Author Interview: Savannah Knight

As we continue our interview series of the authors on the Twisted Tales blog we welcome Savannah Knight! Savannah is writing the retelling of Cinderella, which you can find here.

1) What got you started on writing? 

Honestly, Facebook RP… I had never written anything except papers in school, which I always hated. After a couple of months of talking to some of the RPers, I was persuaded by a couple of dear friends to JUST DO IT. So, I created a character. And the rest, as they say, is history. I found out I could write, I was decent at it, and it was a much needed escape from my crazy busy real life as a mom and wife.

2) Are your non-writing friends and family supportive?  Or do you get the "author/writer...yea... okay..." response?  

My husband and teenage son are very supportive. My son loves to write and wants to write a story with me. But he did specify our book could not be “gross.” In other words no sex. I don’t think my husband realized just how long it took to write even 1,000 words. But he bears with me and reads them over and over again. He my first beta with every story I write. I haven’t really outed myself to rest of my family about writing yet. Still scared of what they might say. But the friends that know I write are very supportive.

3) Why did you choose your particular story for the Fairy Tale Blog? 

Cinderella was always my favorite childhood fairy tale. The Disney version, of course. The idea of a fairy godmother, beautiful carriage, Prince hunting the right girl down to fit her with the glass slipper…a true fairy tale in my eyes. As an adult, I know for a fact, the right shoes can change your life. ;)

4) Why you took it in the direction you did? 

One area I need to work on in my writing is plotting and planning…so why am I taking Cinderella in the direction I am, I can’t answer because I’m not sure. I have an idea but not sure how to get there yet. I want a balanced mixture of fantasy and real life. Present time and past. I love current pop culture but I want ball gowns and castles and dukes and earls and princesses and princes. Hopefully, I can mesh it all together and make it a great story.

5) What elements are you going to keep the same as the classic version and why? 

Oh, most definitely there will be a fairy godmother, of sorts…The step-sisters and step-monster will be wicked to the core. Elle will be their whipping post. And there will be indeed be a “slipper” although I’m not sure if it’ll be glass. There are also aspects from the Brothers Grimm version of the story I will be keeping. Because you can’t have a twisted tale without a little twisted and gory Grimm, IMO.

6) Do you prefer to write in silence or with the TV going or with music? 

Well, usually the TV’s on in the background because I write curled up in my recliner or at the kitchen table. But I prefer a quiet house with just music.

7) What is your dream writing space? 

A room with just my computer & desk completely stocked with everything I need all the time. A coffee maker that knows when my cup is low and refills it. One whole wall to be a window and the scene outside changes with my mood. Bright and sunny if I’m writing a happy romance. Dark and rainy if it’s a depressing scene and thunder storm if I’m killing someone off.

8) What do you do to put yourself in the mood for writing graphic scenes like sex, violence or debauchery?

 Music is always a great mood-setter for any scene I need to write.

9) If your life was a novel, what would the title be and who would write it? 

I would love for Sandra Brown or Jaycee Clark to write it. That I know for sure. They write crazy, evil villains and great heroes and heroines. But the title, I have no clue.

10) Who helps you through this crazy journey of writing? 

Along with my husband, my friends. Everyone on the Twisted Tales blog. I have written with Jacy and Phoebe since I started writing a couple years ago. They are a constant encouragement to me. 

Find Savannah Knight!
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Author Interview: Alexandra Webb

For the next couple of weeks we will be doing Author Interviews with the writers at the Twisted Tales Blog. The blog is contributed to by 7 authors, all giving their own takes on some classic fairy tales. The stories posted so far are Aladdin, Alice In Wonderland,  Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. New chapters are posted every other week for each tale. If you are interested in reading these twisted tales, please be advised that they may contain graphic content .

http://wickedlytwistedtales.blogspot.com/2013/02/welcome-to-twisted-tales.html

Today we interviewed Alexandra Webb creator of The Self-Publishing Experiment and who is also writing the tale of Alice In Wonderland at Twisted Tales.

