating contributions to the Star Trek franchise. The book contains essays from a variety of authors with experience with the Star Trek franchise, and it was edited by Joseph F. Berenato.

Manifestation is available in paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon. You can also get eBook versions of both Manifestation and Radiance on Amazon Kindle. You can also checkout ArcanaRevived.com for updates on the latest book releases.

You can find Jason on his blog, Facebook, Goodreads, or on Twitter @CantrellJason.

What type of writer are you?

The most challenging aspect of writing that I face is developing the story/character plot.

  Some writers create a complete outline for each chapter, each character and knows what will happen in the story (including the subplots) from the beginning all the way to the end.  These writers are known as Plotters. 

Then  you have your Pantser writers.  These writers just sit down and type out their story by the seat of their pants.  They only have a small idea on what they would like to happen in the story, but for the most part they write whatever pops into their mind. 

Lastly there's the Plantser writer.  This type of writer is both a plotter and a pantser.  They make rough notes on what they would like to see happen in the story as well as any changes to the characters.  These writers start writing with a general idea while following their notes to keep them on track.

I am a plantser writer.  I keep a notepad near by as well as a notepad on my phone.  As an idea comes to me I jot them down.  When it is time for me to write, I glance at my notes, sit in front of my laptop and write whatever flows into my thoughts.  I have a hard time plotting out a complete outline since my creative mind constantly shifts directions.  It took me a long time to accept what type of writer I am.  I always thought because I didn't create an outline I was doing something wrong and shouldn't follow my dream.  But I eventually got over that realizing that just like anything in life, it takes all kinds.  Some of the best writers fall into each of these categories.

So the question is, what type of writer are you?

What I've learned so far about promoting my book

I see on twitter all of the time different people offering to promote your book for a fee.  Some may offer book promotions for just $10 while others want more with the promise of sharing your book with all of their twitter and facebook followers.  I am here to tell  you to save your money and invest it into something worthy like a book cover or an editor.

I did pay a couple of people/groups to promote my book on twitter and while they did what they promised, I gained nothing from it.  Yes I suppose more people saw my book but I do not have anything to show for it except for money that could have been spent on better things, like purchase a copy of Scrivener.

I have made my share of mistakes and I have learned the hard way what works and what doesn't--still learning.  If you are proud of your book scream it from the roof tops and don't pay anyone to do that for you.  Engage with people on twitter and there's also twitter groups that will retweet your post for free.  GoodReads has tons of groups you can join for discussions, to engage with other readers as well as promote, & lets not forget about cross promotions.  You will be amazed at how many authors will become your biggest fan since they are readers too.

By the light of the moon

I have been working feverishly on book 2 of my Lexi Reed series called By the light of the moon.  I thought I would give you a little glimpse of what this book will be about.

Ever since Lexi has returned to Melba she has been going through some changes.  She can feel an evil lurking about wanting to control her.  Lexi's fights it as much as she can but this takes a toll on her and she is moody and has a bad attitude.  Yes some of this is teenage blues but the majority of it is the madness she feels within in her, growing.  Everyone in her coven avoids her when the can and walks on egg shells for fear she may snap and turn into the fiery creature they are all afraid of.  Including Kevin.  Right when Lexi needed him most, he breaks up with her.  He tells her he can't take anymore of her awful and unpredictable attitude and they need to stop seeing each other for a while. 

On one of her sleepless nights, she has a nightmare of a beast with glowing amber eyes chasing her repeating "I have something to tell you."   She quickly learns when she wakes up that her nightmare was real.  Later that day when the sun is shining, she heads to her special spot and gives her mind a break.  A beautiful appears before her and the closer it gets to her, it turns into a cute boy her age.  He is a Wayfarer witch named Jonathan.  Jonathan was the creature that haunted her real life dream in the attempt to warn her that Leticia is in limbo and wasn't dead, and that Rosella was coming to her town.

Leticia's soul has been floating in limbo between the mortal world and the immortal world, her evil spirit however latched on to Lexi while she was out of her body saving Kevin.  The evil that Lexi has been desperately trying to fight won't disappear until she completely destroys Leticia once and for all.  Sounds simple right?  In order for her to accomplish this, she needs to be out of her body to face Leticia's soul, only Leticia knows that if Lexi is out of her body for more than five minutes, she will die.

Rosella still wants everything that Lexi has and will stop at nothing to gain it all.  She disguised herself as a gorgeous teenage girl and using magic glamors the entire town to fall head over heels for her.  Starting with Kevin.  With magic comes with a price and using magic to make someone fall in love with you comes with the biggest price of all--isolation for the rest of ones life in the underworld. 

Jonathan and Lexi start becoming close and with Rosella out of the way and her nasty spell broken, Kevin is brought back into reality.  He now needs to fight for Lexi's attention.  Both boys have fallen for her and she doesn't know what to do--be with the one that her amulet said is her perfect match or be with the one that makes her heart beat rapidly.

TGIF!

I am super glad today is Friday!  Although, my Friday has started out pretty stressful.  First when I started to pull out of my driveway, I witnessed my dog jumping over my fence!  I told her bad dog all the way back to the yard.  She's still a puppy (she's big) but still a puppy and can't be trusted staying inside all day.  I asked my neighbor to keep an eye on her only to find out half way to work, she was trying to jump back into our yard.  Ugh this doggie!  So because of all of these my daughter beings to worry (she's 9 and this is her dog) and that makes me stress a little. 

Then when I get to work drama happens.  Now, I will gladly write about drama for your amusement and entertainment but I can't stand to be a part of it.

Now I am going to turn my Friday around to a brighter one, after all the weekend is here!!!  We are taking my daughter to a water park on tomorrow and on Sunday I will be working on By the light of the moon.  See, the silver lining awaits :-)  Plus...I have an idea for another book thanks to my stressful encounters this morning.  Hmmm things are already looking up :-)