Behind the Book is an author Q&A about the process they took to write and publish their novel, together with information about the book and where readers can buy or find out more.
This book is the finale in the Cronus Chronicles series. I will place links for the earlier books in this series at the end of the post. Each interview covers different writing tips and info about the series.
How long did it take you to write this book once you had the idea?
The idea of Gabe’s story came in flashes, but once I finished writing Abby’s and Seth’s stories, Gabe’s story took about six or seven months to write the first draft. Another month or two to rewrite. I’d say the process from drafting through publication took sixteen months.
This book was written after you lost your dad – was it a therapeutic outlet? I notice that it deals with death.
This book explores my grief to some extent, or the ways in which suppressed grief has power over us. Writing Gabe’s story allowed me to process the loss of my father and my own pain. In many ways, I felt stuck like Gabe. When he walks into that childhood fort, I felt like I completely understood his need to hide there, to face death; though Gabe deals with suicide ideation, I think each of us face the symbolic death of self when we face the pain of loss, and then the subsequent rebirth when we find our way out of it. I’m not sure if that makes sense?
Tell me about the character Gabe?
Gabe has faced immense bullying his entire high school career; it’s called The Freak Challenge, and the object is to get Gabe to fight back. Writer of poetry and lover of Abby, he hasn’t fought back because he knows who started the challenge—Seth—and he’s biding his time to get back at his former best friend for the betrayal. His therapist has tried to help him. His adoptive parents have helped him. Even Abby, now, has helped him, but lingering over his head is the knowledge of his real parents and his fear of becoming them. When things spirals out of control and Seth’s life is on the line, Gabe crashes and feels like everything that’s happened is his fault, the fault of the DNA he carries in his body, and that the only way to save everyone else from the monster he’s becoming is to end it.
Each book is a different character from the series story. What inspired these characters?
You’ll see the parallels with the three characters in the Twilight series. Abby-Bella, Seth-Jacob, and Gabe-Edward (though an awesome reader thought Seth and Gabe were reversed which I love too). When I rewrote the books, Abby was inspired by the emergence of Hawaiian culture in my island home. The exploration of how one’s culture informs identity. Seth, as a villain, was inspired by the idea that even the villain has a story. That those either-or dichotomies are often flawed because as people we are a million variations of color. Finally, Gabe was inspired by my daughter who has struggled with mental health. When I read the statistics about males and sucicide rates, I was so saddened, I knew I wanted to explore this further.
When you finished the series you gave it a new look. What was it like relaunching a book and redesigning the covers?
It was hard work (and costly) but I’m so glad I did it. I am so proud of how they turned out, and they are so much more in line with how I envisioned them in the redesign as opposed to the original covers (which I liked too). It’s a lot of work. Finding a cover designer, formatting, learning the ins and outs of publishing in a more hands on way. I don’t think it’s probably a path for everyone, but I’ve enjoyed the process.
Do you design the covers yourself or use a designer?
I hired a cover designer. Her name is Sara Oliver (https://saraoliverdesign.com) and I think she’s amazing. I love working with her.
Can you share a snippet of the book?
Would love to . . . Though I’m not sure what to share. Here’s one of Gabe’s poems:
Vomit up the monster.
It plays with blocks,
Stacking and rearranging them
Around holes in my heart.
I’m the butt of a joke;
It’s laughing, wide mouthed,
And kicks – cracking what’s already damaged.
The monster crawls back inside
To be vomited another day.
-by Gabe
Excerpt from The Bones of Who We Are by CL Walters
Where can we go to discover more about you and your books?
My books can be found on any of your favorite platforms. I would always recommend going to your independent bookstore and you can always request them to bring it in.
For some reason I wasn’t aware book 2 was out and the crazy thing is, it was out first!
Am I right in thinking this book was originally published as a standalone, and was your first indie book?
Yes! The Ugly Truth started as a stand alone and was my first indie book. The problem was, I was never happy with the ending. It felt trite and over-simplified and I couldn’t seem to figure out how to fix it. It wasn’t until two years later that I decided to finish the series and I started on Swimming Sideways. When that book was finished, I realized I’d written them out of order and they were connected. It allowed me to go back to The Ugly Truth and write the ending which finally worked.
I notice there is a theme of truth and lies in your series, was this intentional?
