Author: Zoë (Page 3 of 7)

Who is Selina Carr?

19th November, 2013 / Zoë / 0 Comments

Amidst the flurry of activity that is NaNoWriMo, I am taking a moment to talk about the other project that has been keeping me busy in the last couple of months, and to introduce you to a writer friend of mine by the name of Selina Carr. Hi! She’s me. I’m her. And we’ve written a fairytale that is about to be published in a stunning hardback book at the end of November by Tenebris Books (if you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know about my connection there). Willow, Weep No More is a book of traditionally-inspired fairytales and fables that aim to capture the magic of classic fairytales while exploring the themes of inner beauty, wisdom and strength.

Yesterday was the cover reveal, and as you can see, it’s a thing of beauty. As is the rest of the book—believe me, I’ve read it many times already, given that I am the editor. But why would I credit some non-existent person with writing the story I contributed? There are lots of reasons writers adopt a nom de plume, but my reasons were two-fold:

I have some ideas floating around in my (very full) brain, and some of them are for readers much younger than those I currently write for under my own name. The Eidolon Cycle contains a lot of death, some fairly horrific violence, and as such I would never recommend it for anyone under the age of fifteen or sixteen. So, if I later wrote something intended for ten year olds, and a ten year old loved it and went looking online for something else Zoë Harris had written, he or she would find titles intended for a much older reader. If I ever do write something for younger readers, I will do it under the name “Selina Carr”, and the story in Willow, Weep No More under that name would be fine for someone of that age to read.
The second reason is ego. No, not to promote it, to deemphasize it. This book is very important to me, and I want it to be viewed by potential readers for what it is, and that is not a platform for me to publish my own work. I was torn about whether to contribute anything at all for exactly this reason, but I love fairytales so much I just couldn’t not write something for it. So, while it is a great thing to put my name to something I’m incredibly proud of, I didn’t want to do it at the expense of the other authors and illustrators who have contributed so much wonderful work. It is my imprint’s first publication, and I want it to be taken seriously, and judged on the merit of its contents. It can’t be “The Zoë Book and other stories”.

So, if I don’t want to confuse my readers, and I’m not about ego, why am I telling everyone who reads my blog? For starters, anyone who knows me personally will crack my code in seconds (Selina is my middle name, and Carr is my partner’s surname). But really, it’s not a secret meant to be kept under lock and key. It’s a branding distinction in the first instance, and an exercise in humility in the second. I truly do want my friends, family, and anyone who is interested in what I do to know about this book, not only because I want to hear their thoughts on my own contribution, but because I want them to read the other stories in the book—stories that are beautiful, poignant, enchanting and full of all the wonder one would expect from a classic fairytale anthology.

NaNoWriMo progress

1st November, 2013 / Zoë / 2 Comments

There’s nothing quite like a real-time widget or two to show the world my progress, pride and/or shame. So you can come back to this post any time and see how my NaNoWriMo effort is going. (NOTE: Comments, messages, cheers and flowers are all great ways of keeping my motivation levels up. Just sayin’.)

How I’m doing so far:

How the month is going, on a graph. Just because I like graphs >

And how I stack up against my writing buddies:

Deep breath before the plunge

31st October, 2013 / Zoë / 0 Comments

It’s the last day of October, and tomorrow begins the flurry of writing that will be my first NaNoWriMo. I am about as unprepared as I could hope not to be, but I do have backup in the form of writer-friend, Audrey Camp. We have agreed to do our writing first thing in the morning each day, and text each other when we’ve hit the day’s target word count. Audrey is one of the more competitive people I know, so that should keep us both on track.

As for planning what I’m actually going to write . . . well, that’s a whole ‘nother story. This is probably the least planned of any of the books in my series, in that all I have so far is a basic premise and some ideas of stuff I want to get in there somewhere. This is the first time I’ve started without knowing where it’s supposed to end, and that’s scaring me, to be honest. I don’t mind not knowing the path the journey will take, but I need to know the destination. So maybe I should stop writing blog posts and get planning. I’ll see you guys in a month.

(Oh, and just to make November scarier, I am also doing a self-imposed No-Snack-November. Yes, I know, I’m a masochist.)

Popping the NaNo cherry

15th October, 2013 / Zoë / 2 Comments

November is my least favourite month of the year, at least in Norway. It’s cold, dark, depressing, and oh so very far away from next summer. Some years I travel back to Australia, other years we try to go somewhere, anywhere, even if it’s just to London or somewhere else in Europe, to take a break from the oppressive dullness that is November in the north. This year, however, we have no possibility of escape, and must struggle through on wits alone. So what do I do? Why, I set myself a goal that will either boost me high on the shoulders of success and send me on toward Christmas with the sound of my own fanfare trumpeting in my ears, or it will smother me under the weight of my own over-ambition.

