Hello my mermaid loving readers. It’s the month of mermaids and MerMay 2021 is going to be MerMazing!
#MerMay
Readalong with Hannah Read
Author Hannah Read has created a MerMay readathon for May! She has encouraged people to get her novel Tenebrasco and set chapter goals throughout the month, so we can read along together.
As a mermaid fiction author myself, this sounded like so much fun. I’ve downloaded the book to my Kindle and despite being a slow reader I will try my best to keep up.
Follow #MerMayReadalong , #PearlWielders & @hannah.reads on Instagram.
I have been developing my technical skills to produce digital products. I decided to share my Book Tracker as a free download from my Ko-Fi Shop.
In addition, I’ve posted a link there that enables Ko-Fi fans to download Ocean Heart for free from Google Play ALL month.
It’s Free to follow me on Ko-Fi, so why not? That way you can enjoy the freebies and won’t miss out on future freebies.
Apple iBooks
ITunes Connect’s webpage is currently not loading on the page that allows new authors to join. The technical team have apologised for the issues and are working on resolving these.
Update: 30 May, I managed to create an author account but I think I have to wait 24h to add a book. So maybe later this month I’ll be on Apple. ?
Ocean Charity
I want to donate to an Ocean charity. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for ages and there are so many good ones out there.
I recently watched Seapiracy on Netflix and it reminded me of how crucial the ocean is to all of us.
This month I will pick a charity and donate. Let me know if you have any recommendations.
Here’s my Camp NaNo writers diary for the second half of Camp NaNo.
Thursday, 15 April
I wrote the scene I have been struggling with – the big fight scene. It was 1,422 words. It’s not The End yet as I’ve realised there is one more scene needed to join this to the end that I wrote. But, The End is in sight.
Friday, 16 April
This morning, I had a one-to-one chat with Pagan it was an Author Breakthrough Session. I had no idea what to expect but afterwards I felt more focussed and empowered. I’ll be writing a full blog post on the experience.
My 2y old was in a creative mood today. We did painting, we did slime, and puzzles. My mum popped over and I showed her what I’d done with her Cricut Maker I borrowed. Later, my son helped me at the vets and food shopping.
Tonight, I wrote 812 words and finished my first draft of Sky Heart. The End
The final word count is 76,763 words. Usually during my first self edit this number increases as I discover where I need to add more detail.
Saturday, 17 April
I managed to escape the kids for a writing sprint on Facebook. As Sky Heart is finished, I worked on a novel I may offer as a readers magnet or sell as a prequel.
I also attempted to make a book trailer for Ocean Heart. As it’s my first attempt at this, I’m still not sure.
Sunday, 18 April
Today we went into town to get sandwiches and cake. We then went for a walk in the woodlands and had a picnic. We were so full we saved the cake for home.
I fiddled a little more with the trailer, especially with tweaking the sound affects. It’s very tricky trying to achieve precision on a mobile phone. I’m happy with the outcome. I guess I ought to make Sky Heart one.
Monday, 19 April
Today was meant to be my marketing Monday but Pagan would not been impressed because I didn’t do it. I was really into my secret project and wanted to work on it. I’ll do Marketing tomorrow…
Tuesday, 20 April
I lied. I didn’t do Marketing today either. I had a little anxiety about tomorrow so had an early night with my husband.
Wednesday, 21 April
Tonight was my Live with World Indie Warriors. We had so much fun chatting we were on for 2hs.
Today was my long work day. After work I chilled out and had some me time. I ran a bath and read The Rookery.
Friday, 23 April
I published Ocean Heart using Ingram Spark for both the paperback and eBook. It never went live on Google Play, or Apple Books. I was busy with my launch so left it. Once Christmas was out the way I queried what happened with IS.
IS confirmed it should be on Apple and would look into what happened. It turned out my files were too big. But, things got busy at work so I left it.
Today has been a busy day working on how to resolve it. I uploaded it to Google Play – this was pretty straight forward and I now have to wait to be approved. But Apple has been a complete nightmare with their iTunes Connect page displaying an error 401.
Saturday, 24 April
I had a busy morning clearing out the garden. It actually looks worse now but it is because I am preparing rubbish that needs to go to the tip.