I don’t know that I made a conscious decision to explore truth and lies initially, but one of the big character flaws of Seth was that he was hiding his truth in lies. Abby faces the same thing. Gabe isn’t lying so much as just hiding. So perhaps the broader theme is how we hide our true selves and the means we do that because we’re afraid or insecure or whatever reason creates that need to hide.
Which character do you relate to most?
Each of them, I think, in some ways. Abby’s “good girl” position; Seth’s need to project he’s got it all together when he doesn’t; Gabe’s sensitivity. I think the one I aspire to be like is the secondary character Dale in Gabe’s, The Bones of Who We Are. I think our stories reflect lots of pieces of us.
Tell me about the main character Seth?
Seth is a “it” guy at his high school, but he knows he doesn’t deserve it. He’s done some awful things to people including his once best friend, Gabe, by instigating “the Freak Challenge” even if he didn’t know it would blow up like it did. Worse yet, he doesn’t come forward to fix it because he’s too afraid. And that’s always been his problem: he’s afraid. At home, where no one knows, his family faces the rage of an alcoholic father, and Seth often bears the brunt of that anger. This story, however, is told through Seth’s memories, because he’s woken up as a spirit outside of his body which is lying in a coma in a hospital bed, and he doesn’t remember how he got there.
Where did the idea for this novel come from.
When I first started writing this story 15 plus years ago, it was a paranormal story. Abby and Seth were Earth guardians and Gabe was a Fallen Angel. It was initially inspired by Twilight because I was so upset with how Meyers had treated the characters. About the time I finished the first installment and began the query process, the book Fallen by Lauren Kate came out and then Hush Hush and suddenly the market was saturated. At the end of that first book, I’d ended it with Seth being dragged into a hell-like place by a demon named Amaros but I’d put the series away because I couldn’t find an agent, but Seth kept talking to me. “You’ve left me down here,” he’d say. “You’ve left me in hell.” So in 2015 I decided to approach his book as a stand alone and changed it to a YA Contemporary with speculative fiction elements. But as I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t get that ending to work!
How did you come up with your publishing name – Mixed Plate Press?
In Hawaiʻi, where I live and write, a mixed plate (also called a plate lunch) is a little bit of everything —meat, rice, salad—and all of it represents the “local flavor” of the islands. When I came up with the name for my independent imprint business, I wanted to go for that idea of a Mixed Plate Press title being representative of “many flavors” and something for everyone. That more than just the mainstream voices could be represented as a part of the publishing platform even if they’re niche.
Can you share a snippet of the book?
Definitely!
Here’s the first chapter of The Ugly Truth:
The Truth of Being Alive… Well, Kind of…
When I become conscious of myself, the way I am now, it isn’t like the idea of waking. I’m stretched thin, not exactly in the physical world or in the spiritual one, but somehow in between. My physical body is locked, but my spirit, what I guess I am now, moves beyond the confines of my bone, muscle and skin. I hover like a breeze in the flutter of a curtain. I dart back and forth between people and follow them while my physical body remains where it is, a shell that once housed me. I don’t know how I got here.
Time doesn’t function like it once did. This in-between layer seems to have collapsed into the slow motion of time lapse. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but the longer I am, bits and pieces flash like images spliced together and sound bites in vignettes.
Darkness.
The wail of the siren.
Words: “Stay with us, Seth.”
The wail of a woman (I think she is my mother).
Bright lights.
Beeps and blips of equipment speaking.
Drip.
“Swelling.”
“Induced coma.”
Doctors.
Whir.
Now.
I don’t think it has been very long. If I use the emotion of the woman I think is my mother’s gusts of grief as a measure, this seems recent.
A man appears in the doorway of the room. A haze of familiarity lingers in my consciousness. I think he is my father. Clues: he isn’t dressed like a doctor or a nurse and instead is in worn jeans and a button-up flannel over a white t-shirt. Add to that his hesitation at the door when he sees my body. His face is drawn, pale and heavy with the burden of emotion. I watch him take in the scene from the doorway and imagine how he might see the space from my corner of the room.
It’s a plain room, clean and sterile, a blanket the color of the sky over my physical body. My dark hair looks strange against the pillow, a stark contrast to the whiteness of the bed. The paleness of my face that seems to blend into everything else aside from the beautiful blue and purple bruises, blooming flowers, on my face and the dark cuts that crisscross my forehead. A tube protrudes from my mouth, tubes from my arms, and the loud click and whir of the machine causes my chest to rise and fall with a regular rhythm like a ticking clock.