(from The Alice Page at Twisted Tales)

Blurb: Alice

Alice falls down what she thought was a rabbit hole, only to end up in the world of the Fae, the place she calls Wonderland. Forget off with her head. Entangled with the curse that has come over the land, Alice has no choice but to face the Red King, the collector of hearts. Literally.

Interview:

1) What got you started on writing?

          I’ve been telling stories since I can remember. I used to tell mystery stories in grade school during recess. When my life hit a hard spot I started to put my stories onto paper. I spent the majority of my childhood grounded so the computer (when we had one) wasn’t an option. I fell in love with telling the stories of the characters that I had no choice but to continue with it.

2)Are you non-writing friends and family supportive?  Or do you get the "author/writer...yea... okay..." response?  

          Most of my family thinks that writing is simply a hobby for me. They don’t know about the things I write, nor do they ask about it. Some of them are to the point of judgmental that I won’t tell them when I publish something because I don’t want to deal with that. It’s just how I am.

          Friends on the other hand, they are all very supportive, even if they don’t like the type of writing that I do. (The BDSM aspect of it) They still encourage me and joke around about what we’ll do when I hit it big. I wouldn’t be anywhere without my friends on this adventure.

3) Why did you choose your particular story for the Fairy Tale Blog.

          Why did I chose Alice in Wonderland? I loved the world of the book, the possibilities of it, even though I feel that the book has no plot. (I know there are people out there who will argue with me on this), but the world is amazing. I wanted to be able to take that world and put my own twist on it and the characters.

4) Why you took it in the direction you did?

          The direction I plan on taking is one that I mulled over and over. In the end I decided to let the characters run amok and do whatever the fuck they wanted. I wanted Wonderland to be the Fae world because in my mind it was the only supernatural world that would have such wondrous and horrifying things in it. I love working with the world of the Fae because there are so many things that can be done within it.

5) What elements are you going to keep the same as the classic version and why?

          The wonder of discovery is something I’m going to keep the same, other than that I’m really taking some liberties with this. Alice’s curiosity is something in the book that I admire. I really want to portray this in my adult Alice.

6) Do you prefer to write in silence or with the TV going or with music?

          I can go either way. I like music that reminds me of the character or that inspired the scene. When I’m writing sex I need something without words and when I’m editing I need silence. There is no if ands or buts about that. No music while writing. The TV I can get away with having it on, but I get so distracted so work tends to go slower. Much slower.

7) What is your dream writing space?

          My dream writing space would be somewhere with two monitors for editing, a wireless keyboard so that I can sit cross legged without having to worry about wires. A window with a beautiful view, where it is warm, but not too hot to work, or that ‘I want to take a nap’ warm that can happen, that needs to be somewhere where I can see it. It needs to have endless coffee and snacks. Maybe a mini fridge for cold drinks. Or man servants to bring stuff to me. ;)

8) What do you do to put yourself in the mood for writing graphic scenes like sex, violence or debautchary? 

          Ahhh sex…that needs mood music, maybe some sexy pictures to inspire…with being a BDSM author I actually have to research things so that I don’t get hounded by the masses about things not being accurate. (Though things that are not lifestyle based I do take some liberties with.) A lot of time that alone will get me in the mood to write a scene for the characters. As for violence I need anger music. I pull upon the anger and urges in me to write them. You know those urges, the one that makes you want to punch the stupid people? Yeah those ones.

9) If your life was a novel, what would the title be and who would write it?

          This is a hard question. I’d have to say the title would be something like “Hidden Beneath” or “Beyond the Mask.” As for the author I’d have to stay Janet Evanovich. Yep pretty sure my life is a comedy of shenanigans.

10) Who helps you through this crazy journey of writing?

          As I mentioned before I wouldn’t be anywhere without the support of my friends. Most of them act as my beta readers where some cheer me on from the side. I’m taking this journey with Mia and I have to say it’s been great having someone side by side with me, struggling, researching, and writing. She knows exactly what I’m going through with this. Eventually I hope to have fans going on this journey with me.

