Sorry for the delay on this review. I actually finished watching Good Omens on Amazon (Not Netflix, hehe) weeks ago. But, you know, life happened, and it took me a while to sit down and talk about it.

Here’s the first thing you need to understand. I love Neil Gaiman. I mean, freaking love his books. I love everything he writes. The first time I read Good Omens, I finished it in one day. This is, by far, one of my favorite books of all time.

When I first heard that they were making Good Omens into a mini-series, I had conflicting feelings. On the one hand, many of Gaiman’s stories have been converted to the big or small screen to great effect. Coraline, for instance, is one of my favorite movies. However, I’ve been burned by movies based on books I loved so many many times. We won’t talk about The Giver movie. And you don’t want me to talk about the Harry Potter movies. Or the first X-Men trilogy.

And so, when I sat down to watch the first episode, I did so with reservations. And then I saw that Neil Gaiman was involved with making the show, and I felt a lot better about the whole thing.

Turns out, it was great.

The casting was perfect

That was a big problem I had with the X-Men movies. Not my only problem, but a big one. But the casting on Good Omens was fantastic. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Crowley other than David Tennant, and I’m not just saying that because he’s The Doctor. His physical movement really sold the character, even aside from his delivery. And Michael Sheen as Aziraphale was perfect. Of course, every time I saw Jon Hamm as Gabriel, I just started laughing.

The intro was wonderful

I know this isn’t the best thing to judge about a show, but an intro means a lot to me. Yeah, I’m weird. Blame it on the Simpsons and Firefly for setting such a high bar. But this intro was a work of art. Hands down.

For the most part, they stayed right to the lines of the book.

Look, I’m not saying that every movie or tv show based on a book has to read the book like it’s the script verbatim. I mean, that would be nice. But it’s not realistic.

But Good Omens got pretty damn close, no lie. I re-read the book a week before the show premiered, and this show was almost line per line for many of the scenes.

There were additions, but they made total sense

Now, of course, they had to add a few things. They had this whole story about Nazies that was really fun. And they did change up the ending. But they changed it in a way that made total and absolute sense. I don’t want to spoil it, because you should absolutely watch it. But the ending, and all of the other additions, make sense.

If you get a chance,check out Good Omens. If you’ve never read the book, do that too. And let me know what you think in the comments below.

Station 86 is shocked when a Khloe assassin begins killing members of the all powerful council. Officer Sennett Montgomery and Councilman Godfrey Anders swear to find the assassin after Godfrey’s wife is falsely accused. But the killer, and the council itself, are not what they seem. Neither, as it turns out, is Sennett’s daughter.

Get it on Smashwords for free

Here’s something you might not know about me. I was born in June of 1986. So literally, while I was being born, Chernobyl was happening. Well, the fallout of Chernobyl was still being dealt with.

In addition to that, I was brought up and still live in, Butler PA. That’s about three hours from Three Mile Island. It seems that I was meant to have some sort of connection with Nuclear disasters. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to Pripyat.

Even if this wasn’t the case, I think I still would have devoured HBO’s Chernobyl.

For the maybe three of you who don’t know the story of Chernobyl, here’s a basic overview. There was a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, in the Soviet Union. It ran a safety test that went horribly wrong. The core melted, sending radioactive material out into the population. The nearby town of Pripyat had to be completely deserted, and to this day people can’t go there without safety suits. Or they’ll, you know, die.

This was a terrible situation, made worse by a government cover-up, incompetence by the plant’s management, and leaders who were more interested in protecting their secrets than the lives of innocent people.

The HBO miniseries follows the scientists and politicians who worked first to stop the plant from gushing poison into the surrounding area, and then to make sure nothing like this ever happened again. And, let me tell you, it stayed very true to the story. It largely follows Valery Legasov, a nuclear physicist who was part of the response team. His tireless work to lessen the impact of the disaster saved untold lives. The work he did later was more important.

The last episode was the most impactful. And it’s, again, as true to history as we can tell. Legasov made damned sure that every person he could reach would know exactly how the meltdown at Chernobyl happened, exactly who was responsible (spoiler, there a lot of people responsible.) and exactly how responsible they were. He did this not for spite, not to punish anyone. There were enough people more than ready to punish. He did it because he wanted to make sure that nothing like this ever happened again in the Soviet Union.

Legasov is a hero, no question. And I feel personally attached to this story for several reasons.