I played with my kids and didn’t get to write or read. They were excited by treasures I found in the shed like a remote control car & keyboard. I think they ended up there because they are noisy.
iTunes Connect replied to apologise for the current issues and they are working on resolving this as quickly as possible, but there was no indication of how long it’ll take.
In the evening my hubby & I finished watching a film and started the new Shadow & Bone series on Netflix.
Sunday, 25 April
Today, is the day I work on my social media. I write blog posts and prepare my Instagram posts. As the end of the month draws near, I also worked on my newsletter.
I uploaded a free digital download to Ko-Fi for people to use to track their books.
I’d like to do a MerMay Giveaway to celebrate Ocean Heart being 6 months old but my ideas keep getting ruined.
I wanted to create a personalised National Book Token but that’s temporarily unavailable. I wanted to offer Ocean Heart for Free to celebrate it now being on Google Play but it takes 12 days to get approved, and Apples website isn’t loading the page for new authors to join so I’m waiting for tech support to resolve it.
I also thought it’d be nice to donate to an Ocean type charity but don’t have a ton of money and worry people will judge me for it not being enough.
I’m still figuring out what to do for MerMay and time is running out as I want to announce it in my newsletter going out on 30 April!
Monday, 26 April
Today, I read Rookery. Ideally I want to finish it before the end of the month because of the MerMay readathon.
I posted a few pics to Litsy, talking about my writing resource books.
I sold my first signed copy of Ocean Heart from my Ko-Fi shop. ?
Once the kids were in bed, I still didn’t do any Marketing. Eek – my check in with Pagan will be embarrassing. Instead I had a bath and watched Shadow & Bone.
Tuesday, 27 April
Today was my long day working.
In my lunch break I organised the P&P for my Ko-Fi customer and researched KDP. Apple emailed to encourage me to contact their development team about the issue as the technical team can’t resolve it.
After work, and once the kids were in bed, I signed a copy of Ocean Heart, packaged it up, and set it off to my first Ko-Fi customer.
Wednesday, 28 April
I booked a day off work – yay!
Today, I went into town to get the parcel delivered but I misheard the girl at the desk and paid way more for p&p than I wanted. I was cross, but she’d printed the labels so I just paid it. :(
I tried to confirm the amount Google Play paid into my account to verify and prove its my bank account but Google said I’m wrong and to guess again. I’m going to wait and see if they pay another amount in and try again in a few days.
I also looked at creating my Amazon affiliate account for UK/US. And, started developing a webpage disclosing my affiliate accounts.
I also did a lot of work on my newsletter. I add to it throughout the month but it needs pics and tidying up. I only have the related social media posts left to do now.
In the evening, I caught the WIW Live with guest Julia Scott. She’s author of Mirror Souls and a formatter. In fact, she was my formatter.
Thursday, 29 April
Today was my long day at work, and I didn’t sleep well last night. I think I need an early night. That’s if Aria lets me – she’s playing up tonight and refusing to go to bed. Which is odd because she was crying and begging to go to bed before her milk was ready.
I did the finishing touches to my newsletter ready to send tomorrow. Relaxed by reading the Rookery, and then watched some Shadow & Bone.
Friday, 30 April
Today, I sent my newsletter. I hope I’ve made the right choice with my Giveaway.
As you can see I’ve taken a break from writing now Sky Heart is written. But, after this weekend I will start the self editing process.
Discover more about Sky Heart by visiting my Sky Heart page. Sky Heart is book 2 in the Soul Heart series.
Discover more about Ocean Heart by visitingmy Ocean Heart page. Ocean Heart is book 1 in the Soul Heart series.
I was so excited for this books release, I preordered it last year! I’m a slow reader but life has really got in my way of enjoying this book. But every time I found a moment to escape, this book was so, so, so, very good!
Setting
This book is set in a fantasy world where humans exist alongside demons, werewolves, and vampires. The fantasy world felt more medieval as there isn’t any electricity or tech, and people travelled by foot and live in villages, and there were knights.
Characters
Ness is the main character, although it is told from other view points along the way, it’s ultimately her story.
Ness is a demi-demon. This causes her a lot of internal conflict as she fights her demon instincts to destroy all lives, with her human side of empathy, and love. Ness blames herself for events in her past and tries to do the right thing. There are a lot of prejudices and hate towards her because of her demon side.