…

Click the links to follow Alexandra Webb on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and at the Alice page on Twisted Tales for updates and chapters that will be added to Alice’s story.

Endings

There is something bitter sweet about ending a story or a novel. You have slaved over these characters. They are your babies. They spoke to you and tortured you in the middle of the night, and now you're done with them. Even if you are writing as series, it's bitter sweet. Yes, you'll work with them again, but they won't be the same. The journey they took through the book changed them. As a reader the ending should be what brings everything to a satisfying close. Happy Ever After or not.

I hate writing endings because for me my heart is torn out at the climax and my tears are exhausted and...then we have the down part. The part where everything should wrap up to some extent. How do you do this without shoving information down your reader's throat? How do you make it stay within that realm of believability?  To me, life doesn't always wrap up in a nice little package, so I don't always have my books do that. That being said, endings at least need to be satisfying. Endings to book with a cliff hanger better have another book in the series, or a story. If you leave your reader wanting for more, good, but don't piss them off or they are likely not to buy the next book.

I'm sure well all remember this from Lit class.

My suggestion on how to avoid the information dump is, see how much of it you can weave through out the story and give you readers the benefit of the doubt. Drop them hints so that towards the end things can be wrapped up with a couple sentences or so. It's tricky I know. You can also put it in with the climax, is your characters sneaking around? Add tension as they hear the information they need and the reader needs, but have them almost get caught, have them get lost, throw in something like they picked up a paper. I love little details that bring things together in the end as a reader.

Recently I attended a panel on things like this. Agatha Christy was a master at details like that. The example used was a character went in to get a jacket that was supposed to be upstairs, instead it was on the couch. As she went to retrieve it she saw a flash of someone going up the stairs. She ran after him, only to find that he escaped through the window. Later on it was the jacket that came into play, not the mysterious person jumping out the window.

Though sometimes the information being revealed gives your reader a chance to breath. If you just dragged them through an emotional roller coaster you need to give them a chance to come down. In the end...no pun intended...do what feels right for the characters. This is where Beta readers come in. They can tell you what they felt about the ending. If they feel that it was rushed (One of my biggest problems) or if they felt it was too slow, or whatever they find as a reader.

Cover Art, Part 2: Restrictions

Okay, so I thought I was done talking about cover art, but then I remembered one very important detail. 

Model Release.

What is Model Release?

A model release, known in similar contexts as a liability waiver, is a legal release typically signed by the subject of a photograph granting permission to publish the photograph in one form or another. The legal rights of the signatories in reference to the material is thereafter subject to the allowances and restrictions stated in the release, and also possibly in exchange for compensation paid to the photographed. [1]

This is extremely important to know when choosing a cover design if you are doing it yourself. Granted if you are having someone else make your cover they should already know this.

If you use a stock/royalty free image, like the ones from any of the big stock image sites or if you are having someone model for you, as long as they are identifiable then you need to make absolutely sure that the model has signed a Model Release.

First off let’s clear up the “identifiable” part. That doesn’t mean if the person is well known and it is in no way defined as someone you, yourself can recognize. It means that if the model is identifiable to anyone, if some passer-by sees your cover and goes “Hey! That’s Sally from my local Wal-Mart!” because Sally’s face is plastered on your cover clear as day then you better hope that Sally signed a Model Release form. And to be clear, it isn’t just for people whose face is fully featured in a photograph or stock image. There are pictures of random football players all decked out in their gear where you can’t see their face at all, but they are still a person and while you might think they are unrecognizable that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t recognize themselves and say “I didn’t give them permission to use my image.” Then BINGO, you’ve got a law suit on your hands, and no one wants that.