First off, Pripyat was a company town. It was built to house the employees of the Chernobyl power plant and their families. It was nice, too. One of the most haunting pictures from Pripyat is of the Ferris wheel, that will never run again. My hometown, Butler, was also a company town. It was built to house workers of the steel industry. There are still people here who can remember being paid in company scrip from the mills.

One character from the show really hit me between the eyes. She was a woman named Lyudmila Ignatenko. She was pregnant when the reactor melted. My mom was also pregnant, with me, when the reactor melted. Normally reminders that we’re all citizens of planet Earth are happy and warm. This one wasn’t. How many of my generation were poisoned by this tragedy? No one’s bothered keeping track, so we don’t know and never will know the real number.

The last episode really brought me to tears. Mostly due to this one line, probably the best line from the whole damned show.

“Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth, sooner or later that debt is paid. That is how an RBMK reactor explodes, lies.”

That’s how most things explode or decay. Relationships don’t fail because people were too honest with each other. You don’t stop talking to your family because they were telling you the truth. The truth, no matter how hard it is to speak, is always the best way to handle any situation.

By the way, I still believe Nuclear power is a viable, safe alternative to what we have now. When you look at the numbers, gas, and coal kill thousands of people a year. Nuclear energy has killed less than 100 since Chernobyl. Sorry, including Chernobyl.

I cannot suggest Chernobyl enough. It was believable, gripping, and terrifying at times. If you get a chance, watch it.

And if you’ve already watched it, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.

Station 86 is shocked when a Khloe assassin begins killing members of the all powerful council. Officer Sennett Montgomery and Councilman Godfrey Anders swear to find the assassin after Godfrey’s wife is falsely accused. But the killer, and the council itself, are not what they seem. Neither, as it turns out, is Sennett’s daughter.

Download it now for free.

Woo, we are halfway through 2019 already! How, how in the hell did that happen?

Suffice to say it did, and somehow, we’re now staring down the latter six months of the year. And I, I am ready to get it underway.

I hope you are too. Because it’s time to do a quarterly audit and a quarterly update for our 19 in 19 goals.

Spoiler, mine changed dramatically. Many of the things that I really wanted to do have fallen by the wayside. But here’s how I’m doing so far. A crossed out goal has been completed.

1. Make progress on the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps. I am on step two!
2. Finish the last draft of Station Central
3. Finish the second draft of Falling From Grace
4. Finish the second draft of Wolf Eye. I might not get to this one, because some changes were made
5. Finish the third draft of Grace and give it to my beta readers.
6. REDACTED
7. REDACTED
8. Write a new novel for Nanowrimo
9. Finish the third draft of Wolf’s Eye. (This is actually getting moved to next year.)
10. Write the rough draft of a new science fiction novella
11. Publish Station Central online and in e-book form. Coming August 3oth.
12. Strengthen my mediation and yoga practice. This is not something I intend to work on right now.
13. Read 25 books. So far I have read 14.
14. Get a literary agent. Still looking for one.
15. Read Simple Abundance every day. This I’m doing.
16. Use the Kona Marie method to declutter my life. I’ve decided this just not attainable right now until I move.
17. Have wonderful holidays.
18. Grow succulents and herbs.
19. Find ways to limit my waste. Again, I’ve set this goal aside.

As you can see, there are some big things still on there. But there was a lot of dead weight there too, things that I no longer really cared about. So, removing all the things I’ve already done, and replacing some goals with new ones, here’s what I have. It’s whittled down to 14.

1. REDACTED
2. REDACTED
3. Write a brand new Nano novel
4. Publish Station Central
5. Read 25 books. I have eleven left
6. Get an agent.
7. Simple Abundance book
8. Wonderful holidays
9. Finish Falling from Grace. And I mean completely finish. Like ready to publish finished.
10. Finish The Oregon facility, my new science fiction novella
11. Start Wolf’s Eye, draft two. Probably after Nanowrimo
12. Create 7 income streams. Spoiler, this isn’t going well. I mean, I’m up to five income streams, but most are not making money.
13. Pay off all my debt.
14. Create a nest box full of lovely things for the next time we move.

So that’s it. Fourteen items that will have a dramatic impact on my life and happiness. Not like, a life-changing impact. But I’ll feel it if these things are done.

If you don’t have any goals right now, or if you had goals at the start of the year and by now they’ve petered out, here’s my suggestion.