Elias is the human she rescues from a vampire attack. She takes pity on him and offers to heal him and help him travel through the woods. Ness soon discovers her past actions affected his life in a big negative way and feels she owes him. As they travel together, Elias falls in love with her.
Nolan is Ness’s ex that she never got over. She reminisces about him, longing to fix things but he doesn’t appear in the story until about the mid point. He’s very hot, and it’s easy to see why Ness is still longing for him.
My Review
It can be difficult to write a super powerful character but Elexis did it with Ness. Ness’ demi-demon nether magic is quick and deadly.
Ness is a fabulously complex character. I wish this was a series so I could have more Ness! But, Elexis does bring the book to a satisfying close – if you read the epilogue, you’ll be super happy.
Both the love interests, Elias and Nolan, were great characters and helped Ness discover what she needs. It was clear why one was “the one”.
The World building was immersive with just enough detail to bring the world to life. I loved all the drama and romance of a world where demons, werewolves, and vampires, exist.
Here’s my Camp NaNo writers diary for the first half of Camp NaNo.
This post contains a few bookshop.org affiliatelinks.
Weds, 31 March
Camp NaNo Eve I attended the first of World Indie Warriors IG Lives. J D Groom & Cassidy Reyne are the hosts and introduced their own Camp NaNo projects.
WIW are also doing snippet challenge on IG to give people an excuse to share her the projects they are writing.
Each week there is a prompt, and you post a snippet from your WIP on that theme. I’m a rebel and posting on different days. But, I’m determined to do them all within April.
Thurs, 1 April
I caught a Writing Sprint on Facebook hosted by @unstoppableauthors . It helped me make a good start on my goals, achieving 1k words. I’m going to look out for this sprint next week.
The sprint was hosted by Urban Fantasy author H B Lyne and dystopian author Angeline Trevena. Both also have published writing resource books.
Friday, 2 April
Busy day today. I took my son to play in the garden of a friends house. It was really cold and we couldn’t go inside due to the pandemic rules.
My husband found my long lost Kindle. It needs charging but I’m so happy to have it back.
I managed to write 500 words today. I am so close to the end now but took a break as I’m struggling to picture the big fight scene.
I finished reading A Heart of Salt & Silver. Look out for my full review next week. A short version is already on Goodreads, Litsy, and Amazon.
Saturday, 3 April
Spent the evening going through the list of people I follow but don’t follow me back to decide if I want to unfollow them.
#WIWSaturdaySnippet
Sunday, 4 April
I went to Homebase to get paint for some redecorating we’ve been talking about for ages.
Didn’t feel well so I went to bed early. Good news was my Kindle is charged, so I watched The Wilds on Prime.
Monday, 5 April
I cleared out my son’s bedroom and did masking tape. His room was the first we decorated when we moved in. At age 5, he peeled off the animal stickers as he said they were to babyish, and we promoted to redecorate… 2y later, we are doing it.
My son is a bit nervous about not sleeping in his room. He doesn’t like change. But, he’s excited to see his new grown up room tomorrow.
Still not feeling great, so had another early night. I didn’t write but I did a lot of research and practicing a new skill, that I’m hoping to sell one day. I was creative, but not with Sky Heart.
Tuesday, 6 April
Noah loves his new room. #Win
I had work all day today but managed to write 500 words for Sky Heart. I have roughly three major scenes to go but these are big ones and pretty tough. I’ll admit I feel intimidated.
I’ve done some brain storming for the big battle but still can’t see it clear in my head. I can however see the ending, so I may jump ahead to that.
Wednesday, 7 April
I worked more on my secret project. I also worked on prepping images for my IG feed.
This evening I watched the WIW Live with guest author Kara S Weaver. They chatted about editing, the different types, and why it’s important.
Thursday, 8 April
Today has been pretty chilled out other than my phone screen cracking.
I won a free call with Pagan Malcolm, who coaches authors to take their careers to the next level. I’m booked in next week, early Friday morning (although for her, I think it’s late). I’m not sure what to expect – should I get her to help with my battle, public speaking, or my secret project. Whatever we get up to, I’ll probably blog my experience.
I watched the replay of a masterclass I recently attended on how to write a 5 star ending. Then I watched a live author chat from the fantasy writers festival, QuaranCon2021.
Once the kids were in bed, I used an app to animate my characters created in Art Breeder, to sing. Author procrastination at its finest.