Yes, I’m finally doing it: this year I’ve taken up the NaNoWriMo challenge, and will attempt to write the first draft of the final Eidolon Cycle book in November. That’s an entire first draft in one single month. Considering the first two books took six or so months each, and the current one is almost halfway done after almost a year, that’s no small gauntlet to toss at my own feet. But I didn’t quit my day job to make life easier for myself, and I’m all for pushing my (writing) limits.

So, besides editing a novel, a novella, trying to write my own third book, submission reading, and a ton of ebook formatting, typesetting and proofreading work, the remains of October will be spent plotting, planning, writing character sketches, and plastering my office walls with sticky enough notes to make a serial killer envious, all in an attempt to prepare for the real work ahead.

The final book, Primrose, is completely different again from the first three, and will attempt to view the entire eidolon world through the eyes of an outsider, not privy to its secrets. Set in the 1980s this time, the research (and reminiscence) will be fun to say the least, but it’s a whole new level of difficult to write about a world that the main character doesn’t see, hear, or understand. But, as I said, pushing the writing limits is what keeps me inspired.

If you’re attempting NaNo yourself, and want to be buddies, find my profile page here: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/zoe-harris

Wish me luck! And if you don’t hear from me in November, it’s not because I don’t love you, it’s because I’m busy wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into. If you don’t hear from me in December, send out a search party…

Non-Compliance: The Transition

17th September, 2013 / Zoë / 0 Comments

Releasing on 30th September, Paige Daniels’ latest book, Non-Compliance: The Transition is the second book in the Non-Compliance series (the first being The Sector, which was released by Kristell Ink in 2012).

This was another of my editing jobs, following on from The Reluctant Prophet’s release last month, but it was waaay outside my usual genre choice. I don’t remember the last time I read a science fiction book, and even then it was probably on the more literary side (something like Never Let Me Go or The Time Traveller’s Wife most likely). This book, however, has a more pulp feel (and I mean that in the stylistic way, not as an insult) – though I have to say I’m uncomfortable slotting it anywhere exactly, being as it is not purely a pulp sci-fi, nor romance, nor dystopian novel, but some combination of the three. And the combination works.

It was a pretty easy editing job; there really wasn’t much that needed my help. My role seemed to be more akin to brushing the lint from the shoulders, straightening the tie, giving an encouraging pinch to the cheek as the book takes a deep breath and heads for the bookstore shelves. So thanks, Tina, for saving me the headaches. I do, however, wish I’d counted how many times I deleted the word “that”, you know, just for kicks.

What struck me about this book, and I admit I have not yet read the first in the series, was the unapologetic nerdiness of Shea Kelly, the main character; the author manages to give us a smart and sassy – yet nerdy and self-deprecating – heroine, without resorting to the clichés and tropes normally associated with these types of stories and characters. Shea is human, she’s real, and if you’re not her, you know someone like her.

And despite this book exploring a romantic relationship between Shea and her tough-guy counterpart, Quinn, the book doesn’t have one of those Princess Bride moments where you think, “Wait, wait, hold on! Are you trying to trick me? Is this a kissing book?”. The romance is woven into the story as effortlessly as the technology; you notice it when you’re supposed to, but it doesn’t make you wrinkle your nose.

Although it worked for me as a standalone, I do feel the need now to go back and read Non-Compliance: The Sector, just to find out what lead up to everything in this book. I’d suggest you do the same. Get out there and get yourself a copy of book one, you’ve still got time to read it before the release of Non-Compliance: The Transition comes out on the 30th.

Oh, and yet another triumph with the cover art by Ken Dawson. Awesome.

The Reluctant Prophet

7th September, 2013 / Zoë / 1 Comment

The Reluctant Prophet by Gillian O’Rourke is the latest fantasy release for Kristell Ink, and became available to purchase on the 1st of September. Here’s the pitch:

There’s none so blind as she who can see . . .
Esther is blessed, and cursed, with a rare gift: the ability to see the fates of those around her. But when she escapes her peasant upbringing to become a priestess of the Order, she begins to realise how valuable her ability is among the power-hungry nobility, and what they are willing to do to possess it.
Haunted by the dark man of her father’s warnings, and unable to see her own destiny, Esther is betrayed by those sworn to protect her. With eyes newly open to the harsh realities of her world, she embarks on a path that diverges from the plan the Gods have laid out. Now she must choose between sacrificing her own heart’s blood, and risking a future that will turn the lands against each other in bloody war.
The Reluctant Prophet is the story of one woman who holds the fate of the world in her hands, when all she wishes for is a glimpse of her own happiness.