Think about what you can do in the next six months that you’ll feel the impact of. What can you do, big or small, that will leave a mark.

Even if it’s just a dent?

So, what are you going to do to impact your life in the next six months? Let us know in the comments below.

Station 86 is shocked when a Khloe assassin begins killing members of the all powerful council. Officer Sennett Montgomery and Councilman Godfrey Anders swear to find the assassin after Godfrey’s wife is falsely accused. But the killer, and the council itself, are not what they seem. Neither, as it turns out, is Sennett’s daughter.

Download Seeming now for free.

Another thing I haven’t done in a while is to review a book. I don’t know why. I’ve been reading books. But I’ve mostly been reading old books, books that almost everyone has already read except me. (I’ve really been trying not to re-read books. Which actually means no re-reading Harry Potter.)

But, after interviewing Geoff Nelder during the Spring Author Series, I had to pick up his new science fiction novella, Suppose We.

It starts out similar to a lot of other science fiction stories. We have a team of people on a spaceship, seeking another planet for human habitation.

They reach a planet they call Kep. Previous exploration has told them that this planet is considered possibly habitable by humans.

Our cast consists of Gaston, the science officer and main character and the trigger-happy ship’s captain Penn. It’s rounded out with Em and Delta. Together, their mission is to see if humans can survive.

As it turns out, they sort of can. The food is edible, and in fact, is described as familiar and tasty. The air is mostly breathable, though apparently not quite as breathable as on Earth.

The only real issue seems to be that the Kep people, and by people, I mean floating purple cloud-like creatures, don’t really seem to find the humans worth their time.

I honestly could have lived without Gaston, the only Frenchman on the ship, using random French words in every single sentence. But honestly, that’s about the only complaint I have.

I loved the world, though. It’s really unlike most of the science fiction I’ve read. The Kep are not capable of killing, and neither is anything else on the planet. It is completely devoid of predators. (Are you just a little worried about humans on this planet? I am.) But this is so unique! I’d never considered how society might evolve if nothing kills each other.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the AI from the ship, who calls itself Can, as in Suppose We Can. It’s sarcastic but hopeful. It’s constantly working behind the scenes for its crew. And I live it.

I also really love this butterfly that takes a liking to Gaston. It’s just the right amount of whimsical to add some fantasy to a science fiction story.

Another thing I apricated, and it’s something I aspire to, is the detail the science fiction has. The characters are in cryogenic stasis for years, thousands of them, before they reach Kep. When they wake they’re groggy, it takes hours to recoup, and they’ve quite covered in wax required for the process. I love this! I don’t think of things like this.

Suppose We is the first book in a series. I fully intend to pick up the next one when it comes out.

If you want to check out Suppose We, click here. And let me know if you like it.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you click on a link I might make some money back. That doesn’t mean I don’t really love what we’re talking about today. I will never tell you about anything I don’t love and use myself.

Pretty exciting day, here. It’s the first day of July, the first day of Camp Nanowrimo, and the first day of the Smashwords Sale. Exciting day.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a new fun thing to tell you about. But, as my writing and promotion skills improve, I hope, new tools become available. Or, maybe I just find out about them long after everyone else does.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the Fussy Librarian today.

The Fussy Librarian is a daily newsletter that lists free or discount e-books. As I’m sure you can imagine, this is a decent set up for both authors and readers.

I discovered Fussy Librarian while I was looking for a new way to promote my books. I had heard of a newsletter sent out to readers looking for bargain books. I won’t say which one, but the first one that I found was $100. That’s a lot of money to promote a book for free. That’s more than my whole promotional budget for my next book launch. Like, twice what I was planning to spend.

So I kept looking, and I found Fussy Librarian. The price was a lot more reasonable, and I considered it worth it. I scheduled Seeming, the first book of Station 86, just to see how it would do. The plan was to use Seeming to test the system before Missing Stitches came out.

Now, I don’t have a ton of time to spend on setting up promotions. I’m busy, we’re all busy! But setting up the Fussy Librarian took just a couple minutes. I chose the genre, provided links, wrote a blurb, and was ready to go.

Once it was submitted, I got a confirmation right away. I expected that, of course. I didn’t expect the occasional check-in emails to make sure everything was going alright. I didn’t expect that, when I only set this up on Smashwords, that I’d get a polite email asking me if I was sure that was correct. (It was. As I said, this was only a test.) I was really touched by how helpful everyone was.