The woman, her back to the man, holds my hand. “Seth. Honey. Momma’s here,” she says through tears.
That’s a first.
This is a thought which shocks me, a reflexive one that is as natural as breathing but like a punch to the gut. Bitterness tastes like something old and stale, and I want to rinse my mouth, wash the bitterness that dispels fermented hostility like the color of putrid yellow-green staining the atmosphere.
The man walks into the room from the doorway, the sound of his footsteps announcing his arrival. As he crosses the room, I shrink away from him. My mother’s back straightens, rigid while the essence of me tightens up and folds in on itself until it’s so small it can’t be folded anymore. It’s a reaction I don’t understand. I retreat into the upper corner of the room as far I can without passing through the wall. Again, I’m struck with this visceral response that isn’t connecting. I don’t remember. This inexplicable feeling is confounding. Add it to the confusion of being disconnected from my body and fear has planted several seeds.
The man puts his hand on my mom’s shoulder. She shrugs away from his touch as though burned. “Kate?” He asks, and this exchange solidifies he is my father. His voice sounds different than what my unreliable memory insists is characteristic of him: it’s too shallow and lacks thunder.
The man puts his hand on my mom’s shoulder. She shrugs away from his touch as though burned. “Kate?” He asks, and this exchange solidifies he is my father. His voice sounds different than what my unreliable memory insists is characteristic of him: it’s too shallow and lacks thunder.
Something in my psyche reacts to this interaction though I can’t quite name what it is I feel. I know it doesn’t feel quite right. It’s like putting on a new shoe that isn’t formed to the foot yet. Her minuscule rebellion and his muted tone are unfamiliar. I search for what seems more familiar and imagine her acquiescence in his unrelenting storm.
“I won’t speak in anger in front of Seth,” she says. It’s more of a whisper really. “He can hear. The doctor thinks so.”
“I understand you’re angry. I’m angry too.”
She swivels in her chair with acute force and levels a stare that makes him step backward. “You’re angry?” she asks through clenched teeth, the sound more like a hiss.
I stretch in my corner of the hospital room, toward them, revelation like an electric shock moves through me. My father has seen something in my mother’s look that stays him. His face says it all, the stupefaction, the denial, and then the pain. He turns away, unable to hold himself up under her gaze and leaves the room.
I follow him, curious. There is something different about this man – it’s foreign, frightening and strangely freeing. He’s shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shuffles down the hallway. This father isn’t recognizable but is broken like a car that needs a new spark plug.
He enters a waiting room filled with people. Emotion rushes at me in a variety of colors: blue, red, orange, green, yellow, purple, brown, black and shades in between. Each person in the room exudes color, some with multiple hues. I don’t know what the shades mean, but I sift through the spectrum to find where the feelings emanate. As I scan the room, I freeze on one face. I know this one: Abby. She is surrounded by an aura of light-blue tinged with darker flecks of blue and gold.
My form is filled with warmth and then chased by regret. I remember her smile and her laugh. I remember the way she made me feel: safe. I reach for a memory that causes the cooling grief, but there is only blackness. “Abby. I have to tell you something,” I say but my memory stalls not able to grasp what I thought I needed to tell her. She doesn’t indicate she’s heard me. “Abby,” I try again anyway.
“She can’t hear you,” a voice from an invisible entity says.
I whirl around the room. The origin remains hidden and the voice silent, so I return to Abby.
I’m in front of her, hovering as though standing on my own two feet. I study her, free to do so. Her brown eyes are rimmed red. She’s been crying and her brown face is pale, her inner-light diminished. She’s crossed her arms over herself as though holding something in. “Abby?” I try again, but she doesn’t hear me.
An awareness I don’t want to recognize dances on the peripheral of my being. I want to turn away from it, but I can’t. It’s like an angry jester dancing within me flashing a terrible smile. Looking at Abby, anguish wraps its arms around me and panic infiltrates my life force. I know I don’t want to be like this – in between. “Abby! Help me!” I yell.
She shivers as if she is affected by my cries but looks right through me.
Someone next to her – a young man – puts his arms around her. When I’m able to focus on him through the soft light reaching toward me, I recognize him: Gabe. A flare of anger rushes through me, fire and hot, that angry jester taunting me with his awful dance again – instinctual. When I focus on my former friend, I see he’s been crying, his eyes defined by sadness. I notice the bruising on his face and my spirit cracks open. A cool-blue washes me and the red steams away. My own perception of things isn’t ringing true, a little flat, like the note needs adjustment. I’m missing something.