Mariah from Ocean Heart on Wombai.ai
Then, I attended a writing chat and Sprint by Unstoppable Authors hosted by H B Lyne and Angelina Trevena, and wrote 478 words.
Friday, 9 April
This was a bad day. First, my 2 year old threw my mobile phone and the screen cracked. I use my mobile for everything but can’t afford to fix it, so I’ll have to carry on and hope it doesn’t get worse.
Then, I received news that my daughter isn’t getting a place at our chosen nursery. She was on a waiting list for morning sessions which fit around my work & childcare availability but they only have afternoon sessions. To accommodate that, I’d have to cut my working hours in half and not only is my employer unlikely to agree to that as it’d make travelling to my appointments within the time very challenging, but I also can’t afford to reduce my hours. I now need to find another nursery or quit my job. There aren’t many nursery’s nearby as most closed permanently during the pandemic for various reasons.
When I’m stressing about a problem I can’t write. I opened my manuscript and stared at the blank page before closing it and trying something creative. I worked on my secret project.
Saturday, 10 April
We decided that I’m no stressed enough, so we painted part if the front room. Every chance my 2y old got, she was “help painting”. It was exhausting keeping her away all day, and the house was freezing as we kept the windows open.
I did not write. My head is not in the right place.
#WIWSnippetSaturday
Sunday, 11 April
So, my 2y old didn’t sleep. She was up at 3am. By 5am I gave up and she attempted to “Help painting.” I’m pretty sure I’m running on empty.
I did make progress on some blog posts and have drafted two Behind the Book posts that I now just need to proofread and schedule. I probably won’t get to this until next weekend.
I also helped my 7y old son to create a cute Woodland scene for school. We borrowed my mum’s Cricut Maker and he created his die cuts in Canva, and I helped him add them to Cricut. I then helped with sticking them down where he told me, while he painted. We spent over two hours on it.
I’m so frustrated. I want to write the fight scene for Sky Heart but it’s not coming to me. I didn’t want to waste my time, so I worked on my secret project.
Monday, 12 April
I’ve found two nurseries that might be able to take Aria. Fingers crossed I can sort this out so I can feel more settled.
I spent most my day playing with Aria, and tidying up. I also completed most of the application form for one of the nurseries.
I accidentally forgot to charge my laptop so it was taking ages to come on even with the charger in. I decided to watch some TV with my hubby.
Tuesday, 13 April
I worked all day today.
Then, in the evening I wrote 192 words. It doesn’t sound like much but I finally had a breakthrough with the difficult scene and can see it now!
Wednesday, 14 April
I worked today, and by the time the kids were in bed, it was already 9pm. I attended the World Indie Warriors IG Live. Today the guest speaker was Michelle Raab, chatting marketing, writing dystopia, and psychology.
I’m constantly learning and revising everything I do. Sometimes it’s to strengthen existing knowledge and skills, and other times it’s because new things come out.
When I decided to self publish, I didn’t know where to start. I wrote this blog series reflecting on what I did. I hope my process provides others with an outline to get started.
With self publishing you do it your way, so if you want to do it different to me then you can. That’s the beauty of self publishing, you are in control of it all. Equally as empowering as that is, it can also be very daunting when you’re starting out.
Step 1 – Write Your Novel
My process starts right at the beginning with a blank page! I’ve included links to useful guides to help you writing the first draft.
Your novel should go through several edits before publishing. I include links to previous posts about the editing services I used to help you figure out which you need.
This step covers what to do to get your interior and exterior right, and some of the different publishing options. I’ve linked to posts about my cover designer and formatter.
During Camp NaNo, authors Cassidy Reyne and J D Groom have organised some Live sessions this April. They take place every Wednesday at 9pm (UK), on Instagram via @worldindiewarriors.
These sessions will support those doing Camp Nano, but each week they’ll have a different guest to discuss a topic of the week.
I’m their guest on 21 April at 9pm to discuss self publishing and answer any questions. Please do come join us.
I see fellow authors being savvy with their income, diversifying revenues to support their dream as an author and I thought, “Could I do that?”
I dismissed the idea because, “Why would anyone support me?”
Now, I know, that’s my self doubt speaking. The same self doubt that told me I couldn’t self publish. I’m getting better at believing in myself and recognize that everyone has to start somewhere.
Not to spoil the ending but I now have a Ko-Fi account (more on that later…).