Of course, all the sweet emails in the world don’t matter, when compared to the big picture. How did it go?

Well, let me share some real numbers with you. I’ve promoted two books with Fussy Librarian so far. The first was Seeming, as I said, for a test. Seeming was on Fussy Librarian on Monday, January 28^th. My free downloads for that Sunday were two. My free downloads for that Tuesday were also two. In the past month, Seeming has been downloaded 64 times. But on January 28^th, it was downloaded 104 times!

After that success, I scheduled promotion for Missing Stitches during its launch. Now, I don’t have a specific download number, because they were free and Missing Stitches goes through my publisher, Solstice Publishing. But however much it was, it was enough to put Missing Stitches at number two in New Adult and College Fantasy on Amazon, and number three in overall free fantasy.

I’d consider that a pretty damn decent result. I’d sure never had a Woven book go that high before.

So what do you think? Have you ever used a promotional newsletter before? Let us know in the comments below.

Happy pride month! It’s a little late, but I wanted to make sure I got this in.

Now, as most of you might know, I’m not a member of the LGBTQ community.

That being said, I have included at least one homosexual character in almost every book I’ve written.

I don’t do this for praise, or to virtue signal. Today, I want to talk about why I include LGBTQ characters in my books.

Writing about people just like me is boring.

There’s a whole bunch of stories about straight Christian white girls. Like, a lot a lot. And, as I wrote about before, I don’t want to write the same sort of character over and over again. I want to write new kinds of characters who have new kinds of stories. Stories that maybe I’m not so familiar with.

Homosexuality is totally normal, and it’s unrealistic to not include them.

I bet you know someone who’s a part of the LGBTQ community. If you don’t, someone you know isn’t telling you something.

If that’s the case, why aren’t there more LGBTQ characters in fiction? Sure, there are more now than there used to be. But it’s still not proportional to the actual demographics.

Honestly, no offense to the books I read, but I don’t think I’ve read a book this year that included a homosexual or bisexual character. Not a one. Does no one see the problem with that?

I want characters who are real people who also happen to be gay. I want to see people who have story arches that have nothing to do with their sexuality. And since I’m not finding them, I’m writing them.

I want LGBTQ teens who might read my book to see representations of themselves.

Imagine how frustrating it must be to read about characters who have one very important thing in common with you, and there’s literally nothing else to their character. Doesn’t that sound frustrating as hell?

Now, imagine almost every time there’s a character with that one thing, that’s the only thing about them.

I know that there are some great LGBT characters who are well written people. Who are textured and layered and everything a good character should be. If you know about them, please give them a shout out in the comments.

Here’s what it comes down to. I want to write characters who are real, worlds that feel real. Ignoring the LGBTQ community isn’t real, and it isn’t right.

I want to write real stories, real people.

Station 86 is shocked when a Khloe assassin begins killing members of the all powerful council. Officer Sennett Montgomery and Councilman Godfrey Anders swear to find the assassin after Godfrey’s wife is falsely accused. But the killer, and the council itself, are not what they seem. Neither, as it turns out, is Sennett’s daughter.

Get it here now, for free.

We interrupt our Spring Author Interview Series for an exciting announcement. It’s time for summer camp.

And by summer camp I mean Camp Nanowrimo, July Session.

Ah, I love this. It brings back fond memories of the summer camp I went to as a girl. The songs, the terrible food, the wonderful smores. I learned to cook a whole Thanksgiving dinner over a campfire. I learned to read a compass, paddle a canoe, use a swiss army knife. It was a great time.

Even if you don’t participate in Nano, I think you should consider doing Camp Nano in July. Because aside from the obvious differences I discussed before the April session, there are a lot of other reasons now is the perfect time for a camp month.

November is hard

Last year I nearly killed myself doing Nanowrimo. My dumb self thought it was a great idea to plan a vacation the same month. Then we lost power at my house for three days. I did it because I’m a Gretchen Rubin Upholder, so once I set a goal I’m going to die before I don’t meet that goal. I’m not saying that’s healthy. I’m just saying it’s who I am.

That’s the thing, though. Lots of people have Novembers like mine. Busy with holidays and vacations and other family obligations and events. Students have finals on top of all of that. Honestly, November is a hard month to write a freaking book. I swear that’s part of the point. If you can write a book in November, you can write one any time.