“You!” The word is like a shot startling me. It sounds like a curse.
Abby looks up.
I swivel around.
My father exudes black and red. I remember this man. One of his dragons appears ready to burn his intended victim with its internal fire. He’s pointing at me, but I realize he can’t see me. He sees Abby. “This is all your fault,” he yells and takes three menacing steps toward me – her. “You changed him!” He stalks through me approaching Abby with purpose.
A man I don’t remember but seems familiar moves in front of Abby. “Hey now,” he says. At the same time another man dressed in a black suit and a cleric collar appears at my father’s elbow.
“Jack,” one of them says. I don’t know which. “You’re hurting.”
The words break a dam. My father folds in on himself, shrinks as though the impending storm is cut up by a downdraft. The other two men help him to a seat near the window.
Shaken by what I’ve witnessed, I return to my body.
My mother is still there, holding my hand and humming a quiet lullaby through her tears:
When the traveler in the dark…
Thanks you for your tiny spark…
The world around me begins to spin, as though someone has swiped at a table-top globe. The room rotates on an axis and the colors rush together in a blur. I’m compressed and suffocating and though I work to focus on my mother’s song, I can’t find a focal point. This place where I’m in between isn’t freedom. It’s a trap, a prison, and I’m stuck.
Wake up! Wake up! I think. I squeeze myself shut attempting to disappear in order to reappear in the awake world. But nothing happens. The spinning slows. The space around me coming back into focus. I still hover in the room listening to the quiet hum of my mother’s voice who’s accompanied by the percussion of the life support.
Thank you so much to all the authors that took the time to answer questions on making of their books. I learnt so much through your different journeys, the struggles you overcame, your best tips, and discovering more about you and your book.
The book that started this all off was Number Eight Crispy Chicken by Sarah Neofield. I was part of her Street Team for the books launch and interviewed her as my stop on the book’s blog tour.
I learnt so much from Sarah Neofield and it helped me in my decision to self publishing. The “Behind the Book” blog post turned into a series.
By the end of 2020, I had conducted a total of 18 interviews! I have put them all here in this post for your enjoyment. So, make yourself comfortable and get reading!
The last Behind the Book interview for 2020 was part of R. J. Blaine’s Blog Tour for her book’s release. It was organised by Xpresso Tours and they created the blog banner.
If you enjoyed this, look out for more Behind the Book interviews in 2021, and my review for some of these books.
Your book has been on my radar for a while but it wasn’t until recently that I realised what a journey you have been on and how similar our journeys are to each other.
What can readers look forward to in the series?
Swimming Sideways, the first book in The Cantos Chronicles, is the catalyst for the other two books, The Ugly Truth and The Bones of Who We Are. A YA Contemporary, it follows Abby Kaiāulu as she begins at a new school where she gets caught unwittingly between two young men—former best friends Seth and Gabe—who need to face their own struggles to find healing. Abby’s story is about her personal journey to understand herself as a young Hawaiian woman, but it also inspires change for all of the characters. While each story is in and of itself its own narrative around each of the characters, the series explores the series of events through their different perspectives. It’s a love triangle in some ways, but the love triangle isn’t the focus.
Are there similar series to yours?
Swimming Sideways has a Hawaiian cultural element that is very unique which I’m not sure comps very well, but I think Randy Ribay’s Patron Saints of Nothing has a gorgeous cultural element and Call it What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer is a lovely title that looks at how love can inspire individual growth. I had a reviewer compare my writing style to John Green and Brigid Kemmerer, so that’s awesome.
Tell me about the main character Abby?
Abby has moved with her family from Hawaii to Oregon; it’s a last ditch effort to save the family from what looks to be a divorce. Abby, though, is leaving behind a secret in Hawaii and is glad to be starting over and leaving that part of her life behind her. Oregon provides an awesome opportunity. She’s trying hard to redefine herself in this new place trying to be a good big sister to her twin brothers and a good daughter to her parents. She thinks that if she can just do things “right” then she will be able to control the outcome of this move. But secrets never stay hidden and Abby is going to choose whether the mistake controls her or if she’s ready to forgive herself?
The books in the Cantos Chronicles came to you out of order and you published book 2, The Ugly Truth, first. What was it like when you realised your first book in the series wasn’t book 1?