I don’t usually do book reviews on this blog, but I agreed to host Gillian as part of her blog tour because I had the pleasure of editing The Reluctant Prophet. Yes, I knew Esther when she was carrying a bit of extra weight, wasn’t quite clear on the direction her life was taking, and had a bit of a problem with waking up – she always seemed to do it with a start. But after a month of bootcamp, Gilly and I whipped Esther into the dazzling creature you can now purchase from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Smashwords, the Apple iStore, Barnes and Noble… well you get the idea.

So rather than review the book, I thought I’d share a bit of insight into what it was like editing what was originally a beast of about 140k words. It was quite the hack-and-slash-fest, let me tell you. Poor Gilly had to watch while I callously recommended cutting out entire chapters, entire characters, rearranging scenes, motivations and more. Of course this makes it sound like the manuscript was a right old mess, which is not true at all. In fact, all it needed was tightening and sharpening, and this is completely normal for a first novel.

Gilly handled the whole process like a champion, and I was so excited to read her revisions as they came, and watch as the story really came together in a more focused way. Esther suddenly came alive; she let me get close to her, and I finally got a sense of who she was and why I should care about her. Reading through again, now I feel rage when injustice beats her down (which it does, constantly), feel that her enemies are my enemies, and cheer whenever she succeeds, though heaven and earth are always working against her.

The themes this book explores are those of love, faith, loyalty and, at its heart, sacrifice, and what I noticed most throughout the editing process was these themes becoming clearer and more important to more of the characters. But Esther is no martyr; she’s ferociously strong-willed, despite her tiny stature and disadvantaged position. There are echoes in The Reluctant Prophet of those in our own world who would be used by the powerful for their own gains, and Esther sets a great example for standing her ground when it is most important.

I wish Gillian all the success possible with her first novel, and I look forward to seeing more of her work as the series progresses. Well done, and congratulations on a job well done!

Writing Postmasters

30th August, 2013 / Zoë / 0 Comments

A little while back I was interviewed by Audrey Camp and Lacy Mayberry of The Postmasters Podcast; the interview will go live on the 1st of September. We talked about everything from my inspiration for Amaranth, to how I got my agent, to how I juggle motherhood, a fledgling publishing imprint and this writing life.

Though the Postmasters Podcast only started up in July, there are already three episodes to listen to before mine; I’ve listened to each one so far, and I really recommend it to writers at any experience level. Audrey and Lacy are witty, informative and ask relevant and pertinent questions of their guests – the idea of listening to myself makes me cringe, but when I listened to the preview even I had to admit they made me sound interesting!

I hope you’ll all tune in to Postmasters on the 1st of September, and if you like what you hear, subscribe and listen to the previous episodes as well. You won’t regret it.

Learn more about Postmasters on their website, and Like them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.

How to procrastinate like a pro

21st August, 2013 / Zoë / 0 Comments

Procrastination. It’s a writer’s worst enemy, and I doubt there’s a one of us who doesn’t succumb to it now and then, if not on a daily basis. Yesterday was writing day, and I found myself doing all my usual procrastination self talk:

I’ll just get a cup of tea.

I’ll just check Facebook.

Oh! A message! Must reply to this message, then I’ll get to work.

Now I’ve lost my train of thought…better go put some laundry on while I collect myself.

Oops, there’s already a pile of dry stuff in the dryer – I should at least take it—

STOP! Just stop it right there and get back to WORK!

Back to the computer I go. And there’s an email from a client – I better answer that before I—

NOOOOO!

And so it goes. I got so mad at myself that I went to my author page on Facebook to put up a quote about writers who procrastinate. That takes a bit of research, so I had a look at some quote sites, started reading – rookie mistake – and another half an hour went by before I realised I was doing it again. Dammit! Close the quote site. Close Facebook. Close the browser entirely. Open Scrivener and stare at that blank screen again.

. . .

Yeah. Now I can’t concentrate.

The procrastination thing was bugging me, but not the urge to procrastinate, the urge to write about procrastination. I suddenly wanted to write something all writers could relate to, about how badly we procrastinate, and the sorts of crazy things we do to avoid actually sitting down and writing…but writing it would be procrastinating again, right? Right. So what did I do? I decided to write a note to myself, reminding myself to write this very blog post. That way, my head would be clear to focus on the writing I was supposed to be doing. I looked about for a piece of paper – my desk is covered with them – but I couldn’t find the right piece of paper. A Post-it was too small, the back of a discarded print-out was too likely to get lost or thrown away, one of my idea notebooks was too permanent (I hate tearing pages out, and I hate having notes about completed projects or tasks sitting around in books – yeah, I know).