On the other hand, if you can’t write a book in November, maybe you can write one in July when there isn’t all that extra stuff going on.

Summer is a great time for students to focus on a creative project

Nanowrimo isn’t specifically aimed at students, but a lot of students flock to it. Students who have nothing to do with their brains for the Summer. Who might need a project, but are accustomed to exterior structure. Writing a book is a great Summer project. July’s Camp Nano is a great launch point.

July is often longer and more boring than we think it’s going to be

I know, mid-June it’s hard to believe, but by July you might get sick of Summer activities. Look, I love swimming, cooking out, camping and all the other festive Summer fun. But there are limits. Having a project, a major goal can give you something to do during the days that are so, so much longer.

If you didn’t quite make your goal in April, learn from that experience

I know a lot of people participated in the April Camp Nanowrimo session. I also know that a lot of people didn’t reach their April goals. My goal changed twice. At first, I wanted to edit for 39 hours. Then, thinking that would be too easy, I upped it to 50 hours. I upped it to 50 hours a couple of days into the month. That was dumb! So I moved it to writing 50,000 words instead, which was more than my original goal but less than the new goal I hadn’t planned for.

I learned from that experience, and I think I can successfully edit for 50 hours in July. I took into consideration why I couldn’t do it in April; I didn’t plan for it, I started late, I was already behind when I made the goal, I hadn’t taken into consideration that April was likely to be a bad depression month due to reasons.

If you tried to do Camp Nanowrimo in April and didn’t reach your goal, take heart. Figure out what stopped you from reaching your goal, and what you can do to overcome that.

If you wrote a book in November Nano, now is the time to finish it

Did you write a novel in November that you’ve been trying to edit, but you just haven’t found the time? Well, brothers and sisters now is your time. Right now, sit down with a calendar and figure out if you can finish the editing in July. You’ll feel so much better, having succeeded in doing something most people only dream of; You’ll have written a book.

I know I talk with my business hat on pretty frequently. Right now I’m going to take that hat off and remind you of something; writing is fun. Writing is campfire stories while snacking on marshmallows. Writing is making up a story to amuse a bored child. It’s spilling your guts onto the page, making up stories to comfort yourself and maybe someone else. That’s what I love about Camp Nanowrimo. It reminds me that writing is supposed to be fun.

Don’t forget, Nanowrimo works. Here’s the proof.

In Devon’s world, magical work is as common as turning a pot or fletching an arrow. What isn’t common is a man with thread magic. When Devon finds that he is a seer, weaving prophetic tapestries, his family tries to keep it a secret.

But the family can’t hide Devon’s visions after he predicts a devastating plague in the dragon lands of Coveline. He travels there to help the dragon queen save her people.

Meanwhile, Devon’s sister Lenore joins the Church of Singular Light. As Lenore learns to serve, and falls in love with her city, she discovers a dark underbelly to the church.

Lenore fights for her city, and Devon rushes to find a cure to the plague, while an unseen enemy raises an army to destroy Septa from within.

Get it here now.

Today on the Spring Author Interview series, we have Cynthia Ley, author of It’s A Mystery! Please enjoy.

 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOOK.

My latest book is the second in the cozy series It’s A Mystery II: A Player Sets The Stage. The first story, “It’s A Mystery I: The Lost Boys,” debuted in my quirky and offbeat short story anthology Pink Flamingos & Other Follies, published last year.

IT’S A MYSTERY I: THE LOST BOYS

Debuting the series in the story anthology Pink Flamingos & Other Follies.

Tim and Jocelyn are two college friends with the same obsessions –books and theater. They find a lovely little town to set up It’s A Mystery, their bookshop, and both become active in the community theater group.

Then one fine summer day, two little boys go missing, one of them being the son of Joc’s best friend. There is no trace of them anywhere. And then a clue is left in the bookshop’s dropbox as rehearsals for the upcoming theater production swirl around them.

EXCERPT

We were stunned. Tim pushed back from the manuscript, met my eyes.

“My God, Tim, did someone disappear Johnny and Bobby?” My voice expressed only a fraction of the horror I felt.

“It sounds like it,” he said grimly, pulling out his cell. “Hello, Steven? Something showed up here in our drop box. It might be important. But it makes very little sense.”