So frustrating and one of those forehead slap moments. But I also think that had I not written Seth’s story, The Ugly Truth, first, I wouldn’t have come to understand the other two stories. So while I made the rookie mistake, that mistake brought understanding and growth and helped me eventually finish the series.
Originally you published exclusively to Amazon but then moved to publish wide with Ingram Sparks. What motivated this change of direction?
After I finished The Bones of Who We Are (the third book in The Cantos Chronicles), I wanted to get them into local bookstores. After lots of phone tag, I finally got to talk to someone who in a very direct (but helpful) way said, “Why do we want to carry our competition?” (meaning Amazon). The question was eye-opening for me and made me reexamine my goals as a writer. What did I want? What was important to me and my author journey? Who did I want to be as a creative for the long haul? The answers to those questions helped me refine my ideas about my career as a writer and “authorpreneur.” That was the impetus behind the shift.
Tell me about a typical day in the life of author Cami (C. L. Waters)?
Up early (usually around 5am give or take thirty minutes in either direction). I spend time journalling and reflecting on my faith walk. Then it’s getting the family moving for the day. When they are gone, I’m working on the business side of writing: blogs, newsletter, beta-reads, editing, catching up on email, planning and implementing marketing strategies, whatever needs attention. In the afternoon I’m working on creative writing and wherever I am in my process. Currently, I’m rewriting my 6th novel. I wrote a blog describing this. Here’s a link: https://www.clwalters.net/blog/2020/11/4/indie-author-life-a-day-in-the-life-of-
Can you share a snippet of the book?
Sure! How much do you want?
Here’s a moment when Abby “meets” Gabe for the first time:
I slink out of the room, head down, and run right into somebody walking through the hallway. Ass on the floor and Good Abby can’t contain the bad one any longer: “What the hell!” I snap. “Watch where you’re going!” I look up at the culprit. The anger catches in my throat. I’ve bumped into a boy the size of a wall.
“I could say the same thing about you,” he replies. His voice has the lure of the ocean surf in the distance, a gentle and relaxing rumble. His bright blue eyes are the Hawaiʻi Pacific Ocean, intensely bright set in the golden glow of his bronze skin. His black hair is longish, curly, hanging over his sharp features though his lips are soft and full. He holds out a hand, the sinew of his muscles hinted in the exposure of the brown skin at his wrist.
He helps me up.
Someone in the hall passes and jostles him with a shoulder. The Wall loses his balance and knocks against me as I stand, but I don’t fall a second time. His arm wraps around me and keeps me from falling to the floor again. We’re so close that I smell the clean scent of him like soap and a hint of something spicy. My hand still in his, an arm around his solid and unforgiving shoulders, electricity winds up my arm straight to my heart and flutters with the current.
“Freak,” a passing voice in the hallway says.
I pull away regretting the loss of the connection but unwilling to go back to the social dump. Been there. Done that. This is me starting over.
Good Abby rule: Selectively choose your friends.
The Wall looks at me. His eyes have narrowed, the color now flinty, and the energy I thought I felt retreats somewhere safe. I notice the knowing look on his face, and it’s a knife in my gut. His jaw tightens. He recognizes this current version of me all too well. I identify his awareness because I was him, after all, the one they called names. It may have not been freak, but slut or whore did the same kind of damage. I knew a version of this new me too, and it makes me feel ashamed.
“Sorry,” he mutters and pulls his black hood over his head as he walks away.
Good Abby coaxes the bad one not to look back, not to watch him walk away. Bad Abby wants more than anything to turn around, say she’s sorry and let him know she’s been there. But she listens to Good Abby and goes to her next class. I walk away wondering which one is good Abby and which one is bad?
Excerpt from Swimming Sideways (2020) by CL Walters
Where can we go to discover more about you and your books?
My website is probably the best place to find out everything you need to know. www.clwalters.net
I hope you were able to watch my recent series of Live Streams. The last one was earlier this week for my Ocean Heart launch party.
My Stream Team have been amazing, and we’ve had lots of fun learning Stream Yard together and getting to know each other better. But, I want to give you a chance to discover more about them too.
Stream Team
JD Groom
Jodie is an author with two series out and working on another. She has done Behind the Book interviews for Envy and Sorceress of Truth.