As usual, I plan to share what I found out and how I made my choice. Here are the main options I considered:
One method is to create an exclusive group for your fans. They pay a fee to join like a club membership and you reward them with things like training, exclusive content (short story, character art, etc), early access to your product, or shoutouts.
It’s like a private club for your fans. They pay a monthly subscription and you reward them. You can set different tiers with more expensive tiers getting better perks.
Pro: You can establish a regular income from your Patrons and a strong connection with your fans.
Con: You need to provide regular content to make it worthwhile for your Patrons to stay subscribed.
Another option is to get funding for your project upfront. You need to sell your product/idea to get support. Often it involves rewards like early access to the product, or maybe for high contributors you’d name a character after them.
This is a crowdfunding platform where an individual (or group) can seek funding for a project. I recently saw an author on FB that did this successfully for his Sci-Fi novel.
Rewards are offered as incentives like getting the proposed product before anyone else. However, if you don’t make your target, you get nothing.
Pro: You will develop fans early on and can sell your book before it’s finished.
Con: You need to be committed to delivering your promises and confident it asking others to back you.
This is another crowdfunding platform. It is aimed at creatives and has tools to support campaigners with their project and getting support. It appears to be more geared towards tech.
Pro: Promises tools to help you start your project and beyond.
Con: Backers are looking for solutions to a problem and your novel is unlikely to appeal to this audience.
This crowdfunding site is aimed more at community projects and charities. You post a reason why you need help and people donate to support you. For example, needing help to pay funeral costs for a loved one.
Pro: Get financial help with your current project without pressure to provide rewards to sponsors.
Con: Most projects on the site appear to be charities so probably not the right audience.
I think this would be called crowdfunding too. The site accepts donations from donors in support of your creative project. Donors can set the amount and frequency.
For this platform you’d need people to be invested in your projects completion. You would need to sell the idea to investors.
Pro: You can establish a regular income from your donors and focus on your project.
Con: You need to persuade people to donate on a regular basis and there isn’t a way to reward donors.
This is more casual, like a tip jar. People give money as and when they feel like it. The idea is the tip is like buying the creator a cup of coffee or whatever their favourite drink is.
You supporters can buy you a coffee to be paid to you instantly. They can even subscribe to pay you a fee frequently. You can offer perks as a reward or perks to buy like a shop.
Pros: You can focus on your project and not spend time each month making exclusive content.
This is another tip jar type site with no obligation on your tippers to give. Again, the idea is they buy you a virtual drink that the creator uses towards their projects. You can create a shop for fans to buy merchandise, and you can create rewards for your tippers but it’s all optional.
Pro: Simple page creation, and low maintenance or obligations.
Con: You cannot depend on tips as a regular income.
Summary
I hope this has helped you think about all the options out there. I’ve only provided a brief overview of each and recommend you find out full details for any you are interested in by visiting their website for their full terms.
There are other ways to earn a passive income such as ad revenue or becoming an affiliate for another brand.
I have decided to go with Ko-Fi. I like the no pressure approach to me and my tippers. I want to continue being able to help others no matter their means, and keeping my content free enables all.
When I said yes to self publishing, I had every intention of doing it all myself. But, should you wish to treat me to a cuppa tea to say thanks or to keep me going, now you can.
My goal for Camp Nano will be to finish Sky Heart. I think there’s only 15k words left. It should be doable, but I have really been struggling with the ending.
If I do manage to get it done quickly, I will work on the prequel. It will be a novella in length and about told from Denny’s POV, about how she came to be friends with Gwyn.
Camp NaNo Story Snippets
@worldindiewarriors on Instagram have come up with some prompts to encourage people to share a snippet of their WIPs during April. They are a relaxed friendly bunch, so don’t worry if you can’t post for every prompt, or if you don’t post on Saturdays. The idea is to support each other and connect with others taking part. I’m going to try to do these challenges but I don’t post on Saturdays so… I’ll be posting when I can.
Follow #WIWSnippetSaturday
Wednesday Instagram Lives
Every Wednesday at 9pm UK, @worldindiewarriors will be hosting IG Lives to keep everyone motivated towards their goal. In addition, they will have a guest join them to discuss a topic of the week.
On 21 April, I will be their guest chatting about self publishing. If you have any questions or just want to join us, we’ll be happy to see you there.