What the hell? I was doing it again! Over a piece of paper! Gah! I grabbed a piece of lined paper and scribbled down three lines. Ahhh. Now I was ready to get back to my novel. Wasn’t I? Actually, this time I was. I wrote over 4000 words yesterday. Go me!

But later on I got to thinking about this whole procrastination business, and I realised something: Procrastination – when done the right way – is actually a very useful tool for a writer. And how do you procrastinate in the right way? I’m glad you asked. There are two ways I know of:

Darkness versus horror

22nd July, 2013 / Zoë / 6 Comments

Dark fiction is gaining momentum as a genre in its own right, but is often mistaken for, and confused with, horror. I, like an increasing number of readers and writers, am fascinated by dark fiction, whereas I almost never read horror or watch horror movies – but what is the difference, really?

The answer is as subjective as any attempt to define a literary genre, but I can at least explain where my personal line is drawn. To me, horror is more graphic, more about describing horrific scenes in great detail so the reader can smell the blood, hear the sound of a knife sliding into flesh, and feel the thrill of revulsion. I have a lot of trouble reading books with scenes such as these, and they cause me terrible nightmares – I don’t personally understand the appeal, if I’m honest. Dark fiction, however, looks more into the minds and intentions of its characters, and in this way can be more disturbing without necessarily being gory at all. It is more subtle, where the threat of what a character is, or might be, capable of is actually more frightening than the deeds themselves. This is often demonstrated by the mere suggestion, or even anticipation, of horrific acts, but it leaves far more to the imagination of the reader.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, there is a growing fascination with dark fairy tales, which leads us right back to the works of the Grimms, Perrault and other classic collections. This darkness in fairy tales relates to my description of dark fiction in that these traditional tales there rarely offer any detailed description of horrific acts; in fact they are often dealt with in a singularly matter-of-fact way. Terrible, gruesome things happen in traditional fairy tales, and it is, in part, this element that has always fascinated me. Here are some examples:

In early versions of Cinderella (or Ashenputel), the ugly step-sisters were convinced by their mother to cut off parts of their feet to fit into the lost shoe, in order to marry the prince.
The queen in Snow White was punished by being forced to dance in hot iron shoes until she fell down and died.
Bluebeard is a serial killer who murders his wives and hangs their bodies in a secret room in his chateau.
The Big Bad Wolf has his stomach cut open and its contents replaced with heavy stones, which cause him to fall into a well and drown.
Rapunzel’s prince falls from her tower and is blinded by the thorns on which he lands.
In the Norse Askeladden story of his eating contest with a troll, Askeladden convinces the troll to slit his own belly open, which he does (and dies, of course).

These are just a small sample of the many horrific things that occur in traditional fairy tales, and yet they are not told in a particularly gruesome way, which in my mind has always made them all the more disturbing. Let’s face it, half of this stuff is carried out by the heroes and heroines to punish the wicked, so we are left feeling like these atrocities are just desserts. That’s pretty messed up, when you think about it.

To boldly go

12th June, 2013 / Zoë / 0 Comments

For some time now, I have been working closely with a small press in the UK with a view to eventually launching my own dark fiction imprint, Tenebris Books. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan and my imprint slipped further and further into the background, never quite receiving the focus and attention it needed to get off the ground. But now, the founder of Kristell Ink, Sammy Smith, and I have decided to break away and start our own independent publishing house – Grimbold Books – under which Kristell Ink and Tenebris Books will operate as equals.

With our focus set on the genres that we love, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Dark Fiction, we will be able to give our authors the attention and support they need to achieve their writing and publishing goals. And at the same time, we aim to strengthen the relationships we have with bloggers, reviewers and readers to make sure our books are on the right radars.

Since announcing the change, Tenebris Books has already received several exciting new submissions, and we hope to make some announcements about our plans for the rest of 2013 and start planning our 2014 catalogue. Dark Fiction is hot right now, especially fairy tale-based stories, which is exactly what I love, as my regular readers already know.

If you’re interested in what’s in store for Grimbold and Tenebris, head over to the Grimbold Books website where you’ll find information about where we’ve been and where we’re going. You can also follow @GrimboldBooks on Twitter, or Like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GrimboldBooks

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