Holly is the Urban Fantasy author of the Shifters of Caerton series. You can buy the full set or individually. She’s also author of the Goal Setting For Writers book, runs a popular podcast called Unstoppable authors, and was behind Indie Fire.
https://youtu.be/SezLe9VSvrY
Nicola Hebron
Nicola Hebron is author of the YA Fantasy Romance series the Wiccan Romances. The first two books (Amelia’s Story and Sam’s Story) are already out, and the other two can be expected in 2021.
https://youtu.be/vpQ4SH8MgvU
Launch Party
I was so happy to share my launch party with these fabulous authors, that are part of the incredible supportive indie community.
https://youtu.be/Ho6J-PQTvvI
Congratulations to Aimee (UK) and Nora (International) for winning the Giveaway. Both have been notified and I am looking forward to dispatching their prizes this weekend.
Discover more about my fabulous team by visiting their websites.
The final character to make an appearance is Gwyn.
Role in Ocean Heart: The Magician. Being Mariah’s main caregiver and having magical abilities means she’s able to support Mariah’s growth as a mermaid or meddle in her life to protect her.
Gwyn Turner
Like many women she lies about her age, but for a very good reason. If she told the truth it’d blow her cover. The lies Gwyn tells are to keep Mariah safe.
Gwyn is doing her job as mother to Mariah. With psychic abilities she’s had a vision of a dangerous probable future. Gwyn interferes using magic in a bid to keep Mariah safe, often causing more problems than those solved.
Gwyn is close to Jace’s mum Denny, and started their Sparkle Bakery Business together. It’s rumoured that every couple that has ordered a wedding cake from them got their happily ever after.
What my editor said…
I loved reading what Avery had to say about Gwyn and felt she summed her up exactly!
This post is part of my series to introduce the main characters of Ocean Heart to you and what my editor said.
When you read Ocean Heart you’ll wonder how the story ever worked without best friend Ana, but she wasn’t in several first drafts! I love her so much, I want to create a spin off novel from my series, for Ana.
Anastasia Drake
Role in Ocean Heart: Confidant (Best Friend to MC)
She often goes by the name Ana. Her name was chosen by her mum who died shortly after childbirth. Her dad won’t speak about it but says she looks a lot like her.
Ana isn’t close to her dad. He works a lot and she spent her early years with childminders and in boarding school… until she got expelled, from them all.
Ana is trying hard to keep out of trouble at her new school and has avoided making any close friends until she sees Mariah. Mariah looks as lonely as she feels, so she invites her to come swimming.
Ana comes across happy and bubbly but behind the smiles and makeup is she a dark secret. Her step mum tries to help her by finding an amazing doctor, but meds and treatment aren’t working. Ana needs something more potent, unique… Ana needs magic.
Ana is crushing on the swim coach. In her spare time she is creative. She loves fashion, taking pictures and creating animations on her computer.
What my editor said…
My editor really enjoyed Ana. She pointed out occasions where I was so focused on Mariah’s plot, she was rude to Ana. That was not my intention, so thanks to her feedback I got fixing that. Ana is the BFF we all want.
This post is part of my series to introduce the main characters of Ocean Heart to you and what my editor said.
The next character to make an appearance is neighbour, best friend, and love interest, Jace Walker.
Ocean Heart: Jace Walker
Role in Ocean Heart: Confidant/Love Interest (As Mariah’s long time BFF she can tell him anything … well, almost anything .)
Jace Walker
Jace is really close to his mum. It’s been just the two of them, his dad left before he was born.
He’s dreaming of heading off to uni, and wants his mum to have someone before he goes.
He loves seeing her with her fiancé but when they decide to move he knows his neighbour Mariah will find this hard. Jace also knows he needs to encourage Mariah to not be so dependent on her.
What my editor said…
My editor pointed out how Jace and Mariah have a friendship through convenience. With no interests to hold them together, Jace doesn’t try that hard to stay in touch.
My editor suggested adding in some shared interests but this is a fundamental problem with their relationship. Their more like brother & sister, until hormones complicate things.
I connected with Ben on Instagram over our love of novels about shifters. I thought my shifters were unique but Ben’s debut novel is about a were otter! He agreed to a Behind the Book interview so I could discover more, and share it with you.
What genre is Petrified and can you name any similar books?
Petrifiedis contemporary fantasy. There are a lot of books that share some elements but I don’t know of anything that is similar. It’s written with more of an adult audience in mind like The Dresden Files. It’s focused around shifters like the Mercy Thompson series. It has a very likeable main character similar, although not as humorous as, The Iron Druid Chronicles.