You need to remember that just because you can download an image that you paid for doesn’t give you the right to use that picture however you like.  The keywords to look for on the major image sites are:

Editorial Use Only

Signed Model Release on file

I can go on my favorite stock image site and do a search for pictures of David Beckham and I will come back with thousands of results but that doesn’t mean I can use his image. As a celebrity he owns his image, it is his brand. So while I can use it for Editorial purposes, if I am writing an article about soccer players, male underwear or if I am a sports reporter talking about his last big game and I am not marketing, advertising or making a profit off of the picture then I am allowed to use it (side note: even then, I would still be too afraid of his legal team to risk it). BUT, as much as I would love to use him as my cover model for my book, I cannot use his image even though I’ve paid for and downloaded it because it is specifically for Editorial Use Only.

Keep in mind that as long as you are using a reputable company for your images this really shouldn’t cause you too much stress. Almost every image I’ve found (as long as it is not of a celebrity) has a Model Release, but this is your livelihood we are talking about here so it never hurts to just make sure you double check before you click the download button. Or if you are taking pictures yourself download a simple Model Release form and have your model sign it. You can download a simple Model Release Form from various sites all over the internet, click here to see one example that is available for use.  Be forewarned, they accept no responsibility for any liabilities you may incur on any of your jobs. Also, please know that the legal issues surrounding model releases are complex and vary by jurisdiction. [1]  And that this blog post in no way should be misunderstood as legal advice or representation, it is merely meant as advice on what to look for and as with all things you should do your own research and make sure you gain legal help if necessary.

It is truly better to be safe than sorry. And always, make sure you abide by the licensing agreement and read the terms!

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_release

Appearances and Professionalism

I'm interrupting my resource blogs to bring you something that kind of hit me hard. Now, I know I'm probably going to catch a lot of grief for this, especially since I'm not a 'published-author' yet. (Though I am published under another name.) My mentor once told me that in this age, the age of technology, everything will come back to you. Regardless of how hard you try for it not to. He told me to keep that in mind if I decided to publish under a pen name. Now this was a few years ago. This in combination of a chapter in Quit Your Day Job is what brought me to the topic of this post. This business is about who know and how to use your contacts. You can push people away very easily, so let's start with appearances.

I love hanging out in my PJ's and my baggy clothes. They are loose and comfy and in the cold weather they are great. But when I go somewhere that I might meet up with a contact, or I know I'm going to be meeting up with a contact, I dress nicer. Not to say I wear slacks and blazers everywhere, but I wear my nice jeans that aren't torn, a nice shirt, and possibly heals. Depends on the event or the plans. When it comes to conventions, I tend to go dressed in something theme wise, but nothing outrages. The point is, it's easier for people to take you seriously when you act like you care. If I don't dress nicer, I look like I'm a teenage (yay for good genes!) and it's hard for people to actually think I'm serious about anything. It's kind of like a job or a job interview, dress for the part.

I mentioned it before, about how in the age of technology everything comes back to you. That means even if you post something on your personal page, it'll still come back to your author self. It's possible to post something negative on your personal page and have it effect your career on the author side of things. I have seen many indie-authors do this, the moment that I see them complain about a negative review or negative feed back from a reader I lose respect for them. If you need to vent about it, vent to a person you trust, but not in a public forum, place, website. It's okay to have opinions, but when you post them, you don't want to chance hurting your career or your fan base. You've worked hard to build up both. H.P. Mallory states:

"Now, supposing Ms. Book Blogger didn’t like your book at all, and this absolutely does happen, be PROFESSIONAL! Remember, you are trying to embark on a new career, therefore you need to act every inch the professional business person that you are and do not take negative reviews personally. I have had book reviewers email me back, telling me they couldn’t finish my book or they really didn’t like the book, etc.   When that happens, I very politely ask them if they would mind not leaving a review on Barnes and Noble or Amazon. Most times, they are nice about it and won’t leave bad reviews but sometimes they aren’t as nice and might leave you a bad review. Just take a deep breath, count to ten, and continue contacting other reviewers. Trust me, it’s not worth attacking them (especially in a public manner where other people can see your attack) because it will only make you look bad and it absolutely could destroy your career. I want to stress the point about never responding to a bad review even further. This is actually a huge issue and I have noticed many instances where indie authors get extremely defensive of their bad reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. NEVER EVER EVER respond to a bad review in a public arena. If someone leaves you a 1 star review on Amazon, for example, and says your book was the worst book they’ve ever read, DO NOT RESPOND! If you respond, it will only hurt you, not the person leaving the review. I can’t stress that enough."