Someone who hates boys. A wonderland somewhere nine inches down. Some place that’s dark and below. Below what? A lot of walking in the dark. A challenge. Lots of contempt. Marco Polo, where’d they go?

Had we just read a confession?

*****************

Coming in May!

IT’S A MYSTERY II: A PLAYER SETS THE STAGE, continuing the story begun in IT’S A MYSTERY I: THE LOST BOYS from the anthology Pink Flamingos & Other Follies.

It’s now a few weeks since the events of THE LOST BOYS. The play is almost ready to debut. Tim and Joc find themselves at center stage for some fallout from recent events and from their college days. Meanwhile, at the community theater, there are some bizarre and dangerous discoveries. The stage is set … but for what?

EXCERPT

Randy never took the hint. He’d try to engage me in small talk, and I wouldn’t let him. Eventually, he’d say something like, “Hey, you want to go out to dinner with me?”

“No, Randy, I don’t.”

“You like playing hard to get, don’t you?” He’d flex his chest and arm muscles, putting on some sort of fuzzy testosterone-fueled display. It had all the appearance of tribbles in the throes of an epileptic seizure. “Whaddya think?”

“I think I’m not interested,” I’d say firmly. “I mean it, Randy. Lay off.”

“Lots of ladies would love to get what you’re getting.”

“Fine. Go bother them.” I tried to sound neutral and calm, I swear I did. “Starting with your girlfriend.”

His face reddened. “It’s Tim, isn’t it?”

I knew it. The feud wasn’t over yet. Only this time I was the prize. I just had no plans on becoming collateral damage.

WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE A WRITER?

Young, pre-teens. Creative writing classes scared me out of writing fiction for the longest time. As a skittish introvert, the last thing I wanted to do was read my stories aloud in front of the class! (Why do teachers torture their students like that??) I had story PTSD and didn’t get over it until after I’d retired. I earned my Masters in History and Political Science and learned how to do research and concise, clean writing, which has served me well since.

DO YOU HAVE ANY BOOKS COMING OUT THIS YEAR?

It’s A Mystery II: A Player Sets The Stage was just released in May 2019. I have a few more stories up my sleeve and hope to release at least one of them before year’s end.

IF READERS ARE LOOKING TO CONNECT WITH YOU, WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO DO IT?

I’m on twitter @cynthialey16 and also have a facebook page at Cleyfiction4.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

A paranormal story (Cecily’s Vampire) and a murder mystery (Death By Drake). Both with lots of twists and turns.

TELL US ABOUT SUBMITTING YOUR BOOK. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE FOR YOU?

It’s always a little nerve wracking. Check the book to the point of obsession. Write a cover letter. Attach file. Take a deeeeeeeep breath. Hit “send.”

At that point, it’s been released to the Fates, and, win or lose, they still can’t take away my birthday.

WHAT AUTHOR INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?

I can’t answer that. But I have been blessed with some fabulous mentors along the way.

WHO IS YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE AUTHOR?

My favorite guilty pleasure is the Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They have such devious minds and know how to tell a fabulous story.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK AS A CHILD?

Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. I was 11 or so, and loved this tale of creative defiance in the face of societally enforced conformity.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOURSELF IF YOU COULD GO BACK TO WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED WRITING?

Considering that was only a few years ago, I think the answer would be (and still is) to be more out there. I’m a terrible introvert, and find advertising myself is a bit scary sometimes.

WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE BEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE FOR YOUR WRITING CAREER?

Still working on that. But I am doing a lot of shows right now. Joining a regional writers’ community has been very helpful (NIWA, the Northwest Independent Writers Association).

WHAT BOOK WOULD YOU SUGGEST TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO WRITE?

Other than my own? (laughs) Seriously, I consider the story “Remains” from one of my earlier short story anthologies, The Ossuary Playground and Other Unexpected Tales, one of the best stories I have ever written, and it blew my reviewers out of the water. Just sayin.’

Going old school though, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. It is unparalleled for its truths, its integrity, and its sheer power of story. This is an author being true to his Voice.

As should we all. Readers can tell when authors aren’t invested in the stories they tell. It’s like having to write that science paper on igneous rocks when you’d much rather talk about the metaphysical properties of quartz.

Do quartz.

CL

Next in our Spring Author interview series, KateMarie Collins. She’s the author of the Waystation Guardians series. Also, the COO of Solstice Publishing. Enjoy.