With those similarities there are a lot of differences. It focused on shifters but it’s not romance. There are no vampires or Alpha pack structures. There are many different kinds of shifters, Wolves, bears, raccoons, coyotes, rats,even a were-doberman, and the main character is a wereotter.
Why did you choose an Otter shifter?
There are two answers to this:
Answer One:
The rules are that a Keeper has to be bound to a predator native to the area it works in. In North Georgia USA we have blackbears, coyotes, otters, or some kind of rodent that I could choose from. So I picked an otter.
Answer two:
If I’m being honest, I didn’t want Obie to be a wereotter. It’s a marketing nightmare. People don’t wake up in the morning saying, “Today I’m going to find some wereotter fiction.” Otters don’t have the street cred that wolves do. Some people have a hard time with the wereotter concept and will pass on the book because of it. I’ve had more than a couple sleepless nights debating changing Obie to a werewolf. Ultimately, I couldn’t do it.
It was like having a child that had a characteristic on the fringe of social norms. I could accept Obie for who and what he was or try to shoehorn him into a more culturally accepted role. I chose to accept him. If that means the book doesn’t sell then that’s okay.
Which animal would you like to shift into?
Too many to choose from… maybe a Platypus because I seem to keep people scratching their heads.
This is the first book in the Keeper Chronicles – how many do you anticipate in the series?
I don’t have a set number in mind. I’m working on book three now. I have a lot of ideas for other projects I’d like to get to but I’ll write them as long as the characters want to keep going.
What challenges did you face in publishing this?
It’s my first book so I had a number of challenges. The biggest challenge was that a year and a half after release I figured out some things I hadn’t done correctly. I took the book down and made some changes. After I fixed everything it was rereleased as second edition. The main thing I changed was the cover. I wanted to get a full body shot of a wereotter so people could better understand the concept.
Can you describe a typical day in the life of authorBenMeeks?
I wake up around 7:30. I take my daughter to school first. After that some or all of the following happen in no particular order. Clean up or work around the house, have a morning writing session, and exercise. My exercise varies depending on how I’m feeling and what else I have going on but generally will be weightlifting, rowing machine, playing disc golf, or mountain biking. After that I get a shower and eat. I’ll take an hour or so to relax and watch TV or read. Then I get back to work on whatever needs to be done that day. I still have a day job and I work 15:00 to 24:00 from home. If things are slow I fit in some writing there too.
Please share a short snippet or teaser from Petrified?
I walked over to find the answer to the mystery of the missing bones. They had been arranged in a central pile about three feet in diameter with three rows on each side of varying lengths pointing off in different directions. The end of each row came to a point with a bone that had been cut sharp. I knelt for a closer inspection.
“It looks like a weird compass, like you see on old maps,” Holt said over my shoulder. “What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know, maybe some kind of marker or cantrip? Whatever it is, it’s not good,” I said. The breeze shifted, blowing against my back, bringing with it a smell akin to rotten eggs. “You smell that?”
“Yep.”
I stood and turned to see a small grey face peeking up over a headstone. The imp crawled up on the headstone, giving us a clear view of it. It stood almost two feet tall with four arms, grey skin, and long claws on its hands and feet. Its long arms and pallid complexion made it look like a miniature resurrected gorilla, with a Cheshire cat smile. A line of black barbed quills ran down its back. By far my least favorite thing about imps was catching them.
“What’s it doing?” Holt asked.
He was right, this was strange behavior. Imps are small and not inherently powerful. They use their speed and size to evade; they never go toe-to-toe or expose themselves like this.
“Something’s wrong,” I said, trying to put the puzzle together.
It clicked just as pressure, followed by severe pain, shot through my calf. I looked down to see one of the sharpened bones sticking out of the front of my leg. The bone pile behind us had stabbed me with the row closest to where I was standing. Holt jumped to the side, avoiding a similar strike meant for him.
“Get the imp,” I said through gritted teeth.
The five rows of bone that didn’t have me impaled moved underneath the center pile, lifting it off the ground like a spider. The orientation of the bones suddenly made more sense: they were legs. I bent forward to support myself with my hands and donkey-kicked its center mass with my good leg, sending it flying back into the woods. The bone piercing my leg was ripped free, leaving a gushing wound that was quickly filling up my shoe.
Holt was busy chasing the imp around the graveyard and not having much luck catching it. I wasn’t going to be much help until my leg healed. The skeleton monster came shambling out of the woods like a Model T with loose wheels.