(Mallory, H.P.  (2011-08-01). Quit Your Day Job, A Guide for the Self Published Author (Kindle Locations 1198-1204).  . Kindle Edition.)

I think that this can be taken further. You have a multitude of ways that you can respond to negative things, be it someone said something about your book, you personally, or something you've read in a blog post. Chose the highroad, create less drama for your fans and your career.

Review: Midnight Symphony

5 out of 5 Stars

From the back cover:

The legend of the Gypsy Lady had been passed down for centuries, and now it is Cora's turn to dance in the square. Giving people hope and taunting the Demon King is what she lives for, until she catches the attention of Darius, prince of the demons. Hidden behind her mask, she keeps her identity from him until she is captured by the king. With her magic on the verge of waking and the village on the brink of war can Cora tame Darius' heart before it's too late?

Darius became obsessed with the Gypsy Lady the first time he had seen her dance and play in the market place. The night he kissed her became his undoing. When his father captures the woman people believed to be a spirit, Darius takes the chance to observe her. His obsession with her grows into something more, he knows that together they can stop the war and set things right, but can he accept it?

Review:

I loved this book. The characters had depth, all of them, even the supporting characters. They were all well fleshed out. It was obvious that even the minor characters had back-stories just waiting to be told, but I will get to that in a minute. The scenery, setting, was well detailed. I am a very visual reader, I like to be able to close my eyes and see what the author is writing about and with this story I was able to do that.  The pace was spot on; not too fast, not too slow- just right.  Now as for the supporting characters, what I would like to see is more of their stories, one in particular, I am hoping that the author decides to tell more of their story as I am really wanting to know what will become of the people, these characters.

 Midnight Symphony is available in eBook and Paperback

eBook

Amazon

Smashwords

Paperback

Createspace

Amazon

This is the first self-published novella by A.L. Kessler, she also has a short story “Keeper” published in Evernight Vol. 2 anthology by XoXo publishing. Check her out.

You can also follow the author on her website: www.amylkessler.com

On Facebook: alkesslerauthor

Twitter: @A_L_Kessler

Goodreads: A.L. Kessler

Resources Part Three: Critique Groups

I personally have a love/hate relationship with Critique Groups and Writers' Groups. When I lived on the other side of the mountain, I attended three groups and I loved them all. The first on was a sit-your- ass-in-a-chair-and-write group, the second was a-get-your-mind-working and workshop group, and the other was an editing group. What I loved about these groups were they had a variety of people and no one had the 'I'm better than you' attitude, the second group I attended with a traditionally published author. I remembering being in awe that she was so down to earth and willing to help aspiring authors. Those are the kind of people you want to find in a group, people who are willing to help and treat you as if you are on the same level as them. Each person has their strengths and their weaknesses, and you want a group to play off those.

Now that I'm on this side of the mountain I have yet to find a group I like. I attended one that was completely focused on doing things through a vanity press, which wasn't the way I wanted to go. Everyone there was so scared of rejections that they hadn't bothered to finish a project or get one into someone else's hands. The second group I attended had a few published authors in it, and though they tried to be encouraging, when you asked for help they acted like they were too good for the unpublished members. The third is one that I currently attend and it has been interesting. Though I did get feed back, it was in a snarky and asinine way. Those are things you don't want. You don't want feed back that comes from someone who is being a jerk, it is possible to give constructive feedback without being mean. You want a group that has similar goals to you, are they aiming to self-publish? Are they aiming for traditional? Both? What can you learn from everyone? And you don't want people who constantly think that they are better than you.

So, Critique Groups? A good resource if you can find the right fit. So look around and see if you can't find one. You might be surprised. I'm still searching for a good fit, but I also have a string of beta readers to help me out.