Tell us about your book

My last release came out in August of 2018, right before I went to Scotland for a week. ‘Guarding William’ is the 3^rd book in The Waystation Guardians series. The series is urban fantasy with a twist on Greek mythology. The first book in the series, ‘Guarding Charon’, came out in June of 2016. ‘Guarding Amber’ was the 2^nd book.

When did you realize that you were a writer?

The idea was always there, but I was raised in an environment where creative endeavors weren’t encouraged. I heard, from a young age, that I’d never be good enough. Someone else would be better, get the shot, so I shouldn’t even try. By the time I started high school, I thought my talent was nothing more than an ability to b.s. my way through an essay on a test.

Do you have any books coming out this year?

I’m working on the 4^th book in The Waystation Guardians series now. ‘Guarding Connor’ should be out before the end of 2019.

If readers are looking to connect with you, what’s the best way to do it?

Twitter! I’m @DaughterHauk there. Or you can follow my blog, leave comments on my website. https://katemariecollins.com/

What are you working on right now?

Two books, actually. ‘Guarding Connor’, which is the next installment in The Waystation Guardians. And one tentatively called ‘Eynhallows’.

Tell us about submitting your book. What was that like for you?

Nerve wracking! My hand shook so bad the first few times I hit submit! But I had to do it. I didn’t want my kids thinking the same thing I had as a child. I wanted them to take risks, go for what they really wanted in life. The best way for me to teach them to do that was for them to see me go for what I wanted.

What author would you say inspires you the most? 

I have a special place in my soul for Nick Pollotta. He taught me a lot about the business end of things before I got my first contract. He passed away in 2013, just before my 2^nd book came out. I dedicated it to him. I saved all of our conversations and refer to them often.

Who is your current favorite author?

I adore David & Leigh Eddings, Nick Pollotta, and Steven R. Boyett. Patricia Kennelly Morrison is another favorite. I reread their books often.

What was your first favorite book as a child?

There was one I read in jr. high. ‘Masha’ by Mara Kay. I still remember the feel of the dust jacket, the smell of the pages, and how magical the story was for me.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to when you first started writing?

Don’t listen to the ones who say you can’t do this. They’re scared you will, not that you can’t.

What would you consider the best thing you’ve ever done for your writing career.

It was something Nick Pollotta taught me. He said to be nice and polite to everyone. He deemed the industry ‘incestuous – in that everyone knows everyone else, and they talk.’ One bad email can ruin a career before it gets started. Learning that lesson early was one of the best things that could’ve happened.

What would you consider the most fulfilling moment you’ve experienced as a writer?

Probably holding a print copy of my first book, ‘Daughter of Hauk’, for the first time. It was the physical representation of everything I’d grown up hearing I’d never accomplish.

There’s been some truly touching and/or surreal moments since then, to be certain. No matter if my books sold, though, that one moment taught me I could achieve something others wanted me to never do.

What book would you suggest to anyone who wants to write?

This is a tough one. There’s some great books on writing, yes. But you need to find your own voice, tell the story your own way. Learn grammar, punctuation, and don’t rely on spell check. Pick up books on that, if you need help. The writing itself? You could do great with outlines and set writing goals every day. Or you could do better if you fly by the seat of your pants and write only when the muse speaks to you.

Now, for those who don’t know, you’re also COO of Solstice publishing. What’s your favorite part about that?

It’s uploading the first book by a new author. Knowing I’m making the dream I share with them come true.

Do you ever find it hard to read for pleasure, after spending all day reading for work?

I rarely read for pleasure any more. I have a really bad habit of picking up other authors’ voices! I don’t want to accidentally plagiarize someone, so I don’t read much any more.

How do you balance work for Solstice with working on your own books?

Writing happens after work is done for the day. And after the household chores, errands, etc. I should do better about prioritizing my writing, but it’s hard to get everything done some days and still have a couple hours to devote to writing.

Is there anything in particular Solstice is looking for right now, for people who might like to submit?

Good books that are well written, engaging, and by authors who aren’t afraid to promote their work on social media!

If someone wants to submit to Solstice, what advice would you give them?

Read our submissions guidelines and follow them. Build your social media presence. Don’t give us a reason to say no because you didn’t proofread your book before you submitted it, or because you thought you could wait for your book to come out to get a twitter account.

Check out Guarding William, the third book of the Waystation Guardians, now on Amazon.