Where can we find out more and buy your books?
You can find out about me on my website,www.authorbenmeeks.com. Petrified is available on Kindle, Audible, amazon or any bookstore.
This book by Pagan has been on my To Buy list for way too long. Here’s the Trailer so you can add it to your list (or basket) too:
You launched your book and it became a best seller. When did you start marketing it?
Before it was even signed with the publisher, if I’m being honest. I was already sharing teasers and talking about it because I knew people had to be excited by the get-go. I haven’t really stopped marketing since and I probably never will—though now, I tend to market the series as a whole because I have more books out to catch reader interest.
This book is traditionally published. How did you get signed – can you share your pitch?
I got signed with The Parliament House from Twitter’s #PitMad event in December 2017. This was the Tweet I pitched that got their attention:
You share what you have learned to support fellow authors. Can you tell us about some of your courses and coaching?
I sure can.
A great starting point for new authors is my membership community, The Authorpreneur Kingdom, which is where I do quarterly trainings (and you get access to a vault of past masterclasses on topics ranging from book marketing to publishing to mindset work). We also do weekly coaching calls in there and the authors find it very helpful to stay accountable each month.
I also have two courses that I launch twice a year.
Storyteller Academy is my course helping authors to write their novel and build success habits for full-time authorship, and Storyseller Academy helps authors with book launching, marketing and brand building. Both are self-paced, come with a range of bonus resources, and have direct access to me via a group community.
Please share a snippet or teaser from Lanterns in the Sky?
“Hey! Hey, wake up!”
Someone was shaking me. When I first opened my eyes, everything blurred together. I blinked to adjust them to the night sky. I could hear crickets chirping somewhere. Hovering over me was the face of a boy with emerald eyes and brown hair. I stared at him — my mind was scrambled, and pain throbbed in my temple. Between that and my momentary amnesia, I couldn’t really concentrate on much else.
“Are you okay?” he asked in a smooth voice, his brow furrowed in concern. “Do you need me to call someone?”
I slowly sat up, which prompted the pounding in my head to intensify. I hissed and raised a hand to my forehead.
“What… happened?” I groaned, trying to recall the moments before I’d blacked out.
He rocked back on his feet to give me some space. Still crouching, he folded his arms as he said, “You tell me.”
I shook my head, thinking hard. It came back to me in pieces. I remembered the dread I had felt … the light…
“I was hit… I think,” I told him as my memories slowly came together, but I wasn’t sure. My head swam and the throbbing pain in my head was distracting me.
“By who?” he asked, furrowing his brow. I shook my head again. It sounded stupid, but I was certain of what I saw.
“It wasn’t a who… it was a light.”
The boy frowned, his mouth twisting. “A light?”
What did you enjoy most about writing your fantasy novel?
Wrecking havoc in my characters lives! Mwahahaha!
But also, building the plot. That was a lot of fun too.
What was hardest about writing your fantasy novel?
Making sure the plot was consistent, fixing plot holes and reducing the amount of side plots from my first draft back in 2011. It took me 18 drafts to get this story right.
What inspired you to write Lanterns in the Sky?
Well, it actually started as a psychological horror novel—but then I realised that was not for me. It was only when a friend convinced me to keep writing because she liked the concept of the stars being lanterns in the sky that I was able to adapt some of my newer, fantasy ideas into the story (e.g. the princesses, the magic, etc.) and kind of did a 180 with the story to bring it to life.
Which novel do you love and wish you wrote?
Honestly, none of them. I love so many books and there are definitely writers I wish I could write as well as, but I also love my own writing style and my own stories. Their stories are theirs and that’s why I could never come up with their ideas.
Tell me about a typical day in the life of author Pagan Malcom?
On most days, I’m actually working on my business, Paperback Kingdom—but I sprinkle in time to market my book, send out a few emails, and do the authorly stuff that needs doing. On a true writing day though, I can be at the kitchen table (which is where I enjoy writing most lately) for hours on end. I spend a lot of weekends like this with cups of tea and some kind of snack.
Where can we find out more about your coaching, courses and buy your books
For my books, check out psmalcolm.com (you can also find the membership site there—but you have to be a Patreon supporter of mine for access).
The last Behind the Book interview for 2020 was part of R. J. Blaine’s Blog Tour for her book’s release. It was organised by Xpresso Tours and they created the blog banner.
