Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?
Is it part of a series?
Eden: The Eighth Day is the first of a series of books that sets the stage for a re-telling of the story of creation. The Eighth Day introduces the final empire, Mendacia, the only place to survive a divine curse that wiped out civilisation. It is ruled by a tyrant emperor and his hoard of demon slaves who terrorise the citizens.
Eden: The Eighth Day is the first of a series of books that sets the stage for a re-telling of the story of creation. The Eighth Day introduces the final empire, Mendacia, the only place to survive a divine curse that wiped out civilisation. It is ruled by a tyrant emperor and his hoard of demon slaves who terrorise the citizens.
Help for the empire comes
from an unlikely source; Vita Dulcas, who, hated by the citizens for her
suspected witchcraft, has her work cut out to help them. However, with the aid
of her lost love and some more unlikely sources around the palace, she soon learns
she has more power than she could ever imagine.Do you have a favorite character?
My favorite character has to
be Minerva. She is an eccentric elderly lady who says what she thinks and feels
no fear. I’d like to think when I grow old I would behave in as much as an
unruly way as she does.
Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?
I tried it, yes, but was
unsuccessful. To be honest, as a new author I was never expecting to receive
representation but despite the rejection, the level of positive feedback I
received on my writing and the story encouraged me to continue with
publication. In the end I decided to go with a self-publishing company,
Matador, who have been everything and more than I could have wished for.
What factors influenced your decision to self-publish your book(s)?
Like I mentioned above, I
was spurred on my some of the positive feedback I received on my manuscript
from agents but also other authors too.
Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?
I used to use an online critique group which was helpful, but I also found it very difficult as a novice author. It is difficult, but necessary to have your book pulled apart by other authors. Some are great and really kind in their suggestions, but without receiving some level of criticism I would have never improved my novel to the standard that it is currently at. The critique group definitely helped me to develop a tougher skin.
Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?
I used to use an online critique group which was helpful, but I also found it very difficult as a novice author. It is difficult, but necessary to have your book pulled apart by other authors. Some are great and really kind in their suggestions, but without receiving some level of criticism I would have never improved my novel to the standard that it is currently at. The critique group definitely helped me to develop a tougher skin.
What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?
I like silence when I’m
writing. I like to be in the characters world and live life as they are. To do
this I don’t like to have any external interruptions to my process. I feel like
you have to be in there with them to be able to express their hopes and fears
and to make the characters as life-like as possible.
Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
I have a post-it story board
which helps to keep me on track and I fill notebook after notebook with ideas,
but never in an organized fashion. I’m not the type of person who could sit
down and plan an entire novel before I start writing it. I tend to add notes as
I go along as this helps keep my mind sharp and focused.
Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?
My manuscript has actually received three edits. I was fairly new to the process so I didn’t really know what to go for. Initially I had a basic edit with a reputable firm who corrected my grammar and punctuation. I realized after I received some critiques that it needed more than that so I sought out another editor off a website to try and save some money. This was a big mistake. I had to pay money up-front and the edit was appalling. The editor never even asked for the remainder of the money, so I guess they knew the edit was no good. Although it costs more, I would definitely recommend going with a reputable firm. That’s what I ended up doing with the self-publishing company I’m currently with and I’m finally happy with the standard of the novel.
Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?
My manuscript has actually received three edits. I was fairly new to the process so I didn’t really know what to go for. Initially I had a basic edit with a reputable firm who corrected my grammar and punctuation. I realized after I received some critiques that it needed more than that so I sought out another editor off a website to try and save some money. This was a big mistake. I had to pay money up-front and the edit was appalling. The editor never even asked for the remainder of the money, so I guess they knew the edit was no good. Although it costs more, I would definitely recommend going with a reputable firm. That’s what I ended up doing with the self-publishing company I’m currently with and I’m finally happy with the standard of the novel.
What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey?
What a difficult world
self-publishing is. Originally I had planned on releasing it myself on kindle,
which I tried but I really struggled with the marketing. I spent hours going
down every avenue I could think of to drum up some interest but the problems I
encountered were that all the free marketing avenues were crammed with other
authors with the same ideas, but no potential readers. This is why I decided to
approach the experts. I chose goddess fish because of a solid reputation for
blog tours, and Matador publishing because they were well-established and
reputable. If you know that writing is what you want to do, it’s best to do it
properly and work with people who are experts.
Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?
BLURB:
Welcome to
Mendacia; The city of lies. Saved from a divine apocalypse, its citizens now
starve. They are trapped beneath a fire-lit sky and surrounded by a molten
river, all to pay for the sins of their ancestors.
The gods cursed the original generation with eternal life so that their skin would rot and their pain would always remind them of their own horrific crimes. These demons now serve the tyrant emperor, Malum Dolus who uses them to terrorise the citizens, all in the name of maintaining order.
One woman, Vita Dulcas has had enough of his evil ways, but what could she possibly do to help the citizens? They love Malum and hate her, suspecting her of witchcraft after her survival of deadly snake bites. All she can do is stay invisible. That is, until she finds herself backed into a corner and all she can do is fight. Suddenly, she has more power than she could have ever imagined and it becomes clear she is Mendacia’s last hope.
If only she could make the citizens see the truth.
Eden: The Eighth Day will
be $0.99 during the tour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I was brought up in a small
country village in North Yorkshire, UK. I had always been brought up to work hard
and to push myself, skills which came in useful for writing the Eighth Day. I
suppose it also helped that I’ve always been a huge bookworm with a love of all
things fantasy and all things romance. Pride and Prejudice is my all-time
favourite.
Granted those genres are
miles apart but I find something incredibly romantic about escaping to a world
that has been lovingly created by an author. I enjoy trying to connect with
them through their imagination, wondering where they were and what they were
doing when they developed such magical worlds.
Writing my own novel was the
best experience I’ve ever had career wise, and it makes the struggles I have
faced in my past careers all worth the while.
After losing my career as a
nurse following a car accident, I began a promising psychology career, even
winning an award for my undergraduate degree. However, I became a single parent
three years ago and sacrificed another dream to set up a laundry and ironing
business, which enabled me to be at home with my son.
Despite many commitments, a
further relationship breakdown and 3 family bereavements, I was determined to
develop a rewarding career and make my little man proud.
That’s when I decided to
begin a writing career and I developed the Eden Saga. Such a path enabled me to
stay at home and give him all the extra support he needed whilst also having
something for myself.
I’m now the happiest I’ve
ever been, I’m closer to my son than ever and I’ve finally released my novel as
an e-book which is available on all major platforms.
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/sallymitchellwriter
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sallymitchell17
Personal blog: https://sallymitchellwriter.wordpress.com/
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