Have you seen that advert of a mum working from home? She is lying on the floor cooing at her baby and typing on her laptop. I bet you know the one I mean.
Well, I’m embarrassed to admit I believed this could be my life. My dream has always been to be a Novelist and I also longed to be a mother, so this image was singing to my heart, ”you can have it all!”
If I’d waited for my ideal writers life, I’d still be waiting.
Ally Aldridge
I’ve been writing stories ever since I could put a sentence together but for many reasons I put off seriously trying to get published until the prospect of children was on the horizon.
As soon as I got engaged in September 2009, I came off the contraceptive pill. I wanted it out of my system so I could get pregnant as fast as possible once married. We married in June 2011 but different factors got in the way of motherhood.
Our Wedding in Mauritius
During that time I wrote Hunted, Instinct and Drift (now published as Ocean Heart). I edited Drift, queried it, got some requests… but never an offer.
Late 2013, I had my son. He took over my life in the most glorious way, but it was obvious how unrealistic that image in my head was. My working hours were reduced but it didn’t enable any extra time for writing. If anything, I had less time. I was juggling a job and my parental responsibilities. Most evenings I was too shattered to do anything.
Once my son turned three, we decided we were ready to grow our family. Fortunately, I didn’t fall pregnant quickly because a few months later the company I was employed at went into administration. Expanding our family was put on hold until we got financial stabile again.
To my relief, almost a year later, we decided to try again and I fell pregnant straight away. My daughter joined us in the summer of 2018.
During this time I’d continued to edit and query Drift. I realised that I have to just make my situation work if I wanted my dream. That meant, I often wrote in the evenings when my kids slept. Sometimes they have worn me out in the day and I have to be okay with letting myself take a break.
I focus on celebrating what I have achieved and that I’m still making progress, instead of being frustrated I can’t do it as fast as others. I blog and schedule content on my mobile whilst my kids play. I make my social media posts on my phone often using Canva. In the smallest pocket of time, I can still work towards my goals.
Due to my new can do attitude, I’m now a published author. That’s right, in December 2021, I said yes to myself, and published Ocean Heart, book 1 in The Soul Heart series. If I’d waited for my ideal writers life, I’d still be waiting.
During lockdown, I’ve lost my childcare for my youngest . And, whenever the schools close, I’m homeschooling for my oldest. My employer has been pretty supportive and when I’ve been most impacted by the pandemic, I have been placed on Furlough.
These days I have even less time to write! But, I’m writing. Maybe not everyday, but I am getting there.
My message to you is, do what you can now because every little bit will add up. There’s nothing to lose. Worst case scenario, you have a fabulous novel all to yourself.
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.
This novel is set in a futuristic world where there are bound and unbound people. Unbound people have powers, and those with more than one power are specialists. Specialists can learn to use cards that boost their powers.
The unbound are rules by the Card Catchers. The story starts with a tournament being held where all the unbound must compete, so the strongest are selected. The tournament can be deadly, hence Neela’s resistance to partake.
Characters
Neela is the main character. She is a feisty vigilante orphan, growing up in the slums with her brother. Neela is an untrained specialist.
Jacen is Neela’s big brother. They are super close as they’ve pretty much grown up only having each other. He doesn’t have any powers.
Brochan is to become Neela’s trainer when she is required (or forces) to compete in the Red Queen tournament. Part of his team includes wife Lily, and brother-in-law Will.
Amil is a specialist trained assassin. He also becomes Neela’s first friend. There’s a lot of flirting between them. Unfortunately, Amil’s brother isn’t quote so friendly.
Review
Neela is a feisty young vigilante, with unbound powers. She doesn’t want to compete in the Red Queen tournament, until she is caught by her trainer. On their way to the tournament they are attacked.
Neela meets Amil, a young assassin that everyone is cautious of. He quickly becomes her friend, which draws the attention of his not so nice brother.
People are targeting Neela. As they try to figure out who they are, more secrets unravel. Could the attacks be linked to her parents deaths?
My only negative is that sometimes it felt too dialogue heavy, and there were a lot of occasions thar Neela’s hair got roughed up or her head patted.
Red Blood is full of fast paced action and superpowers. It reminded me a lot of Naruto, but without the school. It’s a fun read. Kaitlyn has put a lot of thought into the magic system and World-building to bring this story